FastBuds CBD Crack and G14

This is my second grow coming right of the heels of my first (FastBuds G14). While it came out OK in the end, it was definitely a learning experience! Hoping to put some of that experience to good use in this second grow. I will be doing another G14 and a CBD 1.1 aka CBD Crack, also from FastBuds. This time I am switching from soil to coco (Canna) and will be trying a ScrOG net. I wiIl be primarily using Mega Crop for nutrients, with feeding handled via a Blumat automated watering system. Seedlings and early vegetative growth will be in a small 1x2x3 ft grow cabinet with CFL lights. I have two reflectors each with 5 bulbs and can run a max of 137 Watts in each (4x 23W and 1x 45W 6500K), although I doubt I will since once these are ready to transplant into the 2 gallon pots they will move to the tent. Running 2x 23W 6500K bulbs in each reflector for seedlings. Germination Day 1 (2020-05-08): Seeds planted in Jiffy Pods and placed under a dome on a heating mat to keep things around 75F, 50% RH. Germination Day 2 (2020-05-09): Seeds germinated and just starting to poke out of the Jiffy Pod. Day 1 (2020-05-10): Jiffy pods planted in 18 oz Solo cups with 1/4 strength Mega Crop charged Coco and moved to CFL grow box for seedling stage/early veg. Also pre-charged Coco with a full dose of Bloom City Cal-Mag. Day 2 (2020-05-11): Cotyledons make an appearance. Day 3 (2020-05-12): First set of leaves appearing on both plants. The G14 looks a bit odd. One of the Cotyledons is very small compared to the other and the first set of leaves look conjoined or something. Hoping it will grow out of it or right itself by the next set of leaves. Light watering today (10 ml in a circle) with 1/4 strength MC/Cal-Mag + Hydroguard. Day 4 (2020-05-13): Another light watering this evening. G14 still looking odd, but both seedlings are growing. Day 5 (2020-05-14): Continuing the daily light watering. At the end of the week, both seedlings are around 1" high and looking healthy. The G14 though does appear to have some mutation. Day 6 (2020-05-15): Full watering today with 1/4 strength MC, Calmag and Hydroguard. Both seedlings are showing signs of second set of leaves, but the G14 looks like it's second set will also be a single merged leaf. Should know for sure in a few days. Day 7 (2020-05-16): Watered again today as it seemed a bit dry. First time growing in Coco and small containers, but seems like I will need to water a bit more frequently as it dries quick. Maybe will try every 2 days. Moved lights about an inch closer.

Day 8 (2020-05-17): G14 is looking a bit lopsided with its weird conjoined twin leaf, but the second set is growing opposite so hopefully it will balance itself out. I spent some time today getting the grow tent cleaned out and ready to move these two in and am starting to setup the Blumats for 2 gallon fabric pots when I transplant. Day 9 (2020-05-18): Moved the plants to the tent where they will spend the rest of the grow. Waiting to transplant until roots have established a bit more. They are now under the Kolem 800W (120W actual) LED light, currently running around 35% power. Watered today. Day 10 (2020-05-19): Transplanted to the 2 gallon fabric pots today and installed the Blumats. Added Drip Clean into the nute mix. Increased the light to 60% due to the increased distance after losing the Solo cups. Day 11 (2020-05-20): Transplant seems to have taken and saw some nice leaf growth over the last 24 hours. Main stems are noticeably fatter, also. G14 is still looking wacky. Day 12 (2020-05-21): Not much to report. Things are still looking good and I guess the Blumats are doing there thing? Coco seems plenty moist after 2 days. Day 13 (2020-05-22): Still trying to dial in Blumats. Coco is starting to dry out. Day 14 (2020-05-23): Hand watered to get back to optimum moisture and made further Blumat adjustments. By the end of the day it looks things are stable and correct. The G14 seems to be doing fine despite looking a bit weird

Day 15 (2020-05-24): Some more Blumat adjustments. Having trouble getting things perfect. Luckily the plants aren't drinking a lot yet so there is plenty of time to get it right. Day 16 (2020-05-25): Noticing new growth is light green/yellow. Looks like it might be a Zinc deficiency. Will investigate more tomorrow. Day 17 (2020-05-26): Opened water reservoir to a nasty smell and white growth all on the bottom. Algae I am guessing? Either way it changed the PH of the water to 6.8 which I think is causing Zinc lockout. I flushed the plants with 5.6 PH and cleaned the reservoir and added new solution at 5.6. I also added a small amount of bleach (.3 ml gallon). I am also going to wrap the reservoir in black duct tape to prevent light. Day 18 (2020-05-27): Looks like the flushing and water change worked as the plants appear to be recovering. Top growth is noticeably more green, but will continue to monitor. I ended up cutting a box to cover the reservoir to block light to helpfully prevent future algae growth, along with the bleach. Day 19 (2020-05-28): Both seem to have recovered from the Zinc issue and all growth is nice and dark green again. Will probably look at doing some training tomorrow. Originally was planning on trying ScrOG but I am strting to wonder if it will be effective. The plants are still quite wide and short with not much height, so the net will not currently be very effective. Probably will do some LST for now and maybe some defoliation to expose more shoots to light. Day 20 (2020-05-29): Did some initial LST and defoliation to open things up a bit. Day 21 (2020-05-30): Plants appear to be recovering fine from the LST. I am finding some issue with the PH coming into the irrigation system. It is fine in the tank, but by the time it reaches the plants it is higher (around 1 higher). If I flush about a cup through the filter/hoses, then it is fine. So it seems as it sits in the tube the PH is rising. I wouldn't think there would be any algae growing in the tube since it is light proof and would have thought the bleach would had killed it anyway. Will check filter first.

Day 22 (2020-05-31): Did some additional LST and defoliation. For LST I used wire hooks pushed into the soil to encourage sideways growth of the new branches. The G14 looks a lot bushier but it did not have as many large leaves that needs to be removed. Also, due to it's mutant nature, it started with two main branches. Maybe I should have pinched one back, but it seems very healthy so far. Roots are poking out the bottom of both pots. Not sure if this is bad or not. It did not happen in my previous grow but was using 3 gal instead of 2 gal fabric pots. Day 23 (2020-06-01): Investigated the mesh cup filter I am using with the Blumats. Turns out I had it backwards and it had some slimy feeling film inside. Not sure if that is contributing to the PH rise when water sits in the tubing, but I cleaned it out and swapped it the right way. Made some small LST adjustments. Day 24 (2020-06-02): Removed a couple of blocking leaves, made some slight LST tweaks to even things out. One of the Blumats seemed like it was not dripping but bleeding the line caused it to kick in. Must have still had some residual air in the system from yesterday's filter adjustment. PH is still a bit higher coming out of the line, but is much improved. Will continue to monitor. If it stays high may try removing the filter altogether to eliminate that possibility. Day 25 (2020-06-03): Changed the reservoir out. PH was high, but still in range but the water was cloudy and had a pretty rotten smell. Going to check PH and smell daily and see if I can get a handle on what is happening. Maybe I just need to have a regular changing schedule. Day 26 (2020-06-04): PH of reservoir at 5.6. Day 27 (2020-06-05): PH of reservoir at 5.7. DId some LST adjustments and removed a few larger leaves. Noticed some light discoloration spots on a couple of the older leaves. Moved lights a bit closer (21") Day 28 (2020-06-06): Noticed some yellowing on the tips of some of the new growth. I checked the lights and they had been way closer than I thought. Moved to correct distance to see if it may have been early signs of light burn. PH of reservoir is at 6.2. Most likely will change out tomorrow. I also noticed today a bit of white fuzz mold growing on the outside of the pots and even a little bit on the surface of the coco. I am going to turn off the humidifier for a few days and get some 3% H2O2 to wipe down the outside of the pots.

Day 29 (2020-06-07): Changed out reservoir (5.6 PH). Picked up some 3% H2O2 so added 3ml/gallon to help combat some of the growth I am getting. Also wiped down the outside of the fabric pots to kill the mold. Did some new LST and defoliation to even things out. CBD Crack is in pre-flower. The G14 might be a bit behind. Day 30 (2020-06-08): Reservoir PH around 5.65. Removed a leaf or two and did some tucking. Day 31 (2020-06-09): PH at 5.8. The G14 Blumat drip tube had gotten stuck in the dirt and was not dripping. Hand watered back to normal. Some slight LST adjustments to even things out and removed a few leaves. Day 32 (2020-06-10): PH at 5.96. Yellow leaf tips on newer growth haven't really gotten any better. I am also noticing some other yellow and brown spotting on older leaves. I am not as worried about the spotting since it is likely related to previous PH fluctuation that has been taken care of but I am now wondering if the yellow tips are something new. Maybe the start of nutrient burn? I do not believe it is light related since I adjusted this a few days ago. Day 33 (2020-06-11): After some helpful advice from the community I checked the calibration of my PH pen and found it off by about .5! This must have happened sometime in the last week or two but would explain the issues since as a result my PH was adjusted way to low (around 4.9 to 5). FIxed pen, flushed plants and changed out the reservoir. Hopefully things will get back on track. Also took the opportunity while I had the plants out to even out the LST and do some more defoliation. Day 34 (2020-06-12): Things are looking OK. I am not sure if the yellow on the tips will go away but it is not getting worse. Reservoir PH is at 5.75. Day 35 (2020-06-13): Res PH at 6.1 but slight smell. Probably will have to change out tomorrow. Things are looking good for the plants. G14 is definitely behind on flowering compared to the CBD.

Day 36 (2020-06-14): Changed out the reservoir today with fresh 5.6 PH. I am trying adding in an ice pack each day to keep res temps closer to 68F. I think this should help the algae growth I am still fighting. Day 37 (2020-06-15): Stretching in full effect. Topped off the reservoir with another gallon since so much was consumed overnight. PH at 5.65 Day 38 (2020-06-16): Officially off the Blumats. They have really turned out to be more trouble than its worth in my opinion. I've spent just as much time fiddling with them (probably a lot more!) and the reservoir as I would have just hand watering. Maybe better for larger grows. Hand watering out the rest of the current reservoir. Did some accidental major defoliation. Kind of a "whoops" moment, just wasn't paying attention to how much I was pulling off! The G14 really needed it bad though. Due to its mutant nature it seems much more leafy as there a lot of "two headed" growth patterns with double the veg as compared to normal. Day 39 (2020-06-17): Things are looking OK after the Blumat switch and mass defoliation. Day 40 (2020-06-18): Watered today, 5.8 PH, 50% Pre-Flower Megacrop around 1/2 gallon each plant, but about 25% of that was runoff. Day 41 (2020-06-19): Watered, around 1/4 gallon each @ 5.75 PH. Did some LST to even things out. G14 canopy is a bit taller than the CBD but not sure what I can do about it at this point. Out of room in the tent to widen things out much more! I might slide a brick under the CBD to raise it to keep even lighting. Day 42 (2020-06-20): Watered again, 5.8 PH. I raised the CBD Crack so the canopy is even with the G14.

Day 43 (2020-06-21): Watered again today, but I think I might back off to every other day. I noticed the same nasty smell that formed in my reservoir is now in the runoff as well. Probably still growing in the medium. I'll try letting things dry out a bit more and add peroxide into the next watering. Day 44: (2020-06-22): Skipped watering today. The G14 mutant looks like it is going to have pretty low yield. The main colas have very small buds so far. Maybe it will eventually kick in, but I am thinking those smaller ones will just fatten up and not get much more vertical. Day 45 (2020-06-23): Skipped again today as things still seemed moist up top. Day 46 (2020-06-24): Both pots seemed light so watered around 3/4 gallon each @ 5.8 PH. I also added 3ml of 12% (food grade) H2O2 to help clear out any residual algae growth from the Blumat tank. Day 47 (2020-06-25): Flowers continue to develop. G14 is starting to fill out a bit, but the CBD is looking good. Will try to post some bud closeups before the week is out since the automatic picam snaps aren't doing it. Day 48 (2020-06-26): Skipped watering again today. Looks every 3 days is going to work although the G14 was a little lighter than the CBD when I last watered. May have to do every other day for it. Day 49 (2020-06-27): Watered today @ PH 5.75.

Day 50 (2020-06-28): Start of a new week, otherwise nothing new to report! Day 51 (2020-06-29): G14 buds are finally starting to fill out a bit. CBD Crack is looking and smelling great. Day 52 (2020-06-30): Feeding today at 5.8 PH, increased nutes to 75% of recommended amount. Day 53 (2020-07-01): Hmm, looks like I will need to go back to 50% on nutes, some tip burn showing up in the G14. Day 54 (2020-07-02): Feeding today back to 50% flowering dose at 5.8 PH. Day 55 (2020-07-03): Nothing new to report. Day 56 (2020-07-04): G14 buds continue to fill out. Waiting one more day to water again.

Day 57 (2020-07-05): Feeding @ 5.8 PH. Removed a few leaves. Day 58 (2020-07-06): Noticing a few amber trichromes on the CBD Crack. Wondering if it might be time to start thinking about pre-harvest flushing. Day 59 (2020-07-07): Fed today @ 5.75 PH. Day 60 (2020-07-08): No news today. Plants are kind of on autopilot at this point. Day 61 (2020-07-09): Waiting to feed until tomorrow. Day 62 (2020-07-10): Fed today @ 5.6 PH Day 63 (2020-07-11): Leaves on both plants look pretty rough at this stage, but buds are looking nice all around! Guessing 1-2 weeks left on the CBD. Will probably start flushing sometime next week. G14 seems to be running behind at least a week.

Day 64 (2020-07-12): Watered at 5.8 PH Day 67 (2020-07-15): Starting flush of CBD Crack. Water only @ 5.8 PH. Continuing to feed G14 for another week. 5.8 PH. Day 70 (2020-07-18: Continuing flush of CBD crack, water only at 5.8. G14 gets the same MC dose @ 5.8

Day 72 (2020-07-20): Continuing flush of CBD Crack. G14 will start next watering most likely. Day 75 (2020-07-23): Started flush for G14. Day 77 (2020-07-25): Continuing flush for both plants. Checking trichomes daily. G14 looks right on schedule. Starting to think I might have started the CBD a week early (especially after getting a macro lens for my phone), but moving forward.

Continuing flush. Planning on harvest this week. Started the flush a bit early on the CBD and probably should have chopped a week ago, but lesson learned. Both plants have a bit of yellowing on the sugar leaves and the tops of the buds (especially the CBD feel a bit crisp and are browning. Hopefully won't affect much other than appearance since this is just for personal use anyway! Will update soon with the harvest details once the initial drying is done.

50 grams / 1.8 ounces into the jars, 13g of usable trim. Dried inthe tent at around 50% RH for 3 days. I definitely think some PH issues I had early to mid grow affected the yield. I had issues with both bacteria growth in my water reservoir affecting PH and a bad PH meter. But overall, quite happy with the outcome! Will update more once curing is done. 1 month cure report: smell in the jar is subtle not as intense as the G14. Kind of a gas or turpentine like undertone. When ground it opens up to be more herbal and reminds me of black tea. My wife's first instinct was hops. I was reminded of grapefruit also. Vaped some in a Dynavap. Taste was herbal, almost like tobacco but more subtly sweet. Pleasant and subtle flavor. High was very mellow, coming on slow and leading to some big ass grins and ending with relaxed mind and body. Digging it so far!

This one started as a mutant and I wasn't sure I should continue with it, but did any way. It actually turned out better than its sister the CBD crack. In the end there was one weird, two-headed bud but otherwise seemed normal. Ran into a lot of issues mid grow wiht PH related deficiencies (I had issues with bacterial growth my water reservoir feeding the Blumats and also had a bad PH meter that took too long to figure out. This is my second grow and I doubled my yield as compared to last time even with the issues. So given all of that I am happy with the outcome! Will update more once the curing is complete.