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So this is my primary project for the summer... reaching back to my relative childhood for something I used to consume in college in the late 1970's. Last summer was a tasty Maui wowie, and there's probably a Panama Red somewhere in my future just to honor my past and the New Riders of the Purple Sage.
I actually found some Azospirillum stashed away in my grow shed which I'd forgotten I had, which is a super concentrate made by Mr. B's Green Trees ... it's designed specifically for ROOT and vegetative growth. I'd acquired it as part of some contest winnings a couple years ago which included some other Mr. B's Green Trees products. When I went to try and buy some it wasn't available in small quantities cheaply (Amazon will sell you a pound for 60 bucks). Fortunately the 2 small sample packs I have left will probably last me a couple years. Just don't grow that many plants - BUT I do like this stuff. Good roots are important in this business.
I decided to skip an intermediate stage of repotting and go straight to a 2 gallon pot for the period between now and when I move my plants outdoors and put them in their final fabric pots - somewhere around the summer solstice... or about 4 weeks or so. During this period they'll be inside my tent under KIND K3 LED lighting. Initially the lighting is at 36" for acclimation for the first few days.
Veg mode is starting to kick in nicely now. I've been keeping my girls fairly dry... giving them just enough Azospirillum infused water to keep the area around the base of the plant wet. Don't wanna drown the developing root system. Babies don't drink that much.
Things are really starting to move along in veg land. I'll have to study my past grows to see when I should be topping these plants for the first time - but this week is a likely candidate for the initial snip.
All my summer photoperiod girls were topped above the 4th node on June 1.
There's some serious secondary growth going on after the initial topping last week. All the girls have recovered nicely and are well on their way. There are enough roots visible at the bottom of these pots that we could transplant at any time... but I'm probably going to wait one week until after some major electrical work is completed on my home.
Well... this is graduation day for all my outdoor girls. Yesterday they spent their first full day in the sun (minus a couple hours shade mid-day)... and today they were repotted into their final 10 gallon outdoor fabric containers. They've been outdoors full-time for about 72 hours now, so they've had a nice acclimation period (I avoided moving them outdoors last week when we had a couple 90 degree days).
The girls have only been outside for a week now but we just had our first HOT spell. Yesterday, the summer solstice, we breached 100 degrees for a few hours... so I just stayed inside all day. The girls handled it surprisingly well. They still don't drink that much because a week ago they were in 2 gallon containers and the roots haven't filled in all that space yet, but they're working on it. Things are expected to be a bit more seasonal the next week or so.
This week was hotter than normal. 4+ days over 80 degrees. Gonna cool down significantly this week. Did some undercarriage pruning on all plants this week.
I had two plants sustain some wind damage this afternoon. Acapulco gold #2 almost split in half. Alaskan Purple just had one branch break at the main stem. Fortunately the damage was noticed within a couple hours and I think this can be repaired with good old-fashioned duct tape. Doesn't bode well though for when we enter flowering stage and these girls start to put on some real weight. I had already provided a wind brace for the Purple but that didn't help in this situation. Things got really cool for a couple days this week with fog all day but temps have now returned to normal.
We're just coming out of a short hot spell where we got close to 90 for a few days. Now we've settled back into a more seasonal upper 70's with regular morning fog. Nobody is flowering yet... but we're not far away. Picked up another 8" in height this week. I cut off the two lowest branches on #2 (probably should have done it a couple weeks ago) because they we're starting to get in the way of walking around the plant. She's the tallest on the patio and got the most beat up by recent wind events but she'll be fine.
We're in a fairly steady weather cycle now with minimal fog in the morning and temps getting a bit hotter than forecasted to... a couple days in the mid-80's this week. All the girls are up to about 1.5 gallons of fluid a day. I've done minimal pruning this summer. Plant #2 from which I pruned the lowest 2 branches a week or so ago has responded by jumping vertically to be significantly taller than #1 at this point. Nobody is flowering just yet... but soon.
The pair of Gold girls broke into obvious flowering this week, ahead of the other two girls on the patio. Always a fun time of year when the pistils suddenly make their appearance and we're off to the races for the next stage. There will be a transition phase for nutrients from veg to flowering and the timing works perfectly because I'm going on a short vacation back east next week for my niece's wedding.
Ever thing is going along nicely. A moderate weather week with only a couple days in the 80's. A buddy of mine is coming over to water my plants while I bug out for a few days for a wedding on the east coast.. so I can see what humidity feels like again.
I'm a day late updating my diaries because I was back on the east coast last weekend for the wedding of my niece in Newport, Rhode Island. Had a buddy watering my babies while I was gone. A LOT hotter back east than where I've been living in central California.
Things got seriously hot yesterday, close to 100 degrees in an otherwise reasonably cool summer. All my girls have been getting by on 1.5 gallons per day of fluid. In general I'm using a heavier nutrient load than pervious years... which had been in the range of 50% of recommended - now I'm closer to 75%.
AG#1 was the first to start showing some obvious frosting around the buds this summer. Full steam ahead.
Things are moving along well. Temps haven't been too hot, although we were in the mid-80's today. Should be a bit cooler for the next week, which is ideal. Gave all the girls a probable final pruning to remove those internal shoots that will never really develop.
Things have been moving along nicely, but we're about to enter a moderate heat wave of like 4 days over 90 degrees and approaching 100. One of my Acapulco Golds is really frosty and ready for harvest and I'll probably flush her this week and harvest her Saturday before the heat sets in. The other one, although only a day or two younger, isn't nearly as frosty. The only explanation I can think of is the wind damage sustained by #2 earlier in life might have set her back a few weeks. She grew taller in the end but I gave her structural support too. Not a problem in any event as I like a little spacing between harvesting plants.
Saturday September 3 - Harvested plant #1 before we entered our heat wave and got her hanging up in the garage where temps will be about 20 degrees cooler than the shed I used to use in my yard. Plant #2 is at least a week or so away from finishing up.
This baby has less than a week of life left in her - based on current weather conditions which are pretty freaking HOT by anybodies standards. The last couple days have hit 107 degrees each day, causing me to use an umbrella to protect the last two plants I have on the patio from such extreme exposure. It's an interesting tradeoff. IMO the heat is going to cause the plants to produce more resin to protect themselves - I just need to hydrate them adequately, and that seems to have gone OK all summer. Not a wilting experience anywhere this summer.
The heat has been so extreme that even in my garage it's been getting up to 90 degrees in the area where I'm hanging my plants and I was shocked at how dry #1 plant was today. I trimmed the whole plant this afternoon in about 3 hours; I'll weigh things tomorrow.
I'm about ready to pull the plug on #2 here and will probably flush her tomorrow morning in preparation for harvest in a few days.
One plant was harvested before a vicious heat wave came thru and she dried super quick. The 2nd plant was harvested afterward and got the opportunity to dry MUCH slower.
Still waiting to trim in fact.
The 6.7 ounce weight is for plant #1 only.
dalemac
