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🌸 Lava Cake – Week 5 Flower Report 🌸 We’ve reached Week 5 of flower — such an important and defining stage in the Lava Cake journey. Both phenos are shining, evolving beautifully, and filling the room with life and energy. It’s a week full of growth, observations, and some lessons to share. ⸻ 🌿 Current Status • Both plants are looking healthy, vigorous, and branching strong. • White hairs (pistils) continue to thicken and spread — the first signs of real bud-building. • Leaves show some spots, likely a touch of CalMag deficiency. This is not uncommon at this stage, as the plants’ demands for calcium and magnesium rise sharply during heavy metabolic activity. To support them, I’ve kept the full nutrient recipe steady this week and reintroduced Aptus All-in-One Liquid to strengthen the nutritional foundation and bounce them back quickly. ⸻ 💧 Nutrient Recipe (Week 5) • Aptus Regulator – cell wall support & stress resistance • Aptus CalMag Boost – to address spotted leaves and support photosynthesis • Aptus All-in-One Liquid – reintroduced this week to balance the base nutrition and help recovery from early deficiency signs • Plagron Power Buds, Sugar Royal & Green Sensation – pushing bud development, resin, and flavor complexity ⚠️ Note on feeding adjustments: This week we removed Top Booster from the mix. While it’s a great stimulator during certain flower stages, running it alongside Power Buds, Sugar Royal, and Green Sensation risks overlapping too much PK. Too much of a good thing can cause stress, salt build-up, or nutrient lockouts. By keeping the recipe focused and balanced, the Lava Cakes can thrive without overload. ⸻ 🌡️ Environment • Temperatures: Lower this week (relief!) thanks to cooling efforts. • Humidity: Still running a little high, sometimes hovering beyond the ideal. • Airflow: Two 6-inch exhausts + intake, all carbon filtered. This, along with fans inside, should keep the air moving and avoid stagnant moisture pockets. ⚠️ Note: Higher humidity at this stage can invite mold or mildew risks, but with strong airflow and constant air renewal, we’re reducing the chances. If issues arise, we’ll face them directly and adjust. ⸻ 🎥 Media Update This week includes: • Outside photoshoots – capturing their beauty under LED light. • Close-ups – showing detail of leaves, bud sites, and trichome sparkle starting to appear. • Video clips – giving a fuller view of the room, the setup, and how the girls are thriving. ⸻ 🔄 Quick Recap for New Readers From seed in the Cannakan ➝ early veg under Black Series LED ➝ transplant into 11L fabric pots with Aptus super soil base ➝ branching and stretching under TrollMaster-controlled environment ➝ to now, Week 5 of flower, where the Lava Cakes are stacking up and turning into queens. Each step has been intentional: careful watering from below to build root strength, dialing in nutrients, setting up airflow, and slowly stabilizing environment. ⸻ 🔮 What to Expect (and Not to Expect) Expect: • Continued flower stacking and calyx swelling over the next two weeks. • Aroma development beginning to intensify. • Slight yellowing or spotting on older leaves (normal as energy redirects to flowers). Not to Expect: • Full bulk yet — this comes in the later weeks, especially 6–8. • Perfect leaves everywhere — in flower, the plant focuses on buds, not flawless foliage. ⸻ 🌎 Closing Thoughts Week 5 is about listening and responding. The Lava Cakes showed us some leaf spots, and in return, we adjusted by reintroducing All-in-One Liquid while simplifying the booster recipe. Removing Top Booster avoids nutrient overlap and keeps the focus on a clean, balanced mix. This isn’t just about correcting deficiencies — it’s about preparing them for the heavier bloom demands to come. With lower temperatures, steady airflow, and a carefully tuned recipe, the girls are thriving. Every day brings more white hairs, more structure, and more anticipation for what’s ahead. ⸻ 🔬 Science Spotlight: Nutrient Antagonism One of the biggest hidden challenges in mid-flower is nutrient antagonism — when too much of one element blocks the uptake of another. • Excess phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) (often from bloom boosters) can interfere with calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) absorption. This can show up as leaf spotting, rust marks, or weakened stems even if those nutrients are technically present in the soil. • By removing Top Booster this week, we reduced the PK load and allowed CalMag supplementation to actually reach the plant without being locked out. • Balance always beats excess. The goal is steady, accessible nutrition, not maxing out one element. This principle is key to avoiding deficiencies during bloom: feed enough, but not too much of any one thing. ⸻ 🔬 Trichome Spotlight If you look closely at the close-ups this week, you’ll notice the first tiny crystals beginning to coat the flowers and nearby leaves. These are trichomes — microscopic resin glands that play a central role in the plant’s defense, flavor, and potency. ✨ What are trichomes? Trichomes are specialized structures on the plant’s surface that produce and store secondary metabolites: • Cannabinoids (like THC, CBD, CBG) • Terpenes (the aromatic compounds that give unique smells and flavors) • Flavonoids (contributing to color, taste, and subtle effects) Essentially, trichomes are the plant’s biochemical factories. 🌿 Why are they appearing now? In early flower, the plant begins to shift its energy from vegetative growth to reproduction and protection. Trichomes serve several evolutionary purposes: • Protection from UV light – the resin acts like sunscreen. • Pest deterrence – sticky, bitter compounds discourage insects. • Moisture regulation – resin helps buffer against stress. That’s why, right as buds begin to stack, you see an explosion of these glittering glands. 🔮 What to expect as they develop? • Density will increase week by week, eventually frosting the buds and sugar leaves. • Color will change: clear → cloudy/milky → amber. These stages are often used to decide harvest timing. • Aroma will intensify as terpenes concentrate, bringing out Lava Cake’s dessert-like profile. 🍯 The chemistry inside • Terpenes – molecules like limonene (citrus), myrcene (earthy), and caryophyllene (spicy). They don’t just shape aroma; they influence the entourage effect, modulating how cannabinoids feel. • Flavonoids – often overlooked, but they add subtle notes to flavor and can have antioxidant properties. • Cannabinoids – still forming now, but ramping up in mid-to-late flower. 🌸 Why this matters Seeing trichomes appear in such numbers this early is a sign of plant health and genetic quality. It means the Lava Cakes are channeling their energy toward flower defense and resin production — exactly what we want in a premium run. From here, it’s all about nurturing them without stress so trichomes can fully mature, delivering not just potency, but flavor and aroma complexity at harvest.They’re queens in the making — and with patience, love, and attention, they’ll reward us with something truly special. 🌸✨ 📲 Don’t forget to Subscribe and follow me on Instagram and YouTube @DogDoctorOfficial for exclusive content, real-time updates, and behind-the-scenes magic. We’ve got so much more coming, including transplanting and all the amazing techniques that go along with it. You won’t want to miss it. • GrowDiaries Journal: https://growdiaries.com/grower/dogdoctorofficial • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dogdoctorofficial/ • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dogdoctorofficial ⸻ Explore the Gear that Powers My Grow If you’re curious about the tech I’m using, check out these links: • Genetics, gear, nutrients, and more – Zamnesia: https://www.zamnesia.com/ • Environmental control & automation – TrolMaster: https://www.trolmaster.eu/ • Advanced LED lighting – Future of Grow: https://www.futureofgrow.com/ • Root and growth nutrition – Aptus Holland: https://aptus-holland.com/ • Nutrient systems & boosters – Plagron: https://plagron.com/en/ • Soil & substrate excellence – PRO-MIX BX: https://www.pthorticulture.com/en-us/products/pro-mix-bx-mycorrhizae • Curing and storage – Grove Bags: https://grovebags.com/ ⸻ We’ve got much more coming as we move through the grow cycles. Trust me, you won’t want to miss the next steps, let’s push the boundaries of indoor horticulture together! As always, this is shared for educational purposes, aiming to spread understanding and appreciation for this plant. Let’s celebrate it responsibly and continue to learn and grow together. With true love comes happiness. Always believe in yourself, and always do things expecting nothing and with an open heart. Be a giver, and the universe will give back in ways you could never imagine. 💚 Growers love to all 💚
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La pequeña ak48 esta empezando a llenarse de tricomas y empieza a desprender un olor bastante agradable y potente 🔥 Esta será la ultima semana en la que utilizaremos los productos para ir empezando a limpiar las raices de un modo mas progresivo 👌 31/10: Hemos hecho lavado de raices para prepararla en la cosecha BUENOS HUMOS 🔥
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In the final week of flowering, I reduced the light cycle to 11 hours and dimmed the lamp to 80% to keep temperatures lower. The light hits the plant with approximately 900 PPFD. The plants are being dried on the stem at around 21°C (70°F) and 60% relative humidity.
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@agricola
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My good friend convinced me that trimming and training are paramount, so I've started with slowly defoliating the Creme de la Chems to try and get to lollipop status. They're just starting to flower, so I figured I could get away with a more aggressive approach. Because I failed to train these girls early, I'm stuck dealing with a little rain forest. What I've tried to do is trace each flower topped stalk up from the base, and trim away from the bottom up. 1/3 of the way up per day. I've now got a thick canopy, and I've been trying to just use leaf tucking and manual manipulation every few hours in order to keep the different height flowering sites in direct light. These ladies have really been thriving, and it's been such a joy to watch them grow! I like having two plants in one net pot letting them grow wild, but I think in my next grow I'll keep it to one per pot and train better from the start. As for the Super Orange Haze ... not as good. I attempted to pull the main branch over to train her to some empty space, but I was too aggressive and ended up popping her head off :(. First grow, first disaster. I took the head and stripped her/coated in clonex and pushed her into some potting soil just to see what would happen. There hasn't been enough foliage to really make me want to do any trimming, I've just tried to tie the stalks off to train them apart. I'm really sad about my mistake decapitation, but she seems to be doing well still. She's probably week 2 of flower based on others' journals. I changed the water midway through the week (which is when the videos were taken). I drained most of the water out, but roots prevented me from getting the last few gallons. When I refilled the res with RO, I measured the PPM at around 200. I have to assume that remaining nutrient was completely unbalanced leftovers, so feeding will have to just have to be experimental. My approach has been to give around 1:1 Gro vs Bloom and Micro every 2-3 days when I refill with RO. I want to build my PPM up to 1000, but slowly so that I can detect if I hit a ceiling first. It's hard to measure how much food is in the water based on PPM. CalMag is what drives it mostly, so I've been using CalMag as a sort of measuring stick. I keep the CalMag pegged to the Bloom food, but I know it's only good for initial dosing. I can't assume the plants are eating CalMag in the same proportion as anything else :(. If anyone has a line on cheap lab testing ... hit me up. I'd love to be able to test a few hundred samples at a time for NPK and trace so that I can tell (even if post facto) what was going on.
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Everything has been running smooth. with my new humidifier I am able to keep my r.h between 35 and 60 through out the day. I am starting to see some really developement with my bud growth.doubleing in size every week. my new bloomplus light is really working. My plants are noticeably bigger under that light. My p.h has ran between 6.3 and 6.8 this week.i have been splitting my notes up between days but I'm steadily feeding them.no real water breaks.i give them a light dose once a week but besides that it's full throttle on the nectar of the gods and fish shit.im out of mammoth p so that sucks. I will probably get Bigfoot gold and recharge this week.peace out fellow growers.
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@MistaOC
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13.04. Day 77 Day 37 of flower and everything’s going according to plan. Buds are thickening up nicely, and the environment remains stable across the board. The one problematic plant is still struggling, but I think I’ve figured it out: looks like a nutrient lockout caused by overfeeding. From now on, the back right and front right plants will get only adjusted water – no more feed. The rest of the ladies are looking great, pushing hard and stacking well. No complaints – the grow is on track! ******************************************* 10L RO Water // ph 6,2 // 1ml/L Regulator // 2ml/L CalMag // 10ml Green Sensation // ph- // every second day *******************************************
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@OGbros
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the plants are fine. for 2 weeks I have increased the fertilizers and they are responding well. the strawberry is about two weeks ahead of the tropicanna. the smell is intense and very sweet👽
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@Reyden
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Devo dire che le due Gorilla RQS sono contente e stanno bene nei loro nuovi vasi da 11 L ed in confronto a settimana scorsa sembrano più sane e in forma, purtroppo sono stato quasi una settimana senza misuratore PH perché mi dava problemi e quindi per una volta non ero effettivamente sicuro quanto era bilanciata la soluzione ma penso di non aver fatto danni…andiamo avanti, ieri ho sciacquato solo con acqua a PH 5.9/6 e ora aspetto che asciuga bene questa volta salgo con EC e arrivo intorno a 1250…vediamo come reagiscono 🧐😶‍🌫️
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@MastaFive
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I didn't post week 4, due to my job! I don't know if I'm doing right, I'm not an expert, but my plants are in the pre-flowering phase, all in all I'm very satisfied for now! With time and experience, I will definitely be able to make more beautiful plants later! Any advice helps me! if you have something to recommend, do it, I'll be happy to learn how to improve my crops!
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After almost 1 week with my girls with MarsHydro 100w znd a proper tender with
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Still waiting for this girl to find her stride, she's filling out slowly but surely. Sprayed with some Neem Oil to thwart the bugs and will water in some Big bloom and Molasses later. Grow Baby Grow🙏!
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Sin del cultivo para las 10 Frutangie
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I felt things were going well, and didn't want to jinx it.... however my time has come for the next level of challenges. This week things were looking great, but then I saw some leaves having discolored spots. I looked under the microscope and saw it was the leaf, didn't think much more of it. Next day, more spots, so I investigated. looking again with the microscope, I found the devil! Spider mites! So, I sprayed greencleaner on them at light shutoff... and the following day plant does not look too good. Looks dry and light burned. So I moved the lights up, they were not a problem before and the plant had stopped stretching this week. hopefully I this will go away, but I need to spray tomorrow to keep with the schedule, hope it does not dry out y plants as much this time! However looking at the bugs again, they are dead! I also lollypopped the girls, however since I am a noob, I could have trimmed more, but it makes me nervous of taking off too much, so maybe a few days I will take some more off, or just watch the dead leaves closer, and will clear daily...
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2nd time doing Brix levels...some ladies went from a Brix of 4 to a Brix of 10 while 2 only went from a Brix of 4 to 6. I am pleased with their progress upwards. Dam just learned you should take leaves for testing 2 hours after lights on....I took leaves from dark period 😣. Will update with new Brix numbers taken with lights on. Chopping is coming very soon. I will tag the Brix of each plant when I hang to dry so I'm able to keep track of how the higher Brix relates to taste, smell and potency😎 😁The ladies noticeably got fatter over night!(Nov 11th). Man they really enjoyed that last watering, hope this continues into next week. Just read to take your Brix leaves in a "Z" or "W" pattern as older leaves will contain higher carbs. The refracted light tells us the amount of carbs in the "juice or sap" and minerals too like calcium, proteins and fats (lipids). High Brix enables weed to produce secondary metabolites = greater medicinal value. Sucrose/sugar (Carbs) & mineral levels in the fruit or flower translates or relates to taste. A tasteless 3 Brix tomato from the grocery store or a 14 Brix tomato from OMG you grow delicious tomatoes. Death to covalent bonding! (My goal a 20 Brix😀 Won't be happening with this grow but will be the next😁). Read that most people can detect a half point difference in Brix in the flavour. Lots of smell coming from these Gorilla Girls😵 I can only go so far with plant chemistry and then I get a headache and get lost😔
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Hello GD Crew!!! I’m glad to finally be back with a new diary. A LOT has happened since my last diary. The large room I was using back then got infested with spider mites. For a while I thought I had them beat, but they came back with a vengeance. So I thoroughly cleaned my 2x4 tent and set it up in the opposite side of the house. However, that part of the house is also now my new man cave and was under construction until a few months ago (its still not completely done yet, but close enough). I have also switched back to LED lighting. I’m using a pair of Spider Farmer SF1000’s (100w) LED’s. I was using a 315w CMH fixture but felt I was getting better results with my old blurple ViparSpectra’s (both of which have died). Also, it was getting too hot in the tent with the CMH. To be completely honest the best weed I’ve ever grown was using a 1000w HPS, but that could possible melt a 2x4 tent and I’d be tripping circuit breakers all the time again. After a lot of research it looked like the Spider Farmer SF1000’s were the best bang for the buck in the LED market these days. They have the right components (Samsung LM301B diodes and MeanWell drivers) and have great specs. I was able to purchase them on Amazon Prime Day for $129/each (USD). For soil I’m using Coast of Main Stonington Blend Grower’s Mix. I had been previously trying to amend and reuse old soil or mix old soil 50/50 with new soil and in retrospect that was a mistake. The PH was totally unpredictable as were what nutrients were available or deficient. I felt like I was always trying to fix soil problems and one thing would lead to another. So, from now on its fresh soil in every pot. I’m using 3 gallon pots with self watering reservoirs at the bottom. In addition to the Coast of Main Stonington Blend I’m also using Sungro Black Gold Seedling Mix. I filled the 3 gallon pots with the Coast of Main Stonington Blend first, then dig out a hole in the middle about the size of a grapefruit and filled that hole with the Sungro Black Gold Seedling Mix. Then I planted the seeds about knuckle deep in the middle of the Seedling Mix. This seemed to work great, both pots had small seedlings appear in 5 days. This diary will focus primarily on FastBuds BlackBerry, but I am also growing a DinaFem Critical+ Auto at the same time. I’ve grown both of these strains a few times in the past with mixed results. But, I’m hoping this grow will be far greater than those in the past. My plan is to allow the Coast of Main Stonington Blend act as the ‘super soil’ it is supposed to be and not add any additional nutrients. I will however be adding RealGrowers Recharge on a regular basis (I love that stuff, it really makes a difference) and will probably also add some CalMag once in a while. But that’s all. Additionally, I do not plan on doing much training with these girls. I will LST bend them over at a 45 degree angle around the time they hit their flowering stretch, but that’s all. Bending at a 45 degree angle gives better exposure to lower branches and allows those lower branches to produce larger tops. Hoping for the best!!! Please feel free to comment and follow. I’ll be updating this diary weekly and will be doing videos in the future. Here’s a breakdown of the equipment: 1 - 2x4x6 tent 2- Spider Farmer SF1000 LED fixtures (100w/ea) 1- Carbon filter 2- 3 gallon pots w/self watering reservoirs Coast of Main Stonington Blend Grower’s Mix Sungro Black Gold Seedling Mix RealGrowers Recharge Also, here’s what Coast of Main says about their Stonington Blend: “Coast of Maine Organic Products Stonington Blend Grower’s Mix is a complex “super soil” designed for high performance container growing. It works well with tomatoes, and, where growing cannabis and medical marijuana is legal, growers have reported tremendous results. This soil incorporates mycorrhizal fungi, kelp, fish bone and alfalfa meal, as well as worm castings, peat, coir and lobster compost.” Here are the specs on the Spider Farmer SF1000’s: Materials: Samsung LM301B diodes and MeanWell Drivers Power Draw: 100w PPFD: 922 umols/s @ 12” PPF: 250 umol/m2/s PPE: 2.5 umol/J Yield: 2.5g/W Spectrum: 660-665nm,3000K,5000K, IR 760nm LED: 218 pcs
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@EelGrows
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Week 6 Summary: First off, Happy New Year!! Ciao 2018, may 2019 be filled with peace, love, joy and dank buds 😄😉 Day 36-39: Started off nice well this week, considering the amount of defoliation I did on day 35. Some more stretching going on here but not too much, except 4AM3 has a central shoot I couldn't find a spot to LST that just started to shoot right up lol. Starting to show some nice frost on Day 36 too. 4AM2 is already starting to plump up a bit, don't think will get much more stretch on that one, seems like it will probably harvest the least. I might have overdone the defoliation on it on Day 35 lol. 4AM2 is the one I decided to top for the hell of it anyway because it had a really wierd growth mutation. Still, with less main tops to produce it might be the best bud of them all 😅 Day 37-42: Day 37 is when I started seeing a deficiency I thought might have been magnesium on 4AM1. Pictures to show up top. Since their next feeding wasn't scheduled until day 42 I waited. Day 38 and it had spread a little on the same plant, and typical calmag deficiencies started slowly showing up on a few other plants(really tiny amounts). I posted on reddit and pretty much confirmed my suspiscion of a calmag deficiency. Since I am watering twice a week, once with calmag ph'd to 6.8-6,9 and once with blume nutes ph'd at 6.3-6,5. The calmag feeding was done on day 42( as scheduled at full strength this time so hopefully the problem will go away. 4AM2 hasn't been watered yet, pot didn't feel completely light yet(plus she had the most runoff last feed), will get her dose tomorrow. P.S. Really starting to smell like sweet berries! Mmm.. 😍 On to week 7!
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@Andres
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new crop ... we'll see how it grows ... outdoors....let's see what she offers us outdoor ... and what color she can show us ...
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@Organic_G
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Wachsen wie verrückt, habe bisschen Angst das die mir das Zelt sprengen 😂😂 Mit ordentlich Licht und CO2 als auch einer stabilen konstanten Wasser Versorgung haben die zur letzten Woche einen Sprung hin gelegt, den ich nur aus der Strech Phase kenne 💀 die nächsten Grows werden sehr wahrscheinlich 50% weniger Zeit in Anspruch nehmen 😍 Die 9. VEG. Woche geht zu Ende, ab morgen wir 24 h Nachtphase geschaltet bevor es in die Blüte geht. Heute nochmal mit Topdressing nachgelegt, Bat Guano Dolomitkalk Alfalfa Kelp Badaltmehl Habe vor einem Tag entlaubt 🤣🤣 Stämme haben sich ebenfalls im Durchmesser verdoppelt 🤨 VPD 1.1-1.2 28-29 C 72%rh 1100-1200ppm CO2 600-800ppfd