GSC First Grow

This is my first grow and journal. I’m looking forward to comments, suggestions and probably help at some point. Some info: Nirvana Girl Scout Cookies Feminized. I ordered 5 Fem. seeds from Nirvana January 2019 and rapidly received 6 seeds. All 6 germinated successfully. I will transplant and grow out the 4 most vigorous seedlings. Indoor Custom built cabinet (3’ x3’ x6.5’ ft. H) # of plants 4 Soil Roots Organics 707 amended perlite, worm casings, silica Light 315w CMH (1) Light cycle 18/6 Temp 68 dark / 82 light RH low 27% dark to 45 light Water PH 5.8 - 6.2 Nutrients - Organic, Superthrive, Budswel, Biocanna Bio Flores

Day 13 from initial overnight seed soak. Watering daily lightly due to low RH. Sprinkles of worm castings and silica twice. Water 6.2 PH. Will water with Superthrive tonight to prep for transplant to 3 gallon pots in 2 days. Looking good so far I think.

Day 20 update. All 6 are growing well. I haven't watered since I transplanted Nov 14, pots still have heft. Light (4100k daylight) is 24” above. I can see slight yellowing at the tips...reading could be N deficiency or burn...how do you decide whether to feed lightly or just PH’d water? It looks like I should target 6.5 for soil but also see others that say no need to adjust ever (emphasis) if growing organic in soil. The round pot pic is under CMH, the square pot pic is under fluorescent on my workbench. Seems pretty green.

Day 26 smell increasing. Topped all, started LST. Height 5-6”, raised light 24” above. No water. Will build scrog next week. Pulled one of the back up plants (square pot), it looked great. I added to the compost pile and checked out the roots, good root system. Temp 68-81 RH 42-33. Acoustic foam works well to reduce fan noise. Down to five plants, not sure what to do with the second back up plant. Day 28 from seed soak, the end of week 4. Last pic 1 gallon water PH 6.5 full strength Superthrive, 1 tsp molasses. Smell is ramping up, no odor from the cabinet exhaust.

Week 5 veg training update. Day 30 major LST, chopped blocking fan leaves, no light leaks in cabinet, pulled 2nd back-up plant...good root system. No sign of pests or issues. Day 31 1 Gallon water 6.5 PH, 1 tsp molasses, full strength Superthrive. Day 34 more LST. 1 Gallon water 6.4 PH, Dr. Earth 4-6-3 tea (weak...feed to veg another week), 1 tsp molasses, 1 tsp Mosquito Bits (see a few fungus gnats...no sign of any other pests). Plan to drop in scrog and flip to 12/12 in the next week or so.

Day 41 basically the end of week 6; veg transition to flower. Dropped the scrog a couple inches to smoosh (properly) the bud sites...some tucking will continue. Night time temp is steady at 68F, day time 81F. The humidity is telling me when to water, which happens to be 1 gallon every two days (across all 4 plants...with a bit of run off). Light 24”; ordered the Phillips 3100k bulb to swap out the 4200k for flowering upon arrival next week. Today 1 gallon water PH 6.5 with 1 tsp molasses, 1 tsp mosquito bits (no sign now of any flying anything) and 2.5 tsp Biocanna Flores. No sign (maybe...?) yet of pistils...could still be teeny tiny leaves? They will pop soon For Sure. I added a picture of my watering “reach helper” funnel which worked Awesome for watering the back 2 plants, especially given the wire LST interference around the pot perimeter. Waiting for some stretch. First pics are early in the week before I dropped down the scrog.

Day 48 the end of week 7...Almost...I do journal updates on Sundays. FLOWERS and stretch happening. Just got back from travel late yesterday and didn’t see the garden since 5 days ago...wasn’t sure what to expect since I flipped to 12/12 the beginning of last week. Plant sitter did an awesome job. I coaxed a few more bud sites tonight further out into the scrog to spread out more evenly...no damage. Added Budswel 1 TBSP to my usual...water 6.5 PH 1 tsp molasses, Superthrive, 1 tsp mosquito bits (a few F-Nats hanging still) and Biocanna Flores. Adjusting PH after nutrients now...Budswel now means almost no PH Down. Water requirements now up 2x with transpiration to 2 gallons every 2 days across the 4 plants. Basement Ambient temp is steady at 65 and RH 48...watching to make sure the crate exhaust isnt raising my basement humidity to create environmental mold issues...hasn't wavered one bit. Crate temp steady at 81 day 68 night. RH ranges...plants say water me at 32. The 4” carbon filter exhaust system is robust and circulates HEPA filtered air a fews times more a minute than I really need. There is zero smell escaping the exhaust vent. Smell comes from opening the door and working the garden. Routine..shut off central air...close unfinished basement door...Ona Gel jar now halfway down the hall creates a barrier curtain...not close enough to infiltrate the grow cabinet. Smell was my number one concern..NO issues so far. Seems to be 2 phenos...conditions are the same so perhaps the limey greener is more Sativa Durban Poison leaning (leaves a little thinner?) and the other 2 are more Indica OG Kush leaning. I already decided if this grow finishes successfully to harvest I will keep all 4 plants jarred and labeled separately to enjoy, track benefits and keep tuning it in. Long funnel helps to water in tight space...probably an old trick. Main stem is the diameter of my pinky. I pulled a few yellow leaves from way underneath...no sign of any leaf pests under magnification...have checked every few of the ones plucked so far...doesnt seem like an issue. Received Phillips 3100k CMH 315w bulb...will swap out at dark day 49 (tomorrow) so the new sunrise day 1 week 8 (week 2 flower) will be a redder sun. The plants seem to like everything...just hope I can continue to train and contain. By the way...whoever invented LST is a genius for an indoor grow with limited space. Pics from today follow.

Day 55...end of week 8 tomorrow. Raising light 1” every day....1.5 inches more this morning. I defoliated below the scrog yesterday morning...removed about 6-8 weaker bud sites from each plant below the canopy and leaves; pic before defoliation is from 2 days ago. Right after I defoliated I read a post “never trim leaves off a growing plant especially in flower”...we will see if I stressed out the plants...no sign of any male flowers...will continue to search. I removed the LST wires...much easier to water now. Oddly the smell seems to have reduced from veg...assume it will crank back up closer to harvest. I can tell I flipped too soon...I would have had the headroom to veg another week or two...will likely impact my ultimate yield. I’m keeping track of the key learnings for my next grow #2. Watering 6.5 PH with flower nutrients every 2-3 days...water increased from 1 to 2 gallons across all plants now. Nutrients are Budswel, Biocanna Flores, Superthrive and molasses plus Mosquito bits...zero F gnats and no sign of pests (louped several leaves before tossing). I still haven’t swapped out the 4200k bulb for the 3100k...waiting for some more stretch next week...probably will change mid-next week.

Morning of day 62, week 9 ends tomorrow, week 3 flower. I clearly flipped to 12/12 too soon (day 37...early in week 6), you can see I will have plenty of extra headspace in the crate. I changed from the CMH 4200k bulb to the 3100k night 59, so 2 full days with the new bulb. No change to my nutrients schedule every time I water, now 2 gallons total every 2-3 days...for each gallon water it’s 2.5 tsp Biocanna Flores, 1 Tbsp Budswel, 16 drops Superthrive, 1 tsp molasses, 1 tsp Mosquito Bits. Nirvana states 7-9 weeks flower...I will not harvest before they are ready. Watch and wait at this point. Looking at auto seed options now for my next grow #2.

Day 69 from seed soak, end of week 10 (tomorrow), end of week 4 flower from first pistils. Disappointed I didn't veg another 1-2 weeks for yield...lesson for next grow. Water schedule is 2 gallons across all 4 plants every 3 days with Biocanna Flores and Budswel...eliminated the Superthrive at this point...also no longer need PH down, as nutes/guano tea bring me right down to 6.5 PH. Buds are filling in and swelling...hope vertical bud height growth continues...didn't need to raise the light today. This will be day 9 with the 3100k CMH 315w bulb. A few F-gnats buzzing around...will increase Mosquito Bits next water...no other sign of pests or deficiencies that I can detect. Nirvana says 7-9 weeks flower...will gauge ripeness on trichomes...bought a 30x led lighted loupe...watching and waiting. Also looking at seeds for grow #2. Update...need help...posted this question here...adding pics with flash from this morning. N or Mag deficiency or other? Leaf tips browning, curling up. Day 1 week 11, start week 5 flower Soil Roots Organics 707; amended perlite, worm casings, silica Temp 64 - 81 RH 40 - 35 Water PH 6.5. Watering 2 gallons across all 4 plants every 3-4 days. Nutrients flowering - Superthrive, Budswel, Biocanna Flores

Day 76, end of week 11, end of week 5 true flower (tomorrow). I sent out a call for help the day after my week 10 update due to further yellowing of leaves, overall lightening of the plants and advancing leaf tips drying and curling up. Heres what I decided to do this week. 1) calibrate my PH pen...spot on. 2) I was overwatering on a routine...RH drops to 30 time to water...not waiting for the pots to get light...I let the plants go without water for 6 days to dry out, not to the point of wilt...was way overwatering. 3) watered yesterday...1st gallon across all 4 plants with usual Biocanna Flores, Budswel and reintroduced Superthrive...PH 6.5. The 2nd 1/2 gallon across all four plants included 1/2 strength Dr. Earth Homegrown organic fertilizer tea and 1 tsp epsom salts...PH 6.8 so I didn’t add flowering nutes. No runoff, but the pots are heavy...stopped there for this rehydrate. I also didn’t add any molasses this week. Plants don’t look any worse this past week and hopefully my intervention doesn’t make things worse. Pots will be light again before I water...then back to regular flowering nutes. I have 2-4 weeks left to flower...will be checking trichomes for ripeness...will not chop early unless I run into a major issue. Good news is the buds look great, fattening up and getting frosty with hints of purple. I added a picture of my new mesh pot raisers to air out between pot and saucer...vinyl coated bird suet feeders.

Day 83. End of week 12, end of week 6 flower (tomorrow). First grow, watching pistils starting to change color and trichomes all still crystal clear. Watered two days ago after 5 days no water...pots were light but no wilt...watered slowly and used 1.75 gallons across all 4 plants (up from 1.5 gallons last watering) evenly til just slight run off. Still in intervention mode but with about 2 weeks left I think I will make it. 1st gallon 2.5 tsp Biocanna Flores, 1 Tbsp Budwel guano, 16 drops Superthrive...Ph 6.5. 2nd gallon same plus 1 tsp epsom salts and 1 tsp molasses...used 3/4 of that gallon...Ph 6.3. I do not plan on using any more molasses or epsom salts the balance of the grow. Im also going to run a test to determine if it was the epsom salt, molasses or both that took my Ph from 6.5 to 6.3...not much but I want to know going forward. I pulled two tiny buds from way below, dried a couple days and tested...surprisingly potent and tasted like chocolate. I think I have two GSC phenos, two with rounder purpling buds and two with taller fatter greener buds that filled between the nodes...all getting frostier each day.

Day 90, end of week 13, end of week 7 true flower...tomorrow. Watered day 87 after 5 days no water...reinforces how much I was over watering before correcting early January...1.5 gallons total PH 6.5 with Biocanna Flores, Budswel and Superthrive. I have 2 phenos and the two purple are about 10% amber with much cloudy...those two are ready based on what Im reading. The greener tall buds are behind with few amber, some cloudy and lots of clear. I spent more time with the 30x loupe this morning and decided to monitor daily as I go into week 8 true flower. Nirvana says 7-9 weeks flower for GSC, indica leaning hybrid. I need to chop all four because I need to dry in my grow cabinet. Need to balance ripeness across both phenos. I do not want the purple plants to go too much amber and they will dictate when I chop. That may have been my last watering...I dont think they will go 8 full weeks flower. Ive also heard when you think you are ready wait another week...getting nervous. Open to any advise. Update... Day 91, end of week 13, end of full week 7 flower. Picked up a wifi microscope to get a few shots to verify what I saw with the 30x loupe. I made the decision the lights will not come on tomorrow. I will chop all four after 24-48 hours darkness. Trichome shots added tonight.

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