First Grow - White Widow Hybrid x2

[El_Lobo]

I always start by talking about the runt of the litter. This time I start with the vivacious Abbi. Beautiful as usually getting HUGE leaves. No signs of distress. New colas showing signs id growing (apologies if I mess up terminology as I’m still learning).

I wish I had a small fan in there. That’ll be a goal of mine in the near future. Any recommendations are fully appreciated. I was considering those Pc fans people use, but heard a couple people say those fans don’t push much air at all. I know where I’ll try to have wires enter the Grobo. But, again, any advice is appreciated.

Not going to lie. I’m extremely excited to see Ilana have a recovery since pulling out the tube for pH down solution. I ordered calibration juice so hopefully that arrives promptly.

Ilana is much greener now. Much bigger leaves. I pruned a couple dying leaves off. And overall she now looks about as good as Abbi, to my surprise.

[El_Lobo]

Today Day 35 - 11/14 late vegetative state - I’m highlighting the tale of Ilana’s dramatic comeback. These are pics of her throughout the last week or so. I stopped posting on here for about a week ago because I felt like a bad father. My baby girl wasn’t doing well and I feared being accused of being a neglectful father. Alas, no longer do I droop my head in despair. Ilana is back, bitches!

What did I change? I think the thing that has helped the most has been 1) making sure base solution wasn’t being added like crazy to her 2) adding a humidifier to get relative humidity from mid-30’s to 50-60’s. 3) ensuring temperatures stay above 70 throughout day.

Ilana went from being a sad, discolored mutant next to her sis Abbi, to being a nice, green-topped mass of beauty and hope. Today I cut off a couple brown, wilted leaves at the bottom that weren’t receiving much light. I don’t know if it’s normal but most of the leaves on the bottom twist and are stretch up along the middle of the plant, instead of outward.

My biggest concern and biggest source of shame is I think I topped the plants too soon. The sight of the cut has two healthy branches growing from there, but I think I cut after just the 3rd of 4th node instead of the fifth. What should I know about the future of my plant?

Oh! Also, I’m on Day 35, with just 3 days to go until late vegetative growth is over. If I don’t hear from anyone, I’m going to extend it by a week at least and see how it goes. My plants haven’t been stretching vertically much (possibly from topping too early), and I don’t want to start transition if a longer vegetative cycle would net me more yield.

Any and all advice is appreciated.

Here are glamour shots of the beautiful Abbi.

[The_Reverend]

Looking good.

[miami5th]

Could you include a few pictures of the stem, especially where it goes into the cocopod?

[El_Lobo]

I see how you like it. Ok. Here you go.
First one is Abbi and the second one with giraffe visible in background is Ilana.

[The_Reverend]

Looking very good. Are you using Silica additive? The stem looks really filled out.

[El_Lobo]

Honestly, I’m not using any additives. I’ve come close to ordering some Hydroguard based on how many people swear by it. I kind of wanted to try a run with just the basics, but I’ve already bought thermometers, humidifiers, reverse osmosis machines, and let’s be honest…I’m going to buy more stuff.

What do you guys think? Extend another week, right?

[OrionsCeiling]

Looks good! I have similar spots on my leaves.I think they’ll stretch in flower but not sure. I’d let them grow in transition

[El_Lobo]

I still haven’t decided to extend the late growth or not. I’m leaning towards not extending just so I can start a new grow sooner. I made a couple mistakes on this first grow. Neither plant is very tall yet, but both have been starting to stretch more the past week or two. I read they still grow during transition. I’m hoping 2 weeks of transition can get them a bit taller.

Any advice? Should I be pruning more leaves from the bottom?

[Aang]

Is this a photo seed? If so, it’s generally recommended to flip to Transition when your plant reaches to the 2nd fan. I would extend late veg. Your plant will keep growing.

[El_Lobo]

Yeah, it’s a photo seed. I always read about the second fan being a guiding landmark. Ok. All I had to hear was a single person tell me to extend a week and I’d do it. I think I’ll do so now. They grew a bunch between the last two days. I was super excited to see Ilana looking greener today than ever before.

I’ll extend a week and hopefully they both grow a bunch. I’d hate to have to extend two weeks, but whatever it takes.

What’s the deal with “topping off water”? What are the benefits for me? Should I add some water when I check on them daily? How much! Thanks in advance for any help.

Abbi

Ilana

[Aang]

Here’s what my schedule looks like for my current grow. I’ve noticed that folks tend to extend late veg but not early veg. I extended early veg cycle due to having issues early on and it was advised by the Grobo team.

As for topping off your water - I’m not sure if topping off during the early stages is a good idea as damping off can be a major concern but maybe someone else can weigh in on this. During the flower cycle your plant drinks a lot of water so it’s a good idea to top off every few days.

[El_Lobo]

No denying differences in size now. Abbi is MUCH thicker and taller than Ilana. I blame the ph meter still, but the calibration juice I bought still hasn’t arrived.

I topped Ilana today. This is the second time she has been topped now. Abbi was also topped once, but I’m going to leave her be because she is growing so well by herself right now I don’t want to stop her mojo.

I’m likely going to extend Ilana’s late vegetation growth cycle, but not so for Abbi. Unless someone convinced me otherwise, I’ll likely let Abbi move into Transition mode. It’s 3 days away and I think she will reach second fan by then. Or I can extend her another week. Halp?!?!?!?

[OrionsCeiling]

This really depends on the phenotype and environment. I’d wait til you can get her ph meter right and then flip to flower.

But I bite my tongue saying to watch yourself doing that bc she can get outta hand. Look around on here and some Grobo growers have their plants tucked all around because they’re too close to the light and crowding the space within the Grobo.

A lot of times the stretch is pretty gnarly on these girls (ofc depending on pheno and where you got your seeds etc) so if it were me I’d be careful with extending late veg when the plant is so close to the top fan already.

And if you haven’t been, it’s beneficial to top off water in this stage. These ladies can DRINK.

[El_Lobo]

Day 45 - Late Vegetation Day 21/14

Big day for the gals today. I pruned them more than I have in the past. Both are looking healthy and now have more foliage hidden underneath and getting little to no light. I made sure to get the back side which I miss more often. I also notice less brown leaves in Ilana. I’ve been picking off the worst offenders over time. Abbi is super green and looks very healthy.
Ilana shows signs of recovering from where she was topped. Abbi is growing like a freak at this point.
I took the advice and topped both ladies off. Abbi drank a LOT of water. Ilana not as much.

I am forging ahead to flower stage with Abbi and giving Ilana another week of late vegetation. I hope Ilana continues her recent hot streak of growing bigger and healthier. I also hope Abbi continues on her path.

[El_Lobo]

Abbi is doing well in transition. Ilana is getting bigger quicker. Very happy about that. Been topping off water often lately. Lots of pruning.

[OrionsCeiling]

Looks wonderful

[El_Lobo]

Abbi!!! Boom! Growing like no one’s business. Almost done with week 1 of transition.

Ilana continues the turnaround everyone is talking about. She is growing leaps and bounds. Without a doubt I will start transition when this extra week of late vegetation is over in 2 days. It should be clearly past the second fan by then. I’ve been starting to place a magnet above the highest point of the plant to track its progress more easily. Abbi’s completely disappeared in just two days and it’s in transition. It makes me confident Ilana will keep stretching during transition, too.

[OrionsCeiling]

Great work! They’ll both stretch at least 6” during transition, non Grobo growers refer to this period of growth as the “stretch”

[El_Lobo]

Abbi shocked me with her height growth. This thing is growing so fast! Reminds me of my own meteoric rise to fame in The world of Lucha Libre.

Ilana starts transition soon. I think she is ready. Still shorter than Abbi but catching up. Today I pruned a LOT off of Ilana. I’m hoping that helps.