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    Advice wanted on White Widow harvesting

    It's day 69 since first flowers for my 5 White Widows and I'm not sure if they're quite ready yet. The buds went through a swelling period around week 8-9 and are now heavy and hard. There were lots of new growths popping out on the colas during that time but that appears to have slacked off some. Most pistils are brown (except where new calyxes keep popping out) and many trichs are getting milky but the progression has gotten impossibly slow. There are some amber/brown trichs but it seems only in patches while there are still quite a few clear and half-clear ones as well. Photos attached show the canopy, 2 buds that are maybe near ready (?)(photo2) and 2 that will probably be last to harvest which also display some of the weirdest growth from week 7-9 (photo3). Then there's closer and very close photos of the "maybe near ready" buds and finally a bud that just now started a new growth on its tip (photo7).
    I've been reading that White Widow can take a long time to finish (sometimes up to 12 weeks) and can be tricky to determine because new growth keeps erupting and trichs seem reluctant to go amber/brown. My goal is a 50/50 head/body high and most of this crop is going into edibles (thus, the shaggy stuff below screen that I didn't remove). I'd like advice from someone experienced with harvesting White Widow about how these look and if you see anything concerning. I lean toward the "hands off" approach to things so I'm not doing anything special to them at this time. This is a FFOF grow w/8 T5's in 7 gallon pots w/almost no additives (a little GH "Bloom" in early flowering weeks). Light schedule has been 10/14 for a few weeks (longer than I expected), temps are ~70-80 (night/day). Humidity has been challenging; was running ~50-65% (day/night) but just now installed a dehumidifier that's keeping it ~35-45%.
    I'm a little concerned that the top leaves are turning and dying off while lower stuff is still all green and hanging on, although I did read about this in a couple of other reports. I'm also curious why the frostiest buds (like snow!) are in the little stuff lower down in the shade. At one point I reduced lighting and added fans because of erratic bud growth and top leaf tips curled up; it looked like light/heat stress which then subsided. Things I've considered doing for the finish include cutting light hours to 8 (have read good and bad about this), turning off 1/2 of lights, raising lights... or just leave them alone and wait 'em out. Some experienced advice would calm my fears of screwing up and help me sleep better!
    FFOF +extra castings, compost, coco
    Veg 8 bulb T5 (blue)
    Flower 600w HPS
    alfalfa meal, bone meal, FF Big Bloom, Down-to-Earth Liquid Bloom
    1st grow White Widow
    Now growing GG4 auto and photo

    #2
    Well: IMHO...your lights may ( may be burning off trichomes at the top if mid buds being more robust. )
    So what are your lights,? pistils do reappear in some strains altho buds are ready. I preferred less Amber personally. So- really no info from me other than you are in the "harvest window". The grow looks great....nice work. Flush for a week and then harvest. I am a Coco grower so....my opinion is not of much use again . How are your lower mid bud trichomes...cloudy and hoe dense the mid buds?
    Indoor- Coco coir & Perlite - 5 gal Smart pots
    Veg-T5s Flower- Platinum LEDS
    GH Flora Trio Cali-mag, Terpinator Liquid Bloom
    photoperiod feminized seeds
    http://www.growweedeasy.com/sites/gr...ow-journal.pdf
    http://www.growweedeasy.com/sites/gr...o-May-2017.pdf
    http://www.growweedeasy.com/sites/gr...ow-Journal.pdf

    Testing for the_honeysticks genetics

    Comment


      #3
      Nice plants. From what I can see if you want body stone not there. If you want daytime smoke you are there if flushed. But I have 15 different strains atm for different needs. So depends.. Tika knows more than me by far. So what exactly are you going for?

      Comment


        #4
        Honestly, I have not paid close attention to the lower stuff except to notice that some is snow-covered like WW should look. There are some nice solid nugs just below the screen because I had another 240 watts of cool whites laying on the screen for 7 weeks. (I still wonder if that was a mistake). Below that is just popcorn stuff but that's where the snow is. Your burnoff suggestion seems to fit, but I didn't think T5's would do that? They're not hot; I can hold the back of my hand to them continuously. But 8 of them (plus the fixture's reflector finish) is pretty bright and the reason I wondered about reducing the light more. I keep the fixture about 2-4 inches above the tops. Do you think that's too close at this stage?
        I'll take a closer look at the lower stuff tomorrow and try to get some pics.
        I like the ride of WW that goes up for a while then settles me on the couch for the rest. I had assumed 10-30% of amber trichs would be the target but some people report never getting there with WW. I have my third sample drying. The second one still felt too heady and weak for me.
        FFOF +extra castings, compost, coco
        Veg 8 bulb T5 (blue)
        Flower 600w HPS
        alfalfa meal, bone meal, FF Big Bloom, Down-to-Earth Liquid Bloom
        1st grow White Widow
        Now growing GG4 auto and photo

        Comment


        • Redwasp
          Redwasp commented
          Editing a comment
          It will get much better with a cure. My Wonder woman sure did. (Still dont like her flavor. Wonder woman) not white widow.

        • Toripony
          Toripony commented
          Editing a comment
          Very true, Redwasp. I did grow one previous half-assed crop (insufficient sunshine in my yard) before. It never did taste good because it never ripened to start with but I learned the jar cure process with it which made it smokable with a decent mild buzz.. This is my first grow that's getting the chance to fully ripen and it already tastes way better, so after curing it should taste great (not that WW is known for its taste).

        #5
        Thanks, guys! With your eval that they look fine I feel more confident now. As much as trying not to harvest too early, I also didn't want to wait too long and end up with pure couch-lock weed. I have another batch of WW seeds, so your feedback is very valuable to my next (2nd) grow, too.
        Could the humidity have been slowing their ripening? Since I added the dehumidifier 4 days ago progress seems to have rapidly accelerated... colas have almost stopped "sprouting", leaves are coloring quicker and my garage now has more sweet stink in it (another concern I forgot to mention). Upon closer inspection, the extra-frosty buds are concentrated to the areas directly in front of the fans and the colas at the edge of the garden are a little frostier than those in the center, which may confirm that growing tip: flowering plants like wind. All fans on high! I raised my lights 1 notch which seems to even out the lighting with less glare on the cola tips where most of the spurious growth was located. My third test sample should be ready tomorrow and I plan to take your advice and give them another week (maybe 2 for plants #4 & 5).
        FFOF +extra castings, compost, coco
        Veg 8 bulb T5 (blue)
        Flower 600w HPS
        alfalfa meal, bone meal, FF Big Bloom, Down-to-Earth Liquid Bloom
        1st grow White Widow
        Now growing GG4 auto and photo

        Comment


        • Redwasp
          Redwasp commented
          Editing a comment
          On mine I have fans blowing under on high, on slow from above aimed at, and more blowing above, 1 blowing straight up in the middle, and a big exaust fan. In that tent 6 fans plus the exaust. 4x4 tent. Probably dont need that many but even the base stem is covered in trichomes. I like my stems strong and it helps. At least from what ive seen. I dont dehumidify until buds get big. But then again others here know alot more about inside grows than me.

        • Toripony
          Toripony commented
          Editing a comment
          Redwasp, that's sounds just like what I'm learning... fans are stimulating as hell! Besides 2 clip fans, I used a single 20" floor fan on this grow. It was at the end opposite my heater and guess where the snowiest buds are?! Bigger stems seem to equal bigger buds and windblown buds have more trichs. I've just located some quality metal fans at a local hardware store (beats anything I found online) and they're having a sale soon so I'm planning to shop shop shop. They have 9" and 16" floor fans that can hang almost flat on the wall (cause they're metal) for only $20 & $30 reg. price (wall fans won't fit my space). I have one at cola level now and it is twice as strong as plastic clip fans. Metal blades = quieter, too. I definitely want another for the other end plus 2 16" floor fans. I might even add a 12" oscillating desk fan; bigger frostier buds might be worth another 1/2 amp.

        #6
        Gawdawmighty! That's the shizzle!
        If the sun always shone
        How soon the tree would wither
        -- Confucius

        Comment


        • Toripony
          Toripony commented
          Editing a comment
          Thanks! No special talent here... I'm amazed at how nice they're turning out. I guess it's good genetics, good soil, good light, good environment because I didn't do anything but watch 'em grow. Well, it did take some work to maintain the right environment but I'm slowly figuring out how to control that.

        #7
        Yes they really like some air flow.

        Comment


          #8
          Oh, hE-Ll yea! (<southern style, two syllables, accent in the middle!) The gals still look about the same but something changed, and "that's goo, that's goo, that's gooOOOOoood!" (<in voice of Peanut/Jeff Dunham)
          Just now tried my 3rd sample... a little nug dried in open paper bag for 3 days and WOWzer, that's exactly what I wanted! It tastes DEElicious! Tastes like flowers. And it's surprisingly smooth already. After curing it should be perfect. But most of all, I'm f'n stoned! A few puffs and don't even want any more. The previous sample was still a bit "edgy" or nervous, but that's gone. Now just an incredible spacey head high and all-over body tingle.
          Gotta thank you guys for the tips and reassurances. The longer this has gone on the more worried I got that I'd screw up, but, as everybody says, "Just wait a little longer". First harvest of 4 colas on plant 1 early tomorrow... for now I'm going to go sit on the porch and space out on the birds.
          FFOF +extra castings, compost, coco
          Veg 8 bulb T5 (blue)
          Flower 600w HPS
          alfalfa meal, bone meal, FF Big Bloom, Down-to-Earth Liquid Bloom
          1st grow White Widow
          Now growing GG4 auto and photo

          Comment


          • Rangi
            Rangi commented
            Editing a comment
            Congratulations, Toripony ... beautiful grow!! Enjoy the birds

          • BillBates
            BillBates commented
            Editing a comment
            That truly is a beautiful crop, Toripony. I'm closing in on harvest for 2 WWs, one with which I have already experienced some degree of bud rot (from humidity - it's a long story). Anyway, I experienced the same effect from the early stuff I had to cut away. This is officially on my list of top 5 strains. Enjoy the fruits of your labor!

          #9
          Coolio!!!!
          If the sun always shone
          How soon the tree would wither
          -- Confucius

          Comment


            #10
            Well, after all my freaking out about how long it was taking, it finally finished. Got 8 oz of smooth, tasty, potent, hard, smoking buds from those big colas and another 6 oz of trichome crusted larfy bud and trim for cooking and making hash. Woo-hoo! Should last through winter.

            I harvested a plant at a time over week 12. Actually, I think it could have gone even longer... it just kept growing more bud and more trichs with <5% amber. But I must have got it right 'cause the buzz is right... not speedy and not sleepy. A few tokes and I can do the chores then relax for the latter half of the buzz, just what I wanted. Not bragging, that's just not me, but it's as good as anything I've bought at the dispensaries here in Oregon.

            I jarred each plant separately; there's actually a very slight difference between them. Plant 1 has a bit more head high and plant 4 just plain kicks ass! They dried quick and seem to be curing well. No rot or mold! I took a few pics through the harvest, but just now posting because I've been stoned on scissor and jar hash every day, LOL. I like the pic of the cola I snapped the end off of to see what's inside... LOTS of crystals. I shake the jars a little when I burp them and kief just keeps piling up in the bottom.

            Learned a lot on my first grow. In the future I think I'll add nutes to my FFOF a little longer through flowering and I want to try molasses as a sweetener. I got some Down-To-Earth BioLive to get some more action going in the soil. I'm sticking to 12/12 schedule for flowering next time because I got the feeling that 10/14 actually slowed things down.

            I have 2 vertical GG4 autos in the grow room now (not intentional; separate thread) but am really looking forward to my next scrog grow of Mango-Sapphire this fall. I need some sleep med and it looks really tasty to me.
            Last edited by Toripony; 07-25-2018, 06:07 PM.
            FFOF +extra castings, compost, coco
            Veg 8 bulb T5 (blue)
            Flower 600w HPS
            alfalfa meal, bone meal, FF Big Bloom, Down-to-Earth Liquid Bloom
            1st grow White Widow
            Now growing GG4 auto and photo

            Comment


              #11
              Still tasting/testing different plant batches, plant #2 kept occasionally giving me a funny taste, like mildew, usually just on the first puff. Couldn't see any, so I got the macro camera on it. Deep inside I found the tiniest bit of what I think is powdery white mildew just on the stem which I guess is the last part to dry. It's extremely small. Went through the jar tearing apart buds and found a tiny speck here and there but 99%+ is fine. I tore it all apart and am going to let it dry out completely and put that whole jar in the cooking section. Am looking through the rest but haven't found it in any others so far. This was my biggest worry with those big colas. I decided to hang dry them because it seemed to be drying quickly, but maybe I should have broken them down, got it all off those stems and rack dried it.
              FFOF +extra castings, compost, coco
              Veg 8 bulb T5 (blue)
              Flower 600w HPS
              alfalfa meal, bone meal, FF Big Bloom, Down-to-Earth Liquid Bloom
              1st grow White Widow
              Now growing GG4 auto and photo

              Comment

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