Day 56 update, and man, the summer heatwave is officially pushing us to the limit! Inside the greenhouse, it’s getting incredibly hot, but the Gorilla Melon is handling it like an absolute champ. No real signs of heat stress yet, though you can tell she is working hard. Honestly, the AutoPot system is the real MVP this week; with these soaring temperatures, the constant water supply from below keeps her perfectly hydrated without any scary dry spells.
To keep the canopy nice and even, I went ahead and did some more topping on the taller shoots to balance out the height before she gets any bigger. On the pest front, we had a little drama: the ChrysoCards unfortunately baked in the intense heat and didn't survive. Lesson learned! To fix this, I released a fresh batch of live green lacewing larvae instead. I just put them right onto the main branch junctions on the plant. It’s working beautifully—the thrips are visibly retreating, and I’ve barely seen any new damage on the big fan leaves this week. Slowly but surely, we are winning this battle!