Settle some contradictions

Grow Cycle Seedling
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From a fellow grower:

I’m just setting out to start growing, and my research keeps finding various contradictions that maybe you can help clear up. For example:

  1. When to induce flowering. Some say after x weeks, some say wait and let the plant mature (10-12 weeks of Veg.), etc… No real guidance as to exactly what to look for, or the pros and cons of waiting, or if delaying is even an option or advisable.

  2. Curing and drying. I’ve heard everything - dry, moist, hot, cool, paper, burlap, hang, don’t hang, air, less air, fans, no fans, rest on paper, wrap in plastic etc… There are so many opinions on perhaps the most important step.

  3. Acidity. You say your plants like acidity, others say they don’t. “Desired PH’s” have ranged from 5.5 to over 7.

  4. Pruning. Necessary? Optional? It’s a topic that’s often vague as if everyone should know how to prune. If pruning is a recommended part of a good crop, then exactly what to prune when, on which type plant, and how to to do it, would be very helpful.

Of course, there’s always more than 1 way to skin a cat. But a little more consensus on these issues would be greatly appreciated by new growers like me to achieve a successful first crop. Perhaps you could help me sort it out.

1 Like
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It’s all growing , it’s no guarantees of information , but specifics on temperature , water , lights , and lots of patience . In that process you would make conscious decisions on what you will try or not try , but the only most precised advisable information is to keep it as simple as possible in the beginning , learn to listen and read the plant as it develops . Don’t be afraid of trying new methods like LST training , super cropping , or main line manifolding , trimming and pruning correctly . But in all everything about growing always reflect the growers choice and decisions , budget , and which is most comfortable to his intellect of growing . This service Robert has created for those who are interested in becoming a novice grower , from beginners and advance cultivators , you have a wide variety of information , setups , and experience that will definitely get you from seed to harvest . But it’s never a guaranteed when it comes to growing . I strongly suggest you get all your growing accessories and equipment , take your time and setup properly , and than turn everything on for a day to do a dry run on lights , fans , ventilation , etc , so you can tweek and make adjustments before plants are put in the grow space . After that , it’s only a timely manner you will go from 2 leaves to about an ounce of buds in about 4 months . We are to here to help if needed , but first thing first , "Download Roberts Free Grow Bible " , and start reading it . Get you a diary , composition notebook , or calendar , and write down each thing you do once you start growing , it’s vitally important when you first start , so you can back track to what was done so when you get a problem , which all growers have issues , you can go back in your notes and figure out where you went wrong , make a note so the next time you don’t make the same mistakes . Having issues will happen , but it’s not how bad of an issue or deficiency , but more less of identifying and correcting it quickly . I’m sorry for the dialog being so long , but I hope this make sense in someway , and help you as you approach getting started with growing . We all are here to help if needed , and this forum does have a science officer that has years of experience and knowledge on growing , and also a groundsman also to help . Macgyverstoner and Latewood will answer most question that you need answered , and you have the access of quite a few knowledgable season growers , from backgrounds of farming , and experience from outside to inside growing . We are one BIG friendly family of guys and girls that share a passion of growing the best medical plant for our variety of different needs …Happy Growing !!!

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#1 when to induce flowering.
when your plant is healthy in it’s final pot and roughly 30% the size you want it to be in the end. This is a personal choice thing you can can veg short period for a smaller untrained or topped plant but this usually requires you grow more plants to meet yield goals Sea Of Green. Or you can veg longer train your plants to have lots of tops and limbs meaning less plants but more time to meet yield goals SCROG LST. Both of these options are based on your space and goals.

#3 Acidity aka PH
Ph is huge but also well researched and fairly rigid rules tested and proven Hydro DWC RDWC ebb flow NFT all have same sweet spot between 5.5 and 5.8
soil soilless between 6-6.5

#4 Pruning
Pruning is entirely optional and not realy for people who are inexperienced imo pruning will be done naturally by plant during flower and most stages when the leafs are no longer getting enough light if you have good airflow you don’t need to help but it does reduce risk of bugs mold and rot to remove dead leaves. The other uses for pruning are space constraints and of course if you know during flower which limbs will not reach light enough to form quality bud so will simply sap resources from your plant making c grade buds at best.

You are right there are no cut and dry rules growing is fairly flexible and the more you do it the better you get at it :slight_smile:

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Donaldj you been active here maybe 4 months now , but man you have no idea how many times we have heard this question . How are you today , and how is things looking on your grow .

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Lol I got out of growing for years had too much attention :wink: but now there is so much more info freely available and shared its hard for people new to it when I first started growers were hush hush. Used to be trial and error anyone growing great weed didn’t want you know how they pulled it off lmao My first 4 PK are looking awesome about 2 1/2 3 weeks out of harvest they get their last feed today then flush every water from then on 6weeks in flower so they are right on track hairs just starting to turn brown trics starting to cloud. I am going to be more than happy planted seeds end of sept chased the rust out of my head first month after Cal-mag def and a few environment adjustments my perpetual grow is running smoother. Have 9 in flower 4 coming out within 3 weeks and next rotation heading to their 5 gal pots today :slight_smile: 3 plants in DWC to assess whether its worth the swap over home made bubble cloner running it’s first test batch so yea I’m everywhere trying everything even some in coco lmao.

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I keep noticing you keep posting this information slightly incorrectly.

The sweet spot for true soil is 6.5 and can range above or below about 0.3 points, so between about 6.2-6.8 and this is not for a pure soil-less mix, a pure soil-less mix is the same as hydro, and the sweet spot for hydro is 5.8 with a range of about 5.4-6.2

~MacG

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As far as veg time, this is totally dependent on how much room you have and how big the plants can get. Absolutely you can veg small plants for about as short as 2 weeks and for as long as you need to get them to the size you want, this could be well beyond 12 weeks in some cases.

Curing does have a lot to do with personal preferences and your personal conditions. In general, the more you can slow the drying process, the smoother the end result. As far as paper bags, again preference, some say it helps create the perfect slow dry and others say it imparts a strange flavor to the bud and don’t like paper bags at all.

Pruning also depends on how you grow and how much room you have.

happy growing,

MacG

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I stand corrected probly the fact I always shoot for my ph to be as close to or lower than 6.5 out of habbit first thought comes to mind certainly makes sense to me since Mag uptake in soil below 6.2 drops