37 replies to this topic

[phlegmbae]

Well? How are they now? Inquiring minds want to know. 

Hey Just today the feds announced that they were going to decriminalize Cannabis! Isn't that great? What sucks is that we've all been coined as criminals for way too long. Life's not fair. I understand that. But.......... Pics? Please?

[Skywatcher]

I'll get some pictures up later.

 

We have been dealing with relentless heat for over a month. 95-98 again this week after triple digits last week.

I am honestly amazed at how well these plants have been taking it. I have had to water twice a day through some of the worst days, but so far I have not seen any wilt, just some folding of the leaves tighter in the late afternoon.

The plants are growing well, and have started producing the first good signs of beginning flower. I have started adding Tiger Bloom to their food as a result, although it will still be a good month before I really see colas forming.

[Skywatcher]

These are not the greatest pictures, but the best I could do today.....

This is all at once, except the 4th pot which is behind the farthest back.

 

 

East side and South side. The Cream and Cheese are the darker leaves and wider spread.

 

 

Edited by Skywatcher, 15 July 2021 - 08:57 PM.

[YoshiTrainer]

Those are looking really happy Sky!

[Mycol]

Do you have an approximate day or week you think yours will be done ?

I’ve got a grab bag assortment of plants going and some look indica some sativa . I’d really like some sativa smoke but our frost date is mid October so I will probably need to start adding some good luck in my water .

We have had some pretty high heat lately as well as a small tornado that blew them around but they seem to be fine now . We were getting a couple days of rain per week for the last month too so I didn’t have to water much . Our water table is also pretty high too .

[joeya]

 I’d really like some sativa smoke but our frost date is mid October so I will probably need to start adding some good luck in my water .

 

I'm working with a very early and fast flowering sativa from Khalifa genetics called Moroccan Beldia.  It is well into flowering now and will probably finish by the second week of August here in Colorado. It's my understanding that some people have worked this landrace right  up to the Canadian border. I would highly recommend checking it out. I'm using it as a cross with another Sativa from India to see what I can get for potency and flower timing out of it. 

[Skywatcher]

Do you have an approximate day or week you think yours will be done ?

Judging from years past, these finish around mid to late August. The Cream and Cheese however are a good jump ahead of the Blueberry with the flowering progression. By then last year, the plants were exhausted from battling the extreme heat.

 

This has been a beastly year so far, so I really just plan to use use the loupe to examine the trichromes for an actual determination of harvest time. I have gone into September before, but those were cooler years.

[Skywatcher]

Just a short update.

This year has been a temperature torture test for these plants. (and me as well)

The amount of triple digit days has totaled over 12 for July, and the rest of the month had only one day below 90.....

I gave these all a feeding of Pro-Tec at the beginning of July, which is a silica supplement that helps them hold up to heat better. It has definitely helped.

The plants are all starting in to flower, but the Cream and Cheese plants are really starting to pack already. I am sure the Blueberry's will catch up a bit later. I can possibly use the pro-tec once more if I do it soon. A wise member turned me on to that stuff, but warned me not to use it within a month of harvest or it makes the buds too hard...

 

The Cream and Cheese is the darker color and denser plant. The flowers are starting to pack in. Looking forward to the final stages on this one....

 

 

 

 

Edited by Skywatcher, 01 August 2021 - 09:59 PM.

[el_ronhub_bird]

Beautiful plants skywatcher! I'm interested to know what such intense heat does to the bud morphology? Regardless your plants are happy and healthy! Can't wait to see pics of the finished product

[Skywatcher]

Definitely one of the most diverse looking grows this year. The heat has been relentless. I am watering thoroughly in the morning, and finding by sundown that I need to water again. No wilt, just dry soil.

 

Feeding schedule has gone to every third day and focusing on bloom foods now. I also have sprayed with BT twice, since the bud worms have made an appearance which I nipped at the first signs.

 

The Cream and Cheese plants appear totally different. The difference as far as I can determine, is the South side plant is close to a vegetated wall, and probably remains cooler (relatively). That one is pretty much going well into bud production and has a heavier amount of fragrance. The same plant, 6 feet away and more exposed is also producing lots of bud, but has 4 times the amount of leaves around the colas like it is shading itself? Both are smelling mouthwatering sweet and of piney resin.

 

The Blueberry's are doing the same as last year and shedding the older leaves. Once again, the one near the ivy covered wall is well ahead in flowering than the one with more exposure to the heat. The Blueberry's are just beginning to fill with flower as compared to the Cream and Cheese.

 

I am thinking I will probably need to treat each plant as an individual to determine the best harvest time since they are all doing their own thing it seems.

 

Cream and Cheese on the East                     Cream and Cheese East side detail

 

 

 

South side by wall, Cream and Cheese on the Left       South side C&C detail, heavier buds

 

    

Edited by Skywatcher, 17 August 2021 - 04:29 PM.

[YoshiTrainer]

Those are looking really nice Sky!

[Arathu]

WOW! Beautiful grow again Sky.....all set for the winter.....

 

Awesome!

 

A

[Skywatcher]

Hopefully no catastrophes before harvest. I am making a batch of my butter/oil today that I make the pain cream from. The cream gets used every single day, and we go through a 6 oz jar about every month. My stash from last year is getting low, so it should time out pretty well to have cured usable bud before I need to make another batch of the base cannabis oil.

 

The Shea butter, coco butter blend with good coconut oil, about 50/50 mix seems to get the lions share of goodies out when I cook up a batch. This allows me to make a stronger body butter that is not that greasy on the skin.

With the 50/50 mix of CBD and THC at around 20 each from the Cream and Cheese, I am expecting to get an even more effective product for my partners pain issues. I also will make some actual cooking butter for my own needs for edible goodies.....

[Skywatcher]

Just a little update. These are all getting very close to finishing. The relentless heat this year has had its effects on the plants. Not all bad however.........

The buds are somewhat smaller than I have usually seen, and the upper leaves crisp out and burn on the tips. I am not really concerned about the leaf burning since they will eventually be trimmed off anyway. On the positive side, I have never seen the buds so resinous. Just watering gets my arms coated if I brush up on the plants. The aromatics are intense. I did a little grooming this morning, removing dead leaves and checking the progress, and was so coated with resins I had to grab a cleaning rag soaked in denatured alcohol to get all the sticky off before I could touch anything.

 

I am anxious to see exactly how potent this years crop is going to be. I am thinking it will be a very good year. A check of the trichomes showed  a few ambers, but not quite ready.

 

The plants growing beside the grape ivy covered wall seem to be a wee bit slower, but also have less heat damage.

 

These are all of the plants, East side first that gets the worst of the heat, and South side next which seem to stay a tiny bit cooler.

 

 

 

The Blueberry on the East side is really close to ready, and the Cream and Cheese on that side is not as close as the one on the South side.

 

 

 

This Cream and Cheese I believe will be the first to finish...

 

 

And this Blueberry I believe will be the last to finish.........

 

 

I keep checking about every 3 days for the increase in amber...

 

 

[YoshiTrainer]

Those look great Sky! About what % of amber trichomes are you looking for?

[Skywatcher]

I like to wait until most are cloudy, with about 30% amber. I don't know if this is 100% accurate, but a friend with more experience than I explained like this.

All clear has not built up its THC content yet.

All or mostly cloudy will be maximum THC. This will be more speedy as the CBD content has not fully developed yet.

Cloudy with some amber has developed both THC and CBD to full, and is optimal for most people having some relaxing quality as well.

More than 50% amber has had alot of the THC converted now, to give a more couch-lock, sleepy high.

 

I use it mostly for pain and relaxing, so I really don't want a speedy high which usually gets me jumpy and slightly paranoid. I have harvested as close to the cloudy with 15% amber for a couple years now, and it seems to be more relaxing with a sleepy finish....

 

Hope that helps, but I bet you could ask 10 people and get a big variety of response's..... 

Edited by Skywatcher, 18 September 2021 - 08:35 PM.

[Skywatcher]

Upon a thorough exam with the loupe today in full sunlight, I have decided 3 of the 4 plants are ready, or will be after a couple days of flushing, and a good wash down tonight when the sun goes down. The fourth will be ready after I get the firs three cleaned and trimmed, and prepped for drying. The Cream and Cheese which is reputed to be a 20/20 mix of THC and CBD is showing a good 30% amber now, so it will be my pain meds.

The Blueberry is pretty much all cloudy now, with maybe 15% amber, so I will work on the Cream and Cheese first.

I like to leave them potted as I take branches to trim.

 

I have a very sticky job ahead so I need to replace my latex glove stash.....

Where to dry is going to be interesting. We have the first Santa Ana winds predicted for next week, which will bring hot temps again, and humidity at around 10%. I would love to dry indoors, but my partner is really having difficulty breathing and that would really aggravate the situation, so I really have no real choice but to set up in the garage again.

 

If I can handle it, I think I want to leave a good long amount of stem and trim the buds still connected to try and slow the drying time as much as possible.

[Skywatcher]

I thought I should bring a close to this years gardening project. All the plants have been harvested, trimmed and dried now. There were some distinct differences in the plants of the same variety. I concluded the ones growing close to a leaf covered wall produced better quantity and benefited from the slightly cooler and higher humidity in that position.

The more heat stressed plants farther out however, had the more intense aromatics.

Initial "testing" has shown the Blueberry to be as potent as years past, but I am really happy with the Cream and Cheese this year.

It is a sweet, slightly piney flavor, that hits strong with a relaxing, but not too couch locked stone at first, and drifts into a pretty effective pain subduing with a very sleepy finish.

 

My end production was 8 jars of the Cream and Cheese, and 7 of the Blueberry, and close to 2 ounces of prime trim.

The first batch of butter will be brewed up shortly. Thanks for following along...............