Ok even though it’s way overdue I think I need to close this thread out with an explanation of what’s been going on with the grow these last 2 weeks.
On July 17th I pulled the garden 2 weeks early due to the seed/pollen problem getting completely out of hand.
The plants were full of nanners and seeds were dropping left and right out of the buds. They had progressed really far in a short period of time and it just wasn’t worth it to keep em cooking under a 1kw HPS for 2+ more weeks.
I only ended up with ~130g of dried bud from 5 plants. Very disappointing for a 5 month grow. Still hard to tell for sure if it were genetics or some environmental issue that caused it. I want to say a light leak but it’s still up in the air. It’s gonna be a tough go until next harvest.
A few lessons I’ve learned this grow:
-
Never overveg plants, and definitely don’t let them decide how tall they want to grow. You decide their height and shape by manipulating them and providing adequate light coverage and penetration. If there’s a choice to move your light up or bend your plants down always take the latter choice.
-
Basement growing has its ups and downs. Mildew, humidity, temperature fluctuations can all have a negative impact on your environment and by proxy your plants.
-
Drainage is important. I didn’t get alot of drainage on my previous grows, which only allowed me to water once or twice a week. This time I added perlite to my promix, and got my buckets up off the cold floor, and I was back to watering nightly again.
-
Supercropping takes a lot of practice, and you’re gonna break some tops from time to time as you get the hang of it. It sucks but there’s nothing you can do.
-
Don’t be afraid to trust your gut despite everyone telling you different, you are the one that is face to face with your plants on a daily basis. A lot of people more knowledgeable than I were of the opinion that these plants were not displaying hermie traits while I was seeing them everywhere. I understand my pics weren’t always the greatest and that surely played a part, but I saw this happening and did nothing and it’s my own fault. This was one case where LITFA failed miserably.
-
Don’t be afraid to go against your gut either, I was sure I was having a pest issue at many different stages of this grow and plenty of people told me to LITFA and I still stressed about it, spent alot of time picking leaves and putting them under a scope. I was a madman I admit it, but in the end I never saw a single pest the entire grow. So even if they were there they never would have gotten to a point to impact the outcome of the grow negatively. I wasted a lot of time worrying this cycle which leads me to my final lesson:
-
DON’T LET “YOUR PLANTS HOLD YOU HOSTAGE!” (@Jellypowered 2018) Seriously, Jelly told me this one day privately and while it kinda stung, I knew he was right. I spend all this time worrying about all the things that could go wrong in my grow I never get to enjoy the finer aspects of growing, hell I don’t even get to enjoy the finer aspects of life anymore. It got to the point of affecting my sleeping habits as well as my ability to function socially (always in a daze thinking about my garden). I still have issues with this and am working towards overcoming it but that little kick in the ass from Jelly was a wakeup call and I thank him for that.
Speaking of thanks I want to thank everyone who followed along throughout the grow, and also to @Mr.Sparkle, @Jellypowered, @toastyjakes and all the other fine folks (you know who you are) who provided an ear throughout this nightmare of a grow, be it about growing or just the stresses of life in general. You kept me motivated and wanting to improve and become a better grower.
So what’s next for me?
Stay tuned!
