Fruit Punch

gr3g4l Growth control week.

gr3g4l Transplanted to an 11L fabric pot and a watering of around 1L. This time I used a reused substrate and another new one, so I will add PureZym to help the plants feed on the leftovers.

gr3g4l This week I did an apical pruning leaving four nodes, of which two will go outside. The idea is to leave two nodes and prune the apicals again and repeat one more time.

gr3g4l This week I start changing nutrients, from Plagroon to TopCrop. At 25 days, I emptied or pruned the lower parts of the plants, first node, cotyledons, and leaflets. At 27 days, I got rid of the apical ones again. At 28 days, I did another emptying and bent the branches. This week was stressful, so I will leave them alone for many days to help them de-stress before moving them to flowering.

gr3g4l Recovery week, no stress. The #3 did suffer a couple of accidents, one happened when I cut the apical and accidentally cut one of the little branches that were growing, and then one of the branches broke when I put the benders on; I didn't realize until two days later. I ended up cutting that branch and moving on.

gr3g4l This week I did a leaf trim and got rid of some branches that had grown in the middle of the nodes, kind of like the triploids, and honestly, I prefer to keep them diploid lol. I also got rid of the benders and put in some supports to keep the branches horizontal so they stay more open. After this last trim or defoliation, I decided to leave them alone for a few days to let them de-stress. At 40 days, I decided it was their last day of growth. They grew pretty well and filled up the space enough, so I decided to move them straight to Flowering.

gr3g4l At 41 days, it wouldn't quite be the seventh week, but it is the first day of flowering. The first few days I kept it under 220W. Then I raised it to 300W, and seeing that it was getting really hot, I preferred to lower it to 150W. It was a crazy week, with outdoor temperatures reaching up to 40ºC and some nights not dropping below 28-29ºC. A week where I finished with the Bloom and Silica from Plagroon and switched back to Bloom and Silica from TopCrop. Plagroon was fed with every watering, TopCrop was fed once a week.

gr3g4l I started the week with a leaf trim and the first nodes on all the branches. Just a little bit to avoid stressing them. At 9 days, they showed their first pistils. By 11 days, I got rid of the humidifier; there was no longer space for it. It was a crazy week with temperature fluctuations and power changes to prevent the temperature from rising too much. They might get a little stressed. A week of excessive growth. I thought that since the plants branched out, they wouldn't grow much, but it's clear that this strain is not easily tamed. For those looking to support their plants... These clips are amazing for setting up some supports; I can make and adjust them as I want, adapting to the size of the plants or pots. Easy to put on and take off. It's wonderful.

gr3g4l We’re still having high temperatures outside, so I’m still playing with the power and keeping it at 220W. At 16 days, after 8 days from the last pruning of the first nodes of each secondary branch, I did a new pruning of the second nodes. This time I decided to prune every week instead of waiting to do it all at once later. I like it better and I think it stresses them less. Besides the second nodes, I got rid of some little branches from the first node of the trunk that weren’t growing well, leaving only one per node. Another week of crazy growth, already pushing the little space that’s left XD

gr3g4l At 24 days, it was time for the last low pruning, coinciding with the watering day, those first nodes that were on each of the branches. The total number of prunings I did during this flowering was three, the last three weeks; I didn't prune the first week as it was a week of light stress due to the change in photoperiod. Some relatively gentle prunings so that the plants wouldn't get too stressed, although I understand they must have suffered a bit. It seems they didn't suffer much; I think they grew remarkably well and maintain a good appearance. Later on, maybe I'll remove a leaf that casts too much shade and not much else, now that they can bulk up as much as possible under 220W. If time allows, I would like to increase to 300W, but we'll see. You can see that there are two phenotypes that are clearly distinguished; I got two that are very similar and the other two are also similar. #1 and #4 vs #2 and #3. #1 and #4 would be a bit more indica-structured, with wider leaves and rounder, denser buds (more trichomes), while the other two have narrower, elongated leaves with less dense buds (also fewer trichomes).

gr3g4l A week where they stopped growing and the fattening of the buds was noticeably significant. This week, I had to tie some branches to the stakes to prevent them from bowing down and to focus all their effort on fattening up. Luckily, by the end of the week, it seems the high temperatures have started to drop, so I might avoid a possible thrip or spider infestation. Not much else. A calm week. A change of fans; there was one big one at the top, hanging from the ceiling aimed at the tops, and by the end of the week, I switched to two on one side. It's something I should have done from the start, but I forgot. I'll do it, I'll do it...

gr3g4l One more week of bud fattening. Apparently, the temperatures are starting to drop, so very likely next week I can bump it up to 300W for the last two or three weeks. To be continued...

gr3g4l We're continuing with the fattening of the buds. They've already formed some really hard buds. Special and very pleasant smell. It seems that the 220W are providing what’s necessary for fattening without suffering from excess light; generally, with 300W, I tend to get some albino spots on the tops of the apical buds. Without albino spots, it seems they're still fattening up, and I might get the same or something very similar. We'll see later on. The mushroom popped up in one of the pots; it doesn't measure more than 1cm. lol it came and went.

gr3g4l We're still watching the buds get fatter, and as we deduced at the beginning, there are several similar phenotypes. #1 and #4 look quite alike, and #2 and #3 also seem pretty similar. This time, I'm deducing it from the oxidation of the pistils. Dense buds that give off a satisfying aroma, a really rich smell. It seems to be going quite well with 220W. I'm starting to think it's better to stick with 220W than 300W given the little space I have, 74x74x170.

gr3g4l This week is all about rinsing with osmosis water without nutrients. Between two and three waterings. The rains have really raised the humidity, and it's becoming difficult to lower it with the dehumidifier. We have to hope they don't get infected with Botrytis. To be continued........

gr3g4l With 64 days and 7 or 8 washes based on osmosis water irrigation, I think I'm ready to harvest. These last few days, thanks to the temperature change, I've managed to keep the red spider mite and thrips at bay. If the high temperatures had continued, they would have infested the plants; I had already seen a few more, several leaves were nibbled, especially from the lower and older parts. Once I took them out of the closet, they were outside in a room filling the house with a special smell, so much so that it became even annoying. Then I hung them up to dry and moved on to other things. The trimming this time was quick, just removing the larger leaves, and I'll take care of the rest when they're well dried and ready for curing.