Ape #1 Advanced Nutrients

Veg 7: First week for this girl. Grape Ape again, so I have an idea of what to expect. I have another seed germinating that will join her. Going to try and grow two plants for a faster cycle. Just have this one propped up until the stem gets a bit more sturdy. Going to hit her with nutrients next time the pot dries out. Running a truly soilless mix this round so I'll be in full control. No composts unless i try and make a couple teas later on.

Veg 17: I know this post is slightly late but the second seed has sprung and is working hard to catch up to her sister. As such I'm using the week marker as more of a guideline than a rule for when to make my entries. The earlier plant shall be Georgia and the latter is yet unnamed. At this point I'm focusing on not over watering. Just misting with nutrients as needed. I'm not sure how well two plants will fit in my small tent. One may end up a gift for a friend.

Day 37: I am splitting my two plants into two separate diaries to make things simpler for me. After a couple weeks hiatus from organized gardening I have returned. It's been a good month long bender and now I'm back onto greening up for the summer. The plant which will be continuing through this diary is the older plant. I'm also running two diaries to help compare the results of two different nutrients. This is the Advanced Nutrients plant. At this point both plants will remain inside but I'll likely be turning one into an outdoor lady. During my recent bender this plant suffered a serious drought. I literally thought she was dead. I was about to toss her in the compost and noticed she had been root bound for a while. After the transplant she's taken off. Once the plant had regained vigour I trimmed off the lower foliage and topped her to make my first attempt at mainlining. Even with the extreme haircut she seems to be shiny and healthy. Branching is starting to go for it and the leaves are darker than they were at transplant. The next few weeks will tell which plant goes out into the yard. I'll likely nurture the younger plant indoors as it has suffered less abuse and has more potential at this juncture.

Day 42: This girl has obviously established her root system and is now putting some effort into upward growth. I've done a bit of LST to even the canopy a bit. The branches are thick but not yet hard, so this is my time to train the base of the plant. Some weird looking leaves are looking a bit wilted but the issue is sporadic and doesn't seem to be showing up on any new growth. Her little sister is behind by a couple weeks. We'll see if she ever catches up.

Day 59: There's only one ape left in my garden. Gave the Wegener's plant to a buddy who will grow her out in a raised bed. I needed the space to open up the canopy and maximize this plant. She has great branch structure. I've been trimming off the scraggly stuff that I know won't make it to the top as I notice lagging branches. One week or so left in veg with this lady. There's a bit of tip curl on the bigger leaves. Maybe a bit high on the nitrogen? Leaves are a good colour though. Running the nutrients at 1/4 manufacturer's recommendation. Started adding some PK to get the plant rolling on her fresh diet. This plant has been super healthy since her drought as a younger plant. She responds to training within hours has started to drink more often as she gets bigger. Drain to waste is working well for me this round as I'm using a shop vacuum to remove excess runoff... instead of the turkey baster I used last round.

Day 63: I have switched the light schedule over to 12 hours. She's about as big as my last plant was when I harvested her. I'm quite happy with the branch structure going into flower. There are a couple of small branches which I'll likely trim. I want to make sure all the bud sites are getting good light. No larf. It was good smoke last round but I'm aiming for more cola development. The light has been raised to encourage stretching over the next two weeks. Some mold formed in a few of my nutrient bottles. Kinda choked to have to throw them out. I'll be looking into other options besides bottled nutrients.

Day 70 This lady has finished her first week of flower and is just starting to put out some white hairs. I notice her smell sooner than her predecessor. She's stretched 5" over the week with the light at the top of the tent. I'll keep the light up there for another week before progressively lowering. Trimming obnoxious fan leaves almost daily. There seems to be no shortage of foliage but at the same time there's a lot more light and air flow throughout the plant. I'll keep pruning odd leaves through the second week of flower and maybe some of the lower bud sites. There are some weird bulb-like growths coming from the stalks. I'm worried it could be mold or bugs, but haven't seen any yet.

Day 77 Week two of bloom is complete with some big progress. The stretch seems to have slowed down and the buds are starting to develop. I've been doing less defoliation this week as she seems to have lots of room to breathe. The grape ape sure is a bushy plant. I've been reading lots on the topic of defoliation and it seems to mostly stall the plant. I'm trying to leave as much foliage as possible while encouraging tips to reach for the canopy to become future colas. My method seems to be delivering success at this point. I installed a second scrog net this week to help even the canopy along with a little super cropping. The plant bounced from the HST within hours and was facing the light again. In the coming week I'll be gently increasing the nutrient dose and lowering the light while letting the plant cruise. No more training.

Day 82 The bulking begins! The stretch is done and the bud sites are all booming. The Bud Ignitor is out this week with an increase in Massive. Keeping the base nutrients at a low level has not slowed this girl down at all and gives the opportunity to use additives at greater potency. Noticing some browning hairs early again with this cycle and have determined the cause to be from leaf motion on neighbouring branches. I've raised to fans to try and reduce the amount of friction. This plant is going to get a full 3 week flush, so I'm trying to ramp up the nutrient dose through the next few weeks of bloom. Full send.

Day 90 The ape is looking beefy this week. We are done the fourth week of bloom. Buds are swelling all over the plant. I think that having done a better job with the pruning this round has made a big difference in the plants productivity (also not overwatering). I'm going to need a bigger tent if I want to max these plants out. I dream to unlock the genetic potential of each strain I grow. For now I hope to crop over a QP with each cycle.

Day 97 The fifth week has been big in bulk. Branches are starting to flop around and I'll likely be tying them in place soon. Things are looking juicy. I could install another trellis but that seems a bit extreme. I'm going to give her maximum nutrients for the next week before a 3 week flush cycle.

Day 104 After much research and reading I've decided to roll with the nutrients until the last week if bloom. I want to bulk these buds up as much as I can! Dialing back the Massive this week to relieve some of the burnt spots I'm seeing on some leaves. Chunky monkey!

Day 115 This lady has started to show a few amber trichomes this week so I have started the flush cycle. I'll be giving her a total rinse with the next watering to bring the ppm as low as I can. The buds are well developed top to bottom. I am stoked to see if this one changes colour this week with the flush. Very much looking forward to curing and smoking this ape.

Twas a smooth grow. Once she got ramped up in bloom it was cruise control to the finish. I flushed for two weeks and probably could have done a third. With a big return of 7.7 ounces I'll be good and stoned for the next few months. Lots of big buds but there is a pretty even split of AA, A, B, and C grade. Flowering for the 9th week helped to push the plant a little further without too much degradation of trichomes. One more ape is nearing flower and then I'll be experimenting with new genes. Toke on my fellow gardeners!