Grandaddy Black

copy/paste disclaimer: I started these diaries a bit late, and in order to enter into the competitions I'm starting them as single strain diaries to be eligible (as the note states when creating new diaries). Week two may come early, within the next few days for some, however from then on it would be as consistent to the day as possible. END OF DISCLAIMER. I'm excited for this one, Grandaddy Black. It's GDP crossed with Black Domina, and the latter parental genetic really piqued my interest. Considering this would be a grow going into Winter, I'm hoping she brings out some lovely dark colours.

-Start of week 2- Grandaddy Black looks rather happy, not a whole lot to say about them at this point other than they're looking good :)

-should have been updated on Friday, pics from then- Not much to say, looking good so far but I had to encourage a stretch after this as the internodal spacing got WAY too short.

Not much to say as she is recovering from topping. Will be installing a trellis net soon and defoliating some larger leaves.

-LIGHTS FLIPPED- Grandaddy Black is growing the best, I would say. Droopy only due to it being feed day (I go for a full wet-dry cycle with my soil). She has nice side-branching, and depending on how they do during flower I may consider snipping the two lowest nodes - however I have a feeling I'll have 10 tops, as opposed to 8 (all depends on how well she stretches in flower).

-I am calling today day 1 of flower, as I decide this part of the schedule on the pistil growth and when they are 'established' within their growth, before spurting out more and spreading.- Grandaddy Black is doing exceptionally well. It's not visible in the pic, however there are eight main branches with two of the lowest ones trailing behind. I've spread the main branches in this way, to promote airflow and light penetration to the lowest bud sites. I'm looking forward to seeing her grow, as she's the tallest of the bunch (in regards to the four total Photoperiod cultivars I'm currently running).

-WEEK START FROM 12/12, PICS FROM 13/12- I couldn't control the stretch on Grandaddy Black, and so she is a bit taller than the others. Her flowering stretch completely threw me off guard, however thankfully she is doing quite well. My light is as high as it can possibly go, and I am hoping for the best. No negative signs from light stress, however it would be something for me to look out for over the coming month.

-WEEK STARTED ON 19/12 / PICS FROM 20/12- Grandaddy Black was making me anxious for some time, since her pistils were not growing according to her stretch at first. My woes have been put to rest however, since they are showing promising growth once her stretch began to slow down considerably. The pistils continue to stretch, and since taking this picture more are close to 'meeting' to form longer colas. I am hopeful for a good yield from her. Aroma wise, with very light handling the smell is incredibly sweet. The grape terps from the GDP lineage have really come through, and my word it's perhaps the sweetest grape I have ever smelt on Cannabis. The moment I had a whiff of my fingers, I became incredibly excited for what is to come. As always I am anxious about the yield, as we all would like a large harvest, however since the stretch slowed my worries are very much put to rest. Feed wise she is the most finicky. She is hungry more often, and at some times I have been unable to go for a full wet to dry cycle. She showed signs early in her flowering growth that she would require her medium to remain more saturated. I watch for the droop in her leaves. Once they droop past a certain point, she requires more feed. The days I continued to go for a full wet to dry feed cycle, is when the flower growth slowed down considerably (as if they were preparing to stunt themselves), yet since this time and quick action she is thriving once more. This is a great example of how different genetics require different levels of care. With this experience, I most certainly am pleased to be growing her in soil with good water retention. I simply cannot imagine the nightmare she would cause in Coco Coir or low retention mediums. I have no worries, however I would certainly say she requires more attention than most other strains. However the pay off is something I am very eager to see and smell (and of course: smoke)! If I feel the attention is already worth it, with her being a month away at least, I can only imagine my contentment post-harvest time.

-WEEK STARTED 26/12 PICS FROM SAME DAY- Grandaddy Black is growing well; I was nervous that her nugs will form as small golf-balls, akin to some varieties of Bubba or OG Kush, however she is slowly forming larger nug structures and is coming into her own so to speak. Her aroma is... Out of this world already. I would not call the smell 'normal', as I still need to get close enough to notice aroma (and I know she will do much better as time goes on), however the aroma itself is incredibly sweet. Berries, and very little else at this stage. Just insanely sweet Summer Fruits berries, so strawberry, black cherry, etc. with some hint of blueberries at the very end (instead of the beginning). It's an aroma with levels and waves, and I'm extremely excited to see how this develops (alongside hopefully a much larger nug structure).

-WEEK STARTED ON 02/01 - PICS FROM 03/01- Grandaddy Black's flowers are finally starting to chunk out a little bit more. In my previous grow I had noticed that Geisha Foliar Spray forced the plants to produce more new, white pistils and so I've attempted that with these to encourage longer bud growth. This seems to be working, and now I am waiting for the flowers to chunk out a bit more over the next few weeks. Some leaves have yellowed, and I have added additional calmag. It isn't damage to worry about, however since this picture they have been recovering as well as they could. I'm keeping an eye on this, and may encourage more potassium with the next feed as well.

-WEEK STARTED 09/01, PICS FROM 10/01- I have had to install another trellis net, with wider gaps, as I had to lower my light for other plants so Grandaddy Black needed to be gently bent over. Her branches are strong enough to handle this well, and the top nugs are incredibly close to the light. There is some light bleaching, however I have a fan in just the right direction to mitigate some issues. There is little that could be done at this point, and lesson learnt for the future (to not be lazy with training). Many of her fan leaves have faded, and some have been removed when they became weak. She is nearing the end and I am expecting her to be ready within the next couple of weeks. Her aroma is just beautiful. It's incredibly sweet, and just keeps getting stronger with time. I'm very, very excited for her harvest.