September 20, 2023 Day 15
This week is the start of the Bottom Feed System. I'll be keeping an eye on these 2 while the soil soaks up the water. I also started the nutrients to make up for the recycled soil.
Strawberry Gorilla:
This one is tall and strong. Happy as can be. No plant growth, but I'm sure tons of root growth. With the bottom feed system, the roots should start growing exceptionally fast. I expect the vigor of this strain to show in the next few days. As these are 1 gallon fabric containers, I'm thinking I'll get another 2 weeks out of veg. Then straight into flowering. I'll do my best to train her down to keep the height of the Gorilla Cookies.
Gorilla Cookies:
She's a bit droopy, but I think she likes more nutrients off the bat. Maybe? I'm honestly not too sure.
The main grow tent has similar droopiness. But they seem fine. Kinda like they need more heat? I'm not sure to be honest. I may turn the exhaust fan off completely to keep the heat in.
Quick Update: One thing off the bat that I noticed today is how slowly these containers prime vs the larger 5 gallon containers in the main tent. It's gotta be a weight thing. I had to pre-prime them before putting them back on the Bottom Feeding Units
Grow System Environment:
Temp: 73.6°
RH: 58.2%
VPD: 1.21 kPa
DLI: 25 mol/m²/d (the light is already at the top of the tent.)
September 21, 2023
These ladies are doing just fine. The RH in the tent is a bit hard to keep up as I don't have a humidifier small enough to run in a 2x2. I've been misting the walls periodically throughout the day. So far it's... alright? I don't know. I can't get it to stay over 58%, but it seems to be alright. I also had to turn a heater on in my room to get the temps up. That worked just fine.
Strawberry Gorilla is growing tall and strong.
Gorilla Cookies has a more compact stature. Nice leaf production. She's also a little tiny bit droopy.
Grow System Environment:
Temp: 72.7°
RH: 61.5%
VPD: 1.09 kPa
September 22, 2023
Both plants are looking great today. They each got a nutrient top feed today of 250 ml each. I'll check later on to see how they are doing with the watering. RH is actually pretty good today. Temp is great too. I think I finally got the environment stable.
Strawberry Gorilla:
Looking good. Great color, stretching, but same short internodal spacing as the other 2 in the main tent.
Gorilla Cookies:
Excellent growth. Beautiful structure and starting on the 3rd node. Leaves are nice and broad. Color is great! I can't wait to see how she does in the weeks to come.
Grow System Environment:
Temp: 74.0°
RH: 62.2%
VPD: 1.12 kPa
September 23, 2023
Some noticable reaching today. Right for the light. Both plants bending into the center. So I dropped it down to 24". DLI is 23 mol/m²/d.
Strawberry Gorilla:
She is reaching hard today. I definitely need to pay attention to the light distance as this light is only 100 watts. She still looks good.
Gorilla Cookies:
She's doing quite well. Also reaching for the light today. I'm glad to see they both seem to be light hungry.
Grow System Environment:
Temp: 74.4°
RH: 61.2%
1.15 kPa
September 24, 2023
Looking pretty good today. I might give another 250 ml with nutrients. The pots are pretty light and frankly, these 2 need that soil saturated to at least 30% I personally think 50% is good for this soil.
Strawberry Gorilla:
She grew a lot last night. Outward and her leaves are getting big now. I rotated her yesterday to see if I could straighten out the stem a bit, but I thought that the leaning to one side will make it much easier to train. So it's back to where it was. I'll take advantage of the angled stem. Leaves are a beautiful color. She's stretching a bit with her node spacing. Looking good. The lower light height seems to be a good decision. No stress and the sudden growth may show it. It could be a coincidence, but I don't think so. I expect vigorous growth starting today. This should be very exciting.
Gorilla Cookies:
Also looks great. Nice growth. Getting girthy and the leaves are taking a very nice shape and structure. She's definitely looking good now that the light is closer. I'm also not seeing any signs of stress, so we should be good.
Grow System Environment:
Temp: 74.9°
RH: 69.4%
VPD: 0.94 kPa
September 25, 2023
The vigor is real! Both of these ladies, much like the other 4 in the main tent took off last night. They have beautiful side branches with the leaves growing super fast.
Strawberry Gorilla:
This one took off so much last night, I was shocked this morning. There are side branches already stretching out. No watering today, although the pots still feel a bit light. I may add 250 ml later today. She seems to enjoy the daily watering and the super airy soil. At least that's what it seems like.
Gorilla Cookies:
This one is also looking fantastic. She's got very nice branch growth and her structure, like the others in the main tent, looks nearly perfectly proportionate. Excellent green color. Beautiful stem strength. She really likes the airy soil. As with Strawberry Gorilla, the pot seems light. I may add another 250 ml water today. Just to keep the pot from drying out while the bottom feed system works it's way up.
Update: no water today at all. I double checked and the bottom feed wick system is working fine now. I have a feeling the roots have reached halfway down the pot or a little deeper.
Another Update: The reservoirs were starting to get a bit low, so I finished off the rest of the gallons I had been working on. I also received some Recharge today, so that will be in the next watering.
Grow System Environment:
Temp: 76.1°
RH: 75.1%
VPD: 0.81 kPa
September 26, 2023
Strawberry Gorilla:
I've decided to top this one. I could bend, but I think this is the perfect time to try my hand at topping. Looking great! No watering needed. The bottom feed system is in full swing now and it's working quite well. The bottom of the container is perfectly moist and the reas of the pot is at a perfect 45% saturation.
Gorilla Cookies:
This lady looks great! She got her first training bend today and it was a wonderful success. The plant is structured perfectly for the start of training. I was going to wait for tomorrow, but it just looked like the perfect time to start. Bottom Feed System is also in full swing and seems to be doing a bit better than Strawberry Gorilla. I'll definitely be checking on her later to see how the training took.
Update: I was reading about topping and FIMming autoflowers. What I read from multiple sources, top between 3 and 4 nodes. Not between 4 and 5 nodes. So I tried my hand at FIMming today on Strawberry Gorilla. She has been FIMmed... I hope. But not topped. I feel like if I actually screwed up, the FIM is less taxing on the plant? I think? Anyway, I'm going to ask if this is correct. Let's hope it works out well.
I also started LST on Gorilla Cookies. One perfect bend tied down. I'm expecting a nice turn out with this one. As I said earlier, great structure for training.
Grow System Environment:
Temp: 75.8°
RH: 77.5%
VPD: 0.73 kPa
Is this FIMed correctly? It's my first time topping or FIMing. I chose to FIM as I've read it can be less stressful on plants. So I'm wondering if I did it correctly. Just after the 4th node. The little pieces sticking out aren't part of the top. Thanks much.
You'll always find people telling you to top or not to top automatic plants. I've topped all my automatic plants and always lst them with great result. If you check out my purple lemonade from fast buds, I've topped and let it and it's flicking huge! Doubled in size compared to all the others. Just do it if you feel like playing around, especially in hydro where the recovery time is minimal.
What LST method should I use with my FIMed Strawberry Gorilla Auto? Should I try to Tie Down? Do I wait for the top shoots to start showing? Tie just the side branches down? Bend the whole plant? Wait and do nothing? Please, all opinions matter. Thanks!
same as any other LST... before it turns woody/rigid to the point it snapps if oyu try to bend it.. that's too late.
apical dominance is what you are manipulating. highest growth node takes the most resousrces. permanently or temporarily bending somethign over to even out canopy is an ongoing maintenance process.
what space do you need to fill? what is is responsible for in your tent? etc.. shape it as needed.
a larger plant you want to keep things bent down and spreading out until it is wide enough to support the size you want - this saves vertical space too. if it's a smaller plant you may just need to spread out branches as they grow vertically a few inches from each other or more... don't have to be as extreme with the bending in that case, but sitll need something to hold it in place - garden wire or scrog etc.
if you understand teh cause and effect of apical dominance, you can shape the plant any way you need to. the only wrong way is one that doesnt fit your needs.
Great looking grow so far my brother! We have our little Strawberry Gorilla going now as well....still in week one, but I am watching and learning from your FIM'ing experiences. Keep up the great work!
@Prilyfe13,
Guessing on the dried weight, but we will know this week. Jarring it up in the next day or two. It was a massive plant in such a short growing period. It dwarfed what we did with our Orion F1 (which yielded 1.7 oz dried).
@SirVerdePollex,
3-4 oz is pretty good! Congrats on that and at 78 days?! I haven't had a harvest under 90 days. I'm hoping this will be the grow. Under 90 days here I come!
Nice looking grow! I am planning to FIM or top our next grow (Strawberry Gorilla) so I am certainly following and watching your grow. I have a question for you though. I am curious, why do you think you'll be done in seven weeks? Based on the timing of the plant's vegetative progress (from your photos) and my experience with autos, it will be quite a bit longer than seven weeks. Unless you are talking seven weeks of flowering. Time will tell, but from the looks of it it you have long, beautiful journey as she packs on bids. Good luck!
@Prilyfe13,
No worries...glad it's going well and I will certainly be watching. We have a week to ten days left on our Mimosa auto grow. She is huge. Good luck to you with the two gorillas!!
@SirVerdePollex,
Thanks for the follow and I'm glad you are learning from my humble diary. I was thinking 7 weeks flower. I think I phrased that wrong. Whoops. I will say the FIM was was a success and the training was successful, but I think I should have waited a few more days to start. Oh well. It's bushy and healthy. That's what matters.
@nonick123,
Thanks! Harvest will be tomorrow for the Strawberry Gorilla. I put the Gorilla Cookies in the Main Tent for the rest of the grow. I can't wait! So exciting!
Looks great my good man...both of these ladies! Nice work! We missed the opportunity to try FIM'ing our little gorilla (I was missing in action and came back too late to attempt it). Will have to have a go at it NEXT TIME. Looking forward to seeing what you end up with here...once again, nice work!
@SirVerdePollex,
Thanks! I'm really happy with them. But you should check out my other Strawberry Gorilla diary. Same strains but bigger... Much bigger.
Bummer you missed the FIM. Next time.
Great photos and accurate description.
Fast buds and advanced nutrients are a guarantee of success.
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The supplemental lighting helped a lot. No more falling leaves at the moment. I should be able to squeeze a few more days out of her for better lower buds.
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