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Rock Hard Nugs????

chomsky

Member
How do I get rock hard nugs?

When and where does this occur? Is it in curing? My buds on all my grows are very big and very dense, I get very heavy dense colas when I chop. I do usually speed up my cure process a bit (but I do it right) and I get great nugs. They just never seem to tighten up to the point I can call them rock hard.

Any advice?
 

I wood

Well-known member
Genetics and myth.

Overly dense buds are over rated in my opinion. They look small in the jar and can be prone to mold issues when growing and drying. Pain in the ass to smoke as well unless you use a grinder you get smoldering chunks falling off a joint or in a the bowl.
 

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
Bud density is from a combination of various factors. I agree with I Wood, on this as well, the rock hard density is more of a problem and lower quality. MOST rock hard flowers you come across will be from using a bottled product. You'll often notice a reduction in terpene and cannabinoid content.

Nutrient mix: Too much nitrogen makes for flowers with more stem and leaf material, less dense floral structure.
Heat: High heat, without enough humidity, will cause fluffier flowers
Light Density/Quality: light with the wrong spectrum or too far away will cause fluffier flowers. Clip any flowers growing a stem away from the plant at week 2. These clipped flowers should be lower in the canopy and shaded. If the whole plant is fluffy and everything else is in check, change the lamp, lower the lamp or use a light listed as creating the proper spectrum for cannabis.
Genetics: Some strains naturally grow denser flowers. I've run sativa-dominant hybrids for over 10 years, they all come out decently dense.
 

chomsky

Member
Bud density is from a combination of various factors. I agree with I Wood, on this as well, the rock hard density is more of a problem and lower quality. MOST rock hard flowers you come across will be from using a bottled product. You'll often notice a reduction in terpene and cannabinoid content.

Nutrient mix: Too much nitrogen makes for flowers with more stem and leaf material, less dense floral structure.
Heat: High heat, without enough humidity, will cause fluffier flowers
Light Density/Quality: light with the wrong spectrum or too far away will cause fluffier flowers. Clip any flowers growing a stem away from the plant at week 2. These clipped flowers should be lower in the canopy and shaded. If the whole plant is fluffy and everything else is in check, change the lamp, lower the lamp or use a light listed as creating the proper spectrum for cannabis.
Genetics: Some strains naturally grow denser flowers. I've run sativa-dominant hybrids for over 10 years, they all come out decently dense.

Well cool then... Im doing it right... Thnx
 

PdxFarms

Member
I would say strain plays the bigger part in whether you get density. Light, co2, nutrients and other things pay a time as well. I run a perpetual setup, many different strains at a time under the same conditions and same curing. Some strains pump it rock hard potatoes. And other strains, even with monster colas... Just don't tighten up.

I'd prefer the in between. Not to fluffy, not rock hard. Better bag appeal.

I can say however, drying racks will produce a tighter finish. I've hung the same strain side by side with some in a drying rack and the drying rack came out a little tighter...But at the same time the stuff that hung dried looked better and more natural.
 

Drewsif

Member
Haven't seen them around. Im guessing Gravity WAS the answer. Always amazed me the rock hard buds cured to perfection. Would freak me out if i had to cure some of the the rock solid stuff I've smoked. So dense calyxes crush each other. They must be sucking the moisture out in a space age vaccum chamber or something. Possibly a defrost freezer.

GSC has a nice natural density. But there's something about those extra dense cat turd buds than will snap a stem by shaking them, their so dense and caked in flavor. I've kind gotten over it though. It's nice to see individual/split calyxes when you break a bud up instead of a mush pile.
 

Caligreen1

Member
I think your strains might be the reason, they look a bit fluffy like blue dream tends to grow. Perhaps invest in some OG strains
 

A. Jones

Active member
Like a year ago i grew some Northern Lights,2 different phenotypes. One was what you describe as rock solid,maybe one of the most dense i have ever seen.Other one was extremely fluffy. My enviroment was far from dialed in so i guess its heavily strain dependant. I used handwatered coco.
 
I had a few indica dominant phenos from my blue dream run a couple runs ago, they even turned purple without lowering temps. They had rock hard nugs, but molded on me. Environment wasn't bad - 74 degrees, 58 humidity, good airflow. None of the hybrid or sativa phenos molded.
 

FunkBomb

Power Armor rules
Veteran
I have a COB led light with Bridgelux Vero 29 diodes at 3000K and density is a guarantee. So much red light the plants go crazy.

-Funk
 

Top Notch

New member
How do I get rock hard nugs?

Please allow the time, light and life of the plant to pass through its stages.. It takes time to get dense nugs. 99% of the time new growers are cutting early and losing density due to it.

When and where does this occur?

Most Indica strains dense up after 45 days, hybrids around 60, sativa variants can require 90 days of flower time to fully mature. Don't cut early, plan for 72days of flower for everything and if it's obviously done at 66 days then chop but plan for the 72 it's a good baseline.

Is it in curing?

Nope. You can set nug out and it all gets dusty but dense nugs are still dense dusty nugs rather than wispy shit ...

My buds on all my grows are very big and very dense, I get very heavy dense colas when I chop. I do usually speed up my cure process a bit (but I do it right) and I get great nugs. They just never seem to tighten up to the point I can call them rock hard.

Any advice?

Some strains produce soft nugs, other produce dense as shit rocks that suck to smoke. Finding a strain right in the range you prefer is a chore sometimes.. Best advice would be to try growing in soil, hydro produces the fluffier shit, then coco as the medium density, and that has always been a comparison with the density coming from soil buds outside grown as the heaviest heads.. Hope that helps young. :moon::laughing:
 
A

AVOH

How do I get rock hard nugs?

Please allow the time, light and life of the plant to pass through its stages.. It takes time to get dense nugs. 99% of the time new growers are cutting early and losing density due to it.

When and where does this occur?

Most Indica strains dense up after 45 days, hybrids around 60, sativa variants can require 90 days of flower time to fully mature. Don't cut early, plan for 72days of flower for everything and if it's obviously done at 66 days then chop but plan for the 72 it's a good baseline.

Is it in curing?

Nope. You can set nug out and it all gets dusty but dense nugs are still dense dusty nugs rather than wispy shit ...

My buds on all my grows are very big and very dense, I get very heavy dense colas when I chop. I do usually speed up my cure process a bit (but I do it right) and I get great nugs. They just never seem to tighten up to the point I can call them rock hard.

Any advice?

Some strains produce soft nugs, other produce dense as shit rocks that suck to smoke. Finding a strain right in the range you prefer is a chore sometimes.. Best advice would be to try growing in soil, hydro produces the fluffier shit, then coco as the medium density, and that has always been a comparison with the density coming from soil buds outside grown as the heaviest heads.. Hope that helps young. :moon::laughing:


Awesome info
Can you show us those dense nugs you always get
 
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