Super Lemon Cherry

GoodWeedBerlin There's no rush, the temperatures are going crazy, the lamp stays at 25% (22.5 watts) for now, so there's no need to hurry for a quick start. The Super Lemon Cherry is growing healthy and is handling the high temperatures like a champ. So far, it's a prime example.

GoodWeedBerlin A healthy young lady, no issues with heat or nutrients so far, flawless. The node spacing is relatively large and the leaf structure corresponds to classic Sativa leaves with their narrow fingers. I'm a bit unsure whether to give her an additional repotting; it will take a few more days until the final pot (and the corresponding grow space) becomes available.

GoodWeedBerlin The Super Lemon Cherry has been repotted. Ultimately, it will go into a 15-liter pot, but as an intermediate step, it just got a 3.3-liter round. While the soil in the first pot was still fresh Biobizz Lightmix, I'm now using my prepared Lightmix soil from previous grows (1-time used BB Lightmix, worm humus, coco with Rhiza, chopped old plant parts, 1/2 washed, chopped banana peel, rock dust, silicates). The plant seems to like it. With the bigger pot, it also got double the light, currently being illuminated by about 45 watts. The resistant genetics and the silicates have so far helped the plant handle stress easily. Growth pause after repotting? Not a chance, quite the opposite. I've removed the cotyledons and the first node (leaves and shoots). When I top a plant, I also like to remove leaves and shoots from the second node, but with early LST, they usually don't develop any less dominantly than the shoots above them. Sensi Seeds describes the Super Lemon Cherry as well-suited for a SCROG. Accordingly, I've decided not to top it but to prepare it for the net with LST. On the side I bent, a shoot and its sun leaf were removed beforehand. A stable, vital, and hard-to-stress young lady.

GoodWeedBerlin A lot has happened in the last week, and because of that (or maybe it's the reason), the plant is exploding. The Super Lemon Cherry has moved into its final 15-liter pot. The 3.3-liter pot was completely root-bound within a week. The coco (+Rhiza) and worm compost in my soil mix are providing great speed underground during the vegetative phase (which you can obviously see above ground as well). With the big pot, it also moved into the tent, where it's being illuminated by the Caluma 75-watt lamp at about 66%. I've continued the LST in preparation for SCROG on the main stem and some side branches, and the plant is responding great, spreading nicely over the 40*40 cm area. The branches are nice and flexible, and the Super Lemon Cherry reacts quite stress-free to training - anyone who enjoys training their plants has a grateful participant here. I removed a few leaves, and one branch that was growing down from the main stem didn't look very productive and got cut off. There are small bite marks on a few leaves. They reminded me that I was a bit lazy and skipped my preventive neem oil treatment. I applied it three times as a leaf spray right before the lights went out. Here's a reminder: Under light, the water in the mixture evaporates so quickly that the leaves get coated with oil. If they receive the neem oil shower just before the dark phase, the mixture can be absorbed cleanly by the leaves (and leaves no traces). So far, a great genetic variety.

GoodWeedBerlin Since I found a new tent (Spider Farmer 60x60) and a new light (Mini-Sun 2) as a bargain, I also moved to the new tent for the flowering transition (or 2 days later). After exactly 4 weeks of the growth phase, I sent the Super Lemon Cherry into flowering. Initially, in the old tent, it was still at 75 watts, but in the new setup, it now gets 60% from the Mini-Sun, which is about 90 watts. That should be enough for one plant. With (still) a 40cm distance from the light, I have a PPFD between 450 and 750. In the first two weeks of flowering, they can stretch into the brighter light. If necessary, I can always dim it up. The net from the 40x40 tent would still fit in here, but I decided to skip it for now. Instead, I did some more LST and occasionally removed a bothersome leaf. She is handling everything, including the move, very unstressed and continues to grow nicely.

GoodWeedBerlin In the second week of flowering, the stretching has increased a bit, the Super Lemon Cherry is still healthy and vibrant. Thrips have targeted a lower leaf, so I went after the thrips. Removing the (by far) most infested leaf and giving two intensive neem oil showers just before the lights went out took care of the problem for now. I hope this is final; from now on, I would prefer not to use neem oil at all. For fruits and vegetables, it's recommended not to use neem three weeks before harvest, and for cannabis, I stop at the latest when the main flowering begins. A few leaf tips suffered mechanical damage during LST and in the first round with the net. Biologically, it's absolutely negligible, but it annoys me enough visually to be reminded with every glance at the plant to train cleaner in the future.

GoodWeedBerlin The day after my last diary entry, I made a stupid mistake. The spray bottle I usually use for applying the neem oil mixture was clogged. When the light went out, I just unscrewed the spray cap, put my thumb over the opening, and sprinkled it over the plant. The next day I wasn't here, so I got to inspect my mistake two days later. Everywhere the neem oil mixture had accumulated, the leaves were seriously burned. A stupid mistake, especially since I almost saw it coming while I was messing it up. As a small compensation, I treated the Super Lemon Cherry to a bottle of Alfa Boost with Triacontanol and administered 4ml. While it won't change the leaf damage that's already done, a little Triacontanol boost might help make up for some of the damage. Everything that's growing new looks great. Unfortunately, I haven't completely gotten rid of the thrips despite the neem oil massacre. Since I don't want to spray anything anymore from the 3rd week of flowering, I ordered a bag of Amblyseius cucumeris predatory mites from "Öre Bio Protect.

GoodWeedBerlin The Super Lemon Cherry has recovered well from the burnt leaves and has built a new, mostly healthy canopy. Unfortunately, the thrips are still around. I hope the predatory mites have made it through the temperatures okay and are doing their job. The lady has also started to sugar up; both the buds and the sugar leaves are now sparkling. The subtle smell reminds me of grape sugar with a lemon flavor.

GoodWeedBerlin The biggest hassle is over, and the plant has found its way into the main flowering phase with vigor. To combat the thrips, I had to remove a few more leaves than I would have without the infestation. The predatory mites have started their work. They thrive best at 65% humidity, but I don't want more than 55% at this stage. The Super Lemon Cherry is starting to sparkle, a beautiful and pronounced trichome forest. The scent on my fingers lingers with lemon-grape candy. Since there was still some space, air, and light in the corners of the tent, I let a Tangerine Band from Exotic Seeds germinate as 12/12 from start. That was a bonus seed. The genetics have foxtailing as a basis for flower development. Not something I would necessarily want to put in the tent as a big plant, but definitely exciting as a model for some nice pictures.