7/24 - Showing darker green on new growth, some leaf tucking.
7/25 - New tops from LST.
7/26 - Increased water some, VPD averaging 0.96, continuing foliar sprays and LST.
7/27 - VPD 1.07
7/28 - VPD 0.97
Hey there friend. Would you be alright with me offering some pointers? So cannabis plants LOVE heat and humidity. It is the buds that hate it. In veg we want to take advantage of this fact to help our plants grow along much quicker and more vigorously. In veg we can look for temps of 79-84 MAX with lights on & no more than 9 degrees less with lights off. If we allow for too much temperature swing between lights on and lights off while the plant is still growing vertically up to day 20 of flower, We will cause the plant to stretch ALOT which we do not want. So in veg & early flower, Keeping our temperature gaps nice and close between lights on and off is key. Utilizing humidity in our rooms during veg will also help out a lot with more rapid growth but we must introduce it properly. In our rooms we have our temperature and humidity set-points, But when we combine those 2 it forms a third set-point which is the most important & that is called VPD, Vapor pressure deficit.
I strongly recommend every new grower or old grower who has not learned it yet, To study and understand it & implement it into your room, Logging your numbers daily.
https://cerescann.com/importance-of-measuring-vpd/
For soil, We generally want to go for a PH of 6.1. Lets try to get that PH closer to the target zone while she is still young and we can get the root development to take off healthy :)
This website does a GREAT job of illustrating it with a nice graph & very good detailed explanation for soil.
https://autoflowerseedshop.com/cannabis-ph-chart-guide/
As we briefly touched on before, During veg & early flower we want our temperature gap's nice and tight to avoid stretch. Why exactly our plants stretch in response to this is a genetic trigger being activated by the environmental stress essentially telling the plant the end of the season is closer than it really is. In veg & early flower the plant is still in its first stage of development which is to grow up wide and tall so when it produces seed, It can cast them out nicely. Remember, Whether we are growing our plants for seed or bud their genetic responses do not change as they gh sidedo not know any different. Once the plant has finished that first stage of growth by weeks 4-6 of flower with most strains, It is by day 20 of flower. Autoflowers you have to watch for it, But once the plant has finished this goal its new mission is to focus 100% on producing nice big flower clusters & to get very sticky so it can attract pollen to it successfully.
So once that vertical growth is finished, We actually now want to begin to expose our plants to larger temperature swings between lights on and lights off. This will help activate that genetic response and allow us to draw out the most potential from the strain utilizing the plants genetic triggers to environmental stresses at the right times. When we are in flower temperature will really play a big role how our buds form up, If our rooms are too cold below 75 they will form very small buds but very very dense. If we grow our buds out at temperature over 80 degrees we get bigger buds, But they can develop airy and foxtail which we do not get much weight from. Also higher temps will defuse the resin glands over time destroying them. We can also take this a step further with doing light deprivation in the last 2 weeks using less light to simulate cloud cover. Very cold feed temps on the last flush is very good too. If you do not have them already, Get yourself a good PAR meter & thermal laser temp gun to monitor your plant top temperatures & optimize how much light your plants are getting. When we do the pull down, We never want to trim the plant wet or break it down at all. We want to hang it hole in a environment set to 45-50 degrees at 60% humidity for up to 16 days. This allows the plant to break down any potential left over starches or sugars or nutrients within it during this time the plant will produce even more resin & terpenes, This is where you get the true craft cannabis finish.
Happy growing friend!
@LegacyMarketFarm, Thanks, I appreciate all helpful input.
My grow plan is based on much research but mostly on Ed Rosenthal's latest edition of "Cannabis Grower's Handbook" and "Mr Canucks Grow" videos on youtube. I highly recommend these resources. As with any recipe, I plan on following it without deviation so I can tell if any changes, in future grows, help or not.
I monitor and log, temperature and humidity, constantly and remotely, both with canopy-level sensors (1 controls external exhaust fan) and a laser thermometer. I have central air which has kept temperatures in the grow tent constant within 6 degrees F. At this stage I run a humidistat-controlled humidifier to keep RH at 60%. I will decrease humidity as grow progresses. VPD has been where I want it, as listed in my comments
Did you read my comments? I also mentioned that I am presently leaving the pH of my water unchanged at 7.4 to bring the pH of the medium up. When the medium comes up, I will pH water to about 6.5.
I expect this strain of autoflower to grow relatively short. I use my light meter to set light height and intensity to a low PPFD level (as in grow conditions and my comments) to induce stretch during initial veg so I can produce more tops during LST later. I will increase light intensity, as grow progresses or plant indicates, until maximum during flowering. I also plan to minimize stress to prevent any stunting of this midget. The only stress I plan to induce is the addition of UVB light during late flowering to increase THC/terpene production response.
Flushing, light deprivation, harvesting, drying and curing are part of my plan and will follow Matt Taylor's (Mr Canucks Grow) methodology most closely.
Thanks again for your comments as it gives me confidence that my plan has addressed the important points you raise. π
Awesome to read thru .so much I need to learn .vpd and all that . Man that turned out great.
Thanks for sharing , I gotta do alot of reading. Try to get my grow dialed in. Bit tougher then expected but getting there.
Best of luck. Looking forward to seeing more from your grows!!
@solowkam BRO!!!! STOP KILLING YOUR PLANTS, PLEASE!
You are feeding them WAAAAY too much nutrients, my friend, these autos need ONLY WATER for the first 2 weeks! And fishbone and worm castings, and this and that.... STOP! DO AN EMERGENCY FLUSH of the plants (put them under the shower and very carefully without watering the leaves too much flood the soil with as much water as possible - it needs to drip from the bottom for 1-2 minutes, so most of the nutes go away. They are litterally burning the plants.)
After the flush wait 1-2-3 days (as much as needed) for the soil to go bone dry (pick up the pot to feel the weight - if it is heavy - there is still water and the plant is drinking).
After the soil is completely dry, water them with PH-ed water - 5,9-6,8 (VERY importaint) and after this water goes dry - give them some of the N and K good fertilizer with the water, and the next time - ONLY water, the next time feed them, the next time only water and so on until the end! One time PH-ed Water, One time PH-ed Water with some of the supliments you have. Of course you have to change the type of food you give to them depending on the week they are in, BUT NEVER use more then 2 supliments at the same time ESPECIALLY with Autos!
Good luck bro! Now go and save those poisoned girls!!!