Outdoor Crow's GG at 56ºN

[Crow River]

Went to the bramble plot for the first time in over a week. I took paper bags ready to chop the Joshua lowers, and any other girls that might be ready. Also carried bottles of Flower Power to give them all a root drench.

Unfortunately, the rot has been steadily attacking the girls at this plot. Also quite a few broken branches on several plants, I'm assuming wind damage. All lowers, some were still attached and alive, others had fallen away and lay dead on the ground. I went round salvaging snapped branches from the S.A.D. and Frisian Duck, but it was too late for the ones from the tall Shaman. Both Shaman were affected by rot, the smaller had her main cola all rotted, plus some lower tops; the taller girl had just a couple of patches on lower tops. A pity because they look maybe a week away from finishing otherwise. Both Citrus Burst also affected, and the S.A.D. too. It wasn't quite clear if the Frisian Duck had any rot, some dead leaves but if there is rot it's not obvious. Reckon the huge downpour last weekend has not been good for these girls. If we hadn't had some nice sunshine the past few days, might have been even worse. Cut out buds from the affected girls, some went straight on the compost, others had some basic surgery on site and will be triple checked back at base.

Some plants were unaffected by any damage (yet): the Joshua lowers were clean and had a nice colour to them, having been very pale last visit. So these were chopped and that's the Joshua finally finished. Surprisingly, the Triton Biscotto Lime top buds were all cooked. So I took those, leaving lowers to ripen a bit longer. The Kush Mintz is nearly there, no rot or wind damage. The Super Kush mum is still a while away from finishing. I think this plot gets quite a lot of sunshine, so buds are ripening quite quickly.

I am probably going to return in a couple of days, and will most likely either chop all the girls that have had rot, or do a progressive harvest, taking tops and leaving lowers a bit longer. I'll assess the situation then, but will be prepared if need be. Given that the girls that had some rot are unlikely to fare very well during days of constant rain, I might just take them all early. So potentially could be harvesting five plants, plus uppers from another two.

Bramble plot on arrival


Citrus Burst x 2


Shaman x 2


Sweet Afghani Delicious


Triton Biscotto Lime mum


Kush Mintz


Super Kush mum


Joshua mum lowers


Frisian Duck clone


Bramble plot after third harvest

 

[Crow River]

Went to the embankment and bramble plots yesterday afternoon. The C99 x Blueberry Early Version could have dome with a bit longer, but given the terrible weather on the way, I decided not to risk leaving her out. So down she came. No rot detected. Then I chopped the two Shaman, the Citrus Burst, the S.A.D. All five had small bits of rot in various places, these were removed on site. No way they would survive the rain that's coming. I had a look at the Kush Mintz, and while she could probably have done with another week or so, she was pretty much ready so I took her too. It was pretty breezy while I harvested the girls, with gale force winds forecast for a few days it's better that the tall Kush Mintz was harvested as on her own she'd inevitably suffer damage. No rot on this girl either.

It was dark by the time I left the bramble plot, so no "after" pic but there are only three plants left there now, and five at the embankment. Now for a spell in trim jail, and arranging all the buds to dry.

Embankment plot on arrival


C99 x Blueberry Early Version just before harvest


Embankment plot on departure


Bramble plot on arrival


Shaman x 2 prior to harvest


Citrus Burst x 2 before harvest


Sweet Afghani Delicious pre-harvest


Kush Mintz before chop


Frisian Duck clone staying put


Super Kush mum hanging around


Triton Biscotto Lime mum ripening her lowers


Relieved I managed to get all the girls in before the storm. I should have enough space and supplies to dry this lot properly, even with expected high atmospheric humidity.

 

[Crow River]

Couple of gratuitous drying shots.

Kush Mintz


C99 x Blueberry Early Version

 

[Crow River]

Went to the railway to see how the Super Kush clones were getting on after the big storm. They all seem to be fine, slightly further into flower, a few maybe a bit taller. I gave the girls some Flower Power, tucked a few loose edges of cages (the only sign that there had been strong winds). Goodness knows when they will finish, a few weeks yet at least. Looking at the forecast seems to be fairly mild right through to early November, so just a waiting game really. I'll visit again in a week.

Two Super Kush clones in a round planter


Two Super Kush clones in a long planter


Two Super Kush clones in granite ballast


Four Super Kush clones in granite ballast

 

[Crow River]

Passed by the Frisian Ducks near the apple tree after sunset this evening. Both seem t have survived the storm reasonably unscathed, though the clone did look as though it had been battered a bit by the wind. I made sure she was firmly rooted in her bucket, put her a bit more upright as she was leaning over slightly. That's about all I could do without light to work with. I'll spin by again soon and give them both a feed.

Frisian Duck mum


Frisian Duck clone

 

[Crow River]

Another frantic dash today, to harvest plants before the latest severe downpour started. I was looking for girls that either had some rot starting, or were damaged, or indeed were ready and finished.

Over at the bramble plot, two girls had some rot on the tops: the Frisian Duck and the Triton Biscotto Lime mum. So I removed a small number of rotten bits, and chopped both. The Super Kush mum looked great, no rot, but the very top buds were cooked. So I harvested just the uppermost buds, and left the rest to ripen further. She's the last girl standing at that plot now.

Then to the embankment, and while no rot was detected, the wind had made the taller girls lean over. Also there were signs of wind damage on leaves, especially the Triton Biscotto Lime clone. I suppose I could have strengthened the staking of those taller plants, but with the heavy rain coming I decided to chop all three. That just leaves the two extreme late plant outs at that plot: a Frisian Duck clone and a CBD Critical Mass. They definitely need a bit longer before finishing. I left a few tiny buds on the Super Kush clones, see if they regenerate at all.

So that's the season nearly over at those two plots, and only three plants still out. Of course I have the Frisian Ducks by the apple tree, and a bunch of Super Kush clones along the railway. Hopefully they'll all be okay in the coming rain. I'll check on them in a week's time.

Frisian Duck clone


Triton Biscotto Lime mum lowers


Super Kush mum


After taking tops


Embankment plot on arrival


Triton Biscotto Lime clone


Super Kush clones x 2


Frisian Duck clone


CBD Critical Mass


Super Kush clone remnants


Embankment plot after harvest

 

[Crow River]

@DOA hey thanks for the rep man.

Wasn't sure if I was going to take all those girls this visit, but if I had left the ones with rot they would not have survived the downpour over the next few days. And the tall girls were at risk of being blown over, so their time had come too...

 

[Crow River]

Nipped along to the railway at sunset, to see if anything was ready to chop. All the Super Kush clones look healthy, but they are not finished. By the looks of them they don't really need a feed just now. Not sure how much longer they have to go, or whether indeed they will finish at all. The sun is so low in the sky these days that most will only get a couple of hours of direct sun if they're lucky. The two clones in the long planter have the best light, so will probably finish earlier than the others.

I'm going to leave them for a while, see how they get on. I'll check in once a week, in case of any problems. Otherwise I'll let the girls get on with it. If any finish sometime in the next few weeks, I'll chop them. If it gets to late November and no finish line in sight, I'll just chop anyway.

It was dark by the time I got to the round planter, so some pics are a but fuzzy due to low light.

Two Super Kush clones in granite chippings


Four Super Kush clones in granite chippings


Two Super Kush clones in a long planter


Two Super Kush clones in a round planter

 

[Crow River]

Was down by the apple tree around sunset, checked in on the two Frisian Ducks. Definitely feels like autumn now in a way it didn't really last month. Trees are shedding a lot of leaves, dark at half four...

The girls don't seem to be growing any more. Similar story with the Super Kush clones down at the railway. Probably just relative lack of light, and low temperatures overnight. Although there has been some mild, dry, sunny weather the past few days which hopefully they enjoyed. I suppose it's possible they are entering a sort of semi-dormant state due to the soil temperatures. Also a few bud leaves in places are turning grey and dying back. Not rot I don't think, but maybe wind or cold damage. Looks similar to the way the clone at the bramble plot was the other week. I don't think these ladies are going to do very much over the next while, they're done.

We have some rain coming soon, but the next proper dry day I think I will chop these girls. Might leave a few lower branches on each, see if they reveg at some stage. Just a wee experiment.

Frisian Duck mum


Frisian Duck clone

 

[Crow River]

Today was harvest day for the two Frisian Ducks by the apple tree. They've had some good sunshine over the past few days, but nights have been pretty cold, below zero overnight Thursday into Friday. Both seem to have taken that in their stride, no real change since Tuesday. A handful of buds showed damage, but I put this down to strong wind a few weeks back.

So I chopped the girls, but left a few buds and as many leaves as possible on both. I'm going to try overwintering them. The smaller clone went in the polytunnel, off the floor with some bubblewrap round the bucket. The mum is too big to move far, so just left her where she is. Next visit I will mulch with some straw and maybe wrap some cardboard round the fabric pot. One interesting detail is I forgot to remove a cable tie used to bind the top of the stem when it split in the summer. The fat stem has tried to grow round it. Not sure if I should remove it just now, but if she survives and starts growing again in the spring I'll cut it off then so the stem can expand more normally at that point...

So just one small clone still out at the embankment, will try and visit later this week if I get time.

Frisian Duck clone before harvest


Bud damage


Frisian Duck mum before harvest



Bud damage


Frisian Duck clone after harvest


Frisian Duck mum after harvest