Herbal's 2020 Outdoor Grow

[HerbalDreamin]

What’s up everyone! Got my seeds April 18th and started them indoors for the last month. They germinated in a day and were planted on the morning of 4/20. Indoor veg temperatures range between 65-85°F. I’m using a combination of 6500k and 2700k CFL’s to give them a head start before going outside. I have a 400w MH/HPS light I could use instead but it didn't seem necessary. I transplanted the Blue Dream, Blueberry and Gelat.OG to 3 gallon pots on May 2nd with Gorilla Skittlez and Do Si Dos 33 following on May 5th. They’ll go into their final pots before June 1st. I’m growing all organic in 30 gallon fabric pots.

Strains

• Blue Dream (x2)
• Gorilla Zkittlez
• Do Si Dos 33
• Blueberry
• Gelat.OG

Seeds.JPEG

• HerbalDreamin
• May 20, 2020

Soil has been cooking since April 1st:

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• HerbalDreamin
• May 20, 2020

Pot elevators built out of spare 2x4 and ½” wire mesh:

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• HerbalDreamin
• May 20, 2020

Day 2:

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• HerbalDreamin
• May 20, 2020

Day 4:

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• HerbalDreamin
• May 20, 2020

Day 6:

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• HerbalDreamin
• May 20, 2020

Day 8:

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• HerbalDreamin
• May 20, 2020

Day 11:

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• HerbalDreamin
• May 20, 2020

Day 14:

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• HerbalDreamin
• May 20, 2020

Day 19:

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• HerbalDreamin
• May 20, 2020

Day 23: Gave them some Great White with their watering today. Unfortunately I left them outside too long while hardening off. Overcast skies blew off quicker than I thought and new growth turned slightly brownish, no big deal. Got a couple days of rain ahead so they’ll recover indoors and I’ll begin hardening off again in a week.

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• HerbalDreamin
• May 20, 2020

Day 25: They’re recovering just fine from leaving them out too long. In a few days I’ll harden them off for about a week starting with 3 hours of morning/evening sunlight, increasing by an hour every day. I plan to transplant them into their final pots at 5 weeks old (May 28th).

Day 25.jpg

• HerbalDreamin
• May 20, 2020

Day 29: Today was their second day hardening off. Did some light LST to help expose more internodal branching and gave them a good watering this evening as I hadn't watered in 6 days. Found a green lacewing on one of the Blue Dreams. Looks like they might actually be beneficial, preying on things like aphids, mites and caterpillars.

Day 29 LST.jpg

• HerbalDreamin
• May 20, 2020

 

[WeedyMcWeedWeed]

Right on man. Good luck this year

 

[Bionic Chronic NZ]

Looking good man. Some nice strains there too

 

[HerbalDreamin]

Today is their big day! I'll be transplanting them into their final 30 gallon pots this evening. The Blue Dream and Blueberry are getting so big I feel like they could easily outgrow 30 gallons. If worse comes to worse I'll just have to water everyday and maybe feed a few compost teas late in flower. Believe it or not, I don't want gargantuan plants. 1/2lb each would be more than enough.
I posted pictures from a couple days ago but unfortunately I didn't upload them correctly and the links broke, so here are some new ones! They're all a day over 5 weeks.

Blueberry:

Blue Dream #1:

Blue Dream #2:

Gelat.OG:

Gorilla Zkittlez:

Do Si Dos 33:

 

[HerbalDreamin]

They took the transplant wonderfully! Climates been a little spotty though. Past few days it's been cloudy, windy, and cold. I'm guessing the chlorosis on the terminal leaves is due to the lack in sunlight combined with cold temps as some growth purpled as well. This week will warm up so I expect them to bounce back just fine. I began training the branches out on a few of them. It's day 39 since they poked their heads out of the soil.

Blueberry:

Blue Dream #1:

Blue Dream #2:

Gelat.OG:

Gorilla Zkittlez:

Do Si Dos 33:

 

[Sierra Cowboy]

I'm in if not too late I am a week or so behind in my outdoor container grow so it will be fun to compare.

 

[HerbalDreamin]

Forecast is mid 70's during the day and low 50's at night. Purple growth has faded on most tops with the warmer temperatures. I said it before and I'll say it again, this Do Si Dos 33 pheno is a temperamental little shit. Perhaps it wasn't backcrossed enough or it's just a lemon. Either way I'll be nurturing her along the whole season .

They're all six weeks old today and are begging for another round of LST. I like to open up the middle and evenly spread the side branches around the pot. This allows the inner growth to become tops. I only like to top twice, maybe three times the whole grow, the rest I just bend to expose more growth. I also take this time to pinch small growth at the bottom that will never make it to the top. No point in wasting energy on those. It's similar to plucking suckers off tomatoes, though I only do it 1/4-1/3 up the plant. To clarify...I'm not technically defoliating yet as I'm not removing any major fan leaves.

Blueberry:

Blue Dream #1:

Blue Dream #2:

Gelat.OG:

Gorilla Zkittlez:

Dos Si Dos 33:

 

[HerbalDreamin]

Nothing but beautiful sunny days ahead. Mid-High 70's during the day, low 50's at night. I tend to wait until I see the lowest leaves drooping a bit before watering. Ended up seeing that a few hours after taking these pics so I gave them a good watering today.

Not too much to report on other than trying to keep an even canopy as they bush out. The soil has compacted a couple inches since transplanting so I'll need to top it off at some point. I also found some friendly ladybugs wandering around. Today is day 45.

Group Shot (Minus Do Si Dos 33):

Blueberry:

Blue Dream #1:

Blue Dream #2:

Gelat.OG:

Gorilla Zkittlez:

Do Si Dos 33:

Couple ladybugs protecting my plants:

 

[Bnelly]

Very great looking plants! Im also growing in fabric pots outdoors, although im using 5 gal. Gonna follow along with you if you dont mind!

 

[HerbalDreamin]

Here's a short video update from yesterday. I was going to talk over it but it was such a nice day I decided to enjoy the tranquillity. Hopefully the plants speak for themselves.

 

[HerbalDreamin]

Plants are doing wonderful. Been continueing to train the branches out and let the inner growth grow up. The birds seem to enjoy pooping on my plants as they sit on my fencing. Noticed some small grasshopper damage so I'll be getting my netting up shortly to protect against them and the moths! No bud worms for me this year. I haven't watered them in about a week and they seem to love drying out a bit.

Blueberry

Blue Dream #1

Blue Dream #2

Gelat.OG:

Gorilla Zkittlez:

Do Si Dos 33:

 

[HerbalDreamin]

Something to note for the future, make sure the base of the pot is level before planting. A few of my pots are slightly slopped causing the soil to run to one side. I'll try and shim them up at some point.

I'm getting the odd pest here and there but nothing detrimental. I got the netting a couple days ago but I'd like to wait to put it up as my sisters dog is here and would likely destroy it. It's mainly for moths once they start flowering anyways.

So here we go, Day 55...damn near two months from seed. I'm still training the main branches outwards allowing the middle to fill in. I remove all small branches at the bottom that will never make it to the top or sides of the plant but I leave the fan leaves. Removing the sink and keeping the source. If I'm not 100% sure about removing a branch I'll let it go and decide a few days later. By branch I'm referring to small internodal branching down low on the plant.

Blueberry:

Blue Dream #1:

Blue Dream #2:

Gelat.OG:

Gorilla Zkittlez:

Do Si Dos 33:

 

[HerbalDreamin]

Don't forget to tie a big enough loop around the branch when you're training. Accidentally tied one a little too tight and forgot about it. The branch ended up growing around it. I tried cutting out the twine but it was too late. The branch snapped, being held together by a thin outer cambium. I removed the remaining twine and duct taped it back together with a small piece of wood for support. I caught it right when it snapped so there may be hope, however if I didn't seal it well enough it'll wilt up and die. Will post some overall plant photos tomorrow, just wanted to post this so I never forget.

Spotted Cucumber Beetle: These fuckers are not ladybugs and should be killed on site. I'm really pushing it with how late I'm putting my netting up but we'll say July 4th is the cutoff. Keeping a close eye on my plants until then.

 

[HerbalDreamin]

The branch that broke isn't showing any signs of wilting so I may have taped it up in time but we'll see in a week or two. A few of my pots were pretty off-level so I use a pry bar and stuck a couple pieces of 2x4 on the corners. Seemed to do the trick. Had a few windy days so they're showing a little wind stress.

 

[HerbalDreamin]

Week 10 - Weather Report
Temperature: Days 65-75°F (18-24°C) | Nights 50-60°F (10-16°C)
Humidity: Days 50-70% | Nights 70-90%
Wind: Days 10-20mph (16-32kph) with gusts up to 30mph (48kph) | Nights 5-10mph (8-16kph)

Damage: Strong winds messed up my repair job, some of the major fan leaves were wilting by the time I checked them. I cut off the duct tape and re-taped with another support. Seems to be doing better now, really want to try and nurse this branch along as it's a stonker and should yield me a few more zips.
I also ran into some weird damage on the stem of my Gorilla Zkittles. It's shaped like a V and my worst thought is that some beetle laid their eggs inside. I'm thinking of removing the affected area with a xacto knife, checking for eggs and covering with duct tape.
Water: They show signs of drought stress if I don't water them every three days but I'm guessing in the next couple weeks I'll need to up it to every two days. So far it's been purely non-pH'ed water from my garden hose. I bought a pH meter but haven't used it yet, will likely see what my pH is this weekend out of curiosity.

Gorilla Zkittlez Stem Damage: Any idea what could be causing this? Stem boring beetle?

Blueberry

Blue Dream #1

Blue Dream #2

Gelat.OG

Gorilla Zkittlez

Do Si Dos 33

Group Shot

 

[HerbalDreamin]

Week 11 - Weather Report
Temperature: Days 60-75°F (16-24°C) | Nights 50-55°F (13-16°C)
Humidity: Days 50-70% | Nights 70-80%
Wind: Days 10-20mph (16-32kph) | Nights 5-10mph (8-16kph)

Pests: I thought for sure both Blue Dreams were showing drought stress way too soon after watering. Sure enough after closer inspection I've found the issue! I'm uncertain of the exact pest but I'm narrowing it down to sap-suckers as it looks like they stick their sucker down into the rachis of my leaves and suck all the sugars out, causing a droopy leaf, similar to over/under watering symptoms. I went ahead an blasted them with a strong stream of water yesterday as a temporary fix and purchased some spinosad this morning. I'm reluctant to use it though as I'm really trying to avoid all pesticides, even organic OMRI approved ones. I'll spray them down with water for the next few nights and if that doesn't help I'll resort to spinosad
Here are a couple pictures of what I'm running into on a few branches. You see that purple discoloration in the second photo? That's where I believe they're sticking their suckers and stealing my sweet sweet juices.

I wanted to take some time to describe how each of these strains are growing for me, what I like or dislike about them, and how I would approach training them differently knowing how they grow. I'll give a brief synopsis before each picture.

Blueberry: This girl is a BEAST! The leaves are massive and she has great node structure. She takes really well to LST and if I had to train her again I'd do it exactly the same. Top the 5th-6th node and train everything out. Seems very resilient and so far only has minor insect damage.

Blue Dream #1 and #2: Unfortunately these two plants have been the most susceptible to every pest in my garden. It began with crickets going after the knuckles in the stem, followed by young caterpillars trying cocoon up and now finally some unknown sap-sucker draining the life out of my large fan leaves. One of the reviews I read said this strain is very resistant to pests. I'm realizing now they were talking about the true blue dream, only available as a clone. This Blue Dream by HSO is actually suggested for indoor/greenhouse use. Live and learn.

Gelat.OG: This bitch stinks! Out of all 6 plants she is by far the stinkiest in veg. Just walking by her you get a very pleasant kush aroma. She trains very well and doesn't overload you with side branches like the Do Si Dos 33.

Gorilla Zkittlez: Oh how I wish I grew two of these instead of the Blue Dream. Such beautiful plant and leaf structure. Super easy to train and stays nice a squat. It's important to thin her out every week or two to keep good air flow as branches can begin to stack. If my whole garden looked like her I'd be ecstatic.

Do Si Dos 33: What a unique strain. Some of the smallest and tightest nodal structure I've ever grown. I feel like you could easily fit 3-4 colas in the area that one Blueberry cola would fit. She also has the TIGHTEST nodal spacing I've ever seen. I'll see if I can take a pic next update but it is imperative to selectively prune shaded branches or you're just asking for mold.

Group Shot

 

[HerbalDreamin]

Yesterday evening I bit the bullet and gave both Blue Dreams and the Gelat.OG a dose of Monterey Spinosad. The Blue Dream's look to be getting back on track, but the Gelat.OG has taken a turn for the worse. It looked kind of like over watering but I haven't watered her anymore than the rest.
I took a look to see if my pot elevators were draining and sure enough a gopher had completely packed space between the wire and the ground. I used a giant pry bar and manage to shovel out more than 5 gallons of extremely wet clay soil. If I were to take a guess this was wicking water up into the soil and not allowing it to fully dry out. I suppose we'll find out this weekend.
On a lighter note, I was pruning the Blueberry and found a branch that had topped itself, pretty cool.

Gelat.OG 2 day comparison

 

[Head1982]

Looking great. Monster bushes. Super jealous of your dos si dos. I have 3 bag seeds but would love to buy some fems some day. Here a couple Granddaddy Purple I have cooking outside.

 

[HerbalDreamin]

Looking great. Monster bushes. Super jealous of your dos si dos. I have 3 bag seeds but would love to buy some fems some day. Here a couple Granddaddy Purple I have cooking outside.

Thanks Head! I wouldn't be that jealous of her, she's been a bitch and a half to grow and never seems happy lol. Looking great on your end. I can tell you got some quality genetics and great soil.

Drooping: The drooping turned out to be under watering. I've never grown in fabric pots before so I'm still adapting to how quickly they dry out. Did a solid round of pruning to help increase airflow and gave them a good soaking, 5-7 gallons each.

ACT: I'm going to start brewing a compost tea this evening for a Tuesday morning watering. It consists of worm castings, kelp meal, alfalfa meal, fish hydrolysate and molasses. Should give the beneficials a nice boost. Ok ok onto the pictures! We're exactly 2.5 months into their lives at 75 days old.

Blueberry

Blue Dream #1-2

This branch will not give up. Over halfway cut off and it's still fighting top be a top. I'll nurse it along by protecting it in duct tape but if it's not healed up by the time mold is an issue I'll have to chop her.

Gelat.OG

Gorilla Zkittlez

Do Si Dos 33

 

[HerbalDreamin]

Week 12 - Weather Report
Temperature: Days 65-85°F | Nights 55-65°F
Humidity: Days 55-70% | Nights 80-90%
Wind: Days 5-15mph | Nights 5-10mph

Watering: I had enough with watering every other day, it's too early in the season for that. I got a bunch of dried lawn clippings and stuffed them between the fabric and fencing. Seemed to do the trick as I'm now back to watering every 3 days, roughly 7-8 gallons per plant but I just use a hose.
Netting: I originally said the 4th of July was my cutoff for getting the netting up. Unfortunately the stakes I got were not strong enough so I had to pick up some 2x4's and set them into the ground. I began to put the netting up, went in for a glass of water and my sister's puppy ran right through it! Ripped some major holes in it so clearly I need to wait until she and her dog leave (couple days) before finishing.

Day 80​

Group Shot

Blueberry

Blue Dream 1

Blue Dream 2

Gelat.OG

Gorilla Zkittlez

Do Si Dos 33