Week 4: Growth Spurts and New Challenges
Continued Growth and Health
As we move into the fourth week, the plants are showing impressive growth. Their leaves are a lush, vibrant green, and the stems are becoming stronger. The transition to the larger 11-liter fabric pots has clearly paid off, providing the roots with ample space and better aeration.
Adjusting Nutrient Levels
Given their positive response to the nutrients, I decided to continue with 2/3 of Terra Aquatica Tripart feeding schedule, adjusting slightly to meet their increasing demands. Here's the updated feeding plan for this week:
CalMag: 2.5 ml/l (Starting EC before adding nutrients: 0.50 mS/cm)
Grow: 1.5 ml/l
Bloom: 1.0 ml/l
Micro: 0.5 ml/l
EC: 1.2 mS/cm (600 ppm PPM-500/TDS)
pH: 6.0
Each plant is watered with approximately 20% runoff to ensure there's no nutrient buildup in the coco mix. I will maintain this nutrient level until the pre-flowering stage to avoid the risk of nutrient burn due to over-fertilization.
Weather Improvements and Adjustments
The weather has been steadily improving, with temperatures expected to rise to around 25°C starting Wednesday, accompanied by abundant sunshine. This upcoming forecast is excellent news for my plants, as I anticipate a final growth spurt before flowering begins. Every centimeter of growth counts at this stage, and I'm optimistic about maximizing their potential under these favorable conditions.
Strengthening with Wind Exposure
On days with good weather, I move the plants out of the greenhouse to expose them to natural wind. This practice helps strengthen their stems, improving overall stability. Additionally, the wind creates a more challenging environment for pests, helping to keep them at bay.
Smart Watering Strategy
I only water the plants when the pots feel noticeably lighter. This encourages the roots to search for water, promoting the development of a stronger and more extensive root system. This method helps ensure the plants remain healthy and resilient.
Pest Management: Observations and Actions
At the beginning of the third week, I noticed dark discolorations on the undersides of some leaves. A few days later, these spots turned into yellow patches. I am still unsure about the cause of these spots. To prevent a potential insect infestation, I sprayed all the leaf surfaces, both top and bottom, with a mildly dosed neem oil mixture. Since then, the spots have not spread further.
Because these discolorations are only affecting the lower leaves, they are not causing me significant concern at the moment. Regular inspections and preventive measures are crucial to maintaining the health of the plants and ensuring that any issues are caught early.
Decision Against LST
At first I have decided against using LST. But some of your comments made me try some LST on two of my plants. I choose Tangie and Gorilla cookies to try out and learn some stuff. Blue dream and Banana purple punch stay without any training. Thanks guys for your advice 👍
Monitoring and Care
My daily routine involves checking the plants every morning and evening. This includes:
Monitoring the moisture level of the coco mix.
Inspecting the plants for any signs of pests or nutrient deficiencies.
Growth Observations
The plants are responding well to the controlled environment and balanced nutrition. They are growing rapidly, with new leaves appearing almost daily. The stems are thickening, and the overall structure of the plants is robust and healthy.
Looking Ahead
As we head into week 4, I am optimistic about the continued growth and health of my plants. The combination of a stable environment, appropriate nutrient levels, and diligent care is proving successful. I’m excited to see how they progress and adapt as they move closer to the flowering stage.
Seeking Feedback and Tips
Your feedback and tips are valuable to me! If you have any suggestions on how I can improve my growing techniques or insights based on your own experiences, please feel free to share them in the comments below. Let's grow together!
I found small flies + white dots (almost silver) on leaves and aphids in between the buts. Remove top buds and the leaves. Gave her a shower and sprayed some light dose of neem oil
What else can I do to save her? Or should I chop her? Buds not ripe yet.
Hello Smoking_Joe_Frasier,
You are right, these are thrips.
You can kill them pretty easy with one of the options mentioned in the article below,
https://www.growweedeasy.com/cannabis-plant-problems/thrips
Happy Growing Buddy! 💚
@CuriosityWebster,
Thank you for your opinion. You convinced me to start an LST experiment on one of my plants. No risk no fun. Can you give me a tip on when is the best time to begin?
@Stony_German, Danke mein Bester. Das war bestimmt die Alkohol Lobby mit ihren Chemtrails 🙈 Aber wir lassen uns nicht klein kriegen. Es wird gegrowt, bis sich Söder in den Schlaf weint
@Cornholio,
Danke Growmie, momentan ist aufgrund von Schimmelbefall jedoch Frühernte angesagt. Mal schauen, was ich aus den Resten meiner Tangie noch rausholen kann. Vielleicht habe ich mit meinem Orange Bud grow mehr Glück.
Drück dir auch die Daumen für deinen Cheese grow 🤟🏽🍀🥦
Congratulations on the harvest
Just in time to avoid big losses 🙏
Humid conditions can cause budrot too, not only rain. I had it 3 times already.
One rain will not destroy your crop but continuous bad humidity conditions, low temperatures and rain all together will
U can have the most mold resistant plant ever but she wont make it trough 2 weeks of shitty weather
I'm gonna make a nice shelter again soon for the flowering period
@Clutch,
You’re absolutely right, my friend. My Blue Dream had a really big main bud that was almost begging for bud rot. After all I'm grateful for a yield of good ganja. I'm really looking forward to smoke those ladies
My whole apartment is smelling like a cannabis dispensary. Wish you good luck with your grow. May Shiva be with you
@ChefDan420,
Thanks mate, first time trying LST. I'm satisfied how they look. Also i'm curious if there's a big difference in the yield of the trained and untrained plants.
@RasendeRollo92,
Danke mein Bester, macht mir auch tierisch Spaß mit der Community hier.
Wenn jetzt ab morgen auch noch das Wetter besser wird, kann ja nichts mehr schief gehen.
Die Ladies gehen in die Vorblüten und einige Anpassungen sind von nöten.
Ab morgen beginnt meine 5.Woche, also schau mal wieder rein 🏼
Sehr interessanter und detaillierter Report. Ich setze meine Damen auch tagsüber aus dem Gewächshaus heraus; gestern ging das, heute war zu viel Regen, aber nächste Woche wird noch einmal einen Schub geben.
@Sejanus21, danke für dein Feedback.
Ich lasse momentan die Damen komplett im Gewächshaus, da die Temperaturen dort höher sind. Ist bis jetzt ein armseeliger Sommer. Die nächste Woche zählt, meine Babes zeigen erste Pistils. Wenn das Wetter passt, hoffe ich auf einen satten Stretch. Dir auch viel Erfolg Growmie 🍀🥦
From my experience, doing some easy LST like bending the shoots away from the plant does no harm nor slow growth. Especially outside this will prevent other stressors. Due to the width you will have better airflow later and can prevent mold etc. .. additionally you will also get a much better canopy and therefore an improved harvest.
If you want to strengthen your plants further, you could add something like SiCaMag by Plantboom.
Last, you could consider getting a solar fan for around 40€, to further prevent mold and strengthen your stems.
@DayDream07,
You guys convinced me to give LST a shot 😉. I thought about adding silicate or mycorrhizae, but I’m sticking with the Tripart series and Calmag for now. Let's see how far I can get with these.
Thanks for the fan tip, but unless it's raining, they're outside catching some wind. I want those stems to be gym-level strong!
Honestly I see where you’re coming from with not wanting to stress the plant
But LST and spreading the plant will only help you in the end. 95% of the time I’m willing to bet. Other 5% is other environmental/genetical problems
@CuriosityWebster,
Thank you for your opinion. You convinced me to start an LST experiment on one of my plants. No risk no fun. Can you give me a tip on when is the best time to begin?
sehr hübsch! Wie läuft es mit dem Gewächshaus und der Belüftung / Luftfeuchtigkeit? Das könnte ja besonders in ein paar Wochen interessant sein. Happy Growing!
@DayDream07,
Hi Daydream07, bis jetzt sieht alles soweit gut aus.
Ich hatte anfangs die Zugänge komplett geschlossen, da die Temperaturen nicht so hoch waren. Da die Luftfeuchtigkeit aber zu stark gesteigen ist, musste ich die Eingänge zumindest halb öffnen. Abends schließe ich wieder alles. Bist jetzt klappts gut. Im Hochsommer kommt alles auf und das Gewächshaus dient nur noch als Regenschutz.
Dir auch Happy growing 🍀🥦
@DutchJardinero,
Thanks Growmie, the weather will get better. For the flowering time, my ladies will move to the greenhouse. So no worries here 😉
Wish you also happy growing my friend 🥦🍀
Looks pretty good!
Im roughly in the same stage as you. I testet LST and within 2 days they adjusted well to it, allowing the plants to intake more sunlight.
@Aedaone
Thanks so much for your comments and likes! 🤟🏽 All four strains turned out to be a fantastic smoke in both flavor and the type of high they deliver—honestly, much better than I expected. What’s even better is how different they are from each other, giving me a perfect variety to match my mood each day. Really stoked about how these turned out—truly fire! 🔥 Wishing you the best of luck with your own grow! 🍀🥦
Enhorabuena por la cosecha a pesar del moho!
Has hecho bien retirandola antes
¿Has tenido lluvias que han mojado los cogollos? ¿O es debido a la humedad ambiental?
Whenever it rained, I moved the plants directly into the greenhouse. In the last few days, there hasn't been any rain. If the forecast didn't predict rain, I left them outside on the grass overnight. However, each morning I found the buds really wet from the dew, despite the dry weather.
@nonick123,
Thanks a lot man. I really enjoy doing some gardening. It slows me down and relieves stress. And it's dope to eat every day lots of sweet tomatoes, strawberries and cucumbers. Happy day for all garden friends ♥️🌝