Week 3: Low stress training and transplanting
Hello dear growers and growerettes,
I am back with another update on my grow, where I am growing four different strains from Zamnesia: Gorilla Zkittlez, Gigglez, Bruce Banner and blueberry.
The third week was very productive, as I decided to apply some low stress training (LST) to my plants. LST is a technique that involves bending and tying down the branches and stems of your plants, to create a more even and flat canopy. This way, more light can reach the lower buds, and the plants can produce more flowers and higher yields.
To perform LST, I used some plant wire, which is a flexible and soft wire that can be easily wrapped around the branches and stems without damaging them. I gently bent the main stem of each plant to the side, and secured it to the edge of the pot with the wire. Then, I did the same with the side branches, bending them in the opposite direction of the main stem. This created a more horizontal shape for each plant, and exposed more bud sites to the light.
LST is a great way to break the apical dominance of your plants, which is the tendency of cannabis to grow one large main cola and smaller side buds. By bending and tying down the branches, you can trick your plants into thinking that they have multiple main colas, and encourage them to grow bigger and more uniform buds.
Here are the sizes of my plants after three weeks and after applying LST:
Gorilla Zkittlez: 20 cm
Gigglez: 18 cm
Bruce Banner: 18 cm
Blueberry: 15 cm
This week, I also transplanted my plants into bigger pots, to give them more room to grow and develop their roots. I used 13x13x13 cm pots, which are temporary pots for my photoperiod plants, as they will need even bigger pots for their final stage. I filled the pots with BioBizz Allmix, which is a rich and organic soil for the vegetative stage.
I increased the amount of water I give to my plants, to match the size of the pots. I water them every three days with pH-regulated water, and I make sure that the amount of water is 1/5 of the volume of the pot. This way, I avoid overwatering or underwatering my plants, and I keep the soil moist but not too wet.
I also continue to feed my plants with some organic nutrients from BioBizz, such as Acti Vera, Fish Mix, Bio Heaven and pH Down. These products help to improve the health, growth and yield of my plants, by providing them with essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes.
The temperature and humidity are the same as last week, at 23°C and 55% respectively. I keep the light at a distance of 35 cm from the canopy, and I measure the PPFD value to make sure it is around 300 µmols/m²/s.
I am looking forward to the next week, where I expect to see some more growth and maybe some signs of flowering. I can already smell the sweet and fruity aromas of my plants, and I can’t wait to taste them!
Thank you for your attention, and see you in the next update!
Cheers, Keta Pan