Outdoor Crow's GG at 56ºN

[Crow River]

Well, the post-surgery prognosis is in.

Good news: managed to save more than half of the top bud from the Guerrilla Gold Pie Fast. The rot was not as bad as feared. Incredibly sticky, resinous buds.

Bad news: the Joshua clone had rot. A fair bit too, like the one at the railway it was mostly hidden away deep inside the buds. Lost a few lowers, and maybe a third to half of both main uppers. Never mind, plenty of bud left as the girl had chunky buds all over.

These plus the autos are all drying in paper bags now.

I've now decided that next visit I will harvest the Joshua mum and the Guerrilla Gold Pie Fast that I took the top from.

Reckon I will keep a close eye on the other girls affected by rot, and if I need to chop early, so be it. To mangle a proverb, a bud in the jar is worth two on the compost pile.

 

[Crow River]

Went to the railway plot this evening. It was breezy but bright and dry, perfect conditions. I wanted to travel light, so no Flower Power, but took some bonemeal with me. The Super Kush clones are nearly all in flower, just a couple that haven't really done much yet. They are mostly looking pretty healthy too. The C99 x Blueberry is bulking out her buds nicely, might be finished in a week or two perhaps. I was glad to see there was no rot, and no wind damage on any of the girls. Gave them all a handful of bonemeal, removed dead or yellow leaves. And that was that, nice and simple. I'll visit weekly from now on, to make sure I can catch any damage and harvest plants as they ripen.

C99 x Blueberry Early Version


Four Super Kush clones


Two Super Kush clones


Tree opposite felled by the wind and chopped up by tree surgeons. This is great because the girls will get more sunshine now.

Two Super Kush clones

 

[Crow River]

Went to see the Frisian Duck mum and her daughter this afternoon. Beautiful sunny day, with a nice breeze ruffling through the leaves. The girls seemed to be enjoying the sunshine. The clone has got fairly large now, remarkable given she was pretty small in the polytunnel. Seems to be thriving outdoors. The mum is incredibly vigorous, the ScrOG screen is struggling to keep her under control. If I do this again, reckon I need to use something more rigid, like metal fencing mesh or similar. Anyway, they are both doing fine, building buds nicely. I gave both ladies some bonemeal, and a root soak with Flower Power. Weather looks nice over the next few days, I'm sure they'll make the most of it.

Frisian Duck mum


Frisian Duck clone

 

[Crow River]

Day off today, so went to the bramble plot to harvest a couple of girls that had been affected by rot just over a week ago. I probably should have taken them sooner, but I had no bags to do so last visit. I did take extra bags too just in case other girls were affected. Dry, with some sun, and pretty windy this afternoon. Good for drying plants out after last night's showers.

When I arrived I could see immediately that the rot situation had got worse. Went round checking all the girls, and decided to chop a few more as not only were they ready, but I needed to stop the rot as the expression goes.

Plot on arrival


You can see even from a distance that the Joshua mum and the oldest Guerrilla Gold Pie Fast have lost tops to rot. Yeah, I really should have chopped those two earlier. Lesson learned, as Croptober draws near, take bags just in case... Other girls that had rot include the damaged Shaman, the smaller Essex Gold - both had rot last week so I should have known I hadn't "nipped it in the bud". More alarmingly, both BCN Critical XXL Fast had rot on top buds. The one that had blown over was worse than the one that didn't. Thankfully, that was it.

Joshua mum


Guerrilla Gold Pie Fast


Essex Gold


Shaman


BCN Critical XXL Fast


So all these girls were chopped. I threw away any tops or lowers that were rotten, they're in what might be my compost pile if I come back here next season. I also put aside some buds that only had a small amount of rot, or needed further inspection. They went in "bud surgery" bags to be worked on back at base.

The positive side was that I didn't really lose that much thankfully. If I'd waited until after this week's forecast rain, it might have been a very different story. Another pus was noticing that the other two Guerrilla Gold Pie Fast were pretty much finished, and no rot. So I chopped them too. Forgot to take a pic of the smaller girl that was not quite vertical, but here's the bigger one looking fine, with zero rot. She could have maybe gone another week to be fair, but I erred on the side of caution.

Guerrilla Gold Pie Fast


Just about had enough paper carrier bags with me for all the girls that I harvested. The BCN Critical XXL Fast had to go in doubled up bin liners. The healthier Critical had only a few small bits of rot, so I removed them. She's pretty much ready to harvest though, so I'll be back in a few days once the rain goes off again to chop her.

Harvest bags


Bud surgery bags


On the evidence from this plot at any rate, it seems that fast versions really do finish a bit earlier. Very welcome for a staggered harvest. Also, Essex Gold finishes exactly on time, as advertised, despite my latitude being six degrees further north than the breeder example.

So I'll be back soon to chop the other one. I left some smaller lower buds on the Joshua mum to see if they will cook a bit more.

Joshua mum after harvest


After taking several girls, the plot has opened up quite a bit. Good for airflow to the remaining girls, but possibly also more risk of wind damage. Mind you, they all seemed to be coping with the gusty breeze today. They are all in flower, including the Super Kush mum, and all looking fantastic. I removed yellow or dying leaves from all the girls and gave them a root drench of Flower Power and also liquid seaweed. For some this will be their last feed. Apart from the remaining Essex Gold and the second BCN Critical XXL Fast, I estimate all the others have some way to go before finishing. I'll continue to visit more regularly, and if I need to take some early to avoid big losses to rot, I will.

BCN Critical XXL Fast




Essex Gold


Frisian Duck clone


Sweet Afghani Delicious


Super Kush mum


Triton Biscotto Lime mum


Shaman x 2


Kush Mintz


Citrus Burst x 2


Plot after first harvest

 

[Crow River]

I've been keeping a close eye on the weather forecast this week, knowing that I have a few fast and early version girls nearly ready to harvest. Saw that a 24 hour downpour was predicted for the weekend, I decided I would chop them all on Friday. Not just the two at the bramble plot, but also one at the railway, and four at the embankment.

This led to a frantic scramble around all three sites in the afternoon after work. Went to the railway first, and took the C99 x Blueberry EV. She looked quite well cooked, and no rot.

So into a paper bag she went. I forgot to take my phone, so no pics, but she didn't look that different, buds a bit plumper, no white pistils.

Took her back to base, loaded up with paper bags and bin liners, then off to the bramble plot. The BCN Critical XXL Fast was definitely ready, and so was the Essex Gold. I trimmed fan leaves, then took buds into paper bags. The Essex Gold had no rot at all.

However the Critical had quite a few small spots, mostly on tops, but also a few lowers. Cut those out before placing in the bag. It started to rain while I was doing the Critical too.

Double bagged the girls in bin liners, then off to the embankment plot.

I only had less than an hour before sunset, and the girls were all wet from the rain. So no point and no time to trim fan leaves on site. No point using paper bags either. So quick and dirty harvest time. Chopped three girls, and put straight into bin liners. Took about 30 minutes. The Fast Purple Maroc Glue was ready, and had no trace of rot that I could find.

The Biddy Early 2 Fast and big C99 x Blueberry Early Version could arguably have done with cooking a bit longer, but I found a small patch of rot under the big top bud of the C99 x Blueberry. So I chopped her and removed that bit. Her smaller, bushier sibling still has some way to go, so I left her until later. I also didn't want to leave the Biddy Early 2 Fast in the coming downpour with such heavy, dense buds. With those tall girls gone from the front row, the Triton Biscotto Lime, Frisian Duck and CBD Critical Mass will get more sunlight, which should be beneficial.

I'm pretty pleased that I managed to catch a couple of girls just in time. I don't think they would have fared very well in the current heavy rain. Only one early version still out, plus the lower part of the Joshua mum. The rest are all full season strains. All are now in flower except the wee CBD Critical Mass.

Bramble plot before second harvest


BCN Critical XXL Fast


Essex Gold


Bramble plot after second harvest


Embankment plot before harvest


C99 x Blueberry Early Version


Fast Purple Maroc Glue


Biddy Early 2 Fast


Embankment plot after harvest

 

[Crow River]

@Bob's Auto's hey thanks for the rep! I've a spell in trim jail this weekend... Got so much bud now I don't know what to do with it all! Nice problem to have. Still another twenty plants out there...

 

[Bob's Auto's]

Nice problem to have.

That it is my friend, that it is...

 

[Crow River]

Visited the two Frisian Ducks by an apple tree today. Wanted to see how they were getting along after this weekend's Biblical deluge. Both are just forging ahead, no problems. Building their buds, stretching a bit. I gave both a bit of tomato feed to tide them over. Might do a bit of re-tucking around the edges of the ScrOG screen next visit, now that lower buds are getting taller.

Frisian Duck clone


Frisian Duck mum

 

[Crow River]

Went to the railway just before sunset, to check on the Super Kush clones. It's a real contrast to the earlier grow at this site, all eight girls are clones from the same mum. They did not all go out at the same time, but within a week or two of each other. Timing and environmental factors mean that they are not all at the same stage of flower, but they are developing fairly uniformly. Gave the girls a root drench with Flower Power.

Starting with the eastern section and moving west, here are some pics.

Four Super Kush clones


These four girls have all stretched a bit, craning towards the sky. I'm guessing they are shaded for a fair bit of the day, now that the sun is quite low in the sky. Before next season I'll have to cut back nearby trees and bushes so that this plot gets more direct sun.

A pair of Super Kush clones


These two are bit bushier, probably getting a bit more direct sunshine. They're also a bit further on in flower.

Two Super Kush clones in a long planter


The girl on the left was leaning over at a jaunty angle when I arrived. I righted her and added an extra stake for support. Bit of a windswept spot here, so I imagine she was blown over. These two seem to have benefitted from extra sunshine since the big tree opposite was felled in the gales a few weeks ago. They're currently the furthest into flower of any of the clones, despite going out pretty late.

Two Super Kush clones in a round planter


One of the girls had sustained some damage to a branch. Branch was still alive, but lots of dead leaves and not looking healthy. I just removed it before it caused any problems for the plant.

All these clones still have a few weeks to go. They might be finished by the end of the month, or they might carry on into early November. I'll keep an eye on them. As the weather is due to be quite dry, I'll be down once a week to give some Flower Power.

 

[Crow River]

Visited the Frisian Ducks and also the embankment plot, just to see how things are going. Also was ready to harvest any girls that might be finished, ahead of forecast cold snap tonight and tomorrow night.

The two Frisian Ducks by an apple tree are steadily continuing to grow and build buds. They were drinking in the sunshine.

Frisian Duck mum


Frisian Duck clone


Over at the embankment, the girls continue to stretch and build colas full of buds. The two Super Kush clones had been blown over by strong winds at some point. Looked like it must have been a few days ago, as the tops were bending towards the light. I righted both, and re-staked them to try and prevent a repeat. One had been pretty much smothering the Frisian Duck clone, which has spread out to try and get some light. The CBD Critical Mass has grown, and is in flower now. The Triton Biscotto Lime clone and the C99 x Blueberry EV are both fattening buds, but neither is ready. It will be at least a week or two before the C99 x Blueberry will be ripe, possibly a bit longer for the Triton Biscotto Lime and Super Kush. Maybe the end of the month, maybe early November. Similar timescale likely for the Frisian Duck. Goodness knows when the CBD Critical Mass will finish.

I did not water or give fertiliser to any girls, because of the forecast cold nights. Better if the soil is a bit drier, so it won't freeze. I'll check in on them all in a week's time.

Embankment plot on arrival


C99 x Blueberry Early Version


Triton Biscotto Lime clone


CBD Critical Mass


Frisian Duck clone


Super Kush clones x 2


Embankment plot on departure