Flowering plants. How do I know if they are flowering well?

Hi, guys. I wanted to know what people's experiences are with flowering? I have 3 plants outdoor (in a transparent plastic grow house). My two Indica dominant plants are about 3-4 weeks into flowering. Of course my blue dream is a bit more Sativa dominant, so it is taking a little while longer to flower (but DAMN is it HUGE!). Anyway, I was wondering how much more girth and density I should see on my Bubbleberry and GDP? They have small, but tight/trichome filled, buds at the moment and do not know if the buds will stay small or if they will fill out like some of the pics I have seen of plants with big fat colas on top and fat buds on all of the lateral growth?

The plant in the pic is my Bubbleberry plant. It is about 4.5 feet tall and the pic you are looking at is a (thereabouts) 10-12 inch section of the top cola. I will post more pics of the other plants tomorrow. I just want to get the biggest/fattest buds possible, while maintaining a healthy plant. At the moment, I am using Fox Farm Tiger Bloom @3-4tsp per gallon, along with some superthrive and 1tbsp of molasses. I tend to water about once every 2-3 days (whenever the topsoil is dry). Should I up the dose, lower the dose, feed more straight H2O?

I really am just trying to learn how to grow quality medicine and am very grateful for any information experienced growers have to offer. Thanks

From my experience with outdoor growing, the buds will continue to get much larger. This is especially true toward the end of September up until harvest. You'll be surprised at the density toward the end. Be careful with your fertilizers, but it seems like you're doing well. Looks good so far. Two of mine are really starting to bud and the others are just starting to hint at it.

I'm not familiar with your fertilizer though.

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Originally Posted by happymedicine

They have small, but tight/trichome filled, buds at the moment and do not know if the buds will stay small or if they will fill out like some of the pics I have seen of plants with big fat colas on top and fat buds on all of the lateral growth?

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Don't worry, they are going to fill out nicely. They look good for 3-4 weeks into flower.

They'll mostly fill in during the last weeks... Careful with giving them too much nutes. Plain ph'd water every now and then isn't a bad idea. Somehow I remember the molasses was supposed to be 1 teaspoon per gallon, might want to check that again.

Happy growing :jointsmile:

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Originally Posted by bigtopsfinn

Somehow I remember the molasses was supposed to be 1 teaspoon per gallon, might want to check that again.

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Good spot bigtopsfinn :thumbsup: 1 teaspoon per gallon is the recommnded dosage for molasses.

Happymedicine > do not use to much molasses, overfeeding molasses can severely damage your plant.

thatsa nice looking sativa if u asked me. my sativa is a very slow budding one.about a month and a half into flowering and it just started clumping this week, its still getting about a centermeter in hieght everyday as it is done growing upward, my buds are very crystaly, well of what little buds are on there. im also using pure sunlight and only water i used just normal flower food for the veg stage. im just trying to get the smoothest best smoke i can from it. i still got about 2-3 untill its finished.i have a theory that the slower the buds grow the more potent its gonna be. and in the begginging of flowering and even during the middle it got left out and ruined the 12\12 schedual a few times. but i only feel like this just made the weed better. tell me if u have any ideas on my theory.

btw ur plant is looking alot better then mine with the buds. can u see the stem inbetween the buds or did urs clump to begin with?

I don't know about starving your plant being a good idea... Not only will the yield greatly suffer, but it might put the plant into survival mode, aka it could hermie. At least give her some unsulfured molasses.

Smooth smoke can be accomplished by not feeding for the last 2 weeks. Molasses is still OK and recommended during the final flush. This makes the plant use up it's stored nitrogen (as well as the remaining nutes in the soil), which is usually the culprit in harsh smoke. I can see by the pics that's it's pretty nitrogen starved already. Not much you can do about it anymore.

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Originally Posted by Joey420Silva

thatsa nice looking sativa if u asked me. my sativa is a very slow budding one.about a month and a half into flowering and it just started clumping this week, its still getting about a centermeter in hieght everyday as it is done growing upward, my buds are very crystaly, well of what little buds are on there. im also using pure sunlight and only water i used just normal flower food for the veg stage. im just trying to get the smoothest best smoke i can from it. i still got about 2-3 untill its finished.i have a theory that the slower the buds grow the more potent its gonna be. and in the begginging of flowering and even during the middle it got left out and ruined the 12\12 schedual a few times. but i only feel like this just made the weed better. tell me if u have any ideas on my theory.

btw ur plant is looking alot better then mine with the buds. can u see the stem inbetween the buds or did urs clump to begin with?

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I think this plant (Bubbleberry) is a more indica dominant one than most bubbleberry I have come across (which is more sativa doninant). It has wider/shorter leaves (by a lot) than my Sativa dominant Blue Dream, which is just starting to flower. But it the cola started pretty dense.

I am not sure about the longer time spent growing equating to better bud, but the natural cycle of light and dark is probably the best to grow under (even though more control is gained with indoor lighting). but this is just my opinion based on what I have read

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Originally Posted by bigtopsfinn

They'll mostly fill in during the last weeks... Careful with giving them too much nutes. Plain ph'd water every now and then isn't a bad idea. Somehow I remember the molasses was supposed to be 1 teaspoon per gallon, might want to check that again.

Happy growing :jointsmile:

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I have to thank you for bringing the molasses issue to my attention. I read info on a few sites that said to use 1-3 TBSP of molasses/gallon. I have just gone back and looked at many more sites on the use, and the majority agree that 1 tsp/gallon is best. I am very happy that a/)I was alerted to this issue B.) that I was going with the lower end of the spectrum. My plants seem to be doing really well, and I don't want to screw them up. I will be flushing them tomorrow just to make sure.

Thanks, again

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Originally Posted by happymedicine

I have to thank you for bringing the molasses issue to my attention. I read info on a few sites that said to use 1-3 TBSP of molasses/gallon. I have just gone back and looked at many more sites on the use, and the majority agree that 1 tsp/gallon is best. I am very happy that a/)I was alerted to this issue B.) that I was going with the lower end of the spectrum. My plants seem to be doing really well, and I don't want to screw them up. I will be flushing them tomorrow just to make sure.

Thanks, again

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Hey no worries :jointsmile:

I think the different dosage recommendations might come from the different brands of molasses that people use. See this post by Rusty: http://boards.cannabis.com/basic-gro...ml#post2129909

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Originally Posted by PhatJay

Good spot bigtopsfinn :thumbsup: 1 teaspoon per gallon is the recommnded dosage for molasses.

Happymedicine > do not use to much molasses, overfeeding molasses can severely damage your plant.

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I was wondering if my bubbleberry was supposed to have yellowing leaves during flowering, or if this could be due to the molasses? The pic should be linked below, if I attached it right

Also, should I cut my lower foliage off so that the top half of the plant gets all of the energy directed to it?

Yellowing late in flower is normal. Also older leaves not getting enough light will yellow off and die normally. But this seems a little early for you. I had this problem before and I suspect it was due to over-fert, which locked out other nutrients. I did a small flush and backed off the nutes and didn't have that problem anymore.

Cutting lower stuff is up to you. Some people think it really helps, and I normally pinch off the really small growth tips getting zero light all the way at the bottom. I still leave the bigger ones intact.

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Originally Posted by bigtopsfinn

...I had this problem before and I suspect it was due to over-fert, which locked out other nutrients. I did a small flush and backed off the nutes and didn't have that problem anymore...

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I should add that i was using too much PK 9/10... I suspect that the yellowing like yours is from nitrogen deficiency. But I don't think you should give it a bunch of nitrogen, not good for flowering.

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Originally Posted by bigtopsfinn

I should add that i was using too much PK 9/10... I suspect that the yellowing like yours is from nitrogen deficiency. But I don't think you should give it a bunch of nitrogen, not good for flowering.

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Thanks for the response, Man. I flushed the plants today, and will be backing off on the nutes a bit. I think I will give a more mild solution of 1tsp Fox Farm Tiger Bloom and 1 tsp Fox Farm Grow Big, with a couple drops of Superthrive, in a few days. I then start feeding them a more diluted Tiger Bloom mix after that. Will the little bit of nitrogen right now be gone before harvest. I don't want my smoke to be harsh, but I don't want to starve my plant of something it may still need

Using plain ph'd water for the last week or two will get all the N out. Finished plants shouldn't be very green. More fall-like colors is better and means it's using up stored nutrients.

The problem might have been all that extra molasses you were using. I'd stick with the FF weekly feeding schedule (on their website).

If the problem persists, fill out the troubleshooting form and post in the plant problems section.

The bottle directions are for use as a stand-alone nutrient, I believe. If using the trio, follow the online schedule.

In the online Fox Farms Weekly Feeding Schedule, during the 7th and 8th week on their schedule, (3rd and 4th week of flowering) it tells us to add the Grow Big along with the Tiger Bloom and the Big Bloom. This is fine for indica and indica dominates, as they seem to handle the nutrients just fine and only have 4 weeks left till they're finished.

But with the forever-in-flower sativa's and sativa dominates, this can leave them a tad short over the long haul. Problems is, if you follow the schedule rigidly the ladies can start showing signs of overfertilizing. To counter this, just on those days it says to add everything, I'll add 1 tsp Grow Big, 1 tsp Tiger Bloom, and 1 1/2 tsp Big Bloom. (one half of indicated weekly dosages for those weeks) I also do this around the 10th or 11th week on the schedule, (just once) since growth still continues and 6-8 weeks without a bump of nitrogen is counter-productive, IMHO. Only problem is, it does add a tad to their stretch.

The FF schedule does give us a very strong foundation to work off of, yet it won't be perfect for every strain and phenotype. However, cannabis and the schedule are kinda flexible, to an extent. Know your strain, dial it in, THEN play around with additives and overpriced/underperforming products.

Speaking of which, additives add to your nutrient/heavy metals/micronutrient levels, and may contain shit like steroids and hormones. Be advised, these may interact with your base nutrients, and can add to plant stress if providing this extra stuff in redundant ammounts. (you can overdose the ladies through the use of some of these additives) If you are following directions, and are starting to have problems in the growroom, try eliminating the extra's first, as Fox Farms and their schedule has never let me down. The only additive I consistently use beyond FF, is unsulphered molasses.