First time grow - Green for lockdown

So I have decided to start my diary post germination and right before transplant. So far I have kept the plant on a 18-6 light schedule for 2-3 weeks, 4ft away from the 600w light, I have not given it any nutrients yet and I have only checked the PH a few times. The PH is just below ideal, but I have not focused on it hugely until I am adding the nutrients. I have been watering with a spray bottle with adjustable nozzle so I can water the soil and mist the leaves and tent walls for humidity. As this is my very first time growing, any tips, warnings and/or guidelines would be very appreciated. I have done a lot of research prep on all aspects of growing for weeks and I have amassed a 4500 word doc as my bible, which I am constantly updating and correcting. That being said, nothing beats experience. I am fairly familiar with the phrases and abbreviations, but if help is given, please be patient with me. Very excited to be sharing this learning process and I look forward to being part of the respected grow diary community :-) W1D1 - Transplant to larger pot and first day of nutrients. W1D2 - Settled into new pot, no harsh reaction from transplant or nutes so far. W1D3 - Still going strong. Moved the light closer now she's recovered from the transplant so expecting a burst of energy soon. W1D4 - Nutes starting to do there thing, can see some nice progress now. W1D5 - A lot of new lower growth overnight, should be ready for topping and LST by next week. W1D6 - Slowly starting to up the nutes and may increase the water, she's getting thirsty with size. W1D7 - Continued growth, no signs of any negative ailments so good first week all around 😁

OK so first week of the diary went well. I have learned a lot in the first week and have also been surprised by the speed of growth. For a start, I presumed my plant was just coming into the veg phase after seedling. As it turns out by how fast it grew, it was actually the last week of veg 😄 She has already begun to flower so my plans have changed a bit. I was planning on topping and LST this week but seeing how she is early flowering, and an auto-flower, topping this late would probably do more harm than good. I have however just done my first LST and as mad as it might sound, she already seems to be reacting positively and its only been 6 hours! Fastbuds seem to have really lived up to their name and reputation 👌 The strain is a power house from what I can see and the speed of growth is really surprising. The fact pineapple express loves the added heat has helped me out a lot as Im running one plant under a 600w lamp, so next time 2 or 3 might be a better idea. I will keep this weeks progress updated and thanks for the help so far 👍 W2D1 - Have implemented LST and have switched from root juice to bio grow to push growth with the plant flowering. I have also switched to a 12-12 light cycle too and up'd the water per day W2D2 - She reacting really well to the LST! Having received so solid advise (Thank you Clutch 👍) and doing a lot more research on auto-flower, I have decided to keep the light cycle long. To keep the price of electricity down I wont be running 20-4, but I know the more light the better. W2D3 - Lower stems still stretching for light so LST is working a treat! W2D4 - Had a bit of a heat issue today so she is a bit deflated but should recover with water. W2D6 - Solid growth and she is starting to smell good 😁 W2D7 - Secondary Colas starting to catch uo to the main now. LST was a great success.

Last week went great! LST has worked its magic and the secondary sits are catching up quickly to the main colas. At this rate, they will be roughly the same size by week 4 and will have started to fatten out. For the first half of this week I will be keeping the nutrients the same but I plan on increasing they amount as time passes. Thank you for the helpful comments and I will keep the diary up to date as the week progresses 👍 W3D1 - All going well. Had a slight over-water issue which caused some wilting but it recovered in a few hours. W3D2 - She's enjoying the nutes and I've done some light LST to 2 more areas that had accelerated growth. W3D3 - Starting to fatten out now already. Multiple bud sites really getting white. W3D4 - Found 2 of the larger fan leaves on the largest cola but not to worried about it currently. Might raise it as a question if I become concerned. W3D5 - Just up the nutes again so hoping to trigger more growth.

Another positive week of growth down. She is really starting to smell now tho! Not an overpower weed smell, more like fresh cut grass mixed with citrus, so its definitely pineapple express 😄👌 I have been monitoring an issue with large fan leaves on the main cola for 2 weeks now, which almost overnight has become more prominent. I will raise it as a question below. I have a few idea's as to what might have caused it, but since its only 2 old fan leaves I'm not too worried. So starting this week I have changed a few things in the setup. The 600w bulb for 1 plant was just too much, so I switched it for a 250w bulb and moved the light a lot closer. As I am running a cheaper light and closer, I have also decided to up the hour of light to 20, potentially increasing to 24 later in flowering stage. Interesting to see what affects this will have on the plant but I am hoping for no change at the least. Thank you again for another helpful week on grow diaries and I will keep all progress for the week up to date. W4D1 - She's bulking up and starting to smell now 😁 Yellowing fans leaves issue has made a jump tho so guidance will be needed. W4D2 - New light in and no noticeable change in behavior as yet. W4D3 - Yellowing of the leaves has increased. The 2 affected leaves have degraded and 2 more of the old fans leaves have began to turn. Still no resolution. W4D4 - She still looks perky and is still developing, but the yellowing is increasing in other area's. Mostly still on the main colas but hints in other area's now. W4D5 - So I have begun the process of flushing the plant and soil. Potential issues are nute-lockout, potassium deficiency, PH in-balance or a calmag deficiency. Yellowing is spreading, but slowly. After flush and ph balance water for a few days I will reintroduce nutrients at half the recommended. MORE HELP AND GUIDANCE IS NEEDED.

So after a stressful week of unknown presumptions, it turns out she's a health girl! After flushing it does appear the PH of the run off is closer to the PH of the water going in so I will be resuming my feeding and will pay a little bit more attention to PH levels. The yellowing seems to have been caused by the natural cycle of the plant in the phase of flowering it is in. Removing the nutrients may have accelerated this slightly but Im not to fussed as the PH has been corrected. Thank you to @Clutch and @High_Grade_Dadli for you helpful suggestions 👌 Looking forward to another productive week of growth and as always I will keep my diary up to date. Enjoy. W5D1 - Hairs all over are beginning to turn orange and the citrisy smell is definitely getting stronger 😁 W5D3 - Yellowing looks less aggressive and the buds are definitely fattening. Increased the top max to align her demands W5D6 - Oh boy is she fattening out! Bud growth is in overdrive all over the plant. Not concerned by the yellowing as she is health as can be. Not long to wait now 😍

Another week down, probably 2 more to go! The main cola is Fat and ready, but the side colas still need time to ripen. Starting LST late I believe is the reason for this but its not really an issue as in theory, I could probably begin to flush and cure now. Yellowing has increased on the main colas but thats its drive to the finish. My hope is removing these fan leaves may encourage growth to the other regions but time will tell. I will be increasing the nutrients to also try and promote growth and I'll be uping the water ever so slightly as she is very thirsty now. As always I will be keeping track of all progress so thanks for following along 👍 W6D4 - Reacting well to the boost in nutes and water and Oooooh the smell 😍

Buds are maturing nicely. The main colas sugar leaves have started to turn orange and purple and we are at about 50% orange hairs all over 😁 Other colas are maybe a week behind but we'll see how things progress. Still no issues with the bump in nutes so I take it she is happy. Pineapple Express is the perfect beginner strain! Sturdy, robust and lovely size so far, even for a complete beginner like myself 👌 I will keep an update of how she is getting on as the week progresses 👍

She just keeps going!! So I was planning on beginning my 1-2 week flush today but as of the last few days, the bud sites have begun sprouting fresh white hairs all over. The main colas has about 50-60% orange hairs and beginning to curl but the other bud sites are still a bit behind. I have decided to give her another week on the nutes before making the switch to water at the start of next week. The yellowing around the plant has accelerated and brown patches have appeared on many leaves but unless Im told otherwise, I believe this is natural for the stage of flowering she is in. Apart from some light trimming of proper yellow/brown and crisping leaves, I have left her to do her thing. Really looking forward to tasting my product once its done, its been a great learning experience! As usual, I will keep my diary up to date and thanks for all the support throughout 😁👍

So this is the final week before harvest 😬 I have already started the flushing process after reducing her nutes by half for 3 days last week before giving her just water for the last 4 days. This week I will feed her just water and on Monday next week I will cut her down and begin drying. As seen from the pics, some of the leafs are really drying out now as she sucks all available nutes from herself. I did some light defoliation of the dead or close to dead leafs during last week which had no negative effects that I can see ie wilting etc. I will hang her up in the tent with no light and extractor fan on for 5-15 days depending on water content before placing the buds in jars for as long as I can hold out (minimum 2 week, ideal is 2 months) This has been a fantastically enjoyable experience, especially during lockdown. Corona was the final straw to starting my own grow and it will be a hobby I will actively participate in for the rest of my life. I cant recommend it enough for any smokers who have the space and time to learn more about your favorite pastime. Thanks again for all the great assistance from the community and I will keep my diary up to date with all my progress. Happy growing 👍😁

The end is nigh! She has been chopped, trimmed and is hanging to dry. As mentioned above but needs to be repeated, FastBuds Pineapple express is the PERFECT first time grower strain. Stood up to everything and then some. All issues I had during the grow were down to me, but she just kept going. Strain aside, I have truly loved the experience and satisfaction from home growing and would recommend to all who can. I would like to particularly thank @Clutch and @Rebelgoose for all your help throughout. Dont think I could have got through the beginners panic without you so thanks 😅💪. So to the harvest. After the chop and trim she came out at 367 grams. I know this will drop considerably once she has dried and been cured but WOW. So impressed! I am hanging her in the tent for 7-15 days with the fan running constantly and the carbon filter on a timer for when she gets stinky. I will check in after day 4 and see how the little ones are doing. I wanted to keep the main colas intact because... I mean... LOOK AT THAT THING!!! It will probably take the 15 day for her to dry out but the pic's will be worth it. Obviously there is a time to go before I can fully finish the diary but I will keep it updated on all progress and results. Thanks again to the community for the help 👏👊 Return for final conclusion. Having smoked and handed out a lot of the weed at this stage I have to say, I am impressed. For my first attempt, I have had glowing reviews from all who have sampled. Nobody, including myself, expected to have anything near this good once I was finished. This obviously isn't the greatest grow in history or the dankest smoke imaginable, but the pineapple express is gorgeous! Great high, easy smoke and beautiful smell. I may be biased towards it as its my starter strain, but it is now one of my favorites! I will definitely be returning to the strain in future grows. A breeze to grow with its resilience and a joy to smoke. For my next grow I will be doing 2 strains I think. 1 indica, 1 sativa. Once this begins, hopefully by mid spring 2021, I will keep you all up to date with progress. Peace peeps, thanks again ✊