Finally here for support! TY ILGM! What a godsend!

I finally made it back! You see it’s 4am as I start this… the strawberry :strawberry: cheesecake :cake: is still more of a bush, not very tall & a ton of buds :grin: Many pistils have already darkened, but the shorter ones are mostly white The trichomes, as best I can see, using a magnifier app, are getting nice & cloudy :grinning: When time to harvest, I’m going to attempt to hang the whole plant in my bedroom walk-in closet with a small space heater, the closet is more on chilly side and currently houses a variety of plants, lights etc, that must come out 1st
If anyone has a minute to check her out, lmk what you think on harvest timing, maybe? Really appreciate it!
@Fieldofdreams @Pinboy @MidwestGuy @BigCat420
I’ve been away from here too long :slightly_frowning_face: Can’t remember everyone’s names yet,. Sorry
Hope everyone is doing well as we move right into 2023 Jan almost over already! Going to post pics from yesterday Also includes 1st shots of Northern Lights + Amnesia Haze (AH is the smaller 1 in front, when you see the pic of all)


Top down


Close up


Pretty sure this 1 shows the lower flowers with more white pistols)

I did raise the light above the cheesecake Left the other one low for seedlings

Thank you for any help! And have a great day! As most of you get up lol Gnite!

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Looks pretty close. Trichome pics would be helpful. I use a $30 portable microscope to get pics like this:

Snap_002

You might find this helpful:

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@MidwestGuy Oh thanks! I found everything but that one!! I’ll try trichome pics again later today with that app, maybe get some clear ones, I hope! Was reading earlier others talking about the curing, burping, and 2 way humidity packs Bleh! LOL Too much learning and not enough time… I was stuck in bed for 4 days, and the plants took a small beating but very resilient!
Umm, I must be stupid, if you’re using an actual microscope I can’t see in my mind how you got the pic lol SMH

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https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IV0TV50/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?tag=ilovegrowingm-20

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@MidwestGuy I knew I was going to regret saying that… lol and sure as sh*#, Amazon just has everything, don’t they??? LOL I should’ve realized Could facepalm Stoopid right now I gotta laugh at myself! Not a bad price, really, but, nothing is in my budget right now. Sadly. But, I’ll still see what I CAN get & work toward the microscope (what a cool invention that was! Always liked that part of science classes)
Thanks again!!

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Well, I couldn’t resist (deep breath) I bought it, will be here by 10pm today :wink: I know it sounds crazy, maybe, I haven’t had to be so strict on money and budget since I was like… 18, 19, 20 yrs old… and not liking it… anyway, I got it, can’t wait to use it!
@MidwestGuy

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Enjoy!..

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I’m in the Midwest too, STL, hope you’re keeping warm!!

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It looks like @MidwestGuy got you taken care of! I might add that i also bought a mic boom stand from amazon to hold the microscope to make the pictures even more crystal clear. It takes time to learn to use the microscope but after that your golden Pyle Foldable Tripod Microphone… Amazon.com

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Just harvested my NL in November such a great strain

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You can use a $5 jeweler’s loupe to check trichs. It’s a bitch to get decent pics through. In fact I haven’t been able to take a decent one, but you can see the trichs well yourself. Mine is 20x and 60x and has little lights on it. $6.99 from everyone’s least favorite online source.

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@ MidwestGuy My apologies it’s been so long since you sent the link on the scope… Thank you btw!! Took me a little bit to figure it all out, but magically got the scope to work I did actually take some gorgeous pics of the Strawberry :strawberry: Cheesecake :cake: I grew… (1st seed that germinated for me, from my 1st post … (lost 3 Gorilla in beginning) So I was over the moon when I got the close up look I needed! Pistils were orangey brown & trichomes were all mixed from clear to milky to amber… Now, I have to be honest here… :face_with_hand_over_mouth: I experimented at different stages, & probably shouldn’t have, but, I’m an over confident arse sometimes and just push the paper! LOL Not really an arse, but def cocky at times - anyway, I cut the top 10, tallest, colas at that point, & began drying that batch, while watching an entire new ‘generation’ of buds grow from little girls, to healthy and thick buds! So, I planned on cutting the whole plant at once & section out stems, but, switching gears to harvest some, not all, changed things Trying to shorten this… The 1st dried & cured batch, was nothing short of awesome! Especially since I grew, what I was now smoking! The 2nd batch, is in 2 jars, just released from the closet & burping stage! The 3rd & what I thought was final cut, I stupidly, chose to dry in a shoe box, in same closet, even put a couple paper towels in there. Then, disaster… I wasn’t doing well physically (that lovely rollercoaster :roller_coaster: I ride, and am sure some of you do too) I didn’t check in them for a couple days when ‘down’… then forgot them a couple more days, needless to say, I lost almost 2 ounces from mold :sob: I cleaned up though, in my opinion, since it was my 1st grow. I got almost an oz from 1st 10 buds. (smoking as we speak ofc!!! LOL) the 2nd set, is in closet, I’m going to guess about 2 oz or more… so, bottom line, walk away with approx 3 oz, after losing at least 2 oz from the mold… Overall, I’m thrilled!! I learned SO much on the 1st grow You guys and gals are absolutely my saviors!! I may not post as often as I’d like, but, I do come read (lurking in the shadows somewhere!)

Once I had the cheesecake cut down & taken care of… I figured I’d throw the used soil in my compost & recycle, right?? Wrong! She is growing again! So, I watered, had to move to a sunny window, no room left in tent! lol I think, honestly, I should have stuck to cutting 10 buds off every few weeks, and harvest until she stopped growing I’ll be watching that a bit closer now…

Oh! I’ll add 1 or 2 pics from the scope, thanks to MidwestGuy!! That scope is def a great buy & needed tool!! 1 is close to harvest time, the 2nd pic was a week or 2 earlier… but I was afraid the pistils were going to start curling, so I began the harvest…

Hmm, the photos are not as glorious as I made them out to be after all… I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder on weed too! JK I was just so excited to see what ai could see!! I know, I’m nuts…

Sorry not as detailed as I’d like to have show…

Now, on deck, I have Amnesia Haze and Northern Lights growing like weeds lol, with 2 clones from AH… At about 9 weeks, flowering, etc…

I just ordered a trio AF mix, the Gorilla, Bruce Banner and Girl Scout cookies, then got a pop up offer for some Gold Leaf seeds, so I ‘yoinked’ those too! I won’t be able to buy now for a long time, so, I hope posting without purchase is ok and hope if I run into snags, you all will still help me :blush: I sure want them all to grow this time… can’t afford to lose $300 again That was like a sucker punch to the gut. Man… But, we now have a success and I am happily smoking my own stuffs!!
Thanks for reading everyone!

I set up a fresh 5 gallon fabric pot, filled with care, bent up the legs on a tomato cage, got it placed and solidly packed in, leaving a 4 inch hole to drop NL’s into, only to realize I would not be able to lower my lights with the cage there! :slightly_frowning_face: So, I took it all apart and repacked fresh soil Both AH and NL, are growing great… I just had this fantasy in my head, how I was going to train NL to grow in a spiral, with selective pruning and proudly show what a great job I did hehehe Yeah, maybe another time!
Thanks again, sorry this got so long! Prob a good thing I don’t post often!

Keep up the great work everyone!!
Ciao for now!!

p. s. @Pinboy I might tin snip the top portions of that cage, & ‘roll’ it downward, until I need it, so I can keep my lights within 18 to 22 inches :wink: see if that works…

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Thanks Outlaw, if the scope breaks, that will be my next purchase :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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I can see where that would be handy! All my plants grow low and slow… I haven’t gotten a plant over a few inches above fabric pot line… guessing it’s the diff between the seeds… I was even going to try growing outside this summer since the rules, regulations and policies have been updated for Missouri now, but then decided I don’t want to deal with bug issues (beyond the soil gnats that always show up) So, I’m destined to grow ‘dwarvin’ plants! But it’s all good, when the smoke is that good! ILGM seeds!!

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Thank you again @MidwestGuy for all your help, direction, etc! I did go there also and read, a lot! Bookmarked too, also somehow found growwithjane.com, I believe it was… another good detailed website… I sure didn’t want to cut early or late lol I think for my 1st full grow to harvest, I was successful with ILGM help!! Thank you all!!

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@DEEPDIVERDAVE Hey! Hope you’re doing well these days! I wanted to come ask you about TDS /EC… I bought a meter a few mos ago to check soil temp… the ad on Amazon said clearly EC /TDS & PH, I bought it. Only measures water safety levels Is it really that important to know the temp of the soil? That must sound like I’m really stupid, but, I’m trying not to take things for granted, especially when there are so many opinions on different things
Thanks for your time!!
Have a great night/evening!!

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Sounds like yer keeping things rolling, nice job.
As far as the cages go I would’ve just waited untill the plants were established and topped, then shoved them in.

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Good question, but here is my answer. 4 ph meters all read differently and fluctuate with time and temperature for response or measurements. Admittedly I "self calibrated two meters and left 2 at factory settings. My new fifth, meter will arrive soon. That count does not include the two dropped, now broken.
SO APera 60 has been paid for but looks like cheap junk. Goldilocks’, Low, Med, High, unfortunately,
not predictably consistent. Possibly measuring temperature in winter may help. All liquid-powder mix Calibrations packets specify what CAL temp is required to be used for calibrations.
Great question, truthfully, IDK.
as I ponder, another device to buy, break, and buy a spare, maybe I should know.
Thank you.
My grow thread is for discussion and contributions

been a year of learning stuff, IDK, before.

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Well two out of three agree at 25.0C and predictably, all read as expected, quicker.
Wife is not happy with kitchen being used for my experiments.
Another day another lesson.
I shut down my clone tent (not clone station). Tent temperatures restricting lighting hours, requiring changed hours, and causing probable 4x4 reduction, too.

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