Will you cut this off?

[RafySelles]

Hi ! Many of the hairs are amber already on the top but on the bottom most are white , maybe hoping to have another nice bud but is not showing progress

 

[Rolling Green]

If it was my plant would let it go another couple weeks at least, which will give the flowers more time to grow and swell. I think that what the previous poster mentioned about cutting and drying a small sample to test potency is a good idea and an important step of the learning curve.

 

[RafySelles]

Thanks guys ! definitely will learn how to and try that test

 

[Sativa1970]

Harvested by pistols for decades. Each strain is a bit different but there is a rough guide. You are at the vary early stage of possible harvest. You have orange with quite a few white hairs. still have some clear trichs. Low potency heady high. After they all turn orange and a few brown you will be at a potent heady high. All cloudy, one or two ambers. Half orange, half brown is the highest potency but more of a body high. Heavy amber. The way you would learn how to read pistols was to take taste test like any good chef.

 

[Retireegrower]

Harvested by pistols for decades. Each strain is a bit different but there is a rough guide. You are at the vary early stage of possible harvest. You have orange with quite a few white hairs. still have some clear trichs. Low potency heady high. After they all turn orange and a few brown you will be at a potent heady high. All cloudy, one or two ambers. Half orange, half brown is the highest potency but more of a body high. Heavy amber. The way you would learn how to read pistols was to take taste test like any good chef.

@Sativa1970 Great info for this new grower. Thanks for sharing. I'm on my first grow since early 80's and back then we didn't know squat compared to the knowledge you folks have now. Nada

 

[Sativa1970]

New techniques, new equipment and new strains have flooded in since then. Around 10 years ago I switched everything to hydro and got my first microscope for checking trichomes. Still like growing the same old land strains but with some of the new tech.

 

[Retireegrower]

Yeah, I been having to wait all these years & dreaming about being able to grow/consume. Reading about hydro. So, I knew I wanted to grow hydroponic if it it took some hard knocks to learn. I'm still of the opinion that if I have to scrap this current grow because of killed plants all I'm out is a few seeds, some electricity, nutrients, & time..I'll do better next time. Hopefully not though.

 

[Sativa1970]

Hydro ranges from complex to simple. Tried ebb and flow back in the early 80s with no real success. 10ish years ago, I got exited to try again and jumped back in with ebb and flow. Equipment aggravation and dying plants lead to the switching to drain to waist. The plants grew better but the watering schedule started to feel like clocking in to work. I now run everything DWC.

The simpler the machine, the fewer points of failure. When there is no schedule or machines to monitor you can focus on learning the EC, PH, pruning and how it effects the strain. If I get busy or go out of town for a week, they will be fine on there own. I check them almost every day now because I want to, not because I have to.

Don't make it harder on yourself the way I did. Start with the simple one and work your way up through them.

 

[Retireegrower]

Hydro ranges from complex to simple. Tried ebb and flow back in the early 80s with no real success. 10ish years ago, I got exited to try again and jumped back in with ebb and flow. Equipment aggravation and dying plants lead to the switching to drain to waist. The plants grew better but the watering schedule started to feel like clocking in to work. I now run everything DWC.

The simpler the machine, the fewer points of failure. When there is no schedule or machines to monitor you can focus on learning the EC, PH, pruning and how it effects the strain. If I get busy or go out of town for a week, they will be fine on there own. I check them almost every day now because I want to, not because I have to.

Don't make it harder on yourself the way I did. Start with the simple one and work your way up through them.

I watched a lot of videos on the different kinds of dwc hydro units & decided I like this rdwc system that PA Hydroponics sells if has the feature of a fallponic system pumping from the external reservoir to each plant in a 3/4 line as well as the 3" drain back lines from all 4 buckets back to the reservoir. So, I don't know if it's the easiest out there, but pretty simple. Now I need to dial in my ph & ppms. Working on figuring it out.

 

[Sativa1970]

Nice setup. These are the most common issues people have. Keep an eye on the water temps. 65 to 75 deg. The plant stops taking up nutrient below 65 and can handle up to 80deg but you will start to fight algae and bacteria. If your EC is vary low the plant will grow slow. If you EC is a bit to high it can cause lock out issues so always error on the low side. Nothing biological in the res other than the plant. Don't fight PH just gentile nudge it and wait. It's like when tires get off into the rock shoulder. If you steer hard left you will just end up in the ditch on the other side of the road. Little pressure on the steering wheel and she will gently clime back up into the lane.

You will be pleasantly surprised at how much faster they grow and how simple it is compared to the old days.

 

[Sativa1970]

Forgot to mention EC is a universal mineral scale but PPM is not universal. There are three or four PPM scales so don't assume any source reference is using the same scale as your PPM meter. I'm sure you already know most of what I included but better to get the information twice than not at all.

 

[Retireegrower]

Nice setup. These are the most common issues people have. Keep an eye on the water temps. 65 to 75 deg. The plant stops taking up nutrient below 65 and can handle up to 80deg but you will start to fight algae and bacteria. If your EC is vary low the plant will grow slow. If you EC is a bit to high it can cause lock out issues so always error on the low side. Nothing biological in the res other than the plant. Don't fight PH just gentile nudge it and wait. It's like when tires get off into the rock shoulder. If you steer hard left you will just end up in the ditch on the other side of the road. Little pressure on the steering wheel and she will gently clime back up into the lane.

You will be pleasantly surprised at how much faster they grow and how simple it is compared to the old days.

Thanks for the advice @Sativa1970 .I have been fighting ph & ppms from jump street. Terrible city water starting out at 7.8ph & 800ppms.. swapped out better water last weekend and overfed due to following the manufacturers instructions. Ph does seem to want to go below 6.2 either.

 

[Retireegrower]

Forgot to mention EC is a universal mineral scale but PPM is not universal. There are three or four PPM scales so don't assume any source reference is using the same scale as your PPM meter. I'm sure you already know most of what I included but better to get the information twice than not at all.

Not really. Trying to figure it out. But, I'm old and it does not come naturally. Don't assume I know anything. I am trying to learn but struggling

Forgot to mention EC is a universal mineral scale but PPM is not universal. There are three or four PPM scales so don't assume any source reference is using the same scale as your PPM meter. I'm sure you already know most of what I included but better to get the information twice than not at all.

 

[Sativa1970]

800PPM? Do you chew when you drink water that hard? Just kidding. 500PPM is what the EPA considers safe drinking water. Highest I have heard in US was near 1000. Joking aside that will cause all kinds of issues. There is a maximum % of TDS, total dissolved salts, the plant can tolerate in the water. NPK and micro minerals are all chemically salts to clarify. For example, If the recommended nutrient mix adds 15% TDS to your 10% water you will be in nutrient lock out and the pH will never balance. That is the only reason you should look at feed chart PPMs.

If you are using reasonably good water just go by tbs per gallon then note the PPM. Keep the PH between 5 and 7 aiming for 5.8 but a little drift is good for the plant. Water level and PPM tell you what the plant needs.

water level drops, PPM rise- add only water because she is thirsty but too much food.
water level drops, PPM drops- thirsty and hungry. feed a higher PPM nutrient mix.
water level stays, PPM drops- hungry, add strait nutrient
water level stays, PPM rise- the plant is over feed and flushing nutrient out the roots. Lower the res PPM.
water level drops, PPM are unchanged. You found the magic number that the plant wanted.
Water level stays. PPM are unchanged your plant died long ago but just covering all combinations.

What water did you switch to? From the tap I have 80PPMs of calcium, magnesium 10PPM of iron and miscellaneous trace minerals for 110PPM total. Still have an 8.7PH. You want to add PH down first if you start over 8PH.. Then add your nutrient. Adding acid nutrients to a high base water will cause the nutrient to just precipitate and fall out of suspension. No dissolved nutrient, no acid, high PH. Let the nutrient water sit for 10 to 20 minutes to stabile. Then add PH down until you reach 5.8PH and note how much ph down was used in total. Next time you mix you will know the measurements. Add almost all of the PH down first. Add cal mag if needed then wait 15 minutes. Then add nutrient. Add the last bit of PH down to sneak up on 5.7.