Tangerine Balcony

AleElle After 7 days of germination directly in the pot, here’s my Tangie. The seeds are from Barney's Farm, purchased from Zamnesia, and it germinated on the first try. I can only grow autoflowering strains, and this is my first attempt with the Tangerine Dream Auto, where I hope to find some of the wonderful sensations I experienced in Amsterdam, aware of all the differences... The pot is 25 liters, I used Biobizz light soil on a 5cm layer of expanded clay and raised the pot from the saucer with some clips, all to avoid stagnation. Most of the soil is "second-hand," used for a previous White Widow XXL Auto, dried outside the pot after washing the roots and mixed with new soil, also Biobizz light. For safety, on the fourth and sixth days, I gave the rooting agent BioRoot Plus, 3ml/l in one liter, sprayed only on the soil with a garden sprayer. The balcony is tiny, and the plant only gets 4 and a half hours of direct sunlight, even moving the pot around. We are 500m in a straight line from the sea, hoping to find it in the final flavors. The intent is to feed it as organically as possible and let nature take its course. Let's see what happens...

AleElle The second week started with a bit of fear: while watering with BioRoot Plus, the little plant literally collapsed under the weight of the leaves loaded with droplets sprayed from the gardener's spray. In fact, the stem was very thin compared to the leaves: I suppose this is more of a problem related to the specific conditions of my balcony, but I had this kind of "problem" during a previous grow of Tangerine Dream photoperiod. I propped the plant back up and supported it with a bit of soil at the base. I let 5 cm of soil dry out and gave it BioRoot Plus again, 1 liter, to strengthen the stem. With more than 32° during the hottest hours, the surface of the soil dries out very quickly, so on the eleventh day I watered again, but this time I gave 1 liter of pure water to lower any acidity in the soil and push the rooting agent down, out of reach of the roots, a sort of root wash. The twelfth day was very windy, the little one was bending in a scary way, but it held up well... I think I nailed the restorative care for the stem! Finally, on the thirteenth day, the baby reached 10 cm so I was able to water with BioBizz - Fish Mix, 1ml/l x 2.5l (10% of the pot's capacity) and check that the "drainage system" was working properly. When watering with the gardener's spray, the excess water drains very slowly and the soil remains evenly moist, I like it! It's also worth considering that the plant gets sunlight almost only from the front and the little leaves are orienting themselves on their own: maybe I should try LST and bend the branches in the coming weeks, but I would prefer not to do it because I've never done it and I want to avoid any kind of stress to the plant. After all, if it has to fight my stress, I don't see why it should experience it: sweat_smile: I think I'll go ahead with the NoST - No Stress Training technique 😂 As of today, the little one really seems healthy and the growth seems in line with other grows, even indoor... What do you think? Any advice?

AleElle Houston, we have a problem...maybe... A terrible taste of autumn made its appearance on the eighteenth day, with frightening gusts of wind bending the little plant in all directions, humidity at 95%, and a temperature drop of 12° right after watering the entire substrate with Fish Mix. Result? Despite the drainage working perfectly, the substrate has remained moist and compact until today (another day of overcast skies). Now, 3 leaves have brown, slightly dry, and curled "fingers" (some photos show the extent of the damage) while the rest of the plant seems to continue growing without issues. Could it have been the strong wind? Could it have been the substrate being wet for too long? Gently, I moved a couple of cm of dry substrate towards the edges of the pot, revealing the still moist underneath, waiting for the sun to come back and dry the rest. The growth rate seems unchanged, so I hope I haven't caused too much damage; in fact, I hope I haven't caused any and that the leaf issue is just due to the strong wind (believe me, it was scary enough that I brought the little one inside for almost the whole afternoon). I've definitely learned to check the weather forecast before watering 😅 What do you think?

AleElle We're here, the pre-flowering stage begins!!! At the beginning of the week, we had to be patient; the sun returned quite steadily, but it took another 3 full days before we saw the substrate dry out again and could water, as usual, with BioBizz - Fish Mix 1ml/l x 2l. Despite some leaves (3 in total in the first 2 rows) showing burnt tips, the damage seems unchanged, and I believe at this point it was a problem of too much sun, too much wind, and wet substrate for too many days... At least I hope so, what do you think? It's making me a bit anxious... Other than that, the growth has literally exploded, doubling in height in a week, filling up with side branches and even starting the pre-flowering on the twenty-sixth day! Roughly speaking, between tonight and tomorrow night, I should be able to start feeding it with BioBizz - Fish Mix + Bio Bloom + Top Max... See you next week!

AleElle This week has been a surprise, especially from a weather perspective, with still summery temperatures and almost always clear skies. Following the path of the sun, a little lower than last week and moving the pot accordingly, I managed to give the Tangie an extra hour of sunlight each day. In the end, I opted for "NoST" - No Stress Training - and the little one literally doubled her height to 70cm and stretched the lateral branches to surpass the largest leaves. From the beginning, I had placed the pot on a stool to give her more sun, but for the past two days, I moved it to a lower support because the plant is starting to become visible, but in 2 days, it has again exceeded the maximum allowed height: starting tonight, after watering, the pot will definitely go on the ground... it's basically a little tree now! See you next week!

AleElle Hey beautiful people! The weather miracle from last week has slowly been running out, inevitably making way for thunderstorms and unstable weather days, especially in these last 3 days. The side branches keep growing and surpassing the bigger leaves; I just give a little help to make space for the tops, the rest the plant does on its own. It knows what it wants! I'm a bit worried about the height: we're at the limit, but fortunately, I don't have any buildings too close, and if the curious ones expect 7-point leaves, the Tangerine Auto has only developed 5-point leaves... Cross your fingers for me, we've just passed the halfway mark...

AleElle This has been a really tough week! After the last 3 days of last week, the bad weather continued to batter us for another 4 days. Never seeing the sun! On the first day, in the afternoon, all hell broke loose: gusts of wind tearing the curtains off the balconies and the plant seemed like it was about to snap at any moment. Brought inside, the Tangie was under the bathroom ceiling lights for another 3 days and watered 4 days after the previous watering. In the last 3 days, the sun has come back out, while the little one has stopped growing at just 6cm more than last week, but increasing the number and density of the little buds. Let’s keep going!

AleElle Busy week, variable weather with sudden thunderstorms and spring clearings; one day stuck inside due to rain and strong winds, another day kissed by the sun. Of course, the sun isn't what it used to be, but in general, we're not too far from 25/15°C. Given the conditions, I'm very satisfied. I don't care about the quantity of the harvest: I'm interested in the flavors, the smells, and that feeling of walking on a soft orange cloud, in pure Tangerine Dream style. I love watching the plant grow: I could spend hours admiring its hypnotic beauty, the branches straining to reach the light, the leaves opening up to capture it... I'd like to try planting even after the Tangie, in the middle of winter, maybe using the LST technique and see what happens. Small balcony, not too exposed to the elements, but still outdoors, direct sunlight for about 4 hours a day, 25-liter pot, Biobizz Light Mix soil, BioBizz fertilizers, one plant at a time and 3 possible choices: - Tangerine Dream Auto - Barney's Farm (to have a direct comparison and see how the plant reacts in almost extreme conditions) - Monster Dwarf Auto - Zamnesia - Sticky Beast Auto - Zamnesia What do you recommend?

AleElle Another week has gone by, summer is just a memory, and the sun (when it’s out) doesn’t warm up like it used to. We’re getting close to the end. On the sixty-first day, I started the root washing with 3 liters of tap water... Letting the soil dry takes up to 5 days now, compared to the 2-3 days before. Weather permitting, I should water on day 64, then on day 69, and leave the plant like that until harvest (expected by Barney's Farm around day 75). I started checking the trichomes with a portable microscope: so far, I’ve only managed to see perfectly for a few milliseconds. I really need to get the hang of this microscope because what little I saw was a sight to behold!

AleElle Fortunately, we have the last days of sunshine, but the weather has definitely changed: cold wind is coming from the sea and temperatures are continuously dropping. We're almost at the end: I did the final root wash on the morning of day 68 using only tap water with 3 washes spaced 10 minutes apart for a total of 8 liters, plus the wash from last week. I hope it's enough, considering the nutrients labeled as organic used so far, and I believe it was the last watering to let the substrate dry well before the harvest. I check the trichomes under the microscope, but I'm almost unable to stay still for more than 2 seconds: the best I can do is document the state of the trichomes with my phone... I thought that "the perfect day" could be Sunday, in 3 days, what do you think? How many days do you think it will be the perfect day?

AleElle Another week has passed: the trichomes are starting to become milky, the buds look more and more dense and sticky, and the smell is getting stronger and better. In the end, I could have given them another week of nutrients (in fact, I watered them again with tap water on Saturday) but the smell has definitely improved, much more natural, making my mouth water... Still no amber trichomes, even under the microscope they look milky or clear, let's wait a little longer, what do you think?

AleElle The entire experience with Barney's Farm Tangerine Dream Auto can be summed up in one word: satisfaction. Full, total, absolute satisfaction! During the growth, it was beautiful to get lost in observing every little change, and for that, I have to thank GrowDiaries for the opportunity to share some great moments. Even the "numbers" have been the best I've achieved so far, considering that the Tangie received direct sunlight for only 4 - 5 miserable hours a day (sunlight that was fading right in the last days of flowering): - 270g per plant at harvest - 35g dried (31 buds + 4g popcorn) - 7g sugar leaves (3g Kief) - 35g fan leaves (for roasts 😋). The flavor is warm and enveloping, the aroma simply delightful. After curing, I'll be more precise 😉 The effects on me are exactly what I need: relaxed, creative, cheerful, and pleasantly focused on everything I'm doing; even from a medical standpoint, I've found relief in the pain therapy that, unfortunately, I have to follow. As the only downside, I noted insomnia, although it's not really a downside: with the Tangerine Dream Auto, at bedtime, you are transported onto a warm orange cloud, and everything is so pleasant and relaxing that you willingly sacrifice a few minutes of sleep to fly a little longer... So, all good? Yes, completely satisfied!