Gorilla Girls’ Just Wanna Have Fun!

Welcome to Week 6, Day 42 for the Sweet Seeds Gorilla Girl XL Autoflowering grow. All four of these lovely ladies are now fully into flower and the tent has filled up considerably. Even though this grow cycle is not going to produce the XL plants I was originally hoping for, this strain seems to have a lot of bud sites compared to other autos I have grown previously. Had these plants reached their full potential- I truly believe that this could/would have been a massive harvest. I fertilized them again in Week 6 with their final dose of a Grow based formula at 2 mls/gallon. They will be switched over a Bloom based fertilizer in Week 7 at a rate of 2.5 mls/gallon. I am still watering every 4th day and all four plants are receiving 3 litres each or 0.75 of a litre per plant per day. There is something killing off the foliage from the bottom up on the plant in the front of the tent on the left hand side. Not sure what the problem is so I am simply removing the dead/dying foliage as needed and hoping that she’ll have enough leaves to make it through to harvest. Mom’s Tip for Week #6- When it comes to Fertilizer- $Less$ = More… For me, successfully growing Cannabis indoors means trying to mimic what nature normally provides for free. Sun, fresh air, water and nutrient rich soil are all essential for healthy, happy plants. At some point during the grow (usually 4-6 weeks in) the plant has used up all of the nutrients originally present in the soil thus requiring the grower to have to supplement with some type of fertilizer. I see many growers photographing and showing off their huge displays of colourful bottles and I gasp when I read their long lists of 10-15 different fertilizers and supplements being added to every single batch of water. Not only is this unbelievably expensive and overwhelming but time consuming and completely unnecessary for a successful grow. For those seeking an Organic path there are options such as homemade compost tea or powdered formulas consisting of bat guano, glacial rock dust, bone meal, alfalfa meal, etc. I often use a Canadian made brand called “Gaia Green Organics", mixed in at the start to create my own super soil thus carrying the plants through their first 4-6 weeks of life needing nothing more than PH’d water. The organic fertilizers are usually more expensive and often have a slower uptake by the plants themselves as they tend to feed the soil first which in turn feeds the plants. For novice/newbie growers and those with fast flowering strains such as Autos- a non organic, liquid, water soluble fertilizer is often the way to go. They are generally cheap, easy to use and quickly taken up by the plants when they need it most. My ride or die brand is "Flora Nova” by General Hydroponics and it comes in a 1 part nutrient grow and bloom formula catering to my plants’ needs from start to finish. This company has many options available including all kinds of additional supplements to be used in conjunction with their standard grow/bloom formulas but I’ve never found these products all that necessary or beneficial. Using them in the past has led to over fertilization resulting in burnt foliage, stunted bud development and harsh flavours when smoking/vaping the final product. Not only does $Less is More$ apply to how many fertilizers you are giving your plants but it also applies to how much. Most photosensitive strains can easily tolerate a full dose (as per the manufacturer’s recommendations) and thrive with being fed every time you water. But Autoflowers and some smaller photosensitive strains seem to respond differently to a slight tweak- keeping in mind that if you start small, you can always add more but if you start big, you can’t take back what’s already been given. I will generally only fertilize at half of what the manufacturer recommends for a photosensitive strain- every other or every second watering. Starting out at a quarter dose for the initial feeding which can sometimes be as low as 1.25 mls per gallon and working my way up from there. It doesn’t seem like much but within hours I can see my plants responding positively with increased/sustained turgor, greening up a little and increased resin production which equals "smell/scent". For me, I can smell when I’ve just fertilized my plants- it’s a stronger smell than the normal scent that they give off with a plain watering. If you’re lucky, you’ll end up growing a greedy Autoflowering strain that seems to want more than what you’re giving it. Rather than increasing to a higher dose in a single feeding, try feeding more often at the same dose- so if you’re feeding every other or every second watering, try feeding every watering at the same dose (trying not to increase above half of the manufacturer’s recommendation for the photo strains). Occasionally I will increase beyond the halfway dose to accommodate for the plants’ needs in late flower as most fertilizer companies list an increase to adequately feed during late flower anyhow. I guess the main message for this week is to keep it simple as nature intended. Learn to read your plants and supplement the small amount of nutrients that your plants don’t already have in the high quality soil you initially provided. Cannabis cultivation can be overwhelming at first but the $Less is More$ approach will save you time, money and the realization that you’ve accidentally fried your plants!