Neuro Therapy

Another year, another diary! I was looking to try out some new strains and breeders since I've done Barney's for the past 2 years. I really liked to breadth of the Dinafem CBD catalog so I ordered the Gorilla CBD, Bubba Kush CBD and Purple Orange CBD. Unfortunately the Purple Orange didn't germinate which is highly disappointing, because it was the strain I was looking forward to the most. It was definitely smaller than the other 2 and was more pale, definitely not as plump and dark as the other 2 so I think I got an inferior seed so I was doomed from the start. I tried everything, didn't work😩 That was supposed to be my daytime pain management with the Joanne's! I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia about 3 years ago and have chronic daily pain. In the years since my diagnosis things have gotten worse, with more neurological symptoms including vision changes and debilitating cluster headaches. Looking around at strains, I've had really good luck with 1:1 strains. I'm sensitive to THC so anything above that ratio triggers my anxiety and I get very paranoid. I liked the look of the 2:1 strains from Dinafem, especially that Purple Orange because 1:1's during the day is a little too much for me to stay on track so the 2:1 seemed like a great option. In the past when I've done a 15:1 during the day I had to take a lot in order to get good pain relief which made me a little groggy and wasn't worth it. I took full advantage of the Seedsman spring CBD Promo and received the Joanne's and Ice Cool as freebies. -From RQS website: "Joanne's CBD: Therapeutic And Delicious Joanne’s CBD is a therapeutic cultivar that produces a clear-headed and lucid effect. She’s a productive polyhybrid featuring a perfect balance of 50% indica genetics and 50% sativa. The strain received her medicinal cannabinoid profile from parent strains Juanita la Lagrimosa and Session. As a descendant of Juanita, Joanne’s CBD belongs to a longstanding lineage of CBD legends. Juanita la Lagrimosa is believed to be the first strain ever to reach a CBD content of 15%. The variety has scooped up numerous High Times Cannabis Cup awards for her medicinal effects and low THC content. Although she offers an attractive cannabinoid profile, she often lacks in size and productivity. Our breeders addressed this drawback by infusing some much-needed Session genetics into the mix. This towering hybrid offers a massive yield and descends from the high-CBD cultivar Kalijah." -From Sweet Seeds website: "CBD-rich version of one of the best and most aromatic strains from our catalog, our beloved Ice Cool®️ (SWS06). This strain gathers two exquisite genetic lines from the Diesel family: our Ice Cool®️ and a selected CBD-rich “elite” clone from Diesel ancestors. The THC:CBD ratio of this strain stands between 1:1 and 1:2, making it a strain rich in CBD (Cannabidiol). This high yielder is very resinous. The tastes and aromas of this strain are exquisite, very strong and penetrating, with citrus tones, touches of wood, complemented by a background of cypress and exotic spices. Ice Cool CBD®️ (SWS69) presents the typical structure of Indica-Sativa hybrids. It is adapted to the requirements of indoor growing and it is very productive, resinous and aromatic. This variety is featured in the 2019 Top 10 Strains from High Times magazine." -From Dinafem: GORILLA CBD: "An Indica capable of taming the potency of Gorilla while keeping her taste intact Gorilla CBD is a feminised cannabis seed that holds on to the morphology, unbeatable resin yield, and delicious Kush taste of Gorilla but reduces the narcotic effects with a 1:2 THC:CBD ratio. Dinafem Seeds’ Gorilla was warmly welcomed when she hit the shelves in 2018." BUBBA KUSH CBD: "The Indica queen, now with all the properties of CBD Bubba Kush CBD is a feminised cannabis seed by Dinafem Seeds that masterfully mixes the typical traits of Bubba Kush with the many therapeutic effects of cannabidiol. If Bubba Kush is the quintessential Indica queen (pretty, compact and narcotic), this strain keeps the beauty and taste of the queen intact but drives the potency down." So Joanne's will have to suffice for my daytime, Gorilla and Bubba Kush for evening, with Ice Cool being and all purpose hybrid option. Started in Coast of Maine Sprout Island Blend on the thermostat controlled germination mat at 78F with a humidity dome under LED grow lights.

All 3 Joanne's seeds successfully germinated so I'm happy about that. One of them is having trouble shedding it's seed casing so I'll have to keep an eye on it. All 3 Ice Cool germinated but one had issues and died. RIP😞 Gorilla and Bubba had no issues, they're rock stars. But my Purple Orange, my beloved, doomed from the start, just would not sprout😭 I'm so disappointed. Keeping everyone under the humidity dome for now.

It's been a busy week so I don't have much to show for it. I transplanted them to larger pots since they were outgrowing the 6's and they got a little Big Bloom. Just like last year, I'm staying away from a lot of the more popular fertilizers on here. They either contain mineral salts or are not transparent about whats in them. The first year I grew I did the whole Fox Farm schedule which was very pricey and it was annoying having to flush regularly. It's understandable for someone using a hydro or Coco setup but since mine are going in the ground it just doesn't make sense. Mineral salts can really screw with the good bacteria and fungus in the soil (not to mention affecting nutrient uptake), so it's a better bet for me to feed the good bacteria and let them work their magic, since healthy soil is your biggest asset in an outdoor, in the ground grow. Humidity dome has been removed. The one seedling I mentioned last week still hadn't shed it's seed casing so I sprayed it with a little water, waited about 30 minutes for it to soak in and removed the seed with tweezers. She'll be a little behind the others but she'll catch up🌱 For some reason the nutrient portion of this isn't working properly, I'm selecting ml/L but it's saving as ml/gal😣

Great growth this week, but too leggy. These girls have doubled in size (the bigger ones that is...) and I will have to transplant them to larger pots once they recover from the pinching I gave them, which I should have done sooner. They got a little Alaska Fish Fertilizer for some extra Nitrogen and got to go outside for a little bit while it's nice since our weather has finally turned🌞 Bubba Kush is already getting some red on her trunk and shoulders, I can't wait to see how purple she gets😊 I decided to put all the feminized strains in one diary because it was just too much work to do individual diaries last year. I was hoping to win some stuff, I had much better content than the diary that I won newbie of the month with in 2018, but competition is fierce and it seems people who use more meticulous brand name fertilizer schedules seem to place better in the monthly contests. I'm just using natural Plain Jane stuff because I don't want to run the risk of burning my plants and go through the PITA of flushing mineral salts. But of course, the big names in cannabis fertilizers supply prizes so it's no shock to me that I'm not placing, but you don't have to spend hundreds on nutes to get good bud. My flower was far superior last year compared to the year before with natural products.🙌 That, and most of the prizes include high THC strains and mineral salt fertilizer which I'm not interested in so it's not much of a loss. Us CBD folk just aren't the popular kids, which I'm used to😊

Transplanted into slightly larger pots using Coast of Maine Bar Harbor Blend soil. I know, I should have gone bigger but seriously thinking of putting these girls out soon. It's still a little cold at night but they want the sun! Ice Cool seemed to respond the best to topping, she shot out nice new growth right away. I've noticed the 2 Dinafem girls are more thirsty than the others but they're very strong. Getting the red on the Bubba Kush makes me excited to see what her color will be like in the fall. The Joanne's is having the most trouble. One seedling is behind and another had crinkled leaves, both from issues with seed casing getting stuck, but they're marching along. Big Bloom this week.

I'm a couple days late on updating, but everyone is in the ground! They spent almost a week outside hardening off. One night despite the forecast it got down to 38F and I was very worried, but it didn't phase them much. I stuck them in with my tomatoes as camouflage and added seaweed as mulch which I need to finish. We finally got rain yesterday, the first we've had in weeks so I'm sure the garden is grateful. I'm using tomato cages again this year because last year they worked great. I think everything is in the video.

Good week overall. Joanne was a bit of a problem child. She was showing some issues earlier in the week, and I wasn't sure exactly which nutrient was out if whack, her new growth looked a little rusty and she was getting some yellow blotches on her leaves, so I decided to top dress a little blood meal and lime for each plant and lightly water in. She is looking much better 3 days after. I finished mulching with seaweed, which will help with moisture retention since it's been so dry, provide trace minerals as it breaks down, and the texture when dry will provide a slug barrier. I've interplanted some nasturtiums, calendula, marigold and borage to deter pests. Overall things are looking good so I can't really complain!

Forgive my lag in updating, it's been a long week. We had a big heat wave last week, most days were over 100F in the sun. It was humid, but our lack of rain persisted. It's crazy to think it was snowing last month. While neighboring towns were dumped on with precious rain, those clouds dissipated over us. Last night was the first time we had rain in 2 weeks. I hope the whole summer isn't like this. Meanwhile, plants are doing fine. Joanne continues to improve despite a little bit of residual visual stress but I think she'll be fine. The seaweed mulch seems to be helping with our drought conditions, but I need to top dress and mulch again. These pictures were taken before I fertilized so they're not as lustrous as they could be.

I'm a terrible plant mom. I fully expect a Sweet Seeds rep to comment on here about how bad the Ice Cool looks. I've been so tied up with other things that I forgot to fertilize and spray with Neem. It's been a couple weeks since I've had time to upload so I have some catching up to do. Ice Cool definitely looks the worst. She's got some nute issues and I need to give her some tlc. Some of her top leaves look like crap because she got chewed on a couple weeks ago so some tips are missing so it looks like she got a bad FIM job. The Dinafem's are still the stars. Both of them are happy and healthy, but my pics for Bubba were out of focus for this week so no pics, sorry. Joanne is doing well, she still has a little bit of residual stress spots on her leaves but I'm not worried. More to come...

Joanne is looking better and better week by week, but it looks like I totally skipped her, and since I'm playing catch up I can't exactly go back in time. Ice Cool is still looking not the greatest and having a harder time. But the top dressing of Blood Meal, Kelp Meal and Lime should give it some more "Vim and Vigor" and I've been better about spraying with Neem. The Gorilla and Bubba are still rockstars 😎 Loving the quality of the Dinafem genetics.

Well, it looks like the girls are reaching pistils out from their calyxes, so flowering will be soon. Ice Cool is looking so much better from a couple weeks ago! Better color, strong new growth and really stretching. Gorilla and Bubba are beautiful as usual. Joanne seems a little behind. She's having some trouble getting vertical growth up and out of the tomato canopy so I may need to give her some extra fish emulsion for encouragement. But overall everyone is stretching well.

It has been so hot, dry and yet humid this past week! We desperately need rain, if not I'll have to start trucking water from the house since the streambed is dry, which I included a video of. The girls are really stretching since they started to flower. Bubba Kush is the tallest at almost 60 inches and she has some lovely purple on her branches that I included in the photos. I finished up the Alaska brand fertilizer and found a local one at my garden supply store. It's from Saltwater Farm and it's a 3-2-2 Fish and Seaweed liquid fertilizer. They seem to like it just fine!

"Vacationland", "The Way life SHOULD be." Shove it up your @$$. All my friends are saying the same thing "Is this really worth it?" Half the year is spent in frozen over hell while the other half is spent capitalizing on tourist season and running ourselves into the ground so that we can't actually enjoy it when it's nice out. All I can say is I'm really looking forward to next month and praying that the summer population leaves sooner than they say they're going to (many are planning to extend their normal length of stay since their kids aren't going back to school) so that they're no longer draining our aquifer with their lawn sprinklers and swimming pools. End of rant. What a week... Our drought persists. Some plants are taking it better then others, but everyone isn't getting what they need because I'm not getting what I need. I'm exhausted and I just can't keep up. That video I posted of the streambed? Well, in that video, there was about an inch of water. It has been bone dry for weeks. I'm having to recycle spent livestock water and use that to water the garden. Joanne's CBD, now Jojo (My fav Boz Scaggs song), looks like crap. She is not taking this drought well. She could definitely use a little more N (everyone could) and probably some Mag as well. I need to give everyone a good top dressing when I can find some time. Maybe it's hiding in the bottom of my purse or under my seat in the car... But jokes aside... Gorilla, who I have named Amy (Any "Congo" fans out there? Seriously underrated movie. Ernie Hudson is the best!) is taking things pretty well, and so is Ice Cool. But the reigning Queen Kush is nearly as tall as I am. She is a sight to behold towering over everyone else in the garden. Next week she will be taller than me. So, bottom line is everyone could be doing better with some more care and maintenance, but I just don't have the time right now. I'll have to play ketchup later on like I do every year. Jojo looks the worst, but she's been the problem child from the start. What really matters to me are Amy and Bubba, and those Dinafem genetics are not disappointing. Jojo and Ice Cool were freebies, which is nice but I'm not going to kill myself over them. I'm an outdoor grower with limited time and resources with a chronic neurological pain disorder. I do what I can.

Well, I finally found time to give the girls a bit of TLC. They each got a top dressing of about 2 Tblsp each of lime last night as well as some fertilizer. Then this morning I started the work. I went to each plant and tried my best to orient the tomatoes better. This was after I took out the row of snow peas yesterday that were in front of them, so now they don't have those blocking the sun. Then I went in and defoliated the lower section of each plant, as well as interior leaves and branches. I certainly could have done this sooner, but better late than never. Then each plant got a top dressing of homemade compost and were watered. I did leave some smaller branches on the top, but only the ones that would get a good amount of light. I used to be all about keeping popcorn buds and getting everything I could out of each plant but at this point I really don't want to deal with them, and I think it'll be better for the girls overall. I noticed that Ice Cool was having her trunk nibbled on, by what I can only assume is a vole. Every morning I step outside I find at least two dead voles, with the occasional mouse or rabbit so despite my cat's efforts there are more to be eaten for sure. I've included before and after photos so you guys can see just how messy and neglected things were😅

It seems like the girls had a good week. I really need to feed them more often though. Bubba's flowers are progressing well, but the other three definitely are behind and require more nutes.

We got a nice long steady rain day before yesterday, and I'm very grateful for it. Bubba and Ice are rockstars! Their flowers are coming along nicely and their color looks great. Joanne and Gorilla... Well, they're kind of needy. Both times I fed this week I gave them 2x the amount I gave the other two. Their color has not improved and they're not developing flowers as quickly as I would like. It seems like all I do is feed these two hogs. If they were an animal I'd be concerned they had worms. Approximate finishing times: Joanne's CBD: Early October Bubba Kush: Mid-October Ice Cool: Late September Gorilla: Mid-October From where they are right now, Ice Cool looks to be right on schedule. Bubba Kush however looks like she's going to finish a couple weeks earlier than expected. Gorilla (Amy) will definitely be October, as will Jojo but they have a ways to go.

It's been a great week. The color on Amy has really improved with the extra feeding, and Jojo's color hasn't improved much but her flowers are developing more so that's good. Ice Cool is really bulking up so I'm excited because she is going to be a monster. Bubba just looks lovely. She is a beautiful dark green, she's getting some white frost on her flowers that contrast beautifully with the red stems on her leaves. It's been a mostly dry week, no real rainfall but a couple mornings of heavy mist.

I'm a few days late on updating this diary as well as feeding my girls (well, just a couple days late on feeding) and the weather is not helping! It's 48F and drizzling out, which is prime conditions for mold production😒 but there's not much I can do about it at the moment. So I did include a video this week to give a better look at the girls (And please ignore me saying Amy aka CBD Gorilla is a late September finisher.. It's actually mid-October, I can't keep anything straight) Jojo is still the runt of the litter, Amy is catching up to her big sisters and Bubba and Ice Cool are still the stars of the show. Nice colas plumping up and soon to be ready👏 I'm excited!

Things are progressing well. Jojo is looking better, developing more flower. We got a frost on Sunday night that was part of a cold front that came through before the hurricane and some of the girls are getting more fall colors. But yet again we're in a drought. The hurricane stayed off shore and I was hoping for rain but we didn't get any. The stream bed is completely dry again. Bubba Kush is getting close. I've stopped feeding her and I'd say she's about 10% amber. I did have to remove one of her colas on the back side due to mold, I'm assuming because it wasn't getting as much direct sunlight and a caterpillar probably made it's home in there. Not long now. I've also stopped feeding Ice Cool since she's an end of September finisher as well. Amber trichs just started showing up, I'd say around 5%, maybe slightly less. Amy is chugging along and developing her colas. I can't wait to see how frosty she gets!

Very happy with how this girl turned out. She was strong from the start and was one of the largest plants in my garden. 4+ oz colas are very nice👌 We had 3 days of very wet and stormy weather in the forecast so I chopped her down on 9/28 because I was worried about mold, and she was in the harvest window. She got trimmed and washed, then hung up to dry in the top of my barn with an oscillating fan running. I'll update more once I have dry numbers and a taste! She dried out to 6.24 oz and I'm very happy with that. Big yields from a big girl! Doing the 58% Boveda packs because I had better luck with them vs the 62% that I used my first year that went moldy.

Harvested on Monday 9/28 as we were getting a big band of wet days I decided she was close enough and didn't want her getting too moldy. I trimmed and washed the buds, then hung them up to dry in the top of my barn with an oscillating fan running. I must say, this strain was great. I wasn't too sure of her, as she did have a little bit of transplant shock and was fussy for the last few weeks of veg, but once she got into flower she bloomed. Really. I was not expecting the size of the colas on this girl, which pumped up quite nicely at the finish line. I can't wait to try her! 4.65 oz out of this girl is not bad at all! Trimmed her up and put in mason jars with 58% Boveda packs because I prefer them to the 62% ones I used my fist year and had mold problems. Stuff I grew last year that's in the 58's is still in pristine condition.

It's just Amy and Jojo now left in this diary. Jojo doesn't have long to go as her pistils have browned but I have to make room in the upstairs of the barn or run another drying line since all 3 are currently taken up by Bubba Kush and Ice cool along with one Berry Exotic from another diary. Both of these girls are getting some pretty purple coloring with the cool weather. Jojo has come a long way in the past few weeks which I'm very happy about. Amy is continuing to sugar up and fingers crossed that she'll finish strong. I didn't feed this week because of all the rain we got. I won't be feeding Jojo but I'll probably feed Amy again next week.

Another week down. I'm writing this on Saturday and the plan is to harvest Jojo on Monday. Her pistils are brown and she's about ready. I think I should have a line cleared in the barn by then. I want to do it on Monday because after that we have a large band of rain coming through for what looks like 4 days. Amy still needs at least another week. But she's very sugary and when I pulled some dying fan leaves off of her yesterday she smelled very fruity. She got a feeding yesterday while Jojo didn't since she's coming down. I have so many photos on here because it was rather windy while I was taking pictures so I made sure I got extras in case some were blurry.

This strain was a finicky one. She seemed to have some shock from transplanting and it took her awhile to recover. That being said, she hardly had any mold on her at the end so I have to give her credit for that! Very low yields, was definitely a heavy feeder and I just didn't have enough time to giver her the attention she needed. Washed with lemon juice and baking soda as usual and hung her to dry in the barn with a fan going. Pretty purple on the buds tho! Will give more info when finished drying. Had a little over an ounce of good dry bud. Unfortunately someone unplugged my fan so I did lose 8g to mold.

A bit lower on the yields than I was expecting, but I think she makes up for that in the quality. sticky, frosty buds that glitter like diamonds! I'll take it! And of course the slight purple on the end adds to her beauty. I cut down on 10/13 a little early because we had wet weather and frost on the way so I didn't want mold and freezing to hurt the finished product. She did have a little mold when I was trimming but not too much. Washed with baking soda and lemon and hung up to dry in the barn with the fan. Unfortunately someone unplugged my fan and several of the nice, fat upper colas got mold, about 28g was lost. Otherwise I got a little over 3oz.