Strawberry Gorilla and Gorilla Cookies

October 18, 2023 Day 43 The beginning of the flowering stage. All ladies are in flower now except for Gorilla Cookies 2 who is still in pre-flower for now. This week will focus on DLI and feeding. Maybe a bit of defoliation as well, but I think I'll wait for a week before doing another trimming. The whole canopy is only 12" now and it is a bit of a concern. They are growing kinda slow compared to the plants in the overflow tent that are in 1 gallon containers. Strawberry Gorilla: These 2 are looking great! Not much growth in height, but the leaves are still growing and the branches are hardening off. Number 1 is just better than her sister plant. She has great broad branches and beautiful leaves. Her colors is beautiful as well. She's about 12" tall now. I expected her to be a bit taller by now, but we shall see. Number 2 is still compact and small. She is the same height, just less bulky. Her colors are still beautiful and leaves are still growing as well. She also had a couple leaves popped off today. I won't be doing anymore until she gets bigger. Gorilla Cookies: Both of these ladies are growing at their own pace. Happily, they are still the same height, so I don't need to change the light or lift any plants. Number 1 is still growing lopsided on the main top side. Very healthy and beautiful bud production, internodal spacing is decent. About 0.75" internodal spacing. But still lopsided. The back end is catching up though. The center is mostly the shorter area. But that's where all the auxiliary branches are. Number 2 is stunning. Beautiful leaves 7 and 5 finger fan leaves with great colors. So lush and green. She may be a bit behind the rest of the tent, but she is spreading out evenly and filling back out from her selective defoliation. I'm expecting insane results from this plant specifically. She will certainly take longer to harvest, but I believe it will be worth it. Grow System Environment: Temp: 74.0° RH: 61.6% VPD: 1.08 kPa DLI: 42 mol/m²/d October 19, 2023 It seems that the top feed gallon yesterday paid off. All of the plants responded really well. The leaves have all turned a beautiful lush green. They perked up really quickly this morning and look absolutely wonderful. It's really interesting to see how all 4 plants are growing to the same height at the same rate. Even when Gorilla Cookies 2 is still in early pre-flower. It's intriguing. Strawberry Gorilla: These 2 are doing quite well. Both are already stacking. Number 1 had a few leaves cut off from the outside of the plant to make more room for Number 2. She's definitely growing some really nice branches and buds. Number 2 is still really compact now that I cleaned her up a bit today. Some of the leaves were covering active bud sites and there was growth that would never make it. And considering she's in full flower, freeing up bud sites is my priority. She's growing at the same pace in height, but not as wide or spread out as Number 1. However as I said, she is stacking and very nicely. As long as she keeps the same height, everything should be good. I'm assuming she will fill out the space during the stretch. Whenever that actually happens. I don't think there will be an issue now that she is watered and fed. Gorilla Cookies: Number 1 is definitely a different phenome than Number 2. Her fan leaves are thin like a sativa. She's also starting to level out a bit. The center of the plant is only about 1.5" shorter. They'll catch up. Number 2 has turned out to be the most beautiful of the bunch. She has lush green 7 finger fan leaves. Her branches are perfectly growing and look absolutely amazing. She's just full enough to catch all the light she needs without impeding bud sites growth. Although, considering she's still in early pre-flower, I'd say her branches and bud sites will flourish and grow super big. I snipped a few leaves from the side to help clear room for Strawberry Gorilla 2. Just a couple though. I'm expecting great things from this plant. Funny how the one to start out a bit sickly turns out to be the best one so far. Ha! Grow System Environment: Temp: 75.4° RH: 60.2% VPD: 1.17 kPa October 20, 2023 It's a bit warm and humid today and it's wreaking havoc in the tent. Slightly higher temps but humidity is almost 70% even with 2 dehumidifiers running. Anyway, Watering day! The reservoirs weren't empty, but I topped them off anyway. I took out the recharge for this feeding. I also had to take away the Nirvana from both Strawberry Gorillas and Gorilla Cookies 1. However, Gorilla Cookies 2 is still technically in veg but starting pre-flower. I think. She is slower to develop than the rest, but is bigger than everyone else as well. Strawberry Gorilla: These 2 are looking good. They are definitely more compact than the Gorilla Cookies, but I still expect them to stretch more. A lot more. If they don't, then I need to understand what I'm doing wrong. Number 1 had a few leaves trimmed. 2 inside and 1 outside. Overall, she looks good. Her structure isn't exactly what I was looking for, but not much I can do now. I can't use a SCROG net as they aren't really stretching fast enough to make a difference. Maybe when they stretch more, I'll add it if needed. I also noticed a bit of a nitrogen toxicity, hence the removal of the Nirvana. If that doesn't do it, I'll drop the cal/mag in half and see about maybe dropping the base grow solution down a bit. Number 2 is still compact and small. Her buds are stacking really nice though. I can expect at the very least some big fat nugs from this one. Gorilla Cookies: Number 1 is kind of a structural mess. The center is definitely not growing as fast as it should and I'm wondering what's up with that. She looks nice and healthy, but she is developing 3 finger fan leaves now and I know that's not good. What does it mean? It's definitely not the lighting. Number 2 is absolutely astonishing. Her structure is perfect, her leaves are rich and vibrant. Her bud sites and side branches are nearly perfectly spread evenly across the whole canopy. I was saying she is in pre-flower, but I feel like she is just getting there now. Maybe a fluke couple of early pistils. She's definitely going to be the biggest and healthiest plant of the 4. Not that the other plants are bad, just not where this one is. I would have taken the extra time in veg to really get a hold of the training for the other 3 plants, but oh well. Now it's nearly impossible to train any of the them without breaking branches. Anyway, she got a bit of a pruning and some more LST today. I leveled this lady right out. Pulled down a couple protruding branches from the top center of the canopy. They are all roughly the same height as the other plants in the tent. She is significantly full of foliage, but it's not over crowded. And I'm expecting the internodal spacing to stretch out that foliage and make it more open. I do have a bit of a concern with her placement int eh tent. If she is the biggest, she shouldn't be up front. She will block the other plants from my access. Not that I really plan on doing anymore aside from the final defoliation in the 3rd week of flower. I think it's the third week. Maybe 10 days into flower. I'm still not too sure how I'm going to level the rest of the plants out without breaking branches. I should probably pull each one out of the tent and do some work on them. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. Maybe just a bit more growth will give me some pliable stems to work with. Grow System Environment: Temp: 75.6° RH: 61.5% VPD: 1.13 kPa October 21, 2023 There won't be any training or anything today. Water is perfectly fine, plants are growing. I did have to lift the light an inch though. So that's good. Strawberry Gorilla: Both ladies are still fairly short, but so is the one in the Overflow Tent for now at least. Number 1 is filling out nicely now. Rotating her main top back in was a good idea. There's plenty of space for the lower fan to be. I can't really use it for the lower canopy yet. There isn't enough space. Other than that, I popped a couple leaves off and that's about it for her. Number 2 is growing just as much, but still more compact. I'm starting to think they look more compact than the rest, but I'm willing to bet it's the leaf structure. They are thin as sativa strains are, so it shows more of the plant and not so much the foliage. I wonder if that's the case. Gorilla Cookies: These 2 are doing quite well. Number 1 was completely left alone today. Nothing to do and no bud sites to open up yet. Number 2 had a few leaves popped off to open space and free up a few side branches. However, she is starting to get massive. She's definitely only just starting pre-flower. Her leaves are still super lush and green. Her tops are nice and bright just waiting to start flowering. However, it's interesting that this one plant of all 6 I'm growing is stubbornly staying in veg. I don't know if I should complain, be concerned or just be psyched for the bountiful harvest she will provide. Either way, could this be a fast flower somehow? I doubt it and guess she's just slow to start. Especially because she started out sad, then got broken. It seems that the topping and slower start is paying off in size. Grow System Environment: Temp: 74.7° RH: 63.3% VPD: 1.05 kPa October 22, 2023 There has been growth! All 4 ladies grew a nice amount last night. No light change or anything. Strawberry Gorilla: Number 1 was selectively defoliated. I also removed most of the tie downs to let the lower side branches catch up. She'll be needing a watering top off tomorrow or the next day, I think. Number 2 also had some defoliation done. Honestly, this plant is a mess. Her leaves are all over the place. There's a lot of 3 fingered leaves as well. I have no idea what I'm doing to get these, but the same thing happened with my last two strains from different breeders. It has to be something to do with lighting. The ones in my overflow tent aren't having this issue. Actually, neither is Gorilla Cookies 2. But she is the absolute best of the entire grow. She's got really hard branches that are near the main top and pulling them down would be inadvisable. That kind of leaves the side branches a bit put out. So I released the entire plant from the tie downs. Hopefully, it will help bring those side branches level with those center branches. I also top watered her about 2 liters. She was a bit light. The roots are finally pushing through, but not a lot. They are breaking through all over the bottom so I expect the roots are near filling up the pot. Anyway, she seems thirsty, but the wicking system is a bit slow. I'm guessing it's the lack of roots touching the wicks. Her trichomes are starting to come out in force. She is also stacking very nicely. So far the best stacking of the group. Gorilla Cookies: Number 1 has been adjusted a bit. I removed most of the tie downs, moved one branch to the back of the plant, got a few leaves snipped to open space between the plants and rotated a tiny bit to make it a little more roomy. She has some pretty impressive stacks happening. The internodal spacing is around 3/4". It's a bit close, but I expect more stretching. So I should have space for each bud to grow to its full potential. Number 2 is by far the best of the 4 plants. She is simply massive with lush deep green leaves and quite a few bright green tops. The canopy is flat and near perfectly structured. Her current height, being 15" tall at this stage and health, will almost certainly double in size, if not close to triple. That being said, she's a thirsty girl and will only get thirstier. I may have to top feed once a week to keep up with her need to feed. As it stands, the wicking system is working really well. I'll make sure to keep a closer eye on water intake. I've also removed the new growth under the canopy to keep it clean and to redirect the energy to the top of the plant. There wasn't much, but I'd rather keep up with it so the plant doesn't dedicate energy where it's not wanted. Grow System Environment: Temp: 75.3° RH: 61.1% VPD: 1.14 kPa October 23, 2023 Today is top off day. I forgot to add the recharge, so I'll have to do that with the next reservoir refill. Unless I need to do a top feed before hand. Then the recharge will go in there. They don't seem to have grown much though. Really short. I also left the light alone. None of them are ready for movement or intensity increase. Gorilla Cookies 1 might be ready. Strawberry Gorilla: I have come to the conclusion that these Strawberry Gorillas start out really small and then maybe start to grow happily much later on? If they even grow anymore. I'm really confused. These are supposed to be huge plants and they aren't. All three I have growing are small. Only about 13" tall. Even the one in the overflow tent is small. Could it be from early flower? They didn't have time to stretch? Or are they late stretchers? Could be the LST. Man, this is kind of an issue. Also, strangely enough, none of them had their tops broken with the exception of the intentional FIM in the Overflow Tent. Also, the phenome is the same for them. Very similar structure and leaf shape and size. The buds are stacking the same way as well. So that's cool. Same phenome. Nice! But it still leaves the issue of why are these plants so small? Where the Gorilla Cookies are just bigger. Gorilla Cookies 1 isn't as big as Gorilla Cookies 2, but that's for their own report. And those aren't the same phenome. Completely different from each other. Number 1 had a few leaves snipped to give her more space. She looks good for such a small plant. I'm really hoping she takes off soon. Very soon. Number 2 also needs to take off. She is still a training nightmare. No clue what happened there. I'm going to say that Strawberry Gorilla is not the best candidate for LST. Or at least not tie downs. So this is just my experience, but for anyone reading, I would suggest SCROG or something else not tie downs. FIMing worked really well, so that's also an option. I did that in my Overflow Tent. But tie downs did not seem to help with stretching at all. Anyway, I popped a couple leaves off that were sticking into the other plants. Gorilla Cookies: These plants are looking great! Both need nothing anymore. No more training, noore defoliation... Well, maybe Number 2 as she hasn't been defoliated yet. I did remove a couple leaves that were intruding in the other plants. But it was just a couple. Number 1 has the best stacks so far. Tall, great spacing! Not much in leaves either. I hope it stays that way and I just get super easy to trim chunky buds. The center of the plant is still pretty low, but it's flowering now. She is definitely not as thirsty as the rest of the plants. No big deal. I have a feeling that won't be an issue in the coming weeks. Number 2... Number 2.... Oh man oh man. This plant is absolutely stunning. She is ready to stretch and flower and I cannot wait to witness it. Her structure, leaf size, main stem and the amount of branches tells me that she will be really big. I know I've been saying it since she completely recovered, but the more and more I watch her, the more I realize the significance of her health and girth. I'm really excited. Anyway, she got the reservoir refill like all the rest, but she got Nirvana and not Big Bud as she is still growing and isn't in flower yet. I expect she will be in full swing flower in next week. Maybe less. Hopefully in a few days. I'd like a bit more growth before the stretch really starts. The humidity is finally dropping now that autumn is here. So it's helping keep the RH down to a reasonable level. I think I can drop it more if I really want to, but I think I'll wait on that for another week while Gorilla Cookies 2 is only in pre-flower. I think a steady 55% for the next 2 weeks will be fine. By then it should really be dry out and I'll be able to get down to 45% maybe even 40% for the last week or so. Grow System Environment: Temp: 75.2° RH: 59.1% VPD: 1.19 kPa October 24, 2023 Not much to do today. I pulled a few leaves here and there. A couple of really short shoots that will never make it and raised the light a few inches and increased the intensity to 90% power. Now all ladies have great coverage and a DLI of 41 mol/m²/d with the outer edges around 38 mol/m²/d. Strawberry Gorilla: Ok, I don't get it. These two are still really short. What have I done wrong for 3 of the same strain doing the exact same thing? Number 1 looks good but is small. Her buds are developing quite nicely and fairly speedy. They aren't big, but this still early flower. Number 2 is impressive with her stacking. Just like number 1, her buds aren't big. But again. Early flower. I don't really know what to do now. Just let her grow. Or well, let them both just grow. I'm still seeing zero upward growth. I really don't get it. Gorilla Cookies: These ladies are both doing fantastic. They are in completely different stages now but both are doing excellent. Number 1 has super nice stacks. Only a couple branches in the middle seem to be struggling a bit. I plan on a selective defoliation in the next couple of days. Especially before number 2 gets too big. Number 2 is a beast. She has tons of tops popping through the canopy with several others coming through as I write this. I might do a defoliation after the stretch, but I want to see how the branches stretch. Based on number 1, she should have pretty spacious stacks. So the internodal spacing should stretch out pretty well. If that is the case, I might not have to do much in defoliation. The bottom third of the plant is cleaned up nicely. Grow System Environment: Temp: 75.5° RH: 61.3% VPD: 1.13 kPa