Last run of the growing season. Biscotti Mintz by Barney's Farm. I wasn't satisfied with the last crop's yield so i wanted another crack at it. This time I'm armed with a digital Lux meter so i can better dial in the light without the guesswork. Looking to start the clones off with between 5000 and 7000 LUX at the canopy. But i didn't like the brightness at 8000 so i upped it to 15,000 Lux. I think the 5k to 8k Lux recommendations for clones was for clones in the process of rooting. Recommended Lux values for vegging plants is between 15,000 and 50,000 Lux. They were very lanky with long internodal spacing which I thought might be insufficient lighting. Because the other Biscotti Mintz grows and research i've done, shows a very bushy indica trait growth pattern. So either i have a shitty pheno, or my lighting wasn't good enough. I'm guessing it was the light because preliminary testing with the Lux meter showed that my canopy was quite under lit last run. Again using 3 gallon pots, this time i am crossing my fingers with the substrate because it is reused coco that i washed and buffered myself. I've never done this before so i have no idea what's going to happen. For all i know they will all be dead in a few days lol. Anyways, i tested the coco pH last night, and after buffering with 2x strength calmag and soaking the coco in a 6.0 pH for 48 hours, the pH is sitting around 6.8 in the coco. Not where I wanted it, but it's doable. I believe the coco brand new out of the bag measures at 6.8 so... I will be watering in 6.0 pH to try to achieve a balance. Treating the roots before planting with Azos and dusting the planting hole with Mykos. The nutrient solution is very mild to start off. About 450ppm. Hygrozyme will be added to the mix and watered in to help break down the old dead root matter that wasn't able to be sifted out of the coco. The cellulase will break those roots down into usable food for the plant to uptake, and clean up the dead roots at the same time. Hygroben will also be added because i have some left from the last crop. And after seeing the results of using bacteria, i'm pretty sold on using it. Today is March 4th, 2024. I like to start on the first of the month but i like starting on Monday's better for keeping my weed soaked brain organized a little easier. I'm thinking to do half strength doses 2x per week instead of full doses 1x per week. It's twice the mixing, but that's ok. There will be 7 plants in total, and the experiment i am running this time, for anyone that wants to check out, is 1 of the plants i will do a seriously severe defoliation on while leaving the rest untouched. And we'll see how it plays out yield wise. I'm sure of the outcome already, but I'm tired of the babbling dummies all over the place that preach fan leaves fan leaves... So we shall see! I had the pH of the nutrient solution set to 6.0 but after adding the enzyme and liquid bacteria, the pH dropped to 5.78, so beware of that if you use those products, even though they claim not to affect the pH. The light dimmer is set to 6 of 10. The clip fan is set to 2 of 10. Temps set to 74F and humidity set to 70% humidity. The light is 18 inches from the canopy at a dimmer setting of 6, which gives the canopy 15,000 Lux. Each plant was gently watered with about 300ml of nutrient solution, which was carefully and gently dispensed with a 140CC syringe Hope they like what i've done with the place lol. P.S. I realized that the 5000 to 7000 Lux was for clones that are rooting. So I had the lux at 12,000 at 18 inches from the plants at a dimmer value of 5. I've now upped the dimmer to 6. Tomorrow i'll check the lux and see where it's at. The clones have just come out of the dome today so i don't want to push them too aggressively too fast. MARCH 5, 2024 I just tested the Par light reading on BM #1 and the BM right in the center. BM #1 Par reading is 247. Center plant is 270. Light dimmer is at 6 and light is now 13 inches from plant canopy. MARCH 9, 2024 Fed again today. There is some progress in growth. 1/2 inch increase. The clones have been upset getting adjusted to their new environment. I've upped the dimmer to 7 and the PPFD and DLI numbers are good. Humidity remains set at 70% and temperature is set to trigger the fan at 78F Light remains where it was so the plants have grown 1/2 so the light will be 12 inches above the canopy. Mixed up 2 liters of nutrients and the ppm was 555, and the pH was adjusted to 6.15. 2ml Per liter of hygrozyme and hygroben were also added. Clones have curled leaves and a perky/droopy stature. The leaf edges are browning a little bit. I'm not sure whats happening with them other than it's just the effects of transplanting and drastic environmental change. What i'm wondering is how they will/are reacting to the used coco underneath? We press on with fingers crossed! 🙏😁