First Time Grow with Gelato

To start i soaked each seed in distilled water for 6 hours and then moved them to a rapid rooter in a seedling tray in a closet under a 80 watt LED light. The tap roots started on 5/7/18 and once they started brushing the top of the tray i moved the two strains into Coco Loco potting mix. The Gelato is taking a little longer so I left it in the seedling tray and will move it in the next few days, I just moved them into a dresser converted into a grow space. I used panda film on the walls with a VIPARSPECTRA Dimmable Reflector Series DS300 300W LED Grow Light 12-Band Full Spectrum light on light rope hangers. Im starting the light at 150 watts until the plants grow a a bit bigger.

It is very interesting to see the growth that happens seemingly overnight. I kept the seedlings watered as needed making sure that I wasn't over watering them. I have them on a 18/6 light schedule with the light turning off between noon and 6 pm. I moved them to a 5 gallon cloth pot all on 5/20. For the soil I am using Fox Farms Ocean Forest potting soil on the bottom half, the next quarter I used Whitney Farms organic potting soil and the top quarter is Coco-Loco potting mix. I also lightly blended the soils where they met. I was tempted to wait on the gelato, until the leaf tips were to the outside of the cow pots, but the tap root was pushing through the bottom so I moved it as well. Had an issue with heat in the dresser as the light was keeping it at 80 degrees at half power. I attempted to make venting but I couldn't figure out how to keep the light hidden so I scrapped it. I'm in the process of transferring the plants to a basement closet which is lined with cedar. I know the cedar will keep bugs out and I'm thinking it should help mute the smell but does anyone know if it will negatively effect them?

It appears that all three plants bounced back from the transplant fairly well. Also I'm watering in low amounts basically until the soil around the base dries. I started LST training, which I hope I am doing correctly, and they have already started to respond and there is a noticeable bend back towards the light on all three. I've also added a small fan to create a subtle breeze for the stalks to grow stronger as well. I'm still tinkering with the room setup due to the humidity already being high. I welcome any tips and suggestions

I had a slight issue today as the main stem on the Gelato broke. Luckily it only broke about 50%. I basically splinted the branch back together with a breathable gauze type material. I will be keeping a close eye on that and I will have pictures up with the wrap in a few days.

Tried setting up some Blumat sensors and I left some of the caps wide open and it emptied into the pots in about 1.5 hours between when I checked on it. I'm hoping that it didn't flush too many nutrients so it'll be something I have to keep a close eye on. I'm letting the plants dry a bit before attempting to set it up again and when i can check on it in closer increments. Also I think they are in the flowering stage as they are all autos but I could be wrong. Im installing an exhaust system to combat the high heat and humidity.

A bit of a humidity issue but I added a ventilation system which seems to have handled the issue. Took a little bit to dial in the Blumat but once I got it set it has been working like a charm. I've added shut off valves and am rotating the 5 gallon buckets once a week.

Added a water regulator valve to my drip line. This makes it easy to swap out the buckets. I'm swapping out the buckets ever 4-5 days just to keep the water fresh. Still no added nutrients other than what was in the soil.

Did some slight defoliation right before lights were due to turn off. Not sure if there is a better time or not to do it and I haven't read anything about it other than just mainly how to do it.

The Gelato just keeps growing. Should have done more LST but I was worried after the early issue with the broken stem. I moved the light higher and added a side 80 watt LED grow light as well to cover more bud sites mainly for Diesel

This week I spent trimming the bottom branches because there is little light getting to them. The addition of the 80 watt grow led bulb has helped on the side of the plant. I am also working on its positioning to get it the best lighting.

Still just using just ph'd water no additional nutrients. No big changes this week.

Added Flower Fuel 1-34-32 N-P-K to the water supply this week I went with 1tsp for the 5 gallons instead of the recommended 1.25tsp per 5 gallons just to make sure i didnt over do it. . The trichromes are about 65-70% cloudy and I haven't noticed any amber ones yet but I'm am improving my skills with my jewelers loop so it could be more user error at the moment with not being able to find them. I'm checking on them a few times a day removing dead leaves.

This week I moved the main LED up higher because one side of the flowers were growing larger than the other. I just wish I had though to do it sooner. You can see the brown spotting on the leaves those were the leaves getting the most light as the backside leaves are all green. So I think it is a phosphorus deficiency as I haven't used any additional nutrients until adding the flower bloom which hopefully solves the issue.

Great week. Moving her more centered under the lights really helped the other sides of the buds to fill out and catch up to the sides that have been in the light the whole time. Trichromes are nice and cloudy but not many amber ones yet so I'm going to let her keep growing for another week unless there are changes that tell me otherwise.

Slow and steady. She getting super close so ill be harvesting shortly i do believe. Im just waiting for some more amber to some up. I cleaned up the used up leaves and just switched over to regular water to flush it a bit.

Super easy to grow. With that being said I feel like I will grow this again after refining my skills as I feel like it has so much more potential. Dried very easily on the racks and cured nicely in the mason jars.