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First time running Purple Punch alongside 3 other autos: Girl Scout Cookies, Lemon AK, Lemon Pie. All in custom SIP totes containing ~8GAL FFOF/perlite 50/50
Started with TSW2000 half lit @lowest setting.
This is an experimental grow (for me) on many levels. I'm using custom SIP again (sub-irrigated planter, similar to Earthbox, inspired by Albopepper), they work really well and provide many benefits (cuts down watering time, conserves water, allows more time between refilling and just seems to grow healthier plants).
Second, trying Down to Earth Rose and Flower mix. No idea how much to use so I'll be trying it out.
Also using Recharge and Great White for the first time. Using BTi to combat fungus gnats.
I splurged on an HLG600R, for now starting with Mars Hydro TSW2000.
Installed HLG on lowest power.
Started LST.
With SIP you water from the bottom, as I also top feed dry amendments there is no PPM measurement. Using FFOF I am not giving anything besides water and cal mag. I use Recharge (every 10 days) to feed the top soil with a sprayer, to keep the top moist a bit longer, trying to prevent the soil from drying too much. I also don't want anything else in the SIP reservoir to prevent stuff from sitting, un-stirred (i have no air pump or other pump).
Start of flower ~Day 31.
More LST, daily maintenance.
Still no food so far, only water and calmag.
It's becoming quite bushy, tight node spacing. Wondering if the light is too strong.
Feed Day 51:
Down to Earth Roses and Flower 4-8-4 dosage: 5TBSP for ~8GAL of soil. Equivalent to 1.9tsp/GAL. Mixed-in with 2/3cups worm castings.
Plant is very bushy and has become the tallest. Doing LST, leaf tucking and selective removal daily. Slowest of all 4, flowers least developped.
The lifted serrated leaf edges had me wondering what it could possibly be, has been like this the whole time so I decided to stop worrying.
Seeing many tops as result of LST.
Lots of lollipopping to remove weak undergrowth and improve airflow. Did some supercroping to even canopy.
Still seeing weird light twist in tip half of some fan leaves. Should not be wind related. Thinking genetics.
A bit light green, wondering if hungry or if it's the strain. Still seeing tiny twisted leaf tips.
Much stretching. More supercropping to even the canopy. There are so many tops it's difficult to improve airflow. Tying tops beyond the container edges is becoming tricky.
Compared to others it's not as far along in flower however it's about twice as big as the smallest.
Selective leaf removal to try to thin out this bush. More undergrowth cleanup.
Counting about 60 flowers.
Day 71 noticed flowers away from the HLG are about half the size on the bright side. Therefore, adding the TSW2000 over it and Lemon Pie, why not. Starting on lowest power, ramping up slowly over several days to 100%. Noticing lighter green under HLG. Wondering if it's too powerful. HLG setting 50% @36". Might be conservative but I prefer being cautious. The raised serrated leaf edges have always been present, and throughout (not just on top) making me think it's not the light intensity, rather the strain. I'm using an 8x4 tent where plants only take up half, or now a little more, but I have room to expand a bit.
The SIP is completly empty after 3 days, contains 2.2GAL. This could be improved but the ease of refilling is a game changer. Less effort, less mess, less time. I still have no idea if the Down to Earth dosage is appropriate but she's not complaining, I'm not seeing any burn or other issue. I top dress DTE (2/3cup worm castings + 2/3cup DTE), scratch that in, then water it in (1/4GAL) with a sprayer (also Recharge, silica, calmag). Directions recommend feeding every 2wks. Other growers report PP tends to be hungry, considering her size I'm now doubling the feeding frequency, so now once a week.
I'm not running an air pump or a recirculating pump. The roots never dip in water thanks to the air gap above the water level and the overflow that makes overfilling impossible. Measuring the pH in the reservoir after a day shows it rises to 7.1. I decided not to bother and continue watering around 6.5, as all along. I had some weird issues on another plant earlier on, still no idea what but symptoms could be related to an issue in the root zone. Symptoms were: shrively new growth, some leaves are twisted and weak, smaller than normal. Some weird shiny spots, almost looks "plastic-y", often on middle of leaves. Never saw pests. The problem went away later on. Anyway, Purple Punch wasn't affected.
Flowers are developing more. I wasn't sure they would :) Her smell is unique, almost sweet, like candy?
Some gnats have returned. Plant is larger so I'm not worried and just keep using BTi even in the SIP, shouldn't hurt. Using Diatomaceous Earth is difficult because of the breeze and I'm not sure it works if it's not on top. Monitoring sticky traps.
All the LST work has paid off, I'm enjoying its overall shape and the number of tops.
Day 87 buds have developed a lot.
Trying unsulphured molasses, why not. Dosage is 2TBSP/GAL, I'm only giving a little when spray watering from top, once a week, only 1/4GAL. Don't want molasses in the reservoir. I'm guessing it's probably too little to make a difference but that it can't hurt.
Flowering stretch seems complete. Buds bulking up.
Day 88 shows the difference between half the plant under HLG, right, and TSW2000, left. The right side has received more light but the left side is really catching up.
I'm excited about this grow as it's another big learning session, so far experiments have worked well. I've never had plants this healthy at this growth stage. Using CalMag was a revelation, as in "how did I go without before??"...
Understanding soil is not easy and I look forward to learning more about it. I'd like to run living soil some day but feel too inexperienced for now.
SIPs are awesome. Thank you Al Gracian 3 (AlboPepper) ! You rock.
Cheers to another week in the books. A finish line might exist.
Keeping up the usual routine. Top dress every week, 2.2GAL water SIP refill every 3 days.
Day 92, her sister Lemon AK got the chop, was harvested over 10 days. Buds are large and dense.
I’m running two humidifiers to try and stay above 40%RH. One uses a paper filter that despite soft water gets crappy (mineral deposits) in about a week. It add$ up as knock-off replacements last even less. The winner is still the simple Vicks warm mist, need to clean and descale every week but otherwise it’s great.
Did I mention the smell is wonderful? It's sweet and I always want another whiff of it. Until the humidifier demands attention.
Day 95.
Moved her under the HLG to finish up. HLG’s recommended mounting height above canopy is 28-36” in flowering, I’m at 25” but not 100% power, I don’t believe either heat/light stress is present. There’s good air movement and exchange. I’m not going to push higher because the temp creeps into 80F at canopy level.
Day 96
Mostly white pistils.
This is written retroactively as I harvested in February.
Day 100!!
Now very cold out.. she's not done. Smells wonderful (sweet, candy) but many pistils are still white and trichomes are nowhere close.
It's been a decent ride.
Day 106.
First tester bud, long branch in NE corner, underneath. Shows quite a bit of cloudy already. Still lots of white pistils.
Day 109.
Flowers have so many pistils, they're very "hairy". Wish it grew more resin. Seems to smell less.
Day 110.
Lots of cloudy but flowers look immature.
Day 113
High temp outside, had to dim lights a bit to keep temps in check.
Taking testers almost every day to try and find the right time. Much less smell overall.
Drying conditions are 60-65F, 60% RH, small fan that's not blowing on flowers, fresh air intake. Branches hung, no leaf trimming except a few big ones. Trying to slow down the drying is challenging, most branches are ready after 6-7days or they get too dry.
This could be due to harvesting at 17 weeks, Barney's Farm indicates: "Flowering Time: 50 – 60 days from sprout" so at 121 that's double..
I likely harvested too late however amber trichomes never appeared, apparently some strains are prone to this.
I'm not a fan of how hairy the buds are but no big deal. The smoke is a bit couch-lock-y. Buds smell OK but nothing like during flower. Strength is decent, not weak, not amazing.
Drying and curing remain the biggest challenges for me despite doing it "by the book" (60F / 60% RH / mild breeze / fresh air). The nugs post cure smell OK but in my opinion, weak.
The yield was beautiful. My trimming needs to improve.
Overall I like this strain and would grow it again, but would harvest sooner.. even though I still do not know how I possibly could have known when that is. I took testers along the way but it's possible it was already overdone by then. The aroma during its grow was quite unique, I wish the end result would reflect this some, in my opinion it does not.
I am my worst critic and seek to improve so I remain critical of my results.
Day 121 Harvest
I never saw any amber trichomes so finally chopped it. It didn't seem like it was going to evolve further and at 17 weeks I was increasingly worried about mold despite good conditions. There was never any mold at all.
The yield of 11.3oz (330g) could have been greater because I trimmed too aggressively clipping mostly every leaf and stems, opening up buds to really get inside and only leave the best behind. I feel this contributed to ugly buds that are airy due to that trimming. There are lots of brown pistils covering most flowers. The trim is therefore high quality and there's about 10oz of it but that's from all 4 plants.
The delicious smell at its peak is mostly gone. After drying some of the smell returned but it was never anywhere near what it smelled like while growing which I found disappointing.
I tried curing both in Mason jars and in Grove Bags. The bags work nice and are less work. They seem to retain the smell and did a decent job curing, I would use them again.
Gnominal
