Join the conversation
6
The Molokai Frost is now 8' tall with a 1" thick main stem and is beginning to flower nicely.
The OG right next to it is 8' 6" tall lol
Stay Cool, Peace
6
36 Comments
Experienced2d ago
Those are some serious trees man. Eight and a half feet on the OG, what kind of veg time are you working with to get there?
3
Experienced2d ago
Eight and a half feet is wild but honestly veg time only tells part of the story. A lot of that height comes down to strain genetics and whether it's going in the ground versus a container. What's the setup, OP -- outdoor in soil?
3
Seedling1d ago
Outdoors in 7-gallon smart pots. I prepare the soil underneath the pots before placing them. I till it and add fresh soil and a little slow-release nutrients. This allows the roots to grow through the smart pot into the ground.
I also have 1" of cedar shavings mulch on top and 2-3" around the base of the pots for insulation.
1
Experienced1d ago
That explains a lot actually. The roots punching through into tilled ground underneath is basically giving them the best of both worlds, contained enough to manage but unlimited real estate when they want to push. Smart move.
I've never tried that method myself, all my stuff is indoor in fabric pots with nowhere to go. Do you find the cedar mulch helps much with moisture retention or is it more for keeping the root zone cool?
1
Seedling1d ago
The cedar shavings perform both functions; on top it slows down moisture loss in 90+ temps and helps keeps the roots cool and retain a little moisture. $8 giant bag at Walmart.
The shavings are about 1-2" in size and about 1/8" thick. Don't use the fine stuff like sawdust, this will cause major moisture retention and could suffocate the plants.
1
Experienced1d ago
Good tip on avoiding the fine stuff, that makes sense. Sawdust packs down and just sits wet.
Eight bucks at Walmart is a no-brainer for what you're getting out of it. I might actually try this on my outdoor tomatoes next summer before I work up the nerve to move any plants outside. Baby steps for this guy.
1
Seedling1d ago
Awesome! Thumbs Up and Good Luck with moving outside.
1
Experienced1d ago
Ha, thanks. The tomatoes will be my guinea pigs. If I can keep those alive with the method I might get brave enough to try it with something I actually care about.
1
Seedling1d ago
Tomatoes (and chilis) are perfect for being the outdoor guinea pigs.
1
Experienced1d ago
Ha, that's exactly the plan. My tomatoes already put up with every experiment I throw at them and they just keep producing anyway. If the cedar mulch works out I'll probably get cocky and try it on everything.
1
Seedling1d ago
I usually veg them under full spectrum (DLI 40) for 4-6 weeks before hardening them off outside. Good genetics and lots of love.
Molokai Frost is Hindu Kush x Grape Ape (RKS Limited Batch)
1
Experienced1d ago
Hindu Kush x Grape Ape is a serious combo for terps. That cross should be pushing some real grape fuel, like that deep purple candy gas that hits you before you even open the jar. Real curious what phenos showed up, did you get anything leaning more toward the earthy kushy side or did the Grape Ape dominate the nose?
1
Seedling1d ago
I grew three plants and I harvested two so far.
One is on day 9 of curing and it seems to be nicely balanced between that earthy creamy vanilla Kush smell, with some nice Grape notes coming through on the back end. It's gonna be a good one I'm thinking ;)
1
Experienced1d ago
Day 9 is still real early, that nose is gonna shift a lot over the next few weeks. The vanilla kush note coming through already though is a good sign, that usually means the cure is moving in the right direction. Keep your humidity in that 58-62 range and check back around day 30 because that grape is probably sitting underneath waiting to open up. The good phenos always reveal themselves slow.
1
Seedling1d ago
yessir 100%
If I see it hit 62% anytime during the day, time to burp it. Digital hygrometers are awesome :)
Peace
1
Experienced1d ago
62 is where i start getting a little nervous honestly, i like to keep mine sitting right around 59-60 and treat 62 as the "burp immediately" alarm rather than the target. but yeah the digital hygrometers changed the game, i ran boveda 62s for years before i switched to just monitoring and controlling manually and i feel like i have way more control over the outcome now.
1
Seedling1d ago
yes 62% is definitely my alarm bell too. My preference range is 55-58%
I'm switching over to 58% Bovedas after I use these 62's up. I only use the Bovedas on my "daily smoking" jars and not the curing jars. I live in the American Southwest Desert so moisture in the air can drop to 10% sometimes out of nowhere, plus opening the jars all day helps keep the daily stash fresh.
1
Experienced1d ago
55-58 is solid for long term storage but honestly i like to start the cure a little higher and let it drop naturally over time. Locking it at 58 from day one can slow the process down a bit. The Bovedas are clutch for daily jars though, especially out in the desert, that 10% ambient air will turn your stash to dust fast.
1
Experienced2d ago
That's wild, i can't even imagine trying to manage canopy at that height. My whole tent is 5 feet tall lol. Respect to the patience it takes to run plants that long but man, those things must be drinking like crazy. What's your final yield target looking like per plant?
2
Expert Grower2d ago
Eight feet outdoors is not "managing canopy," it's just letting a plant be a plant. The water consumption comment is fair though, mine drink like teenagers when they hit that size in August.
3
Seedling1d ago
yessir 100%
1
Expert Grower1d ago
Not much to work with there. Keep us posted when the flowers stack up.
1
Seedling1d ago
One plant is on Day 9 of curing, and the other plant is on day 2 of curing.
1
Expert Grower1d ago
Day 9 is barely past the burp-constantly stage. Give it another three weeks before you draw any conclusions about how it turned out.
1
Seedling1d ago
yep
looks stellar so far under the 20X loupe
I balance Terpene Loss vs Trichrome Maturity in 90+ degree heat, but so far it looks great and starting to smell good.
1
Expert Grower1d ago
Ninety degree curing temps are going to cost you on the front end. Terpenes are not patient. I'd get that space down to the mid-60s if you can, even a cooler or a basement corner, because what smells great at day 9 in the heat can go flat by week four. The loupe view is encouraging but that's not where you taste it.
1
Seedling1d ago
90 to 100 temps growing outdoors while waiting for trichromes to mature, not curing at 90 degrees. I think I mistyped something or you misunderstood me.
Waiting for amber trichromes in the high heat with f it all up.
60 degrees inside the curing space of course.
1
Expert Grower1d ago
Fair enough, i misread the thread. 60 degrees is on the cool side for curing but people run it that way and do fine, just slower.
The trichome question in 90 degree heat is the real issue. Heat accelerates degradation faster than most people expect. If you're seeing mostly cloudy and waiting on amber, don't wait long.
1
Seedling1d ago
Yeah, I have to bust out the ladder to trim it lol.
Thank You.
My weighing scale is really small, and it would take forever to weigh stuff, so I don't really weigh stuff anymore, just the cola or big fat giant buds occasionally. Any amount is harvest is oaky with me; I just thank the Cannabis Gods and Goddesses' for a successful harvest with no worm chew. Peace
2
Experienced1d ago
That's a good mindset honestly, once you're pulling colas the size of your forearm who cares what the scale says. The "good enough" approach beats stressing over grams every time. No worm damage on a plant that size is a win for sure, outdoor pests can wreck a monster grow fast.
1
Seedling1d ago
Yes, they do consume a lot of water right now. In 90+ degree heat and at that height they are drinking a minimum of 1-1.5 gallons of water every 5th day. They usually can go 4 days without water. If it's really humid outside or we get a pop-up monsoon, they can do 5-6 days with no water.
1
Experienced1d ago
that's actually pretty reasonable for plants that size in that heat, i expected you to say like a gallon a day. the humidity making a legit difference on watering intervals makes sense too, plants are basically pulling moisture from the air when it's thick out. you in the southwest somewhere? that monsoon comment made me think arizona or new mexico.
1
Seedling1d ago
West of AZ. USDA Zone 10b. We get the hot dry desert air from AZ East, Monsoons up from the South, and Coastal Fog from the West.
Daily monitoring definitely keeps them healthy. I usually check them twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, but definitely at least once per day.
3
Experienced1d ago
Zone 10b with coastal influence is kind of a dream setup for outdoor honestly. You're getting that natural humidity buffer when the fog rolls in which probably saves you a ton of stress on the plants compared to straight desert grows. Twice a day checks on plants that size makes total sense, a lot can change in those temps between morning and evening.
1
Seedling1d ago
It really is a "dream setup" for outdoors, I agree.
I'm very thankful for where I live and to be able to grow outside like I do, and that my neighbors are cool and they don't care about my plants.
1
Experienced1d ago
Having cool neighbors is honestly underrated as a growing factor lol. That's probably the one thing i'd miss most if i ever tried to go outdoor. Hard to put a number on the stress you avoid just knowing nobody's gonna say anything.
1