2 liter buds vs. normal size bud quality.

[smurfin'herb]

This is something that i feel like ive noticed over the years. Im starting to feel that at a certain point there is a correlation between quality, and size of the actual flowers.

I have noticed that when i grow 2 certain strains in coco, the buds usually dont get nearly as fat, and the plant structure is different. However, they have much more flavor, smell, taste than when in hydro. Now, if i use small pots and feed a coco/perlite 2-3x per day similar to a hydro setup, i get the donkey d*ck hydro looking buds, that lack quality.

Now when i do the same strains in a hydro system (ebbnflow buckets), the buds literally come out like two liters, and there also is an obvious yield increase. The thing is, i dont see the same type of quality as i do in coir under normal growth rates. However, ive had my fair share of failed hydro attempts resulting in smaller buds. They seem to be better quality than a product that was "blown up".

I just wanted to hear others input on this. You always hear people say that plants in organic media (coco in this case) are better quality than hydro. I wonder why? Maybe its not the medium or supplements that is the cause.... Could it be that when the plant experiences max accelerated growth/increased metabolism, that there is a certain threshold that if passed, leads to a decrease in quality? i know that doesnt sound right, but it wouldnt surprise me if it were true. Under accelled growth, and after the threshold is passed, the plants could be swelling and gaining more mass, but not producing as much resin per surface area as under normal growth conditions.

I really want to hear what people think about this... Have you witnessed the same?

 

[smurfin'herb]

Nobody? Am i crazy for thinking this...?

 

[HUGE]

I believe you are on to something. But I'm not sure exactly what it is. Personally I believe it comes down to was the plant force fed? Or was it allowed to eat at its own pace. Also seems to correlate to if there is or is not organic matter (ewc,bennies,meal....) In the substrate.

 

[HUGE]

Also it would take more trichomes to have the same trich density for a larger bud compared to a small bud.

 

[Lefthand]

Ya u cant have explosive growth without side effects, Just like with muscle growth and steroids. Long term affects aren't noticed till later i.e.. cancer, etc...
It seems like if you are a more well rounded lean athlete, eat good and treat your body right you have better long term effects i.e.. a lean athletic swimsuit model vs a bodybuilding chick with a dick..
I think the same goes for cannabis. A pretty bud covered in trichs or a big ugly branch breaker bud.. of course genetics play a huge role in health/potential of cannabis and people

 

[Jellyfish]

Makes sense- those big mongoloid grocery tomatoes never have as much flavor as normal homegrown tomatoes.

 

[St. Phatty]

I just wanted to hear others input on this. You always hear people say that plants in organic media (coco in this case) are better quality than hydro. I wonder why? Maybe its not the medium or supplements that is the cause.... Could it be that when the plant experiences max accelerated growth/increased metabolism, that there is a certain threshold that if passed, leads to a decrease in quality? i know that doesnt sound right, but it wouldnt surprise me if it were true. Under accelled growth, and after the threshold is passed, the plants could be swelling and gaining more mass, but not producing as much resin per surface area as under normal growth conditions.

I really want to hear what people think about this... Have you witnessed the same?

The bigger bud is more susceptible to mold, so it may need to be harvested sooner than the smaller bud.

Yet many strains pack on the resin those last 2 weeks.


I wonder if a dehumidifier could help the bigger buds do their thing & get resiny-er.

 

[sourpuss]

Maybe the bigger bud is getting harvested at the wtong time???? Maybe its kinda like over grown I side while still pushing new growth? Or like you say its just growing plant matter not trichs....

 

[vapor]

Yea you are right. I can feed my haze cutting crazy amounts of food and it gets huge. But it is always full of ferts and the high is not the same or as good. If i dial the ferts in to a nice white ash the buds are smaller...still gets good yields, the buds are greasier stinkier the high is longer and more complex the taste is there etc etc.friends always go yum yum. That's why the goal for me is max senescence and still a decent yield, after some practice you learn to see that spot.......

This rule seems to run true with every cannabis flower i have grown.....

 

[who dat is]

I have often wondered the same thing. I've only ever grown in organic soil though so I had nothing to compare it to. Sometimes I'm disappointed with yield or bud size but the flipside is really tasty weed or stuff that hits you hard. Thanks all for chiming in with your input.

 

[prune]

It's an apical dominance issue. If a stalk lays on too many nodes too quickly, they tend to compete with one another without one tip in dominant control, and over-produce hormones that just make a mess out of flowering.

You can treat this issue as it occurs by either pruning out an appropriate number of nodes or LSTing the nodes into a perpendicular orientation to the main stalk. (if you are good…)

 

[smurfin'herb]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I wanted other sources to verify this happening before i furthered my hypothesis.

I would like some sealed room hydro growers to stop in and comment on this. In all the times ive witnessed this happen, the plants were not grown with supp co2. Ive never used it. Im wondering that by incorporating supplemental c02 into a hydroponic setup, that it may complement that accellerated growth in such a way to help it maintain the same ratio of resin to plant matter... Or it may make it worse... Is anyone noticing a quality difference in hydro using co2 vs. without? Ive always been under the impression that co2 is used for yield increase. Ive not heard much about how it effects quality.. school me!

@Huge- I agree with you about the organic matter and biostimulant products playing a role in quality as well. I would never rule them out.
However, i dont think this issue is attributed to force feeding your plants or not. I really do believe that it mainly stems from the accellerated growth rate of the plant which is caused by hydroponic growth.

@sourpuss- About them not finishing on time... To be honest, most of the flowers produced under accelerated conditions (mulitple feeds per day) seem to finish 7-10 days sooner than those under average growth rate. IME..

@Prune- Thats an interesting statement. Do you have any references that you could provide on the subject? Ive never heard of plants overproducing hormones due to apical dominant competition/confusion to an extent that it actually decreases flower quality. Thanks for stopping in, you have my attention.

 

[atk7]

Personally I prefer to feed and prune to promote taste and quality over quantity. And I think you are right on the organics having better quality and taste due to a more rounded macro nutes palate for the plant to use at its own pace. Force fed anything seems to look great but seems to lack the subtle nuances that are hard to describe but are apparent in the finished product that make them more desirable. But I don't have any documented proof personally but I'm sure someone does have the data to scientifically prove. But then again ask ten people a subjective question and you will get ten different answers depending on personal tastes and experiences. I.e I like broccoli but the same serving will make my grandson gag and wretch.

 

[WelderDan]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I wanted other sources to verify this happening before i furthered my hypothesis.

I would like some sealed room hydro growers to stop in and comment on this. In all the times ive witnessed this happen, the plants were not grown with supp co2. Ive never used it. Im wondering that by incorporating supplemental c02 into a hydroponic setup, that it may complement that accellerated growth in such a way to help it maintain the same ratio of resin to plant matter... Or it may make it worse... Is anyone noticing a quality difference in hydro using co2 vs. without? Ive always been under the impression that co2 is used for yield increase. Ive not heard much about how it effects quality.. school me!

@Huge- I agree with you about the organic matter and biostimulant products playing a role in quality as well. I would never rule them out.
However, i dont think this issue is attributed to force feeding your plants or not. I really do believe that it mainly stems from the accellerated growth rate of the plant which is caused by hydroponic growth.

@sourpuss- About them not finishing on time... To be honest, most of the flowers produced under accelerated conditions (mulitple feeds per day) seem to finish 7-10 days sooner than those under average growth rate. IME..

@Prune- Thats an interesting statement. Do you have any references that you could provide on the subject? Ive never heard of plants overproducing hormones due to apical dominant competition/confusion to an extent that it actually decreases flower quality. Thanks for stopping in, you have my attention.

Are you cutting them earlier? Before doing anything else I'd let them go the same amount of time you normally do. It might be that simple.

 

[prune]

@Prune- Thats an interesting statement. Do you have any references that you could provide on the subject? Ive never heard of plants overproducing hormones due to apical dominant competition/confusion to an extent that it actually decreases flower quality. Thanks for stopping in, you have my attention.

No references, just happen to notice shit like that after 50 yrs...

 

[smurfin'herb]

@prune- Well thank you for your input regardless.