News Joint Grow Journal 13: Flowering
I left off News Joint Grow Journal 12 with me trying to maximize me yield by managing five different strains of plants inside my grow tent. For the entire grow, I couldn’t wait to get to the flowering stage so I could, hopefully, post photos with fat juicy buds overflowing with trichomes like professional growers plaster across social media daily.
With five feminized seeds (Steve’s Dream Queen, Amnesia Lemon, Blood Diamond OG, Prayer Pupil, and Swabi Pakistani 3) I didn’t have to sex the plant but rather just watch for the fine white pistils around week two. Week three, I notice the Dream Queen and Blood Diamond OG already forming trichomes on the leaves and the pistils were darkening.

Blood Diamond OG Day 21
Week four and five, my colas developed into the buds that closely resembled the photogenic buds I saw while scrolling through social media. The buds thickened, and the photos became more photogenic.

Blood Diamond OG Day 27
What I learned, though, was that the flowering stage was the same excitement I’d felt throughout the other stages of growing. During a first grow, it’s all new and exciting.
It was great to watch the buds develop over the next couple weeks. Of course, I shot way too many photos and have way more than I could ever use for this journal entry. I plan on posting several on social media after I publish this entry.

Prayer Pupil Day 30
Setting aside the stretching of the Swabi Pakistani 3, the rhythm of the flowering stage unfolded as the smoothest of all the grow stages so far. I finally felt I knew what the plants expected from me and what I expected from the plants.

Payer Pupil Day 36
Throughout the flowering stage, I watered and ran nutrients as recommended. I pruned all dying leaves underneath the canopy and selectively trimmed the canopy top for better lighting and airflow. Almost the entire time my NextLight Core LED Grow Light (sponsored by Aroma Grow Store) was on, I had the tent open with fans rotating the air above and below.
Starting with week seven, while the tent was open, my house filled with a mix of kush, lemon, pine, skunk, and an all around funk. The buds grew, and my excitement grew. So did the anticipation and anxiety.

Blood Diamond OG Day 64
The rhythm of watering and pruning and taking photos for the last seven weeks closed in on a chop date. The buds were nearly fully developed. I started my flush during the middle of the seventh week.
My next step? I started looking at the buds’ trichomes for a better assessment of when to deliver the last watering and when to chop. Here is a photo I took with a microscope camera.

Amnesia Lemon Day 64
Check back for News Joint Grow Journal 14 in which I try to pinpoint the best time to harvest with a close up look at trichomes.
Click here for earlier entries of News Joint Grow Journal. A Prairie State of Mind.

Prayer Pupil Day 64