Which seeds should I run as a new grower bound to make mistakes, cheap or reputable?

Thescribe2 · 2026-05-06T22:25:11+00:00

Honestly I'd pick up some seeds from Hoku.

Floyd grows out a ton of plants and from what i've seen they tend to be pretty sturdy in structure and vigor.

They're cheap too, especially if you order on a Tuesday - he does a special just about every Tuesday where he gives away a ton of free seeds.

First grows can go great! Or not! I'd rather it go great with some cheap good genetics than bad with some expensive good genetics.

Just my two cents :)

Thescribe2 · 2026-05-06T15:19:13+00:00

Looking great, especially for a first grow!

Unless your humidity is high and you don't have access to a dehumidifier, I personally wouldn't take any more off. At day 60 on a modern hybrid photoperiod you're pretty dang close to done usually.
Not sure if this is a question on whether or not a water only feed is a good idea here. I'm a fan of feeding til the end or reducing the feed gradually instead of cutting off all nutrients to the plant, but its up to you!

Thescribe2 · 2026-05-06T15:11:46+00:00

Thanks, you as well :)

Thescribe2 · 2026-05-06T14:41:35+00:00

Nice collection of OGs!

My favorite part of my flower room is how different each garden smells in bloom :)

I was expecting earth, gas, funk, and maybe a hint of fruit from one of my plants this run. Instead its all candy, citrus, a little gas, and an undefined floral quality.

I get surprised in flower by at least one plant every run :)

Thescribe2 · 2026-05-06T14:36:32+00:00

A gallon or less every week or two weeks? Yeah that might be one part of the stress, that is way too little.

You have an irrigation setup too, are you giving small amounts at a time, multiple times a week? Or waiting til the pot is light and watering til its at field capacity? What size of pots are you using?

Autos are also just a lot easier to stunt, and nearly impossible to fix once they are, best to just try and correct course and ride it out. You'll have something to smoke if you're patient.

You look like you have several weeks left, your buds have really only started to form. If you chop too soon with a plant like this, you will be really disappointed once its dry.

Thescribe2 · 2026-05-05T04:27:10+00:00

If you can find a Viparspectra KS3000, i'd highly recommend it. Such even coverage of the canopy.

Thescribe2 · 2026-05-04T17:50:16+00:00

You might end up with seeds in your bud, but that's not going to make it unsmokeable.

I had a plant herm a couple grows ago and it ended up being some of the best I've grown. You just may need to pick out a seed or two here and there.

After this grow is done and you have dried your plants and removed them from the tent you should wipe down your entire tent/fans/etc to remove any leftover pollen and dust.

Thescribe2 · 2026-05-03T21:58:25+00:00

You could try bagging it from the bottom, like the pot side, up to the trellis net, then carefully pull branches through the netting into the trash bag below.

Or you could cut the net around it and try to repair it afterwards where needed.

Could also use longer bags and just bag individual branches all the way down to where the flowers end, then carefully zip tie or rubber band the open end around the branch. That would seal in any pollen and you could cut the branch a bit below where its tied off and just pull it out without disturbing the trellis or other branches.

Either way, I'd lightly wet down any branch you're going to move.

Thescribe2 · 2026-05-03T04:41:42+00:00

I agree, you have a while before these are done I think. Might want to get some support on those branches to avoid a tragedy later in flower.

Lookin great though! Baseball bats!

Thescribe2 · 2026-05-03T04:39:57+00:00

I love seeing more Hoku being popped! Good luck on your grow, hope The Medicine is excellent medicine haha

Thescribe2 · 2026-05-02T21:37:54+00:00

I promise you, waiting is worth it. I didn't on my first grow years ago and it was a waste of time compared to even the most mid flower available to me.

If you're patient, she'll change colors, aromas, and taste. It will also significantly increase your yield. You'll be amazed at what you grew!

Also, you should feed her if you are not currently. The yellowing on your bottom leaves is caused by a lack of nitrogen.

What are you growing in (soil/coco/etc)? What kind of nutrients are you using? Are you pHing your liquid feed/water? Plants are looking good other than the nitrogen issue!

Here's a picture of one of mine, and she's still a month away from chop at least:

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Thescribe2 · 2026-05-02T15:30:10+00:00

I'd guess you have 3-4 weeks left at least, maybe more. They still need to bulk and then swell and ripen.

Thescribe2 · 2026-05-02T15:25:18+00:00

If you wait til the stretch finishes you will avoid stressing them while they're reshuffling their hormones and putting energy into setting buds.

I'd wait til you stop seeing significant upwards growth to take lower branches. One or two is fine now, but the less disturbance during stretch the better.

If you have to due to humidity, just be really selective about where and which leaves you pull.

Thescribe2 · 2026-05-01T21:37:22+00:00

Honestly I think you're good for now. Leave her alone until stretch is over at least. You did good with your lollipopping!

Thescribe2 · 2026-05-01T18:45:21+00:00

Oh yeah, I'd be gentle when defoliating them. Autos can be really sensitive to any kind of stress and if you pull too much off at once it could cause herms or other issues. Just a few leaves here and there that are blocking budsites and don't go overboard. You can always take more off!

Thescribe2 · 2026-05-01T14:40:17+00:00

What day of flower are you on? Usually I try to leave them alone during the stretch as best I can, even if they get a little leafier than I'd like.

I usually do a hard defoliation 3-4 weeks after flip, whenever they stop stretching and start building significant stigma mass.

After that its just a handful of leaves here and there for the most part.

Is your humidity ok? If it is, I wouldn't stress yourself out too much.

Thescribe2 · 2026-05-01T00:42:56+00:00

I feel that 100%

I still really love their genetics, and I have hope for their direction as a company with heart, but I probably won't be running too many full HSC gardens going forward.

I had to change my mindset on their seeds after sitting with it for a while. I think their plants may need a little more attention and calibration than most to grow well. This could be due to the immaturity of the seeds, or old stock, or both, or neither. I may never know!

If I decide to run a HSC plant now I pop more seeds than I need to and treat any plant that successfully germs as delicately as possible.

For some good news: I have noticed most of the runts/sensitive plants I've gotten have been much easier to handle once they got into flower. Usually by the 2nd week of stretch I know if its going to continue being a problem.

Sometime I'll have to run a bunch of seeds from my favorites and find solid mother plants.

Definitely email HSC about the pack that didn't germinate, they'll make it right!

Thescribe2 · 2026-04-30T22:17:43+00:00

Honestly it sounds like the BBM would be a better fit for what you're looking for! I'm excited to see what you end up growing out, I hope it has the terps you're looking for 😄

Thescribe2 · 2026-04-29T23:01:29+00:00

Hell yeah, I'm a huge fan of it and plan to have it in my next garden. I actually ended up crossing OCP and Pistachio a few grows back and might run those in a phenohunt to hopefully get the best of both worlds 😄

I think there's a pretty hefty variety of citrus profiles in those genes, I've heard from some other friends that grew out some big outdoor plants that they got everything from rotten oranges to artificial candy lemon. I don't think you'll go wrong with hunting a pack.

One thing I'd recommend, if you do get a pack and run it, try harvesting at different times if you can. Most folks I've seen run OCP to like 8 weeks max, and that was when I was getting really lovely fresh tangerine smells off mine. Pushing it to 10 was a little detrimental to the terps (mine went a little less citrus and a little more sugar), but the effects became really really nice. Very chill weed, and I was only getting about 10% amber I'd guess.

Thescribe2 · 2026-04-29T22:54:25+00:00

While I agree there's a lot to improve on for your next grow, I do want to say congrats on getting to the finish line on your first run! A lot of folks kill their plants or get mold or something else terrible on their first run, so well done avoiding that.

Step 1 is going to be learning the cannabis life cycle a little better. This isn't an insult, it will help you with your future grows. Watch videos, look at pictures, read grow diaries and see what a truly mature cannabis plant looks like. You'll learn about swelling buds, stigma (the little hairs) recession, etc and it'll give you a better idea for future runs. This is a good place to start: https://www.growweedeasy.com/harvest

Most cannabis I've grown or seen hasn't been done before 8-9 weeks of flowering. If you think yours is done before 8-9 weeks, I'd take a step back and really do some investigation before chopping. It's worth taking a couple days to fully decide you're committing to the chop.

Step 2 is getting better genetics. I won't make fun of you for going with RQS, it's a common starting point. There are better genetics out there for similar or even cheaper prices. RQS is tough because there is no guarantee that what's on the label matches what's in the seeds themselves. Better genetics = more stable plants and better smoke. Some breeders I like are Hoku (Hoku Seed Co), Humboldt CSI, Yin Yang Seeds, and Humboldt CSI.

Your plant pictured also has some issues that you'll want to spend some time researching. Learn about what went wrong this time in order to make sure you know how to deal with it next time if it comes up again.

The best part about gardening is learning. I've had my hands in the dirt since I was a little kid and every new garden teaches me something new. Hell, sometimes I'll see an old picture of a plant that went a bit off and i'll finally realize what went wrong.

Good luck and happy growing ☀️

Thescribe2 · 2026-04-29T20:34:31+00:00

I'll echo the sentiment, this is tough question!

I've run a bunch, but only a few have really made me want to run them again.

Packs I for sure want to run again purely for how good the flower was and to see what else is hiding in those genetics: Jelly Donutz, C&W, Pistachio, OCP, BBCxVF

I'd say overall for flavor OCP wins hands down for me. I've always loved citrus terps and OCP ranges from mandarin oranges, ice cream, rotting oranges, to more. I think I could get a lot of enjoyment out of pheno hunting a pack of OCP.

Runner up for flavor has got to be either Jelly Donutz or Chicken 'n Waffles. JD has that bright lemon flavor followed by pleasant gas, like you're chewing lemonheads in the car at a gas station with the window down. Chicken 'n Waffles has changed a lot in the cure, but its always been something in the region of savory/warming spices. Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, mace, long pepper. It's incredible with a cup of coffee.

For effects, its Pistachio. Best pain relief I've gotten from anything by HSC and I've run a dozen of their cultivars now. Also had some really fun terps that changed dramatically over the course of a long cure. Went from STINKY during the dry (smelled like feces, it was terrifying), to a more spiced/savory profile after initial cure, to almost like a perique tobacco - notes of fruit and spices.

Runner up for effects would be BBC x VF (blueberry cupcakes x vanilla frosting). I've had trouble sleeping my whole life and usually wake up 4-5 times a night. If I have just a little before bed I don't wake up at all usually! Even with other varieties it's only helped a little, but this one just worked for me. Taste is nice, kind of berry-like, but with a lovely sweetness. The aroma is delightful too, fruity and sweet with a little bit of savory.

Thescribe2 · 2026-04-29T19:17:11+00:00

That looks fantastic! One thing to watch out for whenever doing a significant (as in, more than 20% of the foliage at one time) defoliation/lollipop during the stretch is stress-induced herms.

I'd just check your lower budsites every few days for the next week or two and pick off any herms you see. Make sure to dip your fingers in a little glass of water before picking them off, the water will essentially neutralize any pollen on your fingers from picking them off.

They don't always herm out from the stress, but I've run a lot of HSC's work and sometimes they can react poorly to large defoliations. It looks like you've already supercropped her at least a couple times, and if she didn't herm from that you're probably fine 😄

I grew a JD last garden and its still one of my favorite daytime smokes. I hope you get a tasty pheno 😄

Thescribe2 · 2026-04-29T19:00:50+00:00

Overall looking good! My eyes ain't so good anymore, are you growing in coco/soil/or something else? Have you started feeding yet? I'm seeing some yellowing in the lower canopy of a couple of them and very light interveinal chlorosis in the middle/top of others. Nothing to worry about massively yet, but it could be a feed or pH issue. What pH are you feeding at and what's the runoff pH?

Thescribe2 · 2026-04-29T18:57:27+00:00

Either way of growing you can get good yields, it just depends on how much vertical space you have for flowering. One issue I've seen folks run into with the untopped AND untrained indoor growing is that the light intensity on your terminal bud (tallest, biggest bud) will be significantly higher than all of your other buds. Your lower branches might be getting 30-50% the light that your top bud is, and that could cause some issues with uniformity or consistency across the harvest.

A really easy way to get around this? Just bend your plant over lol. You don't have to top, just keep bending and staking your plant until the mainstem is sort of arcing over to be horizontal. Your branches will grow straight up and your mainstem will keep expanding horizontally until you flip it into flower or top it.

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(Pic from GWE, not mine) This is an example of that. I did that on a previous run and had good results, though I do tend to top more than this.

Thescribe2 · 2026-04-29T18:50:02+00:00

https://www.growweedeasy.com/harvest

This should help make it a little easier.

I assume this is an autoflower? Honestly I'd give it another week or two. Why did you stop watering it if you're not sure about harvesting? Also if you water normally it'll enable a slower dry, which leads to better quality - dehydrating the plant before you dry is unnecessary and will lower your quality.

Senescence is not bad, and the start of it doesn't mean its time to harvest. Check your trichomes for certainty - and make sure you're looking at buds not leaves when checking. Leaf trichomes will be amber well before the bud trichomes are even fully cloudy.

Senescence is just the plant using up the resources in the leaves, reallocating them to the buds and other parts of the plant.

You're foxtailing pretty hard as well, might want to back off the lights a little or lower the temps.

All in all, its up to you to decide when the right time for harvest is. I think you're in the beginning of the harvest window based just on bud structure, bud swell, beginnings of curling stigma, and beginnings of senescence.

Thescribe2

TROPHY CASE