Return to Growing (after a long hiatus)

So far the Kings Kush CBD has shown cotyledons, however the shell may have popped off slightly early. The bend below this is straightening out, and appears to be reacting in a similar way to the Yumbolt x Banana (which has since straightened out compared to soon after breaking the surface). Auto Pounder was placed in a smaller, more improvised "pot", to intentionally stunt the growth. This was planted to give a little extra upon harvest, however at the same time I'm not expecting it to overcrowd the others. My plan is to LST all except for the Auto Pounder, to grow more horizontally for a more even canopy top. I have preferred LST to Topping in the past, so I will refrain from topping these plants as well. It has been a good number of years since I last grew, and this all has had me very excited. This is mostly for myself, however I chose a 1:1 THC:CBD strain for a family member going through cancer, and will be going through chemotherapy at the time of harvest.

They're still being fed water until they've grown a bit more, however we have had spikes in temperature here that have not affected the growth however the plants are definitely feeling it. I have been trying to maintain the VPD, however much of these issues have shown up overnight. They aren't being affected too greatly, however with Kings Kush about two days behind the rest in growth already I think her initial leaves have been affected. All water has been pH'd to between 6-6.2, however Crystal Gelato is showing leaf curling already. I believe this would be an issue with pH usually, however in this case it may be down to the genetics. The serrations aren't as detailed, which tells me the leaves are not as happy as they could be, and this is largely down to the temperature here. I have turned up my exhaust fan and am trying to vent out as much hot air as I possibly can. I'm somewhat confident this would bounce the plants back to how I'd like them to be. Auto Pounder does not give a damn though. She just keeps outgrowing the others, to the point where she deserves her own pot. At the end of the month I'll be transplanting her, as it would be the right time to without disturbing the roots. If anyone is able to provide a bit of assistance for Kings Kush CBD, I would appreciate it. The light is at about 45% right now, and I am considering waiting a bit longer before lowering the light or increasing the power. --update 1, day 1 of Week 2-- The plants have bounced back, and the leaves are showing more detail and generally are looking 'happier' since I adjusted the airflow inside the tent to lower the temperatures. I'll be updating tomorrow with pictures of much happier looking plants. --Update 2, Day 2 of Week 2-- They definitely have bounced back to life, and seem to have recovered from the temperature issue. New leaves are looking good, and no new curling visible on Crystal Gelato. They're growing well and light is being gradually adjusted between 45-50% and I am planning to raise this percentage a little further once the first node has appeared. This would be gradual with a lot of attention taken. Serrations and leaf margins are improving, and leaves are looking happier overall. Kings Kush CBD is improving however showing some strange signs of stress. The only other CBD strain I have grown is CBD Plus, by Dinafem, and it had some strange growth as well. I will be keeping an eye on it. Auto Pounder is still just not giving any sort of a damn whatsoever. She's growing at a rate that seems about 1.5x faster than the others. Does not need as much watering, in a MUCH smaller improvised pot, yet she's still fairly bigger than the others by a noticeable margin. Go underdog, go!

So the girls are really picking up the pace now!! King's Kush seems to have recovered from the heat stress of last week. Right now I'm able to see a lot of their individual genetic traits, like how Crystal Gelato is spacing out more with slower internodal growth compared to Yumbolt or Mozzarella. They all seem to be healthy, and I have today added some topsoil (BioBizz All Mix, same as the main medium). I had planned to do this purposely, as I expected the plants to stretch a fair bit initially. So this way I should be fine on vertical space. The green thing is garden cabling, tied around the pot with 6 "rings" attached to each pot through the bigger cable. I will be getting some zip-ties tomorrow, as I personally find them easier to train plants with. I want to train them a little early, with LST only, since the main-stems are beginning to harden a fair bit. I have included images of the main-stem, to show further differences especially in Auto Pounder. She will be getting her own Air Pot tomorrow, and I'll update with pictures once she has been transplanted. Auto Pounder just keeps on going, still does not give a damn. Stem is already fairly thick and has not caused any reason for concern at all. I'm incredibly impressed with this one. I don't even grow Auto Flowers, I only planned to stick with Photoperiod plants and throw in this Auto for 'just a little extra and to see what happens'. My word, it's seriously making me change my entire outlook on Autoflowers. You can see for yourselves in the pictures, she is in a crappy washed mixed nuts pot with brown tape, and holes, all around it. SHE IS STILL THRIVING, outgrowing the others too. I'm very happy this grow is going well. And I cannot wait for these girls to keep showing more uniqueness as per their genetics.

All plants have been undergoing LST with zipties... MANY ZIPTIES!!! I warned everyone about my use of zipties, *but did they liste-* Ahem. So I'm quite happy with the girls so far. Yumbolt x Banana is taking a bit longer to train, because her internodal distancing is VERY short, and her growth is very Indica dominant right now. I'm happy with that, as it'll just mean happy days once I flip to flower (which is still a fair while away, as I want these plants filling the tent by about 70-75% before the flip). Crystal Gelato is taking to the training quite well, and has a nice bend going on. I think she is on the start to full horizontal growth now, and gosh does she look bushy! Tight internodal spacing on all of these, except for King's Kush CBD and I love it. King's Kush CBD is showing more Sativa dominant growth, which is working quite well for LST as you can see her side-branches already shooting out for the light. Almost as if she 'wants' to have an even canopy and is helping me along! Her main stem is strong, however once I concentrated primarily on new growth she has shown great promise for once a Trellis Net goes in. Auto Pounder was placed into her own Air Pot, however because of the very makeshift pot I had her in initially her roots became a bit torn at the edges, which is fine as I wanted her to be stunted however she is already showing some small pistils and I'm hoping she waits a while longer before going into full flower (as I had hoped she would be a bit bigger). She most definitely would have been larger if she didn't experience some root stress, however regardless of this she is really taking to training very, very well I'm just going to have to keep a close eye on her as I would not want to LST if she is going to be in flower. Mozzarella is growing strong, and there's something about her growth that I do like as it seems to be almost inbetween Crystal Gelato and Yumbolt x Banana. She has also been taking well to training, but not as well as Crystal Gelato, Auto Pounder, or King's Kush CBD. Not to say that in a bad way at all, it's great since I'm overall quite pleased with the internodal spacing being rather tight on a lot of them. Airflow is well enough that there is absolutely no signs of mould, and I've been trying to match VPD with great results given the temperatures have sometimes spiked up to 30c I've been using Shogun nutrients as their first feeds. Initially I wanted them to focus on root production, so I had used a little bit of Shogun Start in their first feed, however I cut that out on the second feed (they've been hungry and fed twice since the last update). I am overall quiet pleased with them, and their SmartZEN thing their nutrients come with, to 'significantly decrease signs of heat stress', seems a bit farfetched at first however these plants have been growing quite well in higher temperatures without much trouble at all. The only issue I have right now, and it's a very, very small issue right now, is Fungus Gnats. They slowly go away by the time the soil has dried, however I will be getting Diatomaceous Earth to add on top of the soil to deal with this before it becomes a real issue.

Yesterday Auto Pounder, I would say, officially entered the flowering stage. She started flowering rather early, and my attempts to stunt her went way too well... However it'll give me some good smoke before my others are ready for flowering and chop (as they are Photoperiods). Her pistils are shooting out really well, and I haven't even been using the Geisha Foliar. I'm waiting for the node sites to spread a bit before taking a picture of the branches, which may be added next Friday.

---This is Week 5 of veg, the diary has an auto in it so that's messed up the numbers a bit--- Edit: the white spots on the leaves are from a Calmag foliar spray I applied. So this past week's growth has been a wild one. I decided to do some things new. The truth is the main-stems were getting very strong very quickly, alongside the very, very tight internodal spacing (the average spacing being 1cm or less apart between nodes). I've begun defoliation, however as I am planning to veg these out for another 2-3 more weeks I am taking my time to not overly stress each plant, however there's another reason for the overly dense canopy. I removed all zipties and began relying on a trellis netting, which as you can see has gaps that may be good for flower, however my branches are bunching up a lot more. In the coming days I'll be reintroducing LST, at least better than what this large-gap trellis is allowing. This can be noticed especially in Yumbolt x Banana, which has about 10-12 flower bearing branches that are reaching the top, and the leaves receiving light, yet it's so bunched up you wouldn't be able to tell from the top. This experiment to go against my initial experience may have set me back a little. Here we have had some temperature spikes, and I have not been able to control it in time. I have only today added some moisture sources to the tent, in order to raise the humidity as it is NOWHERE near the VPD it should be. If this doesn't work, I will have to invest in a cool mist humidifier. Just today the temperature went up just past 31c, which is terrible as you all know. Yumbolt x Banana is definitely showing signs of heat stress, and so I did a foliar spray of Katana Roots at 10ml/l, as advised on the bottle to help alleviate heat stress. At first I had assumed it was a nutrient issue, until I realised this is exactly how King's Kush CBD first reacted with my initial heat issue (which you can see in the earlier weeks where her leaves were rather poorly). Another thing that is noticeable that I have not done before (as I have always relied on solely LST), but since it's been many years since my last grow why not try some new things? I TOPPED MY PLANTS!!! I was so hesitant. Most are topped above the 5th node, I believe Yumbolt was topped above the 6th due to her very short stature and heavy Indica growth. I'm glad I did this however. I am hoping that by the time the lights are flipped, these plants will produce a good amount.

I've intentionally stunted this from the beginning. She was initially placed in a very shoddy tub that once held mixed nuts. She had her roots damaged whilst transplanting into a measly 3L Air Pot. And she also was under 12/12 as an autoflower strain for most of her flowering period. And she managed to give me about 22g of DRY WEIGHT. I have been toking on this for a few days, as soon as it dried, and this strain is very relaxing. It begins with a heavy stone, that has levels which my mind gradually floats through throughout a few hours. The high is long lasting, and incredibly medicinal in that it tapers into an all over, head to toe relaxation that includes pain relief. The taste is a sort of skunky citrus. My mother has been going through chemotherapy, and having my own physical and mental ailments I needed something much, much better than on the street and this is the ticket. It's potent enough for me to be well medicated, however I'm able to walk for miles per day doing shopping, I can move and lift heavy things, and if need be I can even lift my mother without hurting my back. I can genuinely look after my family with the relief I get from this strain, as the twisted discs in my back don't even bother me. The only regret I have is that I intentionally stunted this. I like my variation in my grows, always have, and it's rare that I would consider growing a strain again. This one is definitely high on the list. Thank you Auto Seeds for producing such lovely genetics. She's hardy, grows with ease, has a much bigger yield than expected, and on top of that has a wonderful effect. I hope you're very proud of this creation, I certainly would be!

-Start of Week 2 of Flowering- Auto Pounder really has exploded with pistil growth since last week, and she continues to shine. The small drooping leaves at the top only started showing this after I watered, and decided to move the plant away from the light a bit (removed the game case her pot was sitting on), as the serrations were pointing upwards. She did not like that... I figure by this, that her serrations are a part of her genetics or at least the bean that popped for me. I've since raised her, however there wasn't enough time to take a picture however the leaves began lifting back up before lights went off. I am also considering lowering the humidity, however this also depends on my other plants (which are still in veg). Since she is in a 3L pot, which is rather small on purpose, she's now requiring daily feedings yet only about 250ml at a time. Whilst I have chosen Shogun, and I'm happy with their nutrients so far, my research indicates that many people are disappointed by their Silica supplement, so I have decided to order some Advanced Nutrients: Rhino Skin. I have not used Silicon, however it seems to be all the rage. When people online are often saying that it is responsible for 10% of their yield at the least, I couldn't pass that up (Silica in general, I've just used AN before and figure it would be a good addition). I'm going to be adding some Si to topsoil, which is why I've intentionally left a fair bit of space in all my pots. Well, initial plan was to add Guano, though I'm interested in using Shogun's PK formulations for this grow. UPDATE (Week 2, Day 2): I've uploaded a new picture of Auto Pounder after moving her closer to the light, this morning. She is really reaching for it, and really likes the light. I can't really help that, but wow she's growing quite well for Day 8 of flower.

**The numbers on the weeks is all messed up, as the grow really started on the 13th of June with true leaves.** So they certainly have exploded with growth! I have begun giving them Advanced Nutrients' Rhino Skin, as I heard it is rather good since the Shogun Si supplement has many bad reviews online and from people I know. I thought it would be a bit late to apply it, since I hadn't used it during the rest of the grow, however I can very easily say it was a brilliant idea. There's some gap between two ends and between the plants (as my autoflower is in the middle), however as my tent is long they are bunching up a bit where they meet each other. I'm going to attempt some defoliation to see where I'm at, however I have a feeling it may be a good idea to flip the lights some time soon or I would run out of space. I've been trying my best with the canopy, after removing my zipties some time ago, however I've kept 'some' lower nodes and clipped some fraggly ones off. Mainly because I can anticipate these to stretch a fair bit with the initial flower (which would give me a chance to LST with the trellis netting, before the stems harden too much usually after the second week of flower). All in all I think they're going well. Yumbolt x Banana is still showing shorter, well, everything. I'm hoping she stretches a bit, though with her being lower by just an inch perhaps less terpenes will die off from heat (considering she's expected to be tasty). Trying to find the silver lining of a slightly uneven canopy. Mozzarella is growing into her net nicely, whilst King's Kush CBD has never really had any trouble with her training. Crystal Gelato is just stretching like crazy and her nodes just want to keep shooting up. I need to apply something to fix the gaps in the canopy, they're too big for how these are growing! Overall I'm pleased.

-14 days into flower as of today- Shogun feed chart states not to add PK Warrior until Week 3, however I've been adding this to her feed for a few days now as I knew she could benefit from it (this also made her leaves perk up and become happier). I have Shogun Zenzym on the way, and it should be here next week. It's meant to break down dead root matter, and turn them into nutrients for growth spurts. I have heard this sort of thing before, however I am tempted to try it this time 'round (with all the plants in this tent). I have also changed the lighting from 18/6 to 12/12, as my photoperiod plants needed to have the lights flipped. I'm unsure what the less light would do to such as fast auto, however I'm hoping it wouldn't affect her yield too much. Overall I'm very happy with the way she's going. She's just exploding in growth day after day, and I am absolutely surprised that she is only 14 days into flower (the days in the diary are messed up since I count Week 1 from Day 0). Her smell, when I lightly touch her, is a tropical almost over ripened mango scent. It is very subtle at this moment.

-42 days- So I flipped the lights a while ago, and whilst pistils aren't showing yet the Bracts have begun reacting by shooting outwards along with a very good pre-flower stretch. Yesterday I gave them the first feed with Shogun's Zenzym formula, which they have been responding to already quite well. Crystal Gelato is my prize and glory here, she is just behaving so good. She's stretching like crazy, and I definitely will get a trellis with smaller gaps for my next grow. as going by the trellis alone it's been a bit difficult keeping them down, however I'm now just waiting for them to stretch. ... Then you get to Yumbolt x Banana and, well, I have no bloody clue what she is doing. I'm tucking, moving branches, etc. however the top branches are REALLY short, so that's literally the farthest they are able to go. They seem okay, and there is one lower branch I'm contemplating snipping before it's too late, however I will probably keep that there. The silver lining to Yumbolt x Banana being shorter, is she is only shorter by about 2.5 inches. That allows me to have a bit of distance for her so the heat is less likely to damage any sensitive terpenes later on into flower. Looking forward to her aroma and taste. King's Kush CBD is doing well, however the growth is REALLY Sativa dominant now. Her stems are certainly just a bit weaker than the others, however it's been improving and is now really toughening up since the lights were flipped. I moved one branch out of the way, and suddenly a bunch of smaller sites are shooting out. Very good. Mozzarella is bunched up a bit, however I do not want to clip off too many leaves right now. I wish to keep most on, until later on when I consider lollipopping for yield. This is a great consideration, so I'm not too worried right now since my airflow and humidity is good with very little fluctuations (apart from when I feed them). Before the lights went out, I sprayed them all with a foliar of Sumo Active Boost.

-Day 21 of Flower- Auto Pounder is looking and smelling great. Her flowers are just about pushing through, and it's mostly pistils still. The flower is growing rapidly though, and it's likely to be visibly prominent by next week I reckon. I've been very busy lately, though I managed one pic. Main cola is about half a banana so far!

So this entry is a little late. The photoperiod plants entered their flowering stage on what I want to count from the Friday that just passed. I've had to put something under Yumbolt x Banana as Crystal Gelato has been growing amazingly well. The grow has been turning to a case of getting the other plants to work around Crystal Gelato. She LST'd well, she responded to topping well, and overall her growth has been absolutely phenomenal. Will see how she goes as she flowers. Overall they're doing well, though I need to raise Yumbolt x Banana a bit more as Crystal Gelato has shot up 1-2 inches PER DAY. She's going nuts, and one of the reasons why I chose to grow her for a second time (had a run with her many years ago). I'm excited to see how this goes. Also it's been much easier since I removed the trellis once the majority stretch had stiffened to some degree. The Rhino Skin, I truly believe, has had a lot to do with this. Even the thinner branches have strong vigour to them. Biggest issue right now is the heat. The light is on 100% power, and the tent has spiked to 32c however thankfully the plants are still thriving. Somehow. Again this may be an effect of the Silica, and I am very pleased by it. These are danger zone levels of heat, but they seem okay. Doing by best for airflow.

There's no use putting the exact weeks down, and I'm definitely going to make single strain diaries next time. They're all doing well. Despite Crystal Gelato's persistent stretching, she doesn't have a lot of pistils in the internodal flower sites - I'm hoping they increase in time, since they are 7 days into flower as of Friday. Not much now apart from watching them develop flower. I've begun lowering the feeds for Auto Pounder, and begun her on Week 5 of nutrients (as per the Shogun Nutrients feed chart), even though it is the start of Week 4 into flower. I think next week, at some point, I'll begin feeding her Dragon Force, a heavy Phosphorous solution, however I will keep an eye on her bud growth alongside seeing how her pistils are behaving. Even the lower buds have milky trichomes, and I understand this to be a situation with autos, so with a few things regarding this I'm following other flower growths to determine a rough harvest period. I would estimate 2-3 weeks to go, however I could be wrong. Will see.

Not a whole lot to update on here, however they are all doing well. I've had an issue with Fungus Gnats, however I have applied Diatomaceous Earth to the topsoil and almost immediately they seem to have scattered. Some of them (like Crystal Gelato) have droopy leaves only because I fed them about 30 minutes before taking the pictures. They were doing well other than this. Self-pruning has been evident here and there, as they're focusing on the bud sites more and more. I'm surprised at how well King's Kush CBD is doing, considering she has the least amount of THC. Would be good to see how she gets on with the rest of the grow. Yumbolt x Banana is showing extreme trichome production, considering her leaves are already showing a fair dusting of trichomes (not mould, if you are able to zoom in the trichomes are abundant and unmistakable), and this is BEFORE proper flowers have developed (I could only see pistils so far). I'm most impressed by this, also given her great array of double serrations on the larger leaves she is likely to be quite the treat!!

The grow is going well. Auto Pounder is going to be a small harvest but that was intentional from the start, however she has been doing a wonderful job growing out. I've been feeding Dragon Force, which I haven't included in this page yet, and she loves it. Judging by the trichs and pistils, she is ready to chop very soon. The others are looking great, King's Kush CBD is especially doing great with her long spears. The flowers on Crystal Gelato, despite a great veg stretch, are growing a bit slower than the others (I'm putting it down to genetics). Not in the bad way, as it's too early to make judgements, though it would be interesting to see how the flowers develop on all of them. The photos will be due for their PK Warrior feed when they're next hungry, that would be great and I can't wait.

So they're coming along well. I am almost regretting not lollipopping more vigorously earlier in the grow, however as eager as I am I'll just be snipping them as tasters when the time comes (not pictured). The tops are all looking good, however King's Kush CBD is evidently growing the largest by far. I haven't included Auto Pounder as *drum-roll* she was harvested!! I am going to include pictures once she is dry. I took some nugs and wet trimmed them, to try, and I am pleased and looking forward to dry trimming the rest. She should be ready to jar within a day or two, is my prediction, and I will update the diary with that harvest when I can weigh up the dry nugs. I'm not expecting a lot, and that was the plan from the start, however it has exceeded expectations and that's all I can say right now.

Today is the first day of Week 6 of Flower (the dates in the diary are off a little). They're doing well, and are rather smelly! I have listed the smell as 'normal', since there's still a few weeks to go and I'm sure they'll stink way harder in time. Mozzarella is really sticky, and the buds have really begun putting on a fair bit of weight. Most of them are okay, however Mozzarella's weight is really weighing down the branches - I have had to install a trellis net again so she has that support, and it's working well. Crystal Gelato's buds are smaller along the branches, however they would still likely produce an acceptable amount. Will see. Yumbolt x Banana is the smallest, however her bud structure is doing well. I'm keeping an eye on her lower growth, which was not removed in time, however if they cause issues I can remove them for the sanctity of the grow. King's Kush CBD is clearly growing like crazy. Each spear is longer than my face by a fair amount. She is growing very clearly like a Sativa, however while the bud growth in size isn't expected the growth pattern is somewhat. There are no real noticeable trichomes, despite them being very visible on the others (Crystal Gelato's being very difficult for the camera to focus on), and the flower is rather slow in pushing out. I have a feeling she will finish a bit hairy, however I'm hoping for more actual bud growth in the next few weeks. Hopefully the Phosphorous and Potassium adjustments (as per the Shogun feed schedule) help stimulate that somewhat. Overall it's going well. I'm loving the aromas they're giving off, and am anticipating the scents to get stronger.

They're looking good as they're in week 7. I have altered the feeding schedule, as the bud growth started slowing down, so I have begun using Dragon Force, with Zenzym and Sumo Active Boost a week earlier than the feed schedule. I may go to around 9 weeks, but that would include a two week water feed rather than one. The trichomes are mostly all milky on the flowers, so they're definitely in their final ripening stage. I'm anxious to see how much I get, and I just hope it is a good amount to last me until my next harvest.

***Start of Week 8 of Flower*** They're maturing rather quickly. Most of the images were taken a day or so ago, however the Crystal Gelato was taken this morning as lights went out. They all have had milky trichomes for a good while, and I was waiting for amber trichs to appear on the flowers. Today is that day, and I'm very excited. There are some white pistils and they will always keep coming about, however the majority of them have curled towards the bud and I see a small amount of amber trichomes with the loupe (on the flower). Despite King's Kush CBD being incredibly 'hairy', her trichomes are milky with a bit of amber as well. She could probably go for a bit longer, however I do not have the space right now (this has been incredibly different to everything GreenHouse Seeds describe it as, so far), so I will be chopping her with the others as she has mature trichomes and big enough growth. The smells are lovely, and overall I'm very excited to be harvesting soon. I reckon within a week from now as I'm entering the window. Fingers crossed that this all goes well!

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