Potential polyploid, Super Long GG4 Sherbet FF Grow

Day 1 in the soil, 12/9/23: Since I just popped her in the dirt and I buried her deep, I don't expect her to be up for 24-48 hours. I'm fine with that, feeling very zen and even a full 48 hours would only put us at a 4 day sprout and surface time. Veg Day 1: 12/12/23: The first true leaves are visible so I'm calling this the first first day of veg. I'm trying to keep the maximum amount of light directly above her to keep her from stretching at all in the early days. Veg Day 3: It's easy to feel like she's growing slowly, but when I compare her pictures I can easily see the changes. This strain takes its time developing large serrated leaves before putting out the next set. Some strains I've grown have popped out with their true leaves and fan leaves almost at the same time, creating a tiny 'rose' formation. This lady does not do that. Veg Day 7: The first week is over and I'm decently impressed. I think she could grow faster under stronger lights, but given this is a long operation, I've opted for weaker lights that I can put directly over the plant to avoid stretching, which seems to be working well so far. She is planted in 100% natural compost from my garden and yard waste. The compost is full of beneficial microbes continuing to break down the nutrients into bio-available forms. I will continually repot her into new compost. The old dirt goes to the bottom of the pile so it's no waste. The current plan based off previous grows under these not particularly strong lights, is to repot her into a larger pot at about 21 days. Realistically I have large enough pots on hand that I could repot get into a giant one and then not worry until she's transplanted outside. However, repotting twice would refresh the nutrients and allow me to monitor root growth. No decision has been made yet. If she stretches a lot despite my best efforts, then I'll probably pop her straight in the big pot and bury her up to her seed leaves.

Day 9, week 2: The first set of fan leaves is unfurling, so I am expecting growth to take off this week. Currently planning to transplant at the end of week 3. I added a dollup of raw honey to the half gallon jug I bottom feed with. I fill the jug and let it sit overnight to let any sanitizing agents in the water evaporate. Day 11, week 2: She is significantly firmer and wider than yesterday. The fingers on her first fan leaves are fully visible, and her third growth node is clearly visible from the top and sides. Since she has months of growth left it's super important to keep her compact during this early growth stage so I can continue giving her enough light until she gets outside. Day 12, week 2: I went to check her roots today and was shocked to find giant fingers sticking through her bottom holes. I transplanted her to a 12 inch round pot and gave her a light watering with some water I ran through her previous soil mixture. The pot is completely full of rich compost from my backyard compost heap. It's the same stuff she was previously potted in. Hopefully this boost of new natural nutrients and microbes will help her use those giant roots to gain explosive growth! She now has more than twice the light she had previously. I'm still keeping it an inch away to avoid as much stretching as possible. My plan is to use aggressive side lighting and minimal close top-lighting to keep her very bushy and growing outwards, so when she goes outside she can explode upwards. Day 13, week 2, I am noticing slight yellowing on the bottom leaves of this and another plant that was in a different tray. I've scoured the internet and it's either nitrogen deficiency or nutrient lockout. However the other plants in the same tray did not display this stress, so it may be strain-specific nutrient needs. I'll keep you updated. Day 14, week 2: She seems stable and firm, and growth has continued on her newest set of leaves. The 2 plants with nitrogen deficiency are significantly worse today and they are both the same strain, so I'm thinking I was just paranoid about this lady.

Day 15, week 3: She's still growing, but not any faster than before and her bottom leaves are still a little paler than I would like. My hope is that the top growth has been slowed because the roots are cultivating the much larger pot. If nothing improves within a few days I may consider a soil test to make sure the pH is correct. I am completely confident the nutrients are suffient, so it's either lockout or an unknown pest problem. Day 16, week 3: She looks remarkably better today, with only slight yellowing. I'm chalking this up to nutrient disruption due to transplant. I raised the light to maintain the same distance. Day 17, week 3: She looks upright, thick, and green from top to bottom. I had to move the lights again because her fan leaves keep reaching up to them. Very minimal stretching, and the 2 bottom nodes of side branches are developing, and so far a 4 stems/leaves look uniform in size which is awesome! I added a good dollup of grandma's unsulphured molasses to this batch of water. It feeds all my plants, so nutrient measurements will not be accurate, but since I used a random spoonful anyway, it wasn't that accurate to begin with. Sprayed lightly with a leave-on organic neem oil spray, as I've noticed some baby aphids in the grow room, and one made it onto her. Day 19, week 3: She's looking very firm and strong. I've started to spread the two lights above her apart, leaving a space for the canopy to grow in between them. This is already having an effect, the side branches are considerably larger than those of a plant started at the same time with only overhead lighting, and the top leaves seem to be slowing down comparatively.

1/2/24: Day 22, week 4: So far week 4 is off to a great start! She's looking really healthy and vibrant from above, and none of the large leaves are showing any discoloration. My only concern is one of the lower nodes is growing large on one side, but has a super ugly yellow weird growth on the other side. After writing this diary entry and examining the pictures, I have decided to pinch this shrimpy growth off, as it seems weak and not worth saving. Better safe than perfectly symmetrical branch growth! Day 25, week 4: She looks lush and full with strong bushy habit. She currently has 7 side branches with at least 1 node. That's 8 fat bud tips and counting from a good harvest. Day 26, week 4: My outdoor cat snuck inside and helped herself to my grow room. She knocked over the lights and gave this lady an uninvited defoliation of one of her middle nodes. It's hard to tell how extensive the damage is, as the knocked over light caused her leaves to turn all wonky searching for it. Hopefully by tomorrow she'll be back to normal with 2 fewer leaves. She also released quite a stank from her broken leaf stems. This may be the last no smell week. Day 28, week 4: She seems to be fully recovered from the cat incident, except for the permanent leaf damage. She is growing in a nice Christmas tree shape, with her bottom fan leaves stretching out massive 6+ inch stems to optimize light absorption. Out of all my grow room plants so far, she is the second most vigorous, with tight side shoots forming all the way to the base of the plant. She's definitely capable of growing into a very bushy plant. Interestingly, the side branches where the leaves were feline-defoliated are growing much faster than the ones above or below that node. After observing the phenomenon, I think I will probably defoliate the other large fan leaves over the course of the next week to keep her bushy. As of today, January 8th 2024, she has 114 until she's scheduled to start her outdoor transition. That's 4x as long as her current veg 😍. I'm really starting to understand how truly massive this lady is going to be when she goes outside. In other news my Royal Moby from RQS will be ready for mainlining next week, so check out that diary as well.

1/9/24: Day 29, week 5: She's growing strong and really starting to get up there in size. As I said last week, my plan for this week is to mostly leave her alone but slowly defoliate her largest fan leaves to allow the side branches to grow bigger. Since this is a very long veg with no training, I think it's really important to focus on the bushiness/thickness of the plant and less on height. I think that removing the powerhouse leaves consistently from the main shoot can encourage lots of lateral growth as it has so far. Day 35, week 5: She is generally growing pretty well. I have noticed a certain weakness in her stems and branches. The leaves snap off very easy and ooze liquid. The side branches so far have unimpressive mildly floppy stems. The plant is fully upright, but she's putting way too much energy into giant leaves and not enough into sturdy stems. I've been giving her air stress treatments, but they're only helping a little. Supercropping may be necessary, or these branches will need hella support to not snap. Day 36, week 5: I super cropped the floppiest bottom shoot yesterday by pinching the stem and breaking the xylem and phloem between my fingers up and down the entire first internodal length. In my experience this usually causes floppiness for under 24hrs and makes a much thicker woodier stem without one knuckle like traditional super cropping. This morning the branch was halfway erect and visibly thickening. I went ahead and did another floppy branch. I also took a clone yesterday. I dipped it in root hormone and plopped it in compost just like her mom. Today, more than 12 hours later, the clone is not floppy, so that's a good indicator that it is taking up water and will probably put out roots within a week. It is definitely worth noting that many clones I've taken in the past were dramatically floppy for days. Quickly recovering clones is definitely a trait I'd personally look for if I were a professional grower.

1/17/24: Day 37, week 6: Generally I have no complaints about this grow. She isn't the fastest or thickest, but she is consistently growing upwards and outwards. This is the only plant in my entire grow that is going to require a tomato cage for support. I'm a little bit concerned about transplanting her outdoors with a cage in a few months because she'll be completely grown into it. I'm considering my options but her floppy branches are going to need support. Day 44, week 6: A combination of wind training and supercropping seems to be strengthening the branches. Nothing else to report, she's growing happily. 15 inches today.

Okay-- I got a little lost on which day was which week, but I think everything is straightened out now. Day 45: 45 day check in. She looks pretty good. Thick central stem, and I've been super cropping the side branches. After healing they feel woody and strong. Every node, except for the second to lowest that got pruned, has a juicy side shoot, all the way to the top of the plant. No shoots look underdeveloped. Overall she's a pretty solid plant. Assuming the next 6 months go well, currently I'd say I'd grow her again. Some of my plants have displayed really undesirable qualities like slow growth and snapping easily, she suffers from neither of these. I popped the clone in dirt with rooting hormone and it's still very much alive at least a week later. It didn't bounce back like some other clones have, but alive is a definite positive. I am planning to continue popping off the largest fan leaves, but now only as they start to get shaded out by the next set. Vertical growth has slowed. This is unsurprising because she exceeds the width and height of her pot, so her roots are most definitely circling. Side branches are now the primary growth sites. Currently I don't plan to transplant her up a bigger pot, as that seems like a pain in the booty and she's still got ninety some days inside before she goes in the ground. I'd say if she hits 4ft (she's currently 15.5 inches) then I'll put her in a bigger pot. Dat 49: All is well.

Day 52, week 8: Ummm she has grown a tendril. Like a pea. Day 56, week 8: Shes looking all good. I've continued defoliating the branches and I'm watching her weird tendril.

Day 58, week 9: She's growing well and looking good! Day 62, week 9: Sfter extensive research that took weeks (this is an update) I have decided that she must be a polyploid, as that's the only way she could have these tendrils and preflower which becomes much more intense in following weeks. https://growdiaries.com/journal/what-are-polyploid-cannabis-plants#cnt_779_8 I cannot find the article I read saying tetraploids can go under preflower, but only preflower under 24hr light, but this piece of info is what lead me to believe she is a polyploid, not the leaves shown above. Otherwise she's doing well!

Week 10: At this point she no longer really needs daily updates. I try to snap pictures of her daily, but she has as much going underneath as on top now. She's a beautiful plant in full preflower. No emergence of buds, and I don't expect there to be.

Week 11: This lady continues to grow into a lovely bush! Considering she's under a 30w led strip, she's huge. Her stem is as thick as my thumb. Man I can't wait to plant her outdoors and watch her grow into a GIANT! She's reached maturity and her nodes are stacked instead of in pairs.

Week 12: So far so good! She's a gorgeous small giant. Some things to note: I've successfully rooted one of her clones but it took many sacrifices (unlike everyone else). She's remained in preflower. After about 3 weeks the pistils shrink and turn gold, but no buds are emerging. I've decided she's still in vegetation. She has not done an actual preflower stretch. We've passed halfway to outdoor growing season. All research points to polyploid for her weird characteristics. She's still growing tendrils. They fall off if you don't hook them to something. The tendrils are only at the main stem so far that I've observed.