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SkunkyBreeze Welcome to the grow diary of my 2025 balcony grow!
Since growing weed got legalised in Germany in 2024, I started my first grow in 2024 and made a lot of experiences. I drew the following conclusions from my first grow:
1. I am going to grow only one plant to give it more space and better air ventilation to prevent powdery mildew and bud rot.
2. I am going to replace the one peppermint strain I was also growing on this balcony, because it is easily infected with powdery mildew.
3. I am going to use an automatic strain, so the plant will live from end of May until end of August to lower the danger of powdery mildew, bud rot, and fertilisation by male plants in my neighbourhood. This will also provide a maximum of sunlight to the plant, because the amount of sunlight on my balcony decreases rapidly in October.
My balcony is headed southeast, so it gets sunlight from the early morning until about 2:30pm. It has a roof, so rain only affects the plants, if it is very windy. My balcony is located in Berlin, Germany, so if you are interested in specific weather data, you can just look for data from Berlin.
I chose Super Skunk as a strain, because I really like the effect, the taste and the smell. Although this is an 80% indica strain, it has a really uplifting effect on me. In the past, it gave me an intense body high and uplifted my mood for about four hours after smoking. Then it turned to a feeling of strong fatigue and made me sleep very well. I am excited to see which effects the product from my own grow will have.
My setup is as follows:
- Pot: 15L Airpot
- Medium: Plagron Light Mix
- Fertilisers: Plagron Terra Grow, Plagron Terra Bloom
- Additives: Plagron Sugar Royal, Plagron Power Roots, Plagron Green Sensation, Plagron Pure Zym
- Water: The tap water in Berlin has a pretty high EC value, so I am mixing it 50/50 with "Gut&Günstig" source water, which has a pretty low EC value.
The actual diary begins here:
16.05.2025: Planted the seed directly in the soil, because I want to stress the plant as little as possible. I only watered the area around the seed. But then I realized, that the rest of the soil dried pretty fast because of the sun and the wind. Watered everything with about 500mL of water without further additives. Temperatures in Berlin are a little low for this time of year, it is about 15°C (though it is warmer in the sun). So I will see if the seed germinates in a few days or not. If not, I will use the cotton wool method which worked like a charm for me last year.
17.05.2025: Watered everything with about 500mL of mixed water without nutrients. Had to leave for the weekend, so I used a plastic bottle and a stone to keep the soil from drying. Still about 15°C and a little bit of sunlight every now and then.
19.05.2025: Came back, the soil was fortunately still humid. Still no sign of any plant. The temperature is still about 15°C and the weather is pretty cloudy, no sun today. Watered a little bit around the seed with mixed water containing also Plagron Power Roots and Plagron Pure Zym.
20.05.2025: Finally some good weather! Temperature is around 22°C and the sun is shining. Still no sign of any plant. Watered with about 400mL of mixed water containing also Plagron Power Roots and Plagron Pure Zym.
21.05.2025: Still good weather, around 22°C. No sign of any plant. Watered a little bit with mixed water without additives. Time is running out, I want to complete germination by Friday. If not, harvest could be so late that fertilization by male plants in the neighbourhood could occur in August/September. I started to germinate two other seeds via the cotton wool pad method. I will wait until Friday to see if the seed in the soil germinates. If nothing is visible, I will dig it up to see what has happened. If it did not germinate at all, I will use a seed from the cotton wool pad.
22.05.2025: Temperatures dropped to about 15°C again. Used a lamp with a 20W light bulb to provide a little extra heat. Watered a little bit with mixed water without additives. The seeds on the cotton wool pad look like something is happening, but slowly.
23.05.2025: Temperatures still at about 15°C. I removed a little bit of soil to see what is going on. Looks like the seed germinated and is about to break through the soil. So everything is going good, just a little slow maybe. Used the plastic bottle again to provide a humid environment. Watered a little with mixed water without nutrients. The seeds on the cotton wool pad are also germinating, but slow.
24.05.2025: Temperatures still at about 15°C. Started to use an UV lamp instead of the regular light bulb, because the light bulb mainly heated up the lamp itself. A little watering. Still waiting for the plant to show up. Sooner or later she will come out. ;)
25.05.2025: Temperatures still at about 15°C. Plant is still not showing up. The seeds on the cotton wool pad are growing pretty good though. Moved the pot inside to provide better germination temperature.
26.05.2025: Although inside for one day, the plant still did not show up, while the seeds on the cotton wool pad are germinating fast and already got rid of their shell. Decided to dig up the seed. It had some green leaves, but almost no roots. Decided to continue with one of the seeds from the cotton wool pad.