#1ST PHOTOS: SlushMintCake&SkywalkerHaze

H0BBYGAERTNER Entry #2: New kids on the block! Carefully moved both seedlings to their new home, each around 25l (couldve been a bit more i guess, as the bags are not completely full, but i can add some more later when i have more substrate around) of BioBizz Light Mix - let's see how this will work out. Added some Oscorna "Animalin" to the soil in a "mid" (so not totally on the bottom and not on top of the pot, where the small plants will be put) layer NPK 7-4-0,5 so the plants will find a nice treasure to feed them in a later stadium (it seems P will be too high, though, at least on paper. However, i have made good experiences with it, so again - let's see how this also will work out). As the plants were pretty tall already i put them very deep into the soil, also not centered into the pots to have the possibility of training later. Added some plain water, set up the light on 18/6 at around 550 µmol/m²/s (according to photone, which resulted in 40% brightness of the Mars Hydro FC1500) - ready to go! For the coming weeks: The room temperature seems to be way to cold, looking to adjust it now (maybe the lamp will heat sufficiently). Also planning on starting to feed fertilizer when both plants have adjusted in a few days/weeks. See you next time!

H0BBYGAERTNER Very small update: Temperatures in the tent got a little better, think the plants would grow a bit faster with ideal settings though. Well, i have time. Was scared the humidity would build up around the plants to and bags too much (as the sensor of the exhaust fan kinda was "stuck" to same parameters all the time) so i set the fan via timer switch to create a bid of circulation. Light might be to intense or to close this early in the veg, but the stretch will manage later i guess (very short distance between nodes). Tried to implenet LST from early on this time (without proper tools / a pipe scrap i found in the basement, but works the same), stem of the plants still very soft. Looking forward to find out about the effects of this massacre. Also startet to water with Hesi Grow fertilizer as the plants seemes rather pale (poor things) a few days ago, both plants took it well so far, really starting to speed up a bit now. Soil got a bit compressed, thinking about adding some on top when the plants will be a bit older later. Stem of the Skywalker plant turned purple, which i think is funny as the Slushy one should be the purple one. I am pretty sure i did not mix up the seed though (am I?).

H0BBYGAERTNER #3: MISTAKES WERE MADE - HAPPY LITTLE ACCIDENTS? While the Skywalker is developing nicely, the Slush felt like it slowed down a chunk. Weird shape of the leaves, just not growing in general. I thought: Maybe the lamp is to close, the light too intense as the leaves seemed a bit crippled. Adjusted the lamp to a greater distance then. First week i tried to water more for the roots to expand (about 2-2,5l each, fertilized with HESI grow) into the space of the whole bag. But yeah, next i found out: 💀💀💀. Seems like i damaged the main shoot of the Slush severely (so. so sorry, i mean it 😥) when applying the bend to the stem. Accidental topping it is then. Let's see what happens if you do it too early. Like a good chunk early, but i was looking to do it anyway sooner or later. I dont know if "LST" and such is still describing the method correctly (probably not), maybe rather a mixture of "Topping" and "Mainling", but i am no expert on that level (yet). Please tell me if i am fine? Crossing my fingers, hope the plant will recover nicely. Promise to treat it better from now on. Skywalker took it well so far (imo), will cut some fan leaves later as they conceal huge parts of the plant, so the bottom shoots can expand as well. Once again, i am really astonished how much a plant can grow in just about 7 days.

H0BBYGAERTNER WEEK 4 – Mühsam ernährt sich das Eichhörnchen. Still cold, still not much happening (adjusted the heating). Well, there are still Things happening, but when i see all your super-duper diaries i really get envious. Yes, still learning a Lot, still experimenting. No Need to be so hard, I guess. Soil was wet the whole week, so no additional need to Water. This time, as especially the Slushie showed very light/yellowish spots and a kinda deformed growth, i checked the ph and used a bit less nutrients, but still hesi bio grow. Also, still think it is correct to Water less often but to moisten the whole soil, as the small root penetrating the fabric shows. Maybe thats the reason not much is happening as the plants develop roots visible Parts. Stems of both plants feel strong. Skywalker has a lot of small shoots, slowly developing like intended looks nice, what do you think?). Removed the bigger fan leaves, will need to remove a few more later to reduce self shading. Slushie one (after i accidentally topped very early) grows weird. Strange pattern of leaves, almost no distance of nodes. Just keep on going, i guess, trust in nature, ja ja. Skywalker got topped After 4th node. „True“ mainlining should have been more effective, but whatever. Convenient coincidence: Supermarket(!) had these metal ground nails for a fair price, that work much better than the metal scrap pieces. Big pack of 50 pieces (or so i thought), but it adds up so fast. Hoping for some to explosive growth in the upcoming week, cant wait to finish the veggie Phase. However looks like im just halfway there, no no?

H0BBYGAERTNER WEEK #5 - CONSOLIDATION small update, nothing much happened whole week. Soil still wet, so no need to water again, yet. Will do exactly like last week as soon as bags are a bit lighter. i think that's because i took off a lot of the upper fan leaves (especially the one on the centered shoot), that were shadowing the other parts of the plants. Skywalker is evenly spread out now. So much i can actually not control the top shoots any longer. Removed a lot of the leaves there to slow the growth. Planning on letting the plan grow towards the light / vertical from now on, and spread from there. Or maybe waiting a bit for the Slush Mint Cake to catch up. After the accidental topping event, yea, what actually to expect. Plant looks a bit sad. Still potential there, will take some more time i guess. i would say its kinda half the size of the skywalker at the moment. If she recovers from earlier from the topping now/by now she might be able to catch up nicely. So far the stem is rather normal/slim, then a big chonker after node two. I kinda can use the manifold technique from now on i think (when i got it right), but this will probably reduce growth again, so even a bigger difference towards the Skywalker plant. Will evaluate later, but so far i think it's fine, dont need to max yield here. Most of the new leaves turned yellowish on the edges, not scared though, as it does not look like it will become a bigger problem (looking at the newest leaves). 👽 EDIT: Just read into the values of my local water provider - trying to learn each grow! While Ca and Mg values are pretty good, with an almost perfect relation to each other (3:1, provided i can trust the sources i got the perfect conditions from). The pH (around 7,5) is over the top (so it was right to check last time watering). Also the hardness of water is too high, so i potentially should use part filtrated or rain water. EC (Electric Conductivity) in consequence, is right in the middle of the ideal window (0,4-0,8). Conclusion: No need to feed additional CalMag, but should check (and probably lower) pH att all times.

H0BBYGAERTNER #6 - MASSACRE N°2 This week i was a bully: Removed heaps of fan leaves (almost every 2nd day), Skywalker top shoots were topped because they were getting to high, 50 staples almost completely gone. That's it. Plants do look a bit soft (light green), because almost all the older leaves were removed. I expect to, again, have to water a bit less / delayed. Upcoming week, i think, i will finally let both plants grow towards the light, no more LST. In my opinion the Slush has recovered so far, as it will also be able to produce a few co-equal mains - we will see! It's crazy this whole process took 6 weeks so far. So 1-2 more weeks and switch to 12/12 should be fine?

H0BBYGAERTNER Week 7 — Tiny steps Ok, really nothing Big happened at all. Saw 1-2 fungus gnats (is that really the correct term?), so set up a trap, just in case. Lot of Fan leaves, will remove the disturbing ones in the upcoming Week. Plants seems to be a bit pale. Should i feed more nutrients? Skywalker filling the whole pot already, Slush is Fine just as well. Not to bad, hu? Think its almost to mich in case of the Skywalker one.

H0BBYGAERTNER Well, thanks @jen_zee, my plants did, in fact, not die. 😂 Most funny comment and shoutout goes out to you! @followers: have a look at their diary, growing same strains at the moment! Week 8 -- #HORRORSHOW Well, the have not died yet, but i am pretty close at the moment for the Slush Mint Cake. I had two very busy days and was not able to air the small room the tent is set up in. The humidity crept up to 70%, probably beyond, and, apparently a micro-climate formed unter the canopy of the leaves, which in total led to molding soil under the stems (so i think). 💀 I was in shock (and im such an idiot). 🙀🙀 ..but: never give up! Still learning, so i will make the best out of it. Removed the moldy soil best as i could, surgically removed some of the landscape staples, cleaned the stems, made some space beneath the stem, removed some leaves. Plant does not seem to be damaged (no obvious stem rot) and so far nothing has returned. Just in case i started a clone, another thing i have wanted to try out. 😊 Skywalker is super bushy (compare to week 6, wow!), so i also removed a lot of leaves. Hope next week the plants (25cm in diameter atm - whole bag!) top the brim of the bags, so i can get some air circulating ther and stop mutilating the plants every week. Very pretty, broad dark green leaves, violet stalks - looking forward for the upcoming progress. Unfortunately i think it's still 2 weeks minimum till i can 12/12, so this is not the fastest way for results, and i do not even need to max out the yield. 😕 Conclusion at the moment: Just use usual mainlining, or start LST later. See you next week!

H0BBYGAERTNER WEEK #9 -- Calm before the storm? Not much to add! Waiting for the plants to develop a nice basis for the switch atm. Removed some leaves beginning of week because i am still afraid of molding soil/microclimate near the soil, especially after watering. Nights are still cold here, so humidity is increasing in the night, but fine during the day. Slush still a bit behind, but the Skywalker one has probably way too many shoots anyways. Will have to bend/branch them out during stretch, or even remove some lower ones. Let's see. Actually, i'm wondering on when to remove the lower branches (the future popcorn buds) the hardly get any light, any adivce on that? Before or after stretch? As you can see 2nd fan has arrived (thanks for the 420 deal), waiting on the usb-a plug now. Thinking about switching to 12/12 - what do you think? I think one more week will do no harm, especially as i have a lot of room in the tent still. Height is about 10-15cm at the moment, expecting the 100% stretch i think i want to go to 20-25cm at least. Checking out other diaries as well now to evaluate the situation better. 😊 WOULD YOU FLIP?

H0BBYGAERTNER WEEK #10 - FLIP IT Light: Flipped to 12/12 on friday 24.04., so exactly 10 weeks after germination, with plants ca. 25cm in diameter and 18-20cm in height. Huge step personally, looking forward to witnessing the upcoming transformation. But before: Last time fed with HESI Grow, watered generously with a little bit of drain. Defoiled very heavily mid of week again (thanks for the advice, @jen_zee - that's where this community really shines 😍) to prepare for stretch (results not for the easy mind, be warned 😉). Skywalker plant is super bushy and recovered within very few days. Slush Mint Cake also doing well, impression (because of my earlier mistake) is rather sparse, but still very potent. Think i like the Slush Mint Cake even more (although stems of leaves are VERY long), because the Skywalker one is just very dense. Outdoor temperatures are getting higher here during the day, which benefits the indoor temperatures also. Humidity is still rather high though, will need to have an eye for that. Lamp was adjusted to 35cm accoring to growth and upped to 50% intensity. Also installed a SCROG net already, unluckily MarsHydro has shipped a 80x80cm version for a 70x70cm tent. That's why it looks a bit ridicolous. Will do its deed though, i think (do you was well?). Used a few landscape staples to bend a few branches into position, where space was available.

H0BBYGAERTNER WEEK #11 — Welcome to the JUNGLE (Part I) 🌴 Hello fellow Kids, Late on this one, but all photos are from the weekend, so no different distance (timewise) here. To be honest: once again i expected a bit more. Thats why i went trouble hunting. No signs of bloom at all. First i got a bit suspicious, the Mars Controller (especially the App) bugged a few times in the past (probably user error, hehe 🤡(honestly)). Set all to manual, real 12/12, no gimmicks, no fun, pure essentials. *Eliminated* Cranked up the light to 80% over a few days as not as much as expected intensity reached the plants. Photone App rules. *Eliminated* For now Skywalker is doing fine, density is enormous. Growth in height not so much. I Hope it will get better because i want to branch out the single shoots. Slush grows much better, or closer as expected, in that regard. Well, other diaries have shown that First week of bloom is probably not that interesting, so excited for the upcoming weeks — stay tuned!

H0BBYGAERTNER WEEK #12 - FIRST SIGNS OF BLOOM The bushes are doing fine, it seems. Checking the photos of last week, the progress is huge. Slush is almost same size as Skywalker now, 40cm in diaemter and about 25cm tall. Though not as compact /dense. In fact the SMC seems to be a very delicate and "soft"/dropping plant, while the Skywalker is a bit more sturdy. Really need to pull myself together to not remove mass (leaves) during stretch. 1-2 weeks to go, i think. Many leaves and high light intensity = thirsty much (and high humidity, but that shouldnt matter too much in this stage, err?). I think i will burn through all my fertilizer soon enough. But that's best for the plants surely. Installed the ScrOG net, 70x70cm tent kinda limiting already, a few more centimeters woulg be nice for air circulation and general spread of the plants. Hope to branch them out a bit more the folling days. At the moment i'm a bit concerned, also regarding the net, as i have usually sometimes removed the plants for care. Well, have to see if that's a major problem or just annoying in the future. Smell: not stronger than before (yet), very faint and not very distinct ("green"). Light: adjusted to appr. 35cm distance every other day, still 800 PPFD/µmol/m²/s - which could be a bit more in fact. Wish i had a "fast forward" function, can't wait. 👻 - - - Question(s): 2nd Fan under (instead above) canopy, after stretch seems reasonable? At the moment there's not enough space.

H0BBYGAERTNER WEEK #13 - THE GLASS IS HALF FULL? A bit more progress again, plants are now roughly 50cm in diameter and 30cm (Skywalker) / 35cm (Slush Mint Cake) in height. In fact, i was able to move some branches to the next "squares" of the net, which feels very pleasant/satisfying. As far is i can tell, Slush had in fact more stretch than skywalker, which seems due to the strain genetic. Lots of leaves pressing towards the walls at the moment. Waiting for stretch to finish so i can remove them, and also the leaves blamable for, as well as the always shaded bottom shoots - no need for them when you have so many one on the sunny side. Seems i need to check soil / bag weight more often as some leaves showed signs of being withered (which i removed). Well, it totally makes sense that plants of double the size need water more often and also drink more. Opened the tent today and saw 3 of the tiny annoying flies, so immediately preemptively set up traps. Smell: Still not stronger than before (yet), very faint and not very distinct ("green"). Although one definitely can smell something (or ist my imagination?). Light: Still 35cm distance for appr. 800 PPFD/µmol/m²/s. - - - Question(s): Ready for defoil, si o no? Do you like the videos? Seem to provide a nice and better overview than single photos.

H0BBYGAERTNER #WEEK 14 — HEAVY CUT Well, well well. Id recommend a bigger tent for these kind of Experiments, 70x70cm too smallz for even two plants, it seems. Finally, i hope they reached their almost final height and so i had the courage to ✂️. A Bit Late, i think. I had sticky Fingers after 🙄. And so, so many leaves and light-green/-yellowish, very long shoots - what a waste. I think it took 60-90 minutes for both plant, and do they look rough now. Hope they will recover soon. Because then, i suppose, i will have a fine sea of sweet colas. But Finally enough room for airflow, enough exposure to light, and for the view of the massive stems. 😍 Some shoots broke out, canopy is Not very even at the Moment. I guess that will Make it possible to chop these parts first later. Also looks like Slush Mint Cake is about to purple (bottom side of some leaves). However, temperatures starting to rise outside, so we will see (the saying is cold temperatures trigger the purple colors, no?). Smell: there‘s something, but still very faint, not very distinct and rather weird / not so tempting (thats how i would put it) at the moment (yet). According to a lot of other diaries Slush will become very massive - fingers crossed. Make a wish: tents that Open on the backside or both adjacent outer sides as well. Was a slog / grind / drudgery that way.

H0BBYGAERTNER WEEK #15 — FIRST SIGNS OF FROST Most „Standard“ Week so far, i guess. A Little grow, a little leaves removed (that shadowed other Branches), Water Water — same same all week. The only new thing: A Little smell. Slush Mint cake very fresh and fruity (had the Impression of a light menthol Impression in the air a few times). Skywalker like lemon-soapy Style. Looking forward to how it will develop individually. The Look: another clear difference is the appearance. SMC is very flat (like really flat), very dense, but mostly with distance between buds. Skywalker rather normal, but also dense. Both have „breakout“ Kolas, canopy rather uneven, so light Distribution not that great. Well, LED aint the sun, hu? BUT: The underdog, Mint Cake, has the most frostied leaves, covered in trichomes. From shaft to the tip, ALL of them, what makes them appear light green, although the leaves are rather dark. Hope this will develop Even further, very impressive so far. First few pistills turning brown already, However according to Dutch Passion, bloom is 8-9 weeks for SMC and 9-10 Weeks for Skywalker *Haze* on average. This should mean like half is already over. ☺️ Bonus: CUTE - SMC as well as Skywalker have slight purple tips (🍆) respectively tiny dark/ purple leaves. Fingers crossed i have a purple pheno! Temperatures are hot at the Moment, humidity dry. Both Translate to very good conditions in the tent. Guess thats it for this week, stay tuned. Edit: For nutrients, i still have some calmag and phosphor around from my beginnimgs. They dont seem necessary at the Moment, but — so i assume — will Not harm the plants either, at least in a very light concentration.

H0BBYGAERTNER WEEK #16 — WE ROLLIN? Removed a lot of leaves and lower/small buds again (thanks for the advice, @GoodTimesOrganics!). That's where moving the plants freely (without ScrOG) would benefit a lot, especially as i think i am supposed to remove a bit more material in the context of qualityquantity. Stems and soil now clearly visible, airflow should be fine. I wonder, however, how i will make sure to lower the humidity to a constant 50% (or a bit below) in late bloom. At the moment it's still around 60% most of the time, as these are the conditions in the whole room and outside as well. Do you have any tips for that besides dehumidifying the surroundings? Lights to 90% capacity with just a 30cm distance to the most top buds, as i recognized the light does not penetrate very much deeper/seems to becomes notably weaker with even just a small difference in distance. Hope to produce some dense buds by that. A lot more brown pistills as you can see on the "detail" pics. The ones of Skywalker Haze are rather thin, but numerous. Slush Mint Cake gained a lote more violet leaf-tips, as well as some more purple spots. Hope this develops even further. ..and: So sticky! Don't even think to touch any part of the plant, especially Slush Mint Cake, without gloves. General appearance without the leaves feels a bit "meager" at the moment, but that's what the coming weeks ( 2-3 weeks for SMC and 3-4 weeks for Skywalker *Haze* according to Dutch Passion standard) are for, i guess. What makes me really happy is that (at least to my eyes and experience) there arent any deficiencies visible at all for the moment. Or can you spot anything?