Planet of the rainbow apes

So here we go with this experiment of a new strain from barneys farm. I am stoked to be back into their genetics again and will be running a couple more in coco alongside (Blue Gelato 41, Phantom Og , Cookie Kush , Orange sherbet). I have been desperate to get going on another run of their genetics and here we have it. The plan is to top , lst them to a quad manifold , grow them outward and bushy before a major defol after the stretch has done. I have chosen coco as it is now getting hotter here in the UK so didnt want to battle the heat in the dwcr throughout the grow. I love coco for its forgiveness and ability to restart from flushed if needed. I am also trying out some of the SUMO nutrients line up for flowering and finish after reading great reviews. Still going with Golden Tree and gh trio with occasional superthrive tickles too. I am expecting great things from tjese monkeys and know they wont let me down ( Wish i could get an L.E.D sponsor for lights but keep hitting brick walls.lol) .I have 2x enhanced 600w hps for the flowering period specifically and and will be using 1 600w MH for the initial vegging period ( may go to second 600 of they demand it. As i am doing multiple barneys strains but never get to enter diary of month ect... i am journaling each strain individually. This initial post is for ALL the girls that i germinated from the first picture( 100% success within 3 days of planting dry into sponges) I am using this update to begin them all off as the start up has been the same for all the little ones. I dropped the seeds in, impatient me as i am, wanted to grow them since they arrived and never considered how close to our family vacation for 10 days i was!. I had to make emergency coco survival pods that can wick water !!!!. problem solved and they seem to have given me a break. So from here on in they will get their own updates. climb aboard for the ride , any comments greatly recieved and appreciated. Welcome to the apery , please don't put your fingers in the cages , they can bite !!

Day 7 Veg update: A very busy week for the little apes this week. Holding them in the small pots has not been easy. some of their roots demanded an up pot with the circling starting. The smallest potted lady had to go i to a temp 10ltr just to get her roots out more. She responded overnight with her leaves fattening very nicely. They have been taking the food daily at 1/2litre soakings in the little pots and today i moved them into their final ones. 27 ltr fabric pots and one that i have had to diy with chicken wire and anti-frost sheeting. Hoping it will do the same job as the fabric ones. I will be numbering these up for i.d i the morning to be better abke to keep track of their growth. I am hoping 2 weeks more veg and then flip. The GZ are great growers and are just opening their 5th nodes. I will be topping at the 5th and removing the 1st , 2nd nodes to start the Quadline going. All in all a good week and ow in bigger pots the real pleasure can start.

Day 14 Veg: The apes have been gradually growing out to give me their 5th nodes to top a few days ago. My intention is to Quadline them to keep them squat and chunky in stature. I have took the 1st and 2nd nodes off and topped at the 5th. They will have their developing 3rd and 4th nodes grown out towards the edges before i let them go into flower. they should create a cross shape that then fills out within the centres too. They will get a good defoliate before flowering and once during to get light down into the canopy. I have lowered the ppm to make sure they dont get overfed. no signs of that showing but better safe than sorry. I am impressed with the girls and their recovery from the lst and expect these ladies to be show stoppers. Chopping them after spending two weeks willing them to grow feels wrong everytime i do it but i know it will be well worth it come harvest time. Getting them under the MH has been their making and rhey have been taking 2l every 4 days in feeds. I am not doing a wet/dry and intend to keep the coco moist and fresh as i go along. I am desperate for some LED now to get my bills down asap. not to mention the 31°c that my room can climb to when the sunshines outside. I am hoping a sponsor wants to convert me to L.e.d to prove their usefullness and also use a live grow to show it. ( fingers so crossed one reads this and takes pity). Another 10 days at least before i can flip. Watch this space. Any comment greatly appreciated.

Day 21 veg : The Gorillas have been active and very responsive this week. There has been a lot of activity with the quadlining and removal of infected other plants ( spidermite) There is a marked difference now between them which should lead to some interesting colours come flowering time. Seeing how chubby some of the leaves are on one of them gives a good inication of the buds she will hold too. The last week i have kept them on a ppm of 600 but have increased it today with 3ml coco feed per litre. Ppm is now 900 whichbshould be good for the stage they are at. I think a couple more weeks at most in veg will have them perfect to flip. The quads are moving along nicely and only had a few minor splits to tape up. They have taken the strip put of lower nodes and topping in their strides and one of them has 3 branches coming from the 3rd node too. She will be a penatagram not quad.lol They are all a beautiful colour and healthy feeling. They are getting a 2L soak every 3 days now and i water to Approx 10% as it is a short period between drenches so shouldn't create any build up issues I am looking forward to this weeks growth period as they should fill the pots out nicely and thicken up those gorillas arm branches this strain is capable of. I have about 1.5m of safe vertical before height becomes a real issue and there is plenty of light , air and space to get these rainbow apes to their full potential. Until next week. peace and blessings.

Day 30 veg update: Wow I love these girls. They have been quadlining great this week. The staking out has opened her up nicely now and inhave done a little defoliation too. This has opened up the middle of them for more light penetration. On lights , i have now got 2 Mars Hydro TSL 2000 Led,s running instead of the HpS. They are brilliant so far , plug and play so no issues settingnup and i have gained height , lost heat and halved my running costs. The girls have responded well to it in the last 24 hours since they went in. a great purchase finally.lol getting with the 21st century now. I had a major mishap with one of these ladies and snapped one of her quad arms nearly off. shebis heavily taped up now to try to get over it and create a nice knuckle. Watch this space !. The growth this week has been excellent with a lot of the inner small tips finding their pace. I am hoping another week ( Fri 28th June) that i will be able to flip them. I have also spent time sorting the runoff and floor so i can space them out better. kids lost their paddling pool though !! Cannot wait to see these beauties after the stretch , i have a lot of yo'yo's to use up !! now moving them over to Gh flora trio and soon the shogun line of additives to see how they perform too. Feeding them every 3 days with 2 litres and a small runoff. ppm on the gh is 500. Ph 6.1

TRANSITION PERIOD :day 1 Veg day 35: It has finally arrived !!! . With all the drama of leaving them alone and getting the right medium to get them going with the upcoming heatwaves , i never thought we would get here. As the diary system here seems to get out of sync with actual cycle so easy , i am using veg input to ensure actual flowering is counted properly and not just 12/12 switch time. Once i see flowering start i will start the entry in flowering inputs. This also avoids harvesting way too early if your using breeders recommend times. I will be contacting admin to see about a TRANSITION Period being built in to the journal entries. I feel this will help new growers to understand the actual real world cycles of Cannabis Plants and potentially avoid early harvesting. Whats new: The Lights have been storming it for the training them this week. I have had a Major defoliation session and did a lot of tying down ready for the stretch. I am using Quadlining to keep the canopy low and manageable in my attic tent. The difference between HPS and these TSL-2000's is shocking. I have used hps for decades and swore by them until now. If they continue to impress with the flowering as they have with vegging , i will be a very happy Mars customer. If not i will slander the hell out of the new tech and start a crusade against LED. lol Now about these Gorillas ! What can i say about my experience with them so far besides amazing. They have taken every bend , chop and pinch with no real issues except looking beat up straight after the sessions. They have an amazingly rapid recovery rate and within a couple of hours are facing the light and pushing leaf growth out again. The photos of before/after/recovery are all taken within 12 hours , only 4 of which were the lights on period. Moved over to the Gh trio nutes now too and using transition feeding mix. The plagron is empty and i love the flora series anyway. On with the Apes #1 In her cobbled together pot is the best grower of the girls so far. Her branches are thickening up nicely and she should support some good sized buds. She is full of potential mains too #2 She has the broadest indica leaning look about her , short and wide with thickening branches to the quadline, she has upped her stakes from the coco a couple of times and now only holds with tying down #3 Was bushy but after defol showed herself to be way more Sativa looking than her sisters. She is easy to train and nice and flexible , just how i like em !!. lol. #4 Is a good 50/50 hybrid and looks right in the middle of the two. She is happy and easy to train too. nice sized branches and budsites in the right places. Another pheno to enjoy of the strain. Lets see how long before they show their flower start.any comments , observations or general chatter more than welcome , it gets mighty lonely in these grows. lol

TRANSITION DAY 11: These Gorillas have been impressing the hell out of me this last week or so. more than they had before. I did another tidy up a little to allow air through a little better . At day 11 since the flip , they are all showing their female pistils but #1 is the star of the show so far. She is huge and has so much inner growth going on with her quadline. i will e glad when the stretch subsides so i can strip out the useless popcorn amd a good few leaves too. Her stems are nicely thick and will be able to easily hold a decent size bids. Stretch on a couple of them has been quite a lot. Taking out some of the useless branches will also concentrate her energy to bud production. Seeing how quickly they refilled the space with their regrowth gives me a boost at how quickly they will build huge sticky buds too ???. #1 is looking very much more sativa leaning with her growth rate and size #2 + 3 are a good looking 50/50 hybrid and #4 is a chubbier leaved girl so i feel more indica. Soon be able to answer that once flowering cycle get going.

Flowering Day 2: Hope the video shows them well enough. These girls are amazing growers. #1 has gone big with the stretch. i expect her to be the best yield. #2 and 4 are more squat in structure so lean on the indica side i think. #3 is similar in height to 1 but is nowhere near as big. Now the stretch is done i can plan the day 7 defol and strip out of all the small whispy rubbish that will just steal nutes and energy away from the worthy ones. i plan to keep some lower fans without their buds to give extra photosynthesis to assist the others.

Flower day 8: Another good week for the apes this week. #1 has continued to grow huge. she has so many good bud sites on her now i have stripped her out more. #2 is small compared to the other 3 and very nearly got scapped when i I finished the defol. She doesnt look the best but will keep her going and see how she does. #3 and #4 are doing good with similar productive sites as #1 but nowhere near as big. I am impressed with the sumo boost and the size of the buds at such an early stage fills me with hope of my best yield . The lights claim 1.5gpw at rhe socket so should by rights produce around 900g from the space. Thisbwould be a major win as i average 25-30oz on the hps set up i have run for years but was happy at that. Now i have a new found pride in producing top quality and a better yield, i now see how the LED out performs my HPS on all levels so far. No signs of any issues so far and they are taking about 3 ltrs each with a tiny run off , every other day so far. peace and blessings

Update Day 14 flowering : These Gorillas are behaving themselves well considering the 35°c here in the uk . They have been keeping busy with their bud stacking . Their pheno differences are more noticeable now as they space their nodes and settle into full flower production #1 is no longer the big beast and has been overtook by #3 by a good 5 inches. #2 is stacking up nicely but remains a lot smaller than the others. #4 is plodding along at the back of the room in her own space. All the buds are looking good and a few are starting to colour up already !!. beautiful strain already so can only imagine their finished result. Hoping the heatwave passes quickly now as it is way too hot here at over 35°c outside.

Day 27 flower: I love the Gz strain with a passion. The colours that are beginning to shown on all of their buds are beautiful already and they are not even half way through yet !!. #1 is by far the biggest girl with so many tops going for her final yield weight. #2 is plodding along still in her indica stout kinda way. forming ok too #3 was the tallest of the 4 and had to be supercropped to get the lower buds some light down there. gave 5 mains a 90° bend. #4 is still a little lady but is making nice bud stacks for the party too. They are getting sticky icky now too and smell really fruity when rubbed a little well done Barneys Farm

Day 35 flowering: Damn these girls are beautiful. They have been constant throughout the grow and have no issues besides their flop is starting to happen. ,need to yo-yo soon no doubt. The buds are rock solid and do not move when squeezed. Smell is so beautiful and skittles sweet too. I am so glad i went with this strain as the main grow. With so long still to go and the bud swell still to come in another weeks time ,their yield should be good. Go Gz. love them

Actual day 37 flowering today : After a screw up on weeks and missing 1 totally !!!. I am now on track correctly The Gorilla girls continue to be amazing and look beautiful close up. Buds are so sokid and heavy too. her smell is so candy/fruity and they are starting their second burst now. I am looking forward to sampling these ladies so much.

Day 43 flowering today and these girls are stunning. The two smaller girls are covered in trichs and cloudy already !!. The bigger 2 could go on still . i am going to give them another week with a watchful eye i think. I have gone on to the Dragon force now so lets see what that can do !

Day 50 flowering. What to put about these beautiful ladies this week ??? The addition of the Dragon Force has had a great result with new pistils kicking out and lots of greasy resin on their bids and leaves too. Their general bud density is brilliant and will be amazingly solid when dried too. They are stone hard to squeeze and give off a beautiful sweet smell when rubbed. With only 6 official days till the harvest , i am hoping to see them amber up on the trichs more. There are odd patches starting to show but still enough clear ones to keep them going till their good and ready. The wait will be worth it i am sure. I cant fault any of them , even the midget sisters. Colour wise the buds look amazing close up and in real light. lots of oranges mixed in with frost and newer pistils. no signs of purple yet but who knows what this week will bring?. keep green people.

Day 56 flowering: I love Gorilla zkittelz with a passion!!!!. They have been consistent throughout the grow even if the pheno kept the other 2 smaller. Their buds are amazing to see in the light and full of trichs. They smell so fruity/candy now too. Another few days for these 2 ladies and its into the dark for 48 hrs. They have begun to fade slightly now so hopefully know they are close to their end , and start hitting the stored supplies to clear out some chlorophyll. Their buds are rock solid now and dont move and inch when pressed. Cannot wait to sample this strain.

Update day 61 flowering(71 days since flip): The Gorillas have all now escaped the jungle !!!. I have now taken the last 2 girls out for their 48 hours dark period and they look absolutely amazing. The 2 smaller girls are dried and harvested with a dissapointing yield but they were a small pheno and i need to dial in this room better for coverage too. The 2nd two will bring their overall yield to a more acceptable result. Rhe finished buds on the dried ones are a great example of the strain and very gritty to crumble in. I will uodate yield and harvest info once these girls are finished totally. i expect a 10 day dry hopefully to get the best flavour and potency. I have pushed these final 2 past wjat i would normally dare do. They are amazing to touch and smell . i expect they wont lose much in actual bud sizes as they dry due to their denseness. UPDATE:Day 64 flowering (78 since flip) All the Gorillas are now finished and awaiting final trim and harvest dried. The Nugs on the second pair are solid and hopefully won't shrink too much. I hope she keeps their beautiful colours too. Hopefully a slow dry now before a final tally and harvest report. Then its on to the Fast Buds bonanza , followed by a run from Original Sensible Seeds. All getting exciting in the farm now again.

What can i say about this amazing success story from Barneys Farm. They were a breeze to grow and took whatever i theew at them without a hitch. the bigger pheno girls were amazi g with growth spurts and went easily more than double in stretch. I ran out of silicon and calmag which did hold them back a little during flower. In true Gorilla strain style , they were floppy with their weights from about week 6 and i suggest staking early on for a better control of their bud position. Without my lazy growing practices ( being resolved for the fast bud run shortly !) , i feel this strain is a winner. rhe smaller phenos were unfortunate but still gave nice buds to smoke. I would recommend this stesin to growers at all levels. easy if you want it to be but would meet you every step of the way with more complex training methods too. Love Gorilla Skittelz. Thanks for sticking around and commenting. Would happily share a bowl with you all.