Brothers Grimm Apollo XX & Canuk Super Lemon Haze (fem)

Get 3 8’ long pvc pipes and 2 couplers to link them together then arch them in front like a rainbow… use that and the fencing there to drape a tarp or 2 over them to block out the light. If you use 1" pvc, you could cut up an old garden hose and slit each piece on its side to help hold the tarp in place or you could get a small greenhouse to set them in and tarp that up for the night period

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the other thing i was considering was getting big garbage bins and attaching pvc/wire “legs” on them and just putting those over top the plants. i think that would be easier to take on and off perhaps. also would be more mobile for relocating the plants for more sun on cooler days. Less permanent solution that won’t be such an eye sore as well…

I’m not sure how well i can flower under those trees the whole time. they really only get about 3-4 hours of direct sunlight at the end of the day. the rest of the day is all filtered through the tree. that being said, they definitely seem to have overcome the heat stress under there so they are benefitting from the shade. I’m just not sure how flowing will go with so much shade… I certainly don’t want to roast all the flavour out because the next couple months are gonna be around 30*C regularly.

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That works too…if you have a shed or garage and a dolly, you could wheel them in/out…I did this a few summers ago - worked quite well though now don’t have that space and if I did should have started a week ago as September 10th ish is our 1st freeze day up here

The sun is the best light there is, it will get through no problem besides when they are in mid flower is when you want to preserve your trichomes…the plants continually make them through their life cycle :wink: If you start now, that’ll be ~the 2nd week of August where the days are naturally shorter with cooler weather coming on - imho, your good to go

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Yeah thanks for all the advice. I’m feeling confident. And I am really leaning towards just using a dolly to go into our garage every day. I just think it’s going to be darker and cooler that way.

Time to start growing some flowers! I was also thinking of getting some aluminum sulfate or just straight up Sulfur to get my pH down in that soil. I also plan to do a couple epsom salt waterings as we get into flowering. Hopefully I’ve got enough calcium in there by now. I’m really not seeing those calcium deficiencies in the Apollo’s like they were before. The SLH never really had the issue.

I’m curious to see how well this soil will supply nutrients as we get into this. I’m thinking around week 4-6 I may want to at least top dress some more worm castings. I know a little Sulfur will at least get my nutrients more accessible by lowering the pH to the mid 6 range again. I’m looking for all the help I can get here.

EDIT: They seem to be growing decently right now so I think i’m going to stick to LITFA and just keeping them in the shade… Because I work shifts I’m not going to be able to wheel them in and out of the garage. I’m going to need help from friends and family to cover with a tarp on a consistent schedule. I’m going to work it out with last year’s sunrise and sunset time data i found on google.

it’s supposed to feel like 37 with humidity tmrw so I think maxing out the shade is about all I can do for these babies. We can see how well they flower with just this amended soil, maybe I’ll add a little something as we get further into it. I’m starting the outdoor flip this week.

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Here is the abomination I have created and I’m not sure it’s even going to work… I don’t think it’s dark enough. I may have to put a drop sheet around the back and even possibly over top as a second layer to block out more light… this tarp isn’t even totally opaque. I can see light coming through.

I will definitely invest in a green house or shed next year. The pvc cost hardly anything but… ya…

At least i can throw the tarp over a lot easier than hauling to the garage but like I said, it is not really dark in there…

Here’s the plants before they get “flipped” final veg shot…

Super Lemon Haze:

Apollo XX 1:

Here’s an older leaf showing a bit of calcium deficiency I think… I’ve been pruning off leaves like this very frequently on both the Apollos. Pretty much any leaves that actually get big end up suffering from heat stress and curling up and crispy and or calcium deficiency it seems. I do believe adding dolomite lime top dressing when I did in the 5 gal fabric pots and transplanting to fresh soil helped but I’m still seeing a bit of these symptoms.

Apollo XX 2:

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Certainly not pretty though it’ll work :wink: Here is one of my friends tarp job set up to help ease your mind and perhaps give you ideas for yours for next year…

Iirc, he uses panda film for the roller bars to give the plants some shade then throws the tarp on for the dark period

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ya that is pretty sweet. maybe i’ll get some panda film for same shade as this location is more direct sun again.

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Looking good, that has to be one pain in the ass, putting that tarp on and taking it off everyday.

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Yeah, he planned on putting the tarp on casters though either it didn’t pan out or that was last years pics…was thinking of doing the same with my empty chicken run though time got away from me - really sucks having short summers

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Found this sweet interactive database for sunrise and sunset times. https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/canada/kitchener

So here’s my plan…

Flowering schedule:

JULY 14th:
Cover @ 5 pm until august 1. (sunrise 6 am, sunset 9 pm) ~ 13 hrs dark

AUGUST:

Cover before sunrise (5:45am - 8:45am) sun set at 8:45, by end of august, uncover at 8 am (sun set 8 pm) ~ 12 hrs dark

SEPT:

Sept 8 DAYLIGHT of: 6:53 am - 7:45 pm just under 13 hrs, by sept 15 end of week 9, 7:01 am - 7:32 pm, 12.5 hrs, by sept 22, end of week 10, 7:07 - 7:21, 12 hours and 14 mins, by sept 29, end of week 11, 11 hours and 50 mins. so second week of september i’m no longer covering and ramping down from ~ 11 hrs of natural uncovered darkness to 12 hours and 10 minutes of darkness by the fourth week of sept.

Based on what I’ve seen of people growing the new Apollo 11, it will likely go close to 11 weeks and the SLH will go at least 12. So by those times I’m getting just under 12 hours of daylight without any covering. I’m also avoiding the major temperature drop and rain that comes in october. So i’m satisfied with this schedule…

If I had time, or an automatic system, I think ideally I would cover every morning when it’s cooler and uncover for exactly 12 hours until sunset and then stop covering so that I could be just under 12 hours of daylight by week 10-11. But I’m only one or two weeks off from achieving that anyway. Hopefully I can test those schedules out in future years running the same clones.

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Congratulations on your forthcoming daughter.

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thanks stillsmoking. four more weeks :slight_smile:

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Day 106:

Over the last couple days I tried super cropping. I’m trying to get that lower growth caught up. As per my plan, I will start light deprivation/covering in 8 more days, July 14. I’ll continue to super crop into the first few weeks of flowering and hopefully build an even canopy of buds. I know at that point I can pretty much cut off all the lower fan leaves.

Honestly I’ve been doing a whole lot of pruning since the get go… from pinching to pulling off pretty much all the leaves that show any deprivation or even get eaten too much by bugs. New healthier growth seems to replace quickly.

Apollo XX 1:

Apollo XX 2:

Super Lemon Haze:

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Looks fantastic…excited for flower follow-up

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Day 112:

Going to induce flowering by covering at 5 pm tomorrow until 2nd week of sept when the days are about 12/12 again. Then potentially finish a 12 week flower cycle by first week of october.

I just top dressed about a quarter cup of dolomite lime and 4 tsp of aluminum sulphate in 7.5 litres of tap water. I’m concerned of calcium deficiency now that i’ve seen it and i figure with all the super cropping i need to supplement cal and mg even more. Seems to be a very common deficiency anyway.

I will see how the flowers come in and maybe in 6 weeks feed some extra potassium. I will do a regular tap watering in about 2 days and test soil pH. last check was about 7 after the 15 gal transplant so we’ll see what this does. I’m expecting a slight acidity due to the dissolved aluminum sulphate (in the water) getting down faster than the top dress can dissolve and sink in and balance back toward alkaline. so with the aluminum sulphate i will remain at the CIL brand recommendations of 3/5 tsp per litre every 2-3 weeks (2 weeks).

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Day 123:

This is actually a few days ago after all the super cropping. There’s one branch that looked like a bad bend that did actually die hanging down off the super lemon haze there in the middle pot. There is also another picture of the Apollo XX 1 (on the left) I topped by accident went I tried bending a stem without pinching it and softening it first. It actually may have been a good thing however it will really look “slightly different” from Apollo XX 2 now.

Covering and uncovering everyday is extremely ridiculous now that I’m actually doing this. I’m only on day 4 now but I put a second layer blanket and it’s darker. I’m givin them with some more aluminum sulphate tap water, only 11 days later, but they need a good drink and I did throw a lot of lime on top before. 8 tsp in 7.5 L watering can.

I’m going to try for weekly updates on the flowering and tarp covering!

I think i may need to hit them with some fertilizer as this soil depletes in the next month or so??

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Day 133:

Two and a half weeks of flowering.

I have not been totally consistent with covering times but if I’m busy I’ll throw the tarp on early and give extra dark rather than less than 12 hours. I don’t think ive had longer than like a 13.5 hr dark cycle, usually about 12-12.5.

Apollo XX 2:

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Just edited the previous post for the flowering pics so far… should note that I have done two aluminum sulphate waterings now, I think I’m due for a third, I’ll keep running that stuff every two weeks through flower unless the soil pH starts going lower than 6.5. I used the ph meter and got slightly less than 7 after a regular hose watering over a week after the first two aluminum sulphate waterings so I’m convinced that stuff is an easy way to add acidity to soil and Sulfur too i think… I absolutely loaded lime on top too so the fact that it still acidified the soil a little about half a foot down is impressive.

However I’m not sure if the “contains organic ingredients” Miracle Grow shake n feed I just loaded on top affected pH at all. I just gave a liberal shaking, and then folded it through a couple inches of a generic compost/peat gardening soil mix, probably 3 times the recommended shake n feed. I think the slow release will hopefully be sufficient to take these plants through the final 8 or 9 weeks of flower.

I was also thinking I might even want to add some K right in the middle to end of flowering somehow…

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It is just as easy to use sulphur, gypsum or Epsom salts, if you want to acidify your soil. As well as add something beneficial to the plants. Aluminum is toxic to plant roots, and your brain. Dementia is increasing in populations where aluminum fluoride was and is added to drinking water, and is a known neuro toxin, now banned in Europe. Aluminum is not a good substance to put in your body in whatever form it comes in.

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Day 140:

2 days shy of 4 weeks into flowering by tarp cover.
I think from here out I will start using some flower/ bloom fertilizer. I’m totally open to suggestions but right now I’ll likely just hit it with whatever I find at the garden centre.


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