Bud Density... Help?

PersonalJesus

Active Member
Lets get right to the point...

How would someone increase the density of their buds? Like, and this is hypothetical, say a "friend" of mine had a few awesome grows under their belt... The only thing they feel is not completely 100% is the overall density of the buds. After they come out the drying rack, the once fat buds are now almost stringy and not very hard or dense at all.
The smoke is fine, very stoney. The quality is totally on point... except with the density.

Any help or suggestions for this "friend" would be great... thanks.
 
What nutes n media does he use.could be a lot to do with strain (phenotype) too.all the swell and thickening of bud happens in last few weeks maybe just not leabing long enough??a stronger pk might be needed.hard to say without seeing lol
 

wheels619

Well-Known Member
what that guy said ^^^^ also u may need to start using some sort of bloom booster. aminos and other crap have been sought after for flower also with great results. and if ur using cfls or t5s for flowering kiss big buds goodbye forever.
 

PersonalJesus

Active Member
Nutes and Media: TechnaFlora and CoCo based mixture
Lights: 175 MH veg, 250 HPS flower... perfect for the available space, not even 3'x3'
Boosters: KoolBloom during flower weeks 5 and 6
Genetics shouldn't be an issue, only premium strains from reputable retailers

This "friend" has everything down with what they're doing... just this density thing. And its not the end of the world either, its a very small medical grow, personal use only.
 

smoke and coke

Well-Known Member
the 250 should be able to get you some decent buds but the penetration of a 250 is not very far. if your growing with the light above the plants say around 6" from the canopy, the light will only reach about 10" down into the plants. give or take depending on where the plant is located in the light footprint. so lets say you have 2 foot tall plants, you will want to pick all the suckers from the bottom foot of plant. that lower stuff that wont get enough light will be light fluffy buds and will take away from the tops. i usually pick out some of the lower stuff and by week 2 of flower is when most of the stretch is over, i take out whatever else may be needed. doing some lst early on in veg can get you more tops in the light with a more even canopy and make better use of the available light.

edit: i also use the suckers that i pick for clones. at least anything that is big enough for me to work with.
 

nick88

Well-Known Member
What's the strain? Has lot to do with density.
How long is he drying buds? Once fat buds will become light, fluffy if fried too fast.
 

skunkd0c

Well-Known Member
Lets get right to the point...

How would someone increase the density of their buds? Like, and this is hypothetical, say a "friend" of mine had a few awesome grows under their belt... The only thing they feel is not completely 100% is the overall density of the buds. After they come out the drying rack, the once fat buds are now almost stringy and not very hard or dense at all.
The smoke is fine, very stoney. The quality is totally on point... except with the density.
Any help or suggestions for this "friend" would be great... thanks.
this is most likely the strain, giving plants more light will make the colas bigger to a point but this is not really the same thing
if you want very hard dense heavy buds you stand a better chance growing more afghan / kush dominated strains, give the haze n skunk and other sativa hybrids a miss, while these can make big colas
they do often shrink alot when dry, leaving individual buds that are light in density compared to pure indica / kush / afghan buds, keep growing different genetics you will find what you are looking for
some buds are so hard, that when growing i am convinced they are seeded i have to split a few open to see, but it is just where they are a total solid mass with no gaps that can be seen

peace :)
 

tjsap24

Well-Known Member
I started with a 150hps in a very small space and it worked great, at least for personal smoke, but yes, very wispy buds. Then went to a 250hps and the buds where significantly denser, but heat became an issue in the summer months. So now I moved up to a 600hps in a small but bigger closet and as the man at the hydro store said "thats when the magic happens" Very happy with the results.

I skipped over the 400hps so I can't really give advice on that but tell your "friend" that heat could be an issue if he goes larger. Myself, i'm starting to think about a 1000hps. I love my girls and only want the best for them. This is a very addicting hobby.
 

rdo420

Well-Known Member
tjsap24, ya get a like from me man with that avatar, nice. No disrespect if that's your girl. OP, light, heat, strain, nutes, PH, & when you chop all play into how dense.
 

HeartlandHank

Well-Known Member
this is most likely the strain, giving plants more light will make the colas bigger to a point but this is not really the same thing
I agree. Genetics.

I hear people say High N diets make for less dense buds and High PK diets make for more dense buds.... I'm still doing some testing in my grow to see if I agree or not... But, I can say with much confidence that High N diets make for better yields and more big buds.

I've been flowering with a higher N balance than many people on RIU veg with... I am loving the results... I have been using the same dry cabinet for years and I have to get something bigger as I can no longer fit the whole crop in there. That's one of those good problems.:clap:
 

ProfessorPotSnob

New Member
Hmmmmmm lets put this picture into the light , no pun intended .. Nobody has pointed out that the lights being used are combined , therefore creating more heat than needed and hence the stringy buds .. Just a simple 175 Halide alone in a 3x3 would create enough heat to put one in the red zone .. Time for the Op or there quoted imaginary friend to stop playing with Home Depot type lights

Reputable Breeders and strains ? Might want to reconsider this as well
 

newbie9

Active Member
Yeah its defiiantley heat if your riding the 80 degree mark your whole grow then i there has to be hot pockets of more than that. A 175 MH in a less then 3/3 area is almost to much but add another HPS and you find your problem. Keep the temps in the 70s for best results. You want a lower temperature when flowering the heat will make the buds fluff out. Try trading both your lights for atleast a 400w HPS for flowering. Also what temperature is your light. Should be about 2700k for flowering.
 

newbie9

Active Member
You should take a picture of your setup just so people can get an idea of your surroundings. Alot of people are goin indoors for the winter and im sure more advice can be offered with a little more info but to me it def sounds like a heat issue.
 

newbie9

Active Member
Try growing Indica Dom plants like some kushes or widows. Youll get the best results for density with indicas.
 
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