Holiday Treats -(here we grow again)-

[TOKABIGONE]

when you count bud sites are you counting down the stems or just tops? If down, I think I have about 35 on one and 25 on the other.

[BU2B]

I'm counting actual flowering branches not flowering packets on branches. But with that many bud sprouts I see full branches of fat buds in your future 😎

[TOKABIGONE]

So your saying each of the flower sites at nodes will grow a branch of colas? Thanks Swami!

[BU2B]

Update 38: 10.17-18.21

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With the light coming on this evening the girls have started Week 3 Day 1 of Flowering. From this point on I will refer to the age of the plant in flowering mode - no more "of Flowering".
So far so good, things are coming along right on schedule and the girls are looking happy and healthy. Here's a few photo's with and without flash.

Banana Kush in front, Chocolate Mint OG - back right.

BK left CMOG right

Week 3 Day 1

[BU2B]

TOKABIGONE to better show what I'm saying... you want your bud packets to be all together if possible (e.g., green) and not so much like the red where the same amount of flower is spread out. Buds tend to be smaller if allowed to grow out on stalks of their own. When I was referring to seeing fat buds in your future I meant buds like the green one in the example below. What I’m counting as flowering growth tips will develop into flowering branches shown in the picture. Some branches have bud packets more spread out like the branch circled in red. This generally happens when the plant does not get enough light to newly forming flowers. The plant will push them out on their own branch trying to get light to the flowers. It’s my grow I’m showing - so I’m free to critique. I hope this is clearer than mud - but if not let me know (i have word combinations I haven’t used yet) 😃

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[Ckbrew]

BU2B , in post #78 banana kush, there are multiple small leaf stem bases from leaves that were pruned off and are sitting on top of the lid to the bucket. I have encountered this as most people probably have, during trimming and have found some of these little leaf bases still attached to the main stem, but are tan to brownish. Now most of these are just plain dried out and fall off readily. Occasionally I will find one that is brown and still soft and containing water particularly at the base where it is attached.

I am pondering if such a dead leaf stem sitting inside a juicy bud might be a source of mole contamination due to it being damp dead plant material, and acting as a growth medium for mold spores and thereby contributing to mold and bud rot. If this would be the case, it would be a good argument to say that such leaf stems should be removed during pruning as opposed to leaving them in the bud. Any thoughts on this? Anyone else want to chime in on this theory? Just spit balling here.

[BU2B]

Ckbrew I never cut the leaves close to the plant. I've always left a longer stem on the leaves that eventually dries and falls off. Where I live the humidity is about 20-25% so dead plant parts dry up and fall off quickly. I have found those leaf stems to be of more use than harm. IF any leaf stems are left when the bud is done I find that even though they are brown they are not rotten or mouldy, just dried out - and help the bud dry a little slower. You can also use those leaf steams as a judge for how big around your bud is and give you an idea of how much it has filled in or has yet to go.

[BU2B]

Just a note: I think most of us are good at what we do, being creatures of habit we learn to adjust things as needed to get the job done. I am not quite so confident that given new circumstances we would be up to our own standard until we learned the adjustment factors. I can grow great in low humidity with hydro, even with heat, but toss me into a Smoklahoma type environment with 80% humidity and it's quite likely to be a different story. At least at first. The good thing about BU2B's PPP method is that it's independent of environment and is a simple matter of taking a bit more attention with your plants to establish the needed structure to support and produce a lb of flowers.

[SoOrbudgal]

Right on BU2B everyone dials into their own enviornment or tries to, lots of adjustments are needed and made in the first few grows. Believe or not i plan and prepare way ahead and try an time it best for the season. Hydro would scare the heck out of me in OK, TN how it gets done is amazing.

[BU2B]

Update 38b: Week 3 Day 2/3

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Okay now it’s official I guess. 5 - 6 more weeks to go. The girls got their Huge 3 week haircut. No more big defoliations until harvest day. From this point until the girls are down to their last 7-10 days, leaves will be folded under of tucked away if possible. After the end of this week the girls will have only about two weeks in which they will make leaves. Leaf production is pretty much over with by the end of week 5. Since the start of flowering both plants have only stretched 5 inches so far. They were 15 inches tall at the start of flowering and both plants are currently 20 inches tall with over 40 flowering branches per plant.

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[BU2B]

We are stardust, we are golden, we are 10 billion year old carbon, and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden

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Attached animated gif. Week 3 Day 4
As always - BK left, CMOG right
Next photo and grow update week 4 Day 1 (Monday 10.25.21 after 6pm MST)

[Gracey]

BU2B, We are and we do
Toka, me too! Now I wish I had known then.

[Ckbrew]

It was the devil's bargain that made you miss it.

[TOKABIGONE]

Nah Ckbrew it was the damn VN "Police Action" that made me miss Woodstock! I had to see the new then movie when I returned in early '70.

[BU2B]

Update 39: Week 3 Day 6. 10.23.21

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i moved the girls and put BK to the back and CMOG up front. She’s a wee bit shorter than her sister but completely different growth and with her up close I can remove leaves as needed a bit easier. Chocolate Mint OG is now front left and the Banana Kush is in back right corner.

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[BU2B]

WHAZZA SCHWAZZER ??

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It was not until I actually started writing out and trying to pin down my method that I even heard of SCHWAZZING. I found out by accident that I (and I'm sure many others) had been schwazzing before it was even a term. So what the heck is Schwazzing? It's basically a guideline for timed defoliation of your plants to increase yield. The big thing about schwazzing that everyone has been doing for some time that are two staples to the process are:
A) Big defoliation just before flowering
B) Even bigger defoliation at or during week 3 then fold and tuck leaves and spread out your plant as much as possible.
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Most people do this to clean up their plants in preparation for flowering - to open their plants up, and then again around week 3 when bud-sites are well developed and easy to identify and it's easier to see which leaves will be covering what. If you do that - I think you too are a SCHWAZZER even if you didn't know it - AND it didn't cost you $500 for the Schwazzing Bible (Which I've only seen on 'the profit').
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I really don't know the schwazzing details but I personally leave more leaves on my plants when defoliating than most. I think you need to have leaves to help feed those fat happy buds. You do however, have to use your discretion when it comes to defoliating. I find I usually take twice as many leaves during the week 3 defoliation than during the initial prep for flowering defoliation. My goal for the first defoliation before flowering is to open the plant up and let light into growth tips- once those growth tips are established as flowering branches; then I remove any large fan leaves, clean out undergrowth and try to leave enough leaves for the next 5 weeks. During the last 2 weeks or so I remove the majority of all leaves that have grown out of buds and begin cleaning them up a little each day in preparation for harvest.
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The girls are looking great so far, it looks like if I can keep them spread out I will see a few 10-14 inch bud packets on a good number of branches. BK is the tallest right now at 22 inches and neither plant has stretched much at all in the last several days, so it looks like 5-6 inches was it. Which works for me - usually means closer bud packets. CMOG is getting a bit frosty Photo update coming tomorrow Week 4 day 1 (22 days into flowering)
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Thanks for coming along for the ride - the scenery gets better from here to the end of the trip.

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[Ckbrew]

Nice to see them grow up and mature.

[BU2B]

Update 40: 10.25.21 Week 4 Day 1

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Almost halfway done - about 5 weeks to go!

[SoOrbudgal]

Just beautiful full ladies such a healthy grow love it

[Ckbrew]

I'm really interested to see how this finishes out. I would have thought that this is way to crowded. You the man so I will watch and learn.

[PLreef]

Absolutely gorgeous grow man!
Maybe I missed it in this thread but what temp do you keep your water at and how do you keep it cool?

[BU2B]

PLreef Ideal water temp is 68f - our local weather only allows this about 2-3 months a year. During the summer my water temps run about 72-76f - ONLY possible because I have a big air pump that mitigates some of the heat issues. I also found out that the extra tub on the outside really does work wonders. IF worse comes to worse I have two refreezable blue packs that I put between the tubs (e.g. white tub/blue pack/black tub). Even with 110f summers and an indoor ambient temp that can be close to 90f excellent O2 aeration and fans have always worked just fine for me. oh.... and Hydroguard is a given as far as I'm concerned if you're growing in hydro.

[BU2B]

Update 41: 10.29.21 Week 4 Day 5

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I did a wee bit of a haircut on the girls. Maybe 15 leaves. They did however get spread out even further. Here they are with their arms all up ready for the great puffkin.

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[BU2B]

Flash Shot - 10.29.21

[TOKABIGONE]

Wow! i can see a PPP now! Those are looking stupendous!

[Ckbrew]

This is one hell of a grow, you obviously have the magic touch.