Ready to Quit over Crap Quality

SauronBlue

Active Member
I've been growing on and off for about 5 of the last 10 years. I've mostly done soil, but I've been switching to coco lately, to try to get out of my rut. I started with 600w MH/HPS combo for veg/flower in a tent. Back then, I had little invested, and my environment was really hot, rh wasn't something I checked. Back then, my buds would turn brown as soon as I dried them. They would dry in a week at most, as all I had was a closet to hang them, no rh control. The bud was absolute crap, but I was working too much to give the grow much attention.
Fast forward to 2 years ago, I decided to take it seriously and learn to grow quality, or just give it up. I inversted in 2 HLG550R full-spectrum LEDs (about $1000 each) to be sure that concern #1- light level, was handled. I've been using GreenLeaf Nutrients 1-part fert as my main food, but I try other lines on a few plants here and there as a comparison, but so far nothing has shown me a big difference, I might try AN next, idk. I've added an 8k a/c, a beast of a dehu, CO2 cycles from 800-1400 about every 2 hours (lowering the a/c setting to increase temps and allow more CO2 to enter stomata also saves enegry and somehow keeps CO2 from dissipating as fast, and raising the rh to further open stomata keeps the dehu from cooking the room, so I like the synergy). I'm using ProMix HP CC with 30# of castings mixed thru the media. I've added terpine boosters- started with Terpenez, now trying signal by TPS. I add recharge for microbial help, but not every week, only at clone to 1g pot, 1g pot to 5g pot, and veg to bloom (and sometimes halfway thru bloom).
Everything LOOKS great now, wonderful veg growth; fat, dense buds, covered in crystals, green foliage until the flush (1-2 weeks with only terp booster and blackstrap molasses- I add a bit of molasses to every watering, to feed the microbes), the buds are sticky and leave just a bit of intoxicating smell on your fingers, but that is the main problem.
My room is full of plants, and it never smells. I do have a can filter with a fan going 24/7, but I should still smell something, and before I added that, there was just as little smell. If I stick my nose to the plant, I can smell it, but not strong at all. I've tried drying in a cabinet I made out of a huge storage tote, then built wooden racks with window screen to hold the buds and an rh controller hooked up to 4 pc fans to vent moist air to outside. When it's staying at about 60% without the fans turning on, I'd switch to 5 gal buckets with lids and boveda packs. recently, I hung up a small harvest in a closet of the grow room with no door, but I covered the top half with a curtain to keep light away, but allow air to circulate. 8 days hanging and then to the boveda bucket. All of my bud, when drying, when curing, whatever, has almost no smell, and what there is is just hay. Always. I've tried different strains, and I really love how this cheeselicious forms nice tight buds with white/popcorn yellow pistils, while purple diesel daze is a bigger, but fluffier bud. No matter what I do, I'm left with no smell and a quality that only my mom and her friends seem to prefer, but I want something to knock my head back, not relax with old ladies.
I'm growing with permission/ licensing from the state, but it's a constant stress if my landlord will find out and get pissed. If I can't get the quality I want, it's just not worth the stress and utility bills, but I love MJ and love growing it, so I'd rather make it work than give up.
What am I doing wrong? Why does everyone else seem to get this so easily, while I struggle so much? I know others who are putting WAY less time and money into this, and seems to have way better results, meanwhile I'm scouring the web, watching hours and hours of weedtube vids, anything to get my skills up. Please help!!

PS. note on the pics: You can see the difference in the cheese vs purple, as the cheese are tighter buds and the diesel is puffier. The brown water in the pic with the can fan is because I just watered with molasses in the water. I clean up the water before lights out every day, I just didn't feel like taking a new pic for that. I changed some pic around to put the foxtailing cheese at the end. I think it's because I increased the co2 level and the heat/humidity after about 4 weeks of the 10 weeks I plan on for this grow, and I think the girl is getting so much more out of it that she went into foxtailing with the boost.

PPS. I'm planning to dry in the flower room closet, using a hanging rack. I'll keep the humidity in the room to 60% for the time that the buds are drying(then heat and humidity up to get the co2 boost), then I ordered turkey bags to use with boveda, all inside 5 gal buckets for the cure. But if I hardly smell anything before the chop, how much can my cure possibly bring back, even if I do it perfectly?
 

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Norment99

Member
Wow what a beautiful set up I grow outdoors so I won’t be much help but I used to have the same issue until I started grow in the ground now I can smell my plants down the street my neighborhood smells like an orange grove lol. I live in New York so that’s not a normal smell. I’m growing agent orange from some seed I ordered last year there was no smell. But this year after I cloned and they started to veg in my closet I started to smell them. Now that I’m a couple weeks from harvest the smell is intoxicating. It’s a mixture or oranges a slight fuel and cheese smell. I’ve done nothing different then last year except that I cloned from a single mother plant instead of starting with seeds. One day I’ll have a nice grow room and hope it’s as nice as yours. I just have a couple questions do u wet trim or dry trim and how do u cure your crop. This is a pic of my lady’s I have 4 plants and I am confident that I will get at least 1.5 lbs and that’s after they were destroyed by my girlfriend father so I am really happy cause didn’t think I was gunna get anything lol
 

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Norment99

Member
Well we got into a scuffle and I gave him a black eye. So when I went to sleep
That night he ripped my door off and weed wakes all my plants so basicly I lost 1 Indica and the 4 agent orange basicly lost half or 3/4 of the veg growth this is how they looked in late July the big one he completely ripped out of the ground and now all I have is agent orange and this is how they turned out
 

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Norment99

Member
Either way I don’t think I did to bad but looking at last years plants it was a lil heartbreaking these were agent orange from the seeds I got3B9F56B4-F54D-4871-AC50-158C747A2CAD.jpeg
 

HydroKid239

Well-Known Member
I've been growing on and off for about 5 of the last 10 years. I've mostly done soil, but I've been switching to coco lately, to try to get out of my rut. I started with 600w MH/HPS combo for veg/flower in a tent. Back then, I had little invested, and my environment was really hot, rh wasn't something I checked. Back then, my buds would turn brown as soon as I dried them. They would dry in a week at most, as all I had was a closet to hang them, no rh control. The bud was absolute crap, but I was working too much to give the grow much attention.
Fast forward to 2 years ago, I decided to take it seriously and learn to grow quality, or just give it up. I inversted in 2 HLG550R full-spectrum LEDs (about $1000 each) to be sure that concern #1- light level, was handled. I've been using GreenLeaf Nutrients 1-part fert as my main food, but I try other lines on a few plants here and there as a comparison, but so far nothing has shown me a big difference, I might try AN next, idk. I've added an 8k a/c, a beast of a dehu, CO2 cycles from 800-1400 about every 2 hours (lowering the a/c setting to increase temps and allow more CO2 to enter stomata also saves enegry and somehow keeps CO2 from dissipating as fast, and raising the rh to further open stomata keeps the dehu from cooking the room, so I like the synergy). I'm using ProMix HP CC with 30# of castings mixed thru the media. I've added terpine boosters- started with Terpenez, now trying signal by TPS. I add recharge for microbial help, but not every week, only at clone to 1g pot, 1g pot to 5g pot, and veg to bloom (and sometimes halfway thru bloom).
Everything LOOKS great now, wonderful veg growth; fat, dense buds, covered in crystals, green foliage until the flush (1-2 weeks with only terp booster and blackstrap molasses- I add a bit of molasses to every watering, to feed the microbes), the buds are sticky and leave just a bit of intoxicating smell on your fingers, but that is the main problem.
My room is full of plants, and it never smells. I do have a can filter with a fan going 24/7, but I should still smell something, and before I added that, there was just as little smell. If I stick my nose to the plant, I can smell it, but not strong at all. I've tried drying in a cabinet I made out of a huge storage tote, then built wooden racks with window screen to hold the buds and an rh controller hooked up to 4 pc fans to vent moist air to outside. When it's staying at about 60% without the fans turning on, I'd switch to 5 gal buckets with lids and boveda packs. recently, I hung up a small harvest in a closet of the grow room with no door, but I covered the top half with a curtain to keep light away, but allow air to circulate. 8 days hanging and then to the boveda bucket. All of my bud, when drying, when curing, whatever, has almost no smell, and what there is is just hay. Always. I've tried different strains, and I really love how this cheeselicious forms nice tight buds with white/popcorn yellow pistils, while purple diesel daze is a bigger, but fluffier bud. No matter what I do, I'm left with no smell and a quality that only my mom and her friends seem to prefer, but I want something to knock my head back, not relax with old ladies.
I'm growing with permission/ licensing from the state, but it's a constant stress if my landlord will find out and get pissed. If I can't get the quality I want, it's just not worth the stress and utility bills, but I love MJ and love growing it, so I'd rather make it work than give up.
What am I doing wrong? Why does everyone else seem to get this so easily, while I struggle so much? I know others who are putting WAY less time and money into this, and seems to have way better results, meanwhile I'm scouring the web, watching hours and hours of weedtube vids, anything to get my skills up. Please help!!

PS. note on the pics: You can see the difference in the cheese vs purple, as the cheese are tighter buds and the diesel is puffier. The brown water in the pic with the can fan is because I just watered with molasses in the water. I clean up the water before lights out every day, I just didn't feel like taking a new pic for that. I changed some pic around to put the foxtailing cheese at the end. I think it's because I increased the co2 level and the heat/humidity after about 4 weeks of the 10 weeks I plan on for this grow, and I think the girl is getting so much more out of it that she went into foxtailing with the boost.

PPS. I'm planning to dry in the flower room closet, using a hanging rack. I'll keep the humidity in the room to 60% for the time that the buds are drying(then heat and humidity up to get the co2 boost), then I ordered turkey bags to use with boveda, all inside 5 gal buckets for the cure. But if I hardly smell anything before the chop, how much can my cure possibly bring back, even if I do it perfectly?
I haven't perfected curing yet so I can't give you any viable advice there, however I do see the rh @79%. Does using co2 help keep mold away?
 

SpawnOfVader

Well-Known Member
I haven't perfected curing yet so I can't give you any viable advice there, however I do see the rh @79%. Does using co2 help keep mold away?
Nice catch, I had to go back over the pictures after I read your post to see that one....

That could definitely make a big difference. Supposedly trichome production increases in dry conditions (their production is actually a defense mechanism for the plant so this kinda tracks)....

83F isn't too high but is that the highest it gets? Terpenes are very volatile as a whole, running your flowering space too hot could cause "taste" related issues.

 

Moldy

Well-Known Member
I wish I had your set up!

I grow in 20% (+/- 3.0) RH all the time. No Co2 just organic dirt but it's small time personal use grow. No more than 10 plants at a time. I probably could seal the room but I bring fresh air in all of the time and it seems that they like that the best. My weed always stinks. Are you taking it long like over 10-12 weeks? Does your room smell musty or stale?
I add dry nutes since they usually use up the goodies in the soil by week 6-8. A few other additives like silica and neem seed, then in week 3 or 4 potassium and sulfur. Seabird guano in last 2-3 weeks but in moderation. I wet trim, hang in cardboard boxes to keep the drying slow at about 40-50 RH in the box, open a lid a bit if it gets higher. That method takes a good 7-9 days then I trim off the buds and burp in jars until I hit 63% RH. Might be hard to do on a large scale. I harvest single plants at a time since I grow multiple strains. 1000W bulb dialed down to 875W DE HPS
2020 grow at 3 weeks flowering.

20201012_054711.jpg
 

Norment99

Member
I wish I had your set up!

I grow in 20% (+/- 3.0) RH all the time. No Co2 just organic dirt but it's small time personal use grow. No more than 10 plants at a time. I probably could seal the room but I bring fresh air in all of the time and it seems that they like that the best. My weed always stinks. Are you taking it long like over 10-12 weeks? Does your room smell musty or stale?
I add dry nutes since they usually use up the goodies in the soil by week 6-8. A few other additives like silica and neem seed, then in week 3 or 4 potassium and sulfur. Seabird guano in last 2-3 weeks but in moderation. I wet trim, hang in cardboard boxes to keep the drying slow at about 40-50 RH in the box, open a lid a bit if it gets higher. That method takes a good 7-9 days then I trim off the buds and burp in jars until I hit 63% RH. Might be hard to do on a large scale. I harvest single plants at a time since I grow multiple strains. 1000W bulb dialed down to 875W DE HPS
2020 grow at 3 weeks flowering.

View attachment 4713027
Beautiful plants I can’t wait to start indoor been growing out side my hole life always grow enough to last till next crop but I wanna do a small indoor crop with like 2 plants but haven’t decided on strain yet want high thc and nice solid buds any suggestions
 

Moldy

Well-Known Member
Beautiful plants I can’t wait to start indoor been growing out side my hole life always grow enough to last till next crop but I wanna do a small indoor crop with like 2 plants but haven’t decided on strain yet want high thc and nice solid buds any suggestions
I tried Greenpoint Seeds this year as my grandson had some clones and I bought Chinook Haze. The one I like is Dawg Lemons, 3 weeks and a lot trichs showing already. There are so many though, and it is in the US. There a thread on RIU reviewing many of their strains. I'd start there.
Dawg Lemons in the back, hard to see through that Skunk 1.
20201012_054716 (1).jpg
 

ComfortCreator

Well-Known Member
Im much newer at this but believe its 2 things in most cases --
Did you grow it long enough?
** temps too high, esp in flower **

Since you have done it for long i would guess the temps are way too high during flower.

I dont think if you grow green plants that your issue is your medium, nutes or humidity. Those would not stop the terpenes.
 

TintEastwood

Well-Known Member
I have experienced the same problem.

What Dank said. Genetics are critical. What sttains have you grown? Clone. Seed
 

SauronBlue

Active Member
Sorry I haven't been here to reply, but this site took FOREVER to approve my post to go live, and by then I was already engaged in another forum with the same topic, and kinda pissed at rollitup for not allowing me to post.

I don't know much about outdoor, I just tried it for the first time this summer, but I put the plants out late and didn't have the best results.

Yes, co2 actually benefits from higher temps and humidity, the 79 is a few points over where I wanted it to be, but my dehumidifier is usually on top of that. at lights out, I drop the temps to low-mid 70s and 65%. My room is never musty or stale.

I was doing 8 weeks, but stretched it to 10 to allow more time to get stronger

I actually think 20%rh during flower and 40-50% during dry is VERY dry. Most VPD charts don't even have 20%rh on them, but those that do, show that the optimal temp is under 65° to go with that, which is low enough to slow the plant's growth. Raising the temp to 75, where they grow well in normal conditions, means the air is too dry, and the plants suffer, drinking a lot to make up for what they transpire, possibly burning them from over fertilization unless you water down the nutes for them. Drying, on the other hand, is ideally done at around 70% for a couple days, then dropped to 65, 60, then sent to cure. If your buds hit even 50%, they are over-dry, and can't even cure correctly, so why dry them in 40% air? Ever notice that the Boveda packs that keep ur bud at the optimal rh come in 58 and 62%? 58 is for those who like it drier, 62 for those who like it sticky, but outside of 55-65 is a bad place for curing buds

I'm popping lots of seeds to eliminate the genetics question, but I have tried several strains, and figure that if it looks as good as mine do, and came from a reputable company, they may not blow the back of your head out with quality or high THC, but they should smell during the grow, and at least the first couple days of drying. The smell of chlorophyll after my lights go out is stronger than the funk of the buds. That seems wrong to me, no matter if I might have some middle-ground genetics.

In addition to new seeds, and a couple clones, I'm also experimenting with REALLY letting the plants dry out, like as much as I dare, and watering more heavily when they actually get something. I was able to stretch from my normal 2, to 4 days before I got any bad reactions to the drought. By day 5, the stems were so limp that some were almost folded over under the weight of the buds. I watered the 5th day, but by the next, a couple branches has snapped right in half. I had to tape a few together, and stake a bunch of them that were drooping before they could fall completely. I've got one plant, right under one of the lights, that has fully embraced foxtailing, but mostly, things look good. I wish they smelled as good.
IMG_2339.JPGIMG_2383.JPGIMG_2382.JPGIMG_2380.JPGIMG_2385.JPGIMG_2374.JPGIMG_2375.JPGIMG_2351.JPGIMG_2348.JPGIMG_2272.JPG
 

SauronBlue

Active Member
PS.
I used the co2 since week 2 of bloom, but had only bumped the temp/rh for 2-3 weeks leading up to the start of week 8. These last 2 weeks will be without co2 and will be at my regular settings of about 75°/65% during the day. The added heat and humidity each cause the stomata of the leaves to open wider, which allows more co2 to enter, giving a greater benefit, and the co2 allows the plant to operate efficiently under those conditions. If any drawbacks, they are that the buds may have a harder time getting dense in the high temps, and the trichomes are volatile at high temp, you can lose them. By cooling off the last couple weeks, you give a good chance for weight and crystals to build up before the chop.
 
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ComfortCreator

Well-Known Member
To me when a problem occurs with something you know well (and you seem to know this well) what has often happened is a fundamental piece of the puzzle has been forgotten or overlooked. You arent realizing that you are letting something basic get out of whack. People who exercise for example can overtrain or overtrain an area to the detriment of others.

Look at your basics again, 1 at a time, and clearly.

 

SauronBlue

Active Member
I've dialed in things as much as I feel I can, there's not much more that I can naturally think to change the issue I'm having. I can't say it's something I've forgotten vs something that I never learned, bc I've never had stinky plants to know that I'm doing it right.
I've read example after example of the fundamentals, but I still re-read the post you linked, bc who knows what you forget over time. They do say that low rh can help terpine production, so that's interesting, as I have been at the high end of my humidity range.

I see others liking posts, but I don't see any options other than report or reply
 

ComfortCreator

Well-Known Member
I greatly appreciate where you are coming from. Very smart, very careful, self aware. It is true, in flowering that low humidity helps produce terpenes, especially in late flower.

Healthy plants will produce terpenes. They can be burned off with higher temps.

No CO2, no temps above 83f would be my starting point.

Start with you. Can you clearly smell a pot of coffee? Can you smell strong smells easily?
 
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