Grow My current and first grow

[Kurtdigglur]

@psychonaut thanks for the tips. I might have to look around or think of something to lower it down a bit. It might not be that high once there cut and hanging though. I think the pots add to my humidity a lot. I have a nice room dehumidifier too, I guess I could dial in as well.

 

[psychonaut]

Yeah the environment will be a bit different after the plants have been cut down. They do make controllers to plug humidifiers/dehumidifiers into that will power them off and on to keep the RH within a specified range.

 

[Disrupt]

The humidity is at 64% without the light on though.

That's much higher than it should be in flower. Plants produce more rosin in a drier environment. You're also running a risk of bud-rot, one of a variety of fungal infections. That would be heartbreaking.

 

[Kurtdigglur]

That's much higher than it should be in flower. Plants produce more rosin in a drier environment. You're also running a risk of bud-rot, one of a variety of fungal infections. That would be heartbreaking.

Yea, for sure. I put another Evadry pack in there and will see where I’m at after tonight. Maybe I’ll start leaving the door open after I water too.

 

[Disrupt]

I put another Evadry pack in there and will see where I’m at after tonight.

Doubt that will do it. The Ivation dehumidifier below works well in a 2'x4' space and generates very little heat. You might also want to think about defoliating. Humidity can be a major challenge in a small space.

 

[Kurtdigglur]

Doubt that will do it. The Ivation dehumidifier below works well in a 2'x4' space and generates very little heat. You might also want to think about defoliating. Humidity can be a major challenge in a small space.

That looks similar to the one I have. I couldn’t fit anything like that in there. I’m not too concerned yet. In a week I’ll need to bring it down about 10%. I think just opening the inlet some more or adding another will help decrease too. I’m really not too concerned, I have a pretty hearty strain. If it was a picky one with humidity I probably would have killed one off to make room.

 

[arb]

@arb I would appreciate that very much. Is there anything to purchase other than jars?

No nothing except a line to hang them on and some scissors we like hair cutting scissors.
You can dry in any humidity under 70% with zero worries and under 90% with minimal worries say no to dehumidifiers bro............waste of energy.

 

[Disrupt]

You can dry in any humidity under 70% with zero worries and under 90% with minimal worries say no to dehumidifiers bro

Not doubting @arb's experience, but how can you dry to 60% - 65% RH in a 90% RH environment? Seems counterintuitive.

Certainly hope you don't have any problems, but learned about the importance of humidity the hard way. GrowWeedEasy has a good discussion. Even so, had mold this year at 35% RH. Small spaces could be especially sensitive.

Humidity for flowering plants
Optimal Humidity is 40-50% RH (or less)
Ideally, the relative humidity of your grow room should be lowered to around 40-50% at the beginning of the flowering stage. As plants approach harvest, some growers lower humidity down to 30% or even less to force cannabis buds to produce more resin.

By the beginning of the flowering stage, your cannabis plants have created a large root system to fulfill their water needs. They will still be able to take in water through their leaves, but maintaining a relatively lower humidity than the vegetative stage helps prevent molds or mildews from forming.

Mold is especially dangerous in the flowering stage because it can form on or inside your buds or colas without you knowing. If you find that you have mold growing in any of your buds, or buds are rotting from the inside, you should immediately throw all of the contaminated buds away. Bud rot can ruin entire harvests, so if one bud is infected thoroughly search your grow room for more. If you can’t lower the humidity and already have a rampant mold problem, the best choice might be to cut your losses and harvest immediately to avoid any other buds getting bud rot.

Even if the humidity is low, it is still important to have air moving over and around your plants. Small fans blowing over and under the plant canopy will help keep air moving so that wet spots don’t form around any parts of the plant.

Extra resin production

• During the last 2-3 weeks before harvest, some growers will use a dehumidifier to drop the humidity of their grow area as low as possible. This not only prevents bud rot during the last few weeks, the dramatic drop in humidity may stress the plant in just the right way to increase resin production. As a result, you harvest extra-potent buds with more sparkly trichomes. While this technique has not yet been proven to increase resin, many growers swear by it.

 

[arb]

Not doubting @arb's experience, but how can you dry to 60% - 65% RH in a 90% RH environment? Seems counterintuitive.

Certainly hope you don't have any problems, but learned about the importance of humidity the hard way. GrowWeedEasy has a good discussion. Even so, had mold this year at 35% RH. Small spaces could be especially sensitive.

This line of thinking would mean no one in a equatorial or semi equatorial region would be able to dry anything........pretty much ever?
Your mold was caused by damaged petioles which literally leaked moisture into your bud as it decomposed not humidity.

 

[Disrupt]

This line of thinking would mean no one in a equatorial or semi equatorial region would be able to dry anything........pretty much ever?
Your mold was caused by damaged petioles which literally leaked moisture into your bud as it decomposed not humidity.

Not saying it can't be done, it's just not obvious how to do it. Searching the web, it looks to be more challenging and uncertain than drying at lower RH. Why not minimize risk?

Don't know what caused mold this time - maybe a little water splashed on the bud while filling the reservoir. Clearly, low RH in the grow room doesn't translate to low RH inside large colas. (The first time, a few years ago, high RH likely was part of the problem.)

 

[Kurtdigglur]

@Disrupt I was scared of controlling the humidity for a while then realized people grow this stuff outside where I live and the humidity gets way up there in the summer. I found this as well http://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/moisture-matters/ This surveyed growers around 20% grew at 65% RH. Furthermore it stated that too low of humidity could slow down growth in the flowering stage. There is far to many variables I believe to follow everything to a T. I think mine are doing alright and plan on finishing nice and strong .Thanks for all the help everyone has been given though. Exactly why I wanted to start this thread.

 

[Kurtdigglur]

The colas are starting to come together nicely. I should have moved the shorter ones up sooner. I also cut holes in the containers they sit on now and it drains real good into trays. It’s crazy how fast they want to bulk up in that type of light.

I don’t have the best camera for these so I apologize. I decided to post a pic today because it’s 4 weeks since I flipped. Today would have been my nutrient day but I noticed my tips were looking brown so I just fed the Cal-mag. I’ll do nutrients maybe in 3-4 days.

 

[Disrupt]

I found this as well http://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/moisture-matters/ This surveyed growers around 20% grew at 65% RH. Furthermore it stated that too low of humidity could slow down growth in the flowering stage

Very interesting article, thanks, definitely plan to change a few things. The PhD's certainly mount a strong challenge to convention wisdom, evidenced by 80% of growers keeping humidity under 60% in flower. They do stress the need for extra care regarding temperature and air circulation, as well as keeping a close watch for Botrytis. (This was the first mold infection, in humid conditions, and the reason for switching to low humidity in flower.)

 

[Kurtdigglur]

Thanks for your experience with low humidity. I’ve been checking quite often. It gets down to 55% and up to 65%. If it were to jump above 70% I would start to worry. Does the mold start to smell different?

 

[Disrupt]

If it were to jump above 70% I would start to worry. Does the mold start to smell different?

Yes, the Botrytis smelled different, but that won't help you spot it. The affected bud appeared to be ripening more quickly and the sugar leaves detached from the stem. If it does happen, you'll need to be ready to harvest immediately to prevent it spreading further. (Working quickly, it takes about 24 hours of work per plant to inspect each flower cluster under magnification, IME). You also won't be able to dry in the same location as the grow. Personally, didn't dry at all, freeze-dried instead.

By making some changes, meant not trying to get the RH as low as possible. Will still keep it at 40-45% in flower. Doubt that any growth loss is significant. If it were, 80% of growers wouldn't do it. Another way to interpret the article you cite is as conflict between theory and practice.

 

[Kurtdigglur]

Week 5 flower: Added another fan to the grow area. The buds are just getting thicker with some brown hairs. Have a little nute burn but other than that things have been alright. I was thinking about flushing soon, maybe sooner if the burn doesn’t stop.

 

[arb]

Do not cut off the nutes.....try cutting in half those buds have a long way to go yet.

 

[Disrupt]

those buds have a long way to go yet

Second that - many weeks to go, especially if you want ripe amber trichomes. Don't go by the seed packet. Looks good though.

It looks like you topped above the second internode and then topped each of four branches? When did you stop pruning shoots? Just learning about these methods.

 

[psychonaut]

Agreed with @arb and @Disrupt , a good digital USB microscope or a cheap jewelers loupe will help you identify when the plant is ready for harvest. Depending on the light quality you may want to take the ripe tops first, lower the light back down above the new canopy and then let them go longer until the lower buds are ripened to your liking. I know you are wanting to dry in your tent, so this may not be an option.

White pistils, while not an indicator of all strains as to ripeness, it is generally a good visual indication on how far along they are. I've only grown 1 strain that still had a lot of white pistils when the trichomes were mostly cloudy.

 

[Kurtdigglur]

Thanks for the tips guys. Yea I’m guessing I have about month left before I cut. @Disrupt Im such a noob, I’m not really sure. I know I waited until the 5th node came up and then topped. It’s been so long, lol.