Taste the Terps 🍊

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BOTAN1ST Since it’s currently quite cold in the propagation room; noticeably colder than what we usually have during early veg, the plants are growing slower than normal. For the number of vegetative days and weeks they’ve already had, they are still relatively small. I’ll turn on the greenhouse heater and keep an eye on how the growth responds, but there’s no rush on our side anyway. Sometimes patience is part of the process. Unfortunately, it also looks like the Zkittlez & Zkittlez might be a bit of a runt :/ It hasn’t developed the way we hoped so far. Because of that, we’ve already started germinating a new seed, which is currently on its way. Let’s see how the replacement performs once it catches up. 🌱

BOTAN1ST In week three it’s still quite cold in the room. The heater hasn’t been turned on yet, which is clearly visible in the plants’ growth - they’re developing slowly and taking their time. Under warmer conditions they would likely be a bit further along by now, but for the moment we’re just letting them do their thing. The new Zkittlez seed has already germinated and should be breaking through the surface very soon. Always a nice moment to see a fresh seedling appear — let’s hope this one develops a bit stronger than the first one. 🌱

BOTAN1ST In week four you can clearly see that the cold temperatures during the last three weeks have left their mark on the plants. For the length of the vegetative phase they’re definitely quite far behind in development - but it is what it is. 😄 The new Zkittlez has already pushed about 2 cm above the soil, and it didn’t take long for things to get interesting. The newest leaves on the older Zkittlez are starting to look almost healthy again, as if the mutation might actually be growing out. Maybe it will correct itself after all - we’ll see how it develops. As soon as the plants are big enough we’ll take cuttings. After rooting, the clones will spend about a week in the vegetative stage in coco before being sent straight into flower. Should be an interesting run. 🌱

BOTAN1ST Over the past week, the plants have made some good progress. We added a small heat mat and placed them under fluorescent lights, which produce a bit more warmth. The plants responded immediately, showing “praying” leaves as they adjusted to the improved conditions. They’ve now been moved into the bigger tent and will have another few days to grow before we take cuttings. Then the real fun begins! 🌱 Unfortunately, the Zkittlez went through a short dry period and suffered a bit as a result. You can clearly see the typical leaf patterns associated with root stress, whether from pH issues or dryness. It will bounce back quickly 😀 We’ve now taken cuttings and trimmed the mother plants back completely. At this stage, we’re waiting for the clones to develop strong roots. Once they’re ready, they’ll be transplanted into 2L containers filled with Plagron Cocos Perlite, and then it’s straight into the flowering phase. 🌱 The new Zkittlez is also showing some slight deformities, which is a bit concerning. We’ll reach out to Exotic Seeds to check if this could be related to a problematic batch.

BOTAN1ST Finally, the clones have rooted! All three developed a healthy root system and have now been transplanted into 2L containers filled with Plagron Cocos Perlite 70/30. They’ve also been given a mild nutrient mix from Terra Aquatica to support their transition. For now, the plants will stay in the vegetative stage for about a week. If they establish well and show strong growth, we’ll move them straight into the flowering phase. 🌱 pH ~5.9

BOTAN1ST We are now in the final week of the vegetative stage. The cuttings have been in the coco substrate for 7 days and are about to be transitioned into the flowering phase. Unfortunately, our pH meter broke, so for a few days we had to rely on test strips to adjust the pH levels. This didn’t work out as precisely as expected, which can be seen in the leaf color. However, with the new measuring device, this issue should now be resolved. The nutrient dosage has been gradually increased, and the healthy green color should return soon 🙂

BOTAN1ST Today marks the first day of the flowering phase, following yesterday’s transition. The plants are showing visible growth and have settled into the coco substrate well. The green color is gradually returning, and we’re slowly working our way up to a higher EC level. Day 2 of flower: First flowers already visible?! That was fast! Day 3: Visibly greener than the other days.

BOTAN1ST In the second week of flowering, things are really starting to take off. The plants have begun to stretch noticeably and are gaining height quickly. We’re excited to see how big they’ll end up getting in the 2L containers. The green color has fully returned by now, and the plants look lush and full of energy overall. The Orangesicle is still the most compact of the three so far. It could definitely stretch a bit more to better match the others, but overall we’re very happy with how everything is developing and looking forward to the next stages of flowering. 🌱

BOTAN1ST In the third week of flowering, the stretch is still in full effect, with the plants continuing to gain height day by day. They’re now a rich, vibrant green, looking healthy and full of life. Bud development is becoming more noticeable as well, with the calyxes starting to swell and stack up nicely, giving a clear preview of what’s to come. Overall, everything is progressing smoothly, and the structure of each plant is becoming more defined. It’s exciting to watch them transition further into the flowering phase as they build the foundation for the upcoming weeks. 🌿 ------------ 28.04.2026Unfortunately, we’ve found a few male flowers and some mixed (hermaphrodite) flowers on the Mandarine Jam. So far, there have only been a few on the main stem. We’ll remove them for now and continue to monitor the plant closely. ------------- 29.04.2026At the moment, the plants are extremely thirsty and are being watered almost every day instead of every second day. The small Orangesicle is showing very slight tip burn on the leaves, indicating that we’re right at the upper EC limit for what she can handle. The larger plants are coping a bit better with this, likely due to their greater leaf mass and overall stronger growth. Currently, the plants are stretching between 3-6 cm per day. Hopefully this will slow down soon; otherwise, we may consider reducing the light cycle by an hour.

BOTAN1ST As you can see in the uploaded chart, the stretch is finally slowing down and the plants are reaching their final height. The tallest one is now hitting almost 80cm, and that’s in a 2L container! We probably could have switched them straight to 12/12 right after rooting 😄 There are some burnt tips, but we don't know the reason for that, since only the Orangesicle shows these weird damaged leaf tips :/ If you have any idea, let us know. We halfed the amount of fertilizer

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BOTAN1ST Update Week 6 of Flower: The plants are developing incredibly well! The stretch is over, and they are now pouring all their energy into bud production. Here is how the individual strains are doing right now: Orangesicle: She has recovered nicely from her previous issues. To keep her happy, we are continuing to feed her a slightly milder nutrient solution compared to the other two. Mandarine Jam: Unfortunately, she is still throwing out quite a few male flowers. We are constantly on the lookout and plucking them off as they appear, as you can see in the picture. S&S: This one is definitely the star of the tent right now! She is producing the most resin by far and has shown the most beautiful growth structure throughout the entire run The feeding recommendation from Terra Aquatica suggests using significantly higher doses of Coco Grow and Bloom, which honestly seems hard for us to imagine in our setup. Right now, we are feeding: 1-1.4 ml/L Grow 0.5-1 ml/L Bloom The official Terra Aquatica recommendation would be: 1.5 ml/L Grow 3 ml/L Bloom With our water values, that would result in far too much phosphorus and potassium (roughly NPK 122-94-200). Instead, we are feeding within a range of approximately NPK 70-16-72 up to NPK 94-32-112, which seems much more realistic for the plants. Studies show that additional phosphorus does not meaningfully contribute to flowering as long as a sufficient minimum level is already available. Most grow/bloom fertilizers are heavily overloaded with phosphorus in our opinion. We will continue feeding at lower doses because the plants are showing no deficiencies at all and remain very dark green and healthy. We honestly have no idea where some nutrient companies get these feeding values from, perhaps they are intended for much larger plants. Even in 2L coco containers, those higher doses would very likely lead to overfeeding.

BOTAN1ST Another week has passed, and we are slowly starting to see signs that the plants are aging and entering their “autumn phase.” Of course, this could also be related to the slightly lower nutrient levels we are feeding right now, so we will continue to observe how they develop over the next days. Here is how the individual strains are doing: Mandarine Jam: By now, we have had to remove quite a large number of male flowers from the Mandarine Jam. We hope that not too much pollination has occurred, since we could not actually see any visible pollen being released. Perhaps these “bananas” are sterile or pollen-free. Unfortunately, the constant searching and removal has definitely stressed the flowers and affected their appearance a bit :( The leaves are also slowly starting to develop a very dark purple-black coloration. Interestingly, the “mother” plant of this strain also reportedly produced large pollen sacs. S&S: Not much has changed since last week. The colas are continuing to bulk up nicely. As mentioned before, she is slowly losing some of her deep green color, which could either be caused by the reduced nutrient levels or by the typical “LED bleaching” effect, since mainly the upper leaves closest to the light are fading. We will see how she develops further. Orangesicle: She is actually still maintaining a very strong blue-green color and remains mostly unchanged overall. She continues to build her colas steadily, so we will keep watching how she progresses. The lower leaves on all three plants are slowly turning yellow. This could simply be due to aging and lack of light penetration, but it may also indicate a mild nitrogen deficiency. We initially also started a Skittles plant, and despite the mutation, we managed to get a really nice picture of her in the sunlight :)

BOTAN1ST Autumn is slowly starting to arrive in the tent. The plants are showing more and more signs of maturity, with some beautiful seasonal colors beginning to appear. Here is how the individual strains are doing: Z&Z: The Z&Z has changed color quite noticeably over the last week. The flowers are now developing a beautiful gradient of orange and purple tones, giving the plant a very striking appearance. Apart from the color changes, she continues to mature steadily and seems to be progressing well towards the finish line. Orangesicle: The Orangesicle remains largely unchanged compared to last week. She is still completely green and healthy-looking, showing very little fading so far. Instead, she continues focusing her energy on building up her colas, which are steadily gaining size and density. Mandarine Jam: The Mandarine Jam has continued to darken and is now displaying a mix of deep green and purple colors throughout the plant. Due to the large number of bananas that kept appearing, we ultimately decided to move her to the balcony as a precaution. Fortunately, she seems to be handling the relocation quite well and continues to develop nicely. We are still inspecting her regularly and removing any new bananas we find.