Humidity can be a problem as the canopy gets more dense. Bud rot can become an issue. Lower humidity and more air flow are preventative measures. Shoot for ~ 40% RH or lower.
Stopping the nitrogen supplementation too early can cause the plants to start moving nitrogen from the leaves leading to early loss of foliage. Not really a big deal unless they start dropping leaves too early, and yield suffers. I don't stop my veg nutrients until halfway through the bud cycle; but that's just me, and I tend to be a minimalist when it comes to nutrients, relying on the microbes in the root zone to make existing nutrition available to the plant.
Of the strains you're growing, I only have experience with Purple Haze. I've grown several Haze variants, they were all kinda finicky. Keep an eye on pH. They can get pretty big, LST will help control vertical growth. They continued to grow well into the long bud cycle....10 - 11 weeks after the transition period.
The high is well worth the work and wait.
I actually chose Gorilla Zkittlez as my first plant because I was told it was a beginner-friendly strain and relatively easy to grow.
However, two of the seeds didn’t germinate, and the one that did has been growing extremely slowly compared to the others.
Interestingly, Jealousy from Barney’s Farm and Purple Kush, which I received as a free seed, have both grown much faster and become significantly bigger and bushier than Gorilla Zkittlez.
What’s even more surprising is that Jealousy, despite being described as a more demanding strain that’s not particularly suitable for beginners, has actually been the healthiest and easiest plant out of all three. It hasn’t shown any spots, deficiencies, or other problems. It seems to be perfectly happy with everything I’ve been doing.
Meanwhile, Purple Kush has been quite sensitive and has had several issues with its leaves, as you can see in the pictures I shared earlier.
Gorilla Zkittlez has also been struggling. Its growth seems almost stunted, as if something is preventing it from developing normally. At this point, I’m starting to suspect that the genetics of this particular plant might simply be poor.
That’s honestly the only explanation I can think of, because after all this time, I would have expected the plants to recover from transplanting, establish their root systems, and start growing normally again. Especially considering that Gorilla Zkittlez was planted about a week earlier than the other two, I would have expected it to be much bigger and stronger by now.
Regarding humidity, I understand your advice, and thank you very much for sharing your experience!
As for nutrients, I’m planning to continue feeding the plants. I’ll also keep using
BioBizz Root Juice for another week or two to encourage further root development and hopefully help the roots fully colonize their 19-liter pots (approximately 5 US gallons).
Hopefully, all of this will eventually result in a good yield!
I also wanted to ask you something about flushing before harvest.
How many days before harvest would you recommend flushing the soil and switching to plain water only?
I’ve heard different opinions about whether it’s necessary to flush out the remaining nutrients before harvesting, especially when using organic fertilizers like
BioBizz.
Do you personally flush your plants before harvest? If so, how far in advance do you start, and do you actually flush the entire soil with a large amount of water, or simply stop adding nutrients and continue watering normally with plain water?
I’d really appreciate your experience and recommendations!
