FastBuds Pineapple Express & Friends

Week 1 All have popped and so, it begins 😁 Nothing going on really, just contiuning to water with PH balanced water.

Week 2 After germination the seedlings looked very happy and healthy, the only issue was one of the Purple Lemonades which was a little on the small side however, with the Spanish sun and some nutes i'm expecting her to bounce back. I started nutes this week at -25% of the recommended dose just in case. I also started harding the plants off. The first few days of week one were absolutely perfect 22-24°C with a nice cool breeze and 70% rh. Unfortunately, there was some unseasonal rain so I had to put them under cover for a few days so they've missed a few days of sun which with autos, is a little bit of a worry for me. More rain forecast going into week 2. By then they should be able to withstand some weather.

Week 3 Going OK. Growing outdoors certainly has its pitfalls. We've had some unseasonal rainfall here so the girls haven't had the sun they need or frankly deserve. Having said that it sure is cheaper. They all look very happy. There's clear growth with PE1 & 2, & PL1 and they're taking their nutes like champs. Even though she looks healthy PL2 is quite stunted, i'll give her more of a drink and monitor. Going into week 4 i'm going to be swapping from Fishmix to the BioGrow and adding BioBloom and TopMax. Going forward there's nothing but sun forecast for the next few weeks so, if i've done my job I should see some real growth.

Week 4 was interesting. All 4 girls have seen clear, decent growth however one clearly stands out. PE1 has gone absolutely mental, she's double the size of PE2 and PL1?! PL2 however is still very small but making progress so, I won't give up on her. I switched from Fishmix to Biogrow and added Topmax and Biobloom however, at half doses per litre. Last season my plants got nute burn from the recommened so i'm experimenting, they seem to be responding very well. I also still use a light Fishmix solution as a foliar. I'm watering practically everyday (@ .5ltr) feeding every other as the average day and night temp has risen to 23-25°c and 14-16°c. I'm also now squeezing an additional hour of sunlight. Going into week 5 i'm going to increase the amout of water to about .75ltr and monitor. I may also up the nutes slightly.

Week 5 The weather for the last few weeks has been spectacular with no change in sight. I've had to dramatically increase the amount of water, PE1's happily chugging 2 Ltrs now. I've also dialed down the nutes as the very tips started to show possible nute burn. I've purposely not used techniques such as LST. I don't see the point as these are for personal use; i'm not looking for a particularly large yield, just hopefully some good end product. So far the Pineapple's have been a dream to grow especially for a beginner. PE1 continues to explode upwards and outwards and PE2 is catching up fast. I did catch a couple of small aphid colonies on PE 1 & 2, I wiped the leafs and introduced a mantis that I found in the garden; she seems very happy in her new home. So far all seems clear 😀 The Lemonades however are proving a little trickier to read for a beginner grower like me. I've increased water and nutes and will monitor. PL1 looks happy & healthy however, hasn't quite had the growth I've been expecting but again, that's probably my experience or lack thereof; it's very early days so she could stretch in the next couple of weeks. PL2 remains very stunted though. I gave her as much love as her sisters but, it doesn't appear to be enough... kids?! Still, I'm sure it's been my lack of experience so if I get them across the line my overall mark will reflect that.

Week 6 I'll start first with the Purple Lemonades. PL2 unfortunately is a lost cause; she's just wasting time and resources. Time to go, RIP PL2 🙏 PL1 is super stunted but seems to be fattening up nicely. The nodes are so tightly packed together she may turn into one big nug however, that makes tasks like defoliation difficult to perform. I so badly what to see this girl through she looks amazing but that's nothing compared to her smell which is INCREDIBLE!! At distance there's chocolaty notes but up close, she smells like Skittles with more of a tang, i've never smelled anything like it. To say i'm really looking forward to smoking it is an understatment. The Pineapple's are continuing to develope very well. They both have slowed growing in height and are now busy packing on those buds. They're both nuggin up nicely. Water intake has now gone upto 3 Ltrs for the pineapples which seems to last them a few days. There has been a few unseasonal days of 30° + this week so i've had to offer a little respite from the high UV. Going into week 6 I just need to keep on controlling those pests. Miguel seems to have moved on so i'll need to keep an extra eye out. I'm also hoping for a flowering stretch in the lemonade to give those buds a bit of breathing space.

Week 7 - The end's in sight. Some unseasonal hot days here, 29° to 34° this week so, the shade cloth has come out and they're placed in an area with the most airflow. Aphids keep on appearing so I contiune to check and spray with water on infected areas to keep the pop as low as pos; so far i'am on top of them. The pineapples are really packing it on and the smell is getting stronger every day. I've upped the nutes close to Biobizz's recommened and so far, there seems to be no negative feedback. Due to the heat I can't help but be a little concerned though humidity has dropped to during the day to about 50 and 80 at night for a few hours. I hope they're as resilient as their reputation suggests. The lemonade contiunes to chunk up, though I think she's as tall as she's going to get. The smell continues to increase in intensity which actually compliments the pineapples nicely. Again the weather's abit of a concern, even more for this girl as Fastbuds recommened cooler temps for this strain; I wasn't banking on temps like this for another month or so yet. I'am thinking I should start a few weeks earlier next season because if the Lemonades smoke as good as they look and smell i'll be growing them next season for sure. Fingers crossed.

Week 8 Into the 9th week now, getting real close. The final feed until flush. It has gotten a little cooler however, temps are still in the high 20's and humidity is 70ish. The Pineapples are shapping up very nicely. I walk up to the solarium and i'm hit by a wall of stinkin bud, it's delicious 😋 These aphids are very persistent however, i'm keeping them down to a minimum and with the time left i'm not concerned. PE1 should be ready on time however, PE2 isn't maturing as quickly and may need a little more but, even though she doesn't have quite the height as her sibling she's getting chubby. The lemonade is a chunky little thing, she looks very dense. I now get a hint of homemade lemonade in there as she's maturing which is very cool. Pistils are browning quite quickly... steady now, mustn't get too excited 😁

Week 9 Flush week for PE1 & PL1. Most pistils are brown or are browning and a large portion of trichomes are turning milky with some turning brown so, another week and they should be ready to harvest. PE2 still has little more time and should follow a week after. PE1 is looking and smelling mighty tasty. She's filled out nicely with clearly defined chunky buds. I just can't wait to trim those down. Despite being outside I can smell the pineapples on the groundfloor at the other end of the garden 😂 PE2 is also looking beautiful but still, has a few weeks left in her. The lemonade could be chopped now in my opinion however, I wanted this one to be my nightime smoke so i'm going to let her mature another week and chop along with PE1. She's so compact I can't really tell where each bud site is, guess i'll find out soon. I've also been preparing my shed for drying. Last season I used the office and stunk the entire house out, it was so strong at one point it made me feel a little sick. My wife, well, she was NOT happy; I'am amazed how she puts up with all my shit, she's an awesome girl. So rather than put us all through that again Inchose the shed. The challenge with the shed was to get rid of the smell. The people who lived here previously stored pool chemicals in there so it took me a few months to get any residual smell of chlorine etc out. It now just smells like somewhere dark so, should be good. The only concern is airflow. I have a fan in there but there's no ventilation. I could keep the door open but I don't want to encourage anyone to go looking for its source 😁

Endgame - PE1 A great grow for me personally and FastBuds Pineapple Express winning my heart. I really enjoyed the process from start to finish even though I Iost one of the Purple Lemonades along the way. I've also learned more valuable lessons which i'll take to my third season next year. If you'd compare my 1st season to this the improvement has been vast! I think the biggest lesson i've learned this season though is again, timing. I've since learned young vegging plants like warmer temps and cooler when flowering. Next season I think i'll start in September/October. PE2's got a week or so to go yet but i expect she'll be exactly the same. Fastbuds Pineapple Express in my view lives up to the strains reputation and exeeded all my expectations. Incredibly easy to grow and from what i've seen so far I have no reason to believe the finished product will be nothing short of spectacular. I HAVE to give full marks here.

I have to admit, very dissapointed with the end result. By the time I started trimming it turns out most of the plant was compact foliage due to the lack of growth. Now, I have to chalk this failure up to my lack of experience however, the conditions were great. I gave them plenty of love and both were stunted failures? Maybe, just maybe I had seeds from a bad batch. The Pineapple Epresses were NOT a from a bad batch 😁