Green Gelato Auto RQS (First Grow)

Germination 20/05: Camera, Lights, Action! The last piece of the puzzle has arrived and it is time to begin the grow. We dropped two seeds into a shot glass filled with water at 18:00 on the 20th of May (20/05/2020), a magical day. We will each look after our own seed to see who is the Alpha Farmer. Germination 21/05: After keeping the seeds in the shot glass for 24 hours, we saw that the seeds started to pop already. Time to transfer! We have put the seeds into moist cotton pads and put them in between two plates so that it’s dark. We wanted to make sure that the seeds root before transferring them to the soil. This was the result in the evening of day 2, and we decided to keep them in the cotton pad for another day. Germination 22/05: After waiting impatiently for the roots to grow, towards the evening of Day 3 they have grown enough to go into the soil home. The image on day 3 shows how big the roots were at the end of day 3 before being planted (about 2cm). Germination 23/05: After planting the seeds in soil, we lightly watered them and put them under the lights. The light cycle that we chose was 18/6 and since we don’t have a timer for the lights yet we will be turning the lights off at 17:00 and back on at 23:00 for now and we will see how it goes. So far, no leaves are showing. The temperature at planting was 25C and humidity was 47%. Day 1 24/05: The girls are starting to come out of the soil, it’s so exciting! We did notice that overnight the soil dried up on the top and the humidity dropped to 30% since we do not have a humidifier. This worried me so we started spraying the inside of the tent more often to make sure it is humid. We also put out some dishes filled with water so that it can evaporate under the lamp. I spray the plants with water lightly throughout the day and feed them at 17:00 with 100ml of water with Biobizz Root Juice (4ml/L) to promote root growth in the “night time”. The temperature in the evening was 24.6C and the humidity was 51%. Day 2 25/05: The seedlings are growing really well, they are both showing two sets of leaves, however the one on the right looks like it is becoming a little too leggy. I will keep an eye on it and see if it becomes too tall. Also noticing high temperatures again with the lights and the soil drying too fast. Will be thinking of solutions tomorrow. The temperature was 24.6C and humidity at 46% Day 3 26/05: The seedlings are growing really well but the one on the right is stretching a little bit too much so I will cover it up with an inch of soil tomorrow morning. Since we noticed that the temperature in the tent was getting too hot, I have put more trays with water around and we have decreased the intensity of the light to 50% to reduce the heat. I have also read that a frozen water bottle should also decrease the temperatures in the tent so my freezer is currently working on that ❄️. At the end of the day, the humidity was at 50% and the temperature was 24.4C Day 4 27/05: Both of the seedlings are starting to grow their 3rd pair of leaves! One seedling (A) is growing a bit bigger than the other (R) but R seems to be focusing on growing its third pair of leaves so they are actually bigger than that of seedling A. We’ll see if either of them will outgrow the other in a few weeks or if they will level out to be about the same. Very interesting to see this since they are seeds with the same genetics and were planted at the same time with the same conditions. The temperature measurement today was 24.1C and Humidity was at 44%. Day 5 28/05: The seedlings have been doing well throughout the day and the day temperatures are staying between 26-27C which is a bit high but better than before. In the effort of trying to reduce the temperatures, throughout the day I had a frozen bottle of water inside the tent. It actually didn’t really help much because it melted really quickly under the lights, so still keeping the lights at around 50-70% intensity while the seedlings are still in the small pots. The temperature in the evening was 21.9C and the humidity was at 56%. Throughout the day the humidity varies between 45-55% because we do not have a humidifier so I spray water around the plants to keep the tent humid. Day 6 29/05: The seedlings are getting bigger and growing strong. I noticed that the plant on the left was getting a little weak and the stem was not sturdy, so I had covered it with about a centimetre of soil so hopefully it gets stronger. The plants are still only getting fed with Biobizz Root Juice (4ml/L) of about 0.2 L of water just before the lights go off at 17:00. I am not noticing any significant issues with the plants yet so hopefully they will grow healthy. Temperature: 23.5C and humidity: 44%. Day 7 30/05: I found the smaller plant (R) in the morning with its leaves pointing down which could be because of overwatering (because it is hot and the soil dries out so I keep misting it). Now I will be making sure to only water when the soil up to my first knuckle is dry, which should help. For the bigger plant, I now water it with 200ml of water with Root Juice and it is enough for 2 days because the soil seems to be holding in the moisture well. Towards the evening, the smaller plant was restored and its leaves were pointing up again. Moisture was at a happy 52% and temperature was at 23.0C.

Day 8 31/05: Today I’ve noticed that the seedlings’ stems are getting strong but the smaller seedling (R) seems to be growing leaves asymmetrically, compared to the other seedling. Both the seedlings have been getting the same watering and only Root Juice so far so not sure why there is quite a big difference between them. Hopefully, it will grow out of it 😄. Towards the evening, I noticed that both plants actually started growing the next set of 4 leaves and it’s looking beautiful! Can’t wait for them to grow! The temperature was at 25.2 and the humidity was at 58% in the evening. Day 9 01/06: It has been really exciting seeing the new leaves from last night grow even more! The plants are taking their beautiful forms. The environment has been quite stable throughout the day, I started keeping one frozen 1.5L bottle of water in the tent during the day and two 1.5L bottles over night so it can decrease the temperatures. It seems to be working pretty well and the temperatures are at 26-27C during the day and 28C in the morning when I wake up which is why I decided on keeping two bottles because it’s always hotter over night. Day 10 02/06: The plants are growing like crazy! Already so many new leaves and can see tiny leaves appearing below as well. The length of the leaves for both plants is 9cm at the moment and the height of both plants is at 5ish cm (because I covered them with 1-2 cm of soil in the beginning). Based on some feedback regarding the differences in the sizes of leaves of the two seedlings from fellow growers on the Week 1 diary, I started watering at lights on (instead of at lights off how I’ve been doing so far) to avoid the plants being cold without lights and with the fan on. Thank you everyone who contributed for your insights! Today was a hot day so the temperature was between 26-28C the whole day and humidity was actually quite stable between 45-50%. Day 11 03/06: The seedlings are growing massive, it seems like every day they are growing faster and faster. New leaves appearing on the stem and it looks like they are happy with the temperatures and moisture. I’m not noticing any issues with the leaves so that is a good sign so far. And although plant R is a bit smaller in leaf size, it is actually growing new leaves at the top much faster so seems like it’s focusing all its energy into growing new rather than existing leaves. I’m excited to see how they will grow! Also the leaves are not reaching the size of the pot so in a few days we will transplant them into bigger pots. Today was a cold day so the temperature was between 24-26C and humidity was very stable again between 45%-50%. Day 12 04/06: Today the plants were still growing really fast and their leaves are becoming big and almost the size of the pots so we will be transferring them soon. I have also fed them the last feed of root juice (as per the feeding chart I was already feeding them past week 1). Good news is that the smaller plant R is growing its new leaves quite symmetrically so it probably didn’t want to focus too much energy on growing the first leaves but the new ones look very healthy. What we noticed today as well is that they are starting to smell so lovely!!! 😍 (but only if you smell really close). Can’t wait to seem them grow bigger and bigger! Day 13 05/06: The girls are growing big and strong and their leaves and stems are looking super healthy. The colour of the leaves doesn’t translate well because of the lights but they are both a really dark green and the new leaves are a lighter green (not quite as yellow as they seem in some pictures). They grew so much in one day that they definitely need to be transplanted tomorrow, which will be a lovely way to end the second week! The temperature has been stable throughout the day between 26-28C and the humidity between 45-50%. Day 14 06/06: Today was transplanting day! We carefully took out the plants in the soil and planted them into 18L square pots. They had massive roots so it was a good time to transplant into bigger pots! We are using all organic soil and nutrients so the soil that will be used for the rest of the grow is Plagron All Mix which has nutrients already in it. This was not my first choice as I initially wanted BioBizz All Mix or Plagron Batmix but they had ran out of stock of those unfortunately for us. However, as the soil is still organic and has a good composition it should work just fine with the BioBizz nutrients. I fed them some BioBizz Bio Heaven before the transplant (1ml/500ml between three plants), which should promote nutrient absorption. However, for the next week we will be feeding them just water for as we want them to adjust to the new soil and make sure they do not get nutrient burn.

Day 15 (07/06): The girls seem to be adjusting well to the transplant and still growing at the same rate and will probably start growing faster when the roots start absorbing the nutrients! We are keeping a close eye on the leaves to make sure we notice any changes in colouring as soon as possible. Today I have just sprayed them a few times during the day to cool them down a little bit and the temperature has been at 28C during the day and 25C during the “night” and the humidity remains stable between 45-50%. Day 16 (08/06): The girls are growing well! There is not much change now in terms of updates but they are growing really fast! It looks like there is a new set of leaves popping up every day. Oh and also they are starting to smell quite a bit when the tent is opened! I am noticing that the stems are growing stronger too. I also fed them just water today, about 300ml each into the centre of the pot where the roots are. Day 17 (09/06): Today on plant A I saw the first pistils starting to show on the stem and around some of the leaves! It’s so exciting how quick they are growing and they should be ready for training soon. Now that they are bigger, I am keeping the humidity at 40-45% and watering every other day so today I just sprayed the leaves twice during the day. I think the roots have also reached the nutrients in the new soil because the girls have grown a lot compared to yesterday, especially the new leaves along the stem. Can’t wait to see plant R get some pistils soon as well! Day 18 (10/06): This morning I noticed some yellowing on the new leaves of plant R and not sure whether it is a nutrient burn from the soil or if it is just having some growth issues as it has been. I am keeping an eye on it to make sure that there are no other leaves that get this problem. So far, all the other leaves are a deep dark green and look very healthy so time will tell. Other than that, they are growing strong and they seem to be happy with the temperatures, lights and environment. Day 19 (11/06): Today plant R caught up and has tiny pistils as well on the top part of the trunk! It also looks like plant R is growing out the burned leaves and there seem to be no more burns but will still keep a close eye. Wonder why that happened and whether it was a little temporary shock she had experiences after being transplanted. But I am happy how well they are growing and the trucks are getting nice and thick as well which is a good sign of healthy roots. Day 20 (12/06): Not that many updates today, both girls are growing well. Today the humidity has been stable between 45-50% as usual and I am not having to moisten the tent as often anymore which I assume is because of higher moisture content because the area of soil has increased. The girls are smelling great and the leaves are looking healthy as well. As they seem to have been fine from the transplant and the new soil, today’s watering will be the last water-only feeding and from day 22 I will start giving them more BioBizz nutrients. Day 21 (13/06): Today the girls are looking healthy and growing really well, it looks like they are not focusing the energy on growing the buds more than the leaves as I’m noticing the leaves are not growing as fast but there are little hairs peaking out everywhere on the stems and where there is new growth. We will begin with low stress training tomorrow to make sure that there is enough time to train them before they enter the flowering stage. Not that many updates today, just growing strong and healthy! I guess next week will be most important for plant development as we will also be starting the first nutrients.

Day 22 (14/06): Today is the big day, it’s the start of training! This morning I noticed that the plants are in early flowering and the colas are starting to show so we decided to train them during week 4 so they are ready to flower in week 5. We will be using only low stress training as this is our first grow but we will be adjusting the training twice a day. Before we started training, I fed them 500ml each of water with BioBizz BioGrow (1ml/L) and BioHeaven (2ml/L), and this is what they will be fed every other day for the next week (because the soil gets dry quite quickly even when checking an inch deep). After this week, I will give them nutrients for better flowering too. So we started training our own plants and actually my other half was showing me on my plant (A) how to tie the garden wire and cut one of the little stems! I quickly tied it to a more sturdy one but I don’t know whether it will survive or if I will have to cut it off. I guess will have to see what happens to it but if it cannot heal then I will cut it off. Day 23 (15/06): Continuing the training today, trying to expose all the new colas so that there is enough light for them to catch up to the main colas. The training is going well and the girls are quite easy to manoeuvre with the wire. As for the stem that got cut on plant A, it is forming a crust but I am not sure whether it will connect back together (the cut was quite deep and it was holding my only a few of its strings). I am still keeping it tied to a nearby leaf in hopes that it might recover during this week. The actual cola on the broken stem is still the same colour and not showing any deficiencies but I am not sure whether it is getting nutrients so I guess time will tell. Day 24 (16/06): Today we are continuing with the training, we basically train them every morning as we wake up and then around 8 hours later before lights out and it works quite well. Today I fed them their nutrients and as I assume the roots are now reaching all of the soil, I have watered all over with a bit more water (800 ml per plant). I feed them in the mornings now so they can time to absorb the nutrients throughout the day. I am also keeping the cut stem of plant A tied down to the nearby leaf and haven’t touched it today but the colour of the leaves hasn’t changed and it seems to be growing, hopefully it will recover soon! Day 25 (17/06): Not many updates today, just keeping up with the training and making sure all of the colas are always exposed to the light so they can all get light during flowering. For plant A with the cut stem, it have tied the top of the cola down to expose the two smaller colas underneath but still keeping it tied to the nearby leaf. It seems to be doing well and not losing any colour in the leaves and the colas are growing still as well. Day 26 (18/06): Today we’ve noticed that there is a leaf that had dried up on plant R. We did a quick google search and it could be a number of things such as temperatures being too hot or over-watering so it is difficult to pinpoint what exactly the problem is. However, it seems like that has only happened to one leaf and the rest are completely normal so we don’t think it is something to worry about unless more leaves will start drying out. I’ve also noticed that both plants have a purple-ish tint to the stems that are growing leaves (the bud stems seem to be purely green). I’ve also quickly read about this and it seems like it could either be because of the exposure to the light, making it a little “tan” or it could be magnesium deficiency but since it is only slightly purple and not as red/purple as on the pictures online, it don’t think it is anything to worry about either. Will keep a close eye on them. Day 27 (19/06): Not that many updates today but the training is going well and we are not having to readjust the training that much anymore. We just adjust some of the stems that are already tied down to give some space to those that are growing underneath that might not be getting enough light. Also move the leaves out of the way of the buds. I am still feeding them 800ml each and it seems to last 2-3 days but I do let the soil get quite dry so I will be increasing the watering to 1L each at next watering because I think the girls are taking up much more water now if the soil is able to get dry within even one day. Day 28 (20/06): Today is the close of week 4, the girls are doing very well and plant A is showing a lot of budlets with pistils and plant R is catching up. Both of them are trained pretty well and we will just slightly adjust the stems as new ones grow. We are finding this strain quite difficult to manage as it is very bushy and the leaves are quite close to the cola stems so it is hard to open up space for the new buds to grow. In comparison, we have another strain that is Royal AK and it is much less bushy and easier to train. Nevertheless, they are doing great and plant A’s cut stem seems to be healing and the buds are not affected.

Day 29 (21/06): Today started week 5 with bad news in the morning. We were adjusting some stems with the garden wire and my other half has accidentally snapped off his top cola… 😰 This was extremely upsetting as plant R was already behind so this will stunt its growth quite a lot. Essentially, my partner did not realise how hard the main trunk has gotten and was trying to tie down the main cola a bit more to give space to the new ones growing underneath and he did not loosen it up enough and it snapped almost completely off. We tried to remedy it by sticking it together with tape and trying to add a stick to support it with some wire (similar to what I did with plant A) but after a few hours the broken cola was already wilting so we removed it… This is quite sad that this has happened to an auto which will struggle to recover. As a lesson for the future, make sure to bend it a lot before tying it with garden wire and making sure that the stem is already not too stiff. I did also feed them today and increased their water to 1L each per two days with the same nutrients. Day 30 (22/06): Not too many updates today. Plant R seems to be doing okay after the top snapped and the wound seems to be healing. Hopefully, it doesn't stunt the growth of it too much since it is already the one that’s behind. Other than that it looks like they are doing pretty well and new leaves and pistils keep growing which will form new colas. We paused on the training and will just adjust it when the new colas grow bigger. Day 31 (23/06): The girls are doing well today, still growing and smelling nice! Plant A has a lot of new growth appearing and I am struggling to give it space because there are so many leaves all over. I just wish that they would grow a bit longer so I could spread them out a bit more. Plant R is still doing well after the accident, I think it is still growing and has not stunted its growth that much. Today and the next few days will be hot in the Netherlands and even today the temperatures were reaching 30-31C, so I have prepared two frozen bottles which I will be replacing throughout the day, hopefully that helps the temperatures. Watered them today with the normal nutrients for now. Day 32 (24/06): Today I noticed quite high concentrations of trichomes on the leaves of plant R! There are some on plant A as well but not as many. It’s a bit hard to take a close up picture, but looking through a 60x loupe that we have, they are definitely trichomes. I was a bit confused as to why they are showing up so early because from what I gathered online the trichomes should be developing on leaves towards the end of flowering. However, I did also read that it depends on the strain and whether the light received is full spectrum (which ours is) so it might be just how the Green Gelato strain grows. Still, quite exciting! Day 33 (25/06): Today was a really hot day, when I woke up the temperature was at 32C so I quickly replaced the frozen bottles to decrease it. Also as it is summer and it is getting hotter during the afternoon, we will be slowly adjusting the lights times over the next week to have lights off between 12pm and 6pm (it is currently between 5pm and 11pm). We got a timer for our lights so I will be changing it by one hour earlier every day. So today will be the first day of adjusting it by an hour. Day 34 (26/06): Today is the last day of the heatwave but it was definitely the hottest, temperature inside the tent in the morning was 34C. I’ve managed to drop it down to 31C but it stayed at 31C the whole day, and thankfully it stated raining towards the nighttime so the temperature dropped to 28C. Unfortunately there was not much we could do because we are suffering from the heat ourselves, hopefully this heatwave doesn’t affect their growth too much. Other than that, I think they are doing well. I fed them 1L of water with the normal nutrients and I think that Plant A will definitely be ready for BioBloom and Tom Max nutrients at next feeding at the beginning of week 5, but I might wait a little before giving Plant R the flowering nutrients. Day 35 (27/06): Today the temperatures have decreased by the tent was still quite hot so I sprayed some water a few times to cool the girls down and still using ice bottles to cool down the overall temperature inside. I also noticed that there were some yellow leaves at the bottom of plant A which I’m surprised I haven’t seen as they were yellowing but it is so hard to tell because of how bushy it is. I started inspecting them and the lowest (and oldest) fan leaves literally fell off as I touched them (see picture) and so I had to throw them away. I had a read online and it could be because of literally anything: too much nutrients/not enough nutrients, underwatering/overwatering, temperatures being too high, bottom leaves not getting enough of the light, etc. So it is a little hard to pin point but considering that Plant R has no yellow leaves despite the same nutrients and environment I would say that the cause is most likely that the leaves were not getting enough sun and were getting too hot under the canopy and started to crisp up. Hopefully this doesn’t affect the plant too much but I am now monitoring much more closely!

Day 36 (28/06): The girls are doing well today, we readjusted some of the stems and I am checking the bottom leaves more carefully now on both plants to make sure that there are no other signs of problems. I also decided not to water the girls today because the soil was quite wet and I want to avoid over watering to eliminate that as the cause of yellowing of leaves for sure. The temperature is getting lower so it stayed below 30C today with the ice bottle still inside but I’ve had to spray today to increase the humidity so we will definitely consider buying a humidifier for the next grow to control the environment a little easier. Day 37 (29/06): This morning I noticed that there were more yellowing leaves on Plant A but this time it was smaller leaves on the lowest branches. I googled around and found that it could either be nitrogen deficiency because it’s lower leaves or just because the first lower leaves do not get enough light. I asked the question on Grow Diaries from other growers and one grower suggested that it is not a deficiency and that it is just the natural drying of leaves that don’t receive much light (thank you Major Coma). I wanted to make sure which one other people thought it was because I planned to start giving both plants flowering nutrients (BioBloom and TopMax. However, if it was a nitrogen deficiency, BioBloom has a little additional nitrogen so I hope the problem get’s fixed. So at the moment all three of the girls in the tent are being fed BioGrow (1ml/L), BioHeaven (2ml/L), BioBloom (1ml/L) and TopMax (1ml/L). I will be keeping a very close eye on the bottom leaves of both plants now to make sure that they are not developing yellowing on the newer leaves. Day 38 (30/06): There are still yellow leaves that are falling off of plant A closer to the bottom but there are still leaves closer to the top of the main stem that are going yellow as well. I hope that if it is a nutrient deficiency that adding BioBloom to the mix of nutrients will add the extra nitrogen it needs, however it could just be because the leaves are now getting enough light (all the leaves affected are below in the dark. I was also reading more about this and because the leaves are drying as well it could be because of the stress from high temperatures that we experienced during the heatwave. The tent is remaining just below 30C now without the heatwave which is a bit high but we are struggling to decrease the temperature even with the frozen bottles. Day 39 (01/07): There are still more of the big fan leaves becoming more yellow and a leaf fell off. I’m really worried and unsure because based on what I have read it seems to be a nitrogen deficiency with the leaves drying as well as being yellow. I can see a few of the big fan leaves right now that are yellowing so I will be keeping an eye on them and seeing if any more get yellow besides those because so many leaves shouldn’t be going yellow even if they are not getting enough light at the bottom. But plant R is doing well in terms of leaves in comparison and it not showing any yellowing which is a bit confusing for me. Day 40 (02/07): Plant A is still having issues with leaves yellowing more even though I have waited to see if it would stop after feeding it a few days ago. Also noticed some of the fan leaves on AK (the other strain in the tent) which got me thinking… Based on what I was reading online, I think I might be giving them too little water at each feeding. I give them 1L each and it lasts 2-3 days (2.5 days realistically because I feed them at different times and just check for the soil being dry enough at a few inches deep). What this could be doing is maybe there are roots all the way at the bottom which are not receiving enough water with the nutrients (because I do not see run off when I water them) and it could be just not absorbing all of the nutrients that it is being fed (or absorbing only a fraction). So today I will increase the feeding to 1.5L per plant with the same nutrients (although I still did not see runoff but I don’t want to drown them). I will see if this helps in stopping the yellowing and judge from there. Towards the evening I also noticed that Plant A’s leaves were up as if it was “praying” to the light and I have read that it could mean that it’s either happy or it has too much light. I also noticed that all of the plants in the tent have burned tips of some leaves which could indicate that they are receiving too much light but I will be posting that as a question to fellow growers at the end of the week. Day 41 (03/07): Plant A had a big leaf fall today with 4 more yellow leaves falling off from the bottom. Now there are only 2 big fan leaves left that are yellow which makes it a lot easier to track any new yellow leaves. Other than that I’ve also noticed that all of the plants in the tent are starting to get dry tips, but only the very tips Day 42 (04/07): Today we noticed mould on Plant A (and also on the AK) on the two fan leaves that were going yellow and dry. So we decided to remove those so that other leaves don’t get mouldy too. So now plant A is very clean and does not show any yellow leaves. I did however noticed that there are some burn dots on some of the leaves, will be asking that as a grow question because I have no idea what it could be.

Day 43 (05/07): The temperatures were still staying at 30 degrees throughout the past week for all of the girls in the tent and although the frozen bottles help reduce it by a few degrees, it wasn’t really working well at keeping it below 28C. So we have decided to decrease the intensity of the light to about 80% because at the moment it seemed like it was doing more harm than good at 100% intensity and putting the girls through stress. We’ll see if this helps throughout the next week but I’m hoping to keeping temperatures below 28C while they are in flower. I have also watered the girls today with 1.5L of the normal nutrients (but I did increase BioHeaven to 3ml per 1.5L which is still a bit less than suggested by the chart) and I did see run off at the bottom for both pots so that’s a good sign that the nutrients are reaching the roots at the very bottom. I did also notice that there was a dry yellowing leaf at the bottom of the canopy for plant R but I am sure that it’s because it is not receiving enough light there. Plant A looks really clean now at the bottom after the old leaves have all either fallen off or been removed so it will be easy to see if there are any nutrient deficiencies. Day 44 (06/07): The temperatures today have already been better and it was at 28C when I woke up which means that turning the lights down a bit to 80% intensity is definitely helping. While the lights were on, the temperatures have been between 26-28C and 23-24C during lights off. Also I forgot to mention this in a diary but the GGs smells soooo strong and every time we touch them they are super sticky. The smell gives off hints of grapefruit/sweet citrus to me, which smells incredible and much stronger than the AK Royal sister. Day 45 (07/07): The lights being at 80% intensity has really helped, now we are seeing 26C-28C during lights on even without the frozen bottles inside. I am not seeing any more leaves turn yellow as well on either Plant A or R which is a good sign. The buds of plant A are actually really big at the moment but plant R seems to be about 2 weeks behind. In the end, it might product smaller buds but I think it might be more potent. But time will tell, I am just glad that the environment is getting better for the girls! We will also be buying a humidifier finally to control the humidity better throughout the day as it tends to jump around. Day 46 (08/07): Not that many updates about the girls today. The temperatures are remaining low after decreasing the light intensity to 80% which is great. I am also keeping an eye on the yellow leaf of Plant R to make sure it does not get mouldy because I want to wait for it to fall off on its own but at the same time don’t want it to be mouldy and spread to other leaves. Day 47 (09/07) The temperatures remain quite low, the highest it has gotten was 30C overnight but did decrease to 27C during the day. I also fed the girls today changed the nutrients based on the feedback that I have received on my grow questions to reduce the nitrogen in flowering and use two third of the recommended nutrients. So from now on I will use 2/3 of the recommended BioGrow (so 1ml/1.5L). I have read that with BioBizz nutrients it is still important to keep giving it BioGrow until the end because of the phosphorous and other important nutrients it needs during flowering. I have also changed the dosage of BioHeaven to 3ml/1.5L (recommended 3ml/L) and even though it’s not an NPK nutrient but rather a booster, I still didn’t want to give too much. I am also giving them 2ml/1.5L of BioBloom (recommended 2ml/1L) and I decided to stick to the recommended dose of Top Max (1.5ml/1.5L) because it is also a booster so it can increase the size and weight of the buds. Day 48 (10/07): There are so many trichomes and I have noticed that the pistils are starting to brown a little bit which could signify that they will be ready for harvest in a few weeks. Can’t wait! Plant A’s main bud looks beautiful and almost picture perfect. Hopefully there will be no troubles with leaves and both the plants can focus their energy on growing some tasty buds. Day 49 (11/07): Not that many updates today, just that I was a little concerned about plant R’s size of buds compared to plant A but then when I had a closer look, plant R is just not growing buds at the very top but when I looked from the side the bud sizes are quite decent. I think I will give it a little bit more top max at the next feed to see if that helps increase the size of the buds a little. However, I do think it will be quite potent just based on how many trichomes is has and how sticky it is already!

Day 50 (12/07): Already week 8, can’t believe it! The grow seems to be going great and I have not noticed any more leaves turning yellow on both the girls so that’s a good sign. The tips of both are a bit dry but hopefully they will not be damaged more since the light is on 80% intensity and it is quite far from them. There are so many trichomes and I have noticed that the pistils are starting to brown a little bit which could signify that they will be ready for harvest in a few weeks! Day 51 (13/07): Today I fed all of the girls and as they are in a week 8 now, they need more nutrients and supplements as they are growing so many buds now. I am keeping the dose of BioGrow at 1ml/1.5L (2/3rd of recommended) for the rest of the grow so that the nitrogen levels aren’t too high. I will also be keeping the BioHeaven to 3ml/1.5L (recommended 3ml/L) and might only increase it towards the end when the plant needs to uptake nutrients. I have increased the BioBloom since last week and it is now at 3ml/1.5L (recommended 3ml/L). For the TopMax the recommended is 1.5ml/1.5L but I have decided to feed them 2ml/1.5L so increase the size of buds (especially for plant R which I think it really needs), but it should be fine as it is a booster. Day 52 (14/07): Not that many updates today, the girls are doing well, plant A is deep green with no more yellow leaves and plant R still has the yellowing leaf at the bottom but other than that it is deep green as well. The humidity has been at 45% as usual and the temperatures are finally stable at 26-27C at lights on, which is really good conditions for the girls at flowering now. Day 53 (15/07): Today I wanted to check the progress of the trichomes and I checked with a jeweller’s loupe (60x) and they are still clear but there is definitely more now. But I really love how nice the buds are looking and smelling now and I will be checking the trichomes more often now as well. Day 54 (16/07): Not that many updates today, just the buds are thickening up nicely even on the AK where the lower parts of the bud that are covered by the top leaves are definitely getting bigger. Day 55 (17/07): The soil does not seem dry enough to water today so I will water them tomorrow as I don’t want to overwater them at this flowering stage especially. The temperature is doing good and remaining under 28C and the humidity is stable at 45%. Day 56 (18/07): Today we have finally received our humidifier so we can control the RH better! Obviously at the moment the humidity is quite good but I wanted to try it today because the temperatures were reaching 30C again and I put it on the lowest setting to see what humidity it would reach. The tent humidity was between 50-55% which is good to know but I did turn it off for “lights off” because it was going above 55%. I have also fed the girls today with the same nutrients as at the last feeding but did not see much runoff so perhaps they might need a water increase to 2L after the next few feedings.

Day 57 (19/07): Today I checked the trichomes at 60x magnification again today and they are looking really good, I would say that half are clear and half are now cloudy. The pistils have also pretty much all dried up and I think that the girls will be reading for a flush soon already! I will ask for opinions of other growers towards the end of week 9 when the trichomes are all cloudy. Day 58 (20/07): The girls are looking good today and the buds are definitely looking more and more like they are taking their beautiful form. I am very curious to see what the weight difference will be of the final product between the two. Day 59 (21/07): I am now checking the trichomes very frequently and today in the evening I already saw a few amber trichomes on Plant A and a little bit less on plant R. I went so quickly from cloudy to amber that I didn’t even have to decide about flushing. I think I will keep growing them still a few more days and at the next watering (probably last) will not give them any nutrients and just feed 1.5L of water. The AK is how ready however so I will have to make a box for these girls to dry in while the AK still finishes growing in the tent. Will think of ideas for drying box tomorrow. Day 60 (22/07): Today I watered the girls with just 1.5L of plain water because I think they are ready for harvest soon. Checking the trichomes, there are more and more trichomes turning amber so maybe I will even harvest at the end of the week. As the AK will still need a week or two, I will be cutting down the Green Gelatos, trimming them and handing them on coat hangers and inside a big box. The box will have loads of holes for ventilation and it will be standing below and a bit to the side of the ventilation pipe that is the exhaust of the tent (we do not have a second fan so this will have to do for now). I have currently set up the box in the place that it will be and put a hygrometer inside to test for temperature and humidity so I can understand what the environment in the room will need to be. The room itself where the tent and box are is quite small so it should be easy to control the environment. The only concern is smell but hopefully the AK can catchup by the time and drying buds can be moved into the tent. Day 61 (23/07): Today the first thing I noticed is that Plant A’s fan leaves have started to go yellow which is because of the “flush” as she is not receiving nutrients anymore. There are definitely more amber trichomes now but still not enough over the whole plant. For example, the main bud has the highest concentration of amber trichomes but on the other buds there are still only a few, so they both need more time. Day 62 (24/07): The girls look good today and I keep checking the trichomes but they are still roughly the same as yesterday. I will need to assess closer to the end of the week if they are ready to be harvested or will need to go onto the next week. Day 63 (25/07): Today I was taking another look at the trichomes and there seem to be more amber ones on both plants but not too many more. I will be assessing tomorrow whether to harvest them or to water them and leave them to grow for a few more days. I tried to include some pictures of close up trichomes to show the amber colours but it is quite difficult to get so close and be able to focus.

Day 64 (26/07): I was planning on harvesting today both Plant A and R but upon closer inspection there were amber trichomes mainly on the sugar leaves but not that much on the actual bud. So I will water them today and wait a few more days under the soil is dry for them to become a bit more ready with the trichomes. I first actually watered with the normal 1.5L but then did not see any run off at all so decided to water with a total of 2L of plain water for each girl. Day 65 (27/07): Today when checking the trichomes there are still about 10% of amber trichomes on the plants overall. I would say the concentration of amber trichomes is quite similar in both plants at the moment so I think they should be ready to harvest together. I will need to check them closer to the time though to make the final decision. Day 66 (28/07): Today I saw a SEED in plant A, it was just sticking out from one of the buds! I’ve read that seeding can be induced by stress or over-matureness. They have definitely suffered through a lot of stress with high temperatures and unstable humidity before the humidifier so that is possible. It is also possible that plant A has over-matured and I have left it too long because it has looked ready for harvest. I have just been waiting on the trichomes to get more amber but I was planning on harvesting it tomorrow anyway. Plant R now has more amber on its sugar leaves but still same on the buds. Day 67 (29/07): Today is the big day to harvest one of the girls, Plant A! I checked the trichomes this morning and I was happy with how many ambers there were and how plump the buds were. I will be including the pictures and some videos on next week’s harvest week alongside Plant R so it’s not confusing. The process went well and I wet trimmed it and froze the sugar leaves as we will be making bubble hash from those. I tried to trim off as many leaves as I could but it was taking a while so I left some tiny ones in so it helps the buds not dry too fast as well. I have put the buds to dry in a box just outside the tent with some holes to make sure that it is ventilated. When I put the buds in the temperature was 24.8C and humidity was at 47%. For plant R I think it still needs one or two days because the amber trichomes are not quite there yet. Day 68 (30/07): Happy days, Plant R was harvested today so now both of the girls are finally drying. We did the same process as with the first one and have now put them both into the same box to dry as our third girl is still finishing up in the tent. I guess this marks the last day of the diary and we are not even fully finished with the week. Plant A’s wet weight was 150g with the sticks and plant R was 120g, so should be a great overall harvest when dried and cured. We will now be letting the girls dry for a few days and I will be posting the pictures of the harvest and the final weight before we put them away to cure. I am making sure to maintain the humidity inside the box between 45-55% and have put a dehumidifier to control this as well. Hopefully nothing bad happens during the drying!

The grow was good, we messed up a few times such as cutting one of the bud sites of Plant A when training but it ended up healing, and cutting off completely the main bud of Plant R which made it produce a lot of trichomes probably to try to survive. We struggled in the beginning with humidity because we did not have a humidifier but the girls were very resistant to the heat and low humidity and their growth was not stunted. I was surprised by how small their roots were in the end which is maybe why they were both quite small. Other than that it was quite easy to grow them and the end result was good so very happy with the grow!