Zampano's Second Grow đź’¨

Strawberry Gorilla auto, Gorilla Cookies auto

Hello folks!
Like the title says, this is only my second grow so I’m by no means any sort of an expert. If you’re reading this to learn anything you’re probably better off looking elsewhere, but if you want to read about some country boy learning to grow his own grass - welcome.

I take ALOT of notes. This journal is 1 of 3 i keep, this being my “online copy”.

My first grow (White Widow auto, ILGM starter kit) brought me in just over 5oz. which was a pretty big deal to me…and its good stuff!
I had alot of help from my friend @Lostgirl who more or less held my hand thru the entire grow, and now it’s time to pretend that i know what I’m doing and go for a second round.

My hopes are that I will harvest in early spring, just before the weather shifts.
I may at that time change gears to an outdoor grow for the summer months, we’ll see.

To begin:

We’re growing a Strawberry Gorilla auto “Betty” and a Gorilla Cookies auto “Wilma” from 420 Fast Buds.

I have a 3x3 Viosun Grow tent with intake and exhaust both. I have a Vivosun Aerolight Wing 200w lamp (im going to have to upgrade). I also have the humidifier and dehumidifier both, a few fans, etc.

We’re using a 4:1 mixture of Happy Frog and perlite.
We’re using Advanced Nutrients fertilizer, Bloom City Silica and Cal-Mag, and Microbe Life Photosynthesis Plus and Vegetable Yield Enhancer when the time comes.

These seeds were dropped into a water/hydrogen peroxide mix December 31, 2024.

January 2 we got a tail on Betty January 3 for Wilma.

January 3 these seeds were put in prepared Dixie cups and given a misting of a very diluted water/seaweed fertilizer mixture (it’s also worth mentioning that the hole the seeds were put into had a pinch of Mycorrhizal Root Stimulant) placed on a heating mat and covered with a dome. 5x a day the dome was removed to mist the soil, mist the dome itself and check progress.

My light was set on 25%. Not necessary but why not. We are on an 18/6 lighting schedule.

January 5 both seeds broke soil early in the day and the dome was removed January 6.

January 6 I also increased my light to 35%. I’ll increase this to 50% (per manufacturer suggestion) at the end of the week, placed 24" above my seedlings.

Today (January 7) we are in the earliest stages of things so there isnt a whole lot going on. We’re maintaining a temperature of 75°-80° and RH of 60%-80%, the humidity being a challenge but nothing i can’t handle. Like much of the country we’re deep into one hell of a cold spell so I’ve had to make use of a space heater in my grow room to keep things warm.

Wilma (Gorilla Cookies) is large and in charge, however Betty (Strawberry Gorilla) is having a hard time shedding that little seed - if you look closely you can see where she’s actually got a little tear. Something I’m only somewhat worried about…let nature do what nature does…but this may have to be addressed soon.

I’m giving them very, very small drinks (really just saturating the top of the soil) with the water/seaweed solution 2x a day via spray bottle, careful not to hit my seedlings. Checking for signs of stress a few times a day.

In a couple weeks ill be transplanting these ladies into 3 gallon grow bags, and thats when the real fun begins.

So there you have it! A very long-winded first journal entry. Let the good times roll!

This being my second grow if anyone has anything to chime in with, I’m all ears. I’ll never shrug off good advice from those who know their craft.

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Im trying to tag some folks but it won’t let me. Ah well.

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I just finished up 3 Gorilla Cookie autos, great smoke you do get a bit of lemon/citrus and the plants grow like crazy. Good luck :+1: will follow along. If you want in my bio is a link to my journal, pretty long, but the gorilla cookie grow is near the end.

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Pretty detailed starter journal entry. I’m intrigued and would love to hang about and watch you do your thing. :+1:t2:

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Along for the ride!

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Set to watch growmie :metal::metal:

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@Fieldofdreams @Crazy81 @patrick1960 @SausageMahoney Ahoy there!

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Im watching ypu lol

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I’ll join the party :partying_face: :tada: :partying_face:

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@Mmanson1981 i missed that, sorry!
@Lostgirl hello friend, glad youre following along!

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Sneaking in for a looksie…

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:rofl::joy:
You got this, we have faith. You had a great teacher. @Lostgirl knows her stuff.
Following along.

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After a little finessing I was able to break the shell off of Wilma (GC) she’s looking so stunted, ugh.

She’ll recover…

The little Vivosun humidifier I had just wasn’t cutting it. I forgot how difficult a time i had with maintaining my desired RH with my last grow.

So i went ahead bought a little tabletop humidifier from Lowe’s today for $80, put that bad boy in my tent and saw the numbers skyrocket, that’ll do.



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I know you’re new humidifier solved your problem however, when you in the seedling stage struggling with humidity using a dome over top the Solo cup surfaces the issue while you work on resolving it.

It’s so important for autoflowers to have zero (0) complications during the first two weeks (the seedling stage.) it’s been my experience that stunting the autoflower plant generally happens from complications in the first 10 days

(Food for thought)

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I was actually wondering if covering it again might not be the best option, now i know. :rofl:

I’ll get a dome back on her for a couple days and see how things pan out.

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Eew, gross.


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Today i went ahead and increased the light intensity to 50, per the manufacturer suggestion.

I gotta say, im a little worried about Betty, the Strawberry Gorilla. It took her so long to shed that shell from the seed and you can see how stunted she is compared to Wilma, the Gorilla Cookies.

Im hoping this little dome I put over her will help her perk up. She has perked up a little but…oof, i dont know.

Ive tossed around the idea of juat taking the loss and starting with a new seed altogether (i have some White Widow and Northern Lights seeds on hand), but i really had my heart set on these two particular strains.

In other news, if anyone has ever dealt with humidity issues pick you up one of those little humidifiers i picked up the other day. That little bugger has made a big difference for me.

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Hehehehe we are in a snow maker now, not getting alot 4" tonight, just another winter day in NL Michigan.

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I grew up in Northern Arizona and spent a good chunk of my 20s in Minnesota/Wisconsin, ive seen enough snow for one lifetime. :sweat_smile:

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I like winter its quite time up here, then the dreaded mud season then fudgie season!

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