first buds/first grow

[TVR]

Hi folks -- this is my first grow, and I flipped the switch and went to 12/12 almost three weeks ago. seeing the start of some buds -- see attached. does this look right? female? I've added some bone meal to help as well. anything else I should be doing? how long now? thx as always.

[OldManGrower]

Yes, female. Yes, looking good. No spots, burns, insects or drooping.

[OldManGrower]

Pardon my manners, welcome to the club. Hope you post often.

[TVR]

thank you and not at all -- appreciate it!

[DW2]

Howdy TVR, what OMG said as well. Your plant is femal and looks very good. Keep doing what you are doing, or as Headly Lamar (I think) said, "...keep doing that voodooing that you do so well..." (LOL!!)

[TVR]

thx appreciate the good thoughts!

[AGH]

Nicely done and congrats on your first buds!

The flowering stage is obviously a very exciting milestone and there are a few things to keep an eye on as problems during flowering have a tendency to progress faster and with more gusto than in veg.

- Be sure to monitor the temps and humidity especially as your buds bulk up. This helps make sure that pests, and diseases like bud rot and powdery white mildew aren't able to take hold.
- Connected to this is making sure that you have great ventilation and circulation of air. I use an oscillating clip fan from AC Infinity and it's amazing!
- If you feel comfortable, push the lights hard...light is food for plants! Of course, keep a close eye on them and if you notice any heat stress or light stress (burnt tips that isn't a touch of nute burn, bleaching, unhappy looking leaves, etc.) then back off. This will also depend on how much room you have in your tent to make sure that you can keep your lights the correct distance from your plants, so plan accordingly although at this point in the game, your flowering stretch should be over.

And last but not least, enjoy the journey and learning how cannabis grows and develops!

[TVR]

this is really great thank you!! and another question if I may -- still learning -- attached are two pics from the same plant, and the one has little balls -- could this be a male?

[AGH]

Good eye and great question! Those little 'balls' aren't actually 'balls'....they're pre-flowers and what looks like a ball is actually the calyx. You can tell that they're female because they have a pistil (that little hair) coming out of it. I've added some pics to help illustrate as well.

So as long as you see those little hairs (pistils), you're all good! Of course, keep an eye out for any hermaphrodites (aka. nanners because they often look like bananas) that can happen from stress or sometimes just genetics.

[TVR]

excellent thx!