EL PATRON (RQS Test New Strain)

I was super happy when the mailman brought me a package from RQS this week. 😄 I would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank the people of RQS even more for this wonderful gesture.👋 Not only was I able to find the new collection of beautiful and comfortable clothing in the package: a real cool T-shirt, a comfy hoodie and a super casual pants. In addition to useful merchandise such as lighters, rolling papers, the package also contained excellent growth products. I will test these products for this new grow.😚 The biggest gift, however, were 30 seeds from a new strain, namely "El Patron". With this strain RQS has won the 1st prize "Category B - Common Weed cultivated on soil" of the prestigious Dutch highlife cup 2019. The strain is not available yet, but follow my diary and find out if this species canl become a winner for you too.

Light: A friend of mine gave me a LED lamp to give it a try. The natural light cycle from outside is too short to give the plants enough hours of light to grow. That is why I now light them for a few hours with this LED lamp. Soon I will switch to HPS. Seeds: The El Patron seeds were rather light in color and looked fragile. 11 seeds were not germinated. 3 seeds have been germinated, but have not been developed further. 16 seeds have sprouted and have developed into seedlings Only one seedling needed support. On day 12 I potted them in small pots with good quality potting soil mixed with perlite and a handfull of rockdust

The third week and the plants are doing fine. Still only water. The pot mixture contains sufficient nutrition for the coming week (s); and we're not in a hurry. 😎 The plants did not need any support. If they grow too much in one direction, I will bend them a little more. The stems are now becoming strong and are less sensitive to skew.👌 During the day I put the plants outside in the sun. 😄 During the night I place them under LED. 😷 Two plants are seriously deformed and are unlikely to be selected for flowering. Also one other plant has strange leaves. As usual some plants are developping better than others. 💪 Only water !

The fourth week of growth I started repotting the 8 most beautiful plants. It was pretty clear that half of the plants looked beautiful, 😃😃😃😃😃 while the other half looked a little less. 😕 😕 😕 😕 POTS : A year ago I had purchased 8 XL Autopots of 25 liters. This seemed to be the moment to finally start using these pots. 👍👍 SOIL : I have made two soil mixtures. One is with the products from Biotabs, the other with products that RQS sent me.😍😍😍😍 👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉 Mixture # 1 (RQS) for plants no. 1, 3, 5 and 7 (blue labels)  57 liter Biogreen Lightmix (with 7% perlite)  50 liters of Perlite    in order to obtain approximately 50/50 soil / perlite, which Autopot recommends  Grow Caps - Root, Grow and Bloom Organic nutrition (9-5-5): 2 x 100 gr. = 200 gr.  Easy Roots - Mycorrhiza Mix: 50 gr.  Easy Boost (6-7-12): 250 gr. in the planting hole:  Easyroots - Mycorrhiza Mix: 2 gr. x 4 plants = 8 gr. 👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉👉 Mixture # 2 (Biotabs) for plants no. 2, 4, 6 and 8 (red labels)  57 liter Biogreen Lightmix (with 7% perlite)  50 liters of perlite    in order to obtain 50/50 soil / perlite, which Autopot recommends  Startrex: 2 x 250 gr. = 500 g.  Mycotrex: 5 gr. x 4 plants = 50 gr.  3 Biotab (15-7-8) of 21 g. x 4 plants = 252 gr. in the planting hole:  Mycotrex: 2 gr. x 4 plants = 8 gr. WATER : After filling the pots with soil mixture : 2.5 liter water x 8 plants = 20 liter water 12 hours later : 2.5 liter water x 8 plants = 20 liter water at planting : 1.25 liter water /plant enriched with :  Bactrex: 1 g / liter of water x 10 liters of water = 10 g.  Orgatrex: 5 ml / liter of water x 10 liters of water = 50 ml.

Most plants are doing great 💪 💪💪 The smallest plant (#8) is the weaker sis. 😢 Her leaves are somewhat yellowish and they have some burnt spots😎. I hope she gets better in the next week. 🙏🙏🙏 I also noticed that there is probably some sort of insect that digs a tunnel in some leaves. 👻👽 👿 See photos. I've seen that phenomenon in the past. Probably this insect came on the plants when they were outside. I have removed the affected leaves.👌😊 I spoiled the plants with a shower of 1 liter of water with 5 ml BoomBoom spray from Biotabs. No watering needed since last week repotting 😱 Soil is still sufficiently moist. Tallest plant = #1 = 21 cm Smallest plant = #8 = 27 cm Blue labels = RQS nuts Red labels = Biotabs nuts (see week 4)

Plants are looking great. Dark green colour. Beautiful shaped leaves. I topped the plants and remove the three pair of lowest branches. Blue labesl = RQS nuts Red labels = Biotabs nuts (see week 4)

This week I have linked the autopot plants to the water container (DAY 37). From now on the plants get just as much water as they need. I have also connected a second LED lamp. The goal is for the plants to occupy the entire space in a few weeks. Every time I visit the plants ( a few times per day), I bend the top two shoots down, and the two lowest ones up. That way the plants spread their growth regulators all over the four branches, and will get the same height. The branches are a bit too short to keep them at the desired height with the help of planting sticks or a scrow-net. By bending them several times a day, I get the same effect. Blue labesl (plant #1,3,5,7) = RQS nuts Red labels (plant #2,4,6,8) = Biotabs nuts (see week 4)

This week I started with a second defoliation. The four main branches that I kept after my first defoliation have grown considerably and already have a lot of side shoots. The first defoliatioin was on DAY 31 (12 days ago). I removed the bottom 2 pairs of shoots from each of the four main branches. Plant # 6 has only 3 main branches because I had accidentally bent a branch too far so that it was sealed off from sap flow and shriveled up. At plant # 2 I also had a broken branch, but I was able to repair it with three toothpicks and the same number of closing strips. Blue labels (plant #1,3,5,7) (on the left)= RQS nuts Red labels (plant #2,4,6,8) (on the right)= Biotabs nuts (see week 4)

The plants have grown well. The internodes are quite short and therefore it sometimes seems to go a bit slow. But they are doing fine and look healthy. They have large dark green leaves and sturdy branches. The plants already cover a large part of the surface. To utilize the entire surface, I bent the branches and attached them to plant sticks with plant ties (see photos). The branches are already very strong and I could not bend them so easily anymore. Three plants split at the place on the node where they are attached to the main stem (see photo). From previous experiences I know that this is usually not a problem and that the plantjuices continue to flow to such split branches. Fingers crossed ! As recommended by Biotabs (5 weeks after repotting), I gave each plant half a liter of water containing 20 ml. of Orgatrex and 1 gr. of Bactrex. Blue labels (plant #1,3,5,7) (on the left)= RQS nuts Red labels (plant #2,4,6,8) (on the right)= Biotabs nuts (see week 4)

The plants all look beautiful. 😇👌💪 The leaves are all dark green and serrated. 😍 The largest leaf has a size of 34 cm (incl. Leaf stalk) X 22 cm. 🙌The branches are sturdy but pliable. 💪💪💪 Scrog Tme ! 😛 I have inserted the four plant support sticks on the corners of the pot. I have eight nets of 50 x 50 cm made from garden fence. I attached a net to the support poles, and now every plant has its own scrognet. 👽 There is only water in my water tank. 😰 😭 😰 All nutrients come from the medium. 😱 😜 To pamper the plants I gave them a shower of 1 liter water mixed with 5ml Boom Boom Spray of Biotabs. 😍😍😍 The plants are now completely ready for flowering. Blue labels (plant #1,3,5,7) (on the left)= RQS nuts Red labels (plant #2,4,6,8) (on the right)= Biotabs nuts (see week 4)

It was an exhausting week for both the plants and myself. 😡👺😤 3 causes that have stressed the plants and so have me : 1. switch from LED to HPS lighting 👽 2. from 24 to 12 hours of light 😱 3. bending the branches daily so that they remained under the scrognet 😈 💪 The large main were on the outside under the scrognet and did their utmost to lift the scrognet, while the smaller side branches saw their chance to stretch out in the middle; towards the light. 👍 To de-stress the plants after this intense week, I gave the plants a break by removing the scrognets. Let the ladies relax for a while. Take the stress away from the branches. I also gave them a Boom Boom Spray shower. 😍😜💪 The plants also received good pruning: the lower leaves and branches were removed, giving the plants an open structure so that they will receive more light in the coming weeks. 😄👌 My fingers were already rather sticky after defoliation and smelled wonderful. 😍 That is very promising! 😍 The plants have been in bloom for a week and the first signs of flowering are visible: small hairs appear and the smell has increased considerably.👍💪

👉 All picture are taken on DAY 71 ; Flowering DAY 14 👈 Thanks to scrogging during the first week of flowering, the plants have formed a flat canopy. 😘😗👌 Plants are ready to make buds instead of leaves now. The smell is very promising. 😍 💪😋 Watergift still increases.😱😱👊 Last week a lot of tiny flies were circulating above the moist top layer of the potting soil. By removing the leaves last week, the atmosphere at the bottom of the plants is no longer as moist and shady, with the result that dead fies are lying on the ground next to the pots. I removed the dead flies during my weekly cleaning. 😺👍 This week I have also defoliated the plants once again. The plants seem very bare now , but they still have enough branches to support a lot of beautiful buds. 😍😍😍 Blue labels (plant #1,3,5,7) (on the left)= RQS nuts Red labels (plant #2,4,6,8) (on the right)= Biotabs nuts (see week 4)

The plants make beautiful buds. The leaves of the plants are now becoming more yellow. Faster than expected. Would the plants get too little nitrogen? In week 4 I planted the plants in a richly fertilized soil mixture. I thought this would be sufficient nutrition for the entire flowering cycle. But both the four plants (1,3,5,7) that I have enriched with RQS nuts, and the four plants (2,4,6,8) that feed BIOTABS, suffer from yellow leaves. 😧🙀👇 The plants are in Autopot XL pots, which means they automatically get water from a 240-liter container. Adding organic fertilizer to the water tank is not recommended according to the Autopot instructions, because of the possible clogging of the tubes. 😰 Do the plants suffer from a nutritional deficiency? 😏 What should I do? 😕

Last week I told you about the problem I had with the leaves that turned yellow. 🙀😩 😱 I removed most of the yellow leaves. Now, one week later, again more leaves have turned yellow. Looks like a nitrogen problem. Soilmix n°1 :: plants #1,3,5,7 (the top half of the pictures, YELLOW) Grow Caps - Root, Grow and Bloom Organic nutrition (9-5-5): 2 x 100 gr. = 200 gr. Easy Boost (6-7-12): 250 gr. Soilmix n°2 : plants #2,4,6,8 (the bottom half of the pictures, much more GREEN) 3 Biotab (15-7-8) of 21 g. x 4 plants = 252 gr Soilmix n°1 is much richer, but has less nitrogen (N) compared to the other nutrients. Soilmix n°2 plants are greener, looks much healthier. I hope that the plants get enough phosphorus and potassium, which now seems to me to be more important than nitrogen. Because of the autopot system I could not add extra organic food. I did a last rescue operation with closing the watersystem and adding manual some grow nuts, with no effect. Buds on the other beautiful. Hopefully they will have some nice weeks to come.

😎 👉 5 weeks flowering 👈 😍 The leaves become more yellow and yellow every day. Yet this does not hinder the development of the tops. The plants have many buds and therefore not that large. But... they are very potent. 💪The trichomes sparkle like stars. The flowers smell wonderful sweet and fresh. 😚👌😜 The relatively higher ratio of nitrogen in the Biotabs soilmix n°2 (red labels - plants 2,4,6,8) helps to keep these plants having green leaves. 👍 The RQS/Growcaps soilmix n°1 (blue labels - plants 1,3,5,7) is a bit too low in nitrogen (N) (compared to P and K) After cross-multiplication, the soil mixtures contain the following macro nutrients (NPK) Soilmix n°1 : 17 - 13 - 18 Soilmix n°2 : 15 - 7 - 8 (For the exact composition of the soil mix, see week 14) I disconnected the automatic water system for a few days. Then I could give the plants with a watering can, a nitrogen-rich Orgatrex feed mixture along the top of the pot..... I don't have the impression that this helped much. 😢👇 The plants that are closest to the water reservoir remained wet for much longer after disconnection. For the next cultivation, I will place a small tap for each plant individually. ✋

Everything is going well. 👍 The plants smell wonderfully fresh as flowers and candies. Clearly more sativa than indica. 😵 The difference between the two potting soil mixtures is becoming increasingly apparent. 😄 (For the exact composition of the soil mix, see week 14) * The four plants that are in potting soilmix n°1 (blue labels - plants 1,3,5,7) are completely yellow now. 😮 *The four that are in potting soil mixture n ° 2 also have sporadic yellow leaves, but also show burnt leaf tops, which rather looks like too much fertilization. 😊 The flowers are beautiful. Many trichomes. Great scent ! 👍👊💪👌 Since last week plants get cold night temperatures. We will see if there will be some colors... 😏

I'm in a great mood. 😊 The tops are hardening considerably. 👍 The trichomes sparkle at the slightest glare. 😍 Last week the buds were still a bit fluffy, but in one week that changed completely. 💪 So incredibly fast! 😵 The buds feel sturdy. 😻 They seem to be transformed into small shiny diamonds. 😻 The heads of the trichomes are all still transparent. 😄 The leaves of the four plants that are in the soil mix n°1 (plants 1,3,5,7) are golden yellow and are somewhat further in the flowering stage. 😛 The tops are somewhat smaller, but also further ripened. 👍 The leaves of the four plants that are in the soil mix n°2 (plants 2,4,6,8) still have a lot of chlorophyll. 😳These plants stayed green longer, have larger buds, and take a little more time to complete their flowering season. 😏The plants only show a limited nitrogen deficit in the middle of the flowering season.😑 Conclusion: the plants are flowering nicely and will be ready in 1 to 2 weeks. The scent is wonderfully sweet.😍😻👋💪 More details about the soilmixes : see week 14

8 weeks have passed and the plants are now fully maturing. 😍 The trichomes are still transparent. 😊 So it will take another week before they are ready to be harvested. 😚💪 The difference between the two soil mixes is now very clear. In weeks 4 and 14 you can read more about the composition of the mixtures. 👍 The plants no longer absorb much water from the water tank. But the autopots are still very heavy because of the water.👌 The plants still get cold nights of temperatures between 5 and 12 degrees Celsius.😱

Incredible odor. After each defoliation, my fingers smell like delicious black hashish with a pinch of chocolate mint. This scent reminds me most of the Green Gelato, which I had harvested last time. Delicious! 😍😛😃 Trichomes are getting amber. If everything goes well, the plants will be ready next week 😊😎😜 At first they seemed to be Indica's, but later the Sativa genes became more apparent. 😜 I stopped giving them cold nights. The plants do not discolor towards the end of flowering. Probably to her predominantly sativa genes. The pots are still heavy with water and cold nights would not do them any good. Plant#4 is my favourite. Beautiful colors, firm buds 👽 Plant#8 is the most Sativa, beautiful foxtail buds 👻 The difference between the 2 soil mixtures is now very visible. For the composition of the soil mixtures, see week 14. Biotabs won the competition !!! 💪👌 ABOUT AUTOPOT : It was the first time that I worked with the autopot system. Very comfortable cause you do not have to water manually anymore. Moreover, you can easily move, turn and even swap the plants. 😉 But I did make a few mistakes 😕 that I want to avoid next time : 👉1. I had forgotten to fill the bottom 10 cm of the pots with clay pellets. Thus the soil mixture constantly touched the water. This made the pots too wet. I have now disconnected the pots from the automatic watering system. 😰 👉2. I have now bought 8 taps to close each pot separately from the automatic watering system. Early in the flowering phase I noticed that the plants showed a lack of nitrogen. The leaves turned yellow. On the advice of a few other growers, I closed the autopot system, with the intention of allowing the plants to dry out, after which I could administer a nutrient solution from above. The plants that were connected at the end of the watering system were the first to dry up. The plants at the beginning were still soaking wet. 😱

Week 10 of flowering 😝😊😁 The four plants in the soil mix n°1 (plant #1,3,5,7) are ready to be harvested. No more new flowers are formed. The intermediate leaves begin to wilt. A large number of the trichomes are amber. Plant # 7 is my favorite of these four.😍 The four plants in the soil mix n°2 (plant #2,4,6,8 = Biotabs) produce new flowers every day. Look at the fresh green bulges with white pistils on top of the existing buds! 😵 Plant # 4 is my favorite of these four. She is ripening nicely. 10 weeks is perfect for harvesting her. 👌Plant # 8 is pronounced sativa with its foxtail buds. She could use a few more weeks of flowering.💪 The scent of El Pedro is incredible. There is the reliable basic scent of strong indica that makes you calm, but on top there is that hint of sativa that makes you alert. Not so much the spicy scent of original haze, but rather a sweet-sour scent reminiscent of Amnesia.👌 The plants have sturdy branches, which she inherited from her indica background. She needs almost no support. 💪The plants grow nicely at the same pace, but they do not flower simultaneously. 😵Some plants have more Indica genes, while others tend to be more sativa.😶 The plants will be harvested in the course of the following week. They must make room for new plants!😜

Amazing strain. Definitely a cup winner ! The yield was very variabel : Soil mixture #1 (plants 1,3,5,7) could not cope with the strong grow of the plants. Yield per plants was below 100 gr/ plant. Plants were more ripened 😩 Soil mixture #2 (plants 2,4,6,8) gave the most nutrition and these plants continued to make flowers for longer and gave the most yield (more than 100 grams per plant). 😍 Soilmix #1 : 320 gr. Plant #1 : 85 gr. Plant #3 : 75 gr. Plant #5 : 80 gr. Plant #7: 80 gr. Soilmix #2 : 505 gr Plant #2 : 135 gr. Super yield, beautiful buds Plant #4 : 120 gr. A bit less yields, but also beautiful sticky blue-coloured buds with a lot of trichomes Plant #6 : 130 gr. My favorite pheno / Beauftiful light blue colored buds. Incredible smell. Plant #8 : 120 gr.: the most Sativa genes, foxtail buds, herbal,, peppery