Since I have no basis for comparison, I'll simply say the Dinafem Blue Widow is an easy strain to grow if you do a little homework ahead of time and give it a good environment. It tells you when it needs more or less of something and responds well to corrective measures.
As title says, this was a first grow and there was a steep learning curve since everything was new to me. The pre-grow research paid off nicely, and once i got over the "helicopter parenting" things ran pretty smoothly.
The decision to use the Cost of Maine Stonington Blend and 7 gal root pouches was validated by the results.
The Dinafem Blue Widows were very easy to grow ... the biggest surprise was how compact they were. As the diary documents, I had to keep them in veg for an extended period of time to keep long enough shoots to clone with. In retrospect, I think that I gave them too much light in veg and that set them up for their eventual growing traits.
The fact that I ended up with 3 distinct phenos out of 5 seeds made the experience more interesting.
Since I had 2 other plants in the tent, I used 5/7 of the light wattage to do the calcuations, not the full 800 watts,
I have clones from all 3 types and I'm in the process of deciding which of them are better examples of the strain.
The effects from the ones I've tried extremely relaxing and cerebral. I'm vaping but people that smoke have declared the dry but uncured smoke incredibly mild and smooth.
As for my thoughts on this site, I think it's a great resource and extremely helpful both as a tool for me to document what I've done and as a reference to see what others are doing.
My only disappointment was the lack of communication and responsiveness from Dinafem. Their seeds were outstanding but they never replied to my questions either here or by direct email.
@Reaper, I think people are misled by the THC % .. the real power of this strain is the terpene profile. It's a very pleasant smoke for fun but if you have muscle spasms it's a blessing in a pipe.
@bosgrower, I think this yield is achievable mate. I run 600w per m2 and get 15-24 oz. So with your extra lumens I think you will do better than estimated
@BigDaddyK, Like everything about this project, it's uncharted territory. Dinafem claims 525g/sq meter indoors so trying to extrapolate what these 5 will produce is tricky until I see what the stretch is but I'd be thrilled with that result. They're going into a 5x5 with a 16 COB DIY fixture pulling 800w at the wall so who knows 😎
@Reaper, I think people are misled by the THC % .. the real power of this strain is the terpene profile. It's a very pleasant smoke for fun but if you have muscle spasms it's a blessing in a pipe.
@Grimbol, Thanks ... It's taking longer than I hoped to finish harvesting and trimming all five but I'm hoping to trim out the last plant today and update the journal.
Beautiful setup, great diary and details, loved the pictures!
You got my vote for diary of the month, and I can't wait to read your future diaries!
Keep it up!
T.
I'm so sorry for the lack of reply mate. This was not intentional but with grow diaries being new it has taken me a bit of time to give up to the site sguch I now have.
You did a great job with the diary I'm just sad I missed the flower show which will not happen again. Really nice end results and what looks like some tasty end product. Not a bad yield either 500g from the 5 plants which is over 3oz per plant and closer to 4oz/plant. Great work and a brilliantly written/documented diary, fine work with a nice outcome
Hey, Bos, we are in a race here LOL. My Pineapple Kush are at 24 days and going CRAZY!!- Running Hydro @ avg. 700 PPM and 6.0 . Meet ya at the end- MA. Rules!!
growdiaries.com/diaries/1002-pineapple-kush/week/4391
Thank you for documenting your grow on GD mate. You look to have had great germination results and so far for week 4 all plants look great. They will definitely appreciated the potting up this will give the roots room to put down a better structure to hold the buds that will be produced.
I will get watching with interest.
@DinafemSeeds, I would have loved to take clones and go into flower weeks ago but it simply wasn't possible. Learned a lot though and future grows should be much easier
@bosgrower, 9-10 weeks is a very long veg period mate and typically clones can be taken anywhere from week 4 onwards. I tend to take ours at week 6-7 just before I go into the flower phase
@DinafemSeeds, I'd really appreciate some input on the compact nature of these plants and whether that's their normal growth process or if I should adjust something in the environment. At this rate it looks like it may take 9 or 10 weeks in veg from seed to get enough vertical growth to be able to take some clones before flipping to flower. That seems like an unusually long veg period.
it's just a simple small pot experiment, but I'll probably see how far I can stretch the genetics, I've already done a mold test on one of my diaries with peyote cookies from barneys farm, fair to say it didn't yield to much but I'm not a yield type of guy I'm more of taste, cannabinoid profile. the main reason I asked this is because every new breeder I try out I always like to see how far I can push the plants in non ideal conditions, as it gives me more experience and if it goes well I normally stick with those breeders(and of course others) it's omly because I've had genetics from brands that when ive done this type of stress testing they've failed altogether and it let me show my followers on instagram what not to do when starting to grow cannabis as I get asked a lot if questions when really I'm a newbie myself also I've only been growing for 5 years come January lol :). but thank you very much for taking your time to comment its greatly appreciated and I hope you have a good rest of your wonderful day :)
@TheHonestGrower, The buds are quite dense and if you have PM or botrytis cinerea (bud rot) spores floating about and you let the humidity spike you'll have problems. I would suggest using copper soap in late veg / early pre-flower as a preventive and keep some 3% hydrogen peroxide handy to spray thoroughly at the first signs of problems.
This was my first grow, so the tent environment was pristine. I've grown BW again both indoors and out and if you expose it to high humidity you'll have issues. Defoliation and good air flow are important for this strain..
That said, it's a really nice medicinal strain for a number of ailments including muscle spasms.
Hope this helps.
What sort of experiment are you planning?
@Micha122, The lights are DIY using CREE 3590 COBs with 140mm passive pin heat sinks. The fixture has 16 COBs using 3 Meanwell drivers. Pulls 800w at the wall and gives me 850-900 µmols across the 5x5 canopy
Nice canopy and good and healthy looking buds. I am on my first grow as well. White widows. They looking very similar to your blue widows. Too bad prohibition is still in full effect on federal level. If not, then we can actually trade final products and see what the differences are. Anyway have fun growing. Will def follow this till the end.
Cheers...
BM
4tweentee....
Stop prohibition now. It does more harm then good...