Diary Complete Royal Gorilla and Grandaddy Purple Grow

[Ill_Evan]

..and we are back ere'body! 

With a bit of revision and some lessons learnt from the last incomplete grow, I am on the way with Royal Gorilla as well as a Grandaddy Purple. 

Royal Queen Seeds - Royal Gorilla

Green Smoke Room Seeds - Gran Daddy Purple

The plan is to ditch the scrog idea from last time. It's such a mission when coupled with DWC, which I am going to keep, but instead of 15L cooler box reservoirs I am going big with 30L cooler box reservoirs. This should assist in flowering with not having to fill my reses every day..maybe now every 2-3 days. 

So in order to maximise yield minus the scrog, I'll do an 8 way manifold by topping each plant a total of three times and using low stress training to get as much spread as possible. 

The Gran Daddy Purple has a shorter flowering time than the Royal Gorilla, this will need to be kept in mind closer to the end of flowering. There is a possibility it will need to be harvested sooner than the Royal Gorilla. I do not want to sacrifice either to a shorter or longer harvest period than necessary. Each plant will be harvested when either is ready in their own time. 

Beginning the veg stage now, I intend to use the coming colder months closer to flowering to induce as much colour in the GDP as possible, genetics be willing. 

The Setup

• 80x80x180 Grow Tent
• 250W Quantum Board with Potentiometer and Current/Voltage Reader
• 2 x 30L DIY DWC 
• Air pump + Air Stones
• Clip Fan
• Sonoff TH16 Wifi Switch + Temp/Humidity Sensor 

I have connected a Sonoff switch to the exhaust system which acts as a temp/humidity reader and can be used to automate the exhaust to operate depending on temp/humidity perimeters if need be. The device plus the sensor cost me R480.

  

  

 

First Few Weeks of Veg

 

 

 

 

 

Plant on the left is Royal Gorilla, plant on the right is GDP. 

Will update at major milestones 

Edited March 19, 2020 by Ill_Evan

[Ill_Evan]

I plan to top in-between nodes 3 and 4. I want to grow out the 3rd node on each plant as the main stems, and then do further toppings to get a total of 8 main stems for each plant. I will also attempt to get this 8-way manifold to be as initially flat as possible for support of the final buds and spread for yield. 

Tonight I decided to take off some of the bottom growth so the plants focus on growing everything above for now. I will top when the 3rd growth nodes have a bit more established growth to work with. 

..I also didn't like how droopy the one looked so it was an aesthetic decision as well  

 

  

[1000Hills Nursery]

@Ill_Evan 

Hey you back...

Looking forward to seeing dwc in action again.

Yeah scrog and dwc is tricky. That's why there's rdwc... that must be your next conversion. Having 1 small common reservoir outside your tent cuts the work load big time. 

Looking forward to seeing you knock this one out the park.

[Ill_Evan]

6 hours ago, Mambawana said:

@Ill_Evan 

Hey you back...

Looking forward to seeing dwc in action again.

Yeah scrog and dwc is tricky. That's why there's rdwc... that must be your next conversion. Having 1 small common reservoir outside your tent cuts the work load big time. 

Looking forward to seeing you knock this one out the park.

RDWC with scrog is the goal  already got a design ready, just need the space 

[Ill_Evan]

Was going to do the first topping tonight but the plants looked a little sulky since the defoliation yesterday so I checked  everything and it seemed all was within limits but by chance I discovered the pH pen was not accurate. Gave it a collaboration and decided to just reset the res with some fresh water and nutes as well as bump the EC up slightly. 

 

 

Got myself a brix meter and have been playing around with it on some tomato plants recently. Decided to use it on the current grow and start recording the brix of these two plants at certain intervals. Brix can fluctuate during the day, before and after feeds, or in retaliation to stress. I'll be using it to determine general health of the plants as well as their reactions to reservoir changes.

I took a measurement of the brix when I did the first few cuts the last update and I recorded a measurement of 5. We are aiming to get that above 12 at peak veg and as far into the 20's in flower. It is said that a brix level of above 12 means your plant will be resistant to disease and pests and will be overall healthy. A brix level of above 20+ is said to create almost crystal-like trichomes on your buds. So let's measure and see what happens 

 

[Djangrow]

Loving this grow! Awesome set up! I'm going to be following this one very closely! 

[Ill_Evan]

 

 

Chop chop 

  

 

I like to leave a nice chunk behind after a top. The growth node becomes nice and beefy which helps the plant support itself later just before harvest when the buds are their ripest. 

Took another reading with the refractometer. The Royal Gorilla measured in at 9 and the GDP at 7. So we have an increase since the last measurement. Will be some time till another measurement is taken. The next topping will be between the 3rd and 4th nodes of each of the two stems now growing on each plant. The 2nd nodes will be removed as well at the time of topping.

Now we wait until the stems are long enough to slowly start low stress training (LST). At the rate the plants are growing, I'd say training will start in two days. 

[Ill_Evan]

Pre-Training

Got some beefy stems beginning to form. Minimal stunting from the topping and defoliation. Enough healthy growth to begin training the plants to grow flat and start the formation of the foundation for the manifold. 

Placed some screw-hooks wide of the plants to get a wide angle of attack for the training as the plants are still growing somewhat vertically and the training needs to be gentle and slow, adjusted daily until the next topping. 

 

  

 

 

Post-Training

 

 

 

Expecting to do the next toppings within the next week 

 

 

Edited March 22, 2020 by Ill_Evan

[Ill_Evan]

I decided to cut the first large fan leaves off tonight. They just looked so jutt. 

I believe I definitely pushed the EC on the seedlings a bit too high at first. The Royal Gorilla hasn't quite recovered as well as the GDP. I am getting slightly more stretch on the GDP, and some thick beefy joints on the Royal Gorilla. The manifold foundations are building up nicely, looking forward to the potential weight they will hold 

These leaves looked monstrous to me on such short plants. 

Otherwise, still on track to top at the end of the week. 

 

  

[Ill_Evan]

I am not liking what's going on with the Royal Gorilla. She isn't handling the rise in EC as well as the GDP. I believe she is suffering from an early onset of nitrogen toxicity which has developed into a minor case. 

I did a reservoir flush on both plants by first adding GHE FloraKleen to the reservoirs for 24hrs and then flushing and reseting them with new nutes and RO water.

I have also dropped the EC on the Royal Gorilla. Sitting at an EC of 0,2 just until I feel it is ready again to rise the EC. GDP is sitting at an EC of 0.6 and is loving it. 

Plants should have enough growth by tomorrow or Sunday for the next topping and defoliation. Should also see a response from the Royal Gorilla in that time but I do not expect the current growth to recover. I will be mostly looking at the colour and speed of the new growth and then adapt from there. Once the old growth is defoliated at the time of topping the response should be a bit more clear. 

 

  

[Dank]

Nice little plantjies coming along there bro!

Do you have to lift up the lids everytime u work on the res?

Was wondering if it becomes a mission later on when they get bigger?

[Ill_Evan]

56 minutes ago, Dank said:

Nice little plantjies coming along there bro!

Do you have to lift up the lids everytime u work on the res?

Was wondering if it becomes a mission later on when they get bigger?

Dankie maijie 

Yes I do. I have modified the lids so that they easily and effortlessly pop off the top and just slide to the side without tipping or anything in order to check/adjust pH and such. I can remove the plant with the lid and it's roots entirely into another cooler box that I keep in order to do just this if need be. Only ever need to do this the few times I flush the res entirely.  

Not too much of a mission when they are bigger but definitely a big push to build the RDWC system the next run.

Edited March 27, 2020 by Ill_Evan

[Ill_Evan]

Pre-Training

Got a good response from the Royal Gorilla and sufficient growth from both plants to do the toppings today and some defoliation. 

 

 

 

Post-Training

Had to swap out the twisty ties on the Royal Gorilla with some sturdier coated wire to hold down the low stress training. The Royal Gorilla is developing some really thick beefy stems and growth points, shorter and thicker than the GDP, both training very well right. From here it's a matter of maintaining the spread and training of the plants as they get sturdier and bigger, occasional defoliation and keeping them happy. It's up from here! 

 

  

 

Royal Gorilla:

 

 

GDP:

  

 

[Ill_Evan]

Worked a bit on the reservoirs today. Keeping the GDP at it's current happy level of 0.4 EC and now that the Royal Gorilla has recovered I am going to raise the EC to match the GDP at 0.4 EC. Also took some big fan leaves off both plants which were blocking some growth nodes. Pictures below also give an idea of what it looks like when I need access to the reservoir water. 

[Ill_Evan]

Took an opportunity to take a pic of the manifold of each plant so far. I am very happy with the initial structure. They will be expected to hold up 8 mighty colas each 

RQS

 

GDP

[Bluntly]

Looking real good bud. Love your setup.

Sent from my SM-A700F using Tapatalk

[Ill_Evan]

I am busy trying to decide when to make the flip. I can make the flip anytime from now and I'd be happy with the yield. Both plants are fully mature, however I foresee a potential problem and that is the heights of the to plants. The Royal Gorilla is much more short and stout than the GDP. 

My thinking is to maybe flip tomorrow to limit the amount of stretch the GDP will have over the Royal Gorilla. They will never be at level canopy height, so inevitably the GDP will get more light than the Royal Gorilla at the end. This may have convinced me to keep the same strain in small tents like this if one is going to do more than one plant. 

Going to think on it for the day then make the call tomorrow. 

 

 

[PsyCLown]

Looking good! Curious to see the Brix readings as your grow continues.

 

Regarding the height differences, I assume no scrog net? I'd open those plants up a bit more and consider  pulling down the GDP plant a bit more to try and keep it shorter for a bit longer to allow the RG to catch up a bit. You will need to find a way to anchor down the twist ties further away from the plant - at least that is what I'd do if it were my grow... Perhaps to the poles of the tent?

Hard to judge size, but I'd personally leave those plants to veg and get a bit larger before flipping to flower unless you want to try harvest sooner than later.

 

In the bigger scheme of things, an extra week or two of veg can make a fair difference to overall yield, and its not a long period of time considering the entire duration of a grow from seed to smoke.  

 

EDIT: BTW how do you find the LED in veg compared to the HID?

Edited April 9, 2020 by PsyCLown

[Ill_Evan]

5 hours ago, PsyCLown said:

Looking good! Curious to see the Brix readings as your grow continues.

 

Regarding the height differences, I assume no scrog net? I'd open those plants up a bit more and consider  pulling down the GDP plant a bit more to try and keep it shorter for a bit longer to allow the RG to catch up a bit. You will need to find a way to anchor down the twist ties further away from the plant - at least that is what I'd do if it were my grow... Perhaps to the poles of the tent?

Hard to judge size, but I'd personally leave those plants to veg and get a bit larger before flipping to flower unless you want to try harvest sooner than later.

 

In the bigger scheme of things, an extra week or two of veg can make a fair difference to overall yield, and its not a long period of time considering the entire duration of a grow from seed to smoke.  

 

EDIT: BTW how do you find the LED in veg compared to the HID?

Thanks @PsyCLown, always appreciate the input 

Yeah no scrog net this time. Too much of a mission with a DWC and lid top. I'll do a scrog again when I build my RDWC system later on. 

I don't want to train anymore in terms of bending the plants. One undercover goal of this grow is to find out how the plants grow specifically with just the amount of training I have already done. The differences in height was an overlooked error and another lesson learnt. 

Not too fussed on yield this time around, so I might just flip early and make like a bonsai type deal 

The 250W Quantum Board LED is comparable to the 250W MH bulb I used to use, easily. The ability to also lower the wattage is great with seedlings too. Overall I would recommend the QB over a 250W MH any day. 

The real comparison will be in flower I rate. Super excited. 

[Ill_Evan]

Got some more pics for you @PsyCLown. Leaving the switch to after the weekend. 

Also bumped the EC up to 1.1 and running the LED at just below 200W. It was suggested to me to run at 160W during grow and flower but I want to see what the extra oomph will do. Honestly just kinda playing around. 

 

 

 

[Stinger96]

Spending allot of time with the girls hey..

[Ill_Evan]

I decided on doing the flip today  Did another defoliation in preparation and there is good light penetration throughout the plants. 

I took a brix reading again, ladies are still sitting at around a brix level of 5. So far in veg I've only recorded a measurement of 5 throughout. I am expecting it to rise as the preflower stage begins. 

 

Before Defoliation

 

After Defoliation

 

 

[Ill_Evan]

Roughly a week since the flip. The stretch continues and another big defoliation done. I do not expect to have to do another big defoliation from now, probably just manage big fan leaves. 

 

Before Defoliation

 

 

After Defoliation 

 

[Ill_Evan]

Preflower enhances. 

EC raised to 2.0, I am overall happy with the ladies. This is my favourite time of the grow. All the training is done, preflower has begun and to watch the daily development of the buds is really exciting. 

 

 

 

[PsyCLown]

Looking good man! I always get excited when I start to see lots of white pistils forming.

That is where I am at currently with my grow, I think I am around a week or two ahead of you in terms of when I flipped.

Do you do you nutes different for the stretching phase vs the flowering phase?