Jammy Dodgers #2 Mephisto in Super Soil

rickybiscuits The second true leaves are out! Time to make some adjustments, especially for light distance. Using the PAR/PPFD chart for the HLG100 RSpec and following their recommendations. LIGHT INTENSITY REQUIREMENTS Seedlings . . . . . Under 100 PPFD Veg, Greens . . . 150 PPFD - 400 PPFD Flowering . . . . . 400 PPFD to 800 PPFD PAR (PPDF) info can be found here: https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/blogs/calculators/converting-lux-to-ppfd? This light uses the QB 288 V2 Rspec board. Using the PAR/PPFD calculator from that website, I found that I want about 20000 Lux in order to achieve a little over 300 PAR/PPFD My Lux meter is from URCERI and purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075DC6X25?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details Lowered the light until I was around 20,000 Lux and we're good to go! Also using the VPD chart from Pulse for my humidity. That page is here: https://pulsegrow.com/blogs/learn/vpd-charts-in-fahrenheit-and-celsius-with-leaf-temperature Aiming for around 77°F/25°C, so I want my humidity around 58%. Finally, I drenched the soil with Recharge at 0.5 teaspoons per gallon. More info on Recharge here: https://www.realgrowers.com/recharge/

rickybiscuits Lots of facepalms and learning last week. All that stuff about PAR/PPFD? Well, I don't have the correct lux meter! My meter is for traditional lights. For these LED lights I'll need a meter that's $60. Not gonna happen. The leaves were a bit yellow and starting to curl upward; that means too much light. The purple stems were also a dead giveaway. I raised the lights up to 24 inches from the plant top and they seem to be doing fine now. All that stuff about VPD? My grow space is too small so humidity fluctuates wildly. I can't properly maintain the humidity and temperature levels for proper VPD. Instead, I was able to stabilize the system around 55% with a 3% variance. This also stabilized the temperature to around 77°F with lights and 70°F during darkness. Not gonna mess with it now! I noticed a few fungus gnats here and there, but they don't appear to be an issue. No other pests or problems to report. Upped the amount of the weekly Recharge drench to 1tsp per gallon, per their directions I finally found some barley straw to mulch the pots. That should keep the soil evenly moist; will check in a few days. Both plants are growing rapidly and I can't wait to see how big they get!

rickybiscuits Vegging strong! The straw mulch retains moisture very well so the soil remains damp throughout. It also eliminates any contact with the dirt so I can push the leaves down without fear of soilborne pathogens. I pulled the Blumats completely; they are TOO efficient with the mulch. Let the soil dry a bit then hit it with the Recharge drench. Enjoying the LST, it's very meditative, especially leaf tucking. How to leaf tuck: https://youtu.be/2saZY9-kVEU?t=20 I'm weaving the stems and leaves outward toward the pot edges. This increases the bud sites and breaks apical dominance in the primary stem. The extended canopy and interwoven stems should provide good support for the flowers Last chance to tie down the main stem. Used plant staples on a few of the larger branches. When it hits flower I'll remove them and let Jammy loose!

rickybiscuits Flower! Branches stiffened, pistils forming, and exuding a pleasantly sweet smell. Most LST is over. Focusing on a flat canopy and exposing every bud to the light. Found an iPhone app that estimates PPFD! (For my rantings on the subject of PAR/PPFD, check out Veg Week 1) The app is called Photone; $5.99 unlocks full-spectrum LED function. Super easy to use. I highly recommend it! Recommended PAR is 400 to 800 for flower for this light. https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/blogs/calculators/converting-lux-to-ppfd? The app estimated a PAR for both plants around 480-500. As the buds grow up they'll gradually be exposed to more light. Gonna keep a close eye on them to make sure they don't burn.

rickybiscuits A disastrous week! First I set the lights too low and burned the new leaves. Then the humidifier shut off randomly; humidity plunged to 29% Finally, the stress plus the stretch sucked all the water from the pot Plant cannibalized the lower leaves before I noticed. Everything is fixed and back on track! Hoping I didn't do too much damage.

rickybiscuits Do I have nutrient deficiencies? I am sure some of you already know. Whether I do or not, I wanted to test the efficiency of the Stonington Blend. https://coastofmaine.com/product/stonington/ The pot size is large enough that if there were sufficient nutrients in the soil the plants would have no issues at all. In addition, I used RECHARGE specifically because it has no nutrients. These microbes (bacteria and fungi) are there to make sure the soil is alive and that all nutrients in the mix are readily available. https://www.realgrowers.com/ I have a lot of light green leaves up top and yellowing leaves down below. I'm fairly certain I know why, However, do I need to be that fussy? What if I don't touch anything? Will the flowers fatten up regardless? How about the yield? It's all an experiment and all fun. This project is a personal joy. ----- Soil moisture seems to be the main issue. Blumats not delivering enough water. Air-pots may not hold enough moisture. Already working on solutions for my next grow! ----- When I wrote that stuff about personal joy I guess you can tell I was high at the time. :D I can't watch the carnage any longer! So sad to see the plants cannibalize themselves for nutrients. I pulled an emergency cord. Added Dyna-Grow Bloom to the drip reservoir (1 tsp per gallon) See if that does anything https://dyna-gro.com/product/liquid-bloom/ Long term, I ordered BuildABloom to top-dress. https://buildasoil.com/products/buildabloom Should take at least a week to get here, Hopefully, I can get the plants back on track! We're only halfway through the grow.

rickybiscuits I feel like this plane nosedived, screaming toward the ground, and I pulled up just in time! Adding the Dyna-Grow Bloom to the drip line appears to be working. New sugar leaves are healthy and the buds continue to fatten. Looking ahead to the harvest and taking notes for the next grow. Still have at least a month to go. I now have a USB microscope. https://smile.amazon.com/Microscope-PFC-Optics-50X-1000X-Smartphone/dp/B07M97SRFN?ref_=ast_sto_dp Hope to get some nice pics!

rickybiscuits I thoroughly bleached and fried the canopy. Lesson learned! The lights are much more powerful than I expected. 18 inches from the topmost bud seems to be okay. If you look at the leaves you'll find a whole range of nutrient issues. See how many you can spot! :D - - - - - Found that RECHARGE may also be a problem! Apparently, it's *too* effective for autoflowers and can cause nitrogen toxicity. This was the comment from Daz of Night Owl. https://www.reddit.com/r/nightowlseeds/comments/susmvo/comment/hxcae8p/

rickybiscuits Here we go! The colas are still fattening up. Still a weak smell. However, a stem rub or bud pinch releases a rich, earthy, strawberry musk. MMMMMMM!!!! The humidity is running a bit high (almost 60%) The Bluebird humidifier controller and the humidity gauges show different numbers I have the Bluebird set to 50%, but the gauges both read 61% Dropped the Bluebird down to 40% and gauges read 50%. Better to err on the side of caution! Noticed some white spots, not sure if fungus or necrosis. Keeping an eye on them. - - - - - Figured out the problem. The humidity sensor was against the tent wall so the readings were incorrect. Moved it higher and more central, above the light. Readings are within 1% between all three sensors now. Inkbird now set to 50%; seems to be okay once again. The white spots were probably fungus; they are gone now. Buds beginning to foxtail. I noticed one on the largest cola, but now all the top buds are foxing out. Raised the grow light a bit to reduce stress. This plant likes much less light than I thought! in the other tent, the Jack Herer is digging the extra light and forming tight buds. - - - - - Nice sweet musky smell, not overpowering. More pronounced when the humidity is too low (in the 30s) (This happens when the humidifier reservoir runs out.) Less smell = more intact trichomes!

rickybiscuits Chop or wait? Been asking around. Looks like I'm gonna wait at least a week, maybe two.

rickybiscuits The kind folks over on r/Mephheads answered my grow question. Was told to sit on my hands and wait! Could go as long as 95+ days, but probably closer to 90. - - - - Buds are foxtailing like crazy. Maybe move the light up more? The Jack has fairly smooth nigs comparatively and the light is closer. I guess I'm destined to grow sativas.

rickybiscuits Today is the day! Looks like about 10% amber on the buds; I see dried-up trichs on the leaves. Very strong smell!

rickybiscuits A lot less than I expected but that's simply because I burnt and bleached my canopy. Ended up with 43 grams of trimmed and dried bud, which is around 1.5 ounces.