Day 99 - Day 1/3 darkness
a. she is in darkness for 3 days without any water
b. the stress is making more resin glands appear all over the plant
Day 100 - Day 2/3 darkness
a. very frosty
Day 101 - Day 3/3 darkness complete - Drying day 1
a. cut her down, hung the whole plant to dry.. tied the branches back and used the net to provide space between these monster colas. I think drying the whole plant makes for a better final product. I have tested both ways, and will from now on only hang the entire plant to dry. there must be alot of life left in the trunk because the resin glands and trichomes have grown more.
b. she will dry in 23 degrees 45% humidity until she is ready
c. I trimmed a side bud from one of the smaller branches, dried it in the oven 40 degrees only for 25 minutes, just enough to get a good dust of fire bud.. Smoked it in a bong, and my goodness, this is some killer weed. Facemelter!
d. I harvested the plant in the morning on the 3rd day of rest in the dark. It really increased the effects and the amount of resin on the buds.
Day 102 - drying well - Drying Day 2
a. I spread out the branches so airflow would be great!
Day 103 - drying perfectly - Drying Day 3
a. we are about 40% dry... humidity is 45% and temps are 22 in the box.
b.. some of the branches settle as they dry so I readjust to make sure there is enough air flow space. I have the two small fans in the bottom pointing sideways NOT blowing on the weed. Just for good air movement, extraction is always on.
Day 104 - no complaints - Drying Day 4
a. she is drying nicely... humidity 45% and temps are 22 in the box, same as usual
b. the leaf stems are all brittle, some of the stems are starting to become dry
c. cut off a small bud in the front to examine its dryness, I think we have a few more days.
Day 105 - drying very well - Drying Day 5
a. Humidity stays at 45-50% and temps are 21/22/23 in the box
@love_2_grow, I would like to master cannabis in soil at some point. I grow many different Amaryllis phenotypes in nice soil, may try some cannabis sometime. Chem degree also.
@SwissKush, Yeah, the geek and scientist in me (I have a degree in Chemistry) is fascinated by the control. But then I remember that I'm also lazy and love growing in living soil since all I have to do is to use plain old water and I even have that automated :D
@love_2_grow, no doubt you will! I personally think DWC is much easier than growing in anything else as you can instantly correct any mistakes in DWC. It is VERY forgiving! There are no watering schedules or worries about over/under watering. Never use an electronic PH tester in a DWC, you will grow runts every time. Use the basic chemical PH test, as long as you are yellow/orange in the beginning, Yellow in Veg, and Green/Yellow in Flower you will grow massive plants, especially the tree's trunk. It becomes very thick in DWC expanded clay in order to support itself better. This grow there are ZERO ties on the limbs, no real LST besides the scrog net. Keeping the PH in check during VEG in DWC makes the thickest limbs I have ever seen. I cant wait until you start your DWC! Please look at any of my diaries, they just keep getting better with experience.. and more lighting POWER! π
@SwissKush,Good advise, but I've been growing in soil and I top almost all of my auto's..
I've consistently gotten bigger harvests from the ones I've topped and trained compared to just letting them grow.
Every time I've let them do their own thing, 1 maybe 2 ounces per plant, after topping and training I'm
getting 3-4+ ounces per plant on average, some more some less. I've seen some grows with the DWC and I'm
going to order one for now and give it a try in the fall when I start growing indoors again. Once everything is done
inside I'll be shutting the tents down and moving outside, but there is still frost in my garden, so I have to wait a bit yet..
Hope all is well!!!
@northernMike, thank you, mate!! Here are my personal tips. Yes, the trick to growing a bud shrub, or bud tree is never top an auto, always HST and use chemical PH test instead of those faulty electric ones. I have seen a 5.5 on chemicals, but the PH meter show a 6.5. I only pump the water out 1 maybe 2 times the entire grow... if you change water every 2 weeks it puts too much stress on the root system. This is all anecdotal experience! has not let me down for 8 grows!
@northernMike, key to DWC is to not overthink it, and never include anything organic into your DWC pool. H202, hydrogen peroxide, 3% that you get for first aid works the best in DWC for keeping anything bad out, plus the plants love the extra molecule of oxygen that is left over, just helps the roots grow larger. Keeping the pool temps under 25 degrees is always best. For PH, use a chemical test kit, not an electronic tester that has to be calibrated. I think that is the main reason why I grow such large plants is because my PH is physically tested in a test tube with chemicals, not an electronic tester. Main thing is to not over think it.. they are plants, and plants love control.. DWC provides the best control when you use minerals only and when your water supply's PH is steady.
@Green_fiend, yes, I think it will be my best FastBuds plant, idk, Gorilla Cookies and Pineapple Express was bomb, so was Bruce Banner... I think this will beat them both.
@DeepWaterGrower, It is a bug strip to catch any flies, mosquitoes or gnats that may enter the tent. I always do it during the months when the bugs are bad outside. π