First Grow - Photoperiod clones/LED/Soil

TheFairyBudMother —

TheFairyBudMother Week 2, spraying regularly with water and very diluted molasses

TheFairyBudMother Some training. Moved light higher.

TheFairyBudMother Adding more Cal-Mag to deal with Purple stems, and lowered Ph to 6 by adding some of my home brew Kombucha. Added more overall nutrients. Raised the light about 6" last week and added a second 300W equivalent Viparspectra LED today. I had one day of power outage last week from 8-5 daytime so I moved the plants close to a window for the day. Installed PVC frame and netting. FIMing , pruning training and supercropping is keeping plants low. Watering about once a week with no issues. I like the air pots a lot.

TheFairyBudMother Plants are loving being under the second added 300 W equivalent Viparspectra LED. Raised light a few inches. Pulled back on nutrients. Watered thoroughly with garden sprayer. Only 1 watering per week needed so far. I'm being very careful not to over water or over feed. Lowering ph with homebrew kombucha which is mildly acidic and full of nutrients. Sun-Tuesday I went from 24 hrs light to 20, 17, 14 and 12 Wednesday. Decided not to repot Lemon OG into an air pot as it's doing well. Raised it up so Soil level is level with other plants to avoid continued stretching. Broke a branch off accidentally but stuck it in water for possible cloning! As my strains need 8 - 10 weeks to flower, I needed to start flowering now to be around to dry, trim & start curing before Burning Man (first week of September) so I can enjoy going home without worry. (Will have minions assist with the cure). Covered power strip lights with electrical tape. Space is open in daytime during lights-on time and closed at night/lights off. Keeping light centered on daytime to allow a cooler environment at night and optimize a day/night temperature differential given that I live in a very mild temperate zone and hear a little differential makes for good buds.

TheFairyBudMother Lots of little buds! Saw first pistils around day 8 of flowering. Platinum GSC is flowering a little later, Lemon OG was the first to bloom. Platinum Purple exploded. I pulled out some of the low fan leaves (maybe too many) found what looks like caterpillar shit on the underside along with some chewed holes. I sprayed with 1/3 tsp DR Bronners soap/1 tsp cold pressed organic neem oil in 1 L water and turned up the fan. Not too stinky so far. I haven't done anything yet to abate odor as I'm legal but I also don't want to nuisance the neighbors. 6/21 Plants are loving the swamp cooler. Watered with 1 tsp/gal molasses, 3 tsp/gallon Botanicare bloom and 1 tsp/gallon Cal/Mag. Raised lights 2-3" to accommodate for growth. A little light or nute burn on the tips and edges, possibly due to my neem application. No new signs of pests but will reapply néem tomorrow.

TheFairyBudMother Just sugar water today as we're seeing some nute burn. Lots more buds coming in on the Plat GSK & Purple. Those overall seem super happy and are loving the swamp cooler that was added midweek. Lemon OG looks a but frazzled, may flush. Sprayed with neem oil & dr Bronners soap 3 days apart to control pest issue. Any strands in photos are cat fur. While cats don't go in the grow room I have one whose fur is like ANgora rabbit fur and gets everwhere. Personal use, not a clean room!

TheFairyBudMother OVERALL OBSERVATIONS: Tried taking photos with flash,but I plan to add a clip light for photos. Platinum purple has heralded her bloom with a lovely musky sweet grape stank. Platinum Girl Scout Cookies have had an mild scent so far that's mildly hoppy, and Lemon OG, hard to say if there's any scent. Buds are fattening and stacking up nicely with a little nute burn on Platinum Purple and Platinum Girl Scout Cookie (both in air pots) and more on Lemon OG likely due to buildup in the smaller 1 gal standard pot. I water her last with diluted nutrients. WATERING: Plants overall have been needing water every 1-3 days instead of every 5, so I have been giving nutrients on one day a week. I ordered General Hydroponics PH kit just to double check PH, which was below 5 with Botanicare bloom nutrients so I used their PH up to bring it up to 6. AIRFLOW: I just added a second fan today because it's really effin obvious that cannabis likes a breeze based on the floofy buds happening nearest the fan. My biggest bud on Lemon OG is on the super cropped branch that nearly broke off entirely. LIGHT: Raised my two 300 W equivalent LEDs about 1" even though most height has been trained down by gentle bending under the net. Still a fair amount mof stretch. PEST CONTROL: Sprayed 2 more times this week 3 days apart with soap only and once with water but still seeing minor pest issues. Still running swamp cooler on and off as ambient RH has been high and the temperatures have been pretty mild this week. CATFUR: I have an 18lb well groomed fuzzball cat so cat fur is an issue I accept, but note this is not spider mite webbing in my photos. This is for personal use, now fortified with extra keratin. Fluffball doesn't go in the grow area but his fur is as ubiquitous as air. STYLE: My boyfriend sent me unicorns via Amazon to add more magic! -- BTW: Formerly here as "TheFBM," I want to clearly reprazent as a woman grower. I didn't want to call myself TheFairyBudMother until I helped mother nature by midwifing out a harvest of sticky bud. So I hope coming out now doesn't jinx my grow! My boyfriend said "You've been TheFairyBudMother your entire life; own it." You can't fight destiny, folks. A little about me: I live with chronic neuropathic pain from a spinal cord injury and also experience endometriosis symptoms and am currently in perimenopause. Cannabis has helped me get off Suboxone (bupenorphine) after being on it for 7 years, after coming off of another 7 years of long acting opioid treatment (Fentanyl patches, lozenges, morphine) and 15 other prescription medications. I got a California medical rec in '13, and tapered fully off of Suboxone over the next 2 years. Since growing cannabis, I now have an outdoor vegetable garden and haven't gardened in 19 years. So if you're worried growing or using cannabis will turn you into an amotivated pothead, you've been sold some reefer madness bs. This site has been super supportive and inspiring.

TheFairyBudMother OVERALL OBSERVATIONS: Currently pretty hot in So Cal. Still running swamp cooler and fans at full blast. Lights at 27" from top buds. Turning one light off and alternating to help mitigate heat. Nice sticky buds fattening up on Platinum Purple and Platinum Cookies. The pistils on these two seem to emerge curled up, pop out and become glued down. Lemon OG has the biggest bud stack going but none of the buds are particularly sticky yet but they have nice long full light yellow pistils. Some continued leaf burn issues so no nutrients except unsulfured molasses. I did some mild defoliation after photos to not hide anything. PEST CONTROL: Sprayed soil only with neem/soap to discourage any continued pest issues. Finally got a clip light so photos are all taken under incandescent lights. WATERING: I finally got a PPM meter and found out my tap water is horrible (450-700 ppm) so I'm using bottled water from here on out until I get an RO filter or some other type of filter. Platinum Purple was wilting but recovered after some bottled water yesterday. SMELL: Smells like weed in here! It smelled a bit like chicken shit for a couple days but now it smells like cannabutter. The Platinum Purple smells like grapes and hops. The Platinum Cookies smells of mint and chocolate. Lemon OG smells light and sweet.

TheFairyBudMother OVERALL OBSERVATIONS: A bit less hot this week so I was able to keep temperatures below 80 in the grow space. I was really freaked out about the Platinum Girl Scout Cookies because it looks so weird compared to the other buds I see here but then I read that it grows in sticky like this. SMELLS: After a few days of a reek that smelled like chicken poop in week 9, the sweet smell of Cookies came in, which was initially minty and now more like toasted pecans. It smells really good! Platinum Purple still smells like a grape Jolly Rancher. A little resin coming in on Lemon OG but the other two are out stinking her. WATERING: Switched to bottled water which the plants are loving I've needed to water almost every other day because of both the increased size of the plants and the heat. I'm actually going to post an image here of what an underwatered plant looks like. It is so sad! NUTRIENTS: Added back a little bit of bloom nutrients and cal mag but I'm not sure what my reasoning on that was. PESTS: Noticed some fungal gnats but I got them quickly with diatomaceous earth over the soil. I've been so careful not to keep moist soil but with it drying out every other day this has been difficult. Added a tiny bit of SM90 to water (1 tsp/quart). No noticeable eggsacks or leaf nibbling otherwise. IMAGES: All non purple images now taken under a 100w incandescent clip light with an iPhone 6s Plus.

TheFairyBudMother OVERALL OBSERVATIONS: Hot this week! Buds fattening up nicely. Platinum Cookies and Platinum Purple are getting super frosty, while some pixie dust is starting to appear on Lemon OG. Did some light defoliation throughout the week of lower leaves and any bigger fan leaves that were shading popcorn buds. SMELLS: Cookies was initially minty and now more like toasted pecans and now also rubber. It smells really good! Platinum Purple smells like a musky grape Jolly Rancher. Lemon OG smells a bit like hash. WATERING: Now using bottled water which the plants are loving and added a touch of coconut water. I soaked them well on Friday because I went to a big music festival this weekend and came home today to some thirsty plants. I've needed to water almost every other day because of both the increased size of the plants and the heat. NUTRIENTS: Just a little coconut water which I read in High Times is a good potassium supplement. No nutrients from here out. PESTS: Still some fungal gnats but I'm persistent with diatomaceous earth over the soil. I've been so careful not to keep moist soil but with it drying out every other day this has been difficult. No noticeable eggsacks or leaf nibbling otherwise. IMAGES: All non purple images now taken under a 100w incandescent clip light with an iPhone 6s Plus.

TheFairyBudMother OVERALL OBSERVATIONS: Some heat this week but mostly I was able to keep temperatures below 80 in the grow space. We are almost done with Platinum Cookies and Platinum Purple with some top buds having trichomes going from clear to milky but no appreciable amber. I like my frosting on the gold side. I may harvest only the top ripe buds and hold off on the rest until they look ready, unless someone tells me why it might be best to do otherwise. Lemon OG was supposed to finish first but frost is just coming in on her. SMELLS: It smells like weed in here! Lemon OG has a hash, sweet, lemon zest and faint eucalyptus scent, Platinum Cookies smells like rubber or fuel and roasted nuts. Platinum purple smells like a sweet musky sour grape candy. WATERING: Switched to bottled water which the plants are loving. Plants are thirsty. I've been watering about .5 -1 L every other day. Ran off about 10% a couple times. Lower really g leaves are yellowing. NUTRIENTS: They get nothing and like it. PESTS: I think they're getting the message and relocated, perhaps back to Jah. IMAGES: All images now taken under a 100w incandescent clip light with an iPhone 6s Plus.

TheFairyBudMother Growing cannabis has been a physical, mental and spiritual journey for me. This entire grow has been an experiment, one where I have discovered a new hobby and which has rekindled my interest in gardening. I got a Carson MicroBrite handheld microscope but I haven't figured out how to stick it to my iphone lens so you'll have to take my word on the trichomes. Some are clear, some milky with a few amber. On 8/3, I harvested one of the smaller but ripe looking buds of Platinum Cookies to examine the trichomes and figure out how to use the scope. I left most of the small crystallized sugar leaves on and am drying it in a paper bag as a preview sample. I also harvested a Platinum Purple bud on 8/4. The leaves are yellowing, some have died off. Theyare all still drinking water. I did another mild flush yesterday, running off about 10%. It's been hot AF and I've raised the humidity a bit with the swamp cooler. Some rose and purple colors have graced the buds on Platinum Purple and Platinum Cookies. Lemon OG has a nice smell that's less pungent and more sweet than the other 2, which reminds me of some nice DelaHaze I got a while back from a great pot store near Venice (CA). I have trimming scissors ready... If you like music, here's my eclectic playlist of tunes to play in the spirit of cultivation. http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2XqSd18xQQlyxDI6ekZGmaCUqVidxQhd

TheFairyBudMother This seemed to be the most normal looking of my 3 plants despite nutrient burn on leaves. I tortured this plant and it still gave me a half ounce of what seems like half way decent weed. I would grow it again. Nice peppery, perfumey scent that leaves me hopeful about what will result from the cure. Still drying (almost), not yet in jars.

TheFairyBudMother This was my most prolific plant. It was hard to trim and differentiate between sugar leaves and bud so I went easy on trimming especially given that it was pretty sticky. I would grow it again for sure.

TheFairyBudMother I wasn't expecting the buds to look so solid and thick. The pistils could barely pop out of the calyx before becoming glued down. It's a little tragic to consider how good this might have been had I had a clue about how to grow weed. But, a great learning experience and I got some decent buds.