East Coast Punchers

It’s a late start for the diaries but as I mentioned previously, I have been very sick. I have a few to get started but it is great to be back in action! These two girls are a strain we grew indoors and we are unable to part with it, it is mouthwatering to say the least. They have been transplanted into our existing flower bed and as you can see the cover crop is well established, I have already trimmed it and tossed it back twice as it was thriving. The trimmings have already started to decompose which is wonderful to see, the boss has weaved a netting and he is tucking the tops on a daily basis. We look forward to seeing these girls take form, we have trellised our plants before but this will be a first to try to keep everything up on top.

These two are grooving along nicely and they are quite strong, another net will soon be weaved to try to keep them on the level. Everyday there is a tuck and everyday they push back up, these girls are persistent. The cover crop will once again be cut and tossed back although we may add some to our other other beds to share the love! The winds have been strong but they have hung on and we are pleased with the punchers!

These two ladies do not like being told to stay down so hopefully we can get that managed within the next few days. These girls have been yellowing a bit so we added dried coffee grounds throughout the garden bed and the tops of their pots. They seem to be darkening a bit so we will most likely add some more by the end of the week. The cover crop desperately needs to be tidied up so it seems there is much to do in the garden this week, but that is the life.

We are pleased to report another great week has been had by all and there are not any issues to mention. The top dress along with Bokashi was applied and they enjoyed a rain barrel treat mixed with Hygrozyme along with Hyshield once this week. A good spray of NForce helped with the aphids along with the stink bugs that were threatening to take over the gardens and Optic foliar spray was applied once a few days later, so far we are happily growing! We have been watering daily to keep things moist, on the hotter days it has both morning and night. These two beauties had another sprinkle of coffee grounds and they do seem to be getting their colour back.

These two are doing better and their colour has improved quite a bit, we have stuck to our same schedule for feeding and the bed is watered twice daily to maintain a good moisture level. The cover crop has been cut and tossed back in a few times and we are doing a better job at keeping on top of it this year. Coffee grounds have been added to the bed which is obviously helping and Epsom salts have been added to the water twice so far. The other net was not put up as intended and the underneath branches have all been removed which has helped to increase the growth up top. We will have to do something about the powdery mildew that is starting, this plant was susceptible to it inside but up until now they have been clear outside. We do have another culprit in the yard that will soon be chopped down, hopefully we can get it cleaned up fast because this is a delicious strain.

The girls had an okay week, they were given a milk bath due to powdery mildew and they could use a good rinse. The residue is not attractive but the mildew is not something we want either, we knew this strain was susceptible and up until this point is hadn’t been a problem. The bugs are still troubling but we are doing our best to keep them in check, it may be time to bring out a sudsy bucket and flick them in the water. The next week or so should be quite interesting as we anticipate the changes will happen quickly once they start.

Yellow leaves and bugs have been the issue for these girls, pest management is in full force to say the least. Aside from the weekly coffee dose they have enjoyed a tea blend of bokashi and molasses, as well as a good top dress of bloom. We are slowly noticing the colour coming back, we hope to keep them good and green throughout the bloom stage which we are happy to say has finally begun!

These are the worst two for mildew but we knew that before we put them outside. The flavour of this strain was to good to pass up and we wanted to give it one last run. They will have a bath followed by a rinse, we will repeat this cycle if that’s what it takes. They smell delicious already and we hope they finish up quickly to avoid the dreaded bud rot.

These ladies are looking lovely although the mildew is back in action. We knew that was an issue with this strain but she was worth having to deal with it. We expect to take these two down in a week or so, they have reached the cloudy state but we want them to reach the highest possible potency. We love the smell of this strain, it is like a blueberry pie straight from the oven and the colours are fantastic. They will have a good wash at harvest and we very much look forward to having this smoke around once again. They are looking pretty rough after the winds last week, we lost a branch or two but that it is not something to complain about.

These two were very weak when it came to fighting off the powdery mildew but we knew that about this strain and we grew it anyway because we very much enjoy the smooth taste and mouth watering smell. These two seemed like they were always going through some sort of deficiency but they managed to hang on and see the season through. Bud rot was not much of an issue and they were harvested in intervals, the bottoms were left a couple of weeks longer and thankfully we had the weather to do so. Our weight is an estimate because there wasn’t enough time for that and we really are not concerned about it. There will be many changes next year and we look forward to the planning stages that have already begun, we have spread the leaves across the beds and will most likely get them topped off with a layer of straw. This will be the last time we knowingly grow a strain that is susceptible to mildew, this one was worth the battle but it is not a battle that we wish to fight again.