My 3rd Grow Attempt

[Bulbous52 (ArrEll)]

Hi everyone. I figured I’d share my latest Grow with you.

(2) Afghan Kush Feminized (Photoperiod). This is 70 days in (from germination/planting). 2 gallon fabric pots, Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil, mixed with 25% (by volume) Perlite and NO nutrients for the first 5 weeks…I figured the FF soil was pretty “hot” to begin with.

I let them Veg for 7 weeks, then flipped them to 12/12. Calyxes began forming after just a couple of days. I wrote down, “Flowering Begins” on March 25th. Plants were exactly 2 months old. At that point, I began fertilizing with Advanced Nutrients, 3-part formula (Micro, Grow, Bloom), according to their directions. AN has a Chart on their website, but the Short Version is: 4 ml per liter water of EACH nutrient, DO NOT MIX FULL STRENGTH. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS. My plants are responding with Enthusiasm. I love that Green/Fuelly smell.

So far, NO yellowing of leaves or signs of overage/deficiency. This, so far, has been my most successful Grow to date. I’m praying nothing goes wrong now. I had stubborn PH problems in the past, but AN promises: “PH Perfect Technology”. So far, I’m good.

The Stretch is complete (I hope/think), and these babies should not outgrow my tiny tent. I’ll Update this thread (with pics) a couple times before Harvest, which should be in about 5-6 weeks.

Comments/Input welcome. I’m old, but still a Newbie. Learning.

[Mrb53004 (Mike)]

the nutrients may be helping but your environment is doing more for the plants than the nutes are…good going

[Wepop (Will)]

It looks great to me.

[Bulbous52 (ArrEll)]

TY one & all! Got my fingers crossed!

[Rndlnd1 (Randy Brown)]

Looks real good to me… kudos!

[Bulbous52 (ArrEll)]

Pictorial Update, April 12th. Steady progress. No sign of disease, deficiency or pests. Yahoo. Day 18 of Flower. Estimates for these seeds is 6-8 weeks flowering time. I’d guess about 5 weeks to go.

Wonderful smell coming from these now. A Greenish mix: Kind of like Lighter Fuel, with a touch of Bazooka Bubble Gum. Excellent.

[Bulbous52 (ArrEll)]

Plants ran a bit low on water & began to Droop. I checked them yesterday at noon; both pots were still too heavy to water yesterday. Anyway, I fertilized/watered them & within about 2 hours they rebounded. Hopefully, no harm done. I’ll be watching them more closely now.

[Bulbous52 (ArrEll)]

What I love about these Afghan Kush Feminized, is how easy it was to Train them (Topping & LST) into little Bushes. They are both barely two feet tall, and fit into this tiny 2x2x4 ft. tent with ease. Room to Spare. Relatively level canopy without using a screen, too.

This will be my last Grow in this tent. I have a slightly larger (15" taller, 4" wider & deeper) one already here. Will be using that, after this Grow is finished. I will still need to keep them short, as I have a very limited grow space.

[Bulbous52 (ArrEll)]

After my minor debacle of underwatering - causing my plants to Droop - much of the Smell abated. I was worried. But now, 2 days later, they’ve rebounded and again treat me to the smell of Ronson lighter fuel and Bazooka bubble gum. Whew. Buds and leaves are all Sticky.

Pistils have begun to turn Burnt Orange & shrivel. These plants had promised a Flowering Time of 6-8 weeks, but they might come in on the Low side of that. Flowering began March 25, but nearly all my trichomes are cloudy. I hunted awhile for some Clear ones…nope.

Definitely not “ready” yet, but getting there in a hurry.

L. Click 2x to Zoom in. Check the trichomes.

[mikes]

that looks ready enough for me!

[Mrb53004 (Mike)]

I like to underwater my plants at times to make them droop. It allows me to manipulate the stems for LST much easier than touching hard stiff branches. I water, wait for a little droop, re-water. I do not water on a schedule

[Bulbous52 (ArrEll)]

Kind of a Side View…best one I could take, without lying down on the floor (and at my age, I probably wouldn’t be getting up lol). Note that there are no Yellowing leaves needing to be removed. I credit the Micro-Grow-Bloom AN nutrients, as well as the IR chips in this Green-Go LED light (1200w). The lower bud sites, despite being intensely Shaded In, are developing too - and are Firm to the touch, if smaller than the canopy buds. And they’re sticky with resin.
I’m lovin’ it.

[Bulbous52 (ArrEll)]

May2nd Update

Moving toward completion. HGC, where I bought the seeds, says 6 to 8 weeks of flowering, to completion. These are a tad over 5 weeks of flowering. Hopefully, they’ll finish up in another week or two. Some leaves (scattered High & Low) are Yellowing. Trying to just Stay the Course. Age from seed: 97 days.

[Athan1982 (Jonathan Henderson)]

Looking really nice pretty cool that the lower buds are forming well for you too.

[Bulbous52 (ArrEll)]

Harvest Begins CANCELED - SEE BELOW

I’m a bit unsure if these plants are truly Ready for harvest, so I’m taking it slow…and giving myself time, to respond to others’ input.

Leaves are Yellowing, signaling the end approaching for the plants’ lifecycle. Trichomes are Cloudy with just a trace of Amber, IN PLACES…especially on the sugar leaves. You can see in the pic where I have cut off a couple of buds. Hung them up to dry, and see if they smoke OK. I will harvest in sections, over the next week or two. That way if I indeed jumped the gun, I won’t lose the entire crop. There are plenty of big buds, so I can afford a little loss.

But I feel I must begin, lest I let them go too long and risk losing the entire Grow. This is where I get Anxious. I always doubt my own judgement, when it comes to timing my harvest. I’ve made mistakes in the past, on the short (time) side. Input Welcome. Help! lol.

Total Time From seed: 110 days.

[Mrb53004 (Mike)]

Looks like you could thicken them up a little more, add more terpenes…
If they were mine - (that is a big if…each of us has our own preferences…I like COUCH LOCK…I will grow a straight Sativa if I want to Wake and Bake
I would
DROP THE TEMPS…place ice on the soil and let it melt as the watering method
Get the RH DOWN…Lights on only 65-6 hours…not close or full strength…you really want to imitate WINTER…I still see may pistils…you may be seeing cloudy trikes but she is still growing,at least from what I can tell by your pics
If you have UVA/B bulb…2 hours on…if not, never-mind
They can get much more fall like…and the buds will swell with trikes / resin
No more food…let them feed themselves…ONLY ICE COLD WATER…you do not want to drown them

[Bulbous52 (ArrEll)]

TY for the reply. I’ve canceled/delayed the harvest and will follow your advice. Only COLD water, or actual ICE melt? Check. Cut the lights back to 6 hours instead of 12? Check. My RH in this area runs pretty steady at 33/34. Climate is High Desert in Colorado and rainfall is only about 19" per year, so not much humidity I have no UVA/B bulb, but my LED light does have UV chips in it.

So I should let them go a bit longer, even with the Yellowing of the leaves? No more nutrients…check. Think it’s OK to give them some weak Blackstrap Molasses tea? (1 teaspoon/Liter+)

Will post updates. Any idea how much longer I should leave them? Really appreciate the help!

[Mrb53004 (Mike)]

the molasses is for the soil, not the plant…It lowers ph but increases microbial growth…At this point in time…not needed
ICE MELT YES!
Lights off at least 16 hours…in winter, we only get around that much usable light so 6-8 works
good on the rh
UV chips - a bonus!

what to look for - you should not see ANY MORE PISTIL GROWTH…no new pistils…
I figure a minimum 2 weeks…maybe 3…lets check in 10 days

[Bulbous52 (ArrEll)]

Excellent! TY very much! Will do.

[Bulbous52 (ArrEll)]

May 17th Progress Report:

Not much. Continued Yellowing of leaves. Trichomes - still hardly any Amber appearing. Continued Cloudiness of trichomes, but not mature yet.

I’m concerned about PH now, because I am not using the AN nutrients. Would Nute Lockout affect continued trichome formation? I have no PH meter - not one that works, anyway. I have 3 Cheapos and they all read: “7.0”, no matter what. I’m hesitant to spend $400 bucks on one that won’t work any better.

Pics:

some Red markings on leaves…only a few though.