TheDaveAbides - Blue Dream - Indoor - Soil - Traditional HID

[thedaveabides]

12/28/15 - Flowering Day 9

The stretch continues....

I could really use some advice here if anyone is still looking in on my grow. I'm growing into my light and I've raised it as high as it will go. I only veg'd for 4 weeks so I'm not sure where I went wrong that they stretched to damned high (they're all 4ft + measured from the soil)....other than mother nature will just do what she damned well pleases =P

I have a 1ft extension for my tent on the way but it won't get here for another week. In the mean time, my tallest girl is brushing the glass on my hood. Thankfully, it's relatively cool (I can hold my hand on the glass indefinitely) and I the plant doesn't seem to mind it, but I am concerned about having the canopy reach the light source and block out (shade) the rest of the growth from that light. Any thoughts?

I need some wise sage to take a seat and educate me in "Oh shit" maneuvers to protect my finished product. Thanks fellas.

 

[Mello136]

The stretch never ends.....

 

[TanR]

Hi Dave,
Just subscribed to your journal and would love to follow along in your first totally solo adventure. I have to say your girls are absolutely gorgeous! Congratulations.

I've skimmed through your entire journal and see that you already topped them once fairly early on. Since you continue to struggle with a height challange, I can't help wonder if you've considered topping them again, perhaps a bit more agressively. I'm sure your loath to do so this far along in their development, but they aren't going to suddenly stop growing/stretching and your right to have concern about the shading of lower growth.

I've done it farther along in a grow (and not done it) and while you will lose a wee bit of yeild, I don't believe it's as severe a lose as underdevelopment of the lower branch structures.

Be well and happy growing!

 

[TheBlaze]

You are going to have to tie those girls down. Blue strains stretch quite a bit in flowering. My blue cheese almost tripled in size. Only stopped stretching at about 4 weeks after flipping to 12/12.

They are looking magnificent though.

 

[thedaveabides]

Thanks a lot for looking in fellas. I wasn't sure about topping during flowering. It's not something I've ever done before so I'm a little gun shy. Of course, the nodes are packed really tightly at the top which causes me to wonder: how many would I want to top off? What's everyone think about the 1' extension? Is that likely to buy me enough height? The stalks are too damned thick for me to tie em down now - could have, should have, would have - so topping and/or extending the tent is all I've got. Next time......

 

[TheBlaze]

Hmmm... not so sure about topping in flowering. I've never done it. One of the other guys will have to chime in here.

 

[smokers420]

If your no more then two weeks into flowering you could always Monster Crop them. Just have to be careful with this process, i have did it to my plants with great success. Also you will get a way better yield by doing this and it will solve the issue with the plants being so tall..

 

[thedaveabides]

I'll look into that. Thank you

 

[thedaveabides]

If your no more then two weeks into flowering you could always Monster Crop them. Just have to be careful with this process, i have did it to my plants with great success. Also you will get a way better yield by doing this and it will solve the issue with the plants being so tall..

After much research on the monster cropping method, I am enthralled and eager to give it a try.......BUT........I would want to have my second tent in place before I take any clones (in any form). If there's a lesson I've learned well from this grow so far, it's that cannabis will grow how she pleases. About the time when I don't have an empty vegging space to put them (my tent is flowering right now) is the time those clones decide to shoot up 12 inches in 10 days and I'm stuck with plants too big for their initial environment. The resource limit is killing me =(

It's a great idea, though, with proven results and when my grow is more mature, I will give it a go

 

[thedaveabides]

01/02/16 Photos - Flowering Day 15

Lots of lovely little flowers forming =) And my partner managed to grab us a 1ft extension for the tent to help mitigate the stretching problem so.......cautiously I say, I think we're good

 

[thedaveabides]

01/06/2016 - Flowering Day 19

Coming along nicely.

 

[TheBlaze]

Those are going to turn into some nice long running colas. You should get a decent yield bud.

 

[thedaveabides]

Tent extension is in, adding another 12" + of clearance
One top had gotten a little bit burnt flying so close to the sun; two leaves at the very top of the branch were burnt brown around their edges. That top (overnight, no less) has added over an inch of healthy new growth above the burnt leaves. I'll add pictures of the rampant new growth tomorrow.

 

[ShiggityFlip]

Thank goodness for tent extensions, I have gone through the whole thread and I was like "I hope he flowers these soon" then they got bigger and I was like "oh wow he better flower now" then wow the stretch happened! Looking good now though, the stretch is something you just have to learn from experience. It surprised me this grow too on a few of my strains. But with the extension you are good to go!

 

[thedaveabides]

Thank goodness for tent extensions, I have gone through the whole thread and I was like "I hope he flowers these soon" then they got bigger and I was like "oh wow he better flower now" then wow the stretch happened! Looking good now though, the stretch is something you just have to learn from experience. It surprised me this grow too on a few of my strains. But with the extension you are good to go!

Yup, the extension was just what the doctor ordered. They are rapidly clumping up at the top now that they aren't baking against that light. And frosty too.

 

[thedaveabides]

1/17/16 - Flowering Day 29

It's been a while since I put up any new photos. Lots of change up top since the last ones. A few of these photos are from a couple of days ago, before I gave all the tops a haircut (trying out LA's backbuilding technique). One or two photo(s) is from this morning, so you'll note the change in shape when looking at the tops. And after these, I'll post some close ups from the last few days where I tried to capture the exciting frost expansion we're witnessing.

 

[thedaveabides]

 

[TheBlaze]

Those plants are looking great. Those buds are going to get big.

 

[thedaveabides]

I'm sure hoping so. Some days I look in there and think, "You idiot! You defoliated too much, too early!" Other day's I peek in and think, "Could it possibly look any better in there?" It's the final-four-weeks-rollercoaster.

 

[TheBlaze]

The buds really swell up in the last 3 weeks I find. I suppose it's different in every grow, but that's what I've noticed.