Green Crack CBD 2019 (I)

New diary introduction... Go! This is Green Crack CBD from Humboldt Seeds. The genetics are Green Crack x California Orange CBD. I seeded directly in a peat pod in a small pot full of HP Pro Mix and some Myke Herbs and Vegetables microculture. For now, no amendment, so I will indicate soilless to give credence to good GrowDiaries dialogue. I started growing a low THC, CBD strain from another company (check out other grows), and I was liking the mild morning effects and potential for medical effects. It is typically a good pre-task, pre-work, pre-serious vape. When I gave it to my straight non-user friend looking for medical help it gave some relief, and peaked their curiosity! *ding ding ding* That is all I needed to do more research and find more strains. I do not need cannabis for medical reasons so I want some THC content so I can enjoy it too hence why I chose a low THC/high CBD strain. I did some research and then went with the best that the local head shop had to offer on the random day I shopped. This particular strain is 6% THC / 12%CBD. Side story: Humboldt seems like a cool hippy dippy sort of company. I appreciated the seed vial in the burnt wood, very cool. I’ll just say I had quite a time trying to get the vial out, which was factory sealed inside with hot glue. I realize I am sort of inept, but jeepers! The wood ultimately broke saving me time. Truthfully, I could care less about the package and more about the seeds/strains. I’ll expand a bit on the grow space and try to take my diaries up a bit in quality. The entire grow is DIY on minimal budget over the last year, in my unfinished basement. By unfinished I mean an older home with stone foundation, routinely damp or cold, concrete floors, but I don’t have to worry about run-off or mess. I love the modern style grow tents you can buy online, but I built my two tents (my veg. tent is 4’ x4’; my flowering tent is 6’ x 4’) for even less money. With a friend I used strapping and lumber I already had on hand and built a very light frame we attached to the house structure. Then we hung mylar we bought on Amazon. Around that we hung Tyvek, which is the cheap house wrap material they use in construction. Voila. My light is a no name 300 Watt actual draw LED. My friend recently took the same light, split the actual board freeing the six LED chips, and made smaller single lights with their own fan (casing 3D printed). So I recently added 50 Watts for a bit more coverage and strength. I have one small desk fan blowing warm air down at light level, and another small desk fan blowing down just above the canopy. My ventilation is a custom split dual system with my flowering tent, made by the same friend. We took a broken dehumidifier and reused the fan by making a unique casing and attaching it to the basement window - it is quite powerful. So much so I have the two output sources semi-blocked with tape to slow the flow. So far so good, stay tuned!

Day 13 from seed for Green Crack CBD. This already a sad story, why oh why?? Annnnd cut, Oscar performance. My house is awaiting a new furnace which will not happen for another eight days. It is currently November 10th and snow has landed, folks. My upstairs is cold, my basement is frigid. Any electrical draw and power bill investment is going to an upstairs space heater for my human kids not my THC kids - not my choice. Ha! Seriously though, nothing I can do but wait. Seedlings are the most vulnerable and I can see the detrimental effects on the leaves. Sometimes, seedlings almost fuse shut and you are forced to top them. I thought that was happening here but it looks like it did push out the set and there is new growth emerging, close one. I won’t plant another Green Crack CBD until I can crank the heat downstairs, and then rest assured a do-over is on its way. Also, stupid me must have spaced out when I planted - the container is too large for no amendment. I didn’t mix anything. I’ll have to feed some food eventually I’m sure, or top dress. I did just that, I just laid some worm castings on top as I don’t want to burn the young seedling.

Day 20 from seed for Green Crack CBD. The countdown is on until we get a new furnace. Until then the place is absolutely frigid. The basement is especially cold with outdoor nighttime temps at around -10Celsius. The ambient air temperature in the veg. tent is between 17-18 degrees C. Plant growth and nutrient absorption has slowed. I have some new clones that are really struggling and may perish. Thankfully, Green Crack has persisted through any early difficulties and seems to be doing well. The seedling stage is essentially behind it. It didn’t fuse or sustain any cold damage. The top dressing of worm castings is keeping it fed, and I also applied a half strength plant food today (I already feed light). Because of the temperatures I know some nutrients will be tough to access so I gave super diluted 24-8-16 All Purpose Miracle Grow with a small popsicle stick dip of blackstrap molasses. Everything is looking good nested in amongst other plants. A couple days and then its take off!

Day 27 from seed for Green Crack CBD. I have ridden out the cold temperatures and now have a new furnace and heat. The veg. tent is five degrees warmer. Of all the plants, Green Crack CBD was the one that took a little damage from me not wanting to feed plant food while temperatures were cold and unstable. I noticed some deficiency which caused me to repot, and the roots were well developed - it had used its food. I cut off some of the decaying, deficient leaf matter, and I can see it absorbing nutrients and adjusting to warm temperatures. The soil in which I used to mix was 15 parts HP Pro Mix: 5 parts Fox Farms Happy Frog soil: 5 parts worm castings. I also added Myke Herbs and Vegetables. I am listing my medium as soil now. Just water and time and you watch it go! Just be patient.

Day 34 from seed for Green Crack CBD by Humboldt. I had a set back earlier in the week when I noticed a return of pests in other parts of my tent and realized I had to continue to regularly spray. While spraying ethanol (moonshine) is generally harmless to the plants, if it pools too much on young plants it can spot the leaves. Both with the leaf damage, and residual damage from deficiency (see previous weeks), I substantially pruned and defoliation, as well as topped. This will slow growth down but now there is only nice fresh green. I expect to be back to normal next week. I am trying to establish ladybugs (not pictured) in my tent with the hope of passive pest control.

Day 41 from seed for Green Crack CBD. As anticipated, bounce back has happened and vegetation is filling out. The pot is drying out faster and faster and I can see roots out the bottom holes already - I will seek to repot next weekend. On account of anticipated transplant I will just give water until then. In that time my veg. tent should clear out a bit.

Day 48 from seed for Green Crack CBD. Transplant time, and because GG CBD has longer to go in my mind, I decided to go to the big final pot. Lets see how much it will be able to fill out in six weeks (or more). Temperatures will limit that explosion but I am excited to find out. My soil amendment mix was primarily: 25 HP Pro Mix: 5 Fox Farms Happy Frog: 5 worm castings: 2 ASB Greenworld Sheep Manure Compost: 2 ASB Greenworld Black Earth: 2 ETI Greenhouse Gold Seafood Compost: 1 Blood and Bonemeal pellets: 1 Green Gaia mineralized phosphate (guano): 1 alfalfa meal compost: 1 dried used coffee grounds: 1 pulverized egg shells; and Myke Herbs and Vegetables mycorrhizae. Just water, time, and pictures.

Day 55 from seed for Green Crack CBD. I had transplanted last week so its adjusting to copious amendments and the larger container. Also, I had to rectify the heating situation, particularly nighttime dips, so I diverted my basement furnace output into the veg. tent and installed a thermostat. I am dialing it in, but it is keeping the lower tent at a consistent temperature. I expect some colour changes and adjustments this week, but it is much toastier. I have to stay on top of the watering but its possible I see a bit more growth explosion.

Day 62 from seed for Green Crack CBD. She has graduated to the largest plant in the tent. With the warmer and consistent temperatures everyone is feeling better including this one, bigtime growth even after topping just before pictures. I had some off whirled leaf formation in some areas, but overall very healthy and very green. Just using up all the amendments in prep. for flower. Just water.

Day 69 from seed for Green Crack CBD. Just good news overall, its growing great and is super healthy. Its on the excess of nitrogen, in a good way, and I am beginning to hack and slash. I haven’t taken clones or cleaned underneath the canopy, but I have been topping and removing fan leaves. I can spot day to day growth/progression, very vigorous! I have learned my lesson with other plants (referring to amendment) and so this will get lots of water and time yet!

Day 76 from seed for Green Crack CBD. I finally went to work with scissors, trimming and defoliating. I took a run of clones as well! With less veg. to support its going to continue to ride excess, and its a bit dried out now in a good way. Tomorrow irrigation with water. Lots of air flow through the canopy. Nice thick stem.

Day 83 from seed for Green Crack CBD. There was bounce back from last week’s defoliation, but I continue to take leaf matter away to free up light for other plants, or top the branches that grow like crazy. By now I have to assume I am safe in terms of using up soil amendment, the stem is thick. I still have a week or two to go before there is room in my flower tent. Only water ti this point. Still nice green branches and leaves. For flippin’ sake, don’t mess this up, Beans!

Day 87 from seed. 🎶The time has come ...🎶 I don’t know if thats a song, but it should be. The big day has arrived where Green Crack CBD is going into flower. There was at least one other factor [check Super Silver Haze Clone 2019 (I)], but the size of this beast was just too much. I was starting to get worried about stretch. I kept trying to rearrange my veg. tent and was always stuck with a clone or seedling, like a puzzle that won’t fix back into the box. Eventually I let out a Hulk-like scream and decided it was time. Humboldt suggests an 8-9 week window so eight weeks is my starting point. I would say confidently this is the best plant I’ve vegged so far based on green leaves, green branches/stems, no huge issues, thick stem size.

Day 95 from seed for Green Crack CBD. One week of flowering complete, seven weeks to go. Lots of stretch going on, lots of growth, lovely greens, no issues! Just feeding water through stretch to use amendment. Loving everything. The lighting in the flowering tent is a bit different. 6’ x 4‘ I have two of the same full spectrum LEDs as my veg., tent, but also six yellow LEDs targeting the 500-800nm range, where the big boys have a bit of a gap in spectrum. That makes 96 more watts total. Also, I have a couple new lights in this tent starting today... So, my good pal MaxPointy, too smooth for GrowDiaries, but the guy has some talents and various skills. Now he is making light pods from scratch. Real snazzy, with a 3D printed hood, and the attachment plastic (the purple) is all thermochromic ink which turns clear at 46 degrees Celsius, giving an added layer of monitoring. Each pod is 50watts of warm white LED which targets the yellow/red spectra ringing in at around $30 Canadian. This diagram is an approximation of wavelength.

Day 102 from seed for Green Crack CBD. Still just water as it continues to stretch. You can see bud sites already being pushed out. I chopped a ton of vegetation because the over growth was too much. When I moved the plant’s location in the tent, the light was barely penetrating. Just business as usual for at least another week and then I’ll contemplate food. Onward.

Day 109 from seed. Three weeks of flowering complete, five weeks to go. This plant is beast. It rebounded from trimming and defoliation, it doesn’t seem to care if I take whole larf branches. The stem size and root structure is overpowering and trumps all of that. Yesterday, I gave 0-10-10 Alaskan Morbloom with a popsicle stick dip of blackstrap molasses, Plant Prod MJ Spike (CalMag) and Earth Alive Big Blue Wave. Lots of time yet so be patient.

Day 116 for Green Crack CBD. Four weeks of flowering complete, four weeks to go. Everything looks good I’d say. Most recent was water but in the middle of the usual feeding schedule. Lots of green for down the stretch. This one isn’t overpowering smellwise, compared to other strains, so I’ll have to wait for next week for a better aroma review. Plant food will be the next irrigation. Both angles of the group shot at the end.

Day 123 from seed for Green Crack CBD. Five weeks of flowering complete, three weeks to go. Reality has set in, this grow is f***ed. I had another plant that I was trying to convince myself wasn’t over amended yet again, but not I have accepted it. The same goes for this one. Three weeks left and its still green! If not becoming more green. There is still nitrogen in the soil! Argh. I really have had a hard time figuring this out. So my goal is to just flush away and salvage what I can. It is giving off a decent aroma, but you can see how veggie. Its really in weeks four or five that you start to see a lack of swell and the problems emerge. I did feed earlier this week, although no nitrogen. 0-10-10 Alaskan Morbloom with blackstrap molasses, Plant Prod MJ Spike (CalMag) and Earth Alive Big Blue Wave. I will also cut this latter product out to try to help things, but the massive container of nutrients is the problem. Really frustrating. Another note, I have changed my flowering time back to 12/12. I’ve seen enough, although it does speed the onset of flowering, the reduced yield is not worth it.

Day 130 from seed for Green Crack CBD. Six weeks of flowering, two weeks to go. I irrigated awhile ago hoping to flush out any remaining soil amendment. I didn’t want to completely deprive the plant because it still does smell good. There still is some bud (clearly). Its just more veggie than I planned. The smell is a mix with an orange or citrus, with a sharp overtone. It is for sure unique in the smells in my tent. Its two weeks left, I did squeeze in a very diluted feeding. Its not a flush, but it is very very light. 0-10-10 Alaskan Morbloom with Plant Prod MJ Spike (CalMag) and a popsicle stick dip of blackstrap molasses. I will desperately be trying to get some fade these last few weeks. I did a bit of defoliation after pics.

Day 137 for Green Crack CBD. Seven weeks of flowering complete, one week to go. I am in the midst of flushing. I almost feel that activates what I am guessing is remaining nitrogen in the soil because the leaves get even more dark and waxy. Some of the dark may be other deficiencies as you would want as you flush, but still. It is finishing up though and after I chop off alot of veg. with effort, I’m sure I’ll still get some nice bud. The smell is fading as the buds near the end. Just water as stated. My region had heavy rain and a quick melt, so my basement has been very humid. Plus the flushing.

Apologies, I usually make one last post but did not, I missed it. I grew for 142 days, Green Crack CBD flowered for eight weeks. I did notice some pests, mites, in the lower leaves at the end. The drawback of a big bushy plant. I gave extra darkness before harvest. I wet trimmed and then immediately budwashed before hanging to dry as normal. I dunked and swirled in a container of lemon juice, baking soda, and room temperature water. And then swirled in just water.