Critical Purple Auto: First Grow

2 8 watt (24W Equivs) blue spectrum lights were added to insure strong cell walls, short internodal space, and keep the plants stems strong and stalky; also, to promote strong root development in preparation for flower and an autoflower revegging attempt.

Note: minor CO2 supplementation was provided through this grow using 4 2 gallon jugs w/yeast fermenting sugars and a net located above the light filled it jars of mycelium in a wheat grain substrate medium.

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It was about this time that I inoculated the soil with a microbial mix, Mykro Myco. After she got infected with PM and suffered from root rot. I sprayed her leaves with a detergent, baking soda solution and nuked the entire medium with ~30/70 by volume 3% hydrogen peroxide--after which--I applied roughly 15 different types of beneficial microbes and fungi. She hasn't had a problem since. As I apply a light tea twice weekly along with a 1/4 humic/kelp solution along with her normal potassium sulfate, potassium nitrate, calcium carbonate, calcium sulphate, blackstrap molasses, tuna, protein powder and wheat grain run off solution.

Began LST her at this time and defoliation of larger fan leaves for light penetration of the canopy. Canopy got ~1200 ppfd whereas the second to lowest nodes received ~600 ppfd at this time. #shittiest light in the world Craig...but they work.

Introduced a 75watt incandescent reptile bulb for 45min/3hrs with 97% UVA/3%UVB

At this point I time I broke the internet of cannabis and topped her @roughly the 10th node. The idea is to intentionally temporarily stunt her and break apical dominance while creating an auxin sink-- that I have been stimulating daily with a hard nylon brush--with the hopes that after harvest I can reveg her (an auto 🤯) by redirecting auxin flow in a apical direction by application of organic sources of IBA, IAA, and IPA, UVA light and physical stimulation. In week 8 I chose one of the second to most apical buds to use as a breeding site by applying colloidal silver to the branch flowers and a custom made gel like solution with a toxic level of hormones and EC. I also introduced a 250 Watt FIR bulb for ~10% of total time in intervalic form. Note: trichome development was clearly visible with the naked eye around this point in time.

Increased apical bud ppfd to 1450 at this time and decreased EC of custom made nutrient solution to 1 due to minor signs of nut burn that I suspect is due to a insufficient amount of CO2 to balance the high ppfd and nut inputs. No CO2 meter so better safe than sorry. I also trimmed back ~1" of topmost canopy buds I'm order to maintain a level canopy and promote further development of lower and mid bud density/mass. Sidenote: I know, breaking all the "rules" here but I'm trying to gather as much experience with my first grow as possible and test the limits of the cultivar despite perceived autoflower time constraints. So my focus is on architecture, cloning, breeding and revegging in the long game by exploiting the 10% rudialis hardiness. May be horribly disappointed in the end with lower yield if unsuccessful but that's just my style--experimentation. "Can't clone autos"--"Can't reveg autos"--"Don't fim or top autos"--ect. I intend to put those presumptions to the test and ultimately see how and how many genes can be activated in a single cultivar by changing abiotic and biotic conditions, hence the very erratic light schedules & wavelengths, feeding strengths, ect. P.s My major in college was cell and molecular biology if that shines light on my seemingly haphazard grow approach.

The above compost tea has been brewed and applied weekly since late veg with full strength--usually around 1.75-3 EC @pH 5.9-6.1 to the soil and half to 1/3 strength EC @pH 6.3-6.5 as a foliar spray. A compost tea was brewed with a combination of soil biology from a peacock & chicken coup and a product called Mikro-Myco Mycorrhizal Super pack. Note: pH adjustments were made using apple cider vinegar and pine wood ash. Also-- nutrient amounts are approximates which vary ever so slightly week to week. *Note* growdiaries should really integrate their nutrient solutions in such a way that each nutrient can have it's own unit of analysis otherwise using dry amendments v. liquid gets confusing and messy as you can see I'm the chart above. I use mostly metric with the occasional American SI unit (in ochem using American units is just as dumb as your avg American...I can say that because, sadly, I was born on this nightmare of a nation states soil :( ). So...just use your best judgement if analyzing the above nutes...most of it teaspoon only because of how this site measures volume and weight.

I'll organize and condense this into the appropriate categories in time, still learning the vernacular, just bt dubs. #roughdraft ER Week with the girls. I noticed some burnt leaves and slowed growth so I measured my run-off pH for the first time and it came out around 8 with an EC of ~10k....yeah, K..after a second water pH'ed @6.3 run-off measurement. No bueno. After a close examination of my nutrients, energy inputs, and environmental stressors, I concluded (alongside some helpful leads from fellow growdiaries folks) that the extremely high EC was due to a potassium build up as a result of excess Potash pH balancing. Before the flush I ruled out light burn by lowering the PPFD at the apical bud to 1100-1200 rather than 1300-1400 I had it at--for a few days--with worsening symptoms. I'll also note that I will be adding supplemental CO2 via an additional source aside from the mycelium and increasing the PPFD back up to 1400 at apical bud. Pictured here are some of the tools, methods, processes I used to flush and keep the girls from dying....10k....and 8...ouch. One branch in particular is pictured that seemed to be the canary in the mine as it were, displaying symptoms of fatally high soil conductivity and pH (I can't be sure as to how long this has been a stressor for them). --wounds from trim (branch defoliation) were sealed using a custom formulated salve which included but isn't limited too; raw organic honey, cinnamon, and hempseed oil --fed her a light dose of custom brewed compost tea 900 EC for flower (been developing for a few months now, attempting to select out only the strongest biological competition) ---tea was applied to soil post flush after first having "reset" the soil biology with 1 liter: 3/2 water/ 3% hydrogen peroxide just in case being drenched for nearly 2 days created any micro climates in the soil for anaerobic microbes to flourish and/or needed a surge of O2. (waiting on lab results for cfu and species contained) --final feeding pH 5.8 --the general idea I had in mind when I realized in would be a two day process...easy, when performing the flush--was "how do I keep them in a sedated state while I essentially chemically operate"? While--of course--trying to keep in mind "how do I limit any further abiotic stress pathways impacting her under such a toxically conductive root zone" with rapid shifts in pH, EC, etc.."--accordingly, I made sure to adjust incrementally by .5 unit every 3hrs. Hence the 2 days. BUT, keeping a plant in those conditions for that extended a period would almost surely result in O2 deprivation and/or provide the conditions conducive for anaerobic microbes to proliferate. That potential pitfall was mitigated with the 3 H20/2 H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide)--allowing the root zone to be oxygenated under otherwise anaerobic conditions, hypothetically, eliminating the "bad microbes. I collected samples from each flush/pH drop, and included them in the final compost tea--brewed overnight and throughout the day-- that I used in my final 1 liter watering to repopulate any loss of species or cfu's due to the peroxide bath, so therefore...she has one less immunological defense susceptibility to competitors and non-beneficial microbial infections. I did use the 75W UVA during her "stasis" attempt at the 450ppfd 'ish intensity and 310-400 wavelength to keep her cannabinoid production going and provide a ready source of energy for her to make the appropriate biomolecular adjustments under blue light conditions--more vegitative, cry 1& 2, cell wall integrity, so that her net lifespan wouldn't have lost a few days in the process-- and without toasting her or further stressing her than absolutely necessary. Discussion/Cons: I still, clearly, have not been unable to isolate and activate the anthocyanindin synthesis pathways via gene transcription in this pheno because pigmentation is minimal and spotty with no clear pattern yet but only hints of the occasional purple and red at the base of larger fan leaves (which are regularly defoliated). --if my master plans fail I'll end up with a significantly lower net yield...like, ALOT :( lol... worth gaining as much xp as I can in one grow. Probably quite a bit more that I am unaware off that a more experienced grower would factor in. It's still to early to tell whether she's homeostatic again but will post run-off pH upon arrival (dry time for accurate results). Additional Details Arriving Soon PSS. if anyone is wondering, I intend to rodelize her and regen (fool I know...#itsanautodumbass)...rodelization, for my purposes, is pragmatic. Plus I much rather see how much these rudialis genes (Russian weather is rough bro) can be utilized to push the plant through as many biological processes as I can--both for experience and I've always been a large proponent of the strength and influence of epigenetics on gene expression and conservation. So, if her alcapulco gold genes are conserved, it would stand to reason that if similar abiotic and biotic factors that were present in AG are present in the current pheno for X period of time than the same gene expression and transcription factors would be manufactured by the plant for the duration of the plants life.

4/29/2022--misted plants w/pH adjusted solution 6.3 3x/daily --waiting for bottom of fabric pots to dry prior to taking another run-off measurement or watering via soil again --it appears that on some of the newer growth (pre-flush) that previously burnt leaves appear to be regenerating chlorophyll as the tips have changed from black (dry) to brown (smooth/turgid) while the amount and extent of chlorotic leaves seems lessening and absent in some parts of the plant from where they once were. --why all the focus on the intentionally stunted apical node? Because, I'm putting my money on her being able to be revegged, if so she'll be strong AF root wise and architecturally speaking with a build up of auxins at pluripotent locations and the what? 14 inches she is...will merely be her bottom-most foliage in preparation to support a much larger canopy. --cuttings were collected based on the locations of biomolecular signals that inform the plant of it's age (nodes, blade count, etc) ; with the hopes that I can not only trick her into revegging but overwrite the rudialis gene transcripts and revert her back to an earlier pheno, pref the white widow if possible. That way, she has the stem strength and nutrient transport capacity of a rudialis pheno but the flowering and secondary metabolite development of the white widow pheno ands it relative gene transcripts i.e. trying to grow some stalagmites up in this beezy (ultimately, I'm experimenting with activating conserved gene coding regions from phenos of it's earlier lineage with abiotic and biotic mimicry)...e.g f(Hot + Humid)+ [(v/f) • ppfd] = X {gene transcript activation}, essentially, I'm experimenting with it's epigenetic (conserved gene regions inactive I'm current pheno i.e Lamark was actually "more" correct than Darwin in regards to observing short term mutations and evolution in terms of time/rate. The phenomena (biomolecular underpinnings) is prevalent in humans more so than outdated science suggested, so...why not plants? It's in the same "quantumsphere"? So what will it be Alcupulco Gold, White Window, or Big Buds 🤔🙃🤞? *not sure whether or not she's out of the woods yet but signs suggest she's well on route to recovery* Hoping, all that extra work keeping her in a fabricated stasis and the light applications built up a good amount of jasmonic acid for a big boost in flower development here pretty soon; along with equalizing her environments pH and EC back to healthy ranges Although, I'm promoting cell wall health currently with blue spectrum lighting. I'm going to switch back to dominant red and ir I'm a few days after her soil drys. I'd rather use the cryptochrome pathways while she's vulnerable and delay flower development until she's 100% healthy again. We'll see over the next few days I suppose. 5/30/22 : 6/1/22: