Another year another grow (1st of 2021)

Genetics:
Heavy Weight Seeds - Goldmine
Dark Horse Genetics - Strawberry Shortcake
Reserva Privada/DNA Genetics - Strawberry banana Kush
All plants put in 12 litre pots except one Banana Kush (put in a high 3 litre pot)
All but two plants are in coco and the other two in soil (1 strawberry shortcake and the smaller Strawberry banana Kush plant).
Nutrients - Biobizz fish mix, Shogun Bloom, calmag, Plant Magic bio-silicon, soluble sulphur of potash (for flowering and taste+smell), brown sugar
Tent = 1 meter square
Lights - 2 Samsung QB running 240 watts each
Various fans, intake and outtake.
I trained the Goldmine and Strawberry Shortcake plants. The Strawberry banana Kush plants were left 'natural' (due to very short veg times, I didn't want them full size).

Vegged the clones taken from my mother stock (Goldmine, Strawberry Shortcake) for four weeks. With the Strawberry Banana Kush clones, one Strawberry Banana got 1 week veg (from rooting clone - before being put into 12 litre pot), the smaller Strawberry Banana Kush was given about 2 days veg (from rooting clone) and placed into a small 3 litre pot (as a test - I had a small place in the tent where I could place another plant
Four plants take up the main room, I then 'fitted' the Strawberry Banana Kush plants where I could (one in the middle of the four plants and one in a small gap I noticed

First sign of pistols in flower was 22nd Jan (about 7 days after flipping lights to 12/12) for Goldmine and Strawberry Shortcake.
I put the SBK plants into flower tent later. The Strawberry Banana Kush (1 - larger plant) is about a week and a bit behind and the Strawberry Banana Kush (2 - smaller plant) was two and a half weeks behind.
Sorry I didn't get more pics through the grow, just a few from flowering (Goldmine at the back of the tent, SBK in the middle of the tent and strawberry shortcake plants at the front).
They have grown very fast this season, I'm only 5/6 weeks in and they are looking nice. The goldmine looks almost finished ..but I'll still let it run for the standard 65 days. Smell is great (thanks to the soluble sulphur of potash), sulphur really does bring out the taste and smell

Enjoy the pics

final two pics (Strawberry Shortcake)

Update Pics:

Currently (21th March, Sunday), I'm 59 days (8.3 weeks) into flower for Goldmine and Strawberry Shortcake.
And 54 days (7.6 weeks) for Strawberry Banana Kush (1-larger plant), 49 days (6.8 weeks) for the Strawberry Banana Kush (2-small plant).

I decided to try my hand at some indoor Charas rolling, on one of my Strawberry Shortcake plants.
After much deliberation of technique; I opted for powder-less latex gloves and got to lightly rubbing and caressing all the buds on the plant (I didn't want to damage the leaves/plant, so I took a lot of care).
After 30 minutes of working the plant, I got 0.5 grams of Charas off the gloves (using the 'stick gloves in freezer then lightly inflate them' to get the Charas off quickly and easily. imho - better technique (indoor) than applying coconut oil to your hands and going through the 'classic' rubbing technique. No breaks for tea (or the toilet) when using the classic technique
The plant recovered, but does look a little 'bruised'. I'm interested to see how it effects flower time/final result ..as I have a 'control' plant which I didn't rub for Charas (cloned from the same Mother plant).

Apart from pics, thats it really. I nute burned the Goldmine plants a little but they seem fine now (and are in the bud fattening stage).

FYI -
In the past (from first sign of pistils in 12/12), my Goldmine clones and Strawberry Banana Kush clones harvest at 68 days (9.7 weeks). The Strawberry Shortcake clones (a Sativa pheno) harvest at 87 days (12.5weeks).
However, they grew much faster in flower this season, so I'm wondering if I can harvest earlier. Guess I'll wait and see ..not much going on at the mo so its a great time to grow

and two last pics.
My 0.5g of Strawberry Shortcake Charas (unsmoked, at time of writing).
And a 'nute burned' Goldmine bud

Update pics
Day 68 (9.7 weeks) for GoldMine and Strawberry Shortcake.
Day 63 (9 weeks) for Strawberry Banana Kush (1), 58 days for Strawberry Banana Kush (2-small plant) 8.3 weeks

Been feeding the GoldMine plants straight ph-ed water (for a week). The temps have been higher this week and although I normally harvest GM clones at 68 days, I'm going to leave these for some days yet. They have the autumn colours now but are still fattening and throwing out white hairs
There were a few nanas spotted, just one nana on a number of buds. Some deft thumb nail work put pay to them though. No harm no foul.

Strawberry Shortcake plants are plodding along nicely. This is normally a 12.5 week flowering pheno, so its still got a time to go. They are losing their green and getting autumn colours now. The smell is definitely 'wine gums /Jolly ranchers' with diesel fuel poured over them

The Strawberry Banana Kush plants are fattening up and have lots of trics on the buds. The short veg times have stunted them, as I thought. But the buds are very dense and compact (and the plants fit in the spaces without too much overlap). The smell is amazing from this strain/pheno, a skunky/kushy scent hits the air ..even if you just breath near them
The great thing is, this SBK pheno smells and tastes exactly the same. Its one of only two mother plants (along with the GoldMine mother plant) I have with that trait (where the smell and smoked taste are the same). I do like that trait in my meds.

My next grow will probably be four Strawberry Banana Kush plants and one GoldMine.
At the mo, these two are my favourite 'in-house' strains/phenos.

Enjoy the pics

Day 77 (Strawberry Short cake).
Day 72 (Strawberry Banana Kush-larger plant).
Day 67 (Strawberry Banana Kush-smaller plant).
**Harvested Goldmine plants (2) at day 74**

Harvested Goldmine plants and put the smaller Strawberry Banana Kush plants in their places. The Goldmine plants could have gone longer but had stopped popping out white pistils. They basically looked the same as my last pics of them. So down they both came and placed into my makeshift drying boxes (large cardboard boxes, big enough for one plant, with a 4" exhaust fan attached ..if needed).

Letting the Strawberry Shortcake plants run 12 weeks. They are both still popping out white hairs, so are still fattening up. The tops of the plants are well faded (2 weeks of just water) but the lower plant sections are still green. While the 12 weeks is a long time the harvest is always bountiful with this strain/pheno. So, worth the few extra weeks wait

The Strawberry Banana Kush are also still throwing out white hairs. So leaving them a week or so. The smaller SBK plant looks pretty much done. But I'll just let it carry on, the trics are not heavily amber so alls good. The buds are very dense but not elongated, probably due to the short veg times . Still, I think a few ounces off the larger plant (and 1-2 ounces from the smaller plant) will be fine for me. These plants were simply filling holes in the tent ..where the four main plants had not reached.

Peace.

My VERY cheap and cheerful drying boxes, with a GoldMine plant hanging upside down inside (held in place by a dry old stem, pieced through the box sides).
But looks can be deceiving, this gives me a great dry (with humidity in the right zone).
This one, is a box that a 4 plant 'Smart Pot' system came in ..topped by an MRE box as the hood/fan connection.
Shoved in a backroom/store room, with the window cracked. Job done, I'll open it in a week or so (for a dry trim session).

16th April (Fri) Harvested Strawberry Shortcake plants (day 86 of flower - day 93 from 12/12 light flip).
As the Goldmine plants had dried I simply placed one SShortcake into a large cardboard box, with previous harvests dry remains inside (leaves, stems, branches). This dried plant matter (for me) keeps a great moisture balance in the cardboard box. Meaning I do nothing but (if necessary) remove any large fan leaves. Other than that, leave it about 7+ days.

I hung the other SShortcake plant in my cheapo drying box. With a fan attached, running 24hrs for the first 3 days.
None of it looks pro, but I get coffee shop grade ..after a dry trim (as its dry, mostly pruning with just hands in gloves).
Its the plants good genetics I guess

The Strawberry Banana Kush, as of today (17th Apr, Fri) -
Its 82 days in flower (11.7 weeks) for the larger SBK. And 77 days for the smaller SBK plant (11 weeks).
I'm guessing the short veg times increased flower a bit, as they are both still throwing out pistils. Might be a week or so yet, depends how quick they turn really. The pistils have slowed down production (for the 2nd time in flower) so hopefully they will finish soon. The heads are mostly all cloudy but hardly any amber (but still some clears). Going to wait for more amber/red to appear. They've been getting plain water for 1.5 weeks.

fyi - Smoke reports:

very good harvest indeed

April 24th - 89 days (12.7 weeks) for SBK (Larger plant), and 84 days (12 weeks) for SBK (smaller plant).

I was hoping to see an end to white pistils, but they are still about (although no new ones are growing).
But, seeing as the larger SBK plant is in coco (and the smaller plant is in a 3 liter pot of earth) and not feed for approx. three weeks. Most of the leaves are dried and consumed on both plants now. Talk about 'cure on the vine'
Next consumed will be the smaller bud leaves, I guess. So I'm thinking I've left them long enough.

Still not the greatest amount of amber ..but may be I'm chasing dragons at this point (there is plenty of milky trics).
Too much longer, and the plant will start to consume the buds ..and thats really my job!

I was going to leave them in the dark 24/48hrs. So they will get another couple of days to ripen

They do look a bit sorry for themselves at this point, but the buds are nice and dense. The smoke should be good too, given past experiences.
*pics attached*


HARVEST TOTALS - for Goldmine and Strawberry Shortcake plants. *still have to harvest the SBK plants (will hopefully add a few more ounces)*

Two plants of each strain (all clones of the same two mother plants).
Each set of two plants taking up just under 0.5M2 (the SBK plants taking the rest of the space).
GM and SS plants were about 26 inches high (measured from soil/coco medium).
Dried to 55%

2 GM plants = 185.4g (both plant totals, were within a gram of one another!)
2 SS plants = 225.2g (about 15g difference in weight - in favour of the plant in coco. Which, also didn't get rubbed for Charas

410.6g total for the four plants

Ok, I admit to smoking a bit of the GM before weighing but it wasn't the largest yielder this time around.
I kept the lights a little higher over the GM plants (due to differing plant heights between strains). About 20 - 26 inches from bud tops.
Last round the lights were closer (18 to 16 inches from tops).
The lights were a little closer to the SS plants, about 18 - 22 inches from tops.

Without the SBK I don't know if I broke the 1g / 1 watt wall. So far, each time I've used QBs, they've broken that barrier. So I figure, with the SBK added, I will pass 480g (QBs total 480Watts).
fyi - In the past, with these lights (and different strains) I've harvested around 530g (four plants in the 1 meter square tent and 2 meters in height).

Waiting on the SBK then ...

Often, we smokers can be stereotyped as 'Stoners' ..a cruel judgment by society as a whole.
But, on this day, it appears society was right!
I noticed, when calculating the harvest ..I missed counting three jars of strawberry Shortcake, and still had three Strawberry Shortcake branches/buds in a separate box (where they had been drying)

Darn, hate living up to stereotypes. But hey, what can you do! Best to simply document your stupidity



***The three jars came to a total of 43.8g***
ADDED TO PREVIOUS HARVEST TOTAL = 454.4g

Note:
Not trimming the branch/buds, nor will I bother weighing them into the Total Harvest.
Instead I'm gonna leave them in the box for a few months, as a 'control' to compare curing in jars (compared to just drying and leaving in boxes or paper bags for 2-3 months).

When people ask:
"What did you do this Sunday?"

I will simply reply:
"Ahhhh ..Keepin' busy, stacking my blocks!"

***Monday 26th April (7pm - 36 Hrs in darkness) - Harvested Strawberry Banana Kush plants***

91 days (13 weeks) for the larger SBK plant.
86 days (12 weeks, three days) for the smaller SBK plant.


*Sparks a Goldmine joint*
And so, the tent falls silent! All fans grind to a halt and the last of my plants are drying in boxes.
I have the smaller SBK in a box with old dried stems, branches and leafs (from past harvests).
I put the larger SBK plant into my cheap-o-matic fan/dry box set up.

With larger plants, I tend to think about the drying when I shape the plants, so they hang easily and that the large buds won't touch (due to the shape of the plant). All helps air circulation and stopping any overly moist areas of the plant too (where bud-rot might then occur).
The third picture I've attached (to this post) shows how the buds will hang (separated from one another on the larger SBK plant).

I can't wait to try the SBK

The last time I grew this it became my favourite tasting Mother plant in stock. Its was a little strong (for casual smoking), but the flavour made my taste buds flow.
Nothing Strawberry or Banana about it, it straight up tasted like early 90's (UK) skunk and Kush ..combined into one.
Interested to see if the flavour is any different this time around (due to the short Veg time and longer Bloom time). When I grew 'adult' plants of this, they harvested at 68 days. Also, my tent conditions were a little better in that earlier round.

imo; I grow my best meds in winter (I think the lower temps are key - especially at night).
In summer, its a battle sometimes to keep things at 24C (normally fluctuated between 24-30 over the bloom cycle). When my temps are 24 and lower (sometimes dropping to 14C in the night cycle), everything comes out tasting nicer and looking good.


Next grow round:
Will be four SBK plants. And maybe, a small Goldmine plant thrown in there too.

Boomshanka!

Day five of drying:
Thought I'd add a pic from my cheap-o-matic fan/dry box
To illustrate how the plant 'shrinks' in drying.
Compare the plant on day 5 of drying, to what the plant looked like the day it was placed in the box (the last picture, in my previous post).

As each drying day goes by, the buds contract/compress as moisture leaves. This also means, less risk of mould.
Notice that, at this point (day 5), all the buds are very spaced a part.
I turn the fan on, may be once a day, to cycle air and 'sniff' for wet smells (mould).
So far, never had an issue with mould using this simple drying method.

The buds are dry on the outside. Though there is still moisture inside. I check by lightly squeezing smaller bud sites (using this to gauge how all the larger bud sites are doing). Works well for me. I might also 'cup' a large bud or two. Just to make sure they are dry on the outside too (to squeezing though ..that 'abuse' is saved for the popcorn buds).

In a couple of days, once things are dry enough, I'll make a smoke report. In the past, this SBK strain tasted great straight after drying. Curing, just brought out more of the Kush flavour (while the skunk flavours moved back). I preferred it dry and 'un-cured'
Previous SBK grows, I grew plants to adulthood during veg and then flowered. This time, I vegged (from rooting clone) from 2 to 7 days.
Will that growing pattern effect the final smoke? We shall see

Peace.

Well the SBK is now dried to between 54% and 60% RH. And has been placed in jars.

Bear in mind, the smaller plant was vegged for 2 days and the larger plant vegged for 1 week (before the 12/12 cycle was engaged). And, they had limited space (compared to the other/main four plants - Goldmine+Strawberry Shortcake)

Harvest Weight:
Smaller SBK plant - 3 liter pot (but 'tall'), soil medium.
42.2g

Larger SBK plant - 12 liter, round pot, coco+perlite medium.
61.1g

Total = 103.3g / 3.6 ounces


***Added to the Total Harvest Weight, we get:***
557.7g / 19.7 ounces

Pretty happy with that
p.s.
I'll do a smoke report on the SBK soon

For the moment, enjoy some jar and bud pics.
Peace.

Smoke report for Strawberry Banana Kush: