Real Gorill4, DoSiDo's & Purkle #1

Will update with pictures of the other 2 as they break surface. Purkle #1 is just starting to break. First time running a 24 hours veg. Fan was off until the first 2 broke the surface because the soil was drying out quickly. I am using Fox Farms Ocean Forest and about 1/2 tsp of lime raked into the tops of the soil because it was forgotten in the original solo cup soil. These will eventually be transferred to 3 gallon bags and I am considering a 60 day veg period with 3 weeks on a 24 hour veg and 5 weeks at 18/6 to reduce stress on flip.

Plants are still running a 24 hour veg which will continue into week 3 at which point they will flip to an 18/6 schedule to prepare for less stress during the 12/12 flip (which I anticipate to be around day 60). Lights are an inch or less from plants and I do have concern that nodes could be too close however, plants are not minding it in the least so I have not raised the light up yet since they broke surface, I may fill out the rest of the solo cups with dirt on the ones where the dirt has settles much lower down in cup to support stems. Just simple watering at this point. Update 1/6/19; Lights were raised to the next chain link and remain about 1.5 inches from the plant. The growth looks to have actually increased more post raising it. I have included images of approximately 24 hours post raising the light to show the growth spurt. Update 1/9/19; On 1/8/19 I added a small socket heater to the room to raise temps to 70. As a result, the RH dropped as low as 22. On 1/9/19 I added a humidifier to the room and will update with room results after some time. I am going to prep my soil within the next 24 hours to prepare for transplant. This will be a combo of Fox Farms Ocean Forest, lime 1cup/3gal , 2 types guano 1cup/3gal and worm castings 1cup/3gal. Update 1/10/19; RH has raised to 47 during day with humidifier running. Soil blend was mixed which includes; 11 gallons Fox Farms Ocean Forest, 3.5 cups Mexican and Jamaican guano, .6 cups of lime and 1.25 gallons of water pH'd to 6.5. Soil blend will sit for a few days. Did a root check on GG#1 to check for transplant status. Roots are just starting to poke out of the sides of the dirt. Transplant is not needed yet and will check again in a few days after soil has sat. Week 3 will begin 18/6 and ideally they have time to adjust to the schedule change before transplant.

As I started into week 3, I noticed what I believe is either a phosphorus or calcium deficiency on Real Gorill4 Plant 1. I mixed my soil blend on 1/10/19 which is 11 gallons Fox Farms Ocean Forest, 4 cups Mexican guano, 4 cups Jamaican guano, 4 cups worm castings and a little more than half a cup of dolomite lime. Ideally the plants would be transplanted by now but I wanted to give the deficient plant a little time to recover before the transplant. I did a small top feed of high phosphorus guano and a small amount of lime which was raked in and watered on the deficient plant. They plants were also switched to an 18/6 schedule on 1/12/19 so I wanted to have them get a little adjustment to that as well. Transplant should happen by 1/17/10 which will be 1 week of the soil mix sitting. A few days after transplant and time to adjust, they will be topped (ideally id like to do at third node but its already here so I may wait until the 4th). Update 1/15/19: All plants were transplanted into their 3 gallon cloth pots. It was a bad idea to judge by the side roots because they looked pretty root bound on the bottom. Light was readjusted to about 1.5 inches from plants and the second light was turned on to cover more space now that the 4 plants take up the entire 1 light. Now I just need to give them a little time to adjust from the stress of the move and then its on to topping and training. Update 1/17/19: I am beginning to see signs of either transplant stress OR a possible nute lock-out due to soil pH. I have included pictures of the areas of concern to keep an eye on the progress and if needed I will be doing a pH flush during the next watering, Because I may need to flush, I am allowing the soil to get dried out as it still has moisture from the original soil mix. I will let you know what I decide to do on the next update! Also GG plant 2 is looking a bit droopy today so I am trying to keep a close eye on her and her soil.

I started the week out with a full flush of all plants. I believe there were some pH issues that were locking out nutes. I ran the first flush with 6.0 water only to notice my runoff on each was sitting around 5.8. I did another flush with 6.5 and got the runoff on each to be between 6.0 and 6.5. So it seems my soil mixture may have thrown things off a little too low on the pH spectrum. I fully expected to see droopy plants today after such a big flush but they are actually looking better today than before. I will include and image of the droopiness before the flush and the improvement of the plants after. I have decided not to top until 2 weeks after transplant. Update 1/21/19: Plants look as if they may have corrected their issues. I feel like I see a growth spurt in a few. New growth shows no signs of deficiency and the problem areas seem to all be on old growth so that is a positive. It will be at least a couple days before they get another water due to the flush. I cant really determine if the light height has been raised at all because I had them sitting on wire racks to dry out and had to raise the light quite a bit for that. The bottoms have dried out pretty well so they are back on the floor and between 1.5 to 2 inches from the plants. Update 1/23/19: Plants watered with 1.5 gallons of water pH'd to 6.2. Runoff was between 6.2 and 6.5. Purkle #1 looks like it needs to begin some training as it is growing off centered. I will rotate the pot slightly to see if it will self adjust and if not, I will start using my training ring on it. Lights were raised to about 2 inches from plant. I would like them to grow a bit more vertically so that the leaves will be more above the pot level and at a better position for the training ring. Update 1/25/19: Last update of week 4! I have some sort of deficiency starting to show on Purkle #1 and possibly also on the DoSiDo. It is presenting as very light green areas in between the veins and is even on new growth. I am leaning towards nitrogen but I am just not experienced enough to diagnose on my own so I need to do some research. For now I will not take any action and will just keep a close eye on it since it is presenting right after a very hard flush. I am beginning to rethink a 60 day veg. I measured each plant today (I will include measurements below) and I have to think that I may get triple that height during stretch. Just something to consider as I go but I will be keeping a much closer eye on the measurements. Purkle #1 also got a small amount of training to help with its tendency to lean to one side. The plants were not quite tall enough for the training rings so I used a bamboo stick to tether the plant to. I have been trying to maintain about 2" distance for the light. Purkle #1 - 4" DoSiDo's - 5" Real Gorill4 Plant 1 - 4" Real Gorill4 Plant 2 - 6"

Starting off week 5 with a simple watering pH'd to 6.3. I added the training rings to each pot but did not start any training as of yet. I may wait until they get topped. Besides, the tops of the plants are just starting to reach the ring and so it will be easier when they have grown up past the ring a bit more. I do have to say that I do not like these "fibrous" cloth pots as much as i liked the felt cloth style. They do not provide very sturdy walls for the ring to work with and judging by the rings height vs. pot height, I would say these pots are much shorter. Also placing the rings against that type of fabric created almost a ripping sound which freaked me out and left me wondering if I was actually digging into root. Yet another reason I did not start training right away is I want to be sure they recover from any stress of introducing the rings. Purkle #1 still shows some light green between her veins on new growth as imaged in last weeks pictures. I mentioned that I didn't want to take any action after such a big flush but I forgot to mention that these signs also showed up after some mild training so I am still just keeping a close eye for now. Update 1/28/19: I ended up topping all plants. Most were topped at the 6th node which is a bit higher than I anticipated. Purkle #1 was topped at 7th node. I decided to do this now rather than next week because I am thinking I will flip to flowering this weekend giving me a 6 week veg as opposed to 8 weeks. I could not find my mini fiskars and so I ended up using the large pair and accidentally cut a leaf off of one of the Real Gorill4's. The new growth after topping is where I will likely begin some training. Update 1/30/19: I ended up going back in and re-topping all plants to a node lower than the previous cut. I also did some minor training on a few of the plants. Both Real Gorill4's are showing heavy drooping today which I am taking as signs of stress from the toppings. Only one received some training however both are heavily drooping which can be best seen in the side view (right two plants) with comparison to the other two plants. Plants were watered with pH 6.5 and had a runoff of between 6.5 and 6.6. The plants have over a week to recover before the flip so I will just keep a close eye on everyone.

Well we are starting the week with a couple of mishaps. Real Gorill4 Plant 2 decided to have a growth spurt while the light was about 1.5 in away. I woke up the next morning to 2 of her leaves resting on the light. Needless to say they suffered some burn which is evident in her photo on the top. The DoSiDo's suffered a tear in what will become one of her new main stems. This happened while doing some LST so I have lightened up my touch a bit. I removed the LST from the injured stem and I am just letting it go hopping that it is minor enough for it to recover on it's own. The stems are showing a bit of purple. Even though we had sub zero temperatures, I do not think it got cold enough for it down there for it to be from that. It may be time for a top feed but for now I am just watching and waiting to see. what happens. The light has been raised quite a bit but is remaining 2 in from the plants after my first mishap. I will include new measurements below. Other than that just a simple watering today with 6.5 pH. Runoff was 6.4 on most plants but one was at about 7 so I will need to watch for that. Unfortunately I do not remember which plant it was. The plan right now is 1 more week of veg and flip next weekend. Real Gorill4 Plant 1 - 8 Real Gorill4 Plant 2 - 7 Purkle #1 - 8.5 DoSiDo's - 9 Update 2/5/19: Just have been working on some additional LST. The Real Gorill4's are clearly lagging behind the other two in terms of new growth post topping. Plants were given a top feed which consisted of 1/2 cup worm castings and 3 tbsp Jamaican guano per 3 gallon pot. Plants were watered with pH 6.2 and runoff was between 6.0 and 6.2 after the feed. Update 2/8/19: I have been continuing my LST and will flip to flowering lights and a 12/12 cycle this evening as we finish off week 6. DoSiDo's accidental partial stem slice has seemed to have fully self repaired. DoSiDo's and Purkle #1 were defoliated right before flip. The Real Gorill4's were not defoliated because they seem pretty sensitive and are just now recovering from topping. They are also naturally not nearly as leafy as the other 2. I may give it another thought in a few weeks. Plants were also watered again today with 6.5 pH. Runoff was around 6.2 on all.

Lights were swapped to the blooming bulbs and the schedule has been switched to 12/12. We are officially in flower! As noted at the end of last weeks journal, the plants all got some defoliation the night of the switch. It was a fairly light defoliation because even though I plan on taking off much more, I did not want to do too much at once and I will trim again more near the top when flowers start to form. I am including plant measurements below; Purkle #1 - 9.5 inches DoSiDo's - 10 inches Real Gorill4 Plant 1 - 8.5 inches Real Gorill4 Plant 2 - 8 inches Update 2/10/19: Decided to do some aggressive defoliation on DoSiDo's and Purkle #1 now rather than wait due to how bushy they were. I have updated pics post trim. Update 2/12/19: Looks like I may have waited a little too long in between watering because Real Gorill4 Plant 2 is looking a bit droopy and unhappy today. Watered with 2 gallons of pH 6.5 between the 4 plants. Runoff was around 6 so I believe my pH reading may have been slightly of. I am continuing to work on LST and keeping things as flat as possible. Update 2/14/19: Continued LST and signs of flowering showing on the DoSiDo's. Nothing other to reflect on at this time.

Started the week with watering with 2 gallons pH'd to 6.5. Runoff was between 6.3 and 6.5. DoSiDo's is beginning to show her flowers. This seems like a very hearty fast growing strain compared to the others. The Real Gorill4's certainly grow in their own way at their own pace. They did not seem to stress from defoliation aside from seeming to be slower than everyone else. I am continuing my lst which is becoming a bit difficult for the branches that really want to shoot up. I am running out of space on the ring to tether them to and on some, the height is becoming beyond what the ring can accommodate. It would be great if I could find something from which to tether the branches from below. Something to think about. I am including measurements below. Although it may appear that they haven't really gained height, the branches that are gaining have been tethered down to the ring and therefor can not grow vertically yet. DoSiDo's - 10 inches Purkle #1 - 10 inches Real Gorill4 Plant 1 - 8.5 inches Real Gorill4 Plant 2 - 8.5 inches Update 2/20/19: LST becoming harder and harder to maintain with just the ring. I am doing what I can to try and keep them all tied down and even. Watered with pH 6.5 today with 2.25 gallons and runoff was a bit low between 5.95 and 6. I will double check my pH readings right before watering because I think it is dropping slightly from being no longer agitated. Starting to finally see the Real Gorill4's lady parts. Purkle is slightly behind the DoSiDo's which is truly just thriving and a very fast growing hearty plant. Genetics seem great on this one!

Started the week off with watering 2.5 gallons pH'd to 6.5 on 2/24/19. Runoff was still low between 6 and 6.1. I may try to raise pH on next watering to 6.7. At this point in the grow, I would say the LOW in LST is beginning to become a bit more aggressive than I have done in the past. I have found a way to tether the vertically growing stems to keep them more horizontal just by the way I am tethering them to the ring. This is requiring me to adjust them almost daily since they shoot back up towards the light but for now, it is working. I am not sure how effective it will be as the branches begin to get more height. The images above show the plants immediately after being tethered back down. For the next update I will include images of how they are growing back out 24 hours after being re-tethered. I have also continued with defoliation. This is being done as I noticed the new leaves covering bud zones. The return growth of the leaves is pretty incredible. The height of the plants remain the same due to my tethering although I imagine if the branches were not tied down, I would say they have easily gained 1-2 inches depending on the plant. I will not include measurements this week for that reason. All plants are starting to show visible flowering so I am including pictures of each plants flowers. Update 2/27/19: Watered with 2.5 gallons pH'd to 6.5. Runoff was all over the place. Between 6.1 and 6.9 depending on the plant. Continued heavy LST.

Plants had another heavy defoliation on 3/3/19. Continuing with LST as best as I can but things are bound to start growing vertically at this point. The smell on DoSiDo's was quite prevalent during defoliation and was also very sticky. It has also begun stacking as opposed to the others which are just now heavily flowering. This plant will clearly be ready before the rest.

Going into week 5 of flower, I watered with 2.5 gallons pH'd to 6.5 on 3/10/19. Runoff was between 6.2 and 6.4. The stretch seems to have slowed as I am not needing to retie branches down daily. Plants height remains fairly unchanged as I have got most of the plant shoots growing horizontally. I will include measurements below. I am also including some close ups of the flowers. Most plants are starting to stack. I did another light defoliation to help get light to the buds. DoSiDo's continues to be growing ahead of the rest. Her pistols are browning. I am estimating another 3 weeks for her. All plants are pretty sticky and sugaring. DoSiDo's - 10.5 inches Purkle #1 - 11 inches Real Gorill4 Plant 1 - 10 inches Real Gorill4 Plant 2 - 10 inches

Started off the week with a watering of 3 gallons pH'd to 6.5 on 3/18/19/ Runoff was between 6.4 and 6.55. I am starting to regret how heavy I LST'd the plants. While I have a large number of bud sites from keeping the branches so horizontal, the sideways stems is causing a lack of stacking and instead they are forming their own bud sites where I believe it should actually be stacking. So, with that said I am starting to rethink doing scrog next grow and instead perhaps think about saving up for a LED for flowering. I have a friend who planted at the same time as me but started flowering 2 weeks after mine. He also used CFLs for veg. He is however using a LED for flower for the first time. I have included a photo of his results under the LED in comparison to mine which is 2 weeks ahead. The difference is too astounding to not want to save up for a great LED. I know I could pick up a cheap one but I do not want just any old junk. So... I think that will be the goal for the next grow. Especially since the 2nd T5 has a transformer out and is only running on 2 of the 4 bulbs. Luckily the plants are just beyond the width of the first T5 and so the buds that are growing towards the other T5 are getting hit with the functional light. That is all for now. I will start checking the trichs on DoSiDo's in the next couple weeks and including pics of those.

So before I get into what I have done for the week, let me start off by saying that I am pretty unhappy with the bud development of all plants. I know I am running T5's and cant expect huge buds but this being my third grow, I should not have smaller colas and buds than I did on grow 1 and 2. I don't know if it was the initial nutrient blend or the top feed or what went wrong but the plants are far more interested in developing new tiny leaves than they are on developing their buds. So... let's get into what I am trying to do about it... Started week 7 with a watering on 3/24/19 pH'd to 6.5 with the runoff about 6.4. We are on week 7 of flower and the DoSiDo's are supposed to be an 8 week grow which I understand that means from the time flowers appeared. So, I was estimating another 2 weeks on DoSido's and 3 weeks on the others. Due to the poor development, I am going to be pushing that back a bit. At the suggestion of my grow mentor, I picked up some Fox Farms Tiger Bloom and Fox Farms Big Bloom. I watered on 3/28/19 with 2 gallons of water that included 4 tsp of Big Bloom and 8 tbsp of Tiger Bloom pH'd to 6.5 with runoff about 6.7. The hope is that this will help push a little more bud production. This is my first time using liquid nutes and I think I may switch to these for next grow to prevent this same issue from occurring. I will do a week or two with these feedings and see how things develop. Then I will give them 2 weeks of flush to prepare for harvest. Fingers crossed that this improves things a bit. I also started to check trichs and will include some pics from those. Gorill4 Glue's are already starting to amber which is a bit of concern regarding harvest push back but it is a few trichs here and there. Still some room to move as far as trichs go. If anyone has had any similar experiences with poor bud development this late in the stage and also with adding more nutes this close to harvest, please let me know what you have done to improve things.

Watered on 4/1/19 with 2 gallons plain water pH'd to 6.5. I did not allow for much runoff so the pH could not be checked. I am pushing back harvest date in hopes that a few feedings will prompt a little more bud growth. Aside from that, nothing else noteworthy. The color on DoSiDo's seems to be a bit more noticeable now. Much darker than the rest. Fed 8 tbsp Tiger Bloom and 4 tsp Big Bloom with the watering on 4/5/19 (2 gallons pH'd to 6.5). Runoff was around 6.7. Just riding out the end of this grow until I can start another!

Did my first of two weeks of flushing on 4/9/19. Flushed each plant with 1 gallon per plant pH'd to 6,5. Runoff was between 6.3 and 6.44. Estimating harvest on 4/25/19. Pictures of trichs included above however I am not certain which trichs belong to which plants lol!

Week 10 started with another flush of 1 gal per plant pH'd to 6.3-6.5 on 4/14/19. Runoff was between 6.18 and 6.22. I estimate another flush around 4/18/14 and then a final flush on 4/22/19 which I will run about 4 gallons through per plant. I will then wait on the soil to dry out before I harvest so my harvest date will depend on the soil however I estimate that to occur on 4/26/19 ish. Trichs are still mostly cloudy not much amber so we will see what next week brings in terms of trichs. The trich development itself may delay my estimated harvest date as I would like to see mostly cloudy with some amber. See you next week as we approach the big day!

This strain was topped and I believe it would have done much better untopped. It was also heavily defoliated which I believe led to the buds being stunted a bit as I flipped to flower. Both plants were very stinky upon harvest however, only one maintained its smell [post harvest.

DoSiDo's did not maintain their beautiful purple hues upon harvest. The also did not maintain their smell. Easy to trim, dry and cure.

Purkle #1 had so many sugar leaves that it made it completely impossible to trim. It was given a dry trim instead. The plants maintained its smell and was also the only plant to maintain its stickiness post cure. Due to the nature of how these buds grew, it is very fluffy and leafy.