Just after some advice please

[Mr Jane]

That's tough luck there Merl1n, just have to keep on keeping on though, not sure what the problem is but hopefully it improves for you sooner rather than later.

I would say I'm at around week 10 since first signs of flower give or take a few days.

 

Hey Reynolds, will Eco oil be okay to use this late?

 

G'day Radiate, thanks for the advice, I think I'll give this idea a try.

 

Just an update and a few questions..

I'm now in the process of flushing, have flushed twice, third will be today.

If I just harvested soon and hung the buds up to dry the mites would still survive and continue to deplete buds I'm guessing?

How long can I flush for before the plant runs out of taking what it needs from itself and not the medium?

 

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply, as always it's greatly appreciated!

[merl1n]

Hey Mr Jane,

The mites feed on the sap from the plant. Once the moisture is gone there will be nothing for them to feed on and they will disappear but their webs will stay.

 

As for your flushing, I flush for 5-7 days. I have gone longer in the past but anything after 10 days I found made the smoke rough, but that is my experience and may not be 'the standard'. I spose variations in nutes and nute strength along with flush timings during grow would all have an impact on salt retention in the final product. How many times have the white hairs browned off?

 

As for my problem, it just seems to be never-ending. 2013 has just been a kunt of mammoth proportions. Nothing a bullet wouldn't fix tho

Here is what I'm talkin about https://cannabis.community.forums.ozstoners.com/topic/59058-the-biggest-of-thanks/page-1

 

Merl1n

[Chato]

Could be mould too... Sometimes it has a web like appearance.

 

Are your leaves dotted yellow or pale?

 

Check the undersides of the leaves to confirm mites.

 

peace

c

[RadiateLight]

Take a photo of the 'webbing' for us. sorry to hear of your health issues merl1n - hope your condition improves. Muchos respect. Edited November 29, 2013 by RadiateLight

[Mr Jane]

Oh that's a pretty serious bend in the road Merlin, can't be easy at all so total respect from where I'm standing (and the whole oz stoners crew) too by the looks of that linked thread.

 

As I said guys I can't actually upload pics atm unfortunately. Although while harvesting I didn't notice any mites anywhere so it is very possible it could have been mold.

One thing I did/am noticing is that my buds are crispy and hard:/ not soft and lush.. Any ideas what could have caused this?

 

Thanks stoners.

[merl1n]

'A serious bend in the road...' that's one way to put it, but shit happens, there ain't much I can do about it.

 

Now you say you didn't notice any mites, they are little bastards and they do hide usually on the underside of the leaves.

You also say that the buds are hard and crispy, one reason for this COULD be mould damaging the stem.

Here is a bit of basic plant biology. The stem of the plant is made up of differing layers. The woody bit gives the plant strength to stay upright but does very little in feeding the plant, the outer or green part of the stem is how the plant feeds. Damage to the outer stem reduces the availability of nutes for the plant to use. When someone ringbarks the main trunk of a plant it prevents the nutrients travelling to where they are needed and the plant dies. This can also occur with a single branch. Many moons ago I was told to use fishing line to pull branches down, so I did. I used a slipknot. As the plant grew, the fishing line strangled the stem. The result was that I cut into the plants natural feed line and killed those tied buds off.

Mould does the same thing, it damages the fine layer of feed cells around the outside of the stem. The plant still tries to push nutes up those damaged stems, which just feeds and encourages the mould. The buds may have developed prior to the damage, but once damaged, nutes can't get to the bud and it drys out and goes crispy. One sign that there is mould occurring within the bud is that the shade leaves on the buds are crisp whilst other bud leaf is '...soft anf lush'. The mould damages the leaf stem and again it dries out. Some growers recommend removing leaf around the bud, I don't. Where the leaf is removed from weeps this again encourages mould. If the leaf is removed late in the flowering cycle (just before harvest) the mould has less time in which to develop.

Mould likes dark, damp and still air. This is why airflow is real important. Your plant will naturally excrete moisture into the air you MUST remove this moisture. Any still pockets of air can encourage mould growth. I use 4 oscillating fans, one in each corner for air circulation, plus an intake fan pulling air into my room. This means fresh air comes in and gets stirred around the whole grow space, so there is no still air.

 

Another little piece of advice. If you suspect a bud has mould. Cut it and remove it from the room before opening the bud to inspect it. Mould has spores that when disturbed spread and if disturbed can infect your entire room as the spores float thru the air, so be aware.

 

As you are having difficulties posting pics, this is all theory. Pics would help tho for a more definitive diagnosis but I hope this information helps 

 

Merl1n