I don't know what a bud is part two....

[SubmarineGirl]

This one was one of my medium colas and after trimming, it's weighing in at 1.7 oz wet. These things are monsters!

I lost steam around 4:00 am and still have a few to trim and a few to harvest (I left a few in the pot, I need to sleep.) Most are hanging to dry now at around 45% RH.





View attachment 292496

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Beautiful

 

[oldfogey8]

I just need a spot a few weeks this time of year to veg out my girls. I like to time it so that when the tent is available maybe six weeks or so I can take them out of the attic and put some in the tent for flower and the others outside. The veg area in my house is not tented and I can see myself running out of room as this grow I have extra plants because it’s a summertime grow. The temps in the attic now are almost to cool but I think the plants would adapt as we keep our house pretty cool too. The only problem is getting water up and down the ladder. Maybe a gallon or two at a time not the greatest in my knees.

The temps where I live have been all over the spectrum over the last few weeks ranging from single digits to mid 60’s. If it is sunny and the outside temp is in the 60’s, my attic temp is in the high 80’s then it will quickly drop into the 40’s at night. My attic is also dry as a bone. Your plants might do ok. I have not tried it. My instinct tells me it is not optimal growing conditions in the attic. I hear you on the knees thing. Joints are good to smoke but a poor evolutionary design for our bendy parts…

 

[bombtombadll]

The buds will lose about 75% of their weight when dried. The first branch you trimmed has one nice bud and 5 ‘popcorn’ buds. Many people use the ‘popcorn’ buds for making edibles or hash(because people get all stoked about big buds) but ‘popcorn’ smokes just fine in my opinion. I usually trim off the ‘popcorn’ and put those buds in a paper bag to dry(you need to gently move the ‘popcorn’ buds around occasionally as the buds exposed to air will dry but the ones not exposed will retain their moisture-maybe that is obvious but maybe not). They will dry out a lot more quickly than the big bud(again, obviously I think). If you are drying the buds in your grow area, you want to have the lights off. Light degrades the bud.

Thanks, I thought popcorn buds were the lower branches that don't get much light. I'll be honest to admit that with this strain, I really have a hard time telling the sugar leaves from the flower. In the end, I trimmed all the obvious fan leaves and as many sugar leaves as I could get to. The sugar leaves go deep and I'm sure there are plenty still hiding.

That one cola weighed in at 1.7 Oz and there are heavier ones hanging, let's call them 1 oz each x14 hanging= 14 oz x .25 = 3.5 Oz. Man, if I get 2 zips I will be very happy with this grow. Who knows, it might dry out to 3 ozs.

I still don't completely get it all, I can't tell flower from leaf. It's OK, I'm tired of worrying about it. The flower and sugar leaf look too similar with this strain. After a couple of hours trimming, I stopped caring anyway and just wanted the job done !

Sneaking and growing weed sucks all, It might kill the hobby for me. Anyway, it was fun to get a chance to grow a few plants.

 

[bombtombadll]

Yep. Dry in a cool dark place and keep the humidity down.

RH hanging in around 45%, a little low but these big buds might benefit from lower humidity. I just weighed the biggest cola after trimming in at 1.9 oz's, hopefully the low humidity will prevent rot or mildew.

I have my AC afinity fan running at the lowest setting, just enough to move and replace air slowly, internal fan is off.

 

[bombtombadll]

Harvest day is a sad day, I look forward to it, but it's like I'm killing a loved pet. This plant trusted me all this time and in the end, I had to hack her up. Ohh well, at least I gave her life.

I'm also sad that these plants never get sex, lets face it, sinsemilla never gets to do the most pleasureable thing a living thing can do (reproduce). Maybe, I'll let my next grow roll around in the hay with a male...

I'm not a hippy, but have hippy tendencies. The Ent's might come after me for this murder. : Gnawing, Biting, Hacking, Burning, LST, Topping.

All and all, I am very happy with the way this grow turned out. I would like to have seen more amber trics, but it was time to take her down. I'll repost this grow step by step in the grow diary section for newbies. (if useful) We'll see after she dries, how much total dry weight I get off the little Spiderfarmer SF-1000. (97 watts)

Now, I'm back to trim the rest. One plant is a LOT of work to trim, I don't know how you all trim 4 or more plants at a time. DAM !

Yes, I am a bit crazy. I like it that way, sanity is way over rated. My favorite poet below.

Charles Bukowski:

Some People

some people never go crazy.
me, sometimes I'll lie down behind the couch
for 3 or 4 days.
they'll find me there.
it's Cherub, they'll say, and
they pour wine down my throat
rub my chest
sprinkle me with oils.
then, I'll rise with a roar,
rant, rage -
curse them and the universe
as I send them scattering over the
lawn.
I'll feel much better,
sit down to toast and eggs,
hum a little tune,
suddenly become as lovable as a
pink
overfed whale.
some people never go crazy.
what truly horrible lives
they must lead

 

[oldfogey8]

Thanks, I thought popcorn buds were the lower branches that don't get much light. I'll be honest to admit that with this strain, I really have a hard time telling the sugar leaves from the flower. In the end, I trimmed all the obvious fan leaves and as many sugar leaves as I could get to. The sugar leaves go deep and I'm sure there are plenty still hiding.

That one cola weighed in at 1.7 Oz and there are heavier ones hanging, let's call them 1 oz each x14 hanging= 14 oz x .25 = 3.5 Oz. Man, if I get 2 zips I will be very happy with this grow. Who knows, it might dry out to 3 ozs.

I still don't completely get it all, I can't tell flower from leaf. It's OK, I'm tired of worrying about it. The flower and sugar leaf look too similar with this strain. After a couple of hours trimming, I stopped caring anyway and just wanted the job done !

Sneaking and growing weed sucks all, It might kill the hobby for me. Anyway, it was fun to get a chance to grow a few plants.

I don’t go crazy trimming. I don’t sell it so there is nobody to judge me but me. Also the more you screw with the bud, the more trichomes you damage. Any small buds, I call popcorn. Some come from the lower branches, some come from larger branches but just don’t fill in the space between buds. Towards the end of trimming, I am just hacking away. I dislike trimming a lot. A guy I know grows outside. His trim job looks like he doesn’t give a single poop. And he doesn’t. There are sugar leaves everywhere. He doesn’t know how to dry and cure either but you know what? His herb will get you baked. It is a bit harsh but smoke is harsh in general. People are not designed to inhale smoke. It is probably why smoke is perceived as harsh. Nice job with the grow and training.

 

[bombtombadll]

I don’t go crazy trimming. I don’t sell it so there is nobody to judge me but me. Also the more you screw with the bud, the more trichomes you damage. Any small buds, I call popcorn. Some come from the lower branches, some come from larger branches but just don’t fill in the space between buds. Towards the end of trimming, I am just hacking away. I dislike trimming a lot. A guy I know grows outside. His trim job looks like he doesn’t give a single ****. And he doesn’t. There are sugar leaves everywhere. He doesn’t know how to dry and cure either but you know what? His herb will get you baked. It is a bit harsh but smoke is harsh in general. People are not designed to inhale smoke. It is probably why smoke is perceived as harsh. Nice job with the grow and training.

I got a good chuckle out of this! Yeah, by the time I got half way through trimming, I was getting sick of it. I just hacked at anything that looked "leafy", but it never seemed to end. I guess this trim is a partial wet trim removing the majority of leaf, I can always fine tune my trimming later and dry trim anything I missed. Maybe I'll dissect the colas later to remove all stems and to see exactly what's a bud and whats leaf. I'd like my buds to look better than the stuff I get from the dispenseries, we'll see if I can beat them.

You nailed the part about sugar leaves, that's my confusion. The deep tricome covered sugar leafs from this plant get me very very high. So, I leave a few that are deep in the buds, I figure it can't hurt.

I HATE trimming !!! Note: I wore gloves and made sure to leave enough stem for something to hold onto. I was very careful and gentle at first and may have hacked up a few flowers with my scissors, but I had to get these hung to dry. Next grow, I'll harvest in sections a little at a time.

I'm also planning to water cure a few colas. I tried water curing last grow and the results were amazing.

 

[spunom]

My last two harvests weighed ~8 oz. After drying, they weighed ~2 oz.

Your buds look great my friend!

 

[bombtombadll]

My last two harvests weighed ~8 oz. After drying, they weighed ~2 oz.

Your buds look great my friend!

Thanks! I'm somewhere in the neighborhood of 18 Oz wet buds after trimming and have over an ounce of really good trim in a paper bag. I'm thinking I'll get over 2 z's of pure flower top after all is done. We'll see. It's amazing how much weight these colas have ! My largest cola weighed over 2 ounces (wet) before trimming.

I figure around 50% of the water weight goes during the original hang dry, and around another 50% of that during cure. I like to use 1/5 (.20x) Wet weight to estimate my total harvest. 18 x .20 = 3.6 (Stem weight will also bring the number down)... maybe 2.5 zips when I complete? Any guesses?

 

[spunom]

Thanks! I'm somewhere in the neighborhood of 18 Oz wet buds after trimming and have over an ounce of really good trim in a paper bag. I'm thinking I'll get over 2 z's of pure flower top after all is done. We'll see. It's amazing how much weight these colas have ! My largest cola weighed over 2 ounces (wet) before trimming.

I figure around 50% of the water weight goes during the original hang dry, and around another 50% of that during cure. I like to use 1/5 (.20x) Wet weight to estimate my total harvest. 18 x .20 = 3.6 (Stem weight will also bring the number down)... maybe 2.5 zips when I complete? Any guesses?

I think you got the math about right homie.

 

[oldfogey8]

I got a good chuckle out of this! Yeah, by the time I got half way through trimming, I was getting sick of it. I just hacked at anything that looked "leafy", but it never seemed to end. I guess this trim is a partial wet trim removing the majority of leaf, I can always fine tune my trimming later and dry trim anything I missed. Maybe I'll dissect the colas later to remove all stems and to see exactly what's a bud and whats leaf. I'd like my buds to look better than the stuff I get from the dispenseries, we'll see if I can beat them.

I HATE trimming !!! Note: I wore gloves and made sure to leave enough stem for something to hold onto. I was very careful and gentle at first and may have hacked up a few flowers with my scissors, but I had to get these hung to dry. Next grow, I'll harvest in sections a little at a time.

I'm also planning to water cure a few colas. I tried water curing last grow and the results were amazing.

Some folks dry trim. I tried it once and it wasn’t for me. The sugar leaves generally have trichomes on them and are smokable. I wouldn’t bother trimming more but that is up to you. I always found my bud to be equal or better than dispensary bud but it could be just my perception. I went to the Netherlands about 5 years ago and I had been growing for a few years at the time. It was before legal weed in my state(Massachusetts) so it was my first opportunity to smoke professionally grown bud. I didn’t really see any difference but I couldn’t find any bud that was the same strains I had grown(Greenhouse Seeds Thai, Master Kush and an assortment of freebies). I contacted Greenhouse Seeds and told them about my grow and sent them a link to my journal. I wanted a tour of their grow for poops and giggles. They told me to ‘f’ off basically. No Greenhouse Seeds anymore for me. Your bud will satisfy you more than anything you can buy because of the work you know you put into it. I will clam up again. Sorry…

 

[bombtombadll]

Some folks dry trim. I tried it once and it wasn’t for me. The sugar leaves generally have trichomes on them and are smokable. I wouldn’t bother trimming more but that is up to you. I always found my bud to be equal or better than dispensary bud but it could be just my perception. I went to the Netherlands about 5 years ago and I had been growing for a few years at the time. It was before legal weed in my state(Massachusetts) so it was my first opportunity to smoke professionally grown bud. I didn’t really see any difference but I couldn’t find any bud that was the same strains I had grown(Greenhouse Seeds Thai, Master Kush and an assortment of freebies). I contacted Greenhouse Seeds and told them about my grow and sent them a link to my journal. I wanted a tour of their grow for poops and giggles. They told me to ‘f’ off basically. No Greenhouse Seeds anymore for me. Your bud will satisfy you more than anything you can buy because of the work you know you put into it. I will clam up again. Sorry…

Don't clam up! Look at me, I never shut up. LOL. Thanks man, I really appreciate the comments.

Here is the thing. These buds and sugar leaves get me very very high. I can smoke a small bowl of whatever these things are and get high, too high ! If I take a bong hit, I'm high. If I take two bong hits, I regret it and hide on the couch until it passes.... I couldn't be more pleased ! I grew this myself.

On top of that, the high, smell, and taste of Northern Lights is for me. I could be very happy growing this strain alone for the rest of my life. I'm old, and this reminds me of the very best weed I smoked in the 80's. You can carry the weed in your pocket too without broadcasting that your a stoner. The orange hairs and light green buds are so pretty, like a work of art.

Last thing, I just smoked some dispensary buds that cost 50 an eighth to compare to my Northern Lights from last grow. My buds taste better, smoke better, look better, and get me higher than that "top shelf" dispensary bud. On top of that, the high from NL is amazing, like nothing else if you ask me.

Life is good !

 

[oldfogey8]

Life is good !

That is what matters…

 

[oldfogey8]

At one point, probably half way thru my growing phase, I did a ‘back of the napkin’ calculation of what it cost me to grow and it was like $50/ounce. It took time obviously to recoup the initial startup cost but I found I enjoyed ‘the hobby’ of it. I have learned a lot(and have lots more to learn) but all in all, growing my own has been worth every penny I spent. I grew initially so my high school aged sons wouldn’t have to buy from some penis head(and be tempted into harder stuff-which may not have achieved the goal initially but they are both good young men now). Now I have more weed than I can smoke maybe for the rest of my life(even though I have essentially stopped growing-side grow aside). Store your stuff well and it gets different, mellower. I am smoking some 2015 bud at this point. One bong hit and I am all set for the evening.

 

[bombtombadll]

Good informative thread. Advise given here was spot on. Glad to see experienced growers chime in. Many times on other forums it is rookies giving other rookies bad advise.

I was thinking of posting this grow step by step to help newbies. Sometimes, the experienced folks that give advice to newbies forget how a newbie thinks and cause more confusion... Would a newbie helping a newbie thread help?

I'll post this entire grow in a grow diary step by step from a newbies perspective if you think it might be helpful.

1. Over watering. I won't go on and on about this, but I understand the newbie confusion when it comes to watering. Its not nearly as easy as advanced growers think to explain watering to a newbie. You have to get a few grows under your belt. Over watering is a newbie plant killer. (I have a fail safe plan to help newbies with over watering) I was aware of over watering warnings in my first grow and was careful, but I still over watered horribly.

2. Flower time... This is very frustrating for a newbie and has to be explained well. Stupid breeders really piss me off with their misinformation over flower times. Almost everyone lists Northern Lights as 7-9 weeks flower. Its 9-11 weeks trust me. (yes, its the stupid 12/12 or first sign of flower argument---)

3. Nutes... Go easy! Let the soil do the work for quite some time. Try to learn what your plan needs and why, don't just dump in fancy nutrients. Begin to learn what a plant needs and feed it accordingly. If you just follow a feeding chart, it might do more damage than good. Thats my take anyway.

4. LST, Topping, Trellis net. The grow I just did would have been lucky to get an ounce total without these tricks, you gotta get the bud tops up to the lights and level. At least, that's how I see it. I see so many new growers with one bit cola and that's it. That can't be good !

5. PH--- I ignored this first grow, need I say more? My second grow is at least 3 times healthier now that PH is in order. Get some GH PH drops and your good to go.

etc....

 

[spunom]

Don't clam up! Look at me, I never shut up. LOL. Thanks man, I really appreciate the comments.

Here is the thing. These buds and sugar leaves get me very very high. I can smoke a small bowl of whatever these things are and get high, too high ! If I take a bong hit, I'm high. If I take two bong hits, I regret it and hide on the couch until it passes.... I couldn't be more pleased ! I grew this myself.

On top of that, the high, smell, and taste of Northern Lights is for me. I could be very happy growing this strain alone for the rest of my life. I'm old, and this reminds me of the very best weed I smoked in the 80's. You can carry the weed in your pocket too without broadcasting that your a stoner. The orange hairs and light green buds are so pretty, like a work of art.

Last thing, I just smoked some dispensary buds that cost 50 an eighth to compare to my Northern Lights from last grow. My buds taste better, smoke better, look better, and get me higher than that "top shelf" dispensary bud. On top of that, the high from NL is amazing, like nothing else if you ask me.

Life is good !

I don't know how to quote part of a post in the reply thing, but the "if I take two bong hits I regret it and hide on the couch until it passes" made me blow beer out of my nose

 

[pute]

Post away. That is exactly how you learn. But, here experience will chime in to help and correct not demean.

 

[RosterMan]

Post away. That is exactly how you learn. But, here experience will chime in to help and correct not demean.

I find that many new growers tend to think hey its only a plant how hard can it be and they tend to disagree when a more experienced grower chimes in.
Not all but new people tend to be like , I know what Im doing I am not stupid or something.
I wish when I started growing there was a site like we have now.

 

[bombtombadll]

I don't know how to quote part of a post in the reply thing, but the "if I take two bong hits I regret it and hide on the couch until it passes" made me blow beer out of my nose

Glad you got a chuckle out of that. Am I the only one that gets too high? I sometimes wonder if I even like getting high when I over do it.

I know the first 20 minutes are intense and tell myself things like "Your High, take a deep breath". " Your not having a heart attack, you thought that last time and lived" etc....

 

[bombtombadll]

Post away. That is exactly how you learn. But, here experience will chime in to help and correct not demean.

Yeah man ! Thats why I'm here on this forum, good people that help without being A holes.

I think the blend of a newbie teaching from a newbies perspective with experts helping could be a real good thing. A step by step set of instructions with all the BS already figured out.

I'm thinking.

A newbie Strain, Northern Lights is perfect except for the way the buds flower. Basically, find a strain that resistant to mold and pests and forgiving to mistakes.
LED lights
3-5 Gallon Cloth Pot
Fox Farm Happy Frog
A nutrient line like Dyna Grow (Or GH/ Fox Farm Cult nation etc..) to keep it simple and to learn what it is your giving and why.
Good water tested and PH'd.
Good air flow and humidity.

You get where I'm going, a step by step guide for newbies, kind of like paint by numbers approach. I wish I had one when I started.

By the way, when do I get promoted out of newbie? Is there a promotion, test, exam, certification to advance on this forum?