Budders Grow: Chiquita Banana

Thank you @Weedseedsexpress, all 8 seeds that I planted have germinated. I look forward to having a very nice grow.

HI@northernMike, that is cool that you grow other plants. I have downsized, but just a few years ago I would grow many different types of heirloom tomatoes and other vegetables. I also had a mushroom grow house where I would grow oyster and lions mane mushrooms. We had a hurricane a few years ago, and I gathered up as much live oak and water oak trees that were downed from the storm in the Inlet close to where I live as I could, and took them to a man an hour or so inland who has a store that sells wood pellets for BBQ grills. He also had a machine to make pellets, so I had him grind about 500 lbs or more of wood a couple of times to use for substrate for my mushrooms. I don't want to go into what was involved in sterilizing and inoculating my substrate, but at one time I had over 200 four pound bags, which would be just under 2 kilogram bags growing at any given time. I was able to produce a couple of pounds of mushrooms a day, but my downfall was the pests, my grow set up, and not having a proper regimen for pests. There were other factors involved, but I ended up loosing my grow space. I lost a ton of money, and also learned a ton of lessons. After seeing how my state will approach legalizing weed, I decided to say fuck the government, and grow my own. This was also because of frustration trying to purchase good weed on the black market. It is totally hit or miss. Compared to the homegrown that we now smoke, I would say it was mostly a miss, though I did have some brief moments of having a connect that could get some fire from Colorado. So, I now have a small 20 inch by 36 inch tent. You are Canadian, so I have no idea how to convert that to metric. It is a total of five square feet, so I still don't know what that converts to, lol. Anyway, I grew some tomatoes this summer, and gave a few to the neighbors, but I am now growing some heirloom radishes and some wasabi arugula. This thread has gotten long, and I must drink more beer and smoke more dope, so I will bid you ado. Till the next go around, keep a growin and a smokin😉 P.S. I forgot to mention why I wanted to speak to you. I noticed that you said that you keep your temperature at 24c, which would be 75.2 degrees F, and that you are also using LED lights. In my humble opinion, this temperature is way too low. This will certainly hinder optimal growth during the vegetative cycle, and even the flower cycle. LED lights are much different from HPS or other lights previously used. The leaf temperature offset is completely different, because LED lights don't emit UV light. Before with HPS, 24c, or 75 degrees F would be perfect, because the leaf temperature offset would be so different, and the leaf temperature under those lights would read about 82 degrees F, event though the temp of the room was 75 degrees F. So, with LED lights, the Leaf Temperature Offset is much, much lower. So now with LED lights, it is imperative that you keep temperatures around 82 degrees F, or 28c, with humidity around 62% to keep that perfect VPD for flower. If you would like a guide for VPD, check out the link below from the Pulse Grow website: https://pulsegrow.com/blogs/learn/vpd-charts-in-fahrenheit-and-celsius-with-leaf-temperature Last thought, I would suggest checking out The Dude Grows Show if you don't already. I have learned some much from this show. Here is link to a cool show about the proper VPD for perpetual grows, but there is some really good info in there. There are other shows where they discuss VPD, and why it is so important to maximize a plants growth potential. For me, I use it to make my plants grow, flower, and produce as quickly as possible. You master this concept, and you will see huge results, I promise. www.youtube.com/watch

Hi@northernMike, I have had my eye on Strawberry Banana, and will be very interested to see how your grow progresses and what you think about the strain. I understand about getting other weed mail order. I live in a prohibition state on the south east coast of the US, but I happen to know of someone in New York who has been supplying Manhattan with weed for more than a decade. He is now expanding and going legal since the legalization in New York, New Jersey and Delaware. Sometimes it was very hit and miss, and I agree that there is nothing like homegrown. But, I will say I got some Strawberry Banana from him, and so far it is my favorite strain, and I have been smoking for over 25 years. I forgot to add that I think your style of growing is cool as well. Mr. Cunuks Grow just did about two or three videos where he did the exact same thing. He said he would probably not do it again though, lol. I think he was talking about the fact that he Monster cropped it before, and it took so long to grow and fill out the space. We will see how yours goes. I have a feeling I will be smoking while you are still growing, lol. That is the east coast in me, got to give you some shit😜 As far as ways to grow, I think everyone should grow the way the want to grow. Growing for me is therapeutic, no mater what the plant. And as long as someone is trying to grow something and enjoying themselves, that is all that matters to me. The reason I grow the way I do is because I have a very small grow tent, and I grow in a prohibition state, so it is very important for me to grow and harvest as quickly as possible, while maximizing harvest. Also, I purposely choose genetics that are very resistant to pests and mold, prefer hot and humid climates, and perform very well grown in the Sea Of Green method. I believe you will understand why I do this once this diary is complete, and will see I am maximizing my 5 SQFT in the least amount of time possible. I don't believe I am shortchanging the yield, terpene profile, or yield. I will be utilizing my UV2 T5 bulbs the last three weeks of flower for a couple of hours every other day to boost Trichome production. I also make sure the microbes in my soil are well fed and replenished with a weekly dose of Recharge. I also give a weekly application of Regalia Biofungicide to help prevent powdery mildew. Also, something really huge that I definitely believe and adhere to is keeping proper VPD during all phases of growth. I keep about a 1.1 VPD for veg, and then really try to make sure my VPD is always around 1.4-1.5, with plenty of air circulation. So, I try to keep a temp of about 82 degrees F, and about 62% humidity. Anyway, it will be interesting to see how our grows turn out. I will says this, Budders only grows the Dankest Dank, lol. I have briefly checked out some of your grows, and you can definitely lay the frost on the buds as well😉. Take it easy.

Hi@northernMike, I flipped mine this quickly because I have a small tent without much room above, and these plants are growing very quickly. Genetics is absolutely huge, period. Also environment is huge. If your genetics and environment suck, forget about it. You will more than likely have shitty plants that will absolutely need more time to veg, no matter what nutrients or microbes you have in your soil. Also, you will rarely see any large commercial grows veg more than 8 weeks, 9 tops, and they have all the overhead room you need. It is just my opinion, but the only time it really makes sense to veg 10 or 11 weeks inside is if you are trying to grow huge plants and have the room and space for it, or if you are doing some crazy SCROG training. Anyway, growing is very subjective, with a million ways to get to the final goal. No offense taken, we just have different opinions.