Gorilla Girls’ Just Wanna Have Fun!

So here’s Week 2 of the Sweet Seeds Gorilla Girl XL Auto’s grow. All in all an easy week but there has been time spent reinforcing a couple of the seedlings because they are so top heavy. I check in on my seedlings at least once a day (oftentimes 2-3 times daily) just to make sure that all equipment is functioning well and temps are stable. Upon looking into the windows of the tent I discovered that the smallest seedling (the one that lost one of it’s cotyledon leaves) was tipped right over. I gently supported her with a homemade splint (a tent peg/pipe cleaner combo- pictured above) and she’s currently standing on her own again. She’s still smaller than the others but surviving, not thriving for now. I used some fresh additional soil to fill in any gaps and pack down around the bases of the other three plants’ stems. Speaking of stems/stalks- the three healthy seedlings have peeling/stretching stalks and are starting to push out their first sets of branches. Other than that, same routine as always- watering every fourth day at 1.4 litres per watering or 0.35 of a litre per plant per day. I will be increasing the water sometime over week three. That’s it for now. Mom’s Tip for Week #2- Don’t Over Water! (when growing in soil of course)… When learning to read your plant’s needs, water is a very important factor to consider. I often notice other growers with tiny seedlings sitting in completely saturated pots of soil. Or read that many other growers don’t believe in placing newly sprouted seedlings into their final containers/pots. Both issues being easily resolved by simply paying close attention to your plant’s body language, it’s grow environment and sticking to a schedule. Cannabis truly thrives and benefits from a wet to almost fully dry watering cycle. From my own personal experience with photosensitive strains grown outside in the summer to growing autoflowers indoors through the fall, winter and spring- all of my Cannabis seems to do best when watered every 4th day like clockwork! This schedule is somewhat subjective of course depending on the environment that you are growing in. Here in Canada, much of our year is cool to cold and the humidity is relatively low. Because of this my plants are not always able to take in moisture from the air through their stomas so they suck up more water from what’s readily available in their pots. In other environments (ex. tropical), you may be able to stretch out this cycle- watering every 5-7 days because your plants are pulling so much water directly from the humidity in the air. And how you water your plants matters too. When starting out with newly sprouted seedlings placed into their final containers- less is more. There is no need to completely soak all of the soil in a 5-7 gallon pot. Simply start with a small amount (0.5-1 litre) directing the water to the base of the plant, working your way outwards in a circular pattern. As you increase the amount of water, I try to work my water outwards- making my circle slightly bigger each time I water until eventually I am soaking the soil surface all the way out to the edges of the pot. This process is gradual, stretched over a period of 4-6 weeks. It will encourage the roots to reach for water and allow your plants the time needed to grow into a heavy dose of H2O. Finally, learning to read your plant’s body language will help you to understand when they need and don’t need water as well as food, more/less light, temperature changes, etc. Healthy, well watered plants are generally light green with leaves slightly turned up towards the light/sun. They will be growing/thickening every day and able to support their own weight even in a very breezy environment. Leaves are soft and supple, not dry and brittle and there are usually no marks or discolouration of any kind on the foliage throughout your grow. Water quality is important too but that’s any entirely different tutorial for another time. Bountiful harvests are very possible by simply tweaking your watering schedule to suit your plants’ ultimate needs.