420 Magazine's Official Girl Scout Cookies Comparative Grow By Emilya

[Emilya Green]

Veg, Day 24

Growth is just short of remarkable in here. All but the runt has now been topped and she is due in the next day or so. Even the runt has gotten with the program... look at her go! All she needed was a bit of strict discipline and now she has really started to suck up water along with the rest of them.

There is a very good chance that several of the plants will have achieved a 3 day wet/dry cycle already, needing to be watered again tomorrow, with the rest following maybe the next day. It looks like we will be looking at the next transplant, into 3 gallon containers, well within the predicted date, most likely sometime next week.

We are going to start talking about dominance, and how to spread it around. Already the lead plants are shooting the two dominant nodes up to the top of the canopy. Right now, each of them has one node, trying to already send up a new growth tip, which will be its second node. I have found that if I wait till there are 3 nodes on this dominant branch, when we get to bloom and encounter stretch, they get a bit too leggy. We are going to nip that in the bud, literally.

When the dominant nodes send up that 3rd node, I am going to nip it. Ain't gunna let it happen. This will totally frustrate the plant and up will come the next lower nodes, trying to take dominance while the top tries to figure out what to do about these repeated attacks.

It is truly going to be glorious what starts to happen in here, and we are going to quickly run out of room in Veg Room #1 and we will need to spread out a bit... maybe bring in more lights too. We are very flexible here in Emmie's Gardens.

So as you can see, the plants love everything about life at the moment... the bugs are gone, the soil is top notch and the watering method is just what they need to grow quickly. All this would be for naught if the plants were not getting everything they need. It is clear that they love @GeoFlora Nutrients and @DYNOMYCO too. Look at the strength of these plants... look at their response to light... look at how they are growing.

Tonight everyone was rotated in place, so as to not favor any particular side as the secondary growth seeks dominance... any advantage will be taken. You can see their confused looks as orientation got all jumbled up, if you compare this following picture with the one I opened this posting with.

 

[1ne eye]

Wow there growing fast, looking good Em.

 

[DYNOMYCO]

Hey @Emilya

Just wanted to pop in and say everything is looking top-notch as per usual.

Let's see how they turn out

 

[ProfessorFlora]

Fantastic Journal, Emilya. Excellent knowledge, beautiful pics and of course some stunning looking plants.

At the speed that I'm reading I'll be back again in a month lol.

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Oh this is looking real sweet on a lot of levels

 

[Emilya Green]

Veg, Day 25
The runt just got topped! That is the last one. All of the plants needed to be watered today too, making this last a 4 day wet/dry cycle! The next cycle will go even faster... I am betting on about 2 1/2 days. Here is what greeted me as I walked into Veg Room #1 today. Notice that today several of the plants have their lower to middle leaves below horizontal. These plants are about 12 hours from being desperate for water.

Here are a few shots showing the new dominance being set up, with the first two primary growth tips rising up to the top. Another day or two, we will top them both, totally frustrating the plants. Suddenly, instead of a known problem and an easy fix with two primary kolas, we will throw the whole thing up in the air. The plants will only have one primary kola after this second topping, but we will end up with so many nodes, it won't matter.

 

[Trala]

Hello Ladybird

Your little girls are bursting with health and happiness.

#GirlPower in action makes my heart sing.

 

[Emilya Green]

Veg, Day 26

Today is one of those in-between days, where there really isn't much that we can do in the garden as we wait on the plants to show us what to do.

One thing that I noticed at the top of the canopy today is a bit of a complaint about the light. As the plants have gotten taller, they have managed to get too close to the light, so today I raised it up about 3 inches and we will re-evaluate the situation tomorrow.

No one needed water today and no one needed any trimming. I have noted on our taller plant that as I prepare to snip the top dominant nodes, they have already reverted to alternating nodes, so more snips at the top is no longer going to double the nodes as a result, all it will do is remove dominance. This level of maturity has not happened yet to the nodes racing up to the top from the lower levels, but this is the drawback to topping so late... I knew better than to wait till node 7 was coming up to do my first snip and this is the result; we could have a bit bushier plant at the end of veg. This has shown me that if I grow this variety again, I am going to back off my lights a bit in early veg and push for a bit taller of a plant than I have created on this run, so that a topping at node 5 would make more sense.


In this picture, look at the rapid rise of the secondary node... at this rate, by tomorrow these tips will have stolen dominance and will need to be trimmed.

The plants are sorting things out in this way, and my lead plant is definitely stretching out a bit and getting taller, as well as wider as the lower nodes come up to be snipped. The rapid growth can still be seen as the plants show astounding growth in these lower nodes in a days time... by this time tomorrow the secondary nodes on the lead plant should be ready for their first topping. Every day now we are going to need to spend a little time in the room studying each plant as an individual, evaluating where to trim and where to let it continue to grow.

 

[Emilya Green]

Veg, Day 27

Today is another boring in-between day as there is nothing really to be done in the garden at the moment. All of the secondary growth is rising up to the top at this point and in a few days at least 4 of the lower nodes will have sent its dual growth tips up to the top of the canopy, putting at least 10 nodes up there ready to produce bud. The next few cuts will be putting this into overdrive and soon we will have an awesome amount of growth tips up there competing for dominance. Every single one of these plants will be so top heavy that it will take a 7 gallon container to keep them from tipping over later, and they will all need their own individual tomato cages to provide much needed vertical support. More on that when we get there.

All the plants felt light, but not yet light enough to water, and as predicted, I suspect they are all going to need water around noon tomorrow, at the 2 1/2 day point in the wet/dry cycle. I think that by the end of the weekend they will need to be watered again, and I need to be ready to uppot them to 3 gallon containers early next week and spread the plants out under some more lights in Veg Room #2, serving as an overflow room for now. We are also 6 days into the 2 week feeding cycle, and it would be perfect to uppot on feeding day, as it looks like it is timing out to happen. We are approximately 2 weeks from the end of the grow presently in the bloom room, and once those are harvested we will move this whole operation into the bigger room and under the bigger lights, to finish out veg. At the same time we do that move, or soon afterward, we will uppot again into the final 7 gallon containers for bloom.

So tonight, if I had really wanted to, I could have already trimmed a few of the lead plants again, but you know me... I strive for as much uniformity as I can get in these grow rooms, and I would rather wait one more day so as to be able to chop a lot of them together this second time, doing the same thing to each of them.

I leave you with some closeup shots of the secondary and tertiary nodes as they rocket up toward the top, and in the case of the lead plant, have already threatened dominance. Remember, as long as we can keep dominance up in the air and undetermined, the lower nodes will keep rising. I know I have had success when even nodes 1 and 2 send their buds all the way up to the top.

We are seeing a bit of a lower leaf yellowing now, first the cotyledons went yellow and now the first set of true leaves are also being shed on several of the plants. I am looking at this as natural shedding of the lower leaves that are so low to the ground that they are in the way when watering, and an early sign that the roots are just starting to feel a bit of constriction in the 1 gallon pots. I do not look at this as a nutritional problem at this point, and only would worry if it continues to spread up the trunk. There are no signs of any problems in any of the next sets of leaves, so at the moment we stand unafraid and unintimidated.

The complaints about the lighting have lessened today after raising the lights a few inches last night, so for now I am leaving everything in the lighting department as is.

Tomorrow should be a big day and it will be the 1 month mark... there should be lots of pictures as we do several secondary cuts.

 

[Bud Love]

Veg, Day 26

Today is one of those in-between days, where there really isn't much that we can do in the garden as we wait on the plants to show us what to do.

One thing that I noticed at the top of the canopy today is a bit of a complaint about the light. As the plants have gotten taller, they have managed to get too close to the light, so today I raised it up about 3 inches and we will re-evaluate the situation tomorrow.

No one needed water today and no one needed any trimming. I have noted on our taller plant that as I prepare to snip the top dominant nodes, they have already reverted to alternating nodes, so more snips at the top is no longer going to double the nodes as a result, all it will do is remove dominance. This level of maturity has not happened yet to the nodes racing up to the top from the lower levels, but this is the drawback to topping so late... I knew better than to wait till node 7 was coming up to do my first snip and this is the result; we could have a bit bushier plant at the end of veg. This has shown me that if I grow this variety again, I am going to back off my lights a bit in early veg and push for a bit taller of a plant than I have created on this run, so that a topping at node 5 would make more sense.


In this picture, look at the rapid rise of the secondary node... at this rate, by tomorrow these tips will have stolen dominance and will need to be trimmed.

The plants are sorting things out in this way, and my lead plant is definitely stretching out a bit and getting taller, as well as wider as the lower nodes come up to be snipped. The rapid growth can still be seen as the plants show astounding growth in these lower nodes in a days time... by this time tomorrow the secondary nodes on the lead plant should be ready for their first topping. Every day now we are going to need to spend a little time in the room studying each plant as an individual, evaluating where to trim and where to let it continue to grow.

Hi Emilya
Hope you don’t mind me popping in? I’ve been following along watching this well oiled grow glide along, without missing a beat.
I was wondering what it was that let you know that your plants were unhappy with the light?
They looked fantastic to me. Super healthy and vibrant..if anything even more than usual.
Sorry if it’s a daft question for y’all.
Peace an buds to ya

 

[Emilya Green]

Hi Emilya
Hope you don’t mind me popping in? I’ve been following along watching this well oiled grow glide along, without missing a beat.
I was wondering what it was that let you know that your plants were unhappy with the light?
They looked fantastic to me. Super healthy and vibrant..if anything even more than usual.
Sorry if it’s a daft question for y’all.
Peace an buds to ya

Hi Bud! I don't mind you dropping in at all, welcome to the discussion! I apologize for simply putting the pictures out there assuming that everyone can see what I am referring to... I should have done this:

Here are the same pictures, but with me pointing to where I can see the leaves communicating something to me. That cupping is usually a result of either too much heat or too much light.

 

[Emilya Green]

Veg, Day 28 (4 weeks)
Today was just crazy. I typically work from home on Fridays so today I was able to check on the girls at noon, and most of them were indeed ready to be watered then, at the 2.5 day point. Still, I waited until this evening, at the 3 day point in the wet/dry cycle and they all took a huge amount of water, preparing themselves for what is coming next. I watered this evening around 7pm local time, 12 hours into their day. Let's see how fast they can clear this water this next time...

7 of the plants needed their second cut, and 5 of those needed not just the first two nodes trimmed, but the secondary nodes also had hit the canopy with their third node... so off with their heads. Not all plants needed another cut and a couple of them needed a cut on one side of the plant but not on the other. We are truly playing whack-a-mole now with these growth tips, and each day will require a complete examination of each plant, whacking where necessary. You would think this would slow the plants down, stall them out... but removing dominance has made them all insane. I am seeing in some cases 2-3 inches of growth each day!

Meanwhile, the trunks are all increasing in size too and the plants are widening out. It is very beautiful what is happening here as we turn these once spindly plants into monster bushes of buds. I also took some time this evening to start trimming up the bottom of the plants, removing anything that is still touching the soil or obviously going to be in the way as we move forward. This trim was starting to become necessary, just to be able to get in there and water properly. Here is the pile of leaves that I trimmed out, minus any that my dog Buddy ran away with.

 

[cr8grow]

Veg, Day 28 (4 weeks)
Today was just crazy. I typically work from home on Fridays so today I was able to check on the girls at noon, and most of them were indeed ready to be watered then, at the 2.5 day point. Still, I waited until this evening, at the 3 day point in the wet/dry cycle and they all took a huge amount of water, preparing themselves for what is coming next. I watered this evening around 7pm local time, 12 hours into their day. Let's see how fast they can clear this water this next time...

7 of the plants needed their second cut, and 5 of those needed not just the first two nodes trimmed, but the secondary nodes also had hit the canopy with their third node... so off with their heads. Not all plants needed another cut and a couple of them needed a cut on one side of the plant but not on the other. We are truly playing whack-a-mole now with these growth tips, and each day will require a complete examination of each plant, whacking where necessary. You would think this would slow the plants down, stall them out... but removing dominance has made them all insane. I am seeing in some cases 2-3 inches of growth each day!



Meanwhile, the trunks are all increasing in size too and the plants are widening out. It is very beautiful what is happening here as we turn these once spindly plants into monster bushes of buds. I also took some time this evening to start trimming up the bottom of the plants, removing anything that is still touching the soil or obviously going to be in the way as we move forward. This trim was starting to become necessary, just to be able to get in there and water properly. Here is the pile of leaves that I trimmed out, minus any that my dog Buddy ran away with.

Emilya, Garden looks great. I have a red squirrel that answers to Buddy that hangs with me every late afternoon where I take a smoke break…she eats a few feet away and hides peanuts the whole time.

 

[Mdlroad]

Veg, Day 28 (4 weeks)
Today was just crazy. I typically work from home on Fridays so today I was able to check on the girls at noon, and most of them were indeed ready to be watered then, at the 2.5 day point. Still, I waited until this evening, at the 3 day point in the wet/dry cycle and they all took a huge amount of water, preparing themselves for what is coming next. I watered this evening around 7pm local time, 12 hours into their day. Let's see how fast they can clear this water this next time...

7 of the plants needed their second cut, and 5 of those needed not just the first two nodes trimmed, but the secondary nodes also had hit the canopy with their third node... so off with their heads. Not all plants needed another cut and a couple of them needed a cut on one side of the plant but not on the other. We are truly playing whack-a-mole now with these growth tips, and each day will require a complete examination of each plant, whacking where necessary. You would think this would slow the plants down, stall them out... but removing dominance has made them all insane. I am seeing in some cases 2-3 inches of growth each day!

Meanwhile, the trunks are all increasing in size too and the plants are widening out. It is very beautiful what is happening here as we turn these once spindly plants into monster bushes of buds. I also took some time this evening to start trimming up the bottom of the plants, removing anything that is still touching the soil or obviously going to be in the way as we move forward. This trim was starting to become necessary, just to be able to get in there and water properly. Here is the pile of leaves that I trimmed out, minus any that my dog Buddy ran away with.

Go Buddy go

 

[Bud Love]

Hi Bud! I don't mind you dropping in at all, welcome to the discussion! I apologize for simply putting the pictures out there assuming that everyone can see what I am referring to... I should have done this:

Here are the same pictures, but with me pointing to where I can see the leaves communicating something to me. That cupping is usually a result of either too much heat or too much light.

Hey Emilya.. I couldn’t see what was up. They all looked lush to me.
I can now though, thank you

 

[Emilya Green]

Veg, Day 30
Today we find the girls continuing to fight for dominance. Almost all of the secondary nodes are now up at the top, and if they were showing their third node rising up, off came its head. Some of the tertiary buds have made it to the top, and one spectacular plant needed those tertiary buds chopped too! Several of the plants needed a second trim of the top nodes. All together this evening I trimmed 5 primary, 12 secondary and 8 tertiary growth tips. Several of the plants are already showing 12 bud sites at the canopy.

This brought out a need to do a little tucking of the big fan leaves that were in the way of the lower bud sites rising up. They need the light, so the fan leaves were tucked behind and downward so that they can still add energy to the plant, but the buds will get the light.

This first picture shows how the fan leaf was obstructing the upcoming bud from the light. The next picture shows the new position of the fan leaf, behind the rising bud.

Here is what the plants are starting to look like, widening out as we go, and with the fans all tucked behind the bud sites. I could go to bloom right now and have high producing plants, but we still have about 3 weeks to play as I clear my bloom room from the last grow. We will make good use of this time, producing some monster plants that will easily outproduce anything I have grown in the new rooms yet. Remember, my goal is 8oz dry per plant and it is starting to look very possible.

Also, 2 days into the wet/dry cycle this time, and they ALL needed watering again this evening. The entire room took more water than ever before too, easily using 5 gallons of water between them. I need to check how many 3 gallon containers I have available since I might need to order some more for the uppotting needing to happen in the next few days. I tend to cut these intermediate 3gallon bags away from the rootball as I transplant upward into their final containers, just as I do these 1 gallon containers. At the low low price of cloth containers these days, I only reuse 5 gallon and up to save the hassle of cleaning, using expensive velcro equipped reusable bags, and carefully having to roll down the sides to extricate the plants when time to uppot. It is so much easier to just take a large scissors to them and be done with it.

Also please note that even though we continue to wage war with the bugs, we are winning, and these plants are doing wonderfully as compared to the previous grows here. The @DYNOMYCO and the @GeoFlora Nutrients are doing a wonderful job supplying everything these plants need and the color and vigor are obvious. So far, everything is doing well and our little girl scouts are turning into some very beautiful young ladies.

 

[Websissy]

Yes, the 2 week feeding interval seems to be pretty strict and even trying to go another watering cycle past the "due date" with very active plants and when using tap water, that this seems to slow down the organic feeding cycle enough that deficiencies are noted. It might be that with that last round of tap water at the end of the two weeks, the chlorine/chloramine is enough to slow down the microbes and the feeding cycle, and because of that I am starting to think that feeding a day or two early is preferable to feeding a day or two late both in veg and in bloom. I would be curious to hear if @GeoFlora Nutrients has heard similar conclusions from its other users. I have been sort of flexible with the feeding day, timing it instead to the watering cycles, but I am thinking now that I need to determine the feeding days at the start of the grow and as closely as I can, adhere to that schedule all along.

I had to add some Cal/Mag plus when the plants got to the later Veg stage. GeoFlora agreed that they needed it. Just fed mine their 1st top dressing of GeoFlora Bloom - day 2 and all looks fine!

 

[BakedARea]

All caught up Em! They all look amazing and growing quickly! You have your soil dialed in. I am trying different pots and training methods. As much as I want one even canopy, I think I'm going to end up with different heights. I'm going to revisit my training plan. I may have some tops on mine that I'm not considering. Thank you for all the info as always. Continued blessings!

 

[bobrown14]

Thank you... that confirms what I am seeing by experimenting. I will adhere to the 2 week rule as closely as I can for the duration of this grow. The chlorine/chloramine factor must be pretty low in my grow rooms, since I typically will pump my tap water upstairs to the 55gal barrel sitting upstairs in the grow area, where it sits for a week or two before getting used up and needing to be topped off again. I see no reason that I can't also aerate this water now that you mention it, and I will set up an air pump to make that happen in the next few days. Not only will that help deal with the chlorine, but it will also aerate the water... always a treat for the plants when it can be done consistently.

I aerate my water res - check your pH - it can change with aeration. It should drop a little bit. I've not used tap water for a long time. We lived in Philly that wasn't fit do drink let alone water container plants. Wow.

Plants looking good. I've noticed mine are a bit short and are spreading out already. I might be a week or 2 older than yours.

Straight up Cookies grow shorter and fatter is my experience. I'm seeing that with these as well. But never know, could get a growth spurt and in the lights.

 

[Emilya Green]

Veg, Day 31
Today was another do nothing day... or almost. All the plants got shuffled and rotated and inspected. I could only find one growth tip to whack off. Many are just about there and the lower nodes are still rapidly marching upward. The plants are now all using a lot of water and I could have justified watering already again today, but being honest, they haven't quite reached a 24 hour wet/dry cycle yet. The next watering for sure, and I will be watering every day until transplant. The next feeding day is Wednesday. The new 3g grow bags should be here then, and I have started lining up the crew to get in here Wednesday or Thursday evening for an uppotting party... it goes a lot faster when we production line the job between 3 or 4 of us. They will be fed and uppotted before they can feel any stress at all.

Please note how that there is no guesswork here. Because of my strict adherence to the wet/dry cycle, I know exactly when these plants have filled these containers with roots and need to be uppotted, completely based on the water usage rate.

Look at this stunning picture of the room when I opened the door this evening:

Here is a structure shot: