Maine - 2021

SO..........................the girls are doing okay. I can only expect so much, given they're in 5 gals (except for LB), and half of them didn't get a good start. It's a nice experiment, for comparison sake. I don't think there's any bad plants here (of course, I don't think there are any bad plants ANYWHERE, EVER), just some early bloomers and some that still need some time. I've been feeding them with Tiger Bloom and a seaweed/kelp additive, and they've had two doses now of guano for top-dressing. Now I'm running out of room, should've planned better and left more room at the top of the bags. Never again with the 5 gals, they're great for indoor but way too restrictive for outdoor even way up here in Maine. I just finished LST again and they're looking pretty funky, but it's getting the desired result. GLad I kept some of them straight and didn't top, I want to see the difference in the end between nature's architecture and my twisted mess. SO far, so good, but I'm a little worried about the Ph. Again, my solution is good (around 6- 6.3), but my medium still comes in at 7 even. Great buffering shit, but I really need to acidify the soil a bit more. I've got some PhDown, but I'm worried that if I drop the solution too low I'll burn the plants. On the other hand, it doesn't seem to have much of an effect so far at 6.... 7/31 Update: Gave the ladies another round of bat guano, 2 lbs. spread hroughout a dozen plants. Kinda worried that I used too much, but the first applications weren't enough so we'll see. Yesterday gave 'em a feeding of Tiger Bloom, today I watered the guano in with well water that I adjusted (using PhDown) to a reasonable 6.5. A good dry day, bright too, they should soak it up good today!