Harvest & Curing Two types of buds structures?

[EverythingsHazy]

I've noticed that regardless of how frosty the buds, or how big the calyxes are, most buds (including some of the best stuff) look like a bunch of calxyes and neatly trimmed sugar leaves if there are any, and then some others (also including some of the best stuff) look almost like moss covered rocks. The moss looking ones are usually solid masses, and can be rock hard when dry, since there is almost no open space in them.

So, what causes them to look like the 3rd and 4th picture? It's not simply a matter of being grown in better conditions, since a lot of top growers produce amazing buds that still have a similar structure to the first two pictures. Is it mostly strain based?

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[Discretepete2676]

That's a very very good question! Maybe it involves strains. Trimming. Drying conditions. I'm not sure either and have wondered the same thing. I feel like homegrown never looks like the solid dense rocks like your talking about. But is still great.

 

[Haunts]

I thought it might have been down to lights but now i think it might be strain related the reason being is i used to grow with cfls but then half way through growing some sweet skunk i invested in a 150w hps and the nugs finished up being nice and tight, so naturally i though it must be the light but i've just completed a full sour crack grow with the hps and the nugs are fluffy again. So it could be strain related, i'm gonna grow a sweet skunk along side a sour crack this time to see if there is a difference and then depending on results i'm gonna try a grow with vegging under cfls and switching to the hps for flower.

 

[EverythingsHazy]

Does anyone know of any auto strains that consistently produce buds like the 3rd and 4th pics? If you've grown any, feel free to share pics.

 

[Madlib]

Ive wondered this myself. I've grown outdoors here in Ireland for the last 3 summers. Both Photoperiod and autoflower, Indica, Sativa, hybrid. Around 50 different strains. All look like your first two pics. They've never turned out to be the moss like rock type. I put it down to not having optimum temperature and direct sunlight in a cooler climate but it seems it may not be the case.

 

[paddler54]

Maybe it is how the herb is dried and stored.

 

[budelee]

Those are all good questions and theories ,I am continuing to get inconsistent results also...so in my quest for more knowledge here's what I have been able to come up with ,while the biggest part of buds "tightening" up is due to genetics,there is some amount due to light and environment,...in my case I grew some almost full indicas alongside some mostly sativas,same light nutes etc,,,the indica dom buds look like pic 3&4 while the sativas looked like pics 1&2...in late flowering products like Moab ,rock hard etc will help but the temps play a big part as well as light intensity i.e. most growers shoot for 50 watts per square foot,,since I use 600 hps this puts effective space at 12sf ,I've been pushing that to 20 sf and have been getting the inconsistent results,...once the plant is cut/drying there is little/nothing that can be done to "tighten" them up,,,,all this info came from other websites as I was searching for an answer,hope it helps us all out,,,,btw my best buds came from a purple urkle photo plant and I would consider them top shelf for bag appeal,smell,flavor and high ,grown next to rhe sativas which were middle shelf for bag appeal at best ,,,

 

[Kulgan]

Good question's.
I'l have to ask my friend who knows a lot about this type of stuff.
I'l come back if I get a sure answer.

 

[budelee]

Thanks @Kulgan ,just to expand a little more about the answers I found...the 50 watt sf rule applies to HID lighting, the LEDs people are using are giving phenomenal results,,as far as temps go( at least for photo plants) ,in late bloom if the temps are brought down a bit( more than usual) the buds will " tighten up" some,this imitates early fall night temps in nature,,,I had pulled some curing jars of bud ( from way in the back),that had some photo Golden Goat that has some nice tight buds like pic 3&4(GG is sativa Dom), hence creating more inconsistencies for me...still learning,and everything I find out will be shared on this thread,,, Thanks

 

[Coffee&Kush]

Good question's.
I'l have to ask my friend who knows a lot about this type of stuff.
I'l come back if I get a sure answer.

Did your friend ever give you an answer by chance?