Cr8grow’s Soil Girl Scout Cookies Grow Journal, 2019

[cr8grow]

Day 28 official end of week four from seed soak. Scrog is built, need to double check for light leaks before I install. Pic tonight growth is faster than I expected. No stretch, the plants like the CMH 315w. Water tonight 1 gallon total, full strength Superthrive and 1 tsp molasses PH 6.5.

 

[StoneOtter]

Keep doing that! They look beautiful cr8! They look like they are getting everything they want.

 

[cr8grow]

Major LST today and trimmed a fan leaf or two to expose branches. Scrog is built, will install soon. Culled the second back up plant, good root system. Checked...no light leaks.

 

[cr8grow]

Week 5 veg training update. Day 31 1 Gallon water 6.5 PH, 1 tsp molasses, full strength Superthrive. Day 34 more LST. 1 Gallon water 6.4 PH, Dr. Earth 4-6-3 tea (weak...feed to veg another week), 1 tsp molasses, 1 tsp Mosquito Bits (see a few fungus gnats...no sign of any other pests). Plan to drop in scrog and flip to 12/12 in the next week or so.

 

[cr8grow]

Day 37 smell is getting loud, carbon filter 100% effective, but seeps out when the door is open. Need to look into some smell cover up for that end of the unfinished basement. Dr. Earth tea burned the new growth tips; I mixed it weak. Just 1 gallon water PH 6.5 with 1 tsp each molasses and mosquito bits yesterday. Tips look better already tonight. Flipped to 12/12 today and dropped in the scrog. Will start feeding with Biocanna Flores and Budswell each watering starting tomorrow.

 

[StoneOtter]

Hey cr8m, Cookies are looking so good and healthy and happy! I can't get over how awesome your scrog and whole system is working out! Fantastic Work Brother!

 

[cr8grow]

Day 41 basically the end of week 6; veg transition to flower. Dropped the scrog a couple inches to smoosh (properly) the bud sites...some tucking will continue. Night time temp is steady at 68F, day time 81F. The humidity is telling me when to water, which happens to be 1 gallon every two days (across all 4 plants...with a bit of run off). Light 24”; ordered the Phillips 3100k bulb to swap out for the 4200k for flowering upon arrival next week. Today 1 gallon water PH 6.5 with 1 tsp molasses, 1 tsp mosquito bits (no sign now of any flying anything) and 2.5 tsp Biocanna Flores. No sign (maybe...?) yet of pistils...could still be teeny tiny leaves? They will pop soon For Sure. I’m traveling to Munich next week, (Yes my favorite beer city). My (adult) son has been following my first grow with keen interest and will babysit next week...has the routine down 100%. You know what they say. “Teach a man to grow and they will have a smile on their face...yes”...I think I just made that up. Happy to pass down all the right lessons. I added a picture of my watering “reach helper” funnel which worked Awesome for watering the back 2 plants, especially given the wire LST interference around the pot perimeter. Waiting for the stretch. Loving all the interesting people first and the awesome info one the 420 site.

Some pics follow...welcome your helpful feedback.

 

[cr8grow]

Day 48 the end of week 7...Almost...I do journal updates on Sundays. FLOWERS and stretch happening...have been waiting for this since my grow box was on the drawing board. Just got back from travel late yesterday and didn’t see the garden since 5 days ago...wasn’t sure what to expect since I flipped to 12/12 the beginning of last week. Plant sitter did an awesome job. I coaxed a few more bud sites tonight further out into the scrog to spread out more evenly...no damage. Added Budswel 1 TBSP to my usual...water 6.5 PH 1 tsp molasses, Superthrive, 1 tsp mosquito bits (a few F-Nats hanging still) and Biocanna Flores. Adjusting PH after nutrients now...With Biocanna and now Budswel means almost no PH Down. Water requirements now up 2x with transpiration to 2 gallons every 2 days across the 4 plants. Basement Ambient temp is steady at 65 and RH 48...watching to make sure the crate exhaust isnt raising my basement humidity to create environmental mold issues...hasn't wavered one bit. Crate temp steady at 81 day 68 night. RH ranges...plants say water me at 32. Keeping the primary Temp/RH gauge at canopy height. Light being raised to 24” consistently. The 4” carbon filter exhaust system is robust and circulates HEPA filtered air a fews times more a minute than I really need. There is zero smell escaping the exhaust vent. Smell comes from opening the door and working the garden. Routine..shut off central air...close unfinished basement door...Ona Gel jar now halfway down the hall creates a barrier curtain...not close enough to infiltrate the grow cabinet. Smell was my number one concern..NO issues so far. Seems to be 2 phenos...conditions are the same so perhaps the limey greener is more Sativa Durban Poison leaning (leaves a little thinner?) and the other 2 are more Indica OG Kush leaning. I already decided if this grow finishes successfully to harvest I will keep all 4 plants jarred and labeled separately to enjoy, track benefits and keep tuning it in. Long funnel helps to water in tight space...probably an old trick. Main stem is the diameter of my pinky. I pulled a few yellow leaves from way underneath...no sign of any leaf pests under magnification...have checked every few of the ones plucked so far...doesnt seem like an issue. Received Phillips 3100k CMH 315w bulb...will swap out at dark day 49 (tomorrow) with the Phillips 4200k

o the new sunrise day 1 week 8 (week 2 flower) will be a redder sun. The plants seem to like everything...just hope I can continue to train and contain. By the way...whoever invented LST is a genius for an indoor grow with limited space. Pics from today follow.

 

[Dsrkmattertec54]

Great setup, plants look healthy!

 

[cr8grow]

Great setup, plants look healthy!

Thanks for the feedback...I will check out your grow to see whats happening there.

 

[Havocsm1]

Nice plants

 

[cr8grow]

Day 55...end of week 8 tomorrow. Raising light 1” every day....1.5 inches more this morning. I defoliated below the scrog yesterday morning...removed about 6-8 weaker bud sites from each plant below the canopy and leaves; pic before defoliation is from 2 days ago. Right after I defoliated I read a post “never trim leaves off a growing plant especially in flower”...we will see if I stressed out the plants...no sign of any male flowers...will continue to search. I removed the LST wires...much easier to water now. Oddly the smell seems to have reduced from veg...assume it will crank back up closer to harvest. I can tell I flipped too soon...I would have had the headroom to veg another week or two...will likely impact my ultimate yield. I’m keeping track of the key learnings for my next grow #2. Watering 6.5 PH with flower nutrients every 2-3 days...water increased from 1 to 2 gallons across all plants now. Nutrients are Budswel, Biocanna Flores, Superthrive and molasses plus Mosquito bits...zero F gnats and no sign of pests (louped several leaves before tossing). I still haven’t swapped out the 4200k bulb for the 3100k...waiting for some more stretch next week...probably will change mid-next week.

 

[cr8grow]

Morning of day 62, week 9 ends tomorrow, week 3 flower. I clearly flipped to 12/12 too soon (day 37...early in week 6), you can see I will have plenty of extra headspace in the crate. I changed from the CMH 4200k bulb to the 3100k night 59, so 2 full days with the new bulb. No change to my nutrients schedule every time I water, now 2 gallons total every 2-3 days...for each gallon water it’s 2.5 tsp Biocanna Flores, 1 Tbsp Budswel, 16 drops Superthrive, 1 tsp molasses, 1 tsp Mosquito Bits. Nirvana states 7-9 weeks flower...I will not harvest before they are ready. Watch and wait at this point. Looking at auto seed options now for my next grow #2.

 

[Dsrkmattertec54]

Lookin awesome !

 

[cr8grow]

Day 69 from seed soak, end of week 10 (tomorrow), end of week 4 flower from first pistils. Disappointed I didn't veg another 1-2 weeks for yield...lesson for next grow. Water schedule is 2 gallons across all 4 plants every 3 days with Biocanna Flores and Budswel...eliminated the Superthrive at this point...also no longer need PH down, as nutes/guano tea bring me right down to 6.5 PH. Buds are filling in and swelling...hope vertical bud height growth continues...didn't need to raise the light today. This will be day 9 with the 3100k CMH 315w bulb. A few F-gnats buzzing around...will increase Mosquito Bits next water...no other sign of pests or deficiencies that I can detect. Nirvana says 7-9 weeks flower...will gauge ripeness on trichomes...bought a 30x led lighted loupe...watching and waiting. Also looking at seeds for grow #2.

 

[Toneking]

Pulling up a seat for this one. Love your set-up - beautiful plants too!

 

[cr8grow]

Day 76, end of week 11, end of week 5 true flower (tomorrow). I sent out a call for help the day after my week 10 update due to further yellowing of leaves, overall lightening of the plants and advancing leaf tips drying and curling up. Heres what I decided to do this week. 1) calibrate my PH pen...spot on. 2) I was overwatering on a routine...RH drops to 30 time to water...not waiting for the pots to get light...I let the plants go without water for 6 days to dry out, not to the point of wilt...was way overwatering. 3) watered yesterday...1st gallon across all 4 plants with usual Biocanna Flores, Budswel and reintroduced Superthrive...PH 6.5. The 2nd 1/2 gallon across all four plants included 1/2 strength Dr. Earth Homegrown organic fertilizer tea and 1 tsp epsom salts...PH 6.8 so I didn’t add flowering nutes. No runoff, but the pots are heavy...stopped there for this rehydrate. I also didn’t add any molasses this week. Plants don’t look any worse this past week and hopefully my intervention doesn’t make things worse. Pots will be light again before I water...then back to regular flowering nutes. I have 2-4 weeks left to flower...will be checking trichomes for ripeness...will not chop early unless I run into a major issue. Good news is the buds look great, fattening up and getting frosty with hints of purple. I added a picture of my new mesh pot raisers to air out between pot and saucer...vinyl coated

bird suet feeders...$1.67 each. I do appreciate the feedback I’ve received from all so far.

 

[Dsrkmattertec54]

^^^ what's up with the feeders?

 

[cr8grow]

I was looking for some bakers racks or something to put some airspace between the bottom of my pots and the saucers...found these cheap and my plants in pots now set up nicely above the saucers...better airflow.

 

[Toneking]

Man those look pretty! I hope my first grow does half that well