Multi Strain w/ 600w Hortilix Eye HPS

Hello growers and welcome to my first journal! As of Dec. 16th we are on Day 13 of flower. These plants have been vegging for several months. The plan is to flower for 2-3 weeks under a 400w Hortilux Eye HPS at the 300w setting, then step it up to a brand new 600w bulb to finish them out. The 400w bulb has been used for 2 previous flower cycles so it's time to replace it. The Lumatek digital ballast has 300w, 400w and 600w settings, however I've only ever used up to 400w. I'm curious to see how an additional 200w influences yields and overall quality. I've grown all these strains outdoors with good success but never indoors so I'm excited to see how they do under lights. My technique is fairly basic using soil in 5 gallon pots, ScrOG for tall / leggy strains, defoliation and some LST. I use a mix of nutrients depending on what I have on hand. I'm considering switching to coco and a drip system in the new year (likely FloraFlex) but for now, let's sit back over the next 8 weeks or so and watch these ladies do their thing!

We're off to a good start with preflowers forming on all plants. The Canuk OG Kush is the furthest along, so I'm hoping it is the early finishing pheno (apparently some finish in just 42 days). The Holy Grail Kush is a monster of a plant, the most vigorous out of 4 germinated from this pack. She will definitely need lots of defoliation and a ScrOG net. Outdoors, she has consistently produced heavy yields of top shelf flower, outperforming nearly every other strain and is the favourite out of the gate. Blue Gelato 41 is an insanely sticky plant with a unique and very pleasant terp profile that did well outdoors this year despite botrytis and powdery mildew issues for many growers last season (unusual for this region). I'm expecting she will absolutely crush using the industry's best HPS lighting. Canuk OG Kush also has a very unique terp profile that is markedly different from the typical chem / fuel / lemon / skunky character of the standard OG Kush. Though not the densest flower, it has a very good shelf life and an activating yet balanced high that I quite enjoy. Double Chocolate is another Canuk strain I tried outdoors this summer which produced some pretty, sweetly aromatic flower, however the bud density was not up to my standard for outdoor. I've grown out numerous Chocolate Thai hybrids in search of 'the best' and am giving her one more try as some Thai strains that didn't do so well outdoors absolutely crush it under lights. We'll see how she does vs. Tangilope, the clear winner of a recent 'battle of the sativas'!

This week I switched out my old 400w Hortilux Eye for a new 600w bulb. It was time to replace it but tried to get a few more miles out of it in early flower until it started cutting out. This is my first grow under a 600w (previously only used up to 400w) so hoping for a commensurate increase in yield, density and overall quality. Having an issue with powdery mildew this grow which is strange since my humidity is consistently around 40%. Never had it develop indoors before but it was a real problem outdoors this past summer. It was advancing quickly on the Double Chocolate and Blue Gelato 41 so all plants were aggressively defoliated and sprayed twice with diluted hydrogen peroxide which seems to have cleared it right up. The exhaust system timer was adjusted to vent the room 2x more frequently. OG Kush and Holy Grail Kush were not affected. The Holy Grail has been vegging for several months and has grown quite tall so using the ScrOG net to control her height and maximize light exposure. Cruising into week 4 now with some nice flowers beginning to take shape.

Today is Day 35F so actually we're right at the end of Week 5. I turned the lamp off for better pics, but they seem to be coming out dark. I'll take some more later this week with some better lighting. Holy Grail Kush wasn't transplanted before flower, so she is probably a bit rootbound which will likely reduce her yield. Normally she puts out massive flowers but these look more like typical OG golf ball size buds. She was grown from seed and vegged for 5 months, hence the crazy height. This happens fairly often since I grow mainly sativas and OG's so I prefer to take cuttings and keep the best clone as a mother. The cuttings grow much shorter and bushier and are far more manageable. Still some powdery mildew on the Double Chocolate so she was sprayed again today with the diluted hydrogen peroxide solution (no sign of it on the other plants). The OG Kush is still the furthest along and is now smelling strongly of sour cherries. It's the exact smell of Reserva Privada's version which I also have so I'm wondering if I got my beans mixed up somehow. I'll have to check my seed stock to confirm.

It's Day 38F and I'm still seeing powdery mildew on the Blue Gelato 41 and Double Chocolate. Oddly, the Kush varieties don't seem to be affected by it at all. I'll have to up the concentration of the hydrogen peroxide solution and keep spraying until it's completely eradicated. Starting to see some nice trich development on all plants, with OG Kush stacking faster than the rest. Blue Gelato 41 is pumping out some loud, sweet, creamy dessert smelling terps. She's hands down smelling the best out of all the ladies. Not terribly impressed with Double Chocolate at this point, it's a very hardy and fast growing plant in veg but for now she is behind the curve on aroma and flower density. Not much of a smell to her, and the flowers are pretty sparse. That said, she will go at least 10 weeks so hopefully that extra week will make up the difference. Holy Grail is putting out some nice golf ball size nugs, but so far lacking the killer smell I love so much about this strain (again though we're still somewhat early in flower). The OG Kush is confirmed to be the Canuk version, however it smells exactly like DNA / Reserva Privada's. Strange since my last Canuck pack smelled completely different (I actually prefer it to the current pheno). Nonetheless, she's getting sticky and I'm digging her compact structure. Looks like she will yield decently as well. In the near future I'll be running a "Battle of the OG's" to try to pick a keeper OG strain from my collection, including Lost Coast OG, Super Sour OG, Holy Grail Kush, Venom / All Gas OG, Reserva Privada and Canuk versions of straight OG Kush. Definitely stay tuned for that one! Onto Week 6 ...

It's Day 46F and the powdery mildew finally seems under control after several more sprays with diluted 3% hydrogen peroxide. A few sprays resulted in a transient improvement but it was ultimately necessary to make the solution stronger at a 50/50 ratio. My fan leaves don't look the prettiest as a result, however the powdery mildew seems very much under control now and hopefully shouldn't present any further issues as we enter the home stretch. OG Kush is hands down the star of the show this cycle, getting impressively chunky and smelling strongly of sour cherries. Out of all the OG strains I've grown this pheno is impressive with a compact structure and good flower density for this stage of flower. She is starting to show hints of purple, likely due to the improved light spectrum from the new Hortilux Eye 600w bulb. I've had good results with Canuk OG Kush in the past, however this girl is totally different than 2 identical phenos I grew out from a previous pack. She smells exactly like Reserva Privada OG Kush. Not surprising since Canuk seems to have borrowed heavily from the DNA Genetics library. Double Chocolate and Blue Gelato 41 are leaving much to be desired heading into Week 7. The terps from Blue Gelato 41 are quite delicious, however I'm not seeing the same chunkiness or stickiness she exhibited outdoors last season that got me excited about this strain. Hopefully in the last 3 weeks she will chunk up and secure a spot as a mother plant I'll continue for some time. Sometimes it takes a few runs to get a strain dialled in and figure out exactly what it likes. Double Chocolate will probably be discontinued due to her long flowering time (9-10 weeks), sparse bud structure and lack of terps. She is putting out a mild, sweet smell but its pretty underwhelming. She's no match for Tangilope or Liberty Haze, that's for sure!

After several weeks of battling powdery mildew on the Blue Gelato & Double Chocolate, it seems to finally be under control using a 50/50 solution of 3% hydrogen peroxide / water. The OG Kush had a little bit on a few of the bigger fan leaves, but nothing too concerning. Holy Grail Kush completely shrugged off the powdery mildew showing absolutely no trace of it, and is looking super healthy with flowers visibly gaining mass every day. She will likely go 10 weeks, the rest are starting flush today and will be chopped at the end of week 9. Double Chocolate has thankfully put on some decent mass over the last few weeks and should finish out nicely, however due to her lack of 'loudness' and susceptibility to powdery mildew, this is definitely her last run. Unless the smoke is unexpectedly good, if I were the breeder I would remove her from their list of 'Elite Strains'. I've grown out a number of other Chocolate Thai hybrids and DNA's pure Cannalope Haze which were all far, far better. I'd say she is average at best. Blue Gelato 41 is curiously not putting on the heavy mass I expected from her based on her excellent performance outdoors last season. I will be keeping her in hopes I can better dial in her requirements. She is putting out super loud and delicious dessert terps, but also unfortunately seems to be prone to powdery mildew. The smell of this strain is fantastic and clings to you for hours. It's far superior to Canuk's straight Gelato strain. OG Kush is purpling up really nicely and stills smells strongly of sour cherries, very similar to red Nibs licorice. Not what I was expecting & strange since OG's usually reek of gas and Pine Sol floor cleaner. The last couple of OG's from Canuk I grew out had a fantastic but completely different and unique terp profile. It was quite nice, but again nothing like the classic OG smell and taste. As pretty as the flowers on this pheno are, they could be a little denser so it will come down to the smoke test to determine whether to grow out more in search of a true keeper. Keeping better tabs on my pH next run and bleaching the room to fully eradicate the powdery mildew I think will definitely help my yields next run. Holy Grail once again demonstrates her champion pedigree and why she will always hold a spot in my garden!