Blue Ox

11 May 2021 I finally have my new grow setup on hand and got the clones into their very own pots, and under lights! This clone was gifted by Buddabud, a fellow grower here on Grow Diaries, and a personal friend of my brother (The_Evil_Twin). I can’t wait for this baby to grow and produce some bud! Starting today I’m only giving regular water till I know everything is going alright. This baby is already mature and has about 7 branches/stems, and is 9 inches tall. I have it planted in a 2.5 gallon pot with Fox Farms Ocean Forest potting soil (which is why I’m not giving nutrients yet.) my new tent is 27x27x62 made by Spider Farmer. It’s small, but it will do just fine as a veg tent. I can’t wait to see how they’re going to smell in the coming weeks! Buddabud says it smells like blueberries, so since it’s growing with another plant (blueberry muffin strain), my grow room should smell like a bakery soon! 13 May 2021 Feeding time in The _Good_Twin’s grow room! Today I’m starting to give some nutrients to my new babies! Blue Ox seems to be conforming to its new home without issue, so that makes me happy. However, she’s been in her cloner pot for a long time and it may take a little while for any real issues to become apparent. She looks ok, but her leaf and branch/stem development seems to be slowed. I’m going to assume it’s because of the tiny cup she was in for a month. I’m going to use the same feed chart as I’m using for my Dark Star Kush grow, but at the level of its current growth stage. So, I’m starting out at the “Early Growth” stage, which means nutrients added are as follows: CALiMAGic 2.5ml, FloraMicro 7.5ml, FloraGro 10ml, and FloraBloom 2.5ml. The initial pH was 6.35, so I didn’t add any pH UP or DOWN. I fed the 6.35 pH’ed solution, but due to the amount of runoff for its tent mate, I only gave 3/4 of the gallon, and still had a lot of runoff. The runoff pH was 5.60, which was noticeably different from the BB Muffin. Weird, but ok. It’s still in the range needed for good health. The temperature in the tent was 79.6 degrees F, and humidity was 44%. I’m going to let it grow a bit before I start any LST so the branches are bigger/longer and more robust. Right now they’re all too short to do anything with them. That’s it for today. 15 May 2021 Today I’m going to keep feeding my kiddos the “Early Stage” feeding levels of nutrients. Last time, neither of them, the Blueberry Muffin or Blue Ox, took the whole gallon of water. Both had a substantial amount of runoff. So, today I’m making one gallon and plan on giving both half. Feeding went like this: CALiMAGic 2.5ml, FloraMicro 7.5ml, FloraGro 10ml, and FloraBloom 2.5ml. The initial pH was 6.27, so I fed that amount. No pH UP or DOWN was used today for adjustments. My TDS meter dried out and is functioning, so the TDS in was 982 ppm. The runoff pH was 5.51, which was much different from its tent mate! I have 2 plants that were cloned the same day, put in the same kind of pot with the same kind of soil, and fed the exact same solution, yet are so different! pH in its tent mate with the other half of the same gallon of water was 6.05 to 5.51. It’s not just the pH either. Runoff TDS was 3149 ppm, but its tent mate was 2588 ppm. Weird, but just goes to show how different strains grow and optimize nutrients differently I guess. My Blue Ox baby is starting to look better. It has developed some new leaves and sprouted new stems as well. She seems to be coming along well. Keeping my 🤞 for a successful grow! 17 May 2021 My Blue Ox is looking quite nice! She’s growing nicely with new stems and leaves, and also showing some pistils. I love starting with mature plants for a change! Anyway, I’m still feeding the Early Stage growth from my growth chart, so here’s what was fed today. CALiMAGic 2.5 ml, FloraMicro 7.5ml, FloraGro 10ml, and FloraBloom 2.5ml. The initial pH was 6.39, so I fed that without any adjustment. The TDS going in was 980 ppm. I fed 1/2 gallon again today and still got an appropriate amount of runoff. Runoff pH was 5.60, and TDS runoff was 2777 ppm. Tent temp was 76.7 degrees F, and humidity was 40%. The way she’s looking I’ll be able to flip her and her tent mate sooner than expected! I hope all keeps going well.

19 May 2021 My Blue Ox baby is looking good! She is growing and her leaves are looking better. I defoliated the few old sickly leaves that were cut when she was cloned and she seems better for it. I fed her half a gallon of chilled 50 degree water with the following nutrients: CALiMAGic 2.5ml, FloraMicro 7.5ml, FloraGro 10ml, and FloraBloom 2.5ml. The initial pH was 6.50 and didn’t require adjustment. The TDS meter was 768 ppm. She still had plenty of runoff, and the pH was 5.79, and TDS runoff was 2615 ppm. The tent temp was 81 degrees F, and humidity was 42%. I’m pleased with her progress so far, except her branches are still a little too short to start any LST. She’ll get there.... eventually. 21 May 2021 The Blue Ox is thriving! Her leaves look good, and her stalk is starting to fatten up and fortify itself for later growth. She and her tent mate are soon going to outgrow their current home. I’m still on the same feeding chart, so here’s what was given: CALiMAGic 2.5ml, FloraMicro 7.5ml, FloraGro 10ml, FloraBloom 2.5ml. My pH monitor stopped working, so I used history as my guide. Detailed record keeping wins again! The solution has historically been right on 6.5, and doesn’t need adjustment. The TDS meter was 842 ppm. Runoff was what was expected, and the TDS there was 2588 ppm. I chilled the water to 53.3 degrees F. The tent temp was 78.5 degrees F, and humidity was 44%. I’m still only feeding half a gallon. 23 May 2021 My Blue Ox is starting to grow like an ox! She and her tent mate are going to out grow their home sooner than I can get them into a larger one. I want to go ahead and flip her, but I don’t think my veg tent can take 2 flowering plants. I’ll figure it out. I’m keeping the nutrients at the same stage till I think she needs more. My pH meter is officially dead, but luckily my records are doing me well. I fed a half gallon of chilled (51 degrees F) water with CALiMAGic 2.5ml, FloraMicro 7.5ml, FloraGro 10ml, and FloraBloom 2.5ml. The TDS was 762 ppm going in, and runoff TDS was 2841 ppm. The tent temperature was 80.6 degrees F, and humidity was 44%. 25 May 2021 Today is the last day of the second week of this diary (6th week of growth), and I’m planning on switching to the flowering stage tomorrow to start off the 7th week. My Blue Ox is getting big, and I don’t want to veg anymore! I will not make the same error twice! I let my 1st plant veg for 10 weeks from seed, and it’s a BEAST! It takes up a whole 48 x 48 x 80 inch tent all by itself!! Never again. So today I fed half gallon of chilled water (46.6 degrees F) with CALiMAGic increased to 5ml, FloraMicro 7.5ml, FloraGro 10ml, and FloraBloom 2.5ml. The pH was 6.6 and didn’t need adjusting. The TDS was 932 ppm going in. Runoff for pH was 5.6, and TDS was 2701 ppm. Tent temp was 79.4 degrees F, and humidity was 53%. I plan to defoliate a lot very soon to prepare for fresh buds to grow. She’ll have to flower in the small tent for 3 weeks then I’ll move them to the bigger tent so they have room to grow.

29 May 2021 I started the flowering stage yesterday, 5/28/21, and plan on defoliating and topping my Blue Ox baby today. I wanted to get any and all stressful alterations done before we got too far into flower to limit potential damage it can’t spring back from. The light is on a timer now, so from here on will be 12/12 schedule. I’m also adjusting the nutrients to flower, and starting this week at the “Transition to Flower” levels. I’m also starting to give a whole gallon of water for the first time as well. H2O was chilled to 41 degrees F, and contained: CALiMAGic 5ml, FloraMicro 7.5ml, FloraGro 7.5ml, and FloraBloom 7.5ml. The initial pH was 6.7, and didn’t require adjustment. The TDS going in was 807 ppm. Runoff pH was 6.2, and TDS runoff was 2103 ppm. The tent temp was 75 degrees F, and humidity was 50%. I practically stripped her naked today, and after finally getting a look at her branches will most likely do some LST in the coming days. I also took some cuttings to clear up space to control the grow better. I may try to clone them, but I haven’t decided yet. 31 May 2021 My Blue Ox is looking great! She adjusted to me practically taking all of her large leaves off without any issues. She looks so much better than she did before. I’m still using the “Transition to Flower” level nutrients with a gallon of chilled water (47.1 degrees F). I fed: CALiMAGic 5ml, FloraMicro 7.5ml, FloraGro 7.5ml, and FloraBloom 7.5ml. The initial pH was good at 6.8, and TDS going in was 924 ppm. The pH runoff was 6.2, and TDS runoff was 2400 ppm. Tent temp was 79 degrees F, and humidity was 44%.

02 Jun 2021 Today is the start of week 8, and the 2nd week of flower. So, as she advances and grows, so shall her food. Today I gave her a gallon of chilled water (52.5 degrees F) with the following: CALiMAGic 5ml, FloraMicro 7.5ml, FloraGro 2.5ml, and FloraBloom 10ml. The initial pH was 6.7 and didn’t need adjusting. The TDS going in was 814 ppm. She didn’t end up taking the whole gallon, but about 85% of it. She had plenty of runoff still. The runoff pH was 6.3, and TDS runoff was 2561 ppm. She looks very healthy and May be beginning to stretch a bit, but it is still too early to tell. The main thing is that she looks really good and I’m happy with her progress thus far! 06 Jun 2021 I was going to feed on the 4th, then again on the 5th, but the soil was still moist a knuckle down. But I’m feeding today no matter what! She’s looking great! In reality, she and her tent mate are both looking amazing and healthy. My solution has been ready for the past 3 days, but I’ve had it in the refrigerator the whole time. I read that it is still good to give as long as it’s been a week or less, so hopefully there won’t be any issues. I’m still using the early bloom levels of nutrients as follows: CALiMAGic 5ml, FloraMicro 7.5ml, FloraGro 2.5ml, and FloraBloom 10ml. The pH was 6.7, needing no adjustment. The TDS going in was 884 ppm. Runoff pH was 6.4, and TDS runoff was 2168 ppm. The tent temp was 83 degrees F, and humidity was 55%.

13 Jun 2021 I have been a neglectful grower this past week! I haven’t watered my baby in 7 days!! Terrible, I know. However, you can’t tell she’s been neglected by looking at her. She looks great! Stretch is on in full force; although she’s not nearly as stretchy as her Blueberry Muffin tent mate! I had to remove that one from the tent as I was watering because when I spun her around to get the water evenly distributed, one of the Blue Ox branches got broken off at the main stalk of the plant. 😱 I immediately got it and put it in water to try and save it. Anyway, I’m still going to be giving the “Early Bloom” stage of nutrients for at least another week. I gave her a whole gallon of chilled water (54.3 degrees F) with CALiMAGic 5ml, FloraMicro 7.5ml, FloraGro 2.5ml, and FloraBloom 10ml. pH was 6.8 and didn’t need adjusting. The TDS going in was 932 ppm. Runoff pH was 6.4, and TDS runoff was 1236 ppm. Tent temp was 79 degrees F, and humidity was 44%. I trimmed the lower branches off the stem that broke off and replanted it into its own solo cup with fresh soil in a Rapid Rooter cube bathed in cloning powder mixed into a paste. I have no idea if it will be saved, but I did the same thing with a branch that broke from my DarkStar Kush and it kept growing and has 4 huge buds growing on it. This branch is longer and has more buds already forming, so I’m hopeful to say the least! 🤞

19 Jun 2021 I have neglected my baby again for almost an entire week. I got injured a few days ago and haven’t been worth a shit! Anyway, I fed my babies today, and they are still looking good. No real thanks to me! My Blue Ox is much smaller than her Blueberry Muffin tent mate, but she’s still looking great! Her buds are forming quite nicely, and are numerous. I changed the feeding stage to the “Mid Bloom” stage. I gave her a gallon of water chilled to 50.4F, with CALiMAGic 5ml, FloraMicro 7.5ml, FloraGro 2.5ml, and FloraBloom 12.5ml. Initial pH was 6.8 and was not adjusted. TDS going in was 952 ppm. Runoff pH was 6.3, and TDS runoff was 2459 ppm (which is significantly higher than her tent mate when fed the same amount of nutrients). The tent temperature was 85.5F, and humidity was 48%.

24 Jun 2021 I’ve been a bad grower for two straight weeks. I’m lucky that my Blue Ox is still alive! But she is, and she’s looking healthy, despite my neglect. I harvested my first plant over the last 3 days, and was finally able to move her to her new home. She was vastly overshadowed by her tent mate in the other tent, and now with ample space she looks like the cute, healthy short girl standing next to her cute, healthy tall friend. Their heights are so different that even by pushing the support net as low as I could on my Blueberry Muffin, and trying to lower it further just on her side, only a few of her branches are tall enough to be put through the spaces. Enough rambling. This isn’t a story, it’s a log. 😜 I increased her feeding stage to the later Mid-Bloom stage. I gave her 1 gallon of water chilled to 56.1F. I added CALiMAGic 5ml, FloraMicro 7.5ml, and FloraBloom 15ml. Initial pH was 5.9, I added pH UP 2ml which adjusted it to 6.3. The TDS going in was 939 ppm. The runoff pH was lower than normal at 5.6 (I think my infrequent watering is building up solids in the soil). The TDS runoff was 2615 ppm. Temperature was 81F, and humidity was 39%. With the older plant harvested I can concentrate on these two in the same stage of growth. 27 Jun 2021 My Blue Ox is doing well, but she is much smaller than her tent mate…. still. She seems to like her new surroundings, and I’m hoping that she’ll still stretch a little bit more. It’s weird writing that when all I wanted my first plant to do was to stop stretching. Anyway, she’s healthy and doing well. The smell in my tent now is lovely. You can already detect some fruity aromas. It’s lovely! I’m keeping with the mid-bloom nutrient level, so today I gave her a gallon of chilled water at 44.4F. I added: CALiMAGic 5ml, FloraMicro 7.5ml, and FloraBloom 15ml. The initial pH was 6.2 and I didn’t adjust it. Her runoff pH was much lower at 5.7, and so was that of her tent mate this time. The pH is normally a little higher, and the runoff more the same. I’ll note that for future feedings. The TDS going in was 814 ppm, and the runoff was 2908 ppm. The tent temperature was 84F, and the humidity was 47%. Unlike her tent mate, the small branches I took from her before switching to flower have not rooted yet, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed 🤞.

01 Jul 2021 Blue Ox, Blue Ox, Blue Ox! You’re such a small lady, but your buds make up for your height. She is considerably shorter than her Blueberry Muffin tent mate! I’ve mentioned this in previous entries, but it is what it is, I guess. I’ve had to use some other methods to position her buds up toward the light, but I don’t believe it is stunting her progress. She’s just a short, squat type of girl. She hasn’t been given the care she deserves, but she’s still doing well. I can’t wait to see her fatten up! I’m sticking with the Mid-Bloom nutrients for at least another week. Today I gave her CALiMAGic 5ml, FloraMicro 7.5ml, and FloraBloom 15ml in a gallon of water chilled to 43F. The initial pH was 6.6 and wasn’t adjusted. The TDS going in was 846 ppm. Runoff pH was 6.0, and TDS runoff was 2701 ppm. We’ve been having high temps here for the past week, so the tent temperature today was 86F, and humidity was 48%. 03 Jul 2021 My Blue Ox is developing quite nicely. She’s smaller in height compared to her tent mate, but that’s not a bad thing because her bud formation is doing wonderful! Anyway, I noticed some browning leaves on the side of the fan, and since her tent mate is showing the same signs on some of her leaves, I’m assuming they are getting dried out because of the fan. It’s not bad! Just a few leaves, so I’m not that worried. The rest of her looks good and healthy. I received and started using one of the new nutrient supplements I ordered today, Floralicious Plus. My Liquid Kool Bloom hasn’t arrived yet 🤷‍♂️. So today I gave her a gallon of water at tap temperature, about 65F, with CALiMAGic 5ml, FloraMicro 7.5ml, FloraBloom 15ml, and Floralicious Plus 1ml. The pH was 6.3 and was not adjusted. The TDS going in was 1245 ppm. Runoff pH was 5.9, and TDS runoff was 2777 ppm. The temperature in the tent was 79F, and humidity was 53%. I’m thinking about trying to find something for it to sit on when I come back, so maybe I can get her to use the support net better so her buds are more free to soak up the light! 🤔

7 Jul 2021 I’ve run into a little problem. It’s not really a problem, but more of a decision I need to make. The funny thing is, even as I write this, I haven’t completely made up my mind. I ordered some new nutrient supplements, and as I was doing the research on how to best use my new nutrients, I came across some information that made me stop and say, “Huh?” Note the question mark at the end? I found a new feed chart on General Hydroponics website that is SPECIFICALLY made for the exact nutrients I’m using. Every last one of them. The thing is, is that it is ONLY for the nutrients I am, and have been using since I started growing. It’s not a long time, seeing how I’ve only harvested one plant so far, but still… I’ve been using them for months! The specific feed chart is their 6-part feeding chart, which happens to be for the 6 that I use. The feed chart I have been using has a whole bunch of nutrients that I don’t use as well as the ones I do. Also, the strengths on the one I have been using is way stronger than what this new (and more precise) feed chart recommends. Even the “Aggressive Feed” uses less than I have been to this point. Maybe that’s why the runoff is always so much higher. 🤔 Decision is made! I’m going to start using the new chart that is specifically made for my nutrients. This is going to be the first time I’ve ever shared an entry with another diary. I have been feeding my 2 current plants the same solution mix (separate gallons), so to address the change, this note is going to be copied and pasted to both notes today. However, I will also include individual notes for each plant. I went out of town for 4 days, so my Blue Ox is dry, dry, dry! I swear I’ll be lucky if either of my plants produce much with the neglect they’ve been given, but it does say something for the resiliency of marijuana plants! I took a look at her this morning after I woke up and she and her tent mate are both still alive!! I’m going to try and adjust her height some by straightening her up. She has developed a little backward lean, so I enlisted the help of my daughter (she’s 22, not a child) to help me fix some issues. She (Blue Ox) needs more support for her colas than she’s getting right now, so my daughter helped me tie up some branches and make the plant seem tighter and providing more support. Today I’m going to give her her new nutrient levels, and add the Liquid KoolBloom to the mix as well. She’s getting 1 gallon of chilled water (49.2F) with CALiMAGic 5ml, FloraMicro 4.7ml, FloraBloom 8.5ml, Floralicious Plus 2ml, and Liquid KoolBloom 2ml. The initial pH was 6.8, so I left it alone. The TDS going in was 745 ppm. Runoff pH was 6.3, and TDS runoff was 2197 ppm. The temperature in the tent was high at 86F due to this wonderful heat wave we’ve been having. Humidity however is still low at 38%. My daughter noted a lot of drying leaves on the fan side as I did in a previous note. I really don’t know what to do to fix this because it needs air circulation 🤷‍♂️. The buds look fine, but I still worry. I also pruned off some smaller branches near the bottom that really aren’t doing anything except taking up nutrients and space. I believe that’s it for today. Hopefully all that we did today pays off. 7/10/2021 I learned a good lesson today! I learned that you should truly respect what a seed company tells you about THEIR own strains. I’ve only ever grown one other plant before starting Blue Ox here, and her tent mate, Blueberry Muffin, so my experience with different strains doesn’t exist. Well, it does now actually since I’ve been growing these two. Anyway, my point is that according to the seed company Ox’s tent mate was supposed to be ready for harvest yesterday, 7/9/2021, but by looking at it, it was so different from my DarkStar that I just thought it wasn’t developing as it should due to my neglect. However, I decided to look at her trichomes with my microscope and BAM! She IS ready for harvest!! So now I find myself in a jam because I was thinking I had another month maybe, but I need to flush, flush, flush to get ready to harvest her before it gets too late and she starts to lose potency. I know it seems strange for me to be writing so much here about another plant, but I assure you there is a reason. According to Rare Dankness Seeds, my Blue Ox should be ready for harvest on or about August 16th-25th. It’s too late to start today since I already fed both plants, but I plan to adjust my schedule up for the next time and move her along to the ripening phase of nutrients. I’m going to do it so that I may be better prepared with Blue Ox when it’s time to start her flush, so she has an easier time than her tent mate is going to have. At this point both plants look good. Blue Ox has begun to adjust to her new positions that my daughter helped with a few days ago. Today I was still feeding the Aggressive Feed stage of the Flora Trio’s 6 part feeding plan. She received one gallon of water chilled to 60.7F, with CALiMAGic 5ml, FloraMicro 4.7ml, FloraBloom 8.5ml, Floralicious Plus 2ml, and Liquid KoolBloom 2ml. The initial pH was 6.8 and wasn’t adjusted. TDS going in was 814 ppm. Runoff pH was 6.1, and TDS runoff was 2891 ppm. The temperature in the tent was 84F, and humidity was 45%. 12 Jul 2021 Today I switched Blue Ox here to the ripening stage of the feed cycle. Completely skipping the late bloom stage all together. I also came upon a problem with feed charts. In the new 6 part Flora Trio chart I started using, it’s ripening stage doesn’t include any of the other nutrients I’ve started using (Floralicious Plus and Liquid KoolBloom), however the first chart I had been using for months does. So, I’ve decided to use both in a way. I don’t want to increase the nutrients to the levels of the previous chart, so I’m keeping the trio from the 6 part chart, and adding the Floralicious Plus and substituting the Liquid KoolBloom with the Dry KoolBloom according to the previous feed chart. I’m hoping to give this for a couple weeks, then will start the flush with time to be ready for when Rare Dankness says it should be (according to their documented “expected” flowering time). Today I fed her a gallon of water chilled to 65.1F, with CALiMAGic 5ml, FloraMicro 2.8ml, FloraBloom 4.5ml, Floralicious Plus 1ml, and Dry KoolBloom .5 tsp. The initial pH was 5.7, so I added pH UP 4ml to increase it to 6.4. The TDS going in was 943 ppm. The runoff pH was 5.4 (too low), and TDS runoff was 2944 ppm. The tent was very warm at 88F, and humidity was 53%. She is still looking good, and her buds have begun to start fattening up. I’m hoping for a good harvest in about a month or so from now.

16 Jul 2021 I lost a day somehow, and I’m wondering how? For some reason I thought it was the 15th, but obviously it isn’t. Somehow, I have allowed 4 days to go by between feeding her. I’m so surprised she’s still doing as well as she is because my care for her and her tent mate has been sorry! It just speaks to their resilience, and not my skills as a grower, but I hope to do better. Today I’m sticking to the ripening feed stage that I started on the 12th. Today she got a gallon of water chilled to 50F, with CALiMAGic 5ml, FloraMicro 2.8ml, FloraBloom 4.5ml, Floralicious Plus 1ml, and Dry KoolBloom .5 tsp. The initial pH was 6.2, and normally would be great, but her runoff pH would be very low, so I added pH UP 2ml which adjusted the pH to 6.4. The difference between pH UP and DOWN is ridiculous! The same amount of the other would have lowered the amount by about 2 full points, but the UP only adjusted .2 😳. Anyway, the final pH was 6.4, and TDS going in was 784 ppm. Runoff pH was still low at 5.5, and TDS runoff was 2513 ppm. We’re still in a heat wave right now, so the tent temperature was 84F, and humidity was 60%. I hope to keep this feeding stage up for a couple of weeks, then I’m going to start flushing her to prepare for harvest. I’m thinking harvest should be in about a month. 18 Jul 2021 Feeding time again! I’m continuing with the ripening feed stage today, and will be till the flush in a couple of weeks. Her buds are fattening up quite nicely, but I have sad news to report. It looks as though one of the branches we broke a while ago and taped up isn’t going to make it. Some of it is looking ok, but the leaves at the top of the cola are dying, and others around it are looking poor as well. Luckily, the buds below the break still look well. I was running out of time for the lights tonight to prune it off. I’ll do it tomorrow and go ahead and harvest what is already there. It’s closer to being ready than not. Today she received a gallon of chilled water (57.4F) with CALiMAGic 5ml, FloraMicro 2.8ml, FloraBloom 4.5ml, Floralicious Plus 1ml, and Dry KoolBloom .5 tsp. The initial pH was 6.2, but I wanted it a little higher. So I added 1ml of pH UP, which adjusted it to pH 6.5. The TDS going in was 839 ppm. The runoff pH was 5.8, and the TDS runoff was 2307 ppm. The tent was still warm at 84F, and humidity was 47%. My Blue Ox is looking wonderful, and I’m hoping she continues to do well. 20 Jul 2021 Today ends week 14 of this plants life. According to Rare Dankness Seeds, the Blue Ox has a 60-70 day flowering time. So, according to them, the people who produced the seeds for this lovely plant, she should be ready for harvest on or about July 24th, which is her 60 day mark, or August 3rd, the 70 day mark. So that is either next week or the week after. I’m going to go ahead and start flushing her out from the next feeding on till she’s ready for harvest. Her buds are nice and fat, and she smells lovely! Today I finished this week with the ripening phase on the feed chart and gave her the following: CALiMAGic 5ml, FloraMicro 2.8ml, FloraBloom 4.5ml, Floralicious Plus 1ml, and Dry KoolBloom .5 tsp all mixed into a gallon of water chilled to 58.7F. The initial pH was 6.6 and was not adjusted. The TDS going in was 771 ppm. Runoff pH was 5.9, and TDS runoff was 2364 ppm. Our heat wave is still raging, so the temperature in the tent was 88F, and humidity was 49%.

22 Jul 2021 Today starts week 15, and I started to flush her with properly pH’ed chilled water in order to harvest her on time. I must say that I was a little shocked after looking in on my plants today. My Blue Ox is developing some serious leaf issues! About 3 or 4 of the colas are showing some problems that are making the tips brittle and crisp which break the moment you touch them. This wasn’t a problem just a few days ago, and I must say that I’m concerned about the rapid onset. If I were still seeing human patients, I would be very worried! However, she’s just a plant, and I hope I can find the cause of the problem and fix it! Her buds still look lovely, and it appears that the problem is only affecting her larger leaves. Going to do some research to determine the possible causes and find solutions for the problem. Today, she just got fresh water, chilled to 59F with an initial pH if 8.2. I added 13 gtts, roughly 1.25ml of pH DOWN which adjusted it to 6.7. The TDS going in was 80 ppm. Runoff pH was 5.9, and TDS runoff was 1920 ppm. So my starting point is 1920. Hopefully that goes down quickly. I’ll take some pics of her trichomes and post them in the upcoming days. Hopefully everything gets better and goes well. 25 Jul 2021 This is a late entry because I went out of town for a day trip on feeding day and didn’t have a chance to record or upload my entry till now. I’m not happy with how she’s been looking lately, and she doesn’t seem to be improving. Her buds still look fine, but many of her leaves are looking awful! I continued to flush her with properly pH’ed chilled water in order to prepare her for harvest. On the 25th I gave her a gallon of water chilled to 45.3F that had an initial pH of 7.8. I added pH DOWN 15 gtts (1.5ml), which adjusted the pH to 6.8. TDS going in was 69 ppm. Runoff pH was 6.2, and TDS runoff was 1495 ppm. The temperature in the tent was 82F, and humidity was 54%. 27 Jul 2021 Today I’ve been playing catch up with my logs. I wrote the log for the 25th earlier today, then fed my plants again, now I’m writing this log hours upon hours later. I believe I found the cause of my leaf issue. Old age! Not really, but really. I think the problem is that she’s much farther along than I thought she was, and the proof is in her trichomes!! I’ve been flushing her this entire week, and her levels are coming down handsomely. When I checked out the trichome pics I realized that she is way ready for harvest right now! The leaf issue is the normal end of life stage for some. That’s why it seems to be happening rapidly. It started when I started flushing her, so I guess she’s showing her age more since all her nutrients were cut off, and I’ve been flushing out any residuals in the soil. 🤷‍♂️ Oh well. Today my Blue Ox received a gallon of water chilled to 56.3F with an initial pH of 8.3. I added 15 gtts (1.5ml) of pH DOWN which adjusted the pH to 6.6. The TDS going in was 74 ppm. Runoff pH was 6.2, and the TDS runoff was 1134 ppm. So far, my initial flush runoff was 1920 ppm. Flush #2, TDS runoff was 1495 ppm, for a reduction of 425 ppm. Flush #3, TDS runoff was 1134 ppm, for a reduction of 361 ppm. Little by little, but as soon as she gets down far enough I’m going to harvest her! Temperature in the tent today was 82F, and the humidity was 45%. I’m going to harvest her tent mate tomorrow, so soon she’ll have the whole tent to herself.

30 Jul 2021 The flush is going well with my Blue Ox, but she still looks less than stellar. For some reason NONE of her branches have ever hardened! They are all so easily pliable that they tend to snap very, very easy. It’s so frustrating because I harvested her tent mate on the 28th, and when I moved her and readjusted the support net one branch broke off, and 2 more snapped. I even had help and was hardly manipulating the branches and was deliberately trying to be gentle. I taped the two that snapped, but one has definitely been cut off from the plant and was drying up so I cut it off and hung it up with the others to dry. The 3rd one seems to be adjusting and still alive. She still smells lovely, and her buds look wonderful! Week 16 started on the 28th, so this begins a new week in the diary. I was chilling all of my water before feeding for the past few months because I “heard” that it would increase trichome production. However, I read an article about this method yesterday that changed my mind, so I won’t be worrying about that anymore. Seems that it’s not a proven or even recommended technique, and regardless, I was doing it ALL wrong! So, no more chilled water for my girls! Today she got water right out of the tap with an initial pH of 8.3. I added a total of 18 drops (1.8ml) of pH DOWN in two increments to adjust the pH to 6.6. The TDS going in was 99 ppm. Runoff pH was 6.6, and TDS runoff was 861 ppm for a reduction of 273 ppm. So, in 4 flushes the TDS runoff has gone from 1920 ppm to 861 ppm. That’s a nice steady drop, and if it keeps dropping I should be able to harvest her in about a week. We’re still super hot here, so the temperature in the tent today was 88F, with a humidity of 50%. 02 Aug 2021 My poor Blue Ox looks, well, …. It looks terrible! At least when I compare it to my other grows. But looks aren’t everything I guess, because she still smells lovely, and her buds are huge! The flush is still the task at hand, and today she received another gallon of properly pH’ed water to bring her down a few more notches. I started with a gallon of water from the tap that had an initial pH of 8.5. I added 18 gtts (.8ml) of pH DOWN which adjusted the pH to 6.6. TDS going in was 88 ppm. Runoff pH was really low at 5.6. TDS runoff today was 655 ppm. That’s a reduction of 206 ppm from the last flush. Maybe one or two more and she’ll be ready to harvest. I can’t lie; I’ll be glad to be done with this plant! She’s difficult, and doesn’t act like other plants that I’ve grown. None of my clone attempts with her rooted, so when she’s gone, my Blue Ox will be a, “One of” strain for me. I’m really looking forward to smoking her. From all the information that I’ve read about it, and reviews, I think I’m going to like it. Oh, the temperature in the tent was 82F, and humidity was 39%. I almost forgot to add that.🙄

04 Aug 2021 Today starts week 17 of this grow, and it appears that it may be the only entry I add before harvesting this little plant. I’ve been flushing the plant since July 22nd, and I believe I’ve reached the end!! 🎉🎊🍾🍀 Today she got some chilled water just because I fell into an old habit, and wasn’t thinking when I filled the gallon up and put it in the fridge. 🤷‍♂️ it’s the last time, so whatever. The water was 52.3F, with an initial pH of 7.5. I added 10 gtts (.5ml) of pH DOWN to adjust the pH to 6.5. The TDS going in was 65 ppm. Runoff pH was 5.8, and TDS runoff was 573 ppm. The drop in TDS from the flush was quite significant. I’ve been getting reductions of >200+ ppm, but today it was a drop of just 82 ppm. I harvested my DarkStar Kush when the TDS runoff got down to 530 ppm, and my Blueberry Muffin at 484 ppm, so I believe that 573 ppm is low enough. I am going to let her drink up all the water she got today, then I’m going to harvest her! I’ve had some terrible things to say about this little plant, but today I sat and just looked at her buds for a few minutes. They’re awesome!! I’ve been complaining for weeks about her leaves looking like crap, but in reality, she’s not a very leafy plant. She has HUGE, dense buds that are actually quite lovely to look at! I took some more trichome pics today for this weeks log entry since it’s going to be her last till harvest. My personal bud supply is incredible right now, and I’m about to add my 3rd separate strain to my own catalog. I LOVE growing weed!!

HARVEST DAY!! 10 Aug 2021 Today this little beauty gave up her bud in the easiest harvest I’ve had to date! Ok; so what if it’s only my third plant? It was still easier than the other two. If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that I’ve remarked on this little lady’s size on many occasions. She’s a small plant, but has some huge buds! She’s much different than the previous two plants I’ve grown. The main difference is that her branches never got hard! They are are super soft, and flexible which makes it look weird and break easy. I already have over 10 grams of her dried and ready to smoke from the branches that broke when I moved her after harvesting her tent mate. Her buds never stood up on their own, and always needed support. 🤷‍♂️ Another difference are her leaves. First off, she’s not a very leafy plant compared to my other plants. Many of her fan leaves started to dry up and die in the last few weeks. I noted that numerous times in my logs during those weeks. However, today, that made the harvest so much easier! It took me just 7 minutes to cut this little lady up to get ready to trim. I laid all the branches down neatly on a foil covered cookie sheet and gathered my pruning shears to get to trimming! First thing I did was start plucking what fan leaves she had left off. Surprisingly, pulling them off nearly trimmed the whole damn thing! I’m not kidding. After I pulled the leaves off she was nearly bare to her buds. All I had to do was clip off the super tiny sugar leaves, and boom. Done! I started harvesting her at around 5:00 pm, and was completely done and ready to get my wet weight by 10:00 pm. From first cut, to hanging up and trimmed in 5 hours! That’s a record for me. I’m usually trimming all night. Now let me talk about the smell for a minute. My wife was gone when I started the harvest, and I was already into trimming when she got home. She opened the door and walked in and just stopped. She looks at me and said, “That smells just like fruit! Not weed; but berries, fruit, fruity. It smells even better than the Blueberry Muffin.” I put it in quotes, because that’s what she said. I will admit, she does smell divine! She is a hybrid of Blueberry and The Ox. I have no idea what The Ox smells like, but my Blue Ox smells like blueberries galore!! As I mentioned earlier; I already have over 10 grams of her trimmed, dried and curing from broken branches a couple of weeks ago. Her buds smell sweet and fruity. I haven’t tried it yet, but I will for the smoke report once everything is done and she’s in jars curing. After I trimmed her, I got her wet weight and then hung her up to dry. I think she’s going to be drying for the next week at least. By looking at her, she looks like she has less volume than my previous plants. But, her wet weight is a little over half an ounce more than her tent mate I harvested on July 28th. We’ll just have to see how it turns out. I get my weight by weighing my trimmed, wet bud while still on the branches before I hang it up to dry. Then, I weigh it all again once it is dry. I do this to get a direct comparison from wet and dry bud. Then I separate the bud from the branches and weigh them alone to get the harvest’s TRUE weight. Right now she’s just starting to dry, so I will leave the harvest report here for now. I’ll let you in on the rest when it’s done! Fast forward 8 days! 18 Aug 2021 It has been 8 days and my buds are dry!! They took a little longer to dry, but not much. The buds are quite lovely to look at, and they are still nice and dense after drying. I’m interested in getting the final weights done, so I won’t keep blabbering on, and I’ll just get to it. My weights were/are as follows: Wet trimmed bud (on branches): 8.464 ounces, (239.95g) Dry trimmed bud (on branches): 2.251 ounces, (63.8g) Dry trimmed loose bud: 1.906 ounces (54.034g) I had 10 grams already dry and cured from broken branches on 7/28/2021, so after adding that 10 grams to the harvest weight, the final harvest weight of my Blue Ox was 2.257 ounces (64g) I was able to fill three pint sized jars up to 75% full, add small hygrometers and begin the curing process. The buds still smell absolutely amazing! It is really fruity and sweet smelling, not like other strains that I’ve smelled. It’s a lot like my Blueberry Muffin that I harvested a few weeks ago, but still different. My wife’s opinion is something that I value greatly. We’ve been together for over 29 years, so I’ve learned to listen to her opinion over the years. She says that my Blue Ox here is the best smelling marijuana she has also ever smelled. We just need to see how the smoke report goes! 19 Aug 2021 SMOKE REPORT I’m going to start by saying WOW! This lovely Lady smells amazing in bud form, but DAMN!! Ground up it just fills your nose with a fruity sweet smell that is hard to relate to marijuana. It is a mix of berries, tropical fruit, and earth. The taste is different to me than my wife in that I taste a hint of grapefruit at the end, but my wife only tastes the sweet berry, fruit flavors. She says it’s like raisins at the end, but I don’t taste it. It really doesn’t matter because it’s nice and smooth, and tastes lovely either way you look at it. The effects were different for my wife and I as well, but kind of the same. It’s just the degree of like ability that’s different. Let me start by stating a sort of disclaimer. The bud we smoked is from the broken branches from July 28th. The branches broke while I was moving the plant during the harvest of another plant, and they were just hung up to dry with the Blueberry Muffin I was harvesting at the time. The rest of the buds (which have just begun to cure) have not been tried yet, and kept growing and maturing for an additional 2 weeks. Now, after having said all that; Blue Ox is super chill! The effect is slow and gradual (but not too slow), but wholly complete. You feel it first in your perception of the world around you. What I mean is that you become super focused and calm. All of your pain slowly begins to disappear until it’s all gone. Neck, back, knees. Pain free! Your mood is relaxed to the point that you don’t want to do anything but just chill out and relax. It was like being in your normal mode, but knocked down to low gear. I didn’t note any euphoria, or other “high” kind of head effects at all, but I was so relaxed that I didn’t care. My wife is in LOVE with this strain. She says it is the best that she has tried to date, and likes it very much. Munchies!!! OMFG! Snacks are a must for this strain because you can’t seem to stop snacking, but that’s not all together a bad thing. Overall, I’m pleased with this strain, but I am hoping for more heady feelings from the main plant once it has been given time to cure properly. As it is now, if the effects hold true; Blue Ox is something that I would want to smoke after a particularly hard or stressful day. If you need to clear your head of worry or stress, or you’re feeling some pain anywhere and just want to relax, then Blue Ox is the strain for you. If you’re having any problems with nausea, or loss of appetite, or just need to eat, then Blue Ox may be for you as well. It’s said to be used by cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, and I can see how that may be a benefit of this strain. I’m beginning to understand the many differences in the world of marijuana, and I can see how every strain can find it’s own niche in the world. Weed is wonderful, and I enjoy learning more and more about it, and improving my understanding of it all with each plant I grow. If the effects of smoking the Blue Ox change after smoking the other bud once it has cured for a couple of weeks I’ll update the smoke report accordingly. Until then; this concludes the grow diary for my Blue Ox by Rare Dankness Seeds Happy growing everyone!!