Working on these girls of mine. Atlas Pandalorian, Twenty20 Mendocino Bubba Whip, Atlas Green Apple Candy all photos and in full flower Blimburn blueberry auto. I have been developing my own method and style of feeding organic living soil. Trying different soils every so often and I think I’ve found a winner.
Grown in Build a soil 3.0. watered with spring water and added calmag every other watering. I feed Gaia green power bloom once a month top dress style. The next week water with a small dose of Raw kelp, and organic molasses in a tea. Next week watered with a half strength dose of incredible bulk bloom booster. The just water on the last week.
I went hotter on my last grow and scorched my poor girls throughout the grow… Made to harvest and had good smoke but the plants were yellowish and frumpy the whole time. So I’m looking for others methods with organic living soil for terpene production.( Not a thc chaser I prefer higher terps!!!) Thanks in advance and Happy Growing folks!!!
What you are asking for is based on genetics and the elusive search for “that” strain. N hope that strain gives you a good phenotype based on your provided environment. There is no additive you can use that’ll change the genetic limitations of a strain. What every home grower should push towards is getting environment to perfect conditions, and maintaining your medium as near perfect as you can get. Terps are heavily reliant on genetics, and temperatures, the further into flower you go the lower you want temps and humidity, some of the most sensitive terpenes evaporate with temps as low as 72°! Enjoy the search!
I consider myself a high performance gardener chasing commercialized trends but with care where they fall short. I’ve tried just about everything out there, n really, there is no magic ingredient. My wife and I have sunk over $20,000 into the hobby and we found out the hard way that most the market is snake oil.
Btw
Awesome frost for just entering flower. That’s gonna be an exciting run.
In cannabis trichomes are not composed of silica but silica does help plants with their resistance capabilities theoretically increasing trichome production by beefing up their immunity. In cannabis trichomes are composed of cellulose and pectin.
Certain plants, particularly grasses and other monocots, incorporate silica into their trichomes as a natural defense mechanism. This is especially common in species within the Poaceae family, such as rice, wheat, barley, maize (corn), sugarcane, and bamboo. These plants deposit silica in specialized structures on their epidermis, including trichomes like prickle hairs and macrohairs, as well as in silica cells embedded in the leaf surface. The silica accumulates as phytoliths tiny, rigid particles of silica that make the surface of the plant rough and abrasive. This adaptation helps deter herbivores by wearing down or cutting their mouthparts when they attempt to feed on the leaves. Sedges (Cyperaceae) exhibit similar traits, as do horsetails (Equisetum species), which are among the most silica-rich plants and accumulate it heavily in their epidermal tissues, including trichomes. Some ferns also incorporate silica into their surface structures. The presence of silica in these trichomes not only provides mechanical protection but also enhances resistance to fungal pathogens and reduces water loss by reinforcing cell walls and modifying surface textures. Unlike these plants, cannabis does not use silica in its trichomes, which are glandular and resin-based rather than hard and mineralized.
Bat poop . Works for me . Trichome concentration is mostly genetics as far as I know . If anyone knows how to increase their numbers , please don’t hesitate to tell everyone . Yeah , I use bio-diesel liquid guano , it seems to make for very healthy trichomes . Peace .
Bat guano aids in overall health of a plant it’s high in phosphorus, and microbial life that helps with nutrient uptake (in organic without salt input.) there is no direct correspondence to trichome production aside from promoting plant health. If you are seeing improvements it’s likely you as the farmer, and how you are handling your crop.
The only thing I know for sure will help us turning your fans up to create more wind because that’s another job of the trichromes is to protect the plant. Also you can push your par as hard as they’ll stand because that’s another job of the trichromes is to protect itself from the Sun but as @Low stated if it’s not in the genetics and you don’t do a good job of keeping the environment perfect or soil conditions just right it’s a battle up hill
I respect the research, and I know The 1976 study by Dayanandan and Kaufman from the University of Michigan offers clear evidence that cannabis trichomes vary in structure and composition, particularly when it comes to silica. In their research using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis, they found that non-glandular trichomes those small, hair-like projections on the surface of the plant are heavily silicified. These trichomes contain significant amounts of silica, which likely serves a defensive function by making the plant’s surface tougher and more resistant to pests or physical damage. On the other hand, glandular trichomes, especially the capitate-stalked types that produce and store cannabinoids like THC and CBD, are structurally and chemically different. These resin-producing trichomes are composed mainly of organic materials such as cellulose and lipids, and the study did not find significant silica content in them. This distinction is important: while some cannabis trichomes do contain silica, it’s primarily the non-glandular types that do, not the glandular trichomes responsible for the plant’s psychoactive and aromatic properties.
Man I was heavily conflicted over the use of silica for a couple years, in the sense I could never make it work but persisted none the less.. it cost me reservoir after reservoir. I went silica free, and my stuff’s been better than ever without reservoir conflict. I was heavily fixated on it in every way. And I lost a lot of sleep over it.
@Low ,Sometimes we don’t need as much of or any at all but we only know what we read and been told or have tried ourself. I was a firm believer in the Neptune’s harvest fish emotions and the fish emotions with seaweed was doing my grows so good doing but my wife hated the way it smelled. After going to somebody’s house and sharing a joint with them they made a comment about it tasted fishy and ever since then I stopped using it and my harvest have come out better weight, smell and appearance.
Some studies in both cannabis and other aromatic plants like basil and mint have shown that fertilizer type and timing can significantly influence the intensity and composition of aroma profiles. If the fish emulsion was applied late, or in excess, it could have interfered with terpene expression or caused incomplete metabolism of certain organic compounds, mixed with the high Nitrogen (for a supplement) leading to a subtle “fishy” or off-putting note in the cured flower. More controlled studies would be needed to prove this definitively, but the mechanism is supported by current plant science and secondary metabolite research.
Well that’s good food for thought!!! Thanks amigo @Low
Yeah when I first started growing I was under the impression that they would only take what they wanted or needed there at the end but some strains are worse than others about uptake during late flower. It’s going to be awesome if they ever federally legalize it so all the studies can be done and released that are prohibited now
90% of the market is a cash grab. Most shelfed products only apply to backyard warriors running organic gardens for flowers and veggies, locally available shopping carts. Most nutrient lines are complete and timed. More often ordered online. If you know you know situation. As for strains, there is potential in all of them. Legally, they have to hit weight and size requirements. Of course along side rigorous testing. If we go federally legal, anticipate all these seed shops shutting down, or the dominant markets partnering with the fed limiting options to approved candidates only.
I’ve been drinking for a few hours and it’s starting to catch up. Hopefully I’m coherent and on topic.
amigo 