Crow River Posted July 15, 2022 Author Share Posted July 15, 2022 (edited) Day 75 for Auto Duck in the polytunnel. She seems to be focusing on building buds, which is what I's hoped and about right for this stage. They don't look ready yet, but maybe only a couple of weeks left. The aroma is still barely noticeable, except on vert hot and sunny days with not much breeze, then it is present. Not many days like that here, for better or worse. A few leaves have yellow edges and brown tips, which could be overfeeding. I'm just feeding once per week now. I also spotted a leaf towards the back where something had a nibble, maybe a caterpillar. Otherwise all fine, she's coping admirably with the humidity. Auto Duck 2 is 26 days old, growing quite fast but a fair way to go still. Edited July 15, 2022 by Crow River 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFord Posted July 16, 2022 Share Posted July 16, 2022 @Crow River The Ducks are looking impressive mate Very healthy and quacking display Keep the updates coming mate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow River Posted July 16, 2022 Author Share Posted July 16, 2022 @OldFord, thanks mate. The bigger Duck is over a meter high, I didn't measure her last visit but I reckon about 120cm. The secret seems to have been to largely leave them alone! I think Blumats help to stop the soil drying out if I'm not around for a few days. Which reminds me I need to set them up for the youngster too... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFord Posted July 16, 2022 Share Posted July 16, 2022 Just now, Crow River said: @OldFord, thanks mate. The bigger Duck is over a meter high, I didn't measure her last visit but I reckon about 120cm. The secret seems to have been to largely leave them alone! I think Blumats help to stop the soil drying out if I'm not around for a few days. Which reminds me I need to set them up for the youngster too... Outdoors i favour the less is more & leave them to it approach Some of my nicest examples have been from this method. It works as you can see from your rewards 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow River Posted July 20, 2022 Author Share Posted July 20, 2022 Auto Duck hit Day 80. The buds are fattening up nicely. I can't quite tell, as the buds are a little different to what I'm used to, but I think there is still a wee while to go before they will be ripe. A few fan leaves are starting to fade and turn yellow. So maybe another week to ten days before harvest. I visited in the evening and used a flash which really helps to illuminate the buds nicely. Auto Duck 2 is taller, but a bit spindly. Not getting quite enough light perhaps. I put a cane in the pot to help support her. I forgot to take a photo, will do that next visit. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFord Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 Loving the ducks , its one i never got around to sadly. Looks like you will be in for a decent crop mate. Have you got a loupe or a decent magnifying glass for some good trich inspection , its the only method i use. As i find some girls dont throw brown pistils as much as others but unsure on what the duck does. A few extra weeks never hurts Keep those pics coming 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow River Posted July 22, 2022 Author Share Posted July 22, 2022 @OldFord, thanks mate. Yeah I'm not sure which indicators to go by. All the pics I've seen of harvested Ducks seem to show few if any brown pistils. The Auto Duck is a cross between Frisian Duck and Auto White Widow, hence the white frosty buds I suppose. Not sure that trichomes will be a reliable indicator either, as Ruderalis hybrids don't show brown trichs in my experience. I will take my magnifying glass next visit to get a closer look though. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFord Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 Just now, Crow River said: @OldFord, thanks mate. Yeah I'm not sure which indicators to go by. All the pics I've seen of harvested Ducks seem to show few if any brown pistils. The Auto Duck is a cross between Frisian Duck and Auto White Widow, hence the white frosty buds I suppose. Not sure that trichomes will be a reliable indicator either, as Ruderalis hybrids don't show brown trichs in my experience. I will take my magnifying glass next visit to get a closer look though. Yeah i hear you mate , re the trichs mate thats a strange one as any auto i have done to date has been gauged on amber levels , i refuse to take a girl down until i see some amber I suppose the simplest method would be to Snip a bit now ... have a tester and see how it sits , only you know if your happy with it 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow River Posted July 22, 2022 Author Share Posted July 22, 2022 (edited) @OldFord, been mainly milky trichs I've seen on my autos TBH. Maybe this girl will start showing some brown pistils, then I'll have some sort of guesstimate as to where she's at. Another sign could be leaf fade I suppose, which has started on one or two fan leaves. Breeder's estimate is 85-90 days from seed to harvest. Factor in some largely overcast weather in northern parts and realistically I'm probably looking at more than that. Edited July 22, 2022 by Crow River 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow River Posted July 25, 2022 Author Share Posted July 25, 2022 Day 85 for the Auto Duck. This is now within the window that the breeder guidance suggests for buds being ready. So I was looking for signs and, in fairness there are a few that seem familiar. First, quite a few fan leaves turning yellow and ready to fall off. Secondly, calyxes are fattening and swallowing pistils. Third, fewer white pistils than before. The only puzzling thing is there don't seem to be brown pistils. Maybe this strain just doesn't produce them? Anyway, it does feel like she's entering the final phase of flower. Made some photos with a macro lens, you can see for yourself. I took some of the yellow leaves off, they came away very easily so they were ready. First time I've done anything to her except water and feed since she was planted up. Gave her some bloom nutes too. We'll see how she gets on between now and the next visit. Auto Duck 2 is at Day 36. Taller, and more foliage developing. Still a bit spindly, so I tied her loosely to the cane for extra support. I also gave her pot a top dress of fresh compost, to help support the stem as the soil level has lowered and somehow I got the impression this wasn't helping her to stand up. So everything's okay in the polytunnel. Good to see both girls coming on apace. After removing yellow leaves Auto Duck 2 After top dressing 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow River Posted July 30, 2022 Author Share Posted July 30, 2022 Day 90 for Auto Duck, and Day 41 for Auto Duck 2. I'll start with the smaller plant, which has just begun to flower. She's a bit taller, but still much smaller than her big sister. Hopefully she'll start to grow larger soon. I gave her some grow feed plus a little bloom feed too. The big girl at first glance looked nearly ready to harvest. Buds have fattened up considerably, and to the naked eye it seemed many of the white pistils had gone. On closer inspection using my camera's flash plus some macro shots, there are still a fair number of white pistils around. However I also noticed something else on some lower branches. What appears to be bud rot. This was bad news. I checked a few different buds and it appears to be confined mostly to lower branches, but the light was fading so I can't be sure. I'm going to go back tomorrow with a magnifying glass and check in full daylight. I've not had this issue before, it must be the increased humidity in the polytunnel now that the weather is more overcast again, Also we had a very cool night recently. Anyway, I have to do something about this. The big girl is nearly ready to harvest, so probably I should cut her down earlier than I originally planned. I'll check each branch for signs of rot as I remove it. Presumably I should remove any affected buds and dispose of them. Drying will be a problem too. I don't want spores to spread to my other plants so I'll need to find another separate space for drying purposes. What a pity, it was all going so well up to this point. I suppose that's one drawback of outdoors growing. Auto Bud 2: Auto Duck: Signs of rot in some buds: 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow River Posted July 30, 2022 Author Share Posted July 30, 2022 Will be off to the polytunnel to chop the Auto Duck soon. After cutting out any patches of mould, I have decided to try washing the unaffected branches to try and get rid of any spores before putting them to dry. Something along these lines, except I'll rinse using a second bucket of water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow River Posted July 30, 2022 Author Share Posted July 30, 2022 (edited) Well that's Auto Duck chopped and sitting in a paper shopping bag waiting to be washed later tonight. Unfortunately the bud rot was much worse than I expected. Only three branches were unaffected. I estimate maybe as much as half the buds had to be discarded. I also chucked all the leaves and stems, parts of the plant I would normally dry for edibles or extraction. It was fairly grim checking over each bud seeing what, if anything could be salvaged. Just about every pest you can think of has had a nibble too, mostly at leaves: caterpillars, leaf miners, slugs and snails, you name it. Perhaps they helped the rot to spread. Probably I should have harvested a week ago, maybe I could have saved most of the crop. On the other hand, it wasn't quite ripe enough a week ago. Nearly every bud was perfectly ripe today, and a stunning aroma coming off them too. Just a pity I lost so much of the harvest. In retrospect I should have kept windows open to improve airflow and reduce humidity, but I was worried about people spotting the large plant and figuring things out. I will try to make sure ventilation is better for the younger Auto Duck, which currently doesn't look as though it will get as big as its sister. On the positive side, the large main cola and most of the larger top buds were not really affected by the mould. It was more round the back, sides and bottom branches. These were probably getting more moisture, less airflow and less drying from the sun. Also the bud I did rescue looks and smells great. I'm definitely sold on ducksfoot strains for stealth. Didn't really look like cannabis until the last month of the grow. All in all, on balance I'm still pleased with the results. A very inexpensive way to grow. If I can sort out some of the humidity issues, then I can see this becoming a regular summer activity. Edited July 30, 2022 by Crow River 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheechChongReturns Posted July 30, 2022 Share Posted July 30, 2022 Gutted for you with the rot. We're in the season for fungi spores and by all accounts there are high levels about. Hopefully you get a better end result from Duck2 . The humidity should break a little in the next couple weeks so that should help. You got me thinking of ordering some ducks now despite the rot . Boss looking plants. Best of luck on the rest of the season. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crow River Posted July 30, 2022 Author Share Posted July 30, 2022 @CheechChongReturns, thanks man. Yeah, pretty soul destroying seeing those beautiful buds covered in grey fur. To be honest, I'm amazed how well the Auto Duck held up given the extreme humidity at times in the polytunnel. Think I have sorted it now, but too late for this girl. Apart from this issue, Auto Duck has been really easy and pleasurable to grow. Currently washing the good buds in diluted H2O2 and hanging up to dry. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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