Hawk's Outdoor Granddaddy Purple & THC Bomb Grow Journal - 2023

[PlainOldGuy]

6/19/23 - Decided to transplant the GDP from the 1 gallon fabric grow pot to a 7 gallon fabric grow pot. Mixed some perlite into the Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil and misted the soil. Then layered the soil and perlite til the 7 gallon was filled. Had a lot left, so instead of transplanting the small THC Bomb into a 5 gallon pot, decided to do another 7 gallon pot. Still had enough FFOF soil to refill the two 1 gallon pots. Amazed at the difference between the FFOF soil and the normal potting soil. Night and day difference in quality! Gave both plants a full dose of GeoFlora nutrients. Watered the two plants with rainwater. And within 1.5 hours, it started to pour with rain. I’m hoping the thorough soaking will help them out.

The GDP still has issues w. coloration of the bottom leaves. What to do to fix this issue? Should the problem leaves be clipped or let alone?

Since I still have two 1 gallon pots with the good soil, I decided to start up with two more Granddaddy Purples. Started germinating two more seeds in a shot glass of distilled water. Put them in a dark cupboard and will check daily for the taproot. Hopefully, this 2nd attempt will go much more smoothly than the 1st attempt. Think that I’ll plant them directly into the 1 gallon pots outside and see how it goes.

Pictures taken after the rain - that's why the plant leaves are wet.

As always, any tips, suggestions, comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Looking good! I wouldn't worry much about the yellow leaves. They will eventually fall off anyway. The upper leaves look fine. Transplanting should really help out.

 

[PlainOldGuy]

Sitting here thinking about it (as I try to put my mind to good use) The Bomb should be blowing up about now. Like I say, I started one around the same time as yourself, and it's bushing out something fierce. I also used the Fox Farm Happy Frog potting soil, and it is great stuff. I've been mixing dried cow manure in with the water. Enough to where it starts bubbling up in the watering container. Now when done right that really gives'em a boost. I'm only using organic fertilizer though, so I don't know if you would want to try that. I also picked up a bag of worm castings from the Tractor Supply, and I've been periodically adding it to the mix. I hope this one turns out to be female. Should know for sure in another week or so.

 

[Hawk518]

6/24/23 - Placed tin foil over the 7 gallon pots to try to keep all the rain off. The GeoFlora seems to be helping – both plants look bushier. The GDP still has issues w. the lower leaves.

 

[Tokin Roll]

Sorry do not realizes you were running two journals.

I am glad you decided on a better soil.

Will you be growing these in pots outside or will you transplant them into the soil?
If they are staying in pots, what are you going to use for your final pot size?

Grow well my friend,
Tok..

 

[Hawk518]

Sorry do not realizes you were running two journals.

Figured it would be easier for me to decipher what I've done wrong (and right) if keep the two grows separate.

I am glad you decided on a better soil.

So am I. When transplanting to the bigger pots, I definitely noticed the difference between soils. The soil I used to start was not fluffy / airy whatsoever. Very clumpy. Even though my wife's tomatoes, potatoes, etc were thriving in that soil, my plants were having a rough time.

Will you be growing these in pots outside or will you transplant them into the soil?
If they are staying in pots, what are you going to use for your final pot size?

I'll be growing these in pots outside. Don't have anywhere to plant into soil that would get a decent amount of sunlight. I was hoping to just keep them in the 7 gallon pots that I just transplanted them to (especially since they already seem quite stunted for their age). IF things go better for grow #2, then I'll transplant them from 1 gallon pots to 10 gallon pots.

 

[Hawk518]

6/28/23 - This is week 9. Both plants seem to be doing much better since put in 7 gallon pots and given more GeoFlora nutrients. However, they’re both quite small considering their age. Clipped a small branch off the THC Bomb that looked spotted. Think this is from the tin foil being left on too long. Sunlight might have hit the foil and burned this leaf? Very surprised to notice the pot smell from these two small plants outside! Very strong – wonder what it will be like if I decide to go with a grow tent.

 

[Hawk518]

7/12/23 - Returned from 9 days out of town. Grow #1 is doing great. Much larger than when I left. It's been brutally hot here in N. VA, but they seem to have thrived while I was gone.

What is the next step here (besides patience)? Low Stress Training? Fim?

As always, any help / advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[PlainOldGuy]

7/12/23 - Returned from 9 days out of town. Grow #1 is doing great. Much larger than when I left. It's been brutally hot here in N. VA, but they seem to have thrived while I was gone.

What is the next step here (besides patience)? Low Stress Training? Fim?

As always, any help / advice is greatly appreciated!

Looking good dude. Better to top'em when they're small. I can see the center of the top leaves are turning a bright greenish yellow. That's a good sign. Means they're about to start budding. I wouldn't worry about topping them now, as that will slow them down. Would be better to train'em after you can see where the bud spots are. My T-Bomb's shooting pistols, and forming small buds. Start looking for little white hairs.

 

[Hawk518]

7/20/23 - looked more closely at my two plants today and noticed a couple problem leaves. I've been advised that it's probably from thrips or mites. Need to find some Neem Oil or other spray to deal with this.

 

[Hawk518]

7/22/23 - Sprayed the two plants down w. Captain Jack’s Dead Bugs spray. Both sides of the leaves. From everything I’ve read, Capt Jack should really do the job. Not sure on when I'll need to reapply the spray (or if I'll even need to).

Should I be clipping off the damaged leaves (the ones with holes in them)?

 

[Hawk518]

7/24/23 – In an attempt at LST, I bent the stems down a bit. Haven’t tied any of them down. Should I?

Also, I’ve seen a lot of vids / articles on lollipopping. Should I trim any of the lower branches off? Which leads me to wonder if I can try using the cuttings to clone new plants. Or is this just crazy talk?

 

[PlainOldGuy]

7/20/23 - looked more closely at my two plants today and noticed a couple problem leaves. I've been advised that it's probably from thrips or mites. Need to find some Neem Oil or other spray to deal with this.

7/22/23 - Sprayed the two plants down w. Captain Jack’s Dead Bugs spray. Both sides of the leaves. From everything I’ve read, Capt Jack should really do the job. Not sure on when I'll need to reapply the spray (or if I'll even need to).

Should I be clipping off the damaged leaves (the ones with holes in them)?

About once a week is probably good. You can spray too much sometimes, and end up burning the leaves. I wouldn't clip the leaves off. Keep in mind they're solar reflectors and they will still function. Your going to get some bug bits at this time of year. It's like a plant reaches a certain age, and bugs just show up. Your doing fine. Just keep an eye on it.

 

[PlainOldGuy]

7/24/23 – In an attempt at LST, I bent the stems down a bit. Haven’t tied any of them down. Should I?

Also, I’ve seen a lot of vids / articles on lollipopping. Should I trim any of the lower branches off? Which leads me to wonder if I can try using the cuttings to clone new plants. Or is this just crazy talk?

Well, they say to remove the larf/suckers from the lower third of the plant. It's not exactly necessary, but it is optimal. That being said, in my humble opinion I wouldn't. I would remove only the small leaves and branches right at the main stem. The ones closest to the dirt, and leave the long bottom branches. The reason why I'm suggesting this is because, your plants are gonna have the classic Christmas tree style shape to them. So you should have one main cola at the top, some decent nugs in the middle, and some less developed airy buds at the bottom. From my experience, those long branches near the bottom will have some good bud. You could tie those down a little, and the ends of the branches will turn up towards the sun. I call it the long horn cattle LST look. Personally, I quit cloning years ago. I recommend not wasting any time or resources on it. If you want to try something, and have the time, and a seed, then I can help you get one germinated and planted on Monday the 31st. If you start soaking it on Thursday or Friday then it should be good to go on Monday. Monday the 31st is two days before the full moon, and everything does far better when planted then. From there we'll show ya how, and when to top it, as to so you can learn how to change the plants structure. I feel like I let ya down on that earlier with these plants. No worries, but let me know if you wanna try it.

 

[Hawk518]

@PlainOldGuy - No idea how I missed your last post, but Thank You for all the comments / advice! Greatly appreciated!

Just got some new Peanut Butter Cookie seeds from Pure Instinto that I’d love to try out. Would have to be another outside grow since I don’t have a grow tent, etc for indoors. Is it too late in the season to give it a shot? Still crazy hot here in Northern VA. If not too late, I can start germinating two seeds asap.

Also, very curious, why did you stop trying to clone? A main reason I wouldn’t mind trying is to get another THC Bomb plant going since I don’t have anymore of those seeds to try out.

Thanks again!!

 

[Hawk518]

7/31/23 - This is week 14. Gave both plants their GeoFlora nutrients. Amazing that both plants are now the same size. A couple weeks ago, the THC Bomb was half the size of the GDP!

Looked closely at the leaves again. Not sure if there is additional leaf damage or if I’m just seeing the issues from a week or so ago. Regardless, I re-sprayed both plants w. Captain Jack’s Dead Bug Brew. Hopefully, I won’t need to use this spray again anytime soon.

No real questions this week. Just watering when needed and letting them soak in the sun.

 

[Hawk518]

8/2/23 - Leaves were droopy on both plants. Watered them and back to normal in a couple hours. Noticed that there were a couple yellowing leaves lower on the plant. Any idea what’s causing this and what I need to do to fix? OR should I just clip the yellow leaves?

 

[Hawk518]

8/3/23 - Looks like it’s going to POUR today, so placed a couple cardboard covers over the pots. Got the idea from @KeithLemon 's grow journal. Amazing what you can learn by reading other grow journals!

 

[PlainOldGuy]

@PlainOldGuy - No idea how I missed your last post, but Thank You for all the comments / advice! Greatly appreciated!

Just got some new Peanut Butter Cookie seeds from Pure Instinto that I’d love to try out. Would have to be another outside grow since I don’t have a grow tent, etc for indoors. Is it too late in the season to give it a shot? Still crazy hot here in Northern VA. If not too late, I can start germinating two seeds asap.

Also, very curious, why did you stop trying to clone? A main reason I wouldn’t mind trying is to get another THC Bomb plant going since I don’t have anymore of those seeds to try out.

Thanks again!!

No problem man. Yeah, I'd give one a try. I was trying to line you up last week a day or so before the full moon. Seed germination works out far better then. I know a lot of people don't believe in that kind of jazz, but it really does work. I don't think it's to late to get one in. Seems like if you start one late it grows extra fast. Doesn't get much veg time, but your probably good until mid November. You may have to bring it in at night, or cover it up. Give it a shot.
Hey, try cloning the THC Bomb. I quit because if you look really closely at almost any decent sized plant, you'll see these tiny yellow bugs. Those damn things live inside the plant. So, what I ran into was that you would get a clone growing really well, then they would eat it from the inside out. Then they would move over to your other plants. I threw it down due to that. If you decide to clone it, look it over really good first.
But yeah, i would just start one lone seed. That way you don't have as much invested in a speed run. Also try to get it in dirt by the 9th. You should be alright though. We'll get her topped early, and she'll take off with any luck.

 

[PlainOldGuy]

8/2/23 - Leaves were droopy on both plants. Watered them and back to normal in a couple hours. Noticed that there were a couple yellowing leaves lower on the plant. Any idea what’s causing this and what I need to do to fix? OR should I just clip the yellow leaves?

Oh shit man! If your getting yellow leaves at the bottom then that means your doing it right!!! Pull'em off, dry'em out and smoke'em. I still do occasionally, like a 14 year old on Halloween.

 

[reinajk30]

Misted them in the morning. They looked the same – two stretchy stems and one still trying to get out of the soil. I’ve had a fan on them since they got stretchy to try to strengthen the stems. As of 6 pm, the strong one was leaning over and the other stretchy plant was looking like it was starting to wither away. Transplanted both into 1 gallon fabric pots and buried most of their stems. Used an organic potting soil mixed w. coco coir. Even though I’d misted them this morning, they were Really dry at this point. So when trying to ensure I didn’t Over water them, it looks like I probably Under watered them! I’m guessing that these 3 didn’t get enough light which led to them getting stretchy. While waiting to take them outside for sunlight, I used a 3 wand LED w. the blue light. BUT the specs say the power has a Max of 90W, which I’m guessing is WAY too low. Will try to start acclimating them to outside sunshine tomorrow morning for a couple hours. Will keep them out of direct sunlight so they won’t be shocked too much.

From the mess I’ve made of these three, you’d never know that I’ve read a ridiculous amount of articles & watched a lot of YouTube vids, etc,

At this point, I’m thinking that if any of these three survive, it will be a major Victory. ANY advice on how to potentially save these plants??

by the way, if you have some questions on biochemistry use this resource

what about you progress? i'm very curious! whole process looks so well... do you have fresh photos?