Very First Grow - One Small Step

02/28/2021 - Seedlings are looking much better underneath the 315w LEC light. Will be transplanting tomorrow into larger containers, as the 2 Jelly Bananen have stretched about 2 inches above the other 4 plants and need to be buried a little bit to help support the stem. 03/01/2021 - Transplanted seedlings from starter cells into 1 gallon smart pots with a 50/50 mix of Fox Farm Happy Frog & Ocean Forest. I expect at least a few of my plants to show signs of nutrient deficiencies over the course of the next week or two due to the "hot" nature of the Ocean Forest soil (according to what I've read). Being my first Cannabis transplant ever, I accidently man-handled the 2 Jelly Bananen plants. They flopped over and a lot of soil fell off the roots before making it into the new medium. I honestly thought these 2 plants may become severely stressed or even die. Great White Mycorrhizae was sprinkled into the new grow medium & directly onto the roots during transplant. 03/06/2021 - The seedlings seemed to be thirsty, especially the Jelly Bananas. A few of the blades on a couple of the leaves were slightly twisted and were kind of bent upward. Nothing extreme, but still set off the alarm for me to look into the problem. After investigating, I determined the plants were thirsty. They received their first watering today. No nutrients. Tap water pH: 6.3 Overall, it's been a struggle trying to maintain lower "daytime" temperatures while also keeping the humidity levels up. If I turn my exhaust fans on high enough to keep the temperature down, it sucks out too much humidity. If I lower the speed of the fan the relative humidity increases, but so does the temperature. I will more than likely be investing in an evaporative air cooler soon to help keep temperatures down and humidity levels right where I want them.

03/07/2021 (Day 15): The two Jelly Banana plants I thought were going to die from my man-handling during transplant, much to my surprise, seem to be growing the strongest out of the group. 03/09/2021 (Day 17): Raised the grow lights up to 27” above the tops of the plants. I suspect they are struggling a little with temperatures and possibly some minor light stress. Some of the blades on the leaves are curled upward. But most of them are curled downward (pretty sure I overwatered the plants last night by accident). As expected, the 50/50 mix of Fox Farm Happy Frog and Ocean Forest is a little too “hot” for how young these plants are. There are, what appears to be, minor symptoms of nutrient toxicity/deficiency. According to what I've read, the plants should only show these signs until they mature a little more (1-2 weeks) and are able to handle the levels of nutrients in the soil. Also noted that my ppm in the runoff is over 1000, which confirms the soil being too rich. I don't believe it's a salt buildup after 3 waterings. I think my mistake for this first transplant was planting directly from a starter cell into a 1 gallon pot. Next time I will use a Solo cup for seedlings instead so the plants can establish a stronger root system. Using soil in starter cells seems inefficient. If I use starter cells again in the future I'll be using Rapid Rooters. 03/12/2021 (Day 20): 5 of the 6 plants are looking good after this watering. The Gorilla Cookies #1 is the runt of the bunch. It’s got the slowest growth and the first set of true leaves are starting to yellow up with grey/light brown spots (starting from the tip moving inward). My guess is stress from being in the hot 50/50 soil mix and daytime temperatures of 80℉+. Evaporative air cooler has been ordered to help with this. 03/13/2021 (Day 21): Holy Cow, despite the temperatures, the 2 Jelly Banana plants have exploded with growth since comparing them to the photos taken from day 17. Overall, I'm still struggling to keep temperatures down. Honeywell Evaporative Air Cooler is on it's way. Hoping within the next 7 days it will arrive because I need to get the temperatures under control ASAP. The average temperatures during the "Day" cycle is starting to rise, hanging around between 81-84℉, and I think its stressing my plants out. As a temporary solution, I'll be purchasing large quantities of ice and storing it in a 5 gallon bucket with my intake ducting attached to the top. This is the best idea I have as of right now. Next week I will be topping and LSTing the Jelly Banana plants. The upper fan leaves are starting to block out light to the lower growth coming in.

This week all of my plants have started to show obvious signs of nutrient toxicity. I've been watering all of the plants until there is about 15-20% runoff in an attempt to flush out some of the nutrients. Right now the runoff is still 1200-1300ppm, that's including my tap water sitting around 260ppm. Really, the amount of nutrients in the soil should be fine for the stage the plants are in, its just that my tap water is a little too hard. With that said though, after another watering or two all the ladies should start recovering from the nutrient toxicity. I anticipate I will start supplying Fox Farm nutrients within the next week or two as well. Day 25: I topped 4/6 of the plants. I decided it probably wasn't a good idea to attempt topping the Gorilla Cookies until they start recovering from the nutrient overload, as these 2 plants were looking the most sickly. The Jelly Bananen plants are THICK with foliage. I didn't know how soon I could begin defoliation. I'm considering doing a light grooming in a few days to increase light penetration into the lower stems. Day 27: THE HONEYWELL AIR COOLER HAS ARRIVED and damn this thing is huge. I had to readjust the layout of the tent because it was so massive but this thing does exactly what I wanted it to. It keeps the temperatures low and the humidity between 50-60% when on "Cooling" mode. I took my ultrasonic humidifier out of the tent right away because it was causing so much mineral residue to build up on the interior of the tent and actually clogged up my pre-filter so bad that my exhaust fans were completely ineffective. Once the pre-filter was washed and re-installed my exhaust system worked at 100% again. Before washing the tent was loose on the sides with the fan speed on 6 (AC Infinity CLOUDLINE T6). After washing, the walls of the tent were caving in from the air pressure with the fan on the same speed as before (6). In the midst of all the excitement over my new air cooler I checked the recovery progress from topping. 3 out of the 4 topped plants were doing fantastic. American Pie #1 seems to be taking a bit longer to get going. I think I might have topped her a day or two too soon. The 2 new future colas have a very light brown color to them. Not sure if it is an infection due to the topping or what. Will be looking into that deeper. Day 28: I started to LST the Jelly Bananen plants today. I am almost 100% sure I started LSTing a little late with these two. Trying to maintain the foliage below the canopy is going to require some effort until I get them into the shape I want. Highly considering lightly pruning underneath the canopy. I am closing Week 3 and going into Week 4 of veg with increased confidence now that I have the garden in a much more stable environment. With the addition of the air cooler I am keeping daytime temperatures consistently between 74-79℉, nighttime 68-72℉, with RH averaging 55% and dropping to about 48% during the night cycle. I also want to mention that trying to LST in fabric pots is kind of a bitch. You can't LST the traditional way by tying stems down around the top of the container. I didn't take any pictures directly after the first LST session, as I was quite medicated throughout the training and forgot. Next week's photos will show some of the LST I have done. Thanks for stopping by this week!

Day 30: 03/22/2021 6:00 p.m. - Watered all the plants with about ½ gallon of pH 6.7 water per 1 gallon pot to continue washing some of the nutrients out. All 6 plants are suffering from nutrient overload. PPM Tap water - 242 ppm GC#1 (Runoff) - 1340 ppm GC#2 (Runoff) - 1540 ppm AP#1 (Runoff) - 1450 ppm AP#2 (Runoff) - 1410 ppm JB#1 (Runoff) - 970 ppm JB#2 (Runoff) - 1090 ppm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 31: 03/23/2021 I noticed that the tops and new growth of the Jelly Bananen plants were starting to turn a light green color. Light was too close to the plants. I raised it back up to about 27”. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 32: 03/24/2021 Since raising the lights back up higher, the plants seem to be looking a lot better. Even the Glookies plants are looking healthier than they did a week ago. There is some nutrient burn affecting the American Pie #1, around the edges of the leaf. If it gets too much worse I’m going to have to cut off the burnt leafage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 35: 03/25/2021 Plants watered and LSTed. Tap Water: 237ppm, 6.6 pH, 71℉ ppm/ppm = runoff/soil JB#1 - 1250ppm/1013ppm, 7.0 pH JB#2 - 726ppm/489ppm 7.2 pH AP#1 - 1010ppm/773ppm, 6.9 pH AP#2 - 1020ppm/783ppm, 6.9 pH GC#1 - 1100ppm/863ppm, 7.0 pH GC#2 - 1150ppm/913ppm, 7.1 pH This week I am still struggling with nutrient & root issues, which I believe may now be caused by transplant shock from a few weeks ago in combination with slight overwatering? I'm growing in 1 gallon fabric pots (about 4 liters), watering about every 3 days. I don't feel like I am overwatering them though. The thing is, I've been doing all this research on how to tell when the plants need to be watered, and I've been doing the knuckle test, as well as lifting each pot to determine weight and when they feel super light, I water. I use a little less than 1/2 gallon on each plant per watering (1 gallon pots). I've been watering to runoff of what I think is about 10-15% and testing. The thing that casts doubt on the issue being due to overwatering is people are saying that watering every 2-3 days in fabric pots is about average, which is what I'm doing. Any input from some of the more experienced growers would be much appreciated though. I want to get my plants stabilized and healthy before flipping them into flower! I can tell that my ladies are suffering from stunted growth when comparing to other grows that are in the same stage as mine. I should also note that I have been using strictly tap water for every watering, thus far, with the exception of a light dose of Cal-Mag given to the Glookies. My first feeding will be next week. I'm wondering if I have waited too long to begin feeding too. On a positive note, I think I'm doing a pretty decent job of low-stress training. Until next week. 🙏

WEEK 5 (03/28/2021 - 04/03/2021) Day 38: 03/28/2021 Plants had their first feeding today. It’s been about 3 or 4 weeks giving them tap water only. With my ppm dropping in the soil, I thought now would be a good time. Leaving out the Cal-Mag this feeding. Nutrient mix: 651ppm, 6.0 pH, 71℉ FF Big Bloom: 5ml/gallon (⅓ strength) = 15ml/3 gallons FF Grow Big: 5ml/gallon (⅓ strength) = 15ml/3 gallons ppm/ppm = runoff/soil JB#1 - 960ppm/309ppm, pH 6.9 JB#2 - 1290ppm/639ppm, pH 6.8 AP#1 - 1400ppm/749ppm, pH 6.8 AP#2 - 1190ppm/539ppm, pH 6.8 GC#1 - 1190ppm/539ppm, pH 7.0 GC#2 - 1350ppm/699ppm, pH 6.8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 41: 03/31/2021 Plants watered around 5:30-6:00 p.m. ppm/ppm = runoff/soil JB#1 - 955ppm/653ppm, pH 6.8 JB#2 - 1070ppm/768ppm, pH 7.0 AP#1 - 1470ppm/1168ppm, pH 6.8 AP#2 - 1390ppm/1088ppm, pH 6.8 GC#1 - 1110ppm/808ppm, pH 7.0 GC#2 - 1160ppm/858ppm, pH 6.9 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 44: 04/03/2021 Plants watered between 5:30-6:30 p.m. Botanicare Hydroguard was used at half-strength to supplement the roots and as a preventative against rot. Tap water: 247ppm, pH 9.4, 70℉ Botanicare Hydroguard: 1ml/gallon = 3ml/3 gallons pH Down: 11.5ml Mixture: pH 5.6, 285ppm (+43ppm from pH solution) ppm/ppm = runoff/soil JB#1 - 858ppm/573ppm, pH 6.8 JB#2 - 857ppm/572ppm, pH 6.8 AP#1 - 984ppm/699ppm, pH 6.8 AP#2 - 1030ppm/745ppm, pH 6.9 GC#1 - 880ppm/595ppm, pH 7.0 GC#2 - 932ppm/647ppm, pH 6.9 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This week has been much more pleasant than the weeks prior. I believe my plants are finally getting acclimated to the medium and recovering from transplant shock. New growth is looking much healthier. Just as a preventative measure, I picked up some Botanicare Hydroguard to use in an attempt to supplement the roots and bring the pH of the soil down to where I want it. Personally, the pH remains just a tad too high for my liking this week. I would like it more in the range of 5.7-6.5 but I'll give it a week or so to see the reaction to the Hydroguard. I've continued with more LST on all but the Glookies #2. On this plant I simply did a topping. It was a risk, considering the plants isn't vibrantly healthy, but I need to maintain it's height. I also did a second topping to the American Pie #1. As can be observed from the photos, not all of the plants were shaped the same way. I got creative with the fabric pots and I decided to LST a few plants a little bit differently just to see which technique/style I liked the most. So far, I am digging the way the Jelly Bananen #1/#2 and American Pie #2 are shaping up. They are going to have a beautiful, wide canopy when they head into flower. I'm considering transplanting into 5 gallon fabric pots within the next week or two so I can flip them to flower two weeks later. My intuition is telling me this has been a pretty lengthy vegetative stage, thus far. I'm expecting all of my plants to double in size during the flowering stage, which should be anywhere between 65-70 days long. I made sure to select strains with similar flowering times (60-70 days). Thanks for stopping by this week. Please feel free to leave a comment or any tips/advice! Until next week! 🙏

WEEK 6 (04/04/2021 - 04/10/2021) Day 47: 04/06/2021 Plants watered between 5:30-6:30 p.m. Light LST on the Glookies #1. Trimmed off some of the dead/dying parts of leaves on a few plants. Tap water: Forgot to measure ppm of tap water. Oops. + FF Grow Big: 5ml/gallon (⅓ strength) = 15ml/3 gallons + FF Big Bloom: 5ml/gallon (⅓ strength) = 15ml/3 gallons + Cal-Mag: 2.5ml/gallon (½ strength) = 7.5ml/3 gallons + Fish Shit: 1ml/gallon = 3ml/3 gallons + pH Down: 15ml Mixture: 670ppm, 5.7 pH, 70℉ ppm/ppm = runoff/soil JB#1 - 1180ppm/510ppm, pH 6.6 JB#2 - 1220ppm/550ppm, pH 6.5 AP#1 - 1200ppm/530ppm, pH 6.6 AP#2 - 1200ppm/530ppm, pH 6.6 GC#1 - 1300ppm/630ppm, pH 6.7 GC#2 - 1060ppm/390ppm, pH 6.6 It pleases me to say that since using a light dose of Botanicare Hydroguard the soil pH has dropped for all 6 plants. Hopefully this rebalancing of the pH at the roots will help diminish most of the issues I’ve been dealing with up to now. I really need to flip these girls to a 12/12 cycle soon, to avoid running out of space in the tent, so I’m considering transplanting them into their final 5 gallon pots in the next day or two. I meant to pick up 3 gallon pots from the garden store but I was stoned when I went in, kicked the shit with the old man that works there, got sidetracked, and grabbed the wrong size. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 49: 04/08/2021 Plants were transplanted into 5 gallon fabric pots. During transplant is when I realized I have probably been underwatering the plants for a while. I had watered just 2 days prior (as recommended online) and the soil was basically completely dry by the time transplant day came around. So my normal 3 day watering schedule has not been enough. These girls have been staying thirsty. Not to mention, I didn’t pack the soil down nearly well enough during their first transplant. The soil was compacted like a brick of “Reggie” after all the previous waterings. Lesson learned. The roots were slightly brown, I’m 99.9% sure it's from nutrient staining though. Definitely did not have root rot as I previously suspected. Ended up running out of the 50/50 Ocean Forest/Happy Frog soil blend I was using. Had to include some Light Warrior to one of the plants. Not ideal, as this plant will have less available nutrients due to the Light Warrior, but I was not going to wait an extra day to transplant 1 plant. She will be fine. If anything, I’ll give her some extra attention. Tied branches back down to the new pots and did a light watering immediately after to settle plants into their final home. Will be feeding ½ strength nutrients in a day or two. In one or two weeks, these girls will be flipping to a 12/12 light cycle to initiate flowering. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 51: 04/10/2021 Top-dressed the 5 gallon pots with Fox Farm Strawberry Fields soil. Plants fed immediately after top-dressing, between 7-9 p.m., with ½ strength nutrients. Light LST on the Glookies #1. Trimmed off some of the dead/dying parts of leaves on a few plants. Light defoliation of leaves that were not receiving much light. Tap water: 226ppm + FF Grow Big: 7.5ml/gallon (½ strength) = 52.5ml/7 gallons + FF Big Bloom: 7.5ml/gallon (½ strength) = 52.5ml/7 gallons + Fish Shit: 1ml/gallon = 7ml/7 gallons + pH Down: 35ml (brought pH down to 5.3 - too low) + pH Up: 8ml (brought pH up to 6.0) Mixture: 862ppm, 6.0 pH, 70℉ ppm/ppm = runoff/soil JB#1 - 2640ppm/1778ppm, pH 6.7 JB#2 - 1880ppm/1018ppm, pH 6.8 AP#1 - 2540ppm/1678ppm, pH 6.6 AP#2 - 2400ppm/1538ppm, pH 6.6 GC#1 - 2790ppm/1928ppm, pH 6.8 GC#2 - 2340ppm/1478ppm, pH 7.0 It's only been 2 days since transplanting into their final 5 gallon homes and all 6 plants are starting to perk up and pray to the God of Light hanging above them. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with these girls over the next week or two. Until next time. And remember: Don't drink and drive; Smoke and fly. 🙌

WEEK 7 (04/11/2021 - 04/17/2021) Day 52: 04/11/2021 Checked plants as soon as the light came on. They seem to be doing just fine post-transplant (3 days). Leaves are starting to perk up and appear less droopy. Some of the plants that had lime green coloring have started to revert back to a more natural, healthy looking green. It was at this moment I realized these girls needed to be transplanted a week or two ago. Despite fabric pots “air-pruning” the roots, they were still running out of room to expand. I’m excited to see how the plants will grow over the course of the next 1-2 weeks. Also made the decision to lower my 315w LEC grow light down to about 24-25 inches above the canopy and will continue to lower it about an inch every other day until finally ready to be flipped to flower. At that point the light should be 18-20 inches away from the tops of the canopies. (NOTE: The 315w LEC light from Sun System is recommended 18-20 inches away from plants; an extra 6-12 inches during the seedling/early vegetative stage.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 55: 04/14/2021 Went to water the plants today and the batteries in my pH pen have died. I don’t want to water without knowing precise pH so I am pushing watering back one final day. Plants should be fine but they will be thirsty. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 56: 04/15/2021 It’s been 5 days since the last water/feeding. When I checked the plants right before watering today I could tell they were extremely thirsty. The medium was dry past my first knuckle and the pots were very light for 5 gallons. The final sign the plants were in need of water is that 1 gallon didn’t produce any runoff at all (last time there was about 15%). It was also a later-than-usual watering. I started working at one of the local dispensaries so I didn’t get home until 10pm, when I was finally able to water. But I refused to let them go another full day without drinking. It was a hectic week so I didn't enter the garden much. Only as often as needed, therefore I didn't take many photos this week. Just enough to show some progress. Things are getting exciting over here as these ladies are going into flower real soon. They've been giving off a weak smell of pungent dankness for a few weeks now. Next week I plan on building and installing a custom ScrOG net in the tent. Stay tuned for that!

WEEK 8 (04/18/2021 - 04/24/2021) Day 59: 04/18/2021 Defoliated some growth from each plant before I installed my custom-built SCRoG net made of: pvc piping, drywall screws, and jute twine for the netting. It’s slightly smaller than the tent, 41”x41” with a second level for another net. It fits perfectly, leaving plenty of room to work around the edges and move the fan around if needed. Immediately after defoliation and installing the net, I watered using ½ strength Botanicare Hydroguard. Watering was different. I used a battery-powered liquid transfer pump to help water the plants a little faster and more efficiently. Also helps to reach the plants I can’t access as easily in the corner. I am unable to test/collect any of the runoff at the moment since installing the net, which wouldn’t be an issue by itself, but my saucers are just barely large enough to fit the base of the 5 gallon pots into. I have no way of sticking a pH pen or TDS meter in the runoff. They simply won't fit between the pot and the saucer. This is extremely unfortunate, as I am now unable to monitor the ppm of the soil with each watering. Will have to pick up some larger saucers soon or think of another solution. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 61: 04/20/2021 ‘Tis the season to be medicated. Happy Holidaze! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 62: 04/21/2021 Upping the amount of water going into the pots this watering. Previously I was doing 1 gallon of water per 5 gallon pot. I’m increasing the amount of water to 1.5 gallons. Hopefully that will produce enough runoff for taking measurements. It’s going to be a painfully difficult task to take readings but I really need to know what the condition of the soil is right now. Will not be using any nutrients this time considering the runoff was kind of high when I fed on 4/10. This seems a little risky though since it has been 11 days since a nutrient feed, but I’d rather not burn the plants by blindly adding nutrients. Will return. Hopefully with measurements. (some amount of time later) Tap water: 245ppm, 6.1 pH (9 gallons) pH Down: 30ml JB#1 - 2730ppm, 7.0 pH JB#2 - 2290ppm, (pH pen died again on this plant) AP#1 - 2380ppm, 6.9 pH AP#2 - 3610ppm (seems extremely high), 7.0 pH GC#1 - 2320ppm, 6.9 pH GC#2 - 2340ppm, 7.1 pH I don’t know what was up with the measurements on the AP#2. The saucers the pots are sitting in are a little small so I think the ppm might have been reading high because the bottom of the fabric pot was sitting in the runoff. Maybe I’m just saying that to reassure myself. Either way, the 3000+ ppm seemed very off. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 66: 04/24/2021 Defoliation + weaving/securing branches through SCRoG. I'm not 100% sure that the SCRoG was the most optimal technique of choice given the very limited space within the grow tent. Also, I almost feel like I installed the screen a little late. Maybe not? Either way, I have read about them and the potential of increased yields, which got me excited enough to build one to try out for myself. I was aware going into it that there would be some difficulties using a SCRoG. I can no longer move my pots around is the main thing. Not being able to move the pots around has increased the difficulty factor of watering/feeding. I now have to access 3 different sides of the tent to get all 6 plants. I've clipped all the ties holding the branches down from previous LST sessions. There was just no way I was going to spend hours weaving in and out of all the ties trying to water each plant while also dealing with the difficulties of a SCRoG obstructing the work space. That would also wreck my poor back. From here, things are going to get real exciting. Tomorrow (04/25) I am rescheduling the light cycle to 12/12 to initiate flowering. Another 60-70 days to go, growing buds and packing on trichomes. With that said, I'm excited to have made it through my very first full vegetative cycle. I've definitely made my fair share of mistakes, as expected, but as long as I keep learning from them future harvest will only continue to increase in quality and yield. Thank you for stopping by and checking out the diary this week! All your kind words and encouragement are fuel. Until next time! 🙏

WEEK 9 - (04/25/2021 - 05/01/2021) Day 67 (Week 1, Day 1 - FLOWER): 04/25/2021 Today marks the first official day of the flower cycle. Light timer has been adjusted to 12/12. First 12 hour dark period begins at 5 a.m. on the morning of 04/26. I would say 70-75% of the first screen has been filled. ½ strength nutrient feeding today. Tap water: 220ppm, 8.2 pH, 70℉ + FF Grow Big: 5ml/gallon = 45ml/9 gallons + FF Big Bloom: 7.5ml/gallon = 75.5ml/9 gallons + FF Tiger Bloom: 5ml/gallon = 45ml/9 gallons + FF Cal-Mag: 2.5ml/gallon = 22.5ml/9 gallons + Fish Shit: 2ml/gallon = 18ml/9 gallons + HydroGuard: 1ml/gallon = 9ml/9 gallons + pH Down: 14ml (6.5 pH before adding) Mixture: 910ppm, 6.1 pH, 70℉ ppm/ppm = runoff/soil JB#1 - 1510ppm/600ppm, 5.8 pH JB#2 - 1530ppm/620ppm, 5.7 pH AP#1 - 2500ppm/1590ppm, 5.7 pH AP#2 - 2260ppm/1350ppm, 5.8 pH GC#1 - 2490ppm/1580ppm, 5.8 pH GC#2 - 2510ppm/1600ppm, 5.7 pH ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 71 (Week 1, Day 5 - FLOWER): 04/29/2021 Watered plants today. Glookies #1 gave off a really high ppm reading. Don’t think it was accurate. Tap water: 220ppm, 8.7 pH + HydroGuard: 1ml/gallon = 9ml/9 gallons + pH Down: 28ml Mixture: 230ppm, 6.2 pH, 68℉ ppm/ppm = runoff/soil JB#1: 1320ppm/1090ppm, 6.7 pH JB#2: 1115ppm/885ppm, 6.5 pH GC#1: 3540ppm (seems too high) GC#2: 2270ppm/2040ppm, pH 6.5 AP#1: 2410ppm/2180ppm, 6.4 pH AP#2: 1600ppm/1370ppm, pH 6.6 Well, the first week of flower is in the books. All but one plant is starting to grow pistils. These plants are getting a little out of control being cramped in this 4x4. I defoliated just before flipping to flower, and they needed another touch-up. I'm a little worried this will cause me to have to do frequent touch-ups or kill one or two plants and create some space. I'm leaning more toward killing 1 or 2 plants, rather than risk all of them getting overly stressed from too many defoliations. I completely underestimated how much these Cannabis plants would grow, especially once they started to stretch. I'm going to start saving the water that is collected through the dehumidifier. The plan is to use this water for the flush in the last 2 weeks of flower. Thanks for dropping in and showing some Aloha, everybody. And remember, don't drink and drive, smoke and fly. See you next week. 🙏

WEEK 10 - (05/02/2021 - 05/08/2021) Week 2, Day 9 - FLOWER: 05/03/2021 Today I made the difficult decision to kill the Glookies #2. It’s been sickly looking the entire length of the grow (red stems, yellowing/lime green leaves, stunted growth). It’s also becoming an incredible task trying to keep the humidity levels under 50% with 6 plants in a 4x4 tent, considering how big they are. So I had to cut the netting to move the plants around, and since I didn’t have enough twine to net up another layer of screen, I just left the plants as-is in their pots. Tap water: 230ppm, 8.9 pH, 71.5℉ + HydroGuard: 8ml/7.5 gallons + pH Down: 25ml Mixture: 245ppm, 6.3 pH ppm/ppm = runoff/soil JB#1 - 1050ppm/805ppm, 6.6 pH JB#2 - 890ppm/645ppm, 6.6 pH AP#1 - 1360ppm/1115ppm, 6.6 pH AP#2 - 1400ppm/1155ppm, 6.6 pH GC#1 - 1540ppm/1295ppm, 6.0 pH -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 2, Day 11 - FLOWER: 05/05/2021 I’ve decided it was in the best interest of the rest of the plants' health to cut down one of the 5 remaining plants in the tent today. Ended up selecting Jelly Bananen #2. Even with 1 less plant in the tent, humidity was still a little too high. It’s unfortunate that I am chopping another one down, but I keep reminding myself that this is my first grow on my own from start-to-finish. Just take everything I learn from this into the next grow. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 2, Day 13 - FLOWER: 05/07/2021 Supplemented this feeding using Great White mixed in with the liquid nutrients. Tap water: 220ppm + FF Big Bloom: 45ml/6gallons + FF Grow Big: 30ml/6 gallons + FF Tiger Bloom: 30ml/6 gallons + Cal-Mag: 15ml/6 gallons + Fish Shit: 12ml/6 gallons + HydroGuard: 6ml/6 gallons + Great White: 3tsp/6 gallons + pH Down: 23ml/6 gallons Mixture: 933ppm, 6.0 pH ppm/ppm = runoff/soil JB#1 - 1410ppm/477ppm, 6.3 pH AP#1 - 1440ppm/507ppm, 6.4 pH AP#2 - 1400ppm/467ppm, 6.5 pH GC#1 - 1350ppm/417ppm, 6.2 pH The 2nd week of flower comes to an end with the death of two sisters, leaving their other 4 sisters behind as they proceed into the afterlife. Am I disappointed? Absolutely, I didn't want to do it. Do I regret it? Not a chance. I did what needed to be done. I think the plants are a little stressed from yet another defoliation though. The growth has just been MAD since the flip. Next time, I won't be vegging the plants out for so long. Anyway, that does it for this week. Not too much going on aside from the continuing stretch. Buds are still in the very early stage of development. I'll catch you guys on the flippity flip. And remember... Don't drink and drive. Smoke and fly. 🙌

WEEK 11 - (05/09/2021 - 05/15/2021) Week 3, Day 17 - FLOWER: 05/11/2021 Doing 2 gallons of water per 5 gallon pot this watering due to lack of runoff in weeks prior. I’m thinking I could be letting the pots dry out a little too long in between so the 1.5 gallons hasn’t been enough for each watering. When I stick my finger into the medium 2 or 3 days after watering it still seems like the soil has plenty of moisture so I wait another day or two. I know fabric pots are supposed to dry out usually in 2-3 days, but the soil still seems too moist, and I don’t want to overwater. It seems like ever since transplanting into 5 gallons and switching them to a 12/12 light cycle, watering got more complicated. Maybe I am overthinking the whole process. I just don’t want to risk ruining my crop, you know? Tap water: 223ppm, 8.6 pH, 70℉ (9 gallons total) + HydroGuard: 9ml/9 gallons + pH Down: 30ml/9 gallons Mixture: 267ppm, 6.0 pH, 70.4℉ ppm/ppm = runoff/soil JB#1 - 1330ppm/1063ppm, 6.3 pH AP#1 - 1310ppm/1043ppm, 6.3 pH AP#2 - 1160ppm/893ppm, 6.7 pH GC#1 - 1350ppm/1083ppm, 6.3 pH -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 3, Day 20 - FLOWER: 05/14/2021 Watered a day earlier than I usually do, with .5 gallons less water per plant. So each plant got a total of 1 gallon of water for their 5 gallon pots. This is really just to take the question out of the back of my mind: Am I letting the pots dry out too much going four days until the next watering? I will check on the plants shortly after they wake up tomorrow to observe their reaction to the watering. None of the plants produced really any runoff, which was boggling to me, because when I water there is usually anywhere between 10-20%, and that’s after watering on the fourth day. Needless to say, I was unable to take readings this time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 3, Day 21 - FLOWER: 05/15/2021 5:30 p.m. - Decided to check on the plants since I watered a day earlier (yesterday) than I have been since transplanting into the 5 gallon fabric pots. This was kind of an experiment to see how the plants would react to watering on the third day rather than the fourth, because I keep doubting myself. Anyway, when I checked in on the plants, a few leaves looked ever so slightly droopy. Not terrible. It appears that some of the leaves had begun to swell up a little as well. Not 100% sure if these are actually early signs of being overwatered this time, or if it’s something I have simply overlooked until now. Just to be sure, I’m going to water once more on the third day to see how the plants respond. The plants seem to be doing well this week. I've finally installed another ScroG net on the second level to help maintain the canopy. Since I cut the first layer of net the plants quickly started to get out of control and began to grow unevenly across the canopy. The trichomes are starting to appear on all of the plants, with the exception of the American Pie #1. This pheno is a little behind. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with how differently this plant was trained compared to her sisters (The manifold/mainline technique was applied). Possibly could have even defoliated her a little too heavy and she's taking a few extra days to bounce back. She's still producing early buds though, which is good. 👌 That just about wraps up this week. Things just keep getting more and more exciting with each journal entry. All the girls should have about 5-7 weeks left in flower before they are ripe for harvest. Hoping to have another tent and light setup by the end of flower so I can get some more seeds started. Thanks for stopping by and spreading the love. And remember: Don't drink and drive, smoke and fly! 🙌

WEEK 12 - (05/16/2021 - 05/22/2021) Week 4, Day 23 - FLOWER: 05/17/2021 Tap water: 238ppm, 8.8 pH, 71℉ + FF Big Bloom: 60ml/6 gallons (¾ strength) + FF Grow Big: 15ml/6 gallons (¼ strength) + FF Tiger Bloom: 45ml/6 gallons (¾ strength) + Cal-Mag: 15ml/6 gallons (½ strength) + Fish Shit: 12ml/6 gallons + HydroGuard: 6ml/6 gallons + pH Down: 22ml Mixture: 883ppm, 6.2 pH, 71℉ 6 gallons = 1.5 gallons per 5 gallon pot ppm/ppm = runoff/soil JB#1 - 2990ppm/2107ppm, 6.2 pH AP#1 - 1970ppm/1087ppm, 6.2 pH AP#2 - 1550ppm/667ppm, 6.4 pH GC#1 - 2400ppm/1517ppm, 6.2 pH These ppm readings don’t seem accurate. They are all over the place, yet the pH was basically the same. I’m going to let these girls dry out for 5 days this time and try again on the readings. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 4, Day 28 - FLOWER: 05/22/2021 Had a curve ball thrown at me today. I came into the grow room this morning around 9 a.m. and realized that my grow lights were still on, which set off an alarm in my head becauseI have my lights set to turn on at 5 p.m. and go off at 5 a.m. Though, I quickly found the cause of the lights not going off at their regular time. The switch on my timer had somehow flipped from "Timer On" to "Outlet On" at some point within the past day, without me realizing, so the lights remained on past their normal "bedtime". I can only conclude that the switch got bumped when unplugging a fan. This unfortunate incident caused the plants to get about an extra 4 hours of light than normal before I was able to shut them off. I went with my instinct and decided to keep the lights off for a full 12 hours, rather than wake them up at their regular time. That means the lights didn’t come back on until 9pm, at which point I watered. Plants were all noticeably droopy with dry soil. They were definitely thirsty. Tap water: 228ppm, 8.5 pH, 71℉ + HydroGuard: 8ml/8 gallons + pH Down: 25ml Mixture: 255ppm, 6.2 pH, 71℉ ppm/ppm = runoff/soil JB#1 - 1190ppm/935ppm, 6.5 pH AP#1 - 1180ppm/925ppm, 6.3 pH AP#2 - 954ppm/699ppm, 6.8 pH GC#1 - 1600ppm/1345ppm, 6.3 pH This watering was SUCH A JOY. I got plenty of runoff! I was able to take readings that seemed to be much more accurate than the last few waterings. Maybe this is evidence that I should actually let my pots dry out a bit longer than I was previously. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [SUMMARY] Started the week off with a final defoliation to expose more bud sites. Aside from the incident at the end of this week, all is well. American Pie #1 seems to be catching up with her sisters. THE END OF WEEK 4. That's crazy. Another 4-6 weeks expected to go before the chop. Thanks for stopping by and checking out the diary! And if you've read this far into the text, please let me know in the comments what your top favorite strains are, up to 3! I'm curious to know what strains are out there that maybe I haven't heard of or tried yet, and what others around the world are enjoying. 🙏 "Stay high Go for what you know Let it in your mental And don't ever let it go"

WEEK 13 - (05/23/2021 - 05/29/2021) Week 5, Day 32 - FLOWER: 05/26/2021 Tap water: 229ppm, 9.2 pH, 70.5℉ + FF Big Bloom: 60ml/6 gallons + FF Tiger Bloom: 45ml/6 gallons + Fish Shit: 12ml/6 gallons + Cal-Mag: 15ml/6 gallons + HydroGuard: 6ml/6 gallons + pH Down (7.5 pH before added): 20ml Mixture: 779ppm, 5.9 pH, 70.4℉ ppm/ppm = runoff/soil JB#1 - 1249ppm/461ppm, 6.3 pH AP#1 - 1330ppm/551ppm, 6.6 pH AP#2 - 1420ppm/641ppm, 6.6 pH GC#1 - 1610ppm/831ppm, 6.3 pH -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 5, Day 35 - FLOWER: 05/29/2021 I’m pretty sure I used a little too much of the Tiger Bloom in my last 2 feedings. I used ¾ strength on that particular nutrient and it seems to have caused some nutrient burn. The leaf symptoms are matching with that of an excess in either Potassium or Phosphorus as well (on the Jelly Bananen). The Glookies seems to be suffering the most, also, showing signs of what appears to be a mildly serious calcium deficiency. However, I’m unsure due to the overfeeding. Next time I feed these girls I’m going back to ½ strength on the Tiger Bloom. Lesson learned. Tap water: 226ppm, 9.1 pH, 71℉ + HydroGuard: 8ml/8 gallons + pH Down: 27ml Mixture: 270ppm, 6.3 pH ppm/ppm = runoff/soil JB#1 - 1350ppm/1080ppm, 6.5 pH AP#1 - 1180ppm/910ppm, 6.7 pH AP#2 - 1450ppm/1180ppm, 6.8 pH GC#1 - 1680ppm/1410ppm, 6.3 pH -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [SUMMARY] Well, I learned a valuable lesson this week: DO NOT use Fox Farm nutrients at anymore than half the recommended strength from the feeding chart. Despite the error in my ways, the plants are all looking pretty good still. The 2 plants that seem to be most affected by the overfeeding is the Glookies #1 & Jelly Bananen #1. The Glookies have had issues here and there throughout the grow, so it doesn't come as much of a surprise that it is responding how it is. Both of the American Pie phenotypes seem to be the most resilient of the group. Aside from the late start on AP#1's bud development, these two phenos hardly seem phased by the increase in Tiger Bloom. Regardless, I am still going to go back to ½ strength. I can hardly believe 2021 is almost halfway over. Federal Legalization of Cannabis in the United States is looking like a very real possibility this year. The mask mandate has been lifted. Halo Infinite is coming out in November. My first grow is almost at it's end. 2021 is looking to be incredible. It's all a mindset. See you all next week! And remember: Don't drink and drive, smoke and fly. 🙏 "Well, I'mma be here for a while, longer than I did expect to I was out of town, gettin' lost 'til I was rescued Now I'm in the clouds, come down when I run out of jet fuel But I never run out of jet fuel" - Mac Miller

Week 6, Day 38 - FLOWER: 06/01/2021 Tap water: 225ppm, 9.1 pH + HydroGuard: 6ml/6 gallons + pH Down: 23ml + pH Up: 3ml Mixture: 265ppm, 6.1 pH, 71℉ ppm/ppm = runoff/soil JB#1 - 1180/915, 6.5 pH AP#1 - 821/556, 6.6 pH AP#2 - 1480/1215, 6.6 pH GC#1 - 1340/1075, 6.3 pH -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 6, Day 42 - FLOWER: 06/05/2021 Tap water: 223ppm, - pH + Big Bloom: 45ml/6 gallons + Tiger Bloom: 30ml/ 6 gallons + Fish Shit: 13ml/ 6 gallons + Cal-Mag: 6ml/6 gallons + HydroGuard: 6ml/ 6 gallons + pH Down: 25ml Mixture: 590ppm, 6.0 pH, 69.3℉ ppm/ppm = runoff/soil JB#1 - 1090/500, 6.4 pH AP#1 - 732/142, 6.7 pH AP#2 - 830/240, 6.7 pH GC#1 - 988/398, 6..3 pH -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [SUMMARY] I'm keeping this week's entry short and simple. I've got much on my mind and I'm exhausted from work. I'll catch you all in week 7 of flower. Until then, check out the photos from this week. They're getting frostyyyyy. Much love, everybody!

WEEK 15 - (06/06/2021 - 06/12/2021) Week 7, Day 46 - FLOWER: 06/09/2021 Tap water: 227ppm, 8.3 pH, 69.3℉ + HydroGuard: 7ml/7 gallons + pH Down: 15ml Mixture: 233ppm, 6.0 pH, 69.1℉ ppm/ppm = runoff/soil JB#1 - 1020/787, 5.4 pH AP#1 - 637/404, 5.8 pH AP#2 - 477/244, 6.0 pH GC#1 - 873/640, 5.5 pH -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, this week didn't really have much going on. There was only 1 watering. What an odd week. I managed to get a couple of up-close recordings of 2 strains. The Jelly Bananen has started to yellow. It seems to be all over, and I haven't exactly started flushing yet. Or maybe she has begun flushing. She is supposed to finish up right around 63 days and the last nutrient feeding was only 590ppm, so it is most definitely a possibility. The next time I water will be with recycled water with extremely low ppm (under 100), and I'm expecting to do a 14-day flush. I'm slightly concerned that the Jelly Bananen may have to be harvested early if the yellowing spreads to the sugar leaves. Guess I'll be finding out in the next week or so. Anyway, if you've read this far I want to give a shout out to you! Yes, you reading this! You're the best, and I want to personally thank you for checking out my journal. See you all next week! 😁🙏 “If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet, you’ll come to understand that you’re connected with everything.” – Alan Watts

WEEK 16 - (06/13/2021 - 06/19/2021) Week 8, Day 50 - FLOWER: 06/13/2021 After inspecting the trichome development for the last 7-10 days or so, I’ve decided that today would be the ideal time to begin flushing. The American Pie #1 does not look like it’s ready to begin flushing quite yet, as she appears to be about a week behind in maturity. Despite that, I’ll still begin flushing her today too. Recycled water: 70ppm, 69℉ + pH Up: 7ml Mixture: 95ppm, 6.4 pH, 69℉ ppm/ppm = runoff/soil JB#1 - 895/800, 6.1 pH AP#1 - 529/434, 6.5 pH AP#2 - 365/270, 6.7 pH GC#1 - 624/529, 6.3 pH -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 8, Day 51 - FLOWER: 06/14/2021 Did a trichome check on the plants today. Spent more time with the Jelly Banana to better determine her maturity level. She actually looks like she is ready to harvest today. I’d say trichomes are 75-80% milky, with an amber trichome here and there. I’m going to try and push her through at least one more low-ppm watering and test the runoff. If I start seeing more amber trichome development, I will cut her down. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 8, Day 54 - FLOWER: 06/17/2021 Recycled water (8 gallons): 69ppm, 5.8 pH, 70℉ + HydroGuard: 8ml + pH Up: 3ml Mixture: 82ppm, 6.0 pH, 70℉ ppm/ppm = runoff/soil JB#1 - 688/606, 6.5 pH GC#1 - 602/520, 6.5 pH AP#2 - 633/551, 6.9 pH AP#1 - 685/603, 6.5 pH -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [SUMMARY] I expect this to be my last full week of flower. All the girls are looking ripe for the chopping. The aroma that bursts out of the tent when I unzip it every time is heavenly. American Pie #1 is still about a week behind in maturity, but she will get cut down with the other plants regardless. Jelly Bananen started to turn a lime green color so she'll probably get chopped and hung up in the next few days when my second tent arrives (4x2 AC Infinity). That wraps up this week! See you ladies and gentleman in the next entry. 🙏

HARVEST WEEK ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 06/20/2021 - Harvested Jelly Bananen ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 06/21/2021 - Last watering of final flush. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 06/25/2021 - Harvested Glookies, American Pie #1, and American Pie #2 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Harvest results coming soon!

Jelly Bananen was the strain I was looking forward to the most. There wasn't much information on it when I initially ordered the seeds, but I was intrigued by the breeder's description nonetheless and decided to give it a shot. In flowering, there were two incidents where the light schedule was interrupted unexpectedly. In response, the plant started to produce "nanners". Ironically, Jelly Bananen was the only plant in the garden to do this. I produced 88g of dry weight, not knowing what to expect on the scales. I'm sure that 88g on one plant is probably pretty bad, but it should only get better from harvest to harvest, am I right? Will be coming back to this strain again in the future, once I have a few harvests in the books. 🙌

Glookies turned out surprisingly well! It yielded the least amount, at only 50g, but it was by far the most resin-coated plant in the tent. I would highly recommend this strain to beginners. It handled a lot of abuse throughout it's life cycle: multiple deficiencies, nitrogen toxicity, tip burn, etc. and still turned out beautiful and effective. The nuggets turned out nice and dense after drying/curing as well. I'm highly interested in coming back to this strain again in the future. What a great introduction to Barney's Farm.

American Pie seemed to be the most forgiving strain in the garden and was able to take a heavier dosage of nutrients without any tip burn. From a beginner's perspective, it is quite easy to grow and seemed to be highly resilient to the environment and stress that was induced upon it. Took very well to ScroG and yielded the most per plant of the three varieties I grew. As stated in the review above, this strain is incredible! I'm looking forward to observing my progress with this particular cultivar as I continue to grow it each harvest. 🙏