Tight Buds

C

Cmac9934

Member
I know there are growers on here that may be able to help.
I don't seem to get buds that are tight. They seem to grow fine but just don't tighten up.
Does anyone have a clue on this??
 
Richard Drysift

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
Bud density requires a certain level of lighting intensity. First thing to look at is what kind of lighting you use. Another is to be sure you are waiting until the buds are fully ripe which usually means waiting much longer than whatever the breeders claim as flowering time. I try to go by bud density instead of trichome head color when it comes to finishing. It usually takes 10-11 full weeks to get most hybrid strains to a rock hard “styrofoam” density when gently squeezed. Temperature is also important; high temps during bloom makes airy bud.
 
Antidote Man

Antidote Man

Well-Known Member
Light is certainly the first. HIDs really are the best, although the venting, ducting, filters, cutting holes in walls, other heat removal, etc is a price some of us don't want to pay. Still hoping science will catch up one day and we'll see bulbs that put out the same as HIDs with no heat. As nuts as it may sound to some... I still hope...
 
C

Cmac9934

Member
Richard Drysift said:
Bud density requires a certain level of lighting intensity. First thing to look at is what kind of lighting you use. Another is to be sure you are waiting until the buds are fully ripe which usually means waiting much longer than whatever the breeders claim as flowering time. I try to go by bud density instead of trichome head color when it comes to finishing. It usually takes 10-11 full weeks to get most hybrid strains to a rock hard “styrofoam” density when gently squeezed. Temperature is also important; high temps during bloom makes airy bud.
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Really appreciate your info on this. I'm relatively new to this but having fun at it.
 
Richard Drysift

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
Antidote Man said:
Light is certainly the first. HIDs really are the best, although the venting, ducting, filters, cutting holes in walls, other heat removal, etc is a price some of us don't want to pay. Still hoping science will catch up one day and we'll see bulbs that put out the same as HIDs with no heat. As nuts as it may sound to some... I still hope...
Click to expand...
I used to think the same until COB leds became (somewhat) affordable. Very intense and run super cool. Last year we upgraded from an eye hortiluxe 600w HPS to a Timber Redwood vs. Both pull 600w from the wall but the leds are so much more intense I can dial them down to about 70% for the first half of flowering. Even the bottom branches that used to be more suited for concentrate or butter get rock hard; we get more viable bud curing in the jars than before. Better yields, tighter buds, cooler temps, slightly less power consumption than HIDS. I still run a 400w mh for vegging them with tight nodal spacing which helps make nice big colas in bloom phase but I’m still saving for an upgrade. Might be awhile….
 
C

Cmac9934

Member
Richard Drysift said:
I used to think the same until COB leds became (somewhat) affordable. Very intense and run super cool. Last year we upgraded from an eye hortiluxe 600w HPS to a Timber Redwood vs. Both pull 600w from the wall but the leds are so much more intense I can dial them down to about 70% for the first half of flowering. Even the bottom branches that used to be more suited for concentrate or butter get rock hard; we get more viable bud curing in the jars than before. Better yields, tighter buds, cooler temps, slightly less power consumption than HIDS. I still run a 400w mh for vegging them with tight nodal spacing which helps make nice big colas in bloom phase but I’m still saving for an upgrade. Might be awhile….
Click to expand...
Real good info. Thanks !!
 
G

Gumdrawp

Well-Known Member
Richard Drysift said:
I used to think the same until COB leds became (somewhat) affordable. Very intense and run super cool. Last year we upgraded from an eye hortiluxe 600w HPS to a Timber Redwood vs. Both pull 600w from the wall but the leds are so much more intense I can dial them down to about 70% for the first half of flowering. Even the bottom branches that used to be more suited for concentrate or butter get rock hard; we get more viable bud curing in the jars than before. Better yields, tighter buds, cooler temps, slightly less power consumption than HIDS. I still run a 400w mh for vegging them with tight nodal spacing which helps make nice big colas in bloom phase but I’m still saving for an upgrade. Might be awhile….
Click to expand...
Can't agree more I recently went from 4x1000w hps to 4x730w led fixtures and I can already see the difference like 4 weeks into flower. Penetrates through the canopy much better and the environment is much easier to control.
 
calvin.m16

calvin.m16

Well-Known Member
More co2, more intense/powerful lighting and genetics. When I used to grow using 720w Growers Choice LEDs we got decent yield but the buds were just way smaller and some strains tended to produce airy buds regardless. We since switched back to 1000w HPS and I get big ole knockers that you want a grinder to break down.

Any info on what lights your using and nutrients etc?
 
C

Cmac9934

Member
calvin.m16 said:
More co2, more intense/powerful lighting and genetics. When I used to grow using 720w Growers Choice LEDs we got decent yield but the buds were just way smaller and some strains tended to produce airy buds regardless. We since switched back to 1000w HPS and I get big ole knockers that you want a grinder to break down.

Any info on what lights your using and nutrients etc?
Click to expand...
Thanks for that info.
 
amneziaHaze

amneziaHaze

Well-Known Member
strong light put your buds close to it. if you can keep the box in a room that you live in just you can raise co2 to ideal levels.
 
Rurumo

Rurumo

Well-Known Member
Others pretty much covered it-light, genetics, and complete ripeness. Most people still harvest prematurely because it's easy to get locked into a certain way of doing things early on (harvesting at an arbitrary % of amber). Really, once you get a good light (hid/led doesn't matter) and dial in the distance for your setup and get quality genetics known for density, then you just focus on perfecting each other aspect of your grow to be sure you aren't bottlenecking it someplace.
 
calvin.m16

calvin.m16

Well-Known Member
Rurumo said:
Others pretty much covered it-light, genetics, and complete ripeness. Most people still harvest prematurely because it's easy to get locked into a certain way of doing things early on (harvesting at an arbitrary % of amber). Really, once you get a good light (hid/led doesn't matter) and dial in the distance for your setup and get quality genetics known for density, then you just focus on perfecting each other aspect of your grow to be sure you aren't bottlenecking it someplace.
Click to expand...
I second distancing the lighting appropriately from plants. This is usually easily found in the user manual of the light/bulb instructions that came with it. Some LED company will recommend as close as 3 inches from the plants.
 
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