Xlr8's "Flo N Gro" Hydro Multiple Strains 2011

[Xlr8]

Hey Old Friend....

Can I borrow her when I harvest? We really kind of messed up our drying last time.We didn't take into account what the air conditioner would do to it. It dried way to fast. It was still good smoke, but it could have been much better. Live and learn.

Yeah..this is the part about RS that still haunts me, and the decisions I made. Kind of screwed me up too.

It's really really dry here right now, and we have to be really vigilant to keep things from drying too fast. The initial harvest is now curing nicely and I think we nailed it. The second harvest is still drying, but it's progressing nicely.

I sure have some parts of my life I regret, but I'm trying to stay focused on the future and who I want to be moving forward. It works for me, sometimes...

My wife thinks going to Hawaii to help trim/dry sounds like a great time!

LOL wife swapping, I really could use her, my kush is coming down. I own a trimmer but nothing looks better than a hand cut well manicure bud. Um, I never had a problem with drying and if I do overdry I jar them with binkies(humidor tabs).

I've never used a trimmer or had buds trimmed by one (that I know of) but they sure seem handy. I've always wondered how well they work... I've seen some amazing ones (on video) for larger production that blew me away. Just chuck the buds in on one end, and they fall into collection baskets on the other end. I'm guessing those are insanely expensive machines, though well worth it for a large farming operation.

Nice tip on the humidor tabs - I usually save a few branch pieces in the freezer (zip lock) in case I need to cut off a piece to put in the jar for moisture addition. Only time I really needed it I forgot to do it.

If you do this, you must remember to clean it out of the freezer eventually. I just put a few pieces in the freezer, and found a ziplock with branch pieces from the last harvest... Oops!

Hi All,

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents on overdried weed...put a carrot in it. Just drop a chunk in the jar, only for a little while, burp it regularly or it will overmoisten and mold. Adds no weird smell or taste and works really good.

Great tip Sqwheels! I'll bet that would work really well.

 

[Xlr8]

Well, all down but the Chocolope.

I felt like there was definitely a little added weight to the smaller stuff that got harvested in the second round, and it worked out okay leaving it in there longer as I didn't have anything waiting to go into the tent.

Still, that little stuff - even with a little more weight - is still little stuff. I don't expect that there will be much more than an additional ounce per plant from the second harvest. It looked like more, but the little stuff sometimes does. We put a fair amount of it into our trim/shake pile, as we don't like to count or put the real small stuff in with the rest of our bud.

Should have some final numbers and thoughts in a few days on everything harvested so far... We were really rushing to get everything done (we had some other large projects this weekend, too) and I didn't get any pictures of second chop stuff. I'm bummed about this, but there wasn't much to see except for a bunch of branches with small to medium size buds on them, so I don't think anybody's missing much...

I'll try to get a few nug pics and some final numbers later this week. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

 

[Xlr8]

Xlr8 great looking harvest bro.

Thanks man, I really enjoyed this grow, but I've got a few tweaks to make. I get obsessed with making things "perfect". I'm happy though, as the Lucy is some spectacular bud, and the rest is damn good so far too. Thanks for tagging along and contributing to my journal - I have a lot of respect for your growing skills and experience.

 

[GodSpeed]

Hey X hope your well

An adition ounce is still nice even if its just for some MJ treats they always go down very well

So would you give the conclusion that it was beneficial for ripening the lower half off rarther then adding additional weight?

 

[Xlr8]

Hey X hope your well

An adition ounce is still nice even if its just for some MJ treats they always go down very well

So would you give the conclusion that it was beneficial for ripening the lower half off rarther then adding additional weight?

Heck yeah! That's an additional ounce or so per plant, too, so 3 more ounces total (or so - maybe 4 total). Nothing to sneeze at!

Yes it was beneficial to those smaller buds to get some more time. Due to a unique circumstance on my end, it worked out as good as I'd hoped for, and frankly exactly to plan/expectations other than I wished they'd have plumped up even more.

However, it might not be a good strategy for most people/situations. Let me explain:

First a recap --- Due to Thanksgiving, company coming to visit/stay, and other complications we only had 2 windows of opportunity to harvest, and those were 2 weeks apart. I was afraid, correctly so I think, that the larger more mature buds were going to be more ripe than I'd prefer if I let them go to the latest of the 2 windows (about 10 weeks total flowering time). Thus, my decision to harvest the mature stuff and leave the rest to go another 2 weeks.

Now, if I'd have harvested the larger more mature buds when I'd have liked - say 9 weeks - I'd have only had an extra week to give the lower stuff before the trichomes were >50% amber, and the gain would have not been worth the hassle probably. I think my net gain would have been greater by leaving the larger more mature buds 1 more week vs. the path I took, but that wasn't a viable option for me due to the holiday stuff we had going on...

So, based on the hand of cards I was dealt (and poor advance planning on my part!) I think I did the right thing. If I could do it over without the holiday/company complications, I'd have harvested it all at 9 weeks -- more of the small stuff would have gone into the trim/shake pile, but the larger mature buds (which were the majority of the weight on the plant) would have been greater than the gain I got on the small stuff.

I'm flying on Lucy again, so sorry if this is too wordy, lol...

 

[SteveHman]

LOL wife swapping, I really could use her, my kush is coming down. I own a trimmer but nothing looks better than a hand cut well manicure bud. Um, I never had a problem with drying and if I do overdry I jar them with binkies(humidor tabs).

I'm buying a trimmer, my hands and back can't take sitting and trimming for 24 hours. As long as the machine can get me to about 80% I can do the fine-trim work by hand.


Xlr8,
The grow is looking great, too bad about the delayed harvest time. Did you notice any negative effects? I've seen some of my buds get a little "tougher" if they go too long in flower, if that makes sense? Also, the Gigabud was prone to self-seeding if allowed to go an extra week or two.

 

[Xlr8]

I'm buying a trimmer, my hands and back can't take sitting and trimming for 24 hours. As long as the machine can get me to about 80% I can do the fine-trim work by hand.


Xlr8,
The grow is looking great, too bad about the delayed harvest time. Did you notice any negative effects? I've seen some of my buds get a little "tougher" if they go too long in flower, if that makes sense? Also, the Gigabud was prone to self-seeding if allowed to go an extra week or two.

Hey Steve - first of all, thanks!

The second harvest worked out fine I think. I would have liked to have given the first harvested stuff another week, but it wasn't possible without giving it two - which for the more mature stuff would have been a little too long. Anyway, it'll work out pretty well in the end. Nothing negative about going longer on the little stuff - it was actually a pretty good time to harvest it.

Let me know how you like the trimmer - how expensive are they? Trimming is hell on my back, but I doubt it would be worthwhile for the small amount I have to trim...

 

[SteveHman]

Hey Steve - first of all, thanks!

The second harvest worked out fine I think. I would have liked to have given the first harvested stuff another week, but it wasn't possible without giving it two - which for the more mature stuff would have been a little too long. Anyway, it'll work out pretty well in the end. Nothing negative about going longer on the little stuff - it was actually a pretty good time to harvest it.

Let me know how you like the trimmer - how expensive are they? Trimming is hell on my back, but I doubt it would be worthwhile for the small amount I have to trim...

The one I'm looking at is about $1k, but if it can reduce my three day trim job to one day or less, it will have paid for itself the first harvest. I don't have huge amounts to trim, but it wrecks me for the rest of the week. My neck, back and shoulders are spent, not to mention the hands. I do everything myself, I don't have anyone to assist (I keep the garden very low-profile). If you search for "trim pro" on the auction sites you can find the one I am talking about.

Once I get my garden into production mode, it will be a lb every few weeks, not much--but enough for me to justify the spend.

 

[Xlr8]

The one I'm looking at is about $1k, but if it can reduce my three day trim job to one day or less, it will have paid for itself the first harvest. I don't have huge amounts to trim, but it wrecks me for the rest of the week. My neck, back and shoulders are spent, not to mention the hands. I do everything myself, I don't have anyone to assist (I keep the garden very low-profile). If you search for "trim pro" on the auction sites you can find the one I am talking about.

Once I get my garden into production mode, it will be a lb every few weeks, not much--but enough for me to justify the spend.

Thanks Steve - yeah, a little steep for my level of growing (just for my own needs). But, man I feel 'ya on wrecking yourself. Of course, it takes so little to wipe me out lately!

Luckily, I've got my own "Trim Pro" that rocks out most of the trimming for us and makes sure I don't over-do it. I love her so!

 

[Mr. Krip]

Thanks Steve - yeah, a little steep for my level of growing (just for my own needs). But, man I feel 'ya on wrecking yourself. Of course, it takes so little to wipe me out lately!

Luckily, I've got my own "Trim Pro" that rocks out most of the trimming for us and makes sure I don't over-do it. I love her so!

Hey Bro, I was looking at this unit for more "light duty" operation at only $250:

Viagrow Stainless Steel Spin Leaf Trimmer

It doesn't do all the things your bud trimmer does, but considering it's dedicated to the single task of trimming, it may free up your existing trimmer for other, more important domestic duties (and, save her back & hands in the process!)!

 

[Xlr8]

Hey Bro, I was looking at this unit for more "light duty" operation at only $250:

Viagrow Stainless Steel Spin Leaf Trimmer

It doesn't do all the things your bud trimmer does, but considering it's dedicated to the single task of trimming, it may free up your existing trimmer for other, more important domestic duties (and, save her back & hands in the process!)!

Domestic duties!

I remember looking at that before, and the one Steve mentioned too. They're pretty cool, but as much as I hate the process, I love the detail that goes into hand trimming the nugs. Thanks for the link!

 

[Mr. Krip]

Domestic duties!

I remember looking at that before, and the one Steve mentioned too. They're pretty cool, but as much as I hate the process, I love the detail that goes into hand trimming the nugs. Thanks for the link!

I agree and haven't bought one, either (yet?). I hear they're definately nowhere near as good as a hand trim, and you may even want to hand trim, too, but if there's lots of bud, I definately can see it saving some time and body aches.

If I ever get my SOG to actually start producing, I'll probably grab one just to try to save some time.

 

[Xlr8]

Hi everyone - thought I'd post a few more pics. This journal is getting too wordy without enough cool stuff to look at. Hopefully this will help make up for it a bit...

These 2 pics are of a nice Lavender bud that I entered into the NOTM contest. I hope the pics do it justice. This is one of several large nugs and it only fits in the jar lengthwise. Dense and resinous. Very tasty too!

Another Lavender:

It was hard to get a good looking Lucy bud to shoot, because (no joke) they are so absolutely sticky and resinous that it's been a constant battle during curing to keep them from clumping/sticking together. Especially early on, they get beat up from deforming due to sticky outside and pulling them apart when they're stuck together. Hopefully some of the sticky comes through in these pics - when you crack 'em open, it's like they're jewel encrusted inside. Maybe I'll try to get another pic of one cracked open sometime. It's pretty killer looking - like they glow when you crack 'em open.

Lucy:

Lucy:

Lucy:

Skywalker is a pleasant surprise in that the nugs are pretty small, but they are little rocks they're so dense, and really pungent of blueberries. It really does taste more like Blueberry than my Blueberry did. Best fruity flavored weed I've smoked so far, 'cept for maybe Jillybean. I'll try to do better smoke reports on Skywalker and Lavender soon. The Skywalker is really pretty in person. If the buds were bigger it would be a 10 for bag appeal. These are some Skywalker buds from harvest number 2 -

Skywalker:

No description is probably needed for this next pic - this isn't all, but it's most of them. Pay little or no attention to the half empty Lucy jar that says 1z on it... Man am I blowin' through the Lucy. I really love it. These are almost (or were, ahem) 1z per jar:

------
Lastly, a couple pictures of the Chocolope still in the tent. I'm guessing about 2 weeks left, maybe 1 1/2:

 

[Xlr8]

Final numbers now that (almost) everything is in jars:

Lavender 5.15z
Skywalker 2.36z
Lucy 3.6z
Magic Bud .8z

Total, 11.91z (excluding Chocolope not yet harvested)

I learned a ton, and the results will be much better in the future I think. Overall, I'm happy and have some great meds to boot. It's alllll good.

Can't wait to try the Chocolope now...

 

[Xlr8]

Oh, one other quick note -- I bumped the Chocolope down to 11 hours of daylight from 12 a few days ago. Hopefully this will be an additional reminder to her to start wrapping things up soon. I might go to 10 hours in a couple of days - I'm open to opinions on this.

 

[OG13]

Very nice yield there X. The salad bowl trimmers work pretty good. It is def not hand trim, but they end up like the dispensaries like them, little round nugs. You need to break the buds down to nugs for best results. It is for sure hard on the buds, but if you are cleaning the machine, you get the resin back.... Cleaning the bowl out after use is a trip, super goo green "hash" around the edges.....

 

[Closet Farmer]

Hey there Xlr8! Those buds are so well manicured! They look like little boulders! Wow! Very nice. That Lucy sure sounds and looks like some strong stuff.

I reduced the the light on my remaining plants the last few weeks of grow last time. I planned on doing it again. The seed manufacturer for the White Widow recomended going to 8/16 during the last few weeks to bring out the trichs. I think it improved my harvest.

Whatever you are doing you are correct. Definately got the some great looking buds in your personal stash!

 

[GodSpeed]

Yeah i agree ^ Bag appeal 100 out of 10, reps to you and your wife!

Lucy has stolen the show, i keep trying to write a poem everytime i see her, think im in love. Lol im being serious i have problems .... umm what genetic is she i cant find her, please dont tell me she is a clone only, this might break my heart!

 

[OldMedMan]

Oh, one other quick note -- I bumped the Chocolope down to 11 hours of daylight from 12 a few days ago. Hopefully this will be an additional reminder to her to start wrapping things up soon. I might go to 10 hours in a couple of days - I'm open to opinions on this.

Good question Buddy.

I would like to have folks opinion on reducing hours too!

 

[Mr. Krip]

Yeah i agree ^ Bag appeal 100 out of 10, reps to you and your wife!

Lucy has stolen the show, i keep trying to write a poem everytime i see her, think im in love. Lol im being serious i have problems .... umm what genetic is she i cant find her, please dont tell me she is a clone only, this might break my heart!

G-Speed, Lucy is a Skunk x Mazar cross. The breeder is Barney's Farm and "Lucy" is more of a nickname for the strain that has the same name as the initials of a Beetles song, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. She's referred to as Lucy because the strain name isn't allowed in the forums.