Thanks Emeraldo!
I did comprehensively drench the pots before leaving. I did the same last year too, but last year there was rain in my absence. The balcony (quadlined) pots cop the sun, and the sun heats up the balcony stone paving which adds to the heat/water stress when no rain. For sure next time I will have to ensure I have some supplementary system to provide some moisture assistance. The Bluemat system sounds interesting, the local grow shop has some of the range, something to look into. I could have put the pots in a deep dish too, I considered that but I didn't really want to have the roots overly sitting in water after always carefully keeping them well drained. It was also suggested that I could have hooked a timer to a sprinkler or soaker hose and have it coming up the side of the house to the balcony but for that I was concerned it might look too obvious to my neighbors (that's stealth growing paranoia for you!).
The up-topped tall suspected male is looked hugely improved. That was a big surprise to see how much it has come back from having previously been so 'lime green' pale. In hindsight, I feel I had been too especially conservative with Nitrogen amendments after having read posts that shared caution on the dangers of over doing it - but it is all down to actual experience of knowing how much quantity is too much or not enough. So anyway, male or not, I am super pleased to have successfully treated that back to much better visible health when in past grows I have failed to overcome Nitrogen deficiency by being too cautious. A huge big thanks to you for sharing your experience - really really helpful! After all, when doing an outdoor grow, if you terminally mess up you have to wait another year to try again next season which is gutting.
My very first grow on that balcony was a late start and over the same break when I returned it was similarly severely wilted. But that plant recovered and went on to produce the best sticky buds I have ever produced. So who knows what will happen to these but I'll be happy if this episode of dehydration produces a similar result!
It is wonderful how the plant under water stress conditions will sequentially allocate a limb or two to sacrifice and allow to wilt before more of the plant is affected. The 2 girls (2-WW & 3-WWG) both have sacrificed and lost some of the bigger older fan leaves from the dehydration so in effect they have received a defoliation of sorts from this lack of water episode.
I think the smaller potted girl (2-WW) is also looking improved. To 4-WWG I applied half cup of Blood n Bone, but to 2-WW I was more cautious as I knew it was a girl and didn't want to risk overdoing it, so I only gave 1.5 tablespoons each of Blood n Bone and Fish Meal as it wasn't in as bad a state. I will wait a couple of days and may give it a little more Blood n Bone. But it looks like it is gaining more color so it may be ok, I don't want to upset it's flowering stage by giving too much.
I am kicking myself for wasting a Gorilla Glue Auto seed, which this morning shows no change and has clearly died. I started with 10 seeds of the Gorilla Glue Autos, so I felt I could risk germinating one in my absence as the outdoor grow season is already well advanced. Anyway, I have another seed that has been soaking overnight and will plant that in the same pot today. I may lightly work in a little Blood n Bone and Fishmeal (maybe 2 tablespoons each) around the outer perimeter of the pot where the seedling's roots are unlikely to reach for presumably at least a couple of weeks or so. It is one of my big pots (50 liters) so there should be sufficient room from the center of the pot where I'll shallowly bury the seed before it's roots reach the amended soil. I may even kick off a couple more Gorilla Glue Autos as I want to try my hand at forcing one to develop female pollen and then if successful I can produce a whole bunch of female Gorilla Glue Auto seeds.
The soil is getting 'baked' on the balcony so I have been careful about not getting water too close to it, as I have seen 'damping off' before and it's not pretty.
