BUDS LOADED W TRICHS...BY ACCIDENT

OldAK-MTF907

Active Member
So about 25 days ago I left on a 2 week vacation, leaving behind 3 lovely ladies ALL from random bag seed, lit w a 400 watt hps, approx.4-ish weeks into bud. I bought a $40 automatic timed water pump (reservoir filled w about 5 gallons of water w light bloom nutes added) to keep them fed while I was away, left a window cracked w a small desktop fan blowing cool fresh air ( about mid-70's day, high-60's night) into the room directed at the closet, where my plants are. I've been making simple honey & white sugar alcohol in 2 gallon milk jug (makeshift carboy's) with a 1 way valve/small gauge aquarium tubing attatched and ran into a front facing oscillating fan blowing the small amount of Co2 produced directly into the foliage/buds. Those are the fundaments.

When I returned, excited & admittedly a little worried as I've never left my plants alone under the care of a machine before I walked in to find my 3 lafies slightly taller, quite thicker & SIGNIFICANTLY more glistening w trichomes, but almost ALL the leaves were drooping & starting to wilt, the front fan fell over at some point and the pump was in pump mode though the water was 99% gone. I did my homework & set up my "automated away" system acvordingly & took most obvious potential problems into consideration, amount of water dist. Per plant per day & the proper amount of nutes per gallon × time away, etc. Rough evaporation rates, possible stretching/upward growth, temp. & RH, etc...

I really still don't understand what factor caused this amazing increase of trichomes, ( certain stresses, etc.) but I WOULD LOVE to repeat the process next round, maybe even push it a few steps further! Can anyone attest to this from 1st hand? Or have a educated guess why and/or guesstimate how to reproduce the effects?
 
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chemphlegm

Well-Known Member
its not amazing when a plant with trichomes is failing.
trichomes appear when the genetics of a plant meet growing conditions during maturation.
near useless though in an unfinished plant, an abused one, an interrupted one.
many plants have trichomes not just marijuana. you can lick them if you want

if you want to repeat your failure do exactly what you did the first time, that should do it.
if you're amazed at a 4 week trichome wait till you dial in your space and allow her to fully express properly.
you'll be really amazed.
 

OldAK-MTF907

Active Member
...ok, looks like I'll start w ,This isn't my "1st rodeo", I have 8 or 9 personal grows under my belt & a handful or so more from helping friends back in AK so yes....I'm familiar completely w a complete, healthy run 'til the end loaded w trichs....this was very different...also brief FYI but they are still alive and about to hit the finish line...intact WITH the amplified trich blanket so...to call it a failure would be unintelligent...I mean, unless one's goal is to yield buds that harbor as much THC as a piece of dried broccoli...then I suppose yes...I have failed... I'll contain any further validations as I'm ONLY looking for EXPERIENCED, POSITIVE ideas on how to repeat the process, or even some "back & forth" on what specifics could have caused it. Thanks though and duly noted.

Moving along, so again this "batch" showed SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASED trichome coverage by week 4, easily double or better than the previous runs w the exact same set up, same ferts, etc. the ONLY difference (imo) could have been a brief drought, lack of moving air, something along these lines. I'm honestly thinking if I can unlock Pandora's proverbial box here & reverse engineer my eff up in steps...this could be something worth duplicating...lol! Thanks
 

OldAK-MTF907

Active Member
I better digress just a bit and admit/be clear these were ALL from random bag seed so...in theory they COULD have all been some mysterious, "creature from the dank lagoon" strain of green I've never seen, that is different than the past what...like 16 or 17+ different strains I've grown/have 1st or 2nd hand experience w, & quite suddenly at roughly week 4-ish push out an immense layer of trichomes...but I guess I just doubt that...!
 
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VegasWinner

Well-Known Member
It sounds to me like your plant went under some heat stress and some water stress. Those factors alone would cause the plant to secrete trich's to repair it self. So if you allow your temps to rise while using CO2 you will continue to see those same results. Try controlling the CO2 with no ambient air movement until plants start to transpire and than turn ventilation back on allowing the plants to cool naturally again.
great unexpected experiment.
 

chemphlegm

Well-Known Member
...ok, looks like I'll start w ,This isn't my "1st rodeo", I have 8 or 9 personal grows under my belt & a handful or so more from helping friends back in AK so yes....I'm familiar completely w a complete, healthy run 'til the end loaded w trichs....this was very different...also brief FYI but they are still alive and about to hit the finish line...intact WITH the amplified trich blanket so...to call it a failure would be unintelligent...I mean, unless one's goal is to yield buds that harbor as much THC as a piece of dried broccoli...then I suppose yes...I have failed... I'll contain any further validations as I'm ONLY looking for EXPERIENCED, POSITIVE ideas on how to repeat the process, or even some "back & forth" on what specifics could have caused it. Thanks though and duly noted.

Moving along, so again this "batch" showed SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASED trichome coverage by week 4, easily double or better than the previous runs w the exact same set up, same ferts, etc. the ONLY difference (imo) could have been a brief drought, lack of moving air, something along these lines. I'm honestly thinking if I can unlock Pandora's proverbial box here & reverse engineer my eff up in steps...this could be something worth duplicating...lol! Thanks

oh ok, then simply allow your systems to fail in the same way for a two week period. best way to repeat this process/result. your plant was likely going all out to finish, not in a good way though. Imagine all those trichs if they didnt get punished first, bet they be better even still when finished.
when my systems fail and plant wilt and water dries up.....I call that a failure all around. Possibly a recoup, maybe a recovery, none the less a failure. no insult intended sir
 

OldAK-MTF907

Active Member
0901170715.jpg ( there! This was SUPPOSED to be at the bottom of the page...by the "I'll post a pic later" comment...! Anyhow this is a crude/ not well lit pic of one of the buds after I got back)

Ahhh! Yeah, I think you're onto something w that "VegasWinner"...I mean, that sounds right! And seriously...this is something I take GREAT pride in that I happen to excel at so I DON'T wanna screw up & hurt my hard earned gals but man...to know what is possible with a (somewhat!) brief slip up it's hard NOT to want to make lightning strike twice, ya know? Btw though I have no before pics, I can obviously take a current one, just to show the sweet, funky sparkle they gained, once I'm back on the light 12 I'll add a pic! And THANKS btw! I'm seriously gonna attempt to recreate the conditions leading up to this small but bad @$$ "discovery"...ha!
 
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chemphlegm

Well-Known Member
how do you know that the trichomes would not have expressed even better if the systems did not fail?
maybe they were naturally expressing and then the system failed? repeating the system failure is a waste of time
and resources in my opinion. the best weed comes from perfect controls and systems running right to finish.
some growers punish their plants in their end times, with water/light deprivation and even mechanical tortures like
needled and rods poked through stalks. never seemed a viable practice in my years
 

OldAK-MTF907

Active Member
oh ok, then simply allow your systems to fail in the same way for a two week period. best way to repeat this process/result. your plant was likely going all out to finish, not in a good way though. Imagine all those trichs if they didnt get punished first, bet they be better even still when finished.
when my systems fail and plant wilt and water dries up.....I call that a failure all around. Possibly a recoup, maybe a recovery, none the less a failure. no insult intended sir
Ahhh ok, I'm w 'ya, and no worries mang. Just here to reap the benefits if possible! And sure, I get that...I suppose it comes down to semantics more or less...tomato-toe-mah-toe. But yeah, like I said previously, I REALLY DON'T KNOW what they would've been like minus my mishap, (ie they're bag beans!)
But I have to say from many previous grows I've NEVER seen such a sudden trich layered/response to whatever stress I put them through! Primarily 'bcuz I REALLY try NOT to stress them! Lol! Anyhow agreed, since they could have been forcing themselves to finish, I may have negatively effected the size, bulk, etc. Some... I am thinking of a slightly less brutal way to get at least SOME of the stress benefits...
 

OldAK-MTF907

Active Member
how do you know that the trichomes would not have expressed even better if the systems did not fail?
maybe they were naturally expressing and then the system failed? repeating the system failure is a waste of time
and resources in my opinion. the best weed comes from perfect controls and systems running right to finish.
some growers punish their plants in their end times, with water/light deprivation and even mechanical tortures like
needled and rods poked through stalks. never seemed a viable practice in my years
Yeah, true! You definitely have a valid point, I DON'T know they wouldn't have ended great, possibly even better without the stress, I'm just guessing since my previous grows in the same exact environment, same equip., matching set up all around hadn't shown such a substantial and sudden trich coverage at week 4 that this was definitely something different & worth taking note of, possibly even attempting to recreate.

Let me add that I agree & I generally DON'T subscribe to the act of plant torment/torture to get a great end result, though I think there are some "outside the box" discoveries that take place & prove beneficial.
 
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OldAK-MTF907

Active Member
All of that and no trich pictures
I must have said "I have no before pics but once its "lights on for 12" I'll post a current one" after your brief post but yeah...there ya have it! If you have some actual interest stick around, come 10pm ish tonight I'll post one on here
 

chemphlegm

Well-Known Member
I must have said "I have no before pics but once its "lights on for 12" I'll post a current one" after your brief post but yeah...there ya have it! If you have some actual interest stick around, come 10pm ish tonight I'll post one on here
thats past my bedtime, I'll see it tomorrow though
 

OldAK-MTF907

Active Member
It is considered a weed for a reason, highly adaptable and difficult to kill.
No joke eh?! Yeah, these poor "bitches" took some unintended abuse from me...only to show me just how resilient they truly are...and to shove back w a TON of sticky bad-ass-ed-ness back at me! Arnery little bastards!
 

OldAK-MTF907

Active Member
I must have said "I have no before pics but once its "lights on for 12" I'll post a current one" after your brief post but yeah...there ya have it! If you have some actual interest stick around, come 10pm ish tonight I'll post one on here
Quick update, I DID post a current one....crappy quality and not necessarily one to show off the coverage I speak of but...a pic all the same
 

mr sunshine

Well-Known Member
View attachment 4005500 ( there! This was SUPPOSED to be at the bottom of the page...by the "I'll post a pic later" comment...! Anyhow this is a crude/ not well lit pic of one of the buds after I got back)

Ahhh! Yeah, I think you're onto something w that "VegasWinner"...I mean, that sounds right! And seriously...this is something I take GREAT pride in that I happen to excel at so I DON'T wanna screw up & hurt my hard earned gals but man...to know what is possible with a (somewhat!) brief slip up it's hard NOT to want to make lightning strike twice, ya know? Btw though I have no before pics, I can obviously take a current one, just to show the sweet, funky sparkle they gained, once I'm back on the light 12 I'll add a pic! And THANKS btw! I'm seriously gonna attempt to recreate the conditions leading up to this small but bad @$$ "discovery"...ha!
Looks normal to me, I've grown some that are more frosty then that and some that are less, just depends on the genetics and phenotype. Shoulda cloned it, you probably won't find it again.
 

OldAK-MTF907

Active Member
those are surely frosty girls @ week 4 !
I know right?! That's my opinion in my experience too! They jist did such a 360 turn around that it caught me off guard! From pretty much the usual looking early formation, barely visible trichs-lots of white-ish hairs to BAM! That! Oh and also to be as exact as possible & fair, the pic is what they looked like at ROUGHLY 4 weeks in...give or take a few days either way.
 
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