The Great Auto Showdown

[ocgreen]

When you run FFOF do you add anything to it? (e.g. extra perilite)

I want to start some photos in soil so I can maintain a few as mothers.. bag of FFOF sitting in basement... but I have killed everything I ever tried to grow in soil.

 

[Spidermite]

Yes I add about 30% perlite to the soil

 

[SirSmksAlot]

Beautiful garden my friend!

 

[SirSmksAlot]

So I've been contemplating doing a big defol on my fruit punch auto that I'm guessing has about 3 weeks till harvest. I'd like to see if I can get the buds to continue fattening up. Would this cause too much stress for an auto or have any of you had any luck with aomething like this?

 

[9fingerleafs]

thats how we roll...

 

[Spidermite]

Depends on how many leaves are left and if you have already exposed all bud sites. You didnt post a current pic so I cant say honestly.

 

[Canuck147]

Yeah - I second that.

 

[SirSmksAlot]

Here's a, current pic

 

[SirSmksAlot]

Most of the bud sites are exposed but there's some in the middle of the plant that don't get the most light. She's pretty dense but has good air flow

 

[Juicyj89]

You really think she only has a few weeks left? She’s still pretty green. But because of that, I personally wouldn’t be afraid to defol. Not too heavy. Just to expose those bud sites your referring to.

 

[SirSmksAlot]

I honestly don't know when she'll be ready. It's a 95 day strain and it's day 90 give or take a few. I topped it so I'm assuming that will add approximately two weeks. I'm still feeding her as per my nutrient schedule. The trichomes are mostly cloudy. I think I'm going to take your advise and do a light defol and see what I can open up.

 

[Juicyj89]

Oh okay. Well you’re probably right then. But yeah if you do just go slow and work inside out

 

[Spidermite]

If you can expose lower buds remove just those leaves.

 

[MmmHmmml3]

Yes, seeds!! Unknown Auto + Northern Lights Special male.

*edit*

Smells so good drying right now. Hoping to keep at least 25-30% weight. I think it looks like a lot for only weighing 50g and then keeping only 15% seems low. Plant was outdoors 93f and not watered the last 2 days. Some of these buds are just so fat and swollen like peas.

I imagine most of you have a precise system you have followed a while now, but did you notice a decent variance in the amount of weight lost drying depending on when exactly you harvest and if the plant was not watered the last couple days?

 

[Spidermite]

I misspoke on the plant I harvested the other day. The one a few posts back was Fast Buds GSC. This is the Fast Buds Six Shooter. About twice the yield as the GSC but it is no where near as sticky as the GSC.

 

[MmmHmmml3]

What's the fastest you typically see buds dry when cut super small or did you cut them after?

 

[Spidermite]

I dry them in a hanging rack. When the outside of the buds start to feel overdry they are usually around 70 to 72% humidity. I then slow the process down by starting the cure in bins with buds about an inch or 2 deep. I turn them a few times a day. I like to try to keep them in the bins and rack a total of 10 days or more. The reason is to prevent loss of the terpenes. I try to keep the room temp about 68 degrees with humidity between 50 and 60. Makes a huge difference in the smell, taste, and the high you get.

As long as I've done this I still have not completely figured out the perfect drying and curing. Each batch I adjust and am still getting better. But I do not aim for fast drying. I want them to dry as slow as possible without encountering mold.

 

[MmmHmmml3]

What is the curing in bins, can you elaborate? Is it the same to just use an open container for a week between cure and drying? My bud drying now has a very strong fruit punch smell. I purposely left more to air cure vs water because I want to keep the terpenes of this one. Cut into smaller pieces and put on mesh rack 18 inches from a 6 inch fan on low last night.

 

[Spidermite]

Ok to bin cure, which is the way all major growers start the cure, you put them in plastic bins, cardboard boxes with tops, etc etc. You do this when they are getting close to the 70% moisture rating. Just take your buds and put them in you bin, they make them for just this purpose. I use cardboard boxes at home. You put a humidity meter in the bin and keep up with the humidity. You turn them at least twice a day if you are 2 inches deep, at one inch maybe once a day. You keep them in an environment that is cool, I like 68 degrees and about 60% humidity. I open and close the tops if they dry to fast or open of they dry to slow.

When the humidity is around a constant 62% I then Jar and burp as normal. I am still experimenting so maybe ask someone else like Obi-Wanwho I think does it close to the same way.

 

[Retodd]

Little early, but chopped 2 grapefruit and dug out a ton of rot. Family is in this weekend, so took 1-1/2 hrs for three of us to go through and trim it all. Wish I owned a autotrimmer for the rest...lol. Longest bud was about 12”.
🙏🏼✌🏻