Fruity Freak

It is awe-inspiring to watch these ladies pop out of the soil. I know this will sound weird, but sometimes I sit beside them just staring at them–they are such incredible plants. As you can see, my grow setup is fairly humble. The platform is made of 2x4’s, plywood scrap, and a few screws. I placed a plastic washing machine drain pan on top to catch water. The containers are paint bucket liners with a bit of clear packing tape to clamshell them together (allowing me greater control over heat and humidity) and holes poked in the bottom to allow excess water to drain. I have a digital humidity/temperature gauge (which I normally use for curing) taped to the side of one of the containers to monitor conditions. I am growing inside my house to avoid using a space heater to grow in my garage (I will plant them outside long before flowering). The light is an HLG RSPEC 100, and I have it plugged into a WIFI smart socket scheduled to automatically turn on the light at 5:59 am and off at 11:59 pm.

Another week, and now I am really enjoying Fruit Freak’s unique genetic makeup that causes it to grow such beautiful leaves! It is really fun to grow it side by side with OG Fun, which has a more stereotypical appearance at this stage. Seed Husk Stuck: Fruity Freak #1’s leaves had slowly been peaking out of the shell of the seed but ultimately stalled. I decided to intervene using the method described in this link (squeezing tweezers inward enough to slip the ends inside the seed husk then release the tweezers so it pushes the shell open and falls right off): https://www.growweedeasy.com/my-cannabis-seedling-leaves-are-stuck-together-from-the-seed-shell-what-do-i-do There is some additional information here: https://growdiaries.com/journal/common-cannabis-seedling-problems-new-growers-face I should have intervened sooner (I waited three days, but should have intervened by two at the latest)–her growth was stunted as a result. The rounded cotyledon leaves appear as though there may have been some damage to the cell walls that prevents them from moving in response to the light. However, plant/leaf growth has continued–therefore, I expect her to recover (clearly strong genetics). And, having started growing in January, I have plenty of time to start new seeds if anything goes wrong. Lighting Update I noticed the intense 12:00p sunlight (peak intensity) pouring through the window on my plants while the LED grow light was running–probably too much light for a seedling, although the plants were fully upright and the leaves were green and tilting toward the sun. I knew from my Bannizzle experiments (my last grow) that higher light intensity during vegetation and flowering produced bigger yields. And that notion was reinforced by this study (for flowering): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8144505/ But I hadn’t checked to see what light intensity is best at each stage. I downloaded the Photone app (a well-reviewed grow light meter app) to measure light intensity (in Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density, or PPFD, which is how many photons of light the plant can actually use every second). Then I made a homemade diffuser out of printer paper (per the instructions inside the app) and found that my light intensity (1,000 PPFD with the grow light and sun combined and 765 PPFD with the sun alone) was well above their recommendations for a seedling (100-300 PPFD) as outlined in one of Photone’s well-written article: https://growlightmeter.com/lighting-requirements-of-cannabis-over-the-full-grow-cycle/ And also discussed here: https://growdiaries.com/journal/how-to-increase-the-dli-in-the-cannabis-grow-room-for-better-yields I decided to schedule my grow light to turn off from 10:30a - 12:45p while the plants receive direct sunlight (on cloudy days I override the WIFI socket and run the light during this time). I also decided to change my WIFI socket to shut off the grow light at 9:59p (it turns on at 5:59a) so that total light hours are kept to 16. I think this combination will make for the easiest transition for her to move outdoors. I do recognize that the total DLI from the sun added to the total DLI of the grow light for the remaining hours is a bit higher than recommended, but the plants seem healthy and I don't want to make too many adjustments at once. I also became curious how much DLI these plants would receive growing outdoors (so I can prepare them for similar DLI before I put them outside). This is a cool tool for that: https://dli.suntrackertech.com/ Finally, I implemented a container rotation schedule and now move the plants one position counterclockwise every day. After four days I will turn all containers ninety degrees. This should promote more even plant growth. Water I am watering the plants once a week (my native soil is dense and retains water) using about two tablespoons worth. The plants only get melted snow warmed to room temperature or captured rainwater to keep soil pH and conditions consistent with the outdoors. Airflow The tops of the clamshells are now removed. I am running my ceiling fan during daylight hours. I am also using an oscillating fan while the plants receive direct sunlight (I am using a WIFI socket to turn it on and off automatically for me) to help cool the plants and begin strengthening their stems before the transition outdoors. Two interesting articles on the subject: https://growdiaries.com/journal/ventilation-in-the-cannabis-grow-room-a-detailed-guide https://www.cannabissciencetech.com/view/providing-sufficient-airflow-for-plant-growth-environments

It has been another amazing week of the plants growing. I have been watching as the Fruity Freak leaves become progressively more fern-like, and ornamental as a result! Based on my Banizzle grows, I knew I needed to understand plant nutrients in a more meaningful way if I wanted these plants to thrive. So, I decided to get a soil test (see Ref. 1 below on how to perform a test) to understand what nutrients my plants needed. The report I received advised that I needed to add 200 lbs/acre of nitrogen, 150 lbs/acre of phosphorus, and 190 lbs/acre of potassium (see picture labeled Pic.1 (FYI you can't see these images unless you login to growdiaries)). I then researched what to do with my results (Ref. 2 helped), and I figured out that my nutrient needs of 200-150-190 fall close to a 2-1-2 ratio. I then looked at different types of organic fertilizers (see Ref. 3 and Ref. 4) and considered that I already had a 3-10-5 fertilizer (Vermibloom) on hand. I discovered Dr Earth’s Alfalfa Meal is 2-1-2 and includes beneficial bacteria and mycorrhizae (to promote healthy plant growth and disease resistance). However, I knew I would be low on nitrogen if I only used those two fertilizers. Therefore, I decided to buy some blood meal (12-0-0). I also liked that blood meal is more fast acting while the other two are more moderate. I hunted around for a solid fertilizer calculator and found an amazing tool from the University of Georgia Extension (Ref. 5). I entered all three fertilizers into the calculator, and it kicked out the exact amount of each fertilizer I needed to apply to 1 square foot (see Pic. 2). As I am using 10-gallon fabric pots (that can hold 1.5 cubic feet, but I put stone on the bottom and there’s space left at the top) I decided to use the one square foot application rate as I can always add more later, but I can’t take it away. Not only did I want to understand the nutrients I needed, but I also wanted to understand the structure of the soil (as it was not included in my test results). North Dakota State University has a nice page that discusses this (Ref. 6), and I performed a soil ribbon test (see Video 1) based on this information. I determined my soil to be medium textured (which is great), but I have seen occasional water pooling on the surface, suggesting that it may be more of a medium-fine. This means adding peat moss, coco coir, or other amendments might improve drainage (and plant hydration) and allow for roots to grow more easily. In the long run, I plan to use compost to enhance the soil structure and nutrients. I filled the bottom of my 10-gallon fabric pots with a ½” of pea stone to allow for drainage (Pic. 3). I then partially filled two 5-gallon buckets with topsoil from near where I will plant (but not in an area the roots will reach). I used a digital scale to measure the amount of fertilizers recommended by the calculator (Pic. 4, 5, and 6) and added it to one of the 5-gallon buckets (see Pic. 7). I mixed the fertilizers into the soil as evenly as possible (Pic. 8 and 9). I then poured a two-inch layer of non-fertilized soil, then peat moss, and then fertilized soil (in a roughly 2:1:1 ratio) and blended them together. I repeated this until the pot was full (getting additional soil as needed), and then I repeated the process for the other three pots. I set the filled fabric pots in my garage (Pic. 10) for two days to allow any upset bugs to flee into my garage instead of my house. I then moved the pots (wrapping them in a contractor garbage bag to prevent making a mess) into the room with the grow light. I placed a board on top of the fabric pots to insulate the plants (in their smaller pots) from the cold soil (Pic. 11). Once the soil in the fabric pots reaches room temperature, I will transplant. (Ref. 1) This video shows the method I used to take a soil sample. I didn’t have a field to test, so I took four samples from the area where I will eventually plant outdoors and blended them together. I then mailed my soil sample off to the lab, and about a week later, I received an email with a PDF of my results (included with my pictures this week). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9AwxmFxBwg&t=8s (Ref. 2) This video from the University of Minnesota Extension (many universities have agriculture extensions that can assist you with soil testing and growing information for your area) discusses what to do with your soil testing results: https://youtu.be/HYrkcfE62Pg (Ref. 3) This is a nice article that discusses organic fertilizer solutions: https://www.grow-it-organically.com/npk-fertilizer.html (Ref. 4) This article lists the NPK values of many organic fertilizer solutions: https://www.epicgardening.com/organic-fertilizers/ (Ref. 5) Many websites tout a fertilizer calculator…but this one is hands down the best I have found. If you scroll down to the bottom, you can enter any fertilizer type you want (and the cost, if you want). It will give you the exact blend of multiple fertilizers to solve your nutrient deficiencies (I included a snapshot of the solution I used in my pictures). https://aesl.ces.uga.edu/soil/fertcalc/ (Ref. 6) This is an excellent article that discusses how to evaluate your soil: https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/publications/evaluating-preparing-and-amending-lawn-and-garden-soil

We are officially four weeks in, and what could be ignored at week two or three as possibly stunted growth is now undeniable. My experience and comparing this grow to similar grows on this website (including grows of Supafreak (a relative of Fruity Freak) in similar conditions and grows using an HLG RSPEC 100 light with similar settings) show that these plants are at least 50% delayed. Having discovered my native soil has a medium-fine texture last week, I already had a good idea of what the issue might be. I also observed the soil compacting in the containers over time as I watered the plants. As I had originally dug up the soil (and therefore created air pockets), some level of compaction was expected, but when I measured it, I found that the soil level had fallen an inch (and the containers only had 3.5” of soil on top of 1” of rock). That is roughly a 30% compaction of the soil, now squeezing in on my young plants’ roots, restricting nutrient uptake. I needed to move forward with transplanting into a soil mix that compacts less. I had already added peat moss (and nutrients) to my 10-gallon containers of soil last week, but even peat moss can compact over time. Therefore, I needed an additional amendment. I decided on perlite after I read this article (and saw that it is superior for situations with higher clay content, which is likely driving my soil’s compaction): https://www.epicgardening.com/perlite-vs-vermiculite/#:~:text=We've%20already%20covered%20the,into%20many%20seed%20starting%20systems. As a result, I removed half of the soil from each 10-gallon container, filled 25% of the container with perlite, mixed it into the soil, then filled the container back to the top with soil and blended that into the soil below. This resulted in the container weight dropping from 58 lbs. to 46 lbs. The soil was slightly damp (and there is a ½” of pea stone in the bottom), so the dry bulk weight is actually lower. That means the weight of my mix is within the range of potting mixes you can buy. Hopefully, this means I have the correct porosity to allow for proper drainage and root growth and will solve the growth issues. At this point, you may be asking why not buy good soil instead of amending my native soil. Well, I noticed native soil greatly improved disease and drought resistance of the outdoor plants I grew previously. Also, it might be cheaper and more environmentally friendly in the long run, and the flavor of the bud will be improved (which I noticed during my Banizzle grows). Additionally, I have a dual benefit here–the more I learn about growing these plants in my native soil, the more successful my approach to my yard and garden will be. Therefore, I’m going to keep experimenting. While the pots were out of the room, I added a drop cloth beneath the platform and up the guest bed to ensure that dirt and water/humidity are contained. After amending the soil, I returned the 10-gallon containers to the room and transplanted the seedlings. I watered them carefully toward the middle to avoid excessive watering, especially since thesr plants are small for the container at this moment.

We are now over a week out from the transplant, and the results are mixed. Fruity Freak 3 is definitely growing! Fruity Freak 2 has grown a little but is starting to show a bit of brown on the tips of two leaves. Fruity Freak 1 has shown little growth. Unfortunately, I made a critical error in my experiment–I don’t know when my organic nutrients will be available to my plants (because I don’t know exactly how long it will take for them to release), and this (presumed nutrient deficiency) could be causing the browning leaf tips. This article explains why: https://www.gardenmyths.com/limitations-of-organic-fertilizer/ Normally, I use leaf coloration information to troubleshoot these issues–but it appears that this may not provide reliable results: https://www.gardenmyths.com/can-leaves-identify-nutrient-deficiencies/ The browning tips of Fruity Freak 2 (and simultaneous browning of leaves on the OG Fun plant I am growing under identical conditions) could be: (1) A response to lowering the grow light (which was necessary to keep the light intensity the same as when these plants were in small containers and directly under the light). I have since raised the light to eliminate this variable. (2) It could be a change in pH due to the addition of 25% peat moss. I have ordered a pH pen that will arrive this evening, and I will perform a soil slurry test to rule this out. (3) An imbalance in nutrients that could be difficult to troubleshoot without another lab soil test (easy to perform and only plus shipping), but that information would quickly become irrelevant as the organic nutrients continue to release. I am trying an extremely small dose of a water-soluble synthetic 20-10-20 fertilizer on Fruity Freak 1 only (to reduce the risk of damage to other plants) as the majority of the organic fertilizer I used is 2-1-2 alfalfa meal and is likely still decomposing into a usable state. If Fruity Freak 1 responds positively, the pH test is normal, and the leaves remain unchanged after the light adjustment, I will add synthetic fertilizer to the other plants. I did add some aluminum taped to cardboard next to the plants on the sides that do not face windows, and it increased light intensity by over 20%! I also added a space heater to the room, and I am keeping it at 75 during the day and 70 at night–this should encourage growth, and it helps the soil dry out faster (I am watering approximately 0.85 liters every 5 days). I am going to germinate another seed to create a “control” plant. As I have never grown this strain before, and there are no photos of this exact strain online. I want a clearer idea of the differences between my organic experiment and a more standard approach. I will post that new diary soon!