Canoeing and loose buds - week 5 flower

[BII]

"Loose buds:" What do you mean by that? Do you mean the buds are not turning rock hard, that they remain loose and airy, not congealed/junked together? [If you want dense(r) buds, presuming there are enough surface trichomes, you can alway just press the buds together in your hand after harvesting and trimming].

What is wrong with loose buds? Are dense(r) buds actually better in your view (in terms of what: yield, potency, quality of high)?

I often get loose buds, but the yield and quality are the same (maybe better), so I see no problem. Otherwise, sativa strains often naturally tend to grow looser, more airy buds. Looser buds theoretically allow a lot more surface light exposure vs. dense buds; should be more potent. Outdoor growers generally want loose(r) buds, with these much less susceptible to mold, bud rot.

The little I can see in the pictures, the buds look normal.

 

[MrAutoGrower]

"Loose buds:" What do you mean by that? Do you mean the buds are not turning rock hard, that they remain loose and airy, not congealed/junked together? [If you want dense(r) buds, presuming there are enough surface trichomes, you can alway just press the buds together in your hand after harvesting and trimming].

What is wrong with loose buds? Are dense(r) buds actually better in your view (in terms of what: yield, potency, quality of high)?

I often get loose buds, but the yield and quality are the same (maybe better), so I see no problem. Otherwise, sativa strains often naturally tend to grow looser, more airy buds. Looser buds theoretically allow a lot more surface light exposure vs. dense buds; should be more potent. Outdoor growers generally want loose(r) buds, with these much less susceptible to mold, bud rot.

The little I can see in the pictures, the buds look normal.

Squishy more like. No signs of bud rot before anyone brings that up. No one likes soft buds lol. 9 times out of 10 I produce rock hard buds. I’ll see if she hardens up in the next few weeks. Won’t be squeezing buds together that’s insane man. That’s a quick way of getting mold too. Denser buds aren’t always better, but quality is what matters to people and loose buds don’t sell. Just a matter of fact in this industry. That’s why all the Cali shit is full of pgrs and ran through tumbling machines. Because they know that’s what people like. Although it doesn’t mean Better quality. Visually it looks better, but most often that is not the case

 

[BII]

OK, so you want dense buds to presumably support a higher price from the rather ignorant mainstream illegal market. If that's whom you're growing for, that's a good enough reason.

Regarding manually squeezing to get congealed, stuck-together, harder buds being "a quick way of getting mold," note I suggested this could be done after trimming, here presuming the buds have been dried.

Aren't dense(r) buds just the individual (loose) sepals' surface trichomes congealing, sticking together?

In the old days, when essentially all pot was imported (smuggled), just about everything was compressed, such as in bricks or bales. With better, more potent (more surface trichomes) buds generally sticking together more, forming harder buds when compressed, I guess this is where this preference for hard buds came from(?). Otherwise, where did this popular preference for dense buds come from?

 

[MrAutoGrower]

OK, so you want dense buds to presumably support a higher price from the rather ignorant mainstream illegal market. If that's whom you're growing for, that's a good enough reason.

Regarding manually squeezing to get congealed, stuck-together, harder buds being "a quick way of getting mold," note I suggested this could be done after trimming, here presuming the buds have been dried.

Aren't dense(r) buds just the individual (loose) sepals' surface trichomes congealing, sticking together?

In the old days, when essentially all pot was imported (smuggled), just about everything was compressed, such as in bricks or bales. With better, more potent (more surface trichomes) buds generally sticking together more, forming harder buds when compressed, I guess this is where this preference for hard buds came from(?). Otherwise, where did this popular preference for dense buds come from?

Understood brother. I stuck some buds together in the past on my first grow. They tend to only stick when they’re wet though. I’ve had issues with mold before so won’t go down that route just in case. She’s only 37 days into flower so I’m hoping she will get harder as she goes. It might be just down to me though making some fuck ups with her. I noticed though when I grow fairly big girls that the density dies down probably from sharing all the plants energy between all the buds. Suppose all I can do is wait it out and see how she goes. She is a nice plant overall but I’m just really picky with pretty much anything I can do. I never go easy on myself which sucks haha. I will post an update in a few weeks and see if she hardens up

 

[420autoflower]

The loose buds might be due to genetics, and you can’t expect to much density if your plant has only been flowering for 5 weeks.

 

[MrAutoGrower]

The loose buds might be due to genetics, and you can’t expect to much density if your plant has only been flowering for 5 weeks.

For sure. My 3Wok was a lot harder by 5 weeks. I’m probably just comparing too much. My fan fell onto her today sadly. Prob knocked off a lot of trichs and terps. I’m hoping she gets harder from this week on to finish

 

[MrAutoGrower]

What’s up everyone?

I thought I’d answer this thread on my own after having harvested her.. just in case the answer benefits anyone now or in the future.

Moral of the story is.. she came out pretty damn dense. My best plant to date actually. However, here is why she felt loose and wasn’t as dense as she could have been.

During LST I snapped the main branch pretty late on my accident. I had taped her up and she still continued to grow super fast the next day despite the beating. I didn’t wanna tamper with the tape so I left it until harvest. When I chopped her, I noticed the snap did not completely heal properly. From the snap area, branches got thinner. The hole/passage way inside the stems got smaller. This was because she never healed properly.

Anyways, she came out super frosty, smelled amazing (my most potent girl so far based on terps and effects). I will be growing her again in the future because I know what she is capable of producing.

I never even had to cure her. She had a slow dry and absolutely reeked without a cure. I did cure her though, and with the curing process buds got a good bit harder.

I believe I yielded around 7oz from her in a 3gal pot.

Thanks everyone