It really smells like fruit gum, while I was topping the plants for a second time my fingers had a smell not just of cannabis but also a fruit gum odor. The strain I am growing is called Zebra Stripe and its known for that smell. I do not think I noticed it on the first topping, so its possible the smell forms once the plants become more mature. I wonder how much it will smell like gum while flowering as well.
 Strain: | Zebra Stripe |
|---|---|
 Dominance: | 80/20 Indica Dominant Hybrid |
 Nutrients used: | Foxfarm Grow big and Foxfarm Big Bloom / CO2 enriched grow environment |
 Phenotype traits: | Compact nodes and short but wide growth, stubby leaves. During flower should be able to turn purple or black due to genetics from the blackwater strain |
 Lineage: | Blackwater x Blueberry Muffin x Alien OG |
 Current growing stage: | Vegetative |
 Current plant age: | 36 days old |
 Sex: | Feminized |
 Location: | Central Virginia USA. |
Topping the plants help form a new structure that will work better when it comes to the next step of flowering. I will be using a netting to help support the plant while it forms as large buds as possible. Normally this can be an issue, but the netting helps to hold up the buds and stop them from falling over.
The way I trim the stem of the plants is I wait until three nodes have formed, meaning the leaf sets on both sides have mature growth at three levels. And then I cut off the next level leaving just a small nub on it. This will help keep it from splitting later on in growth having that nub.
The nub makes for a joint later in the growing period giving it more strength.
All four of them are doing well, though not all the same height right now. I am going to train the bigger ones to help the smaller ones catch up.
I keep my light around 20 inches from the plants, using my back of my arm under the light to tell is its too strong at the plants canopy.
My plan is to let them keep vegging until they reach around 15-17 inches and then I will flower them. Until then I will keep topping them along the way top help form more horizontal growth. This will aid me when it comes to the netting, so I can fill up every square.
The second topping went well for the bigger plants, smaller ones had less formed third nodes.
We can see where I cut the stem and now that encourages the plant to grow new leaves from both sides doubling the stems forming on the plant.
Its fun growing an indica dominant plant again. I am not sure if I have grown any of those in Virginia yet. I suspect the first seeds I had were indica dominant so its very possible. But now confirmed with this grow it sure is. And makes sense it looks like one too.
Noticing their uptake in water I will start using the moisture meter to make sure they get enough water every day.
Its hard to say how soon exactly I will flower them. Maybe a week, or two. Hard to say, just need to see how the big plants respond to training, and the small ones respond to topping while they catch up. I want a uniform canopy when doing the netting grow style SCROG.
Soon I can put up the netting at the desired height, and then it should be easy to tell when they reach that point. From there I can flower them and start training the plants in the netting during the stretching period. Then I just wait a few months for the buds to form and its ready for harvest.
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