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Seeds were started in dechlorinated water and soaked for 18 hours before transferring to paper towels. Both seeds showed signs of cracking before taking them out of the water.
I use a few layers of paper towels to keep them from drying out. The plate of seeds are then placed on top of a gallon bucket of water heated with a germination pad. This helps to regulate the temperature of the seeds. A towel is placed on top of the plate to further regulate the temperature. Dechlorinated water is always used through the grow from initial soaking to harvest.
Skipped week 2 as it wasn't all that interesting. At this point the plants are branching and gaining some height. A very mild smell is even making itself known.
Tomorrow they get transplanted into their final containers and go into the main grow tent.
The plants were repotted into fabric 7gl grow bags with a mixture of 75% organic potting soil, 25% worm castings and the recommended amount of Gaia Green 4-4-4.
Microryzia was sprinkled on the roots and mixed into the soil around the root ball to promote root growth and development.
LST has begun by pinning down the main line and when side branches get enough length they will be redirected to fill out all portions of the grow bag. With two plants in a 2x2 area I will be shaping them to be oval to minimize contact with the other plant when they reach full size.
Taking pictures on a regular basis is a great way to judge growth. I was disappointed in the growth of the plants until I started with this week's post and reviewed pictures from only 5 days apart and am no longer disappointed in the growth.
Dechlorinated water is kept in the tent to keep it the same temperature as the plants.
This week the budding began. Growth was explosive and a lot of LST was done to shape the plants to keep them growing out and not up.
Leaf tucking was started to keep max light on the bud sites. Main stem growth is still going strong and producing more bud sites along the way
Water consumption of the plants increased a significant amount which is great as its a good indicator that the root system is developing as fast as the above ground bits.
With the bud comes the smell which is getting stronger by the day but not overpowering when I open the tent. The double charcoal filters knock out all smell when the tent is closed. Super happy to have a canister on both ends of the fan system.
I switched over from a 200W light system to the Philzon 400W COB lights and from past experience the plants will pick up speed even more. In my past grow with the Critical Purple these lights produced 520g from 400W which I was quite thrilled with.
Both plants are developing nicely. Lots of LST to direct the buds into open areas. Began some defoliation to expose new bud sites.
Previous grows I accidentally topped the plants and was really careful not to this time around. I have noticed the lack of horizontal growth in these plants and in future grows might top one and leave the other alone as an experiment. Best practices for autoflowers says not to top the plants but under continuous lighting topping might be the way to produce more product. Time will tell.
This week I topdressed with Gaia Green Power Bloom (2-8-4) and watered with a CalMag solution. Maintenance has been defoliation to expose bud sites and leaf tucking when appropriate. LST is ongoing to direct growth to the sides rather than upwards. Trichome development is accelerating and the plants are starting to get quite frosty and sticky. I now need gloves or a good wash to clean up after playing with them.
Bud development is progressing well and plenty of growth is expected during the next month of flowering. Watering is increasing and now nearly two liters per day.
This is my first grow running lights 24/7 and not sure if the overall duration of the grow will be shortened or not. Time will tell.
Getting into the home stretch. Trichomes are getting milky with a few turning amber. Buds are getting thicker but nothing quite like my other grows.
Of the four batches that I have run indoors the lowest harvest for a single plant was 150g. This grow will be my least impressive and expect that each plant will produce around 100g. I still have a bit before harvest and keeping up hope that these ones will start filling out in the next couple weeks.
I might be surprised but given the current rate of growth and weight gain I still have to be realistic about my expectations.
Factors influencing the lower harvest.
1. Left them in the original germination pots too long and they got a bit root bound.
2. I underfed them once they were transplanted and put them into the grow tent. Gaia Green 4-4-4 gives the appropriate instructions but I misread it and used teaspoons instead of tablespoons and effectively used a third of what I should have.
3. These plants didn't respond as well to LST as other plants. Each bend really slowed down further growth of that branch. Previous grows the plants didn't break stride when being pinned down. They kept on reaching for the light and filling out the space once they were pinned down.
Maintenance at this point is watering which is diminishing in quantity each day. There was some final defoliation to remove any leaves that would impact growth over the next week.
The Tangerine Dream buds aren't super frosty but are pretty damn hard and these ones are getting thicker each day.
Trichomes are cloudy but few have turned amber. My ideal is with a lesser percentage of ambers as I'm looking for the buzzy high from this strain which really accentuates the qualities of this variety. For me Tangerine Dream is the GoTo strain when I want to get stuff done. After smoking it I feel the need to do something. Could be going for a hike, cleaning the kitchen or building something but in the end its a great motivator and limiting the sedative aspects is what I am wanting out of this so harvest will be coming soon.
Grow went well and experienced no difficulties with this strain. As mentioned in a previous week the yield was less than hoped for but there were factors in my management that led to this.
The drying took place in a custom dry box that gets vented back into the tent to be carbon filtered to keep the smell down. It worked really well and my garage doesn't smell like plants are being dried. I used a 4" variable speed inline fan to a Rubbermaid bin with a raised grill on the bottom so the buds have airflow all around them. The exhaust was then fed back into tent where it was then carbon filtered. Dark drying with no smelly garage.
Currently working in curing and trimming along the way. The buds are quite frosty and smell amazing. I really love this strain and even though yield wasn't a personal best it'll still be more than I need.
I'll post a final dried weight once the curing gets close and the humidity levels stabilize.
dr_dv
