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What is your biggest question about growing cannabis?
I’m a newbie, having completed 4 grows with largely underwhelming results. I grow indoors, 32â€x32â€x5.5’ tent, 1 spider farms 1000w light, and all autoflower strains (mainly due to height constraint). I use nature’s living soil with fox farm bush doctor coco loco. I therefore water only. My plants seem robust but i have never been able to achieve large, dense buds. I instead get many small buds. I have used a timer on the light with 12/12 cycles, and also left the light on all the time. These are autoflowers but i wanted to see if it made any difference. Not that much. So, i have three primary questions
1. what is a recommended light cycle for autoflower strains? I know it doesn't affect the flowering transition, but is there a recommendation?
2. Is the living soil + coco loco a good approach or is something else better?
3. What else do you recommend to see large dense buds?
thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide!
1. what is a recommended light cycle for autoflower strains? I know it doesn't affect the flowering transition, but is there a recommendation?
2. Is the living soil + coco loco a good approach or is something else better?
3. What else do you recommend to see large dense buds?
thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide!
Rootsruler
New member
Unless you're breeding a cultivar indoors for years on end I don't see why it would change its morphology.
BreezyGreens
New member
I have questions.
If I want to start weed the same way I do my veggies, is it possible to do that w photoperiods?
I see a ton of info on indoor growing setups and outdoor ones respectively, but there's virtually nothing on hybrid setups, like how gardeners in colder zones typically manage veggies and other tender annuals.
My veggie seed starting setup definitely doesn't generate as much light as is suggested for full indoor grows, and as my seedlings get bigger and the weather gradually warms, I harden them off outside on nice days starting in like April or May (bring them outdoors in the mornings, take them back inside in the evenings) before transplanting them permanently outdoors. It's haphazard, highly weather dependent (I live where snow in April is not unheard of, and our springs can have 7-10 consecutive days of chilly rain and drizzle); some days, they're out there the whole day, others, not at all. It's absolutely not the carefully engineered and controlled environments that indoor growers use. My chaotic "system" works great for veggies, but would it work for photoperiod weed?
Also, does an earlier start change photoperiods' veg-flowering cycle, or no matter what, outdoor grows are at the whim of the weather until October due to hours of daylight?
Finally, do things like hours of shade from shifting sun angle as the growing season progresses and nighttime light pollution (year round; unchanging) throw off photoperiods' veg-flower cycles? When grown outside, do they need more than 6-8 hours of full sun for a solid veg cycle and pitch blackness at night?
If I want to start weed the same way I do my veggies, is it possible to do that w photoperiods?
I see a ton of info on indoor growing setups and outdoor ones respectively, but there's virtually nothing on hybrid setups, like how gardeners in colder zones typically manage veggies and other tender annuals.
My veggie seed starting setup definitely doesn't generate as much light as is suggested for full indoor grows, and as my seedlings get bigger and the weather gradually warms, I harden them off outside on nice days starting in like April or May (bring them outdoors in the mornings, take them back inside in the evenings) before transplanting them permanently outdoors. It's haphazard, highly weather dependent (I live where snow in April is not unheard of, and our springs can have 7-10 consecutive days of chilly rain and drizzle); some days, they're out there the whole day, others, not at all. It's absolutely not the carefully engineered and controlled environments that indoor growers use. My chaotic "system" works great for veggies, but would it work for photoperiod weed?
Also, does an earlier start change photoperiods' veg-flowering cycle, or no matter what, outdoor grows are at the whim of the weather until October due to hours of daylight?
Finally, do things like hours of shade from shifting sun angle as the growing season progresses and nighttime light pollution (year round; unchanging) throw off photoperiods' veg-flower cycles? When grown outside, do they need more than 6-8 hours of full sun for a solid veg cycle and pitch blackness at night?
Rootsruler
New member
Yes
An earlier start would allow more veg time before the season changes and naturally flips to flower. The hard part is knowing when to "early start" them. I've been stung too many times thinking that there was enough light in the day to keep them from flowering so here in the US the days get longer around May-June. That's probably when I would attempt to plant them. If you can supplement whatever light hours you need with lighting like in a greenhouse start time won't matter.
I would be more comfortable with 10 - 12 hour days of direct sunlight. Night time light allowance is no brigher than a full moon.
BreezyGreens
New member
Thanks! This is all super helpful and confirms that I'd need to grow photoperiods indoors, so I'll be sticking to autos in pots outdoors for now.
BreezyGreens
New member
Unsure if this is the right place to put this, but I have a question about flushing after reading the site's article about it.
If I plan on making an MCT oil infusion with my harvest, is flushing recommended?
(Growing in soil, feeding weekly.)
If I plan on making an MCT oil infusion with my harvest, is flushing recommended?
(Growing in soil, feeding weekly.)
Rootsruler
New member
I'm assuming your goal is to "flush out" as many impurities as possible? My take is "flushing" your media does nothing other than remove whatever remaining nutrients and microbial life are in the soil stressing your plant out. I understand the want to not harvest with the phloem and flowers full of ions thus "contaminating" your oil but I prefer to taper down the feed solution so as not to stress the plant out at the end. Doing it this way will allow the plant to naturally pull whatever stored sugars it has in its leaves trying to makeup for whatever is lacking in the tapered feed solutions. That's were you see the leaves start to "fade" at the end near harvest.
BreezyGreens
New member
My goal is a not-harsh-tasting endpoint, and I'm considering flushing because I'm feeding weekly with non-naturally derived fertilizers, and that seems to be the recommendation from the main article.
My first impression is that flushing could matter more for smoking since lots of things we don't want end up in smoke. My second thought was that the widely accepted observation that flushing helps flavor can be true, but we may stray into folk reasoning explaining why it works, especially for oil-based infusions/extractions. I'm not sure how many "ions" (if that's even what contributes to off flavors) are going to happily hang out in a greasy nonpolar solvent.
Still, flushing could matter for oil infusions. I'm probably thinking about this way too much, but there are plenty of non-"ion" molecules that are happy in both polar and nonpolar solvents (amphipathic, if you feel like jargon today). There are others that can more or less "surround" and bring polar molecules into nonpolar solvents (forgot the term for that). And generally, plant biology changes in a huge number of ways to accommodate stressors like low nutrients. It's totally conceivable that flushing matters for oil-based infusions/extractions.
That's why I asked. But most people smoke, so if there's no answer to whether flushing matters for oil infusions/extractions, it's all good.
My first impression is that flushing could matter more for smoking since lots of things we don't want end up in smoke. My second thought was that the widely accepted observation that flushing helps flavor can be true, but we may stray into folk reasoning explaining why it works, especially for oil-based infusions/extractions. I'm not sure how many "ions" (if that's even what contributes to off flavors) are going to happily hang out in a greasy nonpolar solvent.
Still, flushing could matter for oil infusions. I'm probably thinking about this way too much, but there are plenty of non-"ion" molecules that are happy in both polar and nonpolar solvents (amphipathic, if you feel like jargon today). There are others that can more or less "surround" and bring polar molecules into nonpolar solvents (forgot the term for that). And generally, plant biology changes in a huge number of ways to accommodate stressors like low nutrients. It's totally conceivable that flushing matters for oil-based infusions/extractions.
That's why I asked. But most people smoke, so if there's no answer to whether flushing matters for oil infusions/extractions, it's all good.
Bluey
Well-known member
I agree with roots & ckbrew.
I don't think flushing does anything but remove nutes from the medium and stress the plant.
I think flushing is a good idea when things go wrong such as correcting pH or correcting a nute toxicity or salt build up, otherwise I wouldn't stress them out.
I don't think it does anything to improve the smoke or product or whatever it is your making. The dry and cure are critical for that. Low and slow is a good approach for me. Others do the opposite and it does change the effects at the expense of harshness.
I don't think flushing does anything but remove nutes from the medium and stress the plant.
I think flushing is a good idea when things go wrong such as correcting pH or correcting a nute toxicity or salt build up, otherwise I wouldn't stress them out.
I don't think it does anything to improve the smoke or product or whatever it is your making. The dry and cure are critical for that. Low and slow is a good approach for me. Others do the opposite and it does change the effects at the expense of harshness.
MidwestWeedNerd
New member
I’m a organic soil grower but I just consider myself a OMRI grower. I don’t use anything that isn’t OMRI listed in my cannabis grow. I have never read the article on flushing or listened to many opinions on it. Flush is probably something salt based growers started using hydroponics. If you’re growing in a living soil the plant only takes what it’s wanting. And it would be virtually impossible to flush everything out of it to become a blank medium. If you’re growing hybrid style using soil and bottle nutrients that are not OMRI then I would think yes you may need to stop using it for a week or two before harvesting. Use blackstarp molasses for the last few weeks with the watering. Let microbes come back into the picture because salts kill em. The molasses will feed the microbes, mix with the salts to help leech them out and provide micronutrients to the plant so it’s not starving during key development periods. I have used bio bizz all the way up to harvest , my ashes are white my joints and bowls don’t crackle when lit. Proper watering, dialed in environment, good genetics harvest window and drying, curing and storage are way more key.
Bluey
Well-known member
I have read in a couple of recent studies the following.
1. Using hydro nutes in soil grows does not impact the micro organisms function or quantity. The salts in the hydro nutes do no harm to the soil.
2. Using molasses likely only increases the sugar weight in the flowers but more research required.
I love how we have a number of different approaches to producing the best weed we can. I am always on the lookout to make it the best experience for the end user, which is me.
1. Using hydro nutes in soil grows does not impact the micro organisms function or quantity. The salts in the hydro nutes do no harm to the soil.
2. Using molasses likely only increases the sugar weight in the flowers but more research required.
I love how we have a number of different approaches to producing the best weed we can. I am always on the lookout to make it the best experience for the end user, which is me.
I dont see any dif using or not using molasses.
I also dont see any dif flushing or not.
There is an article here that says 3 days dark does increase THC content. I wonder IF that would go for pulling the plant and hanging it upside down in the dark while it uses the last of it's moisture.
I also dont see any dif flushing or not.
There is an article here that says 3 days dark does increase THC content. I wonder IF that would go for pulling the plant and hanging it upside down in the dark while it uses the last of it's moisture.