Week 4 - Definitely starting to bloom plant #1 is already starting to stretch. Switched out veg light for bloom light at the end of week 4. Placed it at 18-19 inches above lowest growth. PPF/PAR meter reading of 450-525 umoles Giving me a DLI (Daily Light Integral) (See week 3 for links to this information) of 32.40-37.80 moles per day. My strategy of trying to keep the main colas to the far sides/corners will allow them to receive higher intensity light because they are closer to the light. But at the same time maintain an average of 500 umoles for the shorter buds which will grow taller over the next few weeks.
Temperatures are running 81 F with 55% +/- humidity with an average leaf temperature of 73 giving me a LVPD (Leaf Vapor Pressure Deficit)(See week 3 for links to this information) of 0.79 kPa
All are beginning their stretch hoping to control/limit it slightly (I'm height limited) by not over feeding nitrogen/phosphorus both of which can contribute to the issue. Red spectrum bloom lights also contribute to stretching so I held off until the end of the week yet increased the intensity slightly.
Did some more LST training and did some leaf tucking and tying back the large fan leaves on the main stem using cushioned wire to allow more light to the bud sites. Unfortunately when trying to manipulate one small branch I heard the proverbial dreaded snap sound. She broke about 3/4 of the way through but not completely. I took a chance and pinned the branch between two pieces of anodized wire to prevent the branch from moving and used clear scotch tape to help stabilize it. She is already showing signs of repairing herself.
Feeding every watering about one liter every few days but not to the point of any significant run off. Plant # 1 is the thirstiest of the bunch and gets a little extra each time to hold her over. Started adding Cal/Mag this week @ 0.50 ml/l. Since my soil had some amendments my experience is Cal/Mag deficiencies seem to start showing on the leaves around week 6.
So starting to add some in the beginning of week 4 seems to work well for me.
With seedlings and smaller plants I can control exactly how much and where I want to water/feed them without wetting the leaves.The root system is small so theres no need to water the entire pot. I use a electronic moisture meter to gauge how much moisture is in the pots at different depths. If the lower parts of the pots are too wet it starves the roots of oxygen and causes "lazy roots". The roots will seek out water.
This is my first time growing an XXL variety. The growth is very good. My only concern is because I'm height limited to 30 inches of plant.before I have to worry about light burn. I'm going to try LST to see if I can control her a bit. Was very tempted to FIM her but decided not to stress her out. If worse comes to worse I will have to super crop her. I will know in 2-3 weeks when she starts stretching. I am also using AN B-52 which contains salicylic acid which is a growth regulator to keep shorter internode spaces. I typically stop using it week5 and 6 to allow it too stretch a bit.
@pillowz, We are all guilty of over watering at some point or another. It's taken me a couple of grows to get a better idea of when they actually need to be watered.
@Philindicus, Thanks so much for this. Wish I read this before I started my first growth which I overwatered very heavily the past few weeks. Will follow your nice grow and feel jealous from afar. Cheers!
@pillowz,It looks like Fastbuds has some great genetics. I moistened my potting mix lightly before putting it into my pots. I also temporarily wrapped my air pots with plastic wrap. First watering was small about 10 ml at day 9. Since the seed starter mix holds a lot of moisture I didn't water it directly to the base of the plant. I watered in a circular pattern at the edge where the starter mix meets the soil which is about 3 inches away. Capillary action pulled moisture into the starting mix. Using the plastic cups helps keep the moisture and humidity consistent when their young. On my last grow I used a heaping cup of seed starting mix which is too much and holds too much water slowing down seedling growth. On this grow I only used 1/2 cup of starter mix then added only enough water to hold it's shape when squeezed in my hand. When I planted the seed I just barely sprinkled some starter over it and added a half dozen drops of water to it then covered them with the plastic cups. Week 2 I repeated this but watered mostly the area between 3 to 8 inches away using about 40 ml. I also used just enough water to wet the top couple of inches near the outside edges of the pot. After removing the plastic cups and using a fan on low speed I'm watering about every 4 days but it varies from plant to plant. I typically stir up some of the soil to see how dry it is plus I like using my electronic moisture meter to know whats going on at different levels in the pot to avoid over watering.
@Philindicus,😁😂👊 it is not yet zen enough for my taste…. i still have work to transform it in a feng shui garden ^^….😉
thx for your support dude during this time 🙏 hope now that this infection will be soon a bad memory….even if i stay on my guard 😅 cause of the powwa of fungi 😏
Commenting in the wrong place sorry! This diary is 💯 everything looks so perfect! I can’t wait to move on to my next statins as I had my other seeds so so long and ordered the new ones ready for when I harvest
@STAYINGONMYMAINCBATORUNTWO, I hear you with having space to grow. This is a great strain. I will be growing her again at some point. Smoked this socially with my friends they love it. Very potent compared to some strains I have smoked. I try to limit myself to 2 hits maybe 3 and I'm done. I'm a bit of a lightweight at my age. I was growing 4 plants at a time which is nice. But growing 8 at a time is a lot more work keeping tracked of things takes more time.
@Greenfingers3713, No I don't top my autos just lst seems to work out well for me. I was tempted to fim this grow but since I'm only using 2.2 gallon gallon pots I think this helps keep the plants medium sized.
Bravo! You always shape you plant so beautifully. Maybe st of you pics are poster quality.
From what and how have been feeding them I think you will get the most quality out of these girls.
Again, can congratulations. Thank you for being an inspiration.
@Med_in_Tropic, Thanks for the compliments. I'm still making some improvements to my set up and tweaking some nutes. I'm also trying to make a little photography spot to get better photos. I still need to get a good camera with a macro lens to get perfect closeups of those trichomes. I think over the next couple of grows I will have a better idea of my "Gold Standard" that I will use and try to get everything dialed in.
@@Mantis, Thanks so far so good . Very interesting read I've heard a few growers make some mention to this stuff. It can be pretty in depth but I feel it can help anyone's plants to grow better.
Wow - ideal growing conditions but only have 30 inches space for plant after allowance for distance to light.
Her stem looks thick and I think she will be stubborn. I am interested to follow and see how you would super crop a plant like her.
@Med_in_Tropic, so far I don't see her stretching that much lst will be fine. Since they are only in 2.2 gallon pots it seems once the roots reach the bottom almost triggers them to start blooming. I'm going to be putting a better set up on my next grow with slightly larger/deeper pots. While air pots seem to work well due to the concept of providing more oxygen to the roots I personally believe it's a bit of a fad. Will be going with 3 gallon square maxipots next grow..
Gorgeous colours! Is that where the z(s)kittles name comes from i wonder? The yellows, greens, reds and even purples that are all found in a bag of skittles candy. Love them and love this strain. Would you recommend this strain by Fast Buds, smoke wise? Is it as sweet and tasty as it looks? Great grow on this one, well done. 😍
@Philindicus, I will definitely be trying this strain based on your review- awesome review by the way. And congrats on being a featured grower this month, uv got quite the following and u should be proud! 👏
@Momgrowsthechronic, I was fortunate to play some games swinging my temperatures with my air conditioning to pull some nice color out of them. Yes I would definately recommend this strain. Even though I was only using 2.2 gallon pots it grew quickly. In the right hands you could have some monster plants and weight from this strain. Just test smoked the other day so read my review above you"ll get a chuckle out of it. This strain may need a warning label on it in my opinion.