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Alright guys, first grow journal here. This will be my third AMATEUR grow, keep that in mind :D (First grow was bagseed, ended up being a dude, second one I bought which was my first autoflower Purple Ryder - Joint Doctor).
Anyways, I got a freebie a year ago, Pandora Autoflower by Paradise Seeds. I have planted it in this premade coco-compost mix, so yes I expected some nute burn in the beginning but it seemed okay, to me at least.
Germination was done by the paper towel method, took 2 or 3 days, forgot, then planted it into its final 11L or 3gal pot.
Welcome. To. Panda's world.
Day 1 of Week 1 will be the day it popped out of the ground.
For the first few weeks I am using 1x 23w 6500K CFL
Enjoy <3
Leaves were kind of droopy since the last week, an unfortunate amateur mistake: overwatering :(
I had thought that coco would dry out quick enough, but I guess the pre-mixed compost was holding most of the water. This lead to ofc the dreaded fungus gnat. Solution? Yellow sticky traps and letting the dry up a couple of days. The leaves straightened out soon after :D
When I did water, I used Green House Seeds' GROW Powder Feeding, at 1/4 strength. This is because it's Nitrogren-rich, because I wanted it to grow as fast as possible during the vegetative stage.
Day 14 we finally get a decent second node. I was reading online about topping auto's and that only quick ones should be topped between days 14-20max. So I was hoping it would grow fast enough. I will top as you will see in the future.
So it was an interesting week. Ive been watering according to weight, this is easy since I only have one plant. When it gets light I water it, it takes around 3-4 days to water it but not necessarily until run-off, as much as I feel was needed.
On Day 17 I topped it by cutting off the emerging 4th set of leaves. This was because I wanted two side branches (2nd and 3rd) as you will see later on. The 1st node was cut off by accident sometime this week :( and I like symmetry haha so I had to cut both sides.
Anyhow, there was some clawing because of the nitrogen, so I eased off a bit and watered a bit less :) gotta learn someday not to smother them with love.
Now the problem with topping before the side branches at the top have developed, is some weird stress I guess. Won't be doing that again, as you can see on the last picture. The side-branches of the 3rd node were twisted, and kind of bunched up for some reason:(
Sorry guys, no photos for this week, I'll reupload a photo of the coming week.
All is well, no deficiencies etc. Upped the nutes a bit because I felt she could handle a bit more, no negative effects so far.
Day 22/23 the taproot has reached the bottom of the pot, so watering will increase from now on.
Day 26, first sign of pre-flowers, but no white hairs yet, just the tear-shaped thing where the leaves meet the stems.
After topping during the previous week (w3), the side branches grew nicely (yes even the mangled 3rd node!).
I considered having 4 main tops but nah, why not make it 8 :)
So I ended up spreading the four branches (2x 2nd node + 2x 3rd) to create a "+" shape. You'll see what I mean during the next week.
The 2nd node branches were topped on Day 26.
the 3rd node branches were topped on Day 28.
Since this was my first time topping seriously instead of pure LST, I wanted to keep everything symmetrical because it is very appealing to the eye.
Nutes are somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 strength (0.25-0.5grams/liter), watering every one or two days. No signs of overwatering.
During his week many tops were forming, and new leaves were appearing so I decided to defoliate a bit even though there are mixed feelings on this topic since she's an autoflower.
On Day 34 I broke one of the heads off by accident :( didnt slow her down though.
Nothing spectacular, just LSTing the secondary branches to give them some space and keep the symmetry. This ends up creating THE 'RING' which is kinda cool hence the name Ganjalf.
Alright this is a very special week, I have ordered an LED 135w true watts with mixed spectrum. I never knew these things were so bright! I feel this will show a great improvement compared to 8x 23w CFL's :D
As I mentioned last week, I have spread out the branches where I topped the four 'main' branches, thus creating 8 in total. By spreading them out, they have grown longer and some nodes in between as well.
Since each of the 8 branches have 1 main and 2 decent side branches, that gives us 3 each (24 total), except for those who I had broken by accident :p oops. In the photo on Day 43 you can see 15, curious to see how they'll grow :O
I guess I never noticed it due to the frequent topping, but the pre-flowering stretch happened sometime last week or this week. By the end of this week the stretching has stopped and vertical growth is slow. I hope she will flower soon and fast because I'm not exactly the patient type :D
During the last day of this week (Day 44) I could see some white hairs starting to form the 'crown' , I hope she grows into something nice because the topping sure made her take longer to reach this stage than usual I presume.
Also, the "RING" is pretty dope, you have to admit :p
Nutes are between 0.5-1g/L, was a mix of Bloom (Short Flowering designed for indicas/autos) and Grow. Next week will be pure Bloom.
How do people form big colas? If I LST the main tops, then its side-branches become 'tops' as well, and I understand that a cola is made up of fused tops. But if LST'd then they are too far apart to fuse. So you shouldnt LST main tops after stretch? (since no new branches form)
Light hitting the buds will make them bigger I have found. So a mixture of LSTing, leaf tucking/defoliation is required to enable light to get to those cola bud sites throughout flowering until harvest. I never stop LSTing/leaf tucking/defoliation until she's ready for harvest, and am always looking for ways to help light hit those buds sites. HTH
This week the pre-flowers have started to grow. Side branches have been growing and stretching whilst the main tops remain at their current height, no upwards growth (noticeable) at all. Had to remove some side branches because it was getting way too bushy, in the morning there would be too many wet spots, as well as leaves covering the tops. Should be manageable now, will not cut anymore until harvest.
Thought PK 13/14 would help quicken the flowering, but as I have learned through research, some strains just take longer. So I will be stopping those for now, until the 'pistil crown' has fully developed.
Unfortunately, the first half of the following week she will spend outside unattended. I have let her harden up to the weather over the course of this week, so I am sure she will be able to withstand the colder temps 10-15 C.
Lady Panda does drink a lot though, every morning she is wilting a bit until after I water her 2L. I am thinking of watering her in the evening as well, probably next week. It will rain outside so I hope she will be able to take care of herself nute-less.
I moved le plant outside on the 1st of April. Added some snail poison because I know these pests will show up and eat her delicious leaves. To prevent contamination, I put some sticks below her as a bufferzone, so that the poison wont be absorbed by the roots.
Fingers crossed! I heard it will be a warm week.
Okay guys, we back with an update (Days 57-63) OUTDOORS.
Lady Panda has spent her first week outside unattended, maybe a day or two just for watering.
It has been sunny outside this week with a few rainy days, so some very warm days and some cooler ones.
I was shocked when I saw her after a week (my friend watered for me), she DOUBLED in height. And here I thought the stretch was over and she would start budding.
Unfortunately, she still seems to be flowering super super slow. All that has happened, is a lot of vertical growth, and more side-branches stretching out.
In the middle of the week (Day 60) I trimmed the 'popcorn' branches way down below, so she should be alright with that.
I just hope she will start budding soon :( I am not the most patient of people. On a positive note, she's filling up the pistil crown a bit more, but not as much as I had hoped.
I will leave her outside for another week or so since it will be good weather, and I cant bring her in for the moment.
Also, freaking slugs and snails everywhere, at least I took preventive measures. I only saw a lot of fungus gnats, but that's normal when she's outside and it's raining I guess. She shows no stress though, looking like a happy lady. 😗
Question for you guys, is it normal for her to be this light green/yellow? I havent fed her everyday
PS: no trichomes yet :(
1) big colas are a combination of exact nutrients,perfect light ,humidity , temperature and basically being a fycking master ,
2) the more lst you do the longer it takes , I wouldn’t mess about after the white hairs appear , but if you defoiliate make sure you leave 1 inch of stem attached or you will get rot if you unlucky , I’d say you got 6 weeks , mayb3 more. 👍
She'll be outside for just a few more days.
--> I have noticed the tips of some pistils shriveling, I hope this is normal because they are 'older' pistils. Any advice would be great!
I am pretty sure the stretch has stopped, so it should be just flowering from now on.
It was pretty dense under the canopy, so I removed quite a bit of leaves to allow some airflow since I will be bringing her in soon. She looks content, just waiting for something interesting to happen, hopefully soon :)
Day 66 she's back at home under the LED. Unfortunately, had to do some major defoliation and pruning because she was dense and couldnt fit in my closet :( I hope she recovers well!
DAY 67 UPDATE: the yellowing was because of OVERWATERING. Golden Rule: dont smother her with love :)
Who would have thought that, especially because she seems to dry up very quickly. So watering every two-three days seems ideal now. It's a 60:40 coco+compost : perlite ratio. As you will see later, leaves are no longer yellowing and are flat again! Great success
Same old same old, more white hairs.
-->Any tips on how to get her to finish sooner?
DAY 72: trichomes have finally appeared!
DAY 74: I have come across a problem guys. When the closet is closed, temps get up to 30. When open, I can get it to 23-25.
The closer I bring her to the LED the warmer it is ofc, but the closer the LED without bleaching the better right?
I am now testing with the LED at 8 inches instead of 12 just to see if she will bleach. If she doesnt then isnt that good? The stronger the better right? Just the heat stress can be an issue.
DAY 75: no bleaching @8 inches. I have managed to keep the temp between 23 and 26 degrees :)
QUESTION: is it just me or is she super leafy at the top? Or is this because shes not swelling up yet, or sth else perhaps? 🙀
DAY 77: all good all good, more hairs and crystals :D finally some progress
Any idea when I should start flushing?
--> Yes, two weeks before harvest, but I'm not experienced enough to estimate how many weeks are left.. 😿 If I had to guess, 4 weeks left?
Day 81: gotta put her outside for the night :( stay strong my love!
--> Any idea what these brown spots are? Cant be nute burn because I am giving much less nutes than before, and just a bit more PK.. The leaves affected are limp and soft around the brown spots
You guys have any idea what this deficiency/burn could be from? The last few days I have been giving basically just PK and minute amounts of the mineral powderfeeding mix. Maybe 3-4 leaves were affected in total, around these spots the leave were soft and dark as if underwatered.
All of the above solutions are correct. But I will give you an idea of why you may be having some issues.
I had to read through your delightfully informative notes! That helps!
You’re using a 60/40 soil+compost - perlite mix. I’ve had problems with a mix like this. The reason is that coco holds onto nutrients easily, soil has an organic property, so it’s breaking down leftovers slower. Combine all that with a good aeration medium like perlite. Your PH will be imbalanced and your medium is holding onto nutrients the plant can’t use.
I would advise as others have to flush.
When you do your FLUSH, start with a big dose of warm water, the same volume of the pot/soil e.g. 10gal.
Wait 10 mins for the water to dissolve leftover nutrients.
Then with another 2x volume of pot In water flush a second time to remove dissolved nutrients.
Now moving ahead the next time you water after this flush you can continue your feed of micros and bloom nutrients go easy, feed 1/2 strength. You will have enough mobile nutrients to get you to the end.
In my estimation you have 6 weeks left 4 weeks of bud growth and a 2 weeks flush. Good luck✌️🏻
Day 86 Pistil tips starting to brown, apparent swelling yet. All I do notice are the calyxs stacking on each other.
Day 89 more pistils turning light orange, not receding yet. Some calyxs are swelling, but just noticeably. they arent super swollen yet, still in the beginning stages.
--> !! Day 89, she will be put outdoors for 9 days so hope for the best !! It will be cold at night :( 10° and it might rain two days, lets hope no mold! Nature is in control now
Some swelling happening. She will be outside for another week, Monday 21st May she's back inside.
Glad to mention that she did not develop mold after a weekend of rain. She's strong! Well I did try to shelter her under a tree, but still :) she endured a cold and wet weekend 🙏
I have a theory on why she is leafier than most indoor grown buds. Probably because I have been putting her outside now and then, especially during the beginning and late stages of flower. It seem outdoor plants have the same structure :)
Day 95: some more brown pistils. Checked some sugar leaves but they look half cloudy/clear to me, though buds look completely cloudy. Will give her a week or two max or until at least the top pistils are brown. Last PK feeding today, will give straight water from now
Guys! The unthinkable has happened :( I found what looks like budrot on two colas. Needless to say, I cut them off. As the grey and yellow leaves only appeared at the top, I harvested the few budsites below them (since they were fused).
This is probably because she had to spend the week outside and it rained a few days. I thought the yellowing was becauseI wasnt giving any Grow nutes, just pk3/14. But as soon as I saw grey and brown shriveled leaves, I had to cut it off! hope this doesnt affect the rest :(
PS: theyre back inside now, no more rain for the ladies :) just warm and dry. I plan to harvest in 1-2 weeks max, I cant afterwards. Therefore, I flushed on Day 100. She is drinking noticably less water than before, shes near the end!
Day 102: harvested the biggest buds at the top because they are more prone to the mold spreading. The buds below are smaller, and will be left to grow 1-2 more weeks! Stay updated :)
Day 104: deffo getting frostier with the extra week. Still small buds though, will be an annoying trim. Good thing theres a lot of them to compensate :D
I would advise against topping unless you have enough time since she was supposedly a 10 week strain. If I had enough time she would have properly finished at week 17-18. Smoke report after curing will come in a month or so 👻000000
Ganjalf
