Herbies Beginner Auto Mix Grow

Week 3 (26/06/2022 -- 02/07/2022) 29 June 2022: Applied soft ties to anchor base on 28 June then secured them under first five-fingered nodes on 29 June. 1 July 2022: I think I was probably a little eager to get started but, as of 1 July, the stems have adjusted nicely and the girls are praying! 2 July 2022: SF-1000 doing the business at 18.5 inches (47cm). I'm wondering if the lights are up a bit too high/node spacing is too dense because canopy management is getting to be a bit of a challenge. Took separate daily light integral (DLI) readings and PAR readings for each plant as of day 20: PCA: 32.5 DLI (450 PPFD x 20hrs) AFA: 32.4 DLI (485 PPFD x 20 hrs) GCA: 32.2 DLI (460 PPFD x 20 hrs)

Week 4 (03/07/2022 -- 10/07/2022) 3 July 2022 (day 22): My girls are 22 days from seed! Raised the light today and it's now sitting 50 -- 53cm above the canopy of each of the three. Concerned that node spacing (particularly on the GCA) is too dense which makes LST/getting ties in between the nodes tricky. Also removed the previous LST ties that had been added just below the first five fingered nodes. Keen for the girls to stretch a bit so may raise light again tomorrow depending on progress. 4 July 2022 (day 23): The girls all appear to be standing up straighter today with the ties gone, which let me do some height measurements. This means their light-->canopy distance has reduced to between 47cm (AFA) and 52cm (GCA). I fed them water (they'd had two days in a row dry) with veg nutes at 1/2 strength -- meaning 3ml for the 1.5L watering can. They wouldn't be drinking more than 400ml each but its enough to spring a leak in their fabric pots. Anyway, they look happy and there's no sign of pistils yet. I'm keen to get back to the LST but will approach it with a strategy. Plants heights today -- GCA: 13cm; AFA: 16cm; PCA:12.5 cm. 5 July 2022 (day 24): The girls are happy and don't require watering today. Measured them before a bit of gentle LST -- GCA: 14.5cm; AFA: 19.5cm; PCA:14.5 cm -- that's 1.5 - 3.5cm growth each! Obviously it narrows the canopy to light distance but I did some gentle LST on each to widen the gap. GCA nodes are still super stacked and GCA's leaves are still a bit scuffed from a close encounter with the oscillating fan last week (yikes). 6 July 2022 (day 25): About 500ml each of water for the girls with 3mls of each veg nute mixed into the 1.5l vessel. The girls are changing so each of them had their LST ties adjusted/tightened to try and open up the canopy somewhat. The AFA was standing particularly tall and I'm wondering if the canopy is entering some kinda pre-flower. The GCA is looking totally insane in terms of density of nodes and has not stretched up as much as the others, so I had to do extensive leaf tucking of the fan leaves to expose the new growth. Also raised the lights up a bit to try and encourage them to grow taller before they start doing the flowering thang. Light distance for GCA: 58cm (22.8in) from canopy; AFA: 54cm (21.2in) from canopy; PCA: 61cm (24in) from canopy. Keep stretching ladies! 7 July 2022 (day 26): The AFA and GCA have both burst into bloom today with hairy white pistils sticking out of their nodes. Proud daddy moment. While the AFA has pleasantly space nodes, the GCA is still a hot mess and looks like one big lettuce. I have adjusted the LST to bend down nearer the tops of the plants and tucked the big leaves behind the new grow sites. Also added a question because I don't really know wtf I'm doing. Fun though! 8 July 2022 (day 27): The AFA and GCA continue to shoot out pistils and the PCA is still holding out on me. I have repositioned the oscillating fan to offer more direct airflow into the dense nodes of these plants with the aim of staving off moisture-related issues. The tucking/LST had come undone a little on the GCA and generally everything was a lot less tidy than I had left it, so I retucked, adjusted the LST and exposed those internode leaves as much as I could. No water today because I could still feel moisture within my first knuckle of the soil. The AFA is definitely still stretching up nicely whereas the GCA is a bit of a mutated lettuce. Ganbatte girllllz. 9 July 2022 (day 28): Girls had their first taste of bloom nutrients today! I am using 1/8th of the recommended dose for veg (something like 0.9ml of each veg bottle for 1.5l water) and 1/4 of the recommended dose of bloom nutes (1.875ml per 1.5l of water). The PCA is still holding out on me and no pistils have emerged. I did another round of LST and tucking and surely enough managed to snap my first fan leaf on the GCA... guiltily slid it back into position to see if it'll reattach but I don't think that's how plants work.

10 July 2022 (day 29): 4 weeks in and the PCA finally has some pre-flowers shooting pistils, which means the horror stories about Herbies Autos aren't all to be believed. Sure enough, the GCA's fan leaf I snapped yesterday had died on the plant so I put it out of its misery. The grow tent is stinky as hell. Both it and its lung room (a walk-in wardrobe) are climbing in humidity as the grow goes on and tending to average around 70% RH, which is the opposite of what I want as I move into flower. I'm going to tinker with the AC Infinity's settings, but in the meantime I have simply opened the wardrobe to expand the air available to the grow tent. Took some PAR readings today to calculate DLI, which I think is a bit on the low side for flower so the lights may move down again to get closer to 12 inches than the 24 at present. DLI readings at canopy -- GCA: 28.2; AFA: 31.4; PCA: 27.6 -- a lot more visible pre-flower action and just better spacing for the AFA generally... hmmm.... 11 July 2022 (day 30): The girls are 30 days old! After topping up their soil a bit yesterday they were a bit dry, so each got 500mls of a 1.5l jug of water, mixed with a 1/8 dose of veg nutes (0.975ml for 1.5l of Veg A and Veg B) and 1/4 dose of bloom nutes (1.875ml for 1.5l of Bloom A and Bloom B). The GCA is still a total jazz cabbage but I tucked all the girls in and adjusted their LST ties (pictured, pretty poorly, post-tuck). 12 July 2022 (day 31): Not a watering (or feeding) day for the girls so I measured them before applying further ties. Trying limply to break the apical dominance, particularly of the AFA that is shooting up. I noticed some yellow spots that I think are new now appearing on the old fan leaves of each auto... no detailed photographs as I'm slightly in denial. Also notice (post-photos) that one of the PCA's lower fan leaves is rapidly yellowing... or it could just be the washed out old iphone camera and the intense 100% grow light! Root to canopy heights - GCA: 18cm; AFA: 24cm; PCA: 17cm. 13 July 2022 (day 32): Girls had a water and a feed today that they immediately sucked up. Rather than the 500ml waters, I'm thinking the next soak will be a full litre each because there was effectively no runoff from any of them for any real period of time. As suspected, a couple of the PCA lower fan leaves are yellowing out. I am choosing not to see it in terms of a deficiency/lockout at this time but it may be they'd like more nutes. Because they have no plain nutrient-free feedings, it's equally possible it's in a lockout scenario. Pity I don't have a control of the same species to test with, will definitely not be doing a mixed-species grow next time! Increased the tension on some of the LSTs and added another to the AFA. Really, the AFA is the only specimen with nicely spaced nodes where I have a good handle on bud sites. The GCA is still way too dense to effectively separate the canopy to expose bud sites without some defoliation. The PCA is just a bit light on bud sites altogether and is the Sick Man of Europe in the context of my grow. Onwards! 14 July 2022 (day 33): The grow tent has been averaging 71.2% RH throughout the week and spiking up to a max of 82%, so I have finally done something to address the AC Infinity's automations. The tradeoff of having the fan work harder than 2/10 is that a lot more heat will be lost through the air exchange. That's probably not the end of the world but it will be a case of continued monitoring. The PCA's yellowing fan leaf has now almost completely blanched and I'm wondering whether I might need to be incorporating more plain water feedings. Also potentially a concern is that I'm headed away for four nights during which the plants will be essentially unattended. I may have to call in a favour to get them watered! 15 July 2022 (day 34): Leaving my girls for 4 nights tonight so a quick check in and tuck before I do so. The changes to the AC Infinity settings seem to have been successful in bringing the average humidity down below 65%. I am wondering with flowering stepping up whether I should be targeting an even lower humidity figure, but the weather here (rainy winter) makes everything pretty damp at all times. Will be interesting to see how they survive with non-PHd water and 4 nights without their dad!

Day 38 - Girls did surprisingly well with dad away for 4 nights, and the flowering has moved ahead on all. Bud site spacing on the Ape Fruit Auto is mint and the LST has paid off, but the other two are still a bit dense to be workable, which is leading me to consider defoliation. Will need to seek advice! Day 39 - Quiet shoutout to @Roberts and @GrowingGrannie for swiftly coming back to me about my deficiency, which would appear to be calcium. I don't have any liquid nutes that target calcium/magnesium in particular and they don't seem to be available at regular garden shops (other than a Hydrangea Pinking Liquid which is 47% calcium by volume!). I'll have to do some recon of grow shops on the weekend. To answer a question, I'm still using a homeopathic dose of vegetative nutrients because a couple of places recommended it in the transition to flower. No feed today, but girls are getting 1L of water at a time and producing very little run through, however the run-off has tested at 6.3 ph, which is about what goes in (water-wise) according to my Bluelab pen. Nervous about the calcium deficiency being allowed to run its course until the weekend, but not well-positioned to deal to it until the weekend! Day 40 - Flowering continues but the AFA looks to be a solid week ahead of its contemporaries (or perhaps my LST has just been much more effective for it). Really disappointed with the Godzilla Cookies Auto just because it remains a giant jazz cabbage that I can barely get amongst to train. In my next grow I am going to use air pots that I can tie to in all directions because these fabric pots have their limitations. Girls got another feed with both a decent dose of bloom nutes and a homeopathic dose of veg nutes. They continue to show signs of calcium deficiency and I cannot wait to pick up some calmag tomorrow. Day 41 - Worked on the girls while a little bit wazzed and must say they are hanging in there, calcium deficiency and all. In fact, can I confess I felt something like affectionate attraction towards the myriad budsites of the AFA? She has been such a good girl, happy to be trained to my whims, utterly lacking in apical dominance. I got so excited I took an "artistic" bokkeh-filled photo of the phuture phrostiness. She quivered in the light breeze of the oscillating fan. Ahem. Day 42 - Finally got some Flairform CMX with the intention of addressing my deficiency issues diagnosed as calcium deficiency, only to have that diagnosis immediately cast into doubt. After reading that calcium is an immobile nutrient, it doesn't make a great deal of sense that the yellowing off/die-off has been focused on the lower leaves. However, I don't think the homeopathic dose of calmag is gonna do any damage. Upped my bloom nutrients to 4.5ml per litre and cut out the vegetative nutrients as suggested. Sugar leaves on the budsites look awesome!

Day 43 - And so begins week 7! With the addition of their first calmag feed yesterday, I engaged in some light defoliation of the lower leaves and those showing various deficiencies. Still not 100% that the issue is a deficiency in an immobile nutrient given where the dying off has been taking place, but what do I know? The biggest issue with the grow at present is that the AFA and GCA remain more advanced/developed than the tardy PCA. As I've engaged in more LST with the PCA its canopy has expanded outward (it can afford to do so as it has no neighbour adjacent on 3 sides) but as a result the budsites are significantly lower than those on the other two plants. This makes light distance judgment a hassle. Anyway, DLI readings for each plant at their top cola as of the beginning of the week! GCA: 33.9 DLI (39.5cm from top cola); AFA: 35.5 DLI (42cm from top cola); PCA: 25.5 DLI (44cm from top cola). Which means PCA looks certain to be the 'gimp' of the grow, but at least its getting a broader canopy now. Day 44 - Dropped the light down a bit yesterday so the entire grow is looking more yellow when photographed. Coincidentally with that, the AFA and GCA (particularly the AFA) are showing some incidental browning off on upper leaf tips. I don't know whether this is something that's been exacerbated by the Calmag and increased bloom nute feed (it doesn't look like an excess) but I figured I'd do a plain water pH 5.8 feed just to ensure that any nutrient salt build up gets wet. Despite putting a litre through each plant I had zero saucer runoff at all, which might indicate the girls could be fed more. Not keen to as humidity is still running around 67% average and we have some shockingly damp weather flowing through. Will be keeping an eye on the browning leaves and seeking further advice tomorrow if necessary! Day 45 - Turned up this evening to find humidity clocking in above 70% and the AC Infinity working noisily trying dry things out. No sign that the situation on the AFA has got any worse with brown splotches/yellowing though the pics look hella yellow with the light dropped a bit. The buds on the AFA are really looking beautiful and it would be an absolute tragedy if bud rot set in given the humidity. The oscillating fan is giving them some constant airflow so hopefully it keeps things clean. Put in a bid on a 2nd hand dehumidifier just because it seems like it might help to dry things out in the lung room. We'll see! Also need to get a loupe to inspect trichomes as I feel the AFA buds might be approaching milkiness though its pretty hard to judge with the naked eye. Day 46 - RH still waaay too high on day 46! Had apparently been averaging 74.2% throughout the day. Noticed also that despite not watering yesterday the soil in each plant remained damp to the touch, guess that reflects the average 0.67kPA VPD meaning the plants aren't transpiring in the sweet spot. Going to step up efforts to sort a dehumidifier. AFAs leaf deficiencies don't seem to have worsened but I do have a sinking feeling about the possibility of bud rot if I can't get this humidity under control. Another option is to step up the oscillating fan to full bore but I get the impression it might squeal. Eeeek! Day 46 - RH still waaay too high on day 46! Had apparently been averaging 74.2% throughout the day. Noticed also that despite not watering yesterday the soil in each plant remained damp to the touch, guess that reflects the average 0.67kPA VPD meaning the plants aren't transpiring in the sweet spot. Going to step up efforts to sort a dehumidifier. AFAs leaf deficiencies don't seem to have worsened but I do have a sinking feeling about the possibility of bud rot if I can't get this humidity under control. Another option is to step up the oscillating fan to full bore but I get the impression it might squeal. Eeeek! Day 47 - Once the star of my grow, the AFA's leaves are looking sicker by the day. VPD has been averaging 0.74kPa over the last 24 hours as our mini-rainy season continues. Girls got a proper nute feed today so the AFA will either rally or get sicker I suppose! Soil hasn't really been drying like it used to at a lower VPD. One way or another I'm going to sort the humidity issue by the weekend. Day 48 - My AFA has been a sick girl but I feel like she may be turning a corner after the last feed as she is starting to look frosty and smells so very, very sweet. I just basically but my head between the colas and the light and took in breath after breath of her sweet, sweet stickiness. Day 49 - Decided against a watering today as couldn't get a knuckle deep before hitting the vein of moisture below the Sunday ranch. Have closed off the lung room to the original wardrobe and got a mini dehumidifier operating in there but 2 hours of it working had not produced noticeable moisture reduction (in fact the humidity was heading up). Will reassess tomorrow when my girls hit 50! Woooo!

Day 50 - As we cruise into week 8 the apically dominant Godzilla Cookies Auto is exhibiting a peppering of brownness on the bud's sugar leaves. Difficult to say whether this is the same calcium complaint its brother the Ape Fruit Auto has been exhibiting, or a reaction to finding it just 10.26 inches from the light (which I took the opportunity to raise slightly, given the general 12 inch rule). The addition of the dehumidifier to the wardrobe (closing the wardrobe to make a much smaller lung room) produced very little visible success in terms of lowering humidity, so I'm trying running it back with the much larger lung room. Not sure it is up to much given the water volume realised thusfar. Looking forward to arrival of my loupe on Friday as I believe the AFA is getting close -- many of the buds' pistils are browning as, of course, are the rust-spotted leaves. Day 52 - Having neglected to photograph the girls yesterday (they merely got tucked to bed) they had a water, a feed, and a steamy photo session tonight. While the dehumidifier has not been a game changer, the average humidity has finally slipped below 65% over the last 24 hours and it would appear to be on a minor downward trajectory (may just be the less rainy-season weather). The grow space is fragrant as all fuck and despite the general fade on the AFA and the fact that fan leaves have largely been lost, the buds appear to be fattening. The PCA's canopy had also expanded massively though its budsites are pretty anaemic in general. Good, feels good! Day 53 - Just a wee tick and pinch today but had pause to reflect on the deficiencies evident in the AFA and why they don't appear in the PCA and much less so in the GCA. The truth is, I don't really know. Day 54 - Welp, big disappointment on the JARLINK handheld loupe (was recommended on Reddit). Shitty plastic lenses have been installed with minimum quality control and the image is flipped, meaning the magnified content displayed upside down! Using it makes one feel like you're looking through some glasses designed for longsightedness and you need to have the loupe literally touching the plant to get the right focal length. WITH THAT SAID, I am able to see (though not photograph well) the trichomes and observe they are still relatively clear on each plant. The AFA will be the first up but it looks like things are still at least a week off. Day 55 - No drink for the girls today as the soil was still damp at the first knuckle. Did another loupe inspection and (despite the hardware's limitations) I'm pretty happy that the AFA still has some ways to go. Everyone was looking happy and the PCA canopy has expanded out so much we have some quite disparate and diffuse budsites!

Day 56 - As we head into week 8 the drawbacks of running three different phenos in one tent really become apparent. While I seem to have arrested the worst instincts of the AFA, it has naturally pretty much dispensed with all of its fan leaves. Conversely, the PCA and and GCA are a hot mess. The PCA has been developing some dominant colas that I have done my best to keep tying down, whereas the GCA is doing its best impression of a Christmas tree. Girls got a water and a feed today, but humidity continues to average around 67% so I am just crossing my fingers that bud rot doesn't come knocking. We shall see! Day 60 - An unusually busy period at work meant that my grow diary (but not my grow!) got sadly neglected for a few days. Girls got a water and a feed today (i.e., a drink every third day rather than every second day as previously). The Canna Terra Professional seems to have the unfortunate quality of forming a lacquer and being easily shaped by waterflow. Note to self that my next grow is going to have a heap more perlite mixed in! Day 61 - The girls got the briefest of tucks this evening and average humidity has been a little better controlled around 67%. However, I've decided to try something a little different by switching the dehumidifier off and opening a window instead. This is expected to bring the temperature in the tent down significantly, but possibly the humidity with it. Hopefully it isn't a massive mis-step and I shall check in with the girls tomorrow. Day 62 - Terrifyingly, the temperature got down to 15 degrees celsius at its coolest, though lights on temperatures seem to sit around 20 with the lung room open. Humidity is significantly controlled by this move though I would like the lung room to stay warmer. In a bit of a catch 22 and not sure what to do, but hoping the freezing temperatures might help the flowers' colours pop. Day 63 - Girls got a water and a feed today with the addition of 3mls per 1.5L of Canna Boost.

Day 64 - Week 10 beginneth! DLI readings - GCA: 41 at centre, AFA: 50 at centre, PCA: 31 at centre. Perhaps it's no wonder the PCA looks weeks behind in terms of bud structure. Have been keeping an eagle eye on the trichomes for each plant and the AFA really is behind in terms of the trichomes mostly still being clear despite the buds being phatties. Not sure if that's a sign of something terrible. The other two plants seem to be a mixture of milky and clear. Have given up trying to photograph using the iPad through the loupe, too much of a logistical challenge. The odour on the AFA seems to be deteriorating -- not smelling damp as just a bit... musty like a durian or something. Maybe that's what they meant by Ape Fruit? Day 65 - No water or nutes today as medium is still feeling a bit damp at first knuckle. The trichomes on the GCA and PCA are coming along milky in terms of trichomes but the AFA trichomes continue to show minimal development. Still, it would appear that the buds are continuing to fatten and their colour is popping into a nice purple/wine mix. I'm worried there's absolutely nothing left on the plant in terms of fan leaves for photosynthesis, so hopefully the spotty sugar leaves are doing *something*! Rotated the GCA and PCA to give them a bit of varying exposure to the oscillating fan. Day 66 - Girls got a feed and a water today and pleasingly it looks like some of the PCA budsites are finally putting on some weight! Both the GCA and PCA seem to have been spared from the worst of the calcium deficiencies that ran through the AFA a couple of weeks back, though the fade is definitely beginning on the PCA. I continue to have concerns about the AFA because despite the beautifully even budsites, popping colours and good bud structure, their trichomes under the loupe aren't all that cloudy and just generally there appear to be less dense trichome coverage than on the other two strains. I'm hoping I'll see clouding/ambering because I'm basically relying it as my cue to harvest, but perhaps I should be looking for other signs? Day 67 - Just a tiny bit of tucking today and rotated the pots to ensure the gimpier bud sites are getting the most from the LED coverage. Trichomes on the AFA are still looking glassy rather than cloudy... somewhere, a little boy waits. Day 68 - As a storm covers the country, residual humidity has been high even with the lung room window open. Feeling a bit better about the lack of trichome changes after a bit of reassurance (thanks grow-pals) and enjoying the colour development in the buds. While I was tucking the GCA today I got a look (but not a good photo) of just how massive the major budsite has become, it looks like a giant floor mop viewed from one side! Day 69 - Niiiice! A water and a feed for the girls today as humidity has climbed throughout the week. The PCA's "autumnal colours" are bursting through something melancholy, they are faded af! Nothing to report on the trichome front. Tomorrow I aim to assess pistil colour/orientation a bit more as I'm worried the AFA trichomes are never gonna show. Gotta hate the 'Noids. Day 70 - Note to self: stop tending to girls while high.

Day 71 - Just gently tightening the LST ties on my tallest colas and letting things dry out as I hit week 11! Day 72 - Girls got a feed and a water today. Going to seek further input on whether I should be using the "pistil method" to judge the AFA's maturity rather than trichomes because under the loupe I could barely call the trichomes "cloudy" on her majesty. Day 73 - Deep in the mindfuck of waiting for the AFA trichomes to do something. Note that on the 'biggest' cola site a solid 90% of the pistils have gone brown, yet the trichomes are still crystal clear. Internet continues to advise me to wait for amber trichomes but I fear the budrot. The main colas definitely seem to have stopped attempting any kinda stretch, but I continue to adjust the LST wires as necessary to keep the colas as even as possible. Day 74 - Just a quiet tightening of the LST and trichome inspection today -- no changes to note. The only random thing was that one of the AFA colas has something oval-shaped and slightly shiny protruding from one of the colas that really looks a lot like a seed. I want to say it is 100% impossible but it's not quite impossible I could have carried some pollen in on my clothes. Either that or immaculate conception, which would be even more freaky. No sign of hermies in the growspace. Day 75 - Water + feed day for the girls. Trichomes inspection and light LST tying. The buds on the PCA and GCA continue to stretch whereas the mature buds on the AFA look unchanged. For reasons unknown, only a photo of the GCA uploaded today. Day 76 - Just a lil trim as the PCA fades hard. Humidity seems to be settling a bit. Very little trichome development. Tied the kangaroos down. Day 77 - More leaf plucking to address low quality leaves and massive fade in the PCA, which is by far the most extensive plant at this point (though least mature budsites). Too afraid to remove the larfy lower buds and properly defoliate the GCA so tinkered around the edges instead. A lot of leaves stubborn to come off leading to some unpleasant tearing action of the epidermis down the stem... ugh. Perhaps it'll shock these girls into faster maturation of their trichomes!

Day 78 - Kicking off week 12 with a water and some nutrients -- no flushing here! Feeling some regret as I enter what will probably be harvest for the AFA for the decision to run 3 different phenos in one grow. Also, as much as I like the low height of the 2 gallon grow, I see all the larfy buds in the bottom of each plant and wonder what could have been if I'd had more room to work with. Perhaps it's too early for regrets! Continue to do a bit of thinning on the GCA and PCA just because I can feel the moisture being held within the canopy. The AFA is still looking a bit stalled but I did see evidence of many milky trichomes upon tonight's inspection, so perhaps we're arriving! Day 79 - Trichomes on AFA are still predominantly glassy except that for some of the purple from the flowers seems to be "leaking" into the trichomes from their base, i.e., the 'head' of the trichome is still clear but there's a bleed through of flower colour up the bottom of the trichome. Hence begins my next reassurance-seeking grow question! Although everyone has told me to ignore the pistils and focus on trichomes, I feel like the mature buds on the AFA have peaked and are about 95% brown pistils, which raises the question of whether the trichomes will ever change. Going to throw this up for growers' thoughts. Did a lil adjusting on the GCA to open the canopy up a bit and further defol. PCA also got a few yellowing leaves plucked. Day 80 - Finally worked out how to get some decent photos through the loupe (though none that demonstrate my current dilemma with the AFA, sadly). Humidity has really dropped in my city and the grow tent humidity has come down with it. Happy days. Day 81 - Today was (I expect) the final water and feed for my AFA, which I am thinking I will chop on Saturday. The trichomes (visible in yesterday's picture) couldn't be said to be amber per se, but the pistils on the main heads are 95-100% brown and (I believe) starting to curl in. The sugar leaves and fan leaves are so spotted from their earlier calmag issue that I doubt their ability to meaningfully carry chlorophyll and I see pretty much no more fattening/extension of the main heads. The other two plants would appear to have some milky trichs and I'm hoping I'll see some amber action from the GCA soon. Day 82 - Girls got the briefest of attention today (a lil bit of tucking and tugging) due to time constraints. Humidity has come down nicely for reasons I don't particularly understand though the girls were still nice and moist from last night's feed. Day 83 - This is it for my Ape Fruit Auto -- the sugar leaves have started curling up and I'm just not convinced the mature colas have anything left to give. I'm somewhat determined that the date with the secateurs takes place tomorrow but I'm having some last minute jitters. Day 84 - Didn't get to attend to girls today. No photos or updates! T-T

Day 85 - Girls got a water and a feed after a bit of neglect. It was chop day for the AFA (see harvest week) so only pictures of the GCA and PCA herein. The leaves (including sugar leaves) have really deteriorated around the mature budsites - they are incredibly yellow - but there is also the beginning of something gross happening on the GCA's leaves upon which I'll seek some advice. The additional room with the AFA gone means a better position for the two remaining plants. Day 86 - Just a tuck today really. Some of the bushy lower/less developed buds are feeling kinda fluffy and damp (hard to explain) so I've separated them out a bit and ensured a bit more airflow "down there". Day 87 - Some trichome photos for the day. Honestly the GCA has a decent number of amber-headed trichomes and the pics here don't really do it justice. I am thinking about chopping the main head/decapitating the king tomorrow though I believe it'll take the plant days to recover. Could still do it for science? Thinking about my options. Day 88 - 88, going great? A feed and 750ml each of water today. The fan leaves and sugar leaves are curling and crisping up extensively and, while not all of the buds have the same beautiful structure as the (chopped) AFA or the GCA's main cola, I am fair sure both plants are "done". There's extensive evidence of amber trichomes on both though I wouldn't be sure I've reached the magic 10%. Either way I think these girls are for the chop on Friday/Saturday. Day 89 - The girls both got so thoroughly rusted over the last week that I'm not confident in the ability of their leaves to help develop their respective budsites. Particularly the top sugar leaves look particularly sad and curled. The only question remaining is whether they are for chop tomorrow or on Saturday! Day 90 - Goodness gracious! Spent about 2 hours dry trimming the AFA only to yield 32g of dense nugs! Not too unhappy given that its a 2 gallon auto and I have ziplock bags full of trim. As a result, I was incredibly high when it came to check on the GCA and PCA. They sure are in their autumn colours now! Faded to yellow with a wee purple outline on the sugar leaves. A lotta curling and I gots to say just a really unhealthy look to all upper leaves on these plants. That said, only the GCA seems to be showing a good portion of amber trichomes, though the PCA is nice and milky. Chopping tomorrow come rain or shine!

Day 85 - Despite an absence of amber trichomes, it was chop day for the AFA because of its curling sugar leaves, sound bud structure and ~100% brown pistils. The trichomes look good, but the purple from the colourful buds themselves appears to be 'bleeding' up the stalks of the trichomes, and they're not looking as erect as they once were. First time chopping so retained a lot of stalky material, including main stem for the most larfy/tiny buds. The biggest buds seem to me to pose a minor budrot risk. Anyway, I am going to update this week as drying and curing progresses! Provisionally I have given the strain an 8/10 because of its fantastic colour, sound bud structure and stickiness generally. I won't be able to comment on flavour until a bit of drying/trimming/curing is underway, but am very excited for this next stage! Day 90 - Spent almost 2 hours doing my first dry trim, the girls having spent 5 nights on coat hangers. I got one of the stems to snap, which was good enough for me. The trimming was more of an exacting process than I imagined. Then I rewarded myself with my first taste of the Ape Fruit Auto. Not harsh at all -- tastes like it smells -- not rank by any means but yeah, a little fruity (not particularly strong though). The mini hygrometers were all showing 58% humidity once jarred so I banged in a 62% boveda pack in each and will hope for the best!

Day 91 - The GCA has plenty of amber trichomes (potentially more than the magical 10%) and the sugar leaves have been showing some pretty unpleasant symptoms of disease (browning, curling) as the fade sets in. This thing has some enormous, sticky nugs! Aside from the prime cola (whose apical dominance I reined in a bit, but never managed to break) there were plenty of thicc colas. Unlike the AFA, I did a bit of very light and selective wet trimming primarily aimed at the larger and grosser sugar leaves (reaching down to the bottom of the stems). 180g wet on the scales (with relatively little stalk action) so I am anticipating a higher dry post-trim weight. Most of the big colas are fully intact and still rather crowded, so I have slight concern about how it will dry. Fingers crossed!

Day 91 - The PCA went from being the runt of the litter to having the highest (wet) weight of the three phenotypes I harvested today. While the colas are looking less t h i c c than the GCA or the AFA, they are looking relatively healthy. The fade has just left a lil red outline on the sugar leaves that looks quite striking. The pistils on the buds weren't all brown and the trichomes (while murky) weren't showing a heap of ambering, but I was keen to get both plants harvested today. If it produces a less "chill" high, we'll deal with that at the time. Day 98 - 215g wet trimmed down to 32g dry! And fairly dry it got between chop on Saturday and trim on Friday (6 days drying). Has gone into three full jars as nicely manicured bud.