White Widow 3rd week flower

These are my babies. White Widow from reputable seeds. 6 weeks veg, now in 3rd week flower. 400w hps, standard DIY store nutes and compost from the pound store. No grow room, I just leave my babies under the light in the corner of my bedroom, so there are no heat/exhaust issues or complicated fan set ups. These girls are growing strong. Can't wait for the end product!

 

Hey JoD. Yeah it is a ghetto set-up, but very simple and proof that anyone can grow without making any huge effort. I control the light by 'cardboarding' my windows so they are light tight and then just being careful about how/when I enter my bedroom. It's a bit of a chore, but I have a decent sized place and spend most of my time in other parts of the house so it doesn't effect me or the plants too much. I do have problems with changing shift patterns at work, so the regularity of the light cycle has to change every other week. It's not perfect, but with some care and attention (ie change the timing of light on/off slowly from the day before) it can be done.

Basically, I am of the opinion that love, care and close attention will out perform complicated grow set ups for most newb growers. This is my first grow. I want to learn how to grow the strongest, smelliest and heaviest tasting buds I can, and I think this is the most realistic and sensible way to do that at this point. When I'm a bit more experienced, I'll invest a bit more in my set up.

I hope this goes some way to helping any other newbs to avoid the worries or anxieties I wasted my time on during the first month of my growing experience.

 

Hey Marduk55. These girls are from feminized seeds, so no need to worry about determining sex before flipping the photoperiod. A bit of a cheat, I know. But I tell the truth, this is my first grow, these are my first ever cannabis plants. So I wanted to make things as easy as possible to give me the best chance of learning to grow while actually producing some decent buds. I've got a few clones of these girls taking root, but I think I'll go with some regular seeds next so I can give a try at conventional growing and sexing my plants.

In fact, gorgeous though my girls undoubtedly are, these pics are only of the colas at the tops of the plants. They are actually much bigger (and not nearly as bud heavy) at the bottoms and those buds really do look more impressive in the photos. Don't get me wrong, I think they look fantastic but I'd like to try and keep things in perspective. I'm looking forward to the 5-6 week bud explosion and see those buds really taking shape.

Either way, thanks for the compliments guys. I'll post a few more pics when they are ready for the chop and then some end product.

 

For any one who is interested, here are my girls when I chopped em 4 weeks later. About 2 oz altogether between two plants. I chopped one plant at 6 weeks flower (50% red pistils/most trichomes milky) and got a smoke which at first wasn't so heavy, but 20 mins later I was giggling my ass off. I chopped the second plant at 8 weeks flower (75% red pistils/trichomes 50-50 milky&amber) and got a much stronger smoke, knocked me on my ass. Drying time also made a HUGE difference in potency and quality. Didn't notice any real smell during the grow, but the buds are sticky-icky, so is the trim (H-H-HASH!), and i've got a big bag of free smoke which is better than I get from my dealer, so I can do without the smell.
I've also included a picture of my grow area to show how a simple 'DIY' approach can yield good results.

 

To all who have shared their kind comments and ratings on this post, I wish to convey my sincerest thanks. Growing those girls was a beautiful and rewarding experience, I genuinely feel closer to Mother Earth as a result, and I must say I certainly enjoyed those buds!!!

I have since grown two more WW plants, clones taken from the girls in these photos, and they were even better. I considered my mistakes, maximised what I know about growing to make some lovely bushy daughters with more bud than I got last time. This really has been a learning curve, and I am thrilled to see my efforts come to fruition. I will get better. And so will my buds.

I have just had two more clones take root under a small 90WLED light (450 lumen & very effective for early veg growth) and two small 20W fluorescent lights (500 lumen), they exploded in growth last week and will be going under the 400W HPS asap. I will make another photo record and try to record my progress this time around and post it here for more feedback, if anyone feels inclined.

Thanks again. Peace.

 

Hey Carebearsx3.

I vegged those first three girls waaaaay too long. Must have been 7-8 weeks of veg, then switched to flower. I have read (and I can see the logic in the idea) that a longer veg will eventually produce a more robust plant. But it took almost 4 months to produce decent buds, and even then I think I coulda got them stronger if I left em a few more weeks. But fuck that, I was literally drooling to death, so I had to cut em for my own sanity! Pro set ups will produce better buds much more quickly, and that's what I'm aiming for.

The clones of these girls took a good 2 weeks to take root and start to grow significantly, but then they really exploded. I switched them to flower after 4 weeks veg (inc. aforementioned rooting time), gave them 12-12 for 6 weeks and got a bigger weight of superior buds with much less hassle.

The lesson learned? I think clones work better. They are the same sexual age/maturity as their mother, therefore they kick into flower much more quickly, and you don't have to spend £25/$50 on 5 seeds each time. More importantly, you have to learn how to cut those saplings, how to train them etc. It brings you closer to understanding how the plant develops, as opposed to just putting a seed in some soil and leaving them under a light til they're ready. Learn about your plants, study what's been written by others, think about what will suit your set up best.

Not to condescend, I'm sure everybody is different, but this is what has occurred to my following my experiences.

Peace, love, out.