
BLACK BANANA COOKIES #9 & TROPICANNA COOKIES TEST GROW
Today I am starting a Black Banana Cookies #9 test grow from Solfire Gardens along with a Tropicanna Cookies girl from Oni Seed Company.
Black Banana Cookies #9 is new to me although I have grown Solfires #4 cut. The #9 is his selection as the best from that cross and was used as the mom to make his Black Banana Cookies F2 seeds. The #4 was indica dominant and made really nice buds with lots of purple in it. I think this cut may be a bit taller and lean more towards the OG side of the cross. Excited to see what she does. Below is BBC #4.
My Tropicanna Cookies cut is from Oni Seeds and supposedly the breeders cut. I did not receive it directly from Oni but from a mutual friend so I cant verify this 100%, but after growing it out I believe it is. One of the nicest cuts I have ever run. Very frosty, very purple and great tangerine smell. A few pics of the run I just chopped.
Black Banana Cookies #9 And Tropicanna Cookies
This is a test grow for me on a couple of levels. First I have never grown BBC #9 although I have seen and smoked the buds it produces and grown the #4 cut. Second this is my first run using
I wanted a fast draining grow media so I could feed and water more often and the Grow Stones did the trick. They are superior to regular hydroton in every way. Even better they are made from recycled glass and not strip mined like clay.
There are 2 plants in a 2 x 4 flood tray. They are in 3 gallon pots filled with the grow stones although they were started in rockwool blocks. They are watered with my DIY top feed drip manifolds. The watering cycle is 1 minute on and 3 hours off 24/7 and there is good run off every watering.
Nutrients are from New Millenium. Right now they are on a 50/50 veg and flower mix and will probably stay on this until stretch stops. Then they will get flower nutes only. I want to fill the space and I feel using some veg nutes will help them size up better and then it will be time to build buds with a flowering formula.
Black Banana Cookies #9 Tropicanna Cookies Day 0
BLACK BANANA COOKIES #9 & TROPICANNA COOKIES DAY 6
Today is day 6 and the girls are stretching and filling the screen. I just added another Black Banana Cookie #9 to the grow. It was getting too large for veg and there was room on the screen to fit it in.
Excited to see what these girls do. Been told the #9’s quality is off the chart and I have 6 more of them in veg that will be flowered in about a month.
I just harvested my Tropicanna Cookies from my other closet. The quality was excellent and the plant gave a few grams short of 3 ounces. If I had taken her a bit longer I am sure she would have put on more weight.
Lots of purple hues, great smell, very sticky and the yield was pretty decent for a cookie strain. These buds are awaiting their final manicure. Now here is this weeks video:
Black Banana & Tropicanna Cookies Flowering On Day 14
It’s day 14 and both strains have started to flower. Growth has been excellent. The Black Banana Cookies #9 has really filled out and is praying hard. It is really loving that . The Tropicanna Cookies is really stretching hard and has grown over 5 inches taller in the last 2 days alone. It is under 200w of Cree 3590 COBs and also doing well.
I usually use at the beginning of flower but didn’t this time because I wanted the plants to stretch and fill the canopy.
It definitely shortens node spacing by about 50% and I would have seen flowers about 5 days sooner if I had used it. But to me it was more important to fill the canopy with less plants this round.
Here is the latest video for these girls:
And here’s a few pictures taken at the start of day 14.
Black Banana & Tropicanna Cookies Rocking It Day 21
Day 21 is here and things are looking beautiful. I think the stretch is just about over. I love to see the girls praying to the light and it is very noticeable on the BBC.
The Tropicanna was the smallest plant but she really stretched the most and is now taller than the Black Banana Cookies.
Interesting is the BBC in the 1 gallon pot stretched more than the one in the 3 gallon pot. She is taller and more upright while the larger plant is bushier.This might be because she had less branches to push than the other one or possibly pot size had something to do with it. So here is the video:
BBC#9 And Tropicanna Day 21 Pictures
BLACK BANANA COOKIES #9 AND TROPICANNA COOKIES DAY 28
Day 28 has arrived and the grow is cruising along in high gear. Time to turn the after burners on with some bud booster. I have had great results with and plan on using it again starting this week.
The Tropicanna does not make a lot of leaves and other than thinning out some bottom nodes really has not needed much. But the Black Banana makes some pretty big fan leaves and she needs a haircut. I went very light on removing leaves in the beginning.
The plant in the 1 gallon pot grew taller than the one in the 3 gallon and her fan leaves are much bigger. A lot of lower buds are getting shaded so it is time to open up the canopy.
BLACK BANANA COOKIES #9 AND TROPICANNA COOKIES DAY 28 VIDEO
BLACK BANANA COOKIES #9 AND TROPICANNA COOKIES DAY 28 PICTURES
LEGALIZE IT! BLACK BANANA COOKIES #9 AND TROPICANNA COOKIES DAY 35
So far this has been a great week. Jeff Sessions is gone, 4 more states have legalized cannabis and my plants are doing great. I just started adding a bloom booster yesterday and my girls are at the halfway point of this grow.
There is a bit of a political rant about legalization mixed through this video and also a bit about additives andin particular.
I also noticed the start of powdery mildew on my plants this morning. It was not there last night at lights out and actually I am stumped as to why it is there at all. My humidity is very low and my temperatures are above its prefered range, yet there it was.
I immediately sprayed my plants with which is an organic certified bacteria that prevents powdery mildew from reproducing. And it really works.
I dont think there is any other product you can use in flower that is legal to use. I have tried Green Cure and it burns your plants. It’s just overpriced baking soda anyway with a spreader/sticker added.
Anyway here is the day 35 video:
TROPICANNA COOKIES & BLACK BANANA COOKIES DAY 42
Today is day 42 and my cookie jar is full! Everything is on point and looking good. Buds are swelling and the plants are happy. I am going to run my New Millenium base nutrients and the Green Sensation for about another week.
Then I will be switching over toand running it for about a week. I use it as a preflush and it helps the plants transition to flush and final ripening by making the plants think winter is coming. Sounds like a line from Game Of Thrones but it brings out the oils and turps and starts the fade.
Winter Frost is different from additives likewhich can add its own smells and tastes. Instead it helps bring out the plants natural genetics. It has always worked great for me which is why I keep using it.
After about a week the plants will get nothing but water for the final flush which should last around 2 weeks. It is important to flush while the plants are still growing so they can use up all the nutrients they have stored.
In grow stones there really wont be much left after a couple of flushes but there will still be about 2 weeks of food stored in the plants that needs to be used up. If you want top quality cannabis dont neglect a proper flush.
Powdery Mildew WTF!
If you watched last weeks video you may have noticed some spots of powdery mildew on the plants. It was not there the day before but came on overnight. With the low humidity I am running it should not have been there at all. There was a really bad infestation outside in the yard and I think some of the spores made it through my windows and into the house.
So I immediately did a leaf strip, removing any affected leaves and then followed that with a spray of which is a certified organic bacillus subtilis product that prevents mildew from reproducing. In addition I raised my nighttime temperatures because I think lower temps and higher humidity at night gave it a chance to gain a foot hold.
Problem solved. I did not use any preventative sprays in veg because I thought low humidity would be enough to prevent mildew but that has all changed and now everything gets preventative sprays.
TROPICANNA COOKIES & BLACK BANANA COOKIES DAY 42 Video
TROPICANNA COOKIES & BLACK BANANA COOKIES DAY 42 Pictures
PREFLUSH TROPICANNA COOKIES & BLACK BANANA COOKIES DAY 49
Today is day 49 and I started my preflush with some from New Millenium nutrients on day 44. I run this for about a week. So it will stay in the reservoir a few more days before I start flushing with straight water.
They call it a phenotypic expressor or ripening agent. What it does is increase smalls, oils and trichome production and usually starts the fade going. It tells the plant it is time to stop growing and start ripening. I know this might sound like crazy, overhyped BS, but it really does work.
TROPICANNA COOKIES & BLACK BANANA COOKIES DAY 49 Video
TROPICANNA COOKIES & BLACK BANANA COOKIES DAY 49 PICTURES
FLUSHING TROPICANNA & BLACK BANANA COOKIES DAY 56
The flush is on. I started flushing on day 51 so it has been going for a few days now. The Black Banana is showing fade with leaves starting to turn purple. Some buds are starting to show purple too.
Still no sign of fading on the Tropicanna but I think it has a later maturity date so it could take longer to show up. I plan on going 70 days with it so there is plenty of time for it to do its thing. It is showing a lot of purple buds. I accidently bleached one top bud but it looks like the color may return.
TROPICANNA COOKIES & BLACK BANANA COOKIES DAY 56 VIDEO
TROPICANNA COOKIES & BLACK BANANA COOKIES DAY 56 PICS
FLUSHING TROPICANNA & BLACK BANANA COOKIES DAY 63
Day 63 is here and this grow is drawing to a close. I am planning on chopping on day 70. The Black Banana Cookies is very close to being done and the Tropicanna has been slower to fade but is starting to show fall colors too.
Flush was started 2 weeks ago. I am using straight tap water to flush and still running at 1 minute on and 3 hours off and recirculating the water. My res is at 4 ppm so they are getting nothing but water and hopefully will use up all stored food this week.
TROPICANNA & BLACK BANANA COOKIES DAY 63 PICTURES
HARVEST BUD SHOTS
A quick update here with some after harvest bud shots. They are in jars now and are curing. Overall very happy with the quality of the harvest.
Harvest Pictures Trailer Trash Barbie OG, Tropicanna and Black Banana Cookies
Images are shown with automatic color compensation and without. No filters or special effects were used. The lighting was not the best and the color corrected ones on the left are closer to how they look in natural daylight. If you want to find out more more about Trailer Trash Barbie OG her grow journal is here: https://420grower.org/trailer-trash-barbie-og-biker-kush-x-white-og/