Feminized Hempstar - Flowering Update

[mjdragon]

OK i'm gonna try to keep this thread running, instead of starting a new one everytime (i believe that is the correct way to do things round here!)..

So here is 1 of the 6 i have, now at 9 days flowering.. Pistils are showing (although you can't really see on these pics - no decent macro on my dig cam, sorry)..

Check out the side growth on the left of the 1st pic - the stem on this is thicker than the main branch and is growing like crazy!

This one stands at 2'2", from the top of the pot, although I have one that is around 2'6" (not quite as bushy tho!)

Grown in good compost, under 2 x 400w MH/growlux HPS, 8 and a half weeks old from seed. Treated with blood & bone 2 weeks ago. Am going to start with the tomato food next watering.

Hope you like!:jointsmile: Let me know what you growers think.

MJD

[the image reaper]

you NEED a larger pot ... deeper is better ... looks good, otherwise ... :smokin:

[mjdragon]

Pot is 17-18 litres (about 5.5 US gallon)... think its just the angle the photo is at.. believe me, they are BIG pots!

[mjdragon]

Hi All,

Latest update here.. All 6 are female, all now flowering.

Having a humidity problem at the moment so am gonna invest in a dehumdifier at the end of the month. Currently runs at around 70% RH in the grow room, so I know i need to bring that down some. Temps are fine at around 75f, night time temps around 65f.

Had their 1st feed yesterday, 6-6-6 NPK tomato food. Hope they respond well. I didn't bother with the 1/4 strength after all, these plants are around 2.5 foot tall, with one nearly 3' so I reckon they can stand it.

They're starting to smell real good.

Will keep y'all posted! Hope you like the pics, just wish i had a better cam. Let me know what you think.:D

MJD

[mjdragon]

Hey all, hope this thread finds you well! :jointsmile:

Here's some more pics for you to gawp at, all doing very well thankyouverymuch! Finally starting to bud, as you can see on the pics!

Humidity has thankfully dropped now (which is due to the weather).. running now at about 60-65RH. Still need to drop that still, which will be when i get a dehimidifier. Oh the joys of a cellar grow!

They've all responded well to the feed, no fert burn at all even with the full strength dose. I've noticed tho that since i fed them, the lower growth seems to have gone beserk - if you look at the pic of the growroom you can see some almost trailing on the floor!

Well anyway hope you like the pics. Any thoughts are welcome. Will update soon!

MJD

[mjdragon]

No comments? Anyone? Do they look OK for day 16??

Oh I think i may have found a hermie today!!!:mad:

Does anyone have a decent pic of one? I checked FAQ and it didn't really help..

[mjdragon]

Hi everyone, here is the latest update.

Well you can probably tell that they've all exploded all over the place! I'm really pleased with them, as this is my 1st indoor grow.

I'm feeding every watering now (6-6-6NPK), slightly upped the strength to about 110% (which is actually only around 15ml per 6ltrs of water).. They are responding well however. Is this the right stuff to use though? I've read on here that people use higher concentrations?? Can anyone expand on this a little?

I hope you like the pics tho.

[mjdragon]

Some more pics here...:thumbsup:

[mjdragon]

This isn't the tallest plant I have (its about 3' 6" now), but it would be the best to have as a mother.. its SO strong and bushy.

This is my only grow this year - i'm away at xmas for a month. Next year I'm hoping to get a decent mother plant to take cuttings from.

Hope you like the pics? Let me know your thoughts good people! :)

[mjdragon]

Hey all,

A coupla new pics and a Q -

i was thinking of buying some cages that will fit over the plants to train the lower branches upwards - does anyone have experience with this? I imagine its a type of SOG? I'm thinkin of the kind of thing you'd train strawberrys up.

Am having some issues with lower branches just lolling around nearly touching the floor, as they're getting heavier..!:D

[faithlessxxx]

Looking nice :thumbsup:

[mjdragon]

Cheers Faithlessxxx :thumbsup:- thought i'd post another coupla pics, have had to do some extensive plant support this week as some of them are starting to lean quite a bit, not sure if thats coz of the weight (which I doubt, yet), or just a natural thing?

[mjdragon]

Hi all,

Had some major leaf drop this week, yellowing and drooping of the leaves - I think I might have over-fed... I gave them all a good flush yesterday tho. I've cut most of the yellowed leaves off which felt like the right thing to do as they were only blocking lower foliage... Any opinons on this one?

I've also had to use extensive plant support, as all of them started to lean over, and the bottom growth has stretched out a lot. Is this normal?

It's my 1st "proper" indoor grow (by which I mean, using the correct lighting) and i'm kinda wondering how i'm comparing with the more experienced growers out there.

I also bought a dehumidifier today, which has lowered the RH 10% (to 60%) in the last hour. I just hope that it lowers it a lot more.

As always, I'm interested to hear anyone's opinion on my set up, and my progress so far.

Take care y'all! :thumbsup:

MJD.

[mjdragon]

Boing!:)

Any thoughts, suggestions.. anyone??:jointsmile:

[ismokealldaylong420]

going along good maybe you should start using good ole malasses itll make the buds taste a little better:thumbsup:

[mjdragon]

Sorry to boing again! But can anyone answer any of the q's i asked! Sorry to be a pain in the a..:thumbsup:

[hydrocannabis]

hey dude UR trees R looking great to me.

[mjdragon]

OK this picture here is of my smallest plant, and it shows a bud - however the pistils seem to have withdrawn? The main cola is kinda like this too.. Now I'm thinking that its been pollinated somehow? Or perhaps there's another problem?

Does anyone have any pics or experience of what a pollinated female looks like??? The other 5 plants are fine, and aren't showing the same characteristics.

Would REALLY appreciate any sound advice on this one:)

[mjdragon]

Oh and Hydro - cheers pal, appreciate it!:thumbsup:

Smokealldaylong - might try mollases next time, but thanks for the advice.:)

[Weedhound]

Hi mj,

I absolutely HATE to tell you this....but I don't know a thing about soil....not one.. I personally think your plants look terrific. Can you post any specs you might have?
Lighting, room temp, from seeds or clones , type of nutes, .....anything you can think of that would be helpful would be great.

I am not at ALL sure what that bud is.....photo just isn't good enough to see exactly what is happening but even in that photo I can tell there's something weird about it.
You might take that pic and post it (and others if you have them)(include specs) in the plant probs section and see if you get some bites......I really don't know but having seen it I'd certainly like to find out as well. :eek:

Also....check the ph of your soil runoff...make sure that's around the level you want....especially after overnute and flushing. ;)
Otherwise.....nice grow... very good work. :thumbsup:

[Weedhound]

I just went back and looked at that one plant.....I mean tree. :thumbsup: Stake those things before they bend too much and break or start taking over the the house. ;)

[Stealth331]

I've read that @ the end of the flowering cycle, it is fairly common for a plants lower leaves to yellow and fall off.

You will want someone elses opinion on this too.

Also..I've read that molasses is very VERY nice for your nuggets.

All the best.

AND Nice job...looks sweet...I bet it will smoke nicely too.:thumbsup::jointsmile:

[weedmaster]

looking really good MJ, like stealth said near the end of flowering it's normal for the leaves to yellow, but without a pic of the leaves wouldn't like to say what the prob was, i personally don't cut any leaves as i think the plant uses too much energy repairing the cut instead of using it for the buds, but i may be totally wrong it's just something i read.
best of luck bro and i'll look out for your next update:thumbsup:

[Weedhound]

weedmaster I completely agree with you that the plant will direct its energy to injured areas etc....slowing main growth .I don't know that for a fact either, but like you I believe it to be true personally. I don't know enough about soil to say whether day 28 is "near the end" of flowering or not....it wouldn't be in hydro but I just don't know enough about soil growing to say ..... I don't like the weird look of that bud there....maybe it's having a bad day or something but I'd certainly like to hear Stinky or someone say that instead of me.
And mj.....I'd definitely check your ph.

[Weedhound]

Also mj....don't know if you've seen this but if not it's a great troubleshooting guide and worth a look through.

Revised: The Complete Guide To Sick Plants,pH and Pest Troubles - PlanetGanja.com (http://www.planetganja.com/highsociety/showthread.php?t=8778)

[Rock.Steady]

HOLY CRAP DRAGON!

NICE GROW:thumbsup:

no idea how i didnt wander in here sooner.

and yes, that is an awesome guide,
i even printed it out.

Rock.

[mjdragon]

Hello to everyone!

This is day 35 flowering.... day 85 since seed, back on the 16th June!

I'm a little happier with things this week. Still experiencing leaf drop, but the new growth around the buds is very lush and green. Dehumidifier is working hard but I shoulda bought a better one, it just doesn't push the air thru quick enough, and consequently RH still hangs around 55-65% with lights on. (Gulp).. goes up to 80% with lights off tho, so REALLY hope that doesn't cause me problems for the last 3 or so weeks.

They're all starting to look pretty frosty tho.

[Weedhound]

Work AS HARD AS POSSIBLE to get that rh down....you are RIGHT in the mold zone.....as your buds thicken and become more dense you are at HIGH danger for mold/mildew type issues. Until you can (notice I didn't say if.....) grab a bunch of oscillating fans and keep the air around the buds moving....24/7.

Mj....can you get a pic of the entire plant with the weird bud thing?

[mjdragon]

Sorry all don't know what happened there.. no pics?

Anyway, here they are.

[mjdragon]

Hi mj,

I absolutely HATE to tell you this....but I don't know a thing about soil....not one.. I personally think your plants look terrific. Can you post any specs you might have?
Lighting, room temp, from seeds or clones , type of nutes, .....anything you can think of that would be helpful would be great.

I am not at ALL sure what that bud is.....photo just isn't good enough to see exactly what is happening but even in that photo I can tell there's something weird about it.
You might take that pic and post it (and others if you have them)(include specs) in the plant probs section and see if you get some bites......I really don't know but having seen it I'd certainly like to find out as well.

Also....check the ph of your soil runoff...make sure that's around the level you want....especially after overnute and flushing.
Otherwise.....nice grow... very good work.

Hound, thank you for dropping by here!!!:thumbsup:

Lighting is 2 x 400w HPS, i used the same wattage but MH with the 7 week veg stage

Room temp is 75-80f - no probs there right?

They're from seed, born 16th June!

Fed 3 times with somthing like 10-10-10 tomato food,, they've been so so with it to be honest, i was feeding full strength but knocked it down to 1/2 coz i thought i was burnin em...leaves started yellowing but no real leaf tip burn..god knows.. i need to learn more about that side of things...!

I got 2 fans in there runnin 24/7, plus a dehumdifier (although not a very good one)... i cant really do anything else this grow..

Next grow will be a LOT better.. Co2 injection, air-con, the lot!:jointsmile::thumbsup:

Hound... cheers hon, i REALLY appreciate it, i'm learning all the time!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Will

[mjdragon]

will post that pic of the whole weirdo bud plant tomorrow!:thumbsup:

[mjdragon]

Thanks Weedmaster.. I've read some of your grows, you know what you're doing mate! And another UK grower... nice one buddy!:thumbsup:

I cut all the yellowing leaves, if just "felt" like the right thing to do ya know? They were very limp, and i thought that yellow leaves can't perform photosynthesis so .. they're gone. We'll see!:D

[mjdragon]

Stealth - thanks for that advice.. :thumbsup:

[mjdragon]

Yo RS!!

Thanks for droppin into my little thread!

Hope you like the pics, they are about 3-4 weeks from ready (i hope!) its my birthday at the end of this month too.. how cool is that!? I really couldn't have timed it that well could I?:)

The 6 girls were vegged for 7 weeks BTW, initially under 55w CFL's, then 800w MH, and now 800w HPS.

Was gonna veg for 12 weeks, and i'm still laughing to myself about that one still... :jointsmile:

Weedhound - am so trying to get that RH down, its just difficult in England, it rains like, all the time!:) When its dry its just a whisker this side of damp.

[Weedhound]

Do the best you can Mj....and some prayer wouldn't hurt with rh like that. blow air, blow air, I am not tryiing to scare you but you could lose the whole grow to mold....especially towards the end....wish I had more to offer....you can use an anti-fungal but, again, you are very close to finish....I'd be scared to put it on my buds at this point.

We need a soil someone to chime in on this.....i'll try to find some sucker.....i mean...um....expert...:wtf: Makes me wonder if humidity is wilting your buds....frankly it wouldn't shock me if that WERE the issue with that (STRICTLY A HYPOTHESIS :jointsmile:)

Good luck.....;)

wh

[mjdragon]

Thanks for update there WH..

Gotta say I am worried about the RH (although its at a "pleasant" 55% right now).. but like i said there's nothing i can really do about it, except invest another £200 for a decent dehumidifier - which will be at the top of my shopping list come for the next grow after Xmas.

As far as that weird bud goes - well i've been giving it a lot of thought and I really think its heat damage - this one plant has ALWAYS been succeptable to it, from about 3 weeks in from seed. As soon as i got it under the MH's i saw leaf burn after 2 days. So i'm hoping its just that. I'm thinking this because all the growth lower down is fine.

I've given all em a good feed n water tonight, and trimmed off some yellow leaves. Some more pics here.

Thanks again WH for your thoughts (and to everyone else too!) - VERY much appreciated!:thumbsup:

Will post more pics, around day 42.

Take care y'all!

MJD

[Weedhound]

y'all? reckon? HOW BRITISH IS THIS??????? :D

YO???? :eek:

[mjdragon]

Hi everyone, thanks for dropping in!:thumbsup:

All the girls are still going strong, at least another couple of weeks to go yet, maybe 3.

RH is hovering around 50-60%, will see how it goes (fingers crossed!)

Any thoughts are always very welcome!

Hope you like pics!

[mjdragon]

Weedhound your funny! LOL... I am english with an american twist!! Best way to be!:jointsmile:

[mjdragon]

Hello boys n girls, this is an update from week 7 of this thread.

They're really starting to fill out now, although not sure if its gonna be 8 or 9 weeks till ready - there's still no amber trich's, although a lot of em are now cloudy.

As you can see from the pics there's extensive plant support as i'm trying to maximise floor space. The main cola on the biggest plant started to lean over to the horizontal! I guess thats a good sign.

Oh... i had my 1st smoke of them this week, a lower branch snapped off (damn:)), so i hung n dried it for 4 days. Still a little green but very nice n sticky, a nice buzzy head thing going on. Smells very citrus. :thumbsup:

OK well anyway hope you like the pics, i'm proud of these ladies - its my 1st indoor grow too!:thumbsup:

Any comments? Always welcome...

Take care y'all!!:jointsmile:

[mjdragon]

Some more pics.:thumbsup:

[Weedhound]

Y'all have some nice plants there :thumbsup: They are looking very good and tasty....what percentage would you say are cloudy?

[Weedhound]

The second set of photos looks even crustier than the first...:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[mjdragon]

Thank you, Weedhound ;)

I would say about 60% are cloudy, and like i said, none are amber..

BTW do you have a decent link to manicure/drying & curing? I've read the FAQ and its a bit vague..

I've actually had 3 "accidents" with branch's comin off (actually 2 WERE accidents:)) so i've got em hung in the loft drying.. I trimmed all the big leaves off (which were discarded), and i trimmed up the smaller, trich covered leaves (which obviously i've kept, and are drying seperately), without cutting them all off... is this the correct way of doing it???

I'm at the stage now where my growing experience is lacking a little!

[Weedhound]

Let me search for some threads....

[mjdragon]

k hound.. ready when u r!:D

[Weedhound]

You know.....you don't have access to high times magazine do you? They are having their HARVESTING and CURING issue.....

Let me look around.... Iknow Zandor and some other old timers did some threads about it.

[Weedhound]

Here's one....I think post 13....
http://boards.cannabis.com/basic-growing/94493-kps-cannabis-college-cannabis-issues-facts-guide.html

[Weedhound]

http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-faqs/60954-drying-curing-your-buds.html

[Weedhound]

And...here's a really good one in this thread.....about halfway down page....y'all. :D

http://boards.cannabis.com/basic-growing/134472-hanging-up-harvest.html

[Rock.Steady]

http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-faqs/60954-drying-curing-your-buds.html

:thumbsup:
nice nugz
RS

[mjdragon]

Thanks for the info WH!!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[mjdragon]

Quick update & pics here, just dead proud of my nugz!

Have a question too if anyone would care to answer...

I swapped the lights to 12/12 August 1st... and my question is this:

Do i count the days from when i swapped the lights, or when they actually started to show proper sex (which was about 12 days after, August 13th)???

I'm thinking i've either got another week or so, or 3 weeks (ish)??

Any thoughts on this??:thumbsup:

[Weedhound]

I start counting on the first full day of 12/12

[mjdragon]

Hey all,

Just thought i'd a give quick update... Well as you'll see from the pics, I cut last night - took me 5 hours!

They've had a little trim, will be manicuring later.

Will update on yield when they're dry.

Hope you like the pics! Let me know your thoughts.

MJD:thumbsup:

[Weedhound]

Wow! :thumbsup: That looks like it's going to be a NICE harvest. Good work!! Save your leaves and trimmings to cook with..;)

[mjdragon]

Thanks WH, had some slight mould problems real late on (week 8 and a bit), had to chop one girl on Thursday and extensively trim and fast dried it (microwave!).. got 2oz dry off that one, and she was a bit of an under-performer.. I'm actually quite impressed with myself consdering its my 1st grow!;)

[mjdragon]

Oh and BTW, it smells of freshly cut grapefruit!

[bestgreenthumb]

dude,3 things destroy potency......besides people not knowing what there doing as it is like pollinated plants and then not being able to reach full thc maturation,bad manicuring and curing,lol, its heat,sunlight,and humidity....so microwaving may not be the best idea ...just a tip...later bro...