Double Grape S2 P1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WEEK 4: SHE'S GOING TO GET TWISTED THIS WEEK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DAY 21: TOP DRESSING AND THINKING ABOUT LST * Top dressed with two Homegrown Bokashi blends this week. * TOP DRESSING: 2 TBS Ocean & Oyster Blend (5.4.4) and 2 TBS Casting Mix-Ins (1.0.0) * All watered in with 1-liter tap water with added Dyna-Grow Pro-TEKt pH'd to ~6.4 * I decided to water it in with a full watering of 1 liter. I wanted to ensure that all the microbes would get some moisture. * Once this is well dried, I will go back to 300 ML/day until it needs more. * VPD Target: 0.8-1.2 for "Healthy Transpiration (Late Veg / Early Flower)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OBSERVATION ON WATERING Watering exactly what the plant needs when it needs it can be tricky. I was amazed this week by how much moisture the medium can hold. The top of the medium was deeply dried and cracked. The last watering was 300 ML two-days earlier. Surely this plant was in dire need of water. When I performed the "finger test" it was clear that I needed to water. But, when I used my hands to break up the clumps of soil on top, I noticed that they did not crumble like dust, but actually retained enough moisture that I could feel it. If this is true within the top inch or two of soil, how much more water must be stored deep in the pot! Lesson Learned? As long as the plant is not showing signs of drought stress, the plant is finding reserves that you can't see or sense. Be careful not to overwater just because the top is dry. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DAY 23: PHOSPHORUS DEFICIENCY. ACT QUICKLY. * I woke up this morning and checked my plant. It looked great yesterday. Today the lower leaves are showing distinct signs of phosphorous deficiency. (See picture.) I've ordered Mammoth P. It will be here Saturday, I hope. Somehow, I don't think that plant treatments are high on Amazon's priority list at this time. DAY 24: TIME TO START THE TRAINING * I've treated the apparent phosphorous deficiency with Epsom salt, Pro-TeKt and Build-a-Soil's 200x Aloe Vera flakes. The plant doesn't seem to be getting worse. I still expect to get Mammoth P on Saturday. I'm sure she will appreciate the dose. * Watered the plant with 250 ml of the tap water, Epsom salt, Pro-TeKt and Aloe flakes. The plants didn't need this much water, but I wanted to get the additives a bit deeper in the pot. * Foliar fed with the same mix. Aloe Vera has a very short shelflife once it is mixed, something like 20 minutes, so you have to use what you mix. * Before LST the plant was 7.5-inches tall and was adding about an inch a day. DAY 26: HEAVY WATERING * When I opened the door this morning it was very clear that the plants needed water. I gave them 500 ml of tap water with some Pro-TeKt, Epsom Salt and Aloe Vera added to the water. * Later in the day, my Mammoth P arrived and I wanted the plants to get it ASAP, so I gave them another shot of water. This time it was 250 ml. * A little later the plants did look slightly over watered. I just will let them dry well before the next watering. DAY 28: TIE HER DOWN TIGHT AND STRIP HER CLEAN * The LST continues. Daily I readjust the hold-downs to the bud sites get as much light as possible. I am also doing selective fan leaf stripping. I remove any large older leaves that are blocking bud sites or that are touching the dirt. I also leaf tuck where needed. * Right now, it has almost a manifold look, with the main stem laying down and the side branches being spread out to fill the space. * Fast growth continues. I expect great things from this plant.