Candyland - Spring/Summer 2019

Starting this journal on week 9 of vegetation. We started two regular Candyland seeds and it appears both are female. We’re growing one in a 5 gallon air pot with a tomato cage for support, and another in a 3 gallon grow bag using bamboo sticks for support. The genetics for these seeds have been extremely resilient, as both plants were fully dug out of the pot/bag on two separate occasions. Both plants recovered very quickly and loved organic nutrients. We have high hopes for this grow.

Our plants did very well this week, especially when you consider the temperature was been between 94-103 degrees all week. We did some light defoliation of fan leaves for both plants to help maximize air flow and allow bud sites to receive for sun. The tomato cage plant is growing tall, but not very wide. The bamboo stick plant is growing bushier and has many tops forming in the canopy. The bamboo stick plant finished its first week flowering, while the tomato cage is still only showing preflowers at the moment. We also bought the General Hydroponics FloraNova Trio liquid nutrient line. We were previously using the Mission Fertilizer Starter Kit, but ran out of Grow, Bloom, Roots and Enhance bottles during the course of the growing season (we had a few other plants that finished a few weeks ago). The hydro store I visited this week did not carry the Mission Line, but we were encouraged to try the FloraNova trio since I expressed interest in trying a mix of synthetic/organic fertilizers. We think using organic nutrients the first few months definitely had a lasting positive effect for plant health, as these plants have had no nutrient deficiencies, complications from extreme heat, or damage from pests (knock on wood). We also sprayed with a mix of Neem Oil and BT Spray as a preventative for pests and caterpillars twice this week.

Impressed with the vigor on both of these plants. They’re also the most attractive plants in our garden. They’re both healthy and love the new General Hydroponic nutrients. We water them daily in the morning and alternate giving nutrients about 3 times a week with either molasses, Surge, or plain water. The molasses seems to have a very positive effect, as the leaves are always upwards praying after they receive a dose. We plan to defoliate fan leaves at the end of week 3 to help light penetrate the canopy and start helping the buds swell up. No major problems with pests other than a few spiders and a stray caterpillar here and there (knock on wood).

The candy land girls were moved to a morning sun only location for 3 days since we were out of town. The weather was 100+ during that time, so it wasn’t worth the risk to fry them in the heat. They were given only plain water during that time and had no health issues once we got back. We started them on wit more bloom fertilizers to prepare for flowering. Plan to feed them at least 4 times a week with FloraNova trio, once with molasses, and twice with plain water. Will adjust up if they can take more, or down if they show signs of burning tips/leafs. We plucked most of their inner fan leaves to allow for more light penetration to canopy and increase airflow. Doing daily morning pest checks to eliminate any possible pests/caterpillars.

Candyland was been growing great. I’ve had to defoliate again as the humidity has been raising this past week and it looked like signs of powdery mildew were forming on some inner/lower leaves that were touching from growth. The bamboo stick plant is about 2 weeks ahead of the tomato cage plant, with thicker buds rather than a taller profile. Frost is appearing and smell is lightly fruity at moment.

We’ve been giving our Candyland girls tons of nutrients this week. We have given them almost daily waterings with micro, bloom and just a capful of grow in a 2.5 gallon watering container. Twice a week we give them only molasses and water. They’ve plumped up noticeably this week, so definitely looking forward to seeing the final 4 weeks of bloom. Slipping in some remaining organic flower boosters I have on hand at least 1-2 times a week for the next 2 weeks, then plan to start the flush. Some pistils on tomato cage plants are showing purple colorings, bamboo stick plants are the chunkiest and look to be at least 1-1/2 weeks ahead in flowering. Frost is definitely coming in dense, and a nice fruity smell is appearing stronger. We have good hopes they’ll both be high quality head stash.

Getting to the home stretch with the bamboo stick plant. Started her flush at the end of week 6. Only water and a dose of molasses once or twice a week from now on. She has about 10-15% amber trichomes, so I’ll be flushing until she reaches close to a 50/50 mix. Nice sense buds that are swelling nicely. The Tomato cage plant looks like she’s more of a Sativa leaner with a lot of purple pistils. I’m thinking she has about 3-4 weeks to go at her current rate. She’s barely starting to bulk up a bit, so I’ll be giving her food for at least another week or so. We’ve been fighting off caterpillars the last 2 weeks, so I’m checking the plants twice daily (morning and early evening) to pluck any I find. Using a small electric blower on plants to give an extra push after inspections.