$martie's Outdoor Blueberry Cookies

Smartie Good day everyone!! Very proud to present the newest member of our 2020 Outdoor family: Barry, the Blue Cookie Monster aka Blue Barry Monster 😎 Check out Big Brother Jack's Outdoor Adventures: https://growdiaries.com/diaries/76793-green-house-seeds-jack-herer-grow-journal-by-smartie/week/376690 Barry was actually not planned for, more a panic backup when my first Strawberry seed didn't sprouted, let's say an unplanned pregnancy.. We all know that Barry in the family, we might even be a Barry ourselves 😂 All good, I'll take care of it like the others, well.. I ordered just enough amendments to make 60L living soil (2 x 7Gal) + feed (topdress) for 2 plants for the complete growing season. I should have some cured soil left after filling the pots and I still have a bit aeration mix and peat left so all that mixed up with added compost/casting/perlite should give me another 7Gal pot. Maybe not as good as his siblings and I also will not be able to give the same feed but hey, it is what it is right? He should get the organic supplements in every watering and depending how fast alfalfa mulch decomposes, I probably can mulch him as well.. See how we go 😉 As for Barry's first week, he is way ahead of his Big Bro at 7 days.. But Jack only had 6 watt led for half of that time whereas now everything is cruising at 100 watt/sqft.. I might gradually lower the lighting hours from 18h to 14h over the next few weeks, just to try and slow down growth for as much as I can.. Reason being a slight miscalculation in timing for an outdoor Ozzy grow, 4-6 weeks kind of slight 😂 In the wormhole of researching organic soil and everything else related to that I missed a very important factor: timing. I was in the stupid understanding that beginning of Spring was the earliest 3-4week old seedlings could be put outside (timed with last frost ofcourse). The normal outdoor schedule would be more like germinating after Spring Equinox (September 22) and planting out towards the end of Spring (end of October - start of November).. My genius schedule however: I have 3 plants 2 weeks apart, Jack being 3 weeks (next Wednesday), Miss Strawberry 1 week (next Wednesday) and Barry will be almost 2 weeks (next Wednesday). Ideally I want to wait untill the youngest one is 3 weeks old to put them out together but that means Jack will be 5 weeks in a 1L pot, which I'm sure he won't like. In this situation, planting out would be around September 20 so yeah 4-6 (actually almost 6-8) weeks earlier. Also might have to provide some extra light (Sep 20 = 12h:02m:35s day light hours) so yeah, timing, super important for outdoor grows!!! I wouldn't be worrying if I had bigger final pots or no final pots at all but now 7Gal is what it's going to be.. And now I added 6 weeks veg to an already long growing season lol.. I don't mind it maxing out in this pot and having according yields even if this means weeks of wasting potential growth, as long as everything stays healthy I'm fine 😉 So far I read that potential problems can be water/nutrient uptake and ofcourse the stretch. But I'm confident that with the correct LST/topping/manifolding + good general care + with trusting Mother Nature, thing's will find their way!! Anyway, Barry and myself would like to thank you for your time, sure we will have some fun down the road 😎 Cheers, catch yas next week!!! ✌️

Smartie Evening boys and girls!! 😎 Just wanted to give a quick update on Blue Barry at day 14. Pretty much doubled in size over the last week and looking happy and healthy.. 💪 Sorry for the fans of my longer posts but being very busy getting the outside ready for The Emperor's entry next week 😂 Cheers everyone, catch yas shortly!! ✌️

Smartie Hello my dear friends, hope everyone is doing well!! Just like big brother Jack, Barry went ape shit in week 3 and bushed out and beefed up very well. We are getting close to topping time but I'm not sure yet what to do with this guy.. I want to do something different than his siblings, Jack gets manifolded, sister Strawberry spiral LSTed.. Far as I know, besides HST (topping, manifolding,..) and LST (bending, shaping,..) other training methods would be SCROG (but in a way is HST combined with LST) or no training at all (yeah right, no option at all 😂).. But what about something COMPLETELY different?? 😲 I'll launch a grower question after to go a bit more in depth but I can give a a little tip: 🌳 Bonsai Barry 🌳 To be continued......😁 As for Barry in week 3, lights were on 14h and he was getting 1/2 cup when needed (2 times/week, bit less).. All good and looking healthy.. From tomorrow I will start the hardening off and hopefully by the time he goes out next week I know what to do with him, see how we go 😉 Cheers again for dropping by, much appreciated! 👍✌️

Smartie Howdy Peeps!! How are things going?! 👍 Lots of catching up since last week as Barry was topped, topped again and planted out today.. The Bonsai brainfart finally left my head and although that I liked the idea, I'm backing off because I'm literally in the worst possible situation for attempting Bonsai/root pruning.. Instead, I topped for 2 mains (topped for 4 originally) and I will LST them probably in an S shape 😎 He enjoyed being hardened off last week, had a few good showers so ready for what is about to come.. And that is the planting out today 🤓 Like Jack last week, the stage was bright under a glorious morning sun.. As you can tell the transplant went smooth and pretty much identical to last week.. I finished the prototype planter and have the frame done to provide some shading and some misting for the scorching heat to come, hopefully should have the construction and the planters ready for next week's final transplant!! 😉 Thanks everybody, I gotta go and write up Jack's diary!! 😂✌️ Edit: Once a diary I will post the soil recipe in the week of planting out: Edit 2: Added some more details on the Hydro Frass You can see pictures of the soil making process in Week 1 of Jack's diary - 1 part Worm Castings - 1 part OGS Spagnum Peat Moss - 1 part OGS Premium Aeration Mix: Premium Aeration Mix is perfect to keep your soil aerobic. It is composed of Pumice (55%), Rice Hulls (40%) and Zeolite (5%) to bring fantastic air-filled porosity, room for microorganisms to live, additional cationic exchange capacity and slow release Nitrogen and Silica to your soil. Then following products were added at 1/2 cup per cubic feet (7Gal) : - Kelp Meal: Kelp Meal is an excellent source of NPK along with over 60 micronutrients. It has many complex carbohydrates such as Alginic acid, Mannitol, as well as plant plant hormones like Cytokinins, Indoles, Auxins and Gibberellins. These hormones are involved in a variety of process's from enhancing vegetative growth and flowering, all the way through to reducing shock from transplanting, over watering and heat-shock. It is rich in amino acids and minerals which enhance microbial life enormously, helping to ensure a better crop. - 22% mineral content overall - 50% Carbohydrates - 6% Amino Acids - 2% Sulfur (Helps ensure you get the tastiest, most terpene rich harvest possible) - Neem Cake: Neem Cake provides a great source of NPK with values of 4-2-2 respectively and is commonly used in soil mixes and topdressings to provide adequate nutritional support to your plants. On top of this neem has phenomenal Integrated Pest Management (IPM) properties, which occurs through its production of molecules such as Azadirachtin, Salannin and Nimbin, which act as an antifeedant for over 200 species of insects. - Oyster Shell Flour: Oyster Shell Flour is a premium Calcium source that takes longer to break down than other Calcium sources. This means by using Oyster Shell Flour you significantly reduce the risk of lockout issues arising when compared with alternative Calcium sources, which can be completely broken down in a few weeks in an active enough rhizosphere. - Fin 'N' Feather Meal: Fin 'N' Feather Meal contains several components that will provide an abundance of N-P-K to your soil over time. It is long release and will not burn your plants! In microbial rich soil it is an excellent way to quickly provide nitrogen to your garden. Fin 'N' Feather Meal has a superior N-P-K profile and benefit to feather meal since it contains higher levels of calcium to help mobilise the macro-molecules it is accompanied by. I normally would add Crab Meal or Crustacean but the guys from OGS told me to add more Fin 'N' Feather Meal and use their OGS Water Supplement (Hydro Frass): By providing in an easily soluble form of an abundance of minerals, complex sugars, natural plant hormones, amino acids, humic acids, fulvic acids and azomite in the appropriate ratios, Organic Gardening Solutions 'All-In-One' Water Supplement works to alleviate plant stress and promote vigorous growth of both the plants and the microbial populations present in your garden. Components: -Dehydrated Coconut Water: Coconut powder brings to the mix an abundance of cytokinins and auxins which are essential hormones that work together to regulate apical growth and root growth, promote cytokinesis (cell division), and have been shown to slow down senescence by preventing the breakdown of proteins. Also present are amino acids, macro-nutrients, micro-nutrients and other auxin analogues to assist in seed development and flower development, and several mono- and polysaccharides which promote microbial growth. -Dehydrated Aloe Vera: Aloe Vera powder is rich in Salicylic Acid, which plays a role in plant growth, photosynthesis, ion uptake and transport, as well as in the resistance to pathogens through the production of pathogenesis-related proteins. Humic & Fulvic Acid: Humic and Fulvic acids are organic polymers which co-ordinate and chelate macro-molecules/metals, and assist in facilitating their uptake. They also act to neutralise soil pH, allowing trace elements once bound in the soil to become available to the plant. Fulvic acids have an oxygen content over twice that of humic acids and as such are much more chemically reactive, with an exchange capacity more than double that of humic acids. Because of their small size, fulvic acid molecules can enter plant roots, stems and leaves, carrying trace minerals from plant surfaces into plant tissues. When humic and fulvic acids are applied to soil, increased root growth rates are observed. Kelp Meal (soluble): Kelp Meal is high in K, and is a source of trace minerals, amino acids, plant micro-nutrients and natural plant hormones. Azomite (soluble): Azomite is a trace element source, conditioning agent and helps plants better absorb nutrients from soil. The rare earth elements present in Azomite enhance nitrogen fixation by Azotobacter species, which bind atmospheric nitrogen and release it as ammonium ions into the soil. Furthermore, the Azomite present in our 'SuperSoil' acts to reduce stress caused by drought by enhancing Abscisic acid (ABA) production, in turn minimizing the water lost by a plant in transpiration. -Chitosan (Soluble Chitin): Chitin is a potent immuno-modulator within the plant, resulting from stimulation of the SAR (systemic aquired resonce) pathway, which stimulates a variety of benneficial process' within the plant. These range from increased terpene and flavinoid production, greater heat bug and stress resistance as well as a greater uptake of nutrients. Chitosan is your secret wepon to providing an unparalled harvest. As you can tell I mulched the Barry with a bit less than an inch of Alfalfa Meal: Alfalfa contains the naturally occurring growth hormone triacontanol which improves the root system, develops root mass and enhances photosynthesis via secondary messengers which overall results in larger crops. Triacontanol can improve yields by 50% !!!

Smartie Howdy Peeps!! 👍 Last diary of the week, thank f#@k for that 🤣 Not that I'm not committed anymore but Spring just keeps dishing out chores, after 8h gardening it's just challenging to write about the 8h gardening 😂 But we're here and defeated the inner b*&#h for at least another week 🤣 As for Barry he seems to approve his new surroundings and did pretty well last week.. He doubled in size and got a bit more stretchy, just like Jack did.. Didn't give any extra water since last week but today he got is second to last weekly treat of Seasol at 50%, next week 100% and from then on they will all be getting watering supplements and weekly Aloe foliar spray. As for training, I have not the slightest clue what to do with him 🙄 I wanted to do an S shape as in a combination of his siblings training but I'm backing off on that because of needing work space at soil level for topdressing, hence the reason I use the modified tomato ring for sister Strawberry. If it weren't for my genius prune and topping skills I would try Nebula's spin on the Nuggbucket manifolding technique but yeah 🤦😂 Maybe some kind of SCROG construction, dunno 😁🙄 Cheers for reading along my friends, have a good week ahead!! 😎✌️

Smartie Howdy my fellow colleagues 👍 Barry will again end this week's updates, and he was happy to do so 😉 Recovered well from last week's LST, seems that his shorter leg catched up a bit 😂 I would like to correct myself for saying last week that I couldn't do Nebula's manifold anymore due to topping. I confused Nebula's manifold with LBH's 4 way LST (mostly for SCROG) which I also wanted to try. But that's good news in a way, Nebula's manifold it is 😎 This means waiting for 4 nodes, top back to 3 and keep growtips from node 1 and 3 = 8 colas. Will be done next week's update 😉 Thanks everybody, see you then 👍✌️

Smartie Well hello hello peeps, how's everyone doing 👍 This week I will let the pictures do the talking, I'm sure you guys can figure things out 😂 Fell free to ask questions and make sure to check out my other 2 diaries as well! 😉 Cheers lads!! 👍✌️

Smartie What's happening boys and girls 👍 Just a quick update on Mr. Barry, he did well and was maybe the only one to actually just show sex whereas the others (especially Jack) were bud naked 😂 As mentioned in the other diaries, I will support some extra light and N over the next few weeks to make sure they stay on track. Light supports for 14h untill the days are 14h as well (18/11) and after there on their own again 😉 I topdressed today with some Fin 'N' Feather (15%N, 1.5%P, 0.5%K) after removing the alfalfa mulch first. This, including the rain we had to break down the alfalfa should be a nice boost in N so I'll keep an eye on things and act accordingly. Small side note, this little bugger smells already like bud 😲 Anyway, thank you friends and take care 👍✌️

Smartie Hi there everyone!! 👍 First a few updates to bring everyone up to speed: -Wednesday I topdressed with Fin 'N' Feather (forgot to take a picture of the actual topdressing because I had a visitor and as you can maybe tell it was raining and getting dark as well so I was a bit under the pump 😂). -Saturday I gave them their first foliar spray with fresh Aloe Vera gel. From now on this will be done weekly until flowering. Today was a gorgeous day, best day of the week 😎 Barry did very well and is growing vigorously. Big difference with Jack but then again, Barry is topped 2 times, Jack 4 times 😉 And he is already smelling hey 😲😂 Next watering I will start adding the water supplements as well. Lights have been on as planned, gradually lowering untill sunset on 18/11 🤓 Alrighty mates, 2 down 1 diary to go 😂 Thanks everybody and see yous next time!! Stay safe!! 👍✌️

Smartie Good day friends 👍 Let's catch up on last Monday's first watering with the added organic supplements first. See week 4 of this diary for a detailed explanation 😉 Barry did well last week and seems to approve the foliar spray/water supplements. Today I cleaned up some lower fan leaves and all 8 colas are on wire, evened out and I also removed the last 4 pegs 😎 I like the way he's turning out so far 😁 Take care people, have a good one!! 👍✌️

Smartie Hello everyone, how are things? 👍 Barry had a good week and is growing well 😉 We still didn't get the normal Spring weather and sun light hasn't been optimal, so I can only imagine when things are in full swing soon. Every time I notice such a difference in growth after a few hot/sunny days. I also adjusted the shade house on 2 sides to have more protection for the beeming midday sun ☀️🔥 Tomorrow will be 40°C so just in time.. Barry had just a little training today. I moved up the wire a node to open/level him some more. I'm really digging this training technique and the low maintenance regarding training (at least compared to the other 2 lol) 😎 All of the plants getting Aloe foliar spray on Saturday evening and supplemented waterings on Sunday and midweek depending on the weather. Soon there will be 2 midweek waterings when temps go up. I'll keep you posted!! Thanks for stopping by, stay safe!! ✌️

Smartie The Fam doing alright. No more added light as days are 14h long. All of them seem to preflower for a second time? Next week I will topdress because I reckon they're due for a feed 😉