DING! The cannabinoids are ready!

drutter (69)in #cannabis • 3 years ago

Please enjoy this canna photo album! Just in time to be dried and cured for 4/20, my crop of Reclining Buddha cannabis plants have hit maturity. THC, CBD, and dozens of other cannabinoids have been produced from nothing but dirt, light, air, and water.

That zoom shows a scattering of milky white and yellowish trichome heads, telling me the plants have reached an excellent point for harvest. Last week they weren't quite ready:

Today, these plants are looking ready for the blade. They've produced the medicine I grew them for, and a good crop of seeds to populate future gardens. And they're beauties!

Here's another look at some trichomes, this time from the side:

I notice a lot less mature trichomes there, but that's normal. Trichomes mature from the inside out (from the center of the bud to the tips of the sugar leaves).

What a pleasure these plants have been to grow and photograph!

Who wants popcorn?

I find that massive buds are fun, but not necessarily better. Per gram, I'd almost always rather have "fluffy" bud than hard-packed bud. Fluffy bud has a lot more surface-area for trichomes, which are the active ingredient. Hard bud is mostly fiber, not medicine! And larger buds have less surface area per gram, so "popcorn nugs" are usually what I'm after.

I guess you're probably tired of looking at cannabis by now, but I have a few more images to show you. :oP

Even at 18 weeks old, having added no nutrients of any kind, these girls look great. Just a few dry leaf tips. My plants don't "fade" toward the end - brown crispy leaves, for example. Some growers find that attractive, and even strive for plants that look almost-dead at harvest. I'm not knocking it, I just don't understand it. Feedback appreciated!

Growing 200% organically means there's no "flush" necessary. My plants get nothing but plain water, right from day 1. And they never become burnt out or faded. Healthy happy plants produce top-notch cannabinoids and terpenes, in my experience. My plants are still in the prime of their lives at harvest.

Thanks to a mid-crop lighting upgrade, my plants decided to produce some new growth, kind of late in the game. Check out this spire of wild bud growth:

Talk about a 'cola'! In the past 10 days that bud has taken on the shape of a coke bottle.

Even the lower branches are seeing sudden surges of lighter-coloured growth. Check out that protrusion toward the top, and another (blurry) one coming out toward the camera at the bottom. My theory is that the change to brighter light made the plants believe we were just hitting mid summer, ie, there's still time for new growth. Woops! In reality, it's supposed to be late fall for them. I don't think it will hurt anything, but I'm definitely looking forward to the next crop, which will be Reclining Buddhas again, and the light source will be constant from the start. Should be my best crop ever!