What affects potency?

[CrypticSteel]

Okay this is a question about a previous grow so I'm not sure how much info you'll need.

Okay my last grow consisted of 3 plants 2 Wonder Woman, and 1 White Castle. The two WW plants grew great, not a single problem with either of them they ended at about 4 feet with nice sized main cola and buds and smelled very good. The WC however was kind of crappy, had a bad case of the claw that I just couldnt get under control.

It's now about 2 weeks since harvest, they've hung to dry, then were jarred to cure and have been curing for a little over a week. Now here's the problem. I smoke it and its a very smooth flavorful smoke that burns well, but its very very weak.

So I guess my question is this, what could I have done to make these plants grow so well and yet be so damn weak. I was under the impression that all I had to do was provide a good environment for them to grow, keep them as healthy and stress free as possible and genetics would take care of the rest (IE. Potency, flavor, and yield to an extent). This stuff just seriously lacks potency.

If you need/want anymore info on the grow just ask, I'm dumbfounded as to why it's as weak as it is

 

[Droopy Dog]

It's the genetics for the most part.

I would have gone with environment also, but another grower I know (He also favored environment), found this was not the case.

He had given a novice a couple cuts of a very potent strain and pretty much forgot about it. The plants were grown under the worst noob conditions, under lit, over nuted, over watered, etc. He saw them just before the chop and said they just looked awful.

What amazed both of us was, he smoked some of it and said it was almost as good as his carefully tended cuts. He couldn't believe that a plant so poorly grown could be so potent. Neither could I, to be honest.

The only conclusion was, that genetics was the overriding factor, more than the environment the plant was grown in.

It still makes no sense to either one of us, but like he said, there was no denying the buzz he got off that poorly grown weed.

DD

 

[Mr Grower]

White Castle is an F1 hybrid of two absolute winners. With a White Widow mother and our award-winning Ice for a father, White Castle is as outrageous as one would expect. The sturdier, denser structure of Ice really thickens up the often light and wispy White Widow buds. White Widow’s flavour, strength, and social high remain very present in this strain. Medical patients are extremely fond of White Castle for its pain-killing properties.

Height: medium
Effect: All round effect
Indoor/outdoor: indoor
THC content: high; 15-24%
Flowering weeks: 12 or more
Yield (S.O.G.): 400-500g
Difficulty: moderate
.......................................................................................................................
Wonder Woman is another new high volume production skunk. Fresh genetics make it possible to achieve over = kilo per square meter! Rock hard buds are easy to trim. The smoke has a classic rich skunk flavor accompanied by a fairly long lasting buzz

Plant height: Medium- Indica/Sativa mix
Stoned or high?: Stoney yet high- Allround Buzz
THC level: Medium 8-15%
Flowering Weeks: 8

 

[CrypticSteel]

It's the genetics for the most part.

I would have gone with environment also, but another grower I know (He also favored environment), found this was not the case.

He had given a novice a couple cuts of a very potent strain and pretty much forgot about it. The plants were grown under the worst noob conditions, under lit, over nuted, over watered, etc. He saw them just before the chop and said they just looked awful.

What amazed both of us was, he smoked some of it and said it was almost as good as his carefully tended cuts. He couldn't believe that a plant so poorly grown could be so potent. Neither could I, to be honest.

The only conclusion was, that genetics was the overriding factor, more than the environment the plant was grown in.

It still makes no sense to either one of us, but like he said, there was no denying the buzz he got off that poorly grown weed.

DD

Genetics is kinda the way I was leaning, possibly bad phenos in a couple otherwise good strains. However being the noob grower I am (this was my first grow) I wanted to ask and see if it was possibly something I did before blaming other things.

Its really hard to believe how weak this stuff is, when I remember how great the plants it came off of looked. I have seen guys get some amazing weed off some very stressed, malnourished plants. Mine was the exact opposite, which is kinda shitty, wait that long, harvest some plants....and still dont have any weed.

Luckily growing the plants was fun as hell, so I ordered some Lucy seeds, and some ak-47 and hopefully in another couple months I wont be complaining about potency.

 

[stargazer1954]

I've had the same problems, most say its the genetics, I've tried diffent strains and diffent supplyers but still the buds are just not as potent as they should be. all the plants i've grown looked healthy and had nice buds, the only thing I can think of is the LED lights i'm useing. could that be the problem? they are cheep 1000w but was useing two in a 2x4 tent. even had to raise them do to light burn. going to buy better LED lights and hope that cures the problem.

 

[Rexer]

The genetics play a huge role. Mistakes can be made that can hurt the quality, trichomes could be damaged.

Also, give your buds a good cure and you'll notice a slight increase in potency.

A lot of this argument has been rehashed many times, but boils down to a "nature vs nurture" debate. So don't be disappointed if you don't get a solid answer.

 

[013]

Hey Stargazer,

Welcome to forums at 420. The post you replied to is 9 years old, those folks have moved on. I would suspect early harvest as the main culprit to your dilemma, get a jewelers loupe or mini microscope to determine ripeness before harvest

 

[Rexer]

Hey Stargazer,

Welcome to forums at 420. The post you replied to is 9 years old, those folks have moved on. I would suspect early harvest as the main culprit to your dilemma, get a jewelers loupe or mini microscope to determine ripeness before harvest

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh not again!!!!!

 

[bluter]

I've had the same problems, most say its the genetics, I've tried diffent strains and diffent supplyers but still the buds are just not as potent as they should be. all the plants i've grown looked healthy and had nice buds, the only thing I can think of is the LED lights i'm useing. could that be the problem? they are cheep 1000w but was useing two in a 2x4 tent. even had to raise them do to light burn. going to buy better LED lights and hope that cures the problem.

there are really two sides at play in answer to your question.

genetics is still number one. genetics are the potential, but genetics alone won't get you there without the growing environment. the growing environment is number two.

the growing environment encompasses many factors. the most important factor of the growing environment is light. without adequate, high quality light in the right spectrum, you won't get there.

would really have to know what you are running for light. there are really good choices out there right now.