D42 - Today is the first day in the sixth week of veg for #2 and the fifth for #1. It has been six days since the first topping for the first girl, so I went ahead and topped her for the second time. I kept a couple of clones from her this time since she is so vigorous. I also had planned to do the third and final topping on the second girl but knew that I had to buy some more soil staples first. However, this morning a red warning showed up in my Corona warn app. It's the first warning I have ever gotten, but I'm triple vaccinated, of course, and I was wearing my N95 mask for this five-minute exposure, but I want to act responsibly and quarantine for a few days, just in case. So I improvised with BBQ skewers and some electrical tape. The skewers won't hold that well, but the branches are still small, so it shouldn't be a problem until I can venture out again. The cover crop was getting a bit unruly again, so I cut it back again. Finally, I gave both girls around 1.2-liters of water @ pH 6.3 and added a couple of qtips with peppermint oil to deter pests. D43 - I gave each girl about two liters of compost tea that I started brewing yesterday. A bit soon, possibly since I watered them only yesterday, but I needed to feed the girls in the other tent, so these girls got some as well. D45 - Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrgggghhhh! Thrips have found their way into the tent. Lately, I've noticed some discoloration on the older leaves but haven't thought much about it. Today though, it was much more pronounced. I took out my loupe and microscope, and sure enough, I could see thrips larvae. Ugh. I ordered some predatory mites immediately to help with the problem, but they won't get here until a few days, and I want to start fighting the infestation as soon as possible. So, I went out shopping and picked up some pure alcohol, chili flakes, and a spray bottle. After soaking the flakes for a couple of hours, I strained the mixture and prepared a 1:10 solution with distilled water in the spray bottle. I removed all older leaves that were affected most and then sprayed all the remaining leaves, taking care to get them soaked on both sides. This chili tincture is nasty stuff, though, and I was coughing like mad, and the snot was flowing like a spring-river. Next time I'll wear a mask! I also sprayed the clones outside the tent and the Chocodope girl in my other tent, just in case. The Colorado Cookies girl is in flower, though, so I couldn't spray her. She has no sign of infestation, but I'll treat her as well with the mites when they get here. D47 - I resprayed the girls yesterday with the chili tincture to ensure I got to all the little critters, and today, the predatory mites arrived. I hung one sachet on each plant, and I hope that's the end of the little buggers. D48 - The end of another week of veg. The second girl thrives after her third topping, and I will do the third and final topping on the first girl in a couple of days. Once that is done, I can install the scrog net. As for the thrips, I can still see larvae, but they are far and few in between. Hopefully, the predatory mites will soon make short work of them. I haven't even flipped yet, but there are already flowers in the tent!!! Alfalfa flowers that is :D