Indoor Professional cannabis growers!

[Trapper]

I agree with the sentiment re: commercial op VS home grow. A commercial grower, med or not is out to make enough to keep his business going and make a couple bucks. They are going to grow in a manner that optimizes for their business...

Exactly...when I hear "Professional or Commercial Grower" I don't think "intrinsically better" or "more skilled", I think "growing within the constraints of the realities of the business landscape". Which in Colorado right now means "Rush it to market, because it's getting bought faster than we can keep it on the shelves".

Just my 2 cents...

 

[derek420colorado]

I think that the biggest thing that is not being addresed is that you are probably seeing mostly photoperiod plants when you are googling Commercial Marijuana grows. Autoflowering cannabis is very different in the way that it finishes. Due to the ruderalis genes that have been bred into the photoperiod plants, because AutoFlowering plants are essentially on a "timer" they are different in the fact that they think they are about to die. While Photoperiod plants don't have that same "attitude" so to speak. As stated Above Muddy would be the best person to chime in on this topic. Also I think you might have some misconceptions about Medical Marijuana grows here in the states, there are virtually 0 regulations on how to grow medical. Now when it comes to the new Recreational Laws here in Colorado it is very different, they have made it basically like preparing food and everything has to be clean and sterile almost like where doctors preform surgery. I grew photoperiod plants for a long time and even with flushing for the last 2 weeks I never got the same amount of yellowing that I have seen from Autos. Just my 2 pennies though

 

[BayLee420]

Don't know about "Pro" growers and how they do their thing. I've been growing indoors for two years now and have been an AFM member from the very 1st grow. I started my research on auto's before I started my new "indoor" adventure. Grew outdoors for years and due to the fact that my old grow site is now a runway for our local airport....you can see..

My indoor grow was going to be Autoflowering from the start and AFN has been a big part of my success in growing the BEST DAMN CANNABIS I've ever smoked. My family thinks so too. My brother says my MJ is too good. I've been to some big indoor grows and I'll take my little SuperBox grown weed anytime.

I let my leaves yellow up real good and get my bud fan leave to yellow too. I like my bud ripe, like a well ripen fruit. That takes time that commercial growes cannot afford to do.

Follow the $ too. If the "Pros" let their cannabis grow to maturity like some of us like their MJ. Then the cost of growing out ways the cost on the market. If that makes sense??

 

[Terraformer33]

Kindred Spirit here I have been a grower for 9 years now got into autos back in 2010 and they still excite me every growing year. With leaf discolorations and final flush nutrient uptakes, I think it is natural for the plant to focus its last energy on seed or bud production, getting the most potent, and im not sure what to think when my plant knows when its gonna die (being auto, but i still think light/soil/rain has effect, as optimum conditions will grow better bushes and so the plants should live longer even if it has predestined lifespan). I agree that the ripeness of each flower is determined by climate/environment, daylength, and inherited genetics (even the moon) so each factor will have an effect on chlorophyll production as opposed to other pigments; xanthophyll, carotenoids, etc. It is important to flush prior to harvesting at the plants pique potency or preferred maturation (probably about when trichomes start to change from clear to cloudy to allow a few weeks flush) for usable flowers. If you are making seeds to grow you should continue to fertilize for healthy nut formation but I'm not sure if its smart to fertilize edible seed plants close to harvest, maybe causing digestion issues seeing as we flush what we smoke. Of course as the plant dies it will put all its energy into reproducing, so leaf change is inevitable if a plant lives long enough but if there is ample nutrition in the soil it will take longer for cell breakdown. Most fiber or hemp varieties dont need supplement nutrition obviously as they are grown just for stalk not bud. Yellowed leaves could coincide with the thc degrading to cbn and the other aging processes in cannabis that tend to give heavy body stones, while early flowers are more psychadelic/energetic they still probably have green leaves on them (though im not entirely positive). If green a plant has enough nutrients it will have the source to create higher potency, if yellowed (due to flushing) a plant may not be as potent with less of a nutrient source, but it will be cleaner to consume.

 

[organic]

Please people press enter every now and then, I just tried 3/4 times to read some of your replys but they just turn into wall of text and i have to start again Woops

But all valid points everyone keep em coming.

 

[Eyes on Fire]

whats your question bro??if your leaves need to be yellow to chop that indicates a better product??thats false imo.Ive chopped lots of plants both ways and within true TLO growing it doesnt matter if taken the right path as to rinsing and feeding the right things.if those standard and basic steps are taken with a proper soil,it doesnt matter either way since ive personally had just as good and better dry and cured smoke that way better than any long flushed and yellowed leaves. those are my opinions and some experiences with that.for example my sour crack i harvested not long ago was fully green and its some of thee best smoke for a 30 day cure Ive done to date."AFN smoke out"

 

[namvet25]

http://www.growweedeasy.com/harvest Follow this article and you will be safe.The main thing is watch your pistols and trychomes to tell when to harvest,very simple.

 

[Wait what?]

Have been looking about at mass produced legal cannabis grows. One thing i notice more then most is that the majority of leaves / plants are still green come harvest time.

So why do so many forum users push >> the leaves must be yellow.

I know the reasons why, but how come the mass produced crops finish green when they are being closely monitored and grown using with the best of the best of everything.

Even a large amount of outdoor grow photos I have viewed finished all green.

because we nute plants and nature doesn't. W/o fertilizers, old leaves yellow and die. That makes more sense to me than any other explanation. I think with organics, it's very hard to keep them green because organics is more natural

 

[organic]

This was not a help for when to harvest type thread. Just wanted to read the views of others and whether they strive to keep there plant green throughout the whole grow, bar the odd leaf turning or go fullon to make the whole plant turn on itself and yellow up.

Just interested to see why the regulated gear is nice and green yet so many state to yellow the majority of the plant and to lose almost every fan leaf come harvest.

auto-flower to me means just that, it will flower under any light condition. The rest I view as a standard canna plant. I've yet to get any bud within 7/8 weeks from seed in 3 tries with 5 plants split between them grows. Somehow all my autos have taken between 4-6 weeks before even showing preflowers. So - so far my typical standard grow for an auto has been the same as a photo with a grow of around 3 months.

Even the reply's here are split some forcing there plants to "starve" and some plunging away with the feed in till the plant is ready and then chopping with maybe a week flush. I am just following the program for my feed and can see they are going to cross the finishing line pretty much all green and the thought of stopping the feed mid flower to allow this yellowing to occur seems a bit odd.

 

[Son of Hobbes]

This was not a help for when to harvest type thread. Just wanted to read the views of others and whether they strive to keep there plant green throughout the whole grow, bar the odd leaf turning or go fullon to make the whole plant turn on itself and yellow up.

Just interested to see why the regulated gear is nice and green yet so many state to yellow the majority of the plant and to lose almost every fan leaf come harvest.

auto-flower to me means just that, it will flower under any light condition. The rest I view as a standard canna plant. I've yet to get any bud within 7/8 weeks from seed in 3 tries with 5 plants split between them grows. Somehow all my autos have taken between 4-6 weeks before even showing preflowers. So - so far my typical standard grow for an auto has been the same as a photo with a grow of around 3 months.

Even the reply's here are split some forcing there plants to "starve" and some plunging away with the feed in till the plant is ready and then chopping with maybe a week flush. I am just following the program for my feed and can see they are going to cross the finishing line pretty much all green and the thought of stopping the feed mid flower to allow this yellowing to occur seems a bit odd.

Are you comparing photos to autoflowers?

auto-flower to me means just that, it will flower under any light condition. The rest I view as a standard canna plant.

They are not standard photo canna plants.

I am just following the program for my feed and can see they are going to cross the finishing line pretty much all green and the thought of stopping the feed mid flower to allow this yellowing to occur seems a bit odd

Many things will dictate a feeding schedule; pot size, environmental conditions, individual strains/phenotypes, type and manufacturer of nutrients, deficiencies, etc etc. Is your question why people stop feeding towards the end of the grow?

Have you read either of these two links?

When to harvest autos? Your leaves will tell you and The life cycle of auto flowering cannabis.

Here are two observations from one of our senior members:

Weeks 7 - 9. By now vertical growth has stopped and the switch to flowering nutrients has been made. The buds will start to fill out and put on weight, becoming hard and tight. Pistols will start to change from white to brown, orange, red, etc. By now the plants will also have developed a strong smell. Toward the end of this phase the large primary and smaller secondary fan leaves will begin to turn yellow. This is an indication that the plant is moving toward the end of it's life.

Weeks 10 - 11. At this time flowering nutes should be discontinued and only plain pHed water fed to flush the remaining nutrients from the soil and improve the taste. Yellowing of the fan leaves will continue as the plant draws the stored energy from them. Eventually they will die and fall off. By the time that the smaller leaves that come from out of the buds will also start to turn yellow. Then it's time to harvest.

I know that many of you are thinking that the seed bank said the plants will finish in 8-9 weeks, so why are you saying they take 10-11? The claims made by the seed banks are somewhat deceptive. If you switch to flowering nutes at week 3 or 4 the plants can finish in the times the seed banks say but they will remain small and not reach their full potential yield. Years of growing by myself and others has shown that autos do best if you follow this time line.

Of course, there will always be variations depending on the strain, the environment, nutrients, etc. This information is meant to only serve as a general guideline.

So how do I know when they are ready? I watch the the fan leaves. Over the past several years of growing autos I started taking samples at various stages of growth to evaluate the high. I tend to prefer my smoke with a little stone so began to leave them longer than the 8-9 weeks that are advertised. I find that around 11-12 weeks the plants are ripe for me. I also began to see a correlation between the color of the fan leaves, the color of the trics and the high/stone quality of the smoke at the various sample intervals. It seemed that the greener the fan leaves, the more clear trics the buds had. As the fan leaves started to yellow and die off, the trics became less clear and more milky. By the time that all the fan leaves had died off and the bud leaves were starting to yellow, I got the quality of smoke I wanted. At that time most of the trics were now milky with no, or only a few, clear ones. Here are some examples:

These are not posted as to help you know when to harvest, it's to help you understand that autos typically finish out a bit different then their photo counterparts.

I think derek actually does a good job explaining it here:

I think that the biggest thing that is not being addresed is that you areprobably seeing mostly photoperiod plants when you are googling Commercial Marijuana grows. Autoflowering cannabis is very different in the way that it finishes. Due to the ruderalis genes that have been bred into the photoperiod plants, because AutoFlowering plants are essentially on a "timer" they are different in the fact that they think they are about to die.

Hope that helps brother! :karma Cloud: