Strawberry Banana Kush (Reserva Privada / DNA Genetics) +others

The main part of this grow is Strawberry Banana Kush.
I also have one small Goldmine clone (Heavyweight Seeds) in a 3 liter pot. Placed in the flower tent after the SBK plants (just to fill gaps).

I also have a Mango Sapphire plant (Humboldt Seeds), just past seedling. Not in the flower tent (yet), but I'm using it to make a clone (for Mother stock).
So whats left, after I use the main 'top' for a Mother plant, I might drop in the flower tent ..if I find any room that is
For now, consider this mostly a Strawberry Banana Kush 'organic-ish' grow.

Genetics:
4xStrawberry Banana Kush - Bubble Gum (the male, a strawberry pheno) x Crockett's Banana Kush (the female).
70% Indica | 30% Sativa


FLOWERING INDOOR
Claim: 9-10 Weeks (65-72 days)
My past reality:
For a mature cloned plant, 68 days (counted from first sign of pistils in 12/12 cycle). If conditions are right that is.
NB: If cloned and given too short a veg time (say 1 week), flower time increases to approx. 88 days.
Allowing clone plants to veg well, before flip, will decrease flower time.

Nutes:
Biobizz Fishmix (used in veg, as the main fertiliser. Used in Bloom as conditioner).

Guanokalong Kalong Bloom. Guano in the name, but is actually molasses based.

Guanokalong Extract (taste, bud site and Yield improver). Guano extract, used once a week in Bloom.

Mighty Mite Seaweed (kelp) fertiliser. Used in veg and bloom for nitrogen+other nutes (plus extra plant, root+soil beneficials).

Plant Magic Bio-silicon. Used for strong stems, thicker leafs, improved heat resistance. Used halfway through veg and into early Bloom (2-3 total applications is enough)

Plant Magic Old-timer granules (mycorrhizal fungi and 20 strains of beneficial bacteria). Added when placing into final pot (adds a fungal root network to the pot).

Soluble sulphur of potash and brown sugar (mixed). Used in veg (a couple of applications, later on). But mostly, in flower for taste, smell+bud enhancer - simulates Terminator and Big Bud nutes

Notes on nutes:
Testing organic Guanokalong Kalong Bloom and Guanokalong Extract for the first time.

Plant Magic Bio-silicon - drastically raises PH of water. It must be heavily compensated for with PH down. However, if the feed water is dropped to approx. 4.0 (before using Bio-silicon), after its addition (at dose specified on bottle) the water will be around 6.2 to 6.5

Soluble sulphur of potash is the only other nutrient I use which changes the PH level of feed water. It drops the PH, not a great deal but needs to be accounted for when PH-ing water. This nute is fantastic for taste and smell (imo).


Medium:
Soil grow (BioBizz 'light' soil mix).
12 liter square pots.

Lights:
Two Samsung QB light fittings (240 Watts max each fitting - 480 Watts total). 3000K lights


Grown indoor:
1m2 tent (two meters in height). Added Diatomaceous earth to the floor (and corners) of the tent, just as a 'secondary' defensive measure

Vegged the clones for four weeks.

Started 12/12 cycle (for SBK plants) on the 16th May.

Here they are at the end of veg (just before 12/12 flip), with my rudimentary (bamboo skewers) staking system in place






And then, the miracle of the 12/12 cycle occurs! (with the added help of Seaweed extract)
As within about 5 days, the plants begin to look like they've been getting some serious Gym Time!
Seaweed is like organic growth hormones for plants! These plants are (hopefully) aiming for Swole!
Also added the first hits of Guanokalong Kalong Bloom and Guanokalong Extract (in half doses - just to ready the soil for Bloom)







May 25th - first sign of pistils for SBK (I’ll start flower ‘day count’ here). These shots (below) are from the 27th





I threw the little Goldmine clone into the tent on the 25th. It will be fun to see how she grows, from such a small start (only 1 week of veg from rooted clone)



Its May 29th now. Not much has changed (save some bud site growth). I'll try to keep the reports weekly from now on

Peace.

Looking good!

I should add;
I'm running through the night (as summer is rolling in and temps are going up).
No air conditioner, so working the night ..plus, some heat stress reducing nutes (Bio-silicon and seaweed extract).
Although, hopefully I can keep it below 30c for the cycle ..hopefully

2/06/21 (Tuesday)
Worth making a report, as the plants are growing fast at the moment (early bloom).
Watering every two days.
In Bloom, so far only 'watered till runoff' once (I'll do it more as bloom progresses).
As its mostly organic, I'm not so worried about runoff at the moment. As I'm just slowly building up the soil with Guanokalong Kalong Bloom, Soluble sulphur of potash+brown sugar, Guanokalong Extract, a touch of biobizz fish emulsion and a health dosing of Seaweed (kelp) extract. The seaweed has really kept the plants good and green.
They've stretched a fair bit so far. So, I'm lowering the lights in the hope to slow that (to make the bud node spacing shorter).
Nothing bad to report, everything is looking healthy.

Enjoy the pics

14 days / 2 weeks flowering (since first sign of pistils).

Everything green and growing strong. So much that some of the SBK tops are 12 inches from lights now!
However, the SBK is handling it ok (not much in the way of leaf curl), so I'll leave it (in the hope of slowing vertical growth).

I had to lower the little Goldmine plant away from the lights. Its leaves were/are curling up (at 15-16in).
GM seems to like 18in or above (with my QB lights).
GM showed first sign of pistils on the 2nd June.

Hand watering all plants (with nutes) every two days. Lots of bud site growth.
Just watering and watching

Enjoy the pics.

Starting Week 3 (21 days in flower. Counted, from the first sign of pistils.

SBK plant stretching is over.

Bud sites are growing. Everything is looking nice.

One SBK plant (bottom left, in the tent) is looking a little 'lime green' and has a few yellowing fan leaves. So, I've added more nitrogen to that plant (a combo of seaweed extract and Biobizz Fish mix). The rest of the plants are good.

Temps are a little high (24c - 27c), maxing out at 30c at the worst moments so far. fyi - the top buds themselves; measure a temperature of between 25 and 28.2c (when the tent measures 30c). I can always dim lights (by 15%) if the temps move up. Hopefully they won't, and I can keep them at 100%. Although the plants seem fine themselves. At the timet, I'm just keeping an eye on it

Gave the plants a double dose of Guanokalong Kalong Bloom. The recommendation is 1 - 2ml per liter. Since I had seen no leaf burn at 2ml (and this Bloom is vegan/organic), I thought I'd try 4ml per liter (once), just to see. Happy to report the plants were fine with this (no nute burn). After that, I returned back to feeding 2ml per liter (4ml didn't seem to offer anything).

The Goldmine plant (in a 3 liter pot) has found its spot in the tent ()filling the hole between the four SBK plants.

Watering every 2 - 4 days.

And so, Bloom continues ...

Starting Week 4 for SBK (29 days in flower - counted, from the first sign of pistils).

The Goldmine plant (18 day in flower - from the first sign of pistils) has rocketed up in height and started to bud. Looking nice (see pics).

I just placed the Mango Sapphire plant into the flower tent ..finally.
Had to place it 'under' the SBK plants! But I just want to get a 'taste' of what this pheno is (as I started making a dwarf mother clone from this plant - just a 'Russian Roulette' mother plant

SBK:
Seeing more yellowing on large fan leaves (across all four plants). While some will probably be natural age/yellowing, I've added some more nitrogen to the feed water.
PH, of the run off water for the SBK plants, is between 6.3 and 6.8. Would like to get the PH runoff more 'balanced' between the plants.
So far, the buds are growing and starting to fatten up. The buds have just started to smell and resin up.
Its getting hard to get a decent pic of the whole tent ..things are growing nicely

Enjoy.

Starting Week 5 (for SBK) - 36 days in flower (counted, from the first sign of pistils).


SBK:
Still some yellowing on fan leaves, but it seems natural now (as I added Nitrogen and other beneficials).
The colder days recently have given the canopy a bit of an autumn look ..even though its June

PH, of the run off water for the SBK plants, is 6.5 (for three plants) and 7.0 (for one plant).

Been feeding Bloom nute, Guando extract and Kelp seaweed extract. As well as the carbs, the seaweed seems to be helping the ph balancing too.

Bud fattening continues.

The tent smell is getting dank (green and weedy smells, rising from the tent).

The buds are continuing to resin up too.

Lights are only 11 inches from the very top SBK buds. I should raise the lights really (as I think I see some drooping). But I"m gonna leave them little and see what (if anything) happens.


Gold Mine:
GM plant (25 day in flower - from the first sign of pistils) has continues to grow+bud. Still looking nice (see pics).

Mango Sapphire:
MS plant is just reaching for the light (growing/stretching) and not flowering yet. Its found its place under/between the SBK plants.



Nothing else to report. Its just a matter of watching and waiting.


Peace.

4th of July!
42 days in flower (6 weeks) for Strawberry Banana Kush.
4.4 weeks (31 days) in flower for GoldMine (plant placed in the centre of the tent).
6 days flowering for Mango Sapphire (plant placed in the centre/front of tent - under/between SBK plants).

Watering to runoff with feed (ph-ed to 6.5) every 2-4 days. Runoff PH is now mostly 6.4/6.6 (with one SBK plant being 6.8
Some of the larger SBK fan leaves have yellowed and withered a bit (consumed back into the plant). So I've removed a few this week (the leaves all popped off easily). This also allows more light through to the lower buds/bud sites.
The tallest SBK buds are (still) only 10 inches from the lights. They seem 'ok' though ..and, I guess it means the lower buds are getting more light
Buds are just growing/fattening now.
Smell has increased this week, a kushy/skunky vibe with an undertow of sweetness.

As usual, weekly pics attached.

Have a great day!

11th July - 49 days for SBK (7 weeks), 38 days (5.4 weeks) for GoldMine and 13 days for Mango Sapphire.

Week six was a fun time, the smell ramped up. Firstly, a fresh Banana smell appeared (guessing this was the SBK). This was quickly joined by a musky weedy scent (from the GoldMine). Even the Mango Sapphire seems to be starting to exude aroma. Interestingly, a close smell of the Sappire does indeed yields an over ripe Mango smell. If that transfers into the final smoke, I will be very happy

The Guanokalong Kalong Bloom and Guanokalong Extract seems to have really brought out the best smells. Better than when I grew with chemical (and even Biobizz ferts). While the buds seem a little thinner than when using Chemical nutes, the bud density is all good. I think the kelp seaweed Fert also added to the overall effect too. Very happy with these products, I will be using them in future.

SBK plants have all lost their deep green colour and larger fan leaves are starting to wither and get consumed by the plants (as the buds grow).
The low light (only 10" from the top of the tallest SBK buds) has caused some leaf droop on the upper buds. But they seem ok ..and the lower buds have appreciated the extra energy ..I feel.

The GoldMine plant is looking great (for 1 week growing before placing in 12/12). It certainly handled the shorter grow time. Compared to past attempts with this (using the SBK strain - its flower time increased drastically with a short grow period).

If I harvest the SBK on day 68 ..I will probably start just feeding water at day 60 (at day 55 I will probably start using half strength nutes). At harvest, I want to aim for the main fan leaves to all be consumed and other leaves to have started to lighten quite a bit.

Enjoy the pics.

17th July.
55 days for SBK (7.9 weeks)
44 days (6.2 weeks) for GoldMine
19 days (2.7weeks) for Mango Sapphire

I decided to raise the lights. So now they sit 15" from the tops of the SBK plants (instead of 10"). The lights are now 27" away from the lowest buds.
A wonderful mix of Kush, Skunk, spices and ripe mangos; greets me when I open the tent.

SBK buds are continuing to grow/fatten. Larger leaves are losing a lot of colour. Think I'll just keep scaling down nutes and letting the plants consume their fan leaves. Less and less white pistols are showing, waiting for them all to turn red/brown.

GoldMine plant is doing well. The fan leaves are starting to fade and the buds are bulking up. Pistils have slowed production too.

Mango Sapphire has put on some height and weight. Judging by the bud heads (on the two main colas), if the plant was grown out properly ..it would have a sizeable yield. It also started to throw out trics very early (always a good sign). I hope the taste+high is as good as the plant structure (and ripe mango smell - in Bloom).

As usual, weekly pics attached.
Enjoy.

25th July
63 days for SBK (9 wks)
52 (7.4 wks) days for GM
27 days (3.9wks) for MS

SBK leaves are fading, just H2O2 now. Some white pistils still about and some areas of 'bulking up' still occurring. But everything has 'slowed'
I had to cut a bud from a SBK plant (at day 49 and at day 56) due to a 'hint' of bud rot (better safe than sorry).
After drying for 7 days, I gave it a taste test; very skunky at 49 days, and even the high was there ..just not as strong and on the side of 'rushy'.
At day 56 it was a little better. Think I'll stick to harvesting on day 68 (as with previous grows with clones of this mother).

The small GoldMine plant is getting to the end of its bloom cycle too (a week or so behind the SBK). All looks fine.

Mango Sapphire plant is blooming away. I can see it is a fast flowering strain/pheno. It looks further along than other plants (for the same time frame). We'll see. The over ripe Mango smell is still there, fingers crossed it stays until final drying

As per usual, pics attached. Enjoy.

30th July
68 days (9.7 wks) for SBK.
58 days (8.3 wks) for GM
32 days (4.6wks) for MS


SBK continues to fade. Although, there are still some white hairs. The temps have been high 24 - 31 over the bloom period. I figure that made the SBK buds a little fluffier and foxtail-y (and so more white hairs at harvest).
I think I will still put them in 24/48 hours of darkness at the end of the light cycle today.
68 days have been the 'flavour day' in past harvests of SBK. So I want to stick with that (it will let me see the effects of the higher temps this grow).

During this dark period, the GM and MS plants (that are small) can fit in my little veg tent for lighting needs.

The GM looks almost finished at 58 (some would take it now). I'll leave it as company for the MS plant for the moment
The MS plant is looking very nice. Still smells of overripe mangos and still looks ok in its little 3 liter pot.

So harvest of SBK is right around the corner

*Tent pics attached*

Update:
1st Aug -
Day 70 harvested SBK (this includes two days of darkness).
One plant I hung in my patented cardboard drying box (with 4" exhaust fan running).
The other three plants I just took down and laid them in large cardbard boxes. These boxes all had a bottom filling of old dried leaves branches, stems and a few popcorn buds.
I will, if needed, cut the plants down a bit (if it helps fitting them in the box). Then I tape up the boxes (there are a few small vent holes) and leave them for 7+ days.
The cardboard boxes seem to keep around a 65% humidity. This humidity drops at around day seven.
Luck, phenotype and location I guess. Drying/curing is so easy for me with SBK, cut down plants, into boxes, come back in a week+ and all is done ..ready to go (either to smoke or start the long cure if you want more Kush flavour ..than skunky flavours).


5 aug -
64 (9.1 wks) days for GoldMine.
38 days (5.4 wks) for Mango Sapphire.

Will harvest the GM plant any day now. It's ready, I'm just waiting ..the irony

Had a little bud rot on the MS, after placing it in my little veg tent while the SBK were in the flower tent in darkness. The veg tent had no exhaust fan, I figured a day would be ok. But the higher humidity caught me (with the MS plant).
It suddenly showed some pistils turning red (before they should) near the top of a bud.
And a bud leaf beside these 'reddening' pistils was too easy to pull out (imo).
So I chopped the whole top off the bud (invasive surgery works, at this point).
It hurts, as there are only two buds on this little plant

Oh well, this MS plant was just grown as a 'taste test' really (for a mother plant I made from it).
Good to know this pheno is tetchy when it comes to humidity. Really tetchy (one day of higher humidity and .. 'boom')
At least I now know to be careful, when I grow full sized clone plants of the mother (in a future grow).


*couple of drying shots attached, nothing special as my phone/camera broke. Resolution might be a little sucky*

9th August

SBK is still drying, probably another 3 days. Then, I decide wether to jar ..or just leave in these boxes. I have found, in the past, leaving in the boxes gives a decent 'cure' anyways. The RH stays stable and above 54% (for a long time), so I'm getting to thinking I don't even need to jar. Just a piece of luck to do with my location I guess
The smallest buds (on the SBK plants) are dry enough to grind, leave for a few hours (to final dry) and then smoke.
These nutes seem to have given me the best smell and taste of this strain (of all the nutes I've used previously). The fact this strain/pheno is good to go right after slow drying helps too Curing doesn't make the flavour 'better' per se (with this pheno).

Still flowering:
68 (9.7 wks) days for GoldMine.
42 days (6 wks) for Mango Sapphire.

Goldmine - I'm waiting for more amber with the GM. But its really just good to go any time (its a clone, so I know the harvest windows), one day I'll just pull it out the tent (before lights on) and start drying it. Probably when the SBK finishes drying.

Mango Sapphire - I tried a smoke of the MS bud (the one I cut off due to possible risk of mould), just to see what flavour it had. When I ground it up, it stunk of over ripe (almost rancid) mangos.
The smoke taste ..was less over ripe, but still full on mango.
Looks like I caught a good pheno, as not only did it taste nice (at 34 days in flower!) but there was a trace of.the high too. Very 'clear' (due to early flower), but it hinted at this being a pheno I could take down from around 48 days to 55 ..which is way faster than anything else I have.
Though it will be interesting to see what taking it longer will produce too.
I'll probably take this plant down at 50 days or there about. To make way for the next flowering generation.

Next grow will be two Goldmine plants, 2 Mango Sapphire. And, one or two smaller SBK plants (in little 3 liter pots). Tent space fillers, basically

Peace.

15th aug - Counted from first sign of pistils; 74 days for goldmine, 48 days for mango sapphire.

Just a quick update for these two plants:

GM plant is looking done, but will leave it for more time (to amber up). I'll probably harvest with the MS
The MS plant, since i'd cut off one (of the two) 'critical/top' buds ..the other top bud has started growing more white pistils (I'm guessing, in response to the redirection of energy). I will still take it down around day 50+ (as I want the tent clear for the next grow), even though it could obviously go longer. This will simply be a gauge for when to harvest full size plants of MS in future.

*Three pics attached*