Apples & Bananas / Lemon Zkittle Coco

HomeToGrow I received the Apples & Bananas as a micro plant in agar medium as a gift on Mary Jane and initially illuminated it at home for 2 weeks under the Caluma (25%). After that, the plant was placed like a cutting in rock wool and put into the mini greenhouse. After 1.5 weeks, the first growth appeared, and after 2 weeks, the first roots were visible, which helped me acclimate the plant. Actually, instead of the Lemon Zkittle, a Jealousy S1 was supposed to go into the tent, but since 1 seed didn't germinate and another stagnated after germination, I ordered an additional cutting. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures before and during the acclimatization, so the diary actually starts in week 3 for the Apples & Bananas and week 1 for the Lemon Zkittle.

HomeToGrow The Apples and Bananas were planted at the beginning of the week in a 0.5L pot with 70/30 Coco/Perlite and topped twice at the end of the week, as they would otherwise become significantly too large, and branching should also be encouraged. The Lemon Zkittle was planted in a 0.5L pot with a 3-day difference from the A&B and was not topped; however, the main stem was gently pulled to the side with light LST to strengthen the side branches as well. The light was gradually increased from 25% to 75% (56W) at the beginning of the week. The plants showed no signs of light stress, and the initial height growth of the Apples and Bananas also indicated to me that they would like more light.

HomeToGrow The Apples and Bananas is showing itself to be very vigorous and strong after overcoming acclimatization. This week, the side shoots were bent aside with plant clips so that over time all the shoots should be at the same height, which will be especially important since otherwise the plant would simply grow too large compared to the significantly smaller Lemon Zkittle. With the Lemon Zkittle, I also skipped topping this week, as the plant is clearly struggling with rooting. I think a gentler approach could have been beneficial, and the LZ should have initially gone into the mini greenhouse. Meanwhile, the leaves are getting noticeably darker, and growth seems to be accelerating. Both plants were repotted at the end of Veg Week 3 into an 11l balcony box. A layer of clay pebbles serves as drainage, and the substrate consists of an approximate 70/30 ratio of Coco/Perlite. In general, the LZ was probably not the perfect choice to bring into the tent with the A&B, as the growth characteristics of both strains are quite different. The A&B grows quickly, openly, and with larger internodal distances. The LZ, on the other hand, seems to grow much bushier and with shorter internodal distances. It remains to be seen whether I can keep both plants at the same height using SCROG. In addition to the specified fertilizer, 0.4 g/l of Epsom salt and 2 ml/l of Alpha Boost (I received it as a gift, so I'm testing it for the first time in this grow) are added to the nutrient solution.

HomeToGrow The Apples and Bananas showed no problems after repotting and is generally very vigorous. The Lemon Zkittle struggled with repotting for a long time but has now recovered well and is growing faster day by day. The Apples and Bananas was topped for the second time on Saturday and kept at a height with clips. The Lemon Zkittle, on the other hand, was topped for the first time and hasn't received any further training due to its growth, and I think it will stay that way until the SCROG. The lamp is now running at 100% (75 W).

HomeToGrow Moin Moin, I really like the Apples and Bananas. It seems to be a very robust and vigorous strain. At the end of last week, it was topped for the second time and it immediately recovered, with growth continuing uninterrupted. The Lemon Zkittle has finally fully adapted to its environment, and since being topped, it’s growing into a small but beautiful bush. The only negative point was the very long time it took for the cutting to acclimatize, although I certainly don’t want to blame that solely on the strain, if at all. I think two factors are more to blame: first, the roots were not in optimal condition upon delivery, and second, I should have acclimatized the cutting more carefully and especially kept the relative humidity higher. The last week of vegetation is now over, and starting Sunday, the lighting will be on 12/12. In the meantime, I’ve added a second lamp in the tent, which is currently running together with a total of 100 W. I would have liked to give the Lemon Zkittle one more week of vegetation, but the Apples and Bananas would simply get too big this week.

HomeToGrow Hey, Last Sunday, we switched to 12/12, and now the first week of flowering is over. The Apples and Bananas continues to show itself as very vigorous, and I'm curious to see how far the stretch will go; I can't really give it much space here, but we'll have to wait and see. This week, all the shoots were scrogged multiple times, so most of the shoots are now at the same height; otherwise, there wasn't much to do this week. The Lemon Zkittle remains the problem child of the two plants; while it has recovered somewhat, the lead of the Apples and Bananas will be hard for the Lemon Zkittle to catch up to. It generally grows very compact and bushy. In terms of development, it is also lagging a bit behind; while the Apples and Bananas already show more pronounced signs of flowering, the Lemon Zkittle only shows a few white hairs and is also holding back a bit during the stretch. The light remained unchanged at 100 W throughout the week and was only increased to 120 W yesterday; so far, both plants show no signs of light or nutrient stress. I did see a few fungus gnats in the tent recently, so I'll be watering with SF nematodes at the beginning of next week.

HomeToGrow Hey, Both plants are now visibly in bloom and the number of hairs is increasing day by day. The stretch seems to be slowing down a bit with the Apples and Bananas, and the first trichomes are showing on the leaves. The Lemon Zkittle is displaying almost all the symptoms of the beautiful HlVd and has stretched very little (mainly not in width and hardly in height), so it is now almost completely overshadowed by the Apples and Bananas. This means everything needs to be thoroughly disinfected for the next run... In general, I'm not just annoyed about having grown the Apples and Bananas, as they would have filled the whole tent without any issues and wouldn't have brought along a very annoying virus. But well, I was already aware of the risk with cuttings beforehand, and I was really looking forward to the Lemon Zkittle since I've wanted to grow it for a while. For watering/fertilizing: Since the middle of the week, they are being fed twice daily. The first watering happens 1 hour after the lights come on, and the second watering occurs after 8 hours. Each watering lasts for 8 minutes with a drain of about 400 ml at an EC of 1.7 and a pH value of 5.8-6.0.

HomeToGrow Hey, This week went smoothly and the Apples and Bananas is showing its full potential. I mostly left both plants alone and only on Saturday, the 20th day of flowering, did I lollipop and defoliate them, although not much is left of the Lemon Zkittle, but oh well, there's nothing to be done about that. If it had been healthy, it might have gone better, but there's already no space left in the tent anyway. Since Saturday, I've also added a PK booster, and since it contains additional Mg, I will skip adding Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) starting next week. There's not much to report about the smell so far, as the Apples and Bananas, despite significant trichome production, has produced little to no terpenes yet. The Lemon Zkittle smells very much like lemon candy, and if it stays that way, I will definitely put this strain back in the tent, but this time from a supplier that also tests for Hlvd.

HomeToGrow Hey hey, This week there's not much to tell, the plants have quickly recovered from defoliation and lollipopping. The Apples and Bananas is putting on a good amount of buds, and it's already clear that they are becoming resinous and compact. As for the smell, I really like the Lemon Zkittle with its lemon candy aroma; it's definitely going back into the tent, but this time for real. The Apples and Bananas is also steadily increasing its scent; so far, I would describe it as very fresh and mild. I'm hoping for more in the coming weeks, as it hasn't been fruity or sweet yet.

HomeToGrow Hey hey, The flowering is progressing and there hasn't been much work to do. The Lemon Zkittle smells great, but it's tiny and the buds aren't developing as well as expected. The Apples and Bananas has developed a strong smell that I find hard to describe; at first, it smells skunky but is quickly replaced by a sweet, slightly earthy aroma.

HomeToGrow Hey, The buds are continuing to swell, and the smell has noticeably shifted to a sweet scent with a slight pungent undertone. Unfortunately, some of the side branches have become too heavy, so I've set up a second SCROG net in the tent, and I've also propped some of them back up with strings.

HomeToGrow Hey, With each week, the resin content increases and the buds are just sparkling with trichomes. The bud structure is a dream, solid, resinous, and slightly purple buds whether at the top or bottom of the plant! The smell could be a bit fruitier/sweeter for me, but even here, Apples and Bananas is an absolute monster. Pungent sweetness with a very slight hint of fruits. The trichomes are already mostly milky, so I'm considering harvesting in 1 to 2 weeks when all the trichomes are milky. However, this week there's also something negative to report: since Thursday, there's been a slight discoloration on the middle leaves. The leaves are turning partly purple with small necrotic spots. I suspect it was a mistake to stop adding Epsom salt. My thought was that the booster from Greenhouse contains extra MgO, which should balance the ratio of Ca and Mg in the water. Since I've unfortunately run out of Epsom salt, I've now increased the addition of CalMag and hope for improvement.

HomeToGrow Hey, The 8th week of flowering is over and went by without any significant issues. The buds are full of milky trichomes and are shining towards their end. Over the past weeks, more and more purple has crept into the leaves and buds until they are almost black at the end of the flowering week! Really a very beautiful strain, the terps are also top-notch even though I was hoping for a bit more sweetness. Generally, I would categorize the smell as very gassy and sweet. I've gradually lowered the EC to 1.4, but I didn't flush! Since I personally prefer my trichomes milky and less amber, I'll be harvesting this weekend.

HomeToGrow After drying (8 days) and curing for 14 days so far, the result is really good.

HomeToGrow No comment since Hlvd