Grow Diary: Gelato x Alien OG (Hermie Grow)
Setup: The pictures show a grow tent, likely with reflective walls (Mylar), LED grow lights, and a humidifier (in the early stage). Fabric pots are used, which is good for root development.
Day 1-7: Germination and Early Seedling Stage
- Image 1.jpg: Shows young seedlings in fabric pots, just beginning to develop their first true leaves. A humidifier is placed in the tent, indicating the need for high humidity at this stage. The plants are still small and delicate. Small white sticks are also visible in the pots, which could be watering indicators or labels.
Day 14-21: Vegetative Growth - Early Stage
- Image 2.jpg: The plants have developed significantly and become bushier. The leaves are vibrant green, and the plants are filling the tent well. The lighting is well-positioned to promote growth. These are still young plants, but they show vigorous growth.
Day 28-42: Vegetative Growth - Late Stage / Pre-Flower
- Image 3.jpg: The plants have grown larger and denser. The canopy is full, and the plants have reached a good size. There are no signs of flower formation, suggesting they are still in vegetative growth or just entering the pre-flower stage.
- Image 4.jpg: Another view of the lush canopy. The plants continue to show healthy vegetative growth and fill the available space in the tent well. There are no signs of stress or deficiencies.
Day 49-63: Flowering Phase - Early to Mid Stage
- Image 5.jpeg: This image is crucial. It shows a plant in the early flowering phase, but with a clear sign of hermaphroditism (hermie). Both female flower structures (calyxes) and male pollen sacs (“bananas” or “nuts”) are visible. The small yellow, round structure is a male pollen sac. This confirms that the Alien OG has hermied.
Day 63-84: Flowering Phase - Mid to Late Stage
- Image 7.jpeg: Here, the flowers are already much more developed. You can see the formation of buds with many trichomes (the small, resinous glands that produce cannabinoids). The leaves are starting to yellow, which can be normal in the late flowering phase as the plant redirects its nutrients to the flowers, or it could be a sign of a developing nutrient deficiency. Female flower structures are still visible, but also the effects of pollination.
- Image 6.jpg: An overall view of the tent in the mid to late flowering phase. The plants are covered with many flowering colas (bud sites). The yellowing of the leaves is more pronounced at this stage. The amount of flowers is impressive, but pollination will affect the quality and weight of the final buds.
- Image 8.jpg: A close-up of a well-developed bud. Trichomes are abundant, and the resinous layer is visible. The orange pistils are clearly visible and indicate advanced flowering. However, seeds may already be developing inside.
- Image 9.jpg: Another close-up of a bud. Again, many trichomes and good resin production are visible. The coloring of the leaves around the bud remains yellowish, and there may be slight hints of purple tones in the calyxes, which can occur with some Gelato phenotypes. The presence of mature seeds would “contaminate” this bud.
Day 84+: Harvest and Result
- Image 10.jpg: This is the final result. The image shows dried cannabis flowers interspersed with a large number of mature seeds. This is a clear outcome of pollination by the hermaphroditic Alien OG plant. Instead of pure, seedless flowers (sinsemilla), seedy flowers were harvested. The seeds vary in size and maturity, which is typical for unwanted pollination.
Grow Summary:
The grow started promisingly with healthy seedlings and vigorous vegetative growth. The problem arose when the Alien OG plant hermied and released pollen, which pollinated the Gelato plants. This resulted in the Gelato plants producing seeds instead of dedicating their energy solely to the production of cannabinoids and terpenes in the flowers.
Although the flowers still show trichomes and resin (as seen in images 8 and 9), the quality of the harvest is significantly compromised by the seeds. For future grows, it would be important to identify and remove male or hermaphroditic plants early to prevent pollination and ensure the production of seedless, potent sinsemilla.
