Chemdawg getting weird

OB-GYN-Kenobi This is being grown side-by-side with my LTP bag seed (see the separate diary for that). I've also got that other Chemdawg seedling going, and only one spot in the 7 gallon pot, so we'll see when it comes time to transplant who wins. That said, things aren't looking great here. After needing considerable help emerging from the seed husk, this Chemdawg has been growing lopsided, with a strong side and a weak side. She's also started doing the Lean. I managed to repair that - first with a bit of drinking straw, then by just filling up the cup with more soil - but this is not the best showing out of the gate. Her second node is looking a bit more normal, hopefully she'll grow out of her weirdness. Tent stats: - Lights: started the week around 220 PPFD, ramped to 300 by end of week. - Temps: seedling heat mat kept in the mid-80s (30 C). - Humidity: VPD has been set to 0.6 kPa.

OB-GYN-Kenobi This is the week we transplant to 7 gallon Living Soil pots. Living Soil recipe: - Starting with a base of Fox Farms Coco Loco - 7 gallons minus room for amendments. - Add dry amendment: 2 lbs (1/2 gal) really nice worm castings (Colorado Worm Company). - Add dry amendment: 1 tsp Big 6 Micronutrients (Build a Soil). - In a 7 gallon fabric pot: add 1.5 lbs of Nature's Living Soil, and enough of above Coco mix to fill to 1/3 mark. Mix thoroughly. - Fill remaining 2/3 of pot with Coco mix, leaving a solo cup-sized hole for transplant. - Top off soil with some Clover Cover Crop (Build a Soil). She's still growing weird and a little lopsided after needing help with her seed coat, but despite that she's growing stronger and faster than her sister Chemdawg seedling. In the end, she showed her roots through the bottom of the cup first, and won the spot in the 7-gallon pot. Transplant went super easy, used some Rootwyse on the rootball. She was back to growing the next day, no pause, so I increased the light to 430 PPFD and decreased VPD to 0.8 kPa. Still not quite sure what to do with the other Chemdawg seedling there...

OB-GYN-Kenobi This is the week we mainline our girl - and my first time building a mainline. I am following Nebula Haze's variant here: Grow out to the sixth node, then chop until we only have the third node and fan leaves. (We'll eventually grow that out, leaving the growth tip pairs on the branches at the 1st and 3rd nodes, for a total of 8 colas.) That's a lot of foliage to remove all at once, but she bounced back quickly! I started training the remaining two stems using a bamboo pole across the pot to help the mainline grow straight. More next week on whatever happened to that other Chemdawg seedling...

OB-GYN-Kenobi This is the week we start to bonsai that other Chemdawg seedling. The Mainlining of our primary Chemdawg has gone super smoothly she's growing exactly as expected and the bamboo has been helping. Ended the week with 8 nodes...still not sure if I'll eventually split those into 16. Meanwhile, that other Chemdawg seedling that didn't get the 7 gallon pot...we're going to bonsai her, specifically going for a "roots over rock" look. The rock in this case is a ceramic cupcake - the intention is to have the roots drape over and around it. Maybe I'll harvest a couple buds from her, too, but this is more about aesthetics and having fun with it. In order to get that look, I had to first wash off her roots of as much soil as I could. Running her roots under the faucet while while breaking up soil clumps, I honestly thought it would be too much stress for her. I then half-buried the cupcake and draped her roots around it, octopus-style. I then packed the whole thing with more soil and covered with half a red solo cup. She's perked up since then, but I'm still worried about the roots. Provided she pulls through, we'll slowly wash away the soil in a week or two as she establishes a new root system, revealing roots and cupcake.

OB-GYN-Kenobi Our mainline has taken shape, and now we train the 8 individual colas. I removed the training bamboo after accidentally breaking a branch on the other plant in the tent (LTP). The hard surfaces of the bamboo were not helping, so we're sticking to soft training wire for now and pulling apart those growth tips old school, really trying to go for that octagon-in-a-flat-table shape. I may top again to form 16 colas. Remember she comes with a "Tall" warning from the breeder, and her height would quickly outpace the other plant in the tent (LTP) if I didn't keep training her flat every day. I'm hoping that topping again will slow her down a bit, giving the other plant a head start so that they match up by the end of the stretch. Meanwhile, that bonsai somehow recovered from the stress of its roots getting washed under the tap. The soil cover is off and we're slowly washing away more soil day-by-day, turning roots into stems. Still messy, but the cupcake is starting to show now, should look good soon. Since we're in the full swing of veg now...Tent Stats: - Keeping temps in the low 80s (26-29 C) - Raised VPD target to 1.0 - Raised light PPFD up to 600 now

OB-GYN-Kenobi Very pleased with the state of the Chemdawg bonsai, the ceramic cupcake reveal is working nicely. Still need to clean up those roots once they firm up a bit. She's also starting to show pre-flowers now. Meanwhile, the main Chemdawg is looking great, the octo-colas are shaping exactly like I hoped, and she's mostly outgrown the overwatered thing. That said, she's a very fast grower and I'm running out of horizontal room. I'll probably need to top her again just to slow her down compared to her tent-mate (Lemon Tart Pucker, growing in a much more indica fashion). Tent is still holding at 600 PPFD, 82 F (28 C) daytime temps, target VPD of 1.0. Did another Rootwise soak across the tent this week, plants seemed to enjoy it.