Gelato Auto Living Soil

MrMaabra Week 1: Jan 25th: Seedling – Hello Little Lady! Jan 28th: Seedling

MrMaabra Relaxed grow thanks to Living Soil – no nutrient stress. The plant looks healthy, and growth is progressing well. This was exactly the goal!

MrMaabra Week 3 is starting.

MrMaabra Zum Beginn der 4. Woche starte ich das LST, dieses Mal ohne Topping. Zuerst Konterdraht legen, damit die Lady sich leichter tut, wenn ich mit dem zweiten Draht den Haupttrieb runter binde. In den nächsten Tagen wird der Draht weiter gespannt und damit das weitere Wachstum beeinflusst. Ziel ist ein gleichmäßiges Wachstum, bei dem so viele Triebe als möglich auf gleicher Höhe heranwachsen. Bewässerung bleibt wie bisher reines Leitungswasser ohne Zusätze. __________ At the start of week 4, I’m beginning the LST, this time without topping. First, I’m setting up a counter-wire to support the lady, making it easier to pull down the main stem with a second wire. Over the next few days, I’ll continue to tighten the wire to guide the further growth. The goal is an even canopy where as many shoots as possible grow at the same height. Watering remains the same: plain tap water without any additives.

MrMaabra The LST is showing its effect - the plant has developed wonderfully and is producing many shoots. I've been making adjustments repeatedly over the last few days. This is a nice foundation for the upcoming stretch. I'm still only watering with tap water without pH adjustment. Last week, I got an analysis of our tap water. The pH value is between 7.4-7.6. So, from this week on, I'm reporting a pH value of 7.5 in this grow. A perfect value for Living Soil. Everything is still relaxed. I defoliated a bit outside the tent and set more hooks.

MrMaabra Week 6 starts with pre-flowering. The Gelato Auto looks amazing—deep green and great growth. Today I’m doing some defoliating and final training. I completely removed one side branch since it was hidden in the lower canopy and lagging behind in development. For LST, I’m using hooks made of rust-proof garden wire. I’m keeping the height at around 16 cm. Other than that, I’m still just watering with plain tap water (pH 7.5) and no additives. The Living Soil from Sonnenerde is working perfectly. Bring on the stretch! :-)

MrMaabra At the beginning of week 7, it’s time to trim and train the hairstyle again. The Gelato Auto is looking very healthy and vibrant, and before she gains too much height, I’ll continue to tie her down. For this, starting today, I’m using soft garden wire from GardenMate in addition to the hooks. It’s very flexible, and I’m securing it with foldback clips to the saucer and the rim of the pot. Afterwards, I did some defoliation (about a handful) to make sure the light reaches the lower shoots. Next time, I’ll take a closer look at the branches to decide which ones to remove, focusing the energy on the well-developed ones. I’m still watering with plain tap water and no additives. The lady is now 29 cm tall. The living soil project in the 15-liter pot has been a complete success so far!

MrMaabra Today I have something special for you! In this video, I’ll show you how I harvest worm tea from my own balcony worm bin, dilute it 1:10 with water, and feed my plant with it. From this week until the end of the grow, I’ll be giving her worm tea once a week. Other than that, the plant is developing beautifully. Thanks to the stretch, she has reached a height of 35 cm. I still have some vertical space left, so I’m not doing any more LST (low stress training) for now. Flowering is in full swing, and the smell is starting to kick in. The lady is getting quite thirsty, too—she’s now receiving 2 liters of water every two days. I’m still not adjusting the pH, but I make sure the water temperature is around 20°C. I’m really excited to see how the buds develop compared to my previous run in the 30-liter fabric pot with my Papaya Cookies Auto. For my next run, I’m planning another video where I’ll show you how I reuse and amend my living soil using things like my own worm castings.

MrMaabra Houston, we have a problem! Look at my upper leaves – rust spots! Clear signs of a nutrient deficiency. Since I’m working with living soil and made a point of not adding any extra fertilizer, I first have to find the root cause. To me, it looks like a nutrient lockout, so I checked the pH value of my irrigation water. And what can I say!? A pH of 8.26 is simply too high! As you can see in the photos, I quickly determined the pH with a test strip and then digitally. I can’t believe this is happening to me – total rookie mistake. I’m very surprised because I haven’t had any issues with the pH value so far (it was constantly around 7.2–7.6), but from now on, I’ll be checking and adjusting it daily. I’m still not using any additional fertilizer. I’m adjusting the pH using T.A. Terra Aquatica pH- ACID. And then, I’m tackling a little horde of fungus gnats with a few yellow sticky traps. I’ll be away for three days now and will see if my plant in the living soil pulls through. I’m pretty confident it will, though. See you next week!

MrMaabra Welcome back! My grow survived the three days without me just fine. Thanks to the mulch, the top layer of soil stayed noticeably moist and didn't dry out – perfect. Lesson learned: the plant can easily handle being away for three days in living soil. What’s changed since last week? It seems like no new leaves with rust spots have appeared – which is good. The affected areas on those leaves are now becoming crispy and completely dry. Another change is the increased water demand. I’m now watering 1.5 liters daily, which is 10% of the pot volume. The scent is developing and unfolding, and the buds are slowly taking on their typical shape. Plus, they got their weekly dose of worm tea again. Anything else...? Keep on growing!

MrMaabra Hi everyone, there was no worm tea this week as very little was produced. This was likely due to the recent cold days and nights. First step: feeding the worm bin, adding damp paper, and mixing it slightly to help the microbiology break down scraps for the worms – see Video 1. Otherwise, as expected, the lady has reached her final stage, indicated by the autumnal colors. The plant is pulling nutrients from its leaves. Many of the pistils have already turned orange-brown – harvest isn't far off now – see Video 2. It’s already apparent that the buds are about 1/3 smaller than in the previous grow using 30 liters. That will be my future setup for the Sonnenerde organic hemp soil – 30 liters. Humidity and temperature remain stable at 52% and 23 degrees. I’ve increased the lamp power to 60% for the remaining two weeks to push the bud development. The scent is subtle, but if you accidentally touch the flowers, it literally explodes with a sweet and creamy note – unassumingly good. The fungus gnats are gone and didn't turn into a major issue. I’m still very happy with the Gelato Auto.

MrMaabra Hi everyone, I was away for three days again. As a precaution, I watered 1.5 liters on Wednesday morning and added another 0.75 liters at noon before leaving until Saturday afternoon. The plant handled it perfectly and really put on some bud volume. The smell has also become very intense. The living soil is still nice and moist under the straw mulch, but noticeably drier than usual – time to water. The leaves are showing clear autumn colors now, and some are already completely faded/depleted. I’ll check the trichomes later today. I think harvest is just around the corner – after more than 12 weeks, it’s definitely time. It’s becoming clear that the yield will be very good for this pot size. Compared to my previous Papaya Cookies Auto grow in 30 liters, the bud size is visibly smaller this time. Also, the fact that I didn't top the plant is reflected in the structure: there are two distinct main buds, while the rest are smaller. As I mentioned in a previous week, the 30-liter setup will be my standard for Sonnenerde living soil. Now I’m excited to check the trichomes and see the final dry weight.

MrMaabra Hey guys, it took a little while, but the harvest, drying, and first tasting are finally done. With this Gelato Auto, I decided to hang the entire plant for drying for the very first time. Believe it or not, I’ve actually never done it that way before! It took a total of 10 days until it passed the 'snap test' and I could harvest and trim the buds. Humidity in the tent stayed between 43-50% with temperatures at 21-23°C (70-73°F). I kept a fan running 24/7, pointed at the lower side wall to ensure constant airflow and prevent any mold. The carbon filter was also running the whole time because the Gelato Auto was giving off its sweet, creamy, and fruity aroma – delicious! I don't have a wet weight since I would have had to weigh the entire plant, which I didn't do. I used food-grade twine to hang the plant from the (turned off) grow light. The soil is currently sitting on the balcony for a few days and will then be recycled for the next run. I’ll be making a separate video about that process in my next grow. As you can see, the trichomes are nice and milky at the time of harvest, with only about 5% amber – exactly what I was aiming for, as I wanted to try out a stronger head high with less body relaxation. More on that in the smoke report. The Gelato Auto was another relaxed grow, though I honestly expected a bit more yield. As I mentioned before, I’ll be using the 30-liter fabric pot as my standard setup from now on.