Should plants finish green, or yellow with some leaves falling off (indoors)? I have heard reasons supporting both, but I havn't asked the people here... just some growing friends of mine locally. Thanks.
Good question. It is a personal goal of mine to finish a plant with all green leaves. I feel if its lacking in something causing the yellowing of the leaves then its not as healthy as it could possibly be. And a healthier plant in general usually supports healthier fruits, apples,pears etc. I don't see why mj should be looked at any different. I don't think it to be dramatically different anyway. I know people say if its mid-late in flower its ok its just the plant using the nitrogen, yada yada, but I can't understand why a yellow leaf that falls off is acceptable while a leaf with orange/rusty spots are not?? I can say I've noticed, as I'm sure many of you, that strain is a slight variable. For instance I have 11 plants in my flower room, all different strains, all treated exactly the same, and the difference in the colors of leaves are dramatic. A couple plants are mostly green and shiny with a few yellow leaves, and some have mostly yellow leaves. Now I know the "perfect" soil would support any plant and all its needs. But I think its going to be easier for me to select 2 strains and try to dial the soil in from there, before moving forward in my quest for the "perfect" soil. BeZ...V BeZ...V
I think finishing with green leaves is a bit of a holy grail quest. But that said, one can have a perfectly fine harvest with yellowing leaves. Check out ot's 150 gallon pot, no till garden for a fine example of a no yellow leaf grow.
In an ideal world I like my plants to finish yellow and hungry although it's sometimes hard to do, especially indoors for some reason. It seems the uglier they are the better they taste outdoors. The cure seems to go better too. Not related but I've found drying with the sugar leaves left intact makes for sweeter better tasting smoke too. I've noticed when I have green finishes, ( when I say green finishes my mind says too much N was used) I also have longer finish times. I've seen two weeks difference, when judging by % of amber trics, and most everything else the same. When most everything is pre mixed, not much you can do at the end.......MIW
Wee and MI is onto something, why would you want a lot of nitrogen in your plant in the finishing stages?
Seems to me that the purpose of the leaves is to gather light and nutrients for the plan to use so that It can produce fruit. When the fruit is finished ripening, the leaves job is finished. If their job is finished, then they have no purpose, so they turn yellow and fall off. Seems almost unatural to be green at harvest.
One thing we all could do is collectively forget the seed companies finish time recommendations, or at least look at them as recommendations instead of hard fact. Most 8 weeks varieties could go 10 weeks or longer, and be better for it. And like i suggested earlier, the same genetics can finish longer or shorter depending on conditions.....MIW
There is a natural process that goes on that causes plants to use up leaf nutrients as the plants -prepare for the end. And that can go on despite the amount of N left in the soil.....MIW Plant senescence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I have heard that yellowing of the leaves, not burning or rusty spots, can be beneficial as it helps to use up the chlorophyll which can later affect the taste of the weed.
If you dry and cure your bud properly, the chlorophyll is not an issue. In fact it is one of the main reasons for curing.
[quote name='"WeeDroid"'] If you dry and cure your bud properly, the chlorophyll is not an issue. In fact it is one of the main reasons for curing.[/quote] That's what I figured too. It was just something I read somewhere
I appreciate all the info, I guess I have to try having some plants finish green, and cure them properly and compare to some that are finishing yellow. I would imagine that finishing green would be making sure that you plant has the food to support fruit set all the way through the process, so I hypothesize that finishing green will no have no negative effects on the final flavor or the cured product. So What I'll do is try to finish half green and half yellow, and find out for myself what I think. Thanks for the input.
Nice quote from wikipedia, but I wonder if Plant senescence and what we're talking about are the same thing? After all plant senescence is the "the study of aging in plants" and indoors, it's clearly not the age that causes the yellowing but the way you feed the plant. IMHO.
So what is the easiest way to make sure they finish green. Do I just make sure my soil mix is higher in N so it lasts longer, or use spikes? Thanks. -Tlogrow
Really? I wonder why a specific Indica x Thai F! (T.O.) shows very little senescence whereas another strain, Neville's 1988 Haze x NL#5 displays intense senescence. All grown in the same potting soil mix, fed the very same botanical teas (Comfrey, Yarrow and Horsetail Ferns) - nothing in a bottle from the 'growed store clowns' Funny stuff eh? LD
I don't man, this whole aging thing, I never really thought about as a factor for how the plant finishes. I'm pretty sure (but no where near positive) that it's possible to make most 8-9 week strains finish green. Kyle Kushman talks about it, the rev talks about it, and I know there are many people who finish their plants green. So if I'm not mistaken, plant senescence is another subject all together.