How I average a pound per plant

[BU2B]

Tip: Super Easy Hash:
Save your kief! Before jarring your buds run them through a bud spinner or use a 100 micron bubble bag or screen and give your buds a good shake before jarring them. Don't go crazy on them, your want some trichomes left on your buds. You wont hurt the quality of your smoke and you'll gather a ton of kief. Place your collected kief into your favorite decarb device (or an oven at no more than 225 degrees f for 30 minutes) for 30-45 minutes. Not enough to decarb your kief, but enough to melt it. Allow to cool - ta da! Get your dab spoons ready; you've just made 20 grams of deliciously-aromatic and potent Hash! Image shows 20g compressed kief before and after being processed.

[growell]

no worries mate put your feet up and relax mind body and soul

[Woodsman67]

Very nice!

[BU2B]

The posts resume ...
Here are the girls at week 5 day 1 of flowering.

[BU2B]

Thanks to everyone for hanging in there - Hopefully I'm back on track.

A special hello to my nephew who has been lurking out there somewhere and who has decided to give 'Uncle's" method a try. Hey Bud!

When I left off we had gotten your plant up to 6 weeks of age and had already completed the majority of your plants training.

In weeks six and seven of your plants life you are going to have some major choices to make.

First is going to be - "Should I super-crop?" IF you do decide to super-crop your plants, it's perfectly fine and will work great with this method; NOW is the time. DO NOT wait until your plant has begun flowering to start super-cropping! Why? I find that by the time a plant has entered flowering and any stretch at all has occurred many, many strains will have developed hollow branches and super-cropping at this stage could be VERY problematic for your grow.

I don't always super-crop my plants, in fact if I were to total super-crops to number of grows I would say its pretty darn close to 50/50. My reason for super-cropping or not can be variable - Is the strain known to have 'larfy' buds? Are leaf nodes close or far apart, - I find super-cropping more effective on plants whose nodes are a bit more spaced out. If leaf nodes are close you have a much higher chance of your buds becoming a substantial bud packet all on their own without super-cropping. If you've never super-cropped your plants before, please look up here on GWE how to super-crop properly, but I will tell you, the first time I super-cropped a plant it was the scariest thing I've ever done. Don't have a heart attack, if done properly you're really not killing your plant, though when you see all those branches laying over your first reaction is likely to be "OMG! What have I done!"

The next VERY important choices your going to have to make is which branches to leave, and which ones to remove. As oldjarhead100 questioned "Is their a point when more top bud sites decreases the size of the buds themselves,"? And the answer to that question is a resounding YES. As was shown before, as long as your plant is in veg mode, it is creating more flowering branches. You are going to have to choose which of your growing flowing tips are doing the best and have the best chance of growing to the top of the canopy. If there's no chance or less chance than another go ahead and remove the growing tip/branch. In the long run all crowded or covered growths will do nothing but pull the juice away from your flowers.

If you let your plants go until the end of week 8 without culling any branches your plant would have somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 growth tips. The problem with this is, there is NO WAY you can effectively spread your plant out or remove enough leaves (without damaging your harvest) to fully utilize these growths unless you are planning on doing a SCROG grow, which honestly, you should have been planning long before this point. I find that between 40-50 flowering branches is the maximum amount of 'flowering tips' that will give you the largest harvest with the least amount of work and will produce 11-22 ounces per plant.

A post I made some time ago pretty much sums up my growing philosophy:
"I truly believe there is not a photo strain out there that couldn't benefit from a good manifold (but that's just me.) I have found that growing 'technique' is on equal PAR with lighting (pun intended) ANY usable product from a grow is a victory and one that should be celebrated with a good dream cloud, but, we are ALL here because we want to do better and want others to do better too."

Happy Pharming!

and remember -

"... don't yield to the fortunes
You sometimes see as fate,
It may have a new perspective
On a different day-
And if you don't give up, and don't give in,
You may just be okay!'
(Thanks to Mike and the Mechanics)

Questions? Comments?

[BU2B]

A note about chemical bud enhancers:
I have found that with chemical bud enhancers (and in deference to the organic pharmers out there - It's all I have used since growing indoors) - it is NOT uncommon to have some nutrient burn on your leaves. While this is far from ideal, it is also not that unusual. If you can work it so that you have no nutrient burn - that's the best of all possible outcomes. But don't be surprised or alarmed if you see leaf tips turning dark on the tips or edges, just keep an eye on it, don't let it get out of control and keep in mind your growing strong flowers not pretty leaves. Yet on the other hand; you need enough healthy leaves to to fuel your buds growth - Use your judgement, if you kill off the leaves or have enough unhealthy ones so that photosynthesis cannot occur properly your harvest will suffer.

[RagWeedDWC]

Very nice, my grow start this year was a little fumbled and no or little training has been done. As soon as the current grow has finished will use this guideline. Thanks for putting it together.

[BU2B]

Thanks. It is absolutely my pleasure. Happy Pharming

[ChadWestport]

Do you use synthetic PGRs?

[BU2B]

NO - and no I have no intention to start doing so. For those who don't know what PGRs are it stands for Plant Growth Regulators and they have been in use by the farming community for some time. Some of the most common active ingredients of modern Plant Growth Regulator or Plant Growth Retardants are: ancymidol, chlormequat chloride, daminozide, ethephon, flurprimidol, paclobutrazol and uniconazole. Keep an eye on your labels. There are concerns which simply have not been answered yet and until they are I would not recommend their use. To quote High Times "Despite healthier growth and increased resistance to fungus, pot grown using PGR’s often has an inferior flavor and visual appearance, and the harshest critics point out that exposure to these compounds put consumers at risk of liver damage, cancer and infertility. These damning claims warrant further investigation of the safety of these chemicals on cannabis."

[ChadWestport]

I won't touch them, systemic ingredients that don't take combustion well. Cyco Nutrients is a common line that has PGRs but you wouldn't really get that from reading the label. I was just curious if you used them, your production looks great, trying to get a complete picture here. Oddly it wasn't until state wide testing in a legal market that we began to know about them in cannabis.

[BU2B]

Tip: Know your nutes:
Attached is A page from Jorge Cervantes Marijuana Growers Bible and in my opinion it should be an essential part of your growers arsenal-

[lalaland]

His cannabis encyclopedia is excellent as well. I pull mine out so often, it’s starting to get sticky😂

[MeEasy]

Why is it getting sticky? Does it have pictures? Hahaha joke 🤣😂

[MeEasy]

There's a second page to add to that one, and one I think is just as helpful I found on GWE

[BU2B]

Thanks. Excellent choices.

[oldjarhead100]

end of week 5 they are starting to fill out ,I didn't have to raise lights so maybe the stretch is over

[BU2B]

NOT a problem. Always good to see what you have going. For those who don’t know oldjarhead100 keep an eye 👁 on his posts. This man has been growing for awhile, is a great guy and he grows a sh!tload of excellent smoke!

[oldjarhead100]

thanks BU2B I try and save some from all the mistakes I made lol ,so all the plants in post are manifolded but I left all side branches on then cut the ones that dont keep up

[lalaland]

Lookin good OJ!!

[BU2B]

Just finished watering the girls - week 5 day 2 of flowering:

[oldjarhead100]

we are on the same time line My girls are 5 weeks 3 days today and should finish the day after thanksgiving ,is that 2 plants ,shit load of kolas looks amazing

[BU2B]

yep ojh just 2

[oldjarhead100]

thats amazing well done I've often thought about just doing a couple of plants ,it was hard for me to justify the $ for a couple of plants ,but 2 lbs is 2 lbs it doesn't matter how many plants

[Daskahn]

Nice work have you tried the quad lining method? And if so have you see a significant difference?

[BU2B]

I have used quad lining only once when doing a SCROG grow and to be honest the SCROG was so much tedious daily work for me that I literally could not 'physically' keep up with and do it justice. 20 years younger? Maybe. I was just fleshing out the details out on this method and I really didn't give the quad - lining the chance it deserved. I do think that if this method was applied to quad - lining and you allowed your main branches to get a few more nodes on them before topping them that you would be looking at a MONSTER plant and bud producer that would literally limit you to 1 plant per 4x4 tent (not that that's a bad thing.) If anyone's up to giving it a try, please let us know your results. The one issue I've seen with quad - lining and this method, as others in our grow coalition have ventured forth, is that as there are no 'elbows' on the bottom branches I have seen them pull away (break off) from the main branch as they just get too heavy with flowers. But I'm sure that can be addressed.

[oldjarhead100]

I did a scrog once thats right once I'm with you on the amount of work .I see people just let their plants grow though the net but a true scrog is when you wrap you plants around the net in veg and when the net is full you flip ,it takes a few weeks to get the net full and when they were done what a PITA to get them out of the net

[Daskahn]

Ok thank you I ask because I mainly use quadlining and have main lines as well.. space is a big issue and support does become a necessity I had 2 in a 4x4 area and they took every bit of it.. and even if it’s not scrog it’s still very time consuming

[SoOrbudgal]

Same as you oldjarhead100 made it very hard to get under and water or prune i only did a scrog once.

[BU2B]

Thoughts and opinions on general plant care, LST and defoliation:

Defoliation:
One of the main issues I see with growing is defoliation. Regardless of our desire to do differently, it's seems a lot of us humans, have a real tendency for extremes. This carries over to our care for our plants as well, as we have a predisposition to either not defoliate enough or strip our plants of needed leaves. There are some great tutorials on GWE on defoliation and all are focused on what really matters, your harvest. If you're having issues or questions about defoliation explicitly, I would highly recommend you take the time to to look them up.
Here are a few to get you started:

https://www.growweedeasy.com/defoliation

https://www.growweedeasy.com/schwazzing-cannabis

https://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum...flowering-auto

I have fondness for following what fellow GWE grower Canuck147 does when it comes to defoliation: Pick a set day of the week to do your defoliation and remove leaves covering bud sites. Why is this a good thing? IF you have any obsessive compulsive tendencies in the least or have a fear of damaging your plant; giving yourself a set day to defoliate can really help. It can keep you from picking your plant to death or from not defoliating enough.

I have some friends who grow who just don't do well unless things are methodically done, always the same, at the same time, with every grow. Unfortunately growing doesn't work like that. You have to treat every grow, every plant, every strain, and every stage of your plants development as new - and is simply something that MUST be done to achieve the results you have in mind. Having a method, a system, and a predefined outcome gives you the foundation you need to achieve your goals.

Unless you are growing the same thing every grow, a 'do this at exactly this time' approach just doesn't work.

(Veg Mode tip for defoliation) When defoliating your plant, I find it helpful to start at the top of each branch and work your way down. DON'T remove too many leaves and or side branches off of the branch you are defoliating, keeping in mind that your plant will flower as far down as there are nodes IF light can get down that far.



Regardless of your defoliation itinerary, each of your plants main flowering branches should be easily visible without looking like each one is a separate plant when it is in veg mode if using the method outlined in this journal (BU2B'sPPP method).

You may notice from the image above that there are a LOT of leaves left on those girls. In veg mode, I keep branches defoliated and bud sites open, but not to the point they are completely exposed to the light. Ambient light can still get in but they are not defoliated to the degree that I do during flowering. My reasoning for this is; if the plant is completely open to direct light all the way down each branch, they're gonna grow. By this I mean; side branches are going to develop much more fully down each of the plants 'flowering tip' branches. This has the effect of making your plant even bushier on the inner structure (when you are going to need to open it up later), and each of those new branches is going to create a separate bud or smaller bud packet. I find this generally ends up with a lot of really small buds that in the end decrease the large bud packets and overall harvest weight. I think that if you leave most of the interior structure of your plant open to ambient light during veg mode and later remove the small undeveloped side branches off your flower branches (leaving the flowing node at the leaf/branch junction) you will have a more favorable outcome.

When in flowering mode - defoliation takes on an entirely new place of importance. There are two base types of flowering when dealing with indoor photoperiod plants. Plants that do a lot of stretching during flowering will generally have more flowering from the top of the canopy (before flowering began) upward. Plants that do very little stretching during flowering will generally have more flowers from the top of the canopy (before flowering began) downward. The majority of stretching during flowering occurs during the first 3 weeks. Both base flowering types will benefit from your defoliation efforts. For type 1 flowering plants you can increase your flowering weight by opening up the plant allowing more smaller buds that left on their own wouldn't develop and for type 2 flowering plants, defoliation can lead to substantially larger bud packets.

LST, the importance of a level canopy and General Plant Care:
To be quite honest I have seen some amazing grows that were pretty much left on their own - which speaks as much about the hardiness of cannabis as it does the growers skill. We are truly lucky to be working with a plant that more than most can put up with just about anything and thrive.

I know when you've finished a defoliation and done some Low Stress Training on your girls to bend the branches outward and keep your canopy level they can look worse for wear.


They'll look fine in 24 hours, but the work you have done is essential. Low Stress Training doesn't slow your plants growth and helps to increase your bud harvest.

Keeping your canopy level has several benefits; not only will it keep exposed growth tips to the maximum amount of light but it will also help you judge which of the new growth tips that are being created just under the canopy to keep when it comes time to flower. I know that we have already removed growth tips while the plant was in veg mode, aiming for around 40 or 50, but your are going to find your plant is still growing more shoots and brunches just below your canopy. Some of these will be taller than others, some less developed. By the time your plant goes into flower at the end of week 8 you should still be aiming for around 50 flowering bud branches - but as flowering continues, you may find that though the number my stay about the same you may not be putting the same effort into the the same growth tips you were when you started flowering mode. Your level canopy's other benefit is to not only limit undergrowth but it helps you determine which if any of the growth tips just below the canopy are worth opening a spot for.


The importance of keeping a level canopy with LST during vegetation mode becomes obvious when your girls kick into flower mode. It not only allows top flowering branches to get the most light, it also helps you determine which growth tips just under the canopy are worth keeping, wont block other sites and eventually develop into large bud packets.

I do a transition to bloom, both in nutrients and lights. This generally takes 7-10 days (as each day I am increasing the total contiguous amount of darkness by at least 1 hour). Though I do count the day the girls actually made it to 12 hours of darkness. I start counting flowing from the day I first see flowers (3-7 days after 'the switch') not from the day the darkness is at 12 hours.) Everyone may have their own way of counting - this is mine and works for me. It is really not that big of a thing. But, if you ever wonder why some peoples plants finish at a different time for the same strain under the same general conditions, it may come down to just a simple matter of counting when flowering actually starts.

I find the same thing is true when it comes to vegetation time - many count week 4 for example at the start of the week not at the end of the week. Where I count week 4 day 2 some may count as if week 4 has already occurred and may report week 4 day 2 as just past 4 weeks.

One other thing I have done for a while - whether rumors and hints are true or not is; I always leave my girls in the dark the last 36 to 48 hours of their life. Whether this actually increases the THC level of your buds may still be up for debate, but this much is true, as light degrades trichomes, allowing your plants sit for 36 to 48 hours and keep producing trichomes without light degradation does make for frostier buds and in my book that's always a good thing.

[Canuck147]

Thanks for being noticed - only thing I'll add about picking which day to defoliate - never a set day really - but I snip off leaves same day I water them.

[grouchyoldman]

BU2B, I expect that I'm not the only admirer of this thread to encourage you to consolidate it into a formal article on the GWE main website.

There is so much useful information here, both in your specific BU2BPPP method and your general approach to important grow topics, that it would be a shame to not afford it a larger audience in the future. I realize that you've already put a ton of effort into this and I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one to offer my assistance in organizing your individual posts into a tutorial web page suitable for the GWE site.

I'm guessing the Nebula would welcome the submission.

-Grouchy
PS, there are lots of very impressive growers here who generously share their knowledge on the Forum, but your work on this is really outstanding.