Fruity Freak #2

BC_Green Another two successful germinations! Fruity Freak A’s radicle (root) emerged after two days on the damp paper towel, and Fruity Freak E’s radicle emerged after five days. Fruity Freak A’s stem and cotyledon (first) leaves emerged yesterday and look excellent! Medium: (Pro-Mix BX + 15% perlite) I am using Pro-Mix BX potting mix for this grow (because I could find BX cheaper than HP around here). The only difference I can see on the MSDS is that the HP (high porosity) mix has more perlite (about 15% more). I have perlite on hand, so I mixed a little extra in otherwise, I would have just bought the HP. I haven’t used this exact mix before, but many cannabis growers do, as well as Robert Pavlis (and I am using his materials as my reference guide for this grow). Here is his take on seed starting mixes (he just uses Pro-Mix HP): https://www.gardenmyths.com/best-seed-starting-mix-including-diy/ Containers: (paint pale liner) I am using clear plastic paint pale liners from Home Depot with holes drilled in the bottom for drainage because they are cheap, I have them on hand, and I like clear plastic so that I can peak at the roots whenever I want. I taped a second one on top to create a humidity dome until the seedling emerged from the soil. Additionally, I taped a brown paper bag with the bottom cut off to the outside sides (not the bottom, as I don’t want it to interfere with drainage) of the container to shield the soil mix from getting baked in the sun. Nutrients: (3-1-2 synthetic liquid fertilizer) I added a little less than ⅛ tsp of Garndenwise 3-1-2 liquid fertilizer to a cup of water, then mixed it and poured it over the freshly planted seedling. This is a ¼ dose of the recommended 2 tbsp per gallon. My fertilizer bottle says it’s for snake grass, but all of Garden Wise’s 3-1-2 fertilizers have the same ingredients, lol. This fertilizer uses a mixture of nitrogen sources, including nitrate, ammonia, and urea, which is supposed to be superior to urea-only fertilizers (like Miracle Grow), which is why I chose it. I also chose this liquid fertilizer instead of a water-soluble powder as I thought it might be easier to give small doses. Many growers hesitate to add fertilizer this early (including myself previously), but there is evidence to support that it can help initial growth: https://www.gardenmyths.com/when-fertilize-seedlings/ I chose a 3-1-2 fertilizer because it is the fertilizer that corresponds well with just about any plant’s growth needs, particularly those in soil mixes (that provide little to no nutrients): https://www.gardenmyths.com/best-fertilizer-indoor-plants-containers/ Additionally, a 3-1-2 falls within the ratio of nutrient needs in several controlled studies, including this one: https://israelagri.com/advances-in-science-based-fertilization-technologies-for-medical-cannabis/#:~:text=optimal%20nitrogen%20level%20at%20the,concentration%20of%20cannabinoids%20and%20terpenoids. Light: (120 PPFD from HLG rspec 100) I have the containers for Fruity Freak A and E set near my already-started grows. I am using the Photone app on my phone to measure light intensity in PPFD with a piece of printer paper wrapped over the camera (to function as a diffuser) per their instructions. Currently, Fruity Freak A is receiving about 120 PPFD, which is within their recommended guidelines of 100-300 PPFD for the seedling stage: https://growlightmeter.com/lighting-requirements-of-cannabis-over-the-full-grow-cycle/ My grow is set up near south and west-facing windows, but I have Fruity Freak A and E containers set out of the path of direct sunlight for now. Water: (untreated tap) I am using tap water as mine has a 6.8 pH (within the recommended range of 6-7). It is also easy and provides many micronutrients that rainwater (also more acidic) and distilled water do not provide. I’m excited to watch these ladies grow!

BC_Green It is incredible watching these plants emerge and start growing, so beautiful! Both plants look healthy and, so far, almost identical development to my other Fruity Freak grow. It will be interesting in the coming weeks to see if there are significant differences as this grow is using synthetic fertilizer immediately and has a much more porous potting mix. But, for the time being, they look so fragile and small as compared to their older sisters. This week, on Tuesday, I mixed a ¼ tsp Gardenwise 3-1-2 liquid fertilizer with a cup of tap water per plant. This is approximately a half dose of the recommended 2 tbsp per gallon. I added a second light to the grow area (mostly to support the older plants), but now the PPFD is 200 (measured with the Photone App) for these two plants. As their first true leaves have emerged, I will continue to increase this number by moving them closer to the light.

BC_Green I want to give an extra thank you to the generous people who answered my questions about silicon. I had found this article and became more curious about the topic: https://www.gardenmyths.com/do-your-plants-need-more-silicon/ In my previous grows, I noticed that plants grown in native soil or native soil mixes seemed to have increased disease, drought, and pest resistance compared to plants grown in potting mix only. I had assumed this difference resulted from soil bacteria and/or fungi, which may be the case–however, the absence of silicon in (most) potting mixes may also provide a full or partial explanation. I will move these plants outside in April/May, but one or both will likely remain in pots with potting mix. With strong winds, slugs, powdery mildew, septoria, etc., waiting outside, I want to strengthen these plants as quickly as possible. I ordered Si-Tech mono-silic acid as it should be extremely plant-available and does not provide additional potassium (which I didn’t want). It will arrive tomorrow, and that will be watering day anyway, so I will go ahead and add some then (I will start with a half dose of the label recommendation to be safe). In the past week, I also raised the height of the containers by placing a box underneath them–this increased the light intensity to 350 PPFD, and I am now allowing the plants to get direct sunlight from a south-facing window.

BC_Green The plants tolerated the ½ dose of the silicon well and continued to thrive. Fruity Freak A is 3.75”, and Fruity Freak E is 2.5”. There is already a noticeable size difference (these plants are larger) between this grow and my other Fruity Freak grow when comparing the same week! Yesterday, I mixed ½ tsp of Gardenwise 3-1-2 liquid fertilizer in a cup of water (the full dose of this fertilizer) and split it between the two containers. Light intensity is now 625 PPFD (measured with Photone app). I’m loving how smooth this grow is going and how beautiful and healthy the plants look!

BC_Green Everything is going along perfectly so far! Both grew about 1.5”. I watered with a ½ tsp of 3-1-2 liquid fertilizer stirred into a cup of water (split between the two plants) for the last two waterings and will use the silicon fertilizer next time (one drop of Si-Tech in 375 ml of water). I have transitioned all of my plants to the sunroom to prepare them to move outside (in about a month). I am setting them outside for a few hours each day right now. Temperatures are varying between 50-80 F (I turn a heater on under 50 right now). I reduced the grow light hours by ten minutes each day (thirty minutes total), so they are now waking up with the sun. This week, I will drop 10 minutes every other night to reduce daily grow light hours to 15.

BC_Green Fruity Freak A grew two inches (currently 7”), and Fruity Freak E grew 1.5 inches (currently 5.5”). As a result, they have outgrown their containers, so today was moving day! I blended more Pro-Mix Bx (85%) with perlite (15%) to make a mix similar to Pro-Mix HP and watered them with 1 gallon of water mixed with 2 tbsp of Gardenwise 3-1-2. Fruity Freak A has yellowing on two leaves, possibly the result of the small container and her drying out the soil a bit faster than I expected due to her increased size/demand. I am continuing to monitor her condition carefully, however, both plants are otherwise looking very healthy despite the transition. It has been a little chilly, so I haven’t been able to get them outside quite as much as I wanted to, but hopefully, better weather is on the way. I am continuing to slowly decrease grow light hours until I match the sun’s schedule for the day they transition entirely outside.

BC_Green The ladies are loving their new pots! Fruity Freak A is 11” and Fruity Freak E is 8”. Clearly, the yellowing leaves on FFA were a result of being in a pot that was too small, as the yellowing stopped after transplant. However, they’re growing so fast that I need to move them into larger pots again within the week. Originally, I was going to keep all of my plants inside (but conditions were tight under my smaller grow lights, thus the smaller pots) until we hit 14 hours of daylight. But my older plants already have pre-flowers (due to reducing grow light hours to match outdoor conditions), so it is time to go outside (I’m going to use an exterior floodlight to interrupt their night to try to keep them from progressing more). I haven’t had to water these ladies since the transplant 5 days ago–but for the next watering I’m planning to use 2 tbsp Gardenwise 3-1-2 mixed with 10 drops of Si-tech Silicon in a gallon of water to see if I can deliver both without nutrients precipitating. I’ll let you know how it goes next week.

BC_Green This week, Fruity Freak A picked up 7” and is now 18”, and Fruity Freak E picked up 3” and is now 11”. Both of these plants have thrived in the outdoors, despite temperatures fluctuating between 40°F and 80°F. I transplanted Fruity Freak E into a 20-gallon container this week, which likely contributed to the difference in above-ground growth. Fruity Freak A is currently awaiting a transfer to my friend’s house, where she will be transplanted into a 4x4 raised bed. I am sad to see her go, but it will be incredibly interesting to see any differences resulting from growing technique, as my friend has a much different philosophy. He has promised to provide pictures and updates for Fruity Freak A from this grow, as well as Fruity Freak 1 from my other grow. In the meantime, I was able to experiment with combining the Gardenwise 3-1-2 liquid fertilizer with the Si-Tech silicon fertilizer, and noticed no precipitation. Moving forward, I will combine both when watering.

BC_Green Fruity Freak E is healthy, beautiful, and now 15”. Her transplant into the 20-gallon container has been seamless (and I should have mentioned last week that I filled the pot with 85% Pro-mix BX and 15% perlite, just like before). She continues to receive 2 tbsp of 3-1-2 Gardenwise Liquid Fertilizer with 10 drops of Si-Tech Silicon per gallon of water, and I am now watering her every other day, unless it rains. Part of the inspiration for this second diary was to compare using Pro-mix BX vs. my own soil blend. At this point, there is no noticeable difference when compared to my first grow at the same time–but we’ll see what they produce in the end! My friend transplanted Fruity Freak A into his 4’x4’ garden bed, and I will have updates next week. In the meantime, I just discovered three spotted lantern fly (SLF) nymphs on Fruity Freak 3. While I saw numerous SLF adults on my plants last year, and noticed no real damage, I am cautiously monitoring the situation and chasing them off as their proboscis will pierce the plant and suck sap out of the stem (weakening or even killing the plant if overwhelmed). Additionally, their feces can cause mold. Neem oil (either by drench or spray) did not deter them last year, only catching them in a disposable plastic water bottle with the neck cut off (as they jump into it as you put it over them) and crushing them seemed to work. Here’s the latest I’ve found on that subject: https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/hemp/news/15691550/need-to-know-spotted-lanternfly-and-hemp#:~:text=While%20little%20research%20exists%20on,an%20outsized%20threat%20to%20hemp

BC_Green I was able to visit Fruity Freak A the other day and she’s settling in beautifully to the 4x4 garden bed at my friend’s house. She’s now 25” and no signs of stress from the transplant–which is awesome considering her move was from a soilless media with synthetic fertilizer to a garden bed with soil, perlite, peat moss, and mushroom compost. It was wonderful to see her thriving! Fruity Freak E is now 20” and doing wonderfully despite the 5 or so days of rain (some heavy) this week. This prevented me from delivering any nutrients. I am going to give her a small amount this morning, but we’re in for another week of rain, so I also don’t want to add too much water to the media. This is a definite disadvantage of delivering water-soluble nutrients in an outdoor grow. If this weather pattern continues, I may have to add some slow release nutrients.

BC_Green Another week of heavy rain, but Fruity Freak E is holding strong! No signs of mold, mildew, disease, etc.! Additionally, while the slugs have started attacking other plants in my garden, they have completely skipped all of my cannabis plants this year. I haven’t been able to deliver any nutrients due to the rain, but I will once the media dries out a bit more. I topped her last week, at the same time as my other Fruity Freak grow (I have pictures of the process included on week 16 of that grow), and she is starting to bush out a bit more, which is perfect. Otherwise, this continues to be a wonderfully easy grow.

BC_Green Fruity Freak E is taking off again after the topping! She’s beautiful and healthy! My friend reports Fruity Freak A is now over 3’, so I will have to stop by and snap another picture soon so that I can share. Otherwise, smooth sailing!

BC_Green I was able to visit Fruity Freak A earlier this week, and she is getting tall! I forgot to grab my tape measure, but she's definitely over 3’. My friend asked me to visit because he had noticed small white spots appearing on her leaves, as well as the leaves of two other cannabis plants he is growing. At that time, I observed several four-lined plant bugs on the leaves. He had never noticed them on the plants when he checked them in the morning, so my visit in the evening may have been the difference in catching them in the act. I gave them a neem oil drench and left my friend a spray bottle of neem oil as well. Hopefully, this will knock out the issue. It is certainly interesting how a short distance can make the difference between having those pests on your plants or not, as I haven’t seen any of them in my yard. My friend transplanted Fruity Freak A from the 4’ x 4’ bed into a 15-gallon pot (with a mix of soil, perlite, peat moss, and mushroom compost) as she was not getting enough sun in the garden bed–and she appears to be doing well overall. When I was there, I noticed that Fruity Freak A is flowering. This means I need to germinate later next year to avoid early flowering. Fruity Freak E continues to cruise along without issue. She’s super healthy despite missing more nutrients this week due to the ongoing heavy rainfall, but you wouldn’t know it by the way she looks!

BC_Green Another week of excellent growth, Fruity Freak E is now 35” despite the topping and looking healthy! Fruity Freak A (residing at my friend’s house now) is no longer having issues with the four-lined plant bugs, so the neem oil must have worked. And it is worth noting that the damage to Fruity Freak A was far less than my friend’s other two cannabis plants, so Fruity Freak may have a greater resistance to these pests. This week, I moved Fruity Freak E onto the other side of my garden path to give everyone a little more space to grow. The cutting (clone) I took from her topping cut a few weeks ago rooted and looked to be the best as far as new leaf growth. So I went ahead and moved her into a 3-gallon pot with more Pro-Mix BX. I had given the clone ¼ dose of nutrients when I took the cutting, ½ dose two weeks later, and now I am using full-strength nutrients.