Hittin' the highminwin road.. my first grow!

api312 · June 4, 2022, 11:56pm

I’d add though, the reason to grow males long and big is for selection. Ideally you want to grow a male all the way to senescence, make sure it doesn’t throw pistils, smell its resins check out it’s vigor and structure etc then chop and reveg before you use its pollen for anything. The only way to really know if you love your male is to grow it threw its entire life cycle. I recommend stress testing them through this first cycle too. Top em when they’re in the middle of flower etc. This allows you to see the macro structure of the limbs (i’m always looking for hollow core / less hempy growth) and also allows you to see if they herm out and throw pistils from the stress of the inter-flowering topping. That way by the end of that first cycle you’ll know which males are the most stable and also which you prefer the terps on since that will be easier to discern later in their growth cycle. Then once you find the best one you can reveg and use that to pollinate your females.

Dr.VitaminGreen · June 5, 2022, 12:00am

That’s awesome, I wonder if there’s a photography thread here on OG. I am a hobbyist photographer, I mostly do it so I can take cool pictures on my hikes/adventures and to take beautiful bud shots.

That’s not really a terrible price for such a.good macro lense, I can’t imagine how much you spent on L lenses over the years as a pro haha. Thanks for the links!

highminwin · June 5, 2022, 6:23am

what is this bug and why have they targeted my neem cake? i thought neem was supposed to be a repellent?

DesertHeartGardens · June 5, 2022, 6:29am

No bug expert seems to be some sort of beetle did they come in the neem cake when shipped if so a message to bas customer support might be able to help identify I haven’t used neem cake I have used neem seed meal in the past and that stuff for sure repels bugs

Gizmo · June 5, 2022, 7:09am

highminwin · June 6, 2022, 12:34pm

thank you @api312 ! your explanation for why you would want to grow your males out is probably the best and most complete i’ve ever read. that’s so very helpful and informative.

it does seem like there are some photography threads on og. there’s a “trichome shots!” thread and also a very seasonal “POTY” (picture of the year) thread. some very nice photos in there.

the very first photo on the trichome shots! thread is something akin to what i’d like to achieve, although that’s a super tight zoom on those trichs. but the clarity is remarkable.

yea, you’re right. some of the best lenses do cost some boocoop dollars. i was a nikon shooter and actually inherited a number of fantastic lenses from my dad when i started shooting. he had a 70-200/2.8 and an 85/1.4, although honestly i took some fantastic photos with the dirt cheap nifty fifty (50/1.8). i think for great trichome shots though, that will definitely need to be an investment in good gear. i have also read about inverting lenses and whatnot, which might be a cheaper solution. as i get deeper into my flowering stage, i’ll start exploring some options and will for sure share the results.

oh, i forgot all about the “cannabis microscopy” thread. JoeCrowe is doing some cool work over there.

Limeflavouredheadbut · June 6, 2022, 8:15am

good morning min how goes it today hope you are well

plants are lookin fantastic my man ive not grown in soil pots before but have been thinking about changing you’ve got loads of great info on here like someone else said ya pics are really clear
and thats just a clip on lens iphones do have great cams just cant support apple

i use mrs limes old compact need a new dslr but ya know things get put down the list of important

here is the pic of the forgotten net bags

most have been topped again and popped in to new 3ltr shoes i’ll pop a pic of the band aid wot pho and shit in a bit

one love
~lime~

highminwin · June 6, 2022, 8:20am

thanks Desert and Gizmo for your responses. it certainly freaked me out when i went to get my supplies out.

it does very much look like a ground beetle (thanks for the graphic, gizmo!). i’ve had the neem cake for at least two weeks now (i think), so i don’t think they were originally in the neem. my thought is that i had just picked up some happy frog and had been using it to transplant into bigger containers. perhaps they came from there? but i didn’t see any bugs in the happy frog soil itself, so i’m really not sure.

the neem bag was slightly open and there were some crumbles of the neem cake which the beetles seemed to be drawn to for some strange reason. i ended up closing my ziplock completely and then smashing the hell out of the bugs. i think the neem bag itself was also slightly open, so i’ll have to see if the beetles have started to go to town in there and colonized that. if so, i’ll likely just pulverize the whole thing in my electric grinder.

very strange and i’ll just have to keep an eye on the rest of my supplies for now.

again, thanks for the quick responses og’ers!

highminwin · June 6, 2022, 8:28am

top 'o the midnight to you, lime! lol. but it’s definitely my “morning”… i just woke up like an hour or two ago. probably not going to be great for my monday work day, but whaddyagonnado eh?

oh my god, why would you want to change to soil when your current grow style is killing it!? i can’t believe how vigorous those plants are in those lil net bags. amazing. i think DougDawson had mentioned those net bags in a different thread. i’ll have to look into them, as i know my transplant skills are horrendous right now.

i’m curious, you have so many specimens, do you end up chopping your males or separating them when the time is right?

i hope you’re doing well and hanging in there. i can’t wait to see your other plants!

Limeflavouredheadbut · June 6, 2022, 8:43am

haa haa yeah sorry i forget the time difference

i hand water coco at the mo, was dwc buckets but the air pump was to load running 10 buckets mrs lime did not agree with me that it was almost silent (growing 101 do not put a 4x4 a 2x4 and all the other flim flamery that goes with a 10 bucket system in your marital bedroom) here endeth the lesson

when i can keep my mind straight i can churn out some lovely plants been a lot over the last 5 years ups and downs ya know
but we keep growin on

Limeflavouredheadbut · June 6, 2022, 8:51am

there’s a quote i’ve been thinking about recently when i think of you. it goes something like this… “i have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.” <<<from min

i love that suits me very well as i have been mainly nocturnal through work and pleasure all my life

i have a favourite quote from aninis nin i think " life shrinks and expands in proportion to ones courage"
i suggest everyone applies that to their lives

one love man

~lime~

highminwin · June 6, 2022, 9:08am

you and me both, lime. although i’ve had to readjust my natural schedule these last few years in order to accommodate a “normal” job. part of sacrifices in growing older i suppose. but the night has always been my time. hell, when i first moved to new york city, i felt like i had finally found a sort of home, or at least people who lived more like i wanted to live. nowadays nyc is too loud and noisy and smelly for me, but it was fun while it lasted.

thank you for this. i had not come across this before and it really resonates with me. anais nin wrote some very provocative and personal literature at a time when it was probably controversial for someone like her. she paved the way for many after her.

i do think that “courage” changes as we progress through life. what i would have thought was courageous when i was in my 20’s is somewhat different than what i think of courage now in my mid life. it’s been a very interesting progression and i certainly couldn’t have predicted i would be where i’m at and who i am in my life right now.

so glad to have you around, lime.

Limeflavouredheadbut · June 6, 2022, 9:26am

man i know what you mean about changing sleep patterns its tough

mate anais is an amazin women read some of her stuff while i was living in spain in my late teens
i think that quote changed my life most

we currently live in the city (200 yards from pig station) in outlaw land <<super covert
i chat with the fukers when they park outside 20ft from grow

want to get back to the countryside i grew up in (<real life farmer 25 years)

lovin it since you turned up here man your really good to talk too

~lime~

highminwin · June 8, 2022, 2:03am

oh man lime, sorry these last few days have been too hectic at work. makes me tired and irritable and it feels like i’m running on low sometimes. i wish i could fast forward to my retirement years when i can stop worrying about work and just live the dream… or at least that’s the hope. they do say the grass is always greener on the other side though and it’s not the destination it’s the journey, yadda yadda. so who knows. i’m still appreciating today.

damn, spain in your late teens. i hope you were having a magnificent time, what a cool place to be at such a formative time in your life. don’t tell me you were jack kerouac’ing across europe as some sort of dirtbag hippie. i could almost believe it.

you must be one of those codgers that the cops don’t even suspect of liking the mary-jay. that’s the way to do it. i spent a few years selling smoking paraphernalia at conventions with a buddy, and when people say you wouldn’t believe the types who smoke, i would totally agree. “why yes, grandma. i’d be happy to show you this beautiful triple chamber bong with the percolator. i’m sure it’d make a nice addition to your collection.”

best to be quiet and stealthy with things if possible, although legalization is thankfully making that less necessary. but still, i don’t really like to be too loud with things generally speaking.

life’s got a funny cyclical thing that goes on sometimes. i never thought i’d come back to the place where i grew up, once i left to explore the wide world. but i have and i actually find it to be quite pleasant and nice. i’m not sure whether i’ll grow old and die here, maybe there are still adventures left in me yet. but a return to peace and quiet have been bigger draws for me in these more recent years. perhaps we’ll all be drawn back to nature and the countryside. it’d be a lot easier to grow things out there, that’s for sure!

btw, i saw on the fsfc thread that you were looking for some garland seeds. did you ever get hooked up with those? i think i have some from dougdawson that i’d be happy to split with you.

edit: ohhh! looks like chronix just hooked me up with a set of those garland crosses, so i’ll happily send them along your way, lime. just pm me with your addy again.

highminwin · June 8, 2022, 3:13am

ok, i have lots of photos taken and i’ve compiled some ideas on what i’d like to show you all. but alas, not much of that is going to happen (at least right now) because i’m sorta tired and recovering from this last week.

man, once you get these plants into larger containers, they become a lot more work to move around and take care of. it feels like a real workout after i get them all out of the tent, give them the twice over, water them, clean up my tent, make any slight improvements to the tent that i’m in the mood for, and then move them all back in.

the problem i have, or one of them at least, is that i have too many plants now which are too big for the available space i have. i know, what a horrible problem to have! but it’s increased the relative humidity in the tent to the point where i’ve removed my humidifier. and now because they’re so big and crowded in there and i was lacking air movement around the soil level (there’s plenty of circulation at the canopy level), i noticed that one of my plants had developed a mold/fungus issue on it’s soil surface.

this photo is after i had hit it with a quick h2o2 spray. so the mold/fungus was more visible and prominent before, but i hadn’t snapped a picture before i had started spraying.

while i’ve heard about mycellium being a very good thing to see on your soil surface, i hadn’t introduced any EM or grokashi or bokashi or anything of the sort to my plants yet. i also figured that with my high tent temperatures and the lack of air circulation that this was probably bad fungus that i did not want. even if it was good fungus, i would rather kill it off with a surface spray and work on building it back up again, than to risk it being bad fungus and spreading to more of my plants.

i had ordered some extra fans that i had been a little lazy about putting them up, but i suppose this was a good sign for me to get on that. i also noticed that with the slight increase in my led panel power going into flowering (i was running it at level 8 now, whereas it had been at 6-7 before) was causing my tent to get a little bit hotter, and that coupled with the high humidity and the low circulation seemed to be a bad combination. so i decided to dial my light down a little, even if it meant my plants weren’t growing as much as they could. i would rather have slowed growth and healthy plants, than maximized growth and increasing issues.

the other thing this incident got me to thinking about was that i had too many plants growing too big in that tent. some tough decisions are gonna have to be made. they’re not so tough though when it comes down to it… the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

yea, it was a good run for tropical 2! actually, it was sort of a middling (?) run for tropical 2. there’s like a 90% chance tropical 2 is a male, and even though he came on late and is doing pretty good considering, it’s just… not… no… no. he has to go. there are already too many plants in the tent.

Old-Ron was right all those posts ago when he cautioned against having two plants in an earthbox jr… one would overtake the container. well, you can see what a huge difference there is between the two plants. tropical 3 is our queen and tropical 2, well, it was cool knowing you buddy!

my first intentional murder. not my last.

we’re gonna try to make some fermented plant juice out of him. for a 14" plant, that fpj really shrinks down doesn’t it? sorta like when you’re cooking spinach or something. nowadays i’m adding a baggie with water to weigh down the top of the ferment. it seems to help keep mold at bay. although i thought there was supposed to be free air exchange, which wouldn’t the baggie hinder that? i dunno, it seems to be better so far.

here’s a very recent group shot. nine days since flip to flower. some of the plants are elevated or sitting on risers to create a more even canopy. but probably half of the plants are nearing 20" in height or taller now (including durban 1 and tropical 3).

too many plants still, i have been thinking about who else i can kill while i wait for my friend to take two of my babies off my hands.

Limeflavouredheadbut · June 9, 2022, 3:02pm

afternoon

man your stuff looks great you’ve really got green fingers mate

haa haa sorta crusty hippie just didnt travel far stayed sorta in one area

not quite the dodderry old codger (46)

dodderry yes (feked legs) codger no i look more like an angry old punk, and the cozzers round here are younger than my kids

i will try to get more pics of what im up to bit chaotic at the mo got more fems than expected cant even shut the veg tent

man that is super kind chronix has hooked me up with a pack mate, but this set thing sounds interesting
i’ll let ya know what i get if we need to do some swapsies im sure we can sort some thing

one love
~lime~

deeez99 · June 9, 2022, 3:41pm

This is so true! I grew up in a small town, moved to the city, fortunate enough to do some world traveling, lived overseas in a major city, moved back to a small town with some land to farm and raise animals and love it. I feel like being immersed in nature is one of the best healing medicines for us humans and really keeps our sanity in check. I guarantee you got more adventures ahead, it’s just that sometimes they are nothing like you’d expect!

highminwin · June 11, 2022, 5:50pm

welp, shitty week at work where it felt like my work load doubled overnight. but at least my plants have been humming along with no worries.

they’re actually doing too well, or at least a lot better than i had ever anticipated. so much so that i’ve been looking to find new homes for some of my babies since i’m limited in my own space to grow. i figure i’d rather give my best babies a good tent to grow in rather than cram every last plant that’s made it this far in there. i’ve noticed that too many plants and not enough room will create heat, humidity and mold issues, which makes things worse for all of the plants in there.

so far i’m down to 9 plants, after i had chopped the little guy in the earthbox jr…

3 cindys (2 females, 1 male)
4 durbans (2 females, 2 males)
2 tropicals (2 females)

my friends will be taking from my female stock, as they’ll have no idea what to do with males.

first to find a home was durban 4. i wanted to select one of my shorter plants, as she would be growing on an apartment balcony, so i wanted to pick something that hopefully won’t get too big and attract a lot of attention. of my females, tropical 1 is the shortest and squatest, but my friend wanted a sativa smoke so it’ll have to be durban 4. about 16" tall when she left my hands.

next to find a home will be cindy 1. again, this friend also wanted an energetic sativa smoke, so my choices were between the sisters cindy 1 & 2 or durban 3, as i’m not giving up tropical 3 in the earthbox jr.

i thought it would be an interesting experiment to split up the cindy sisters, as i’ve always felt they were fairly similar in growth early on. at this point in their lives (almost two weeks into flower and nearly two months of total growth since germination) they’re starting to show slight sizing differences. you can see cindy 2 has more lower branch and canopy development. but i think that’s more due to some differences in their root growth (i noticed cindy 2 had better roots when doing final transplant), not because of genetics per se. but i dunno, just my novice observations.

during their last and final transplant, seeing that cindy 2 had better growth i adjusted the soil recipes between cindy 1 and 2 as well, to see how that affects their growth. since cindy 2 was doing better, i gave her mostly fox farms happy frog soil, whereas for cindy 1 i had amended her soil. this was before i knew i was giving one of them away.

anywhoo, QUESTION: SHOULD I TOP CINDY 1 AS SHOWN IN THE PHOTO ABOVE?

both of these plants are going from my indoor tent environment to outdoors (my friends aren’t going to drop $$ on an indoor grow setup right now). that means they’ll go from flowering back to re-vegging. we’re in southern california, so i assume that means they’ll be revegging for a month and a half or so before naturally flipping back to flower. so i feel like topping cindy 1 will make her a lot shorter overall and hopefully she’ll want to bush out more.

i know going from indoors to outdoors will be a stressor. is going back to reveg also a stress for the plant? and so will topping it just be another kick to the female nuts of this plant?

any other thoughts or comments about prepping my babies for their move are appreciated. i will add a topdress of keem/naranja to help with insects before dropping them off.

Dr.VitaminGreen · June 11, 2022, 5:33pm

In Socal, since y’all don’t really have a wet/rainy season, it should be fine to reveg, however it will definitely stress it out for awhile. I would top to keep that strain in your library, and give it a few days then let your buddy take the lower branchy mess that is that underskirt

highminwin · June 11, 2022, 5:37pm

one other question i have is regarding males.

QUESTION: when do you know when your boys are about to blow?

i’m still figuring out an isolation box for my males, but i wanted to ask y’all when you know your boys are about to bust a nut? i’m not ready to deal with pollen and seeds in my tent just yet, but i also want to keep at least one male around to play and learn from.

i fear i may have to kill all but my best male actually, just to keep my tent manageable. but it’s nice to have at least one other male to be able to see differences in their growth and structure. still undecided, but definitely trying not to be precious about my babies.