#01 First Grow

Lighting reduced to just one of the LED full spectrum lights during the early veg stage. Only minimal nutrients by using only a little BioBizz root juice, spray watered daily to keep the soil just damp to the touch. Sprouting just fine in the 10L air pot filled with BioBizz Light-Mix soil substrate. The hanging method I've created allows me to move the plants down as they grow, so the distance to grow lights should remain the same throughout the entire grow. NOTE: The original paper towel method failed but I've been unable to fully edit this on this diary. Germination successful on a second attempt using Glass of Water.

Lighting still reduced to just one of the LED full spectrum lights during the early veg stage. I rotated it within the week though as it was growing to one side. Only minimal nutrients by using only a little BioBizz root juice, spray watered daily to keep the soil just damp to the touch. Later in the week, I've started using Acti-Vera and Bio-Heaven. The hanging method I've created allows me to move the pots down as the plant gets taller, so the distance to grow lights should remain the same throughout the entire grow.

Slightly rearranged lighting with now two of the full-spectrum LEDs in place. Neem Oil included in the nutes this week to keep the pests away. Bio-Bizz leaf coat applied also. Slight rebuild of the grow space meant growth was slowed a bit. At week three, I'm still following a week 2 strategy from the BioBizz nutrients chart. So rolling on from this week, the nutrient cycle will be a week behind.

The Blackberry Gum has doubled in size and seems to be taking really well to the nutrients. Diluted Biobizz Leaf-Coat foliar spray. I find their concentration unnecessarily high. I was undecided until this point about topping. I out the question put to this community about topping autos and got a great response with varied in depth answers. I have decided not to top these on this go but rather see how they grow as they are. MIDWEEK UPDATE: Preflower starting to appear now and a fairly weak smell.

So from day one of last week to day two of this week, we've been experiencing another heatwave. Indoor temperature has been at about 30 degrees C and the plant has at least doubled in height. The blackberry gum is just about into flowering now. Some lollipopping also (defoliation), so removal of lower branches and fan leaves that'll block light transmission where it'll be needed. Mid height branches were left in place but lower and middle flowering sites removed. I want the plant to focus growth towards the top. The LED array has been switched on now to promote better growth during flowering. (This broke day one of this week so not in use at the moment). This one is sharing the space with another strain. Once these are done, I think one at a time will be better as it's getting untidy.

So, I've upped the nutrition according to the BioBizz schedule for their light mix soil. But a week behind on week 5 after the grow was disturbed during the veg phase. My friend has Blackberry Gum, also. We planted at the same time using the same substrate and feed. His setup has COB LED lighting and ventilation whereas mine doesn't yet (arriving very soon). The difference in them is that mine has shot up like Jack's magical beanstalk, while his is considerably shorter and has more prominent flowering. This leads me to believe that my setup is great for the veg stage but not so for flowering. Some drastic action needed this week to get the height down. A little LST, maybe FIMing the main stem, seeing as flowering is slow. We'll see. In the grow info above, see the Veg lighting for before, and Flo lighting for what will replace it this week. UPDATE: Week 6 day 3, the new grow light, bluetooth hygrometer and fans came today. They sent the wrong light, I ordered the Phlizon CREE COB 1000W but was sent a larger 1500W instead. It just about fits with space front and back for ventilation. I just hope it's not too much as my space is tiny. Gonna spend the next few days tweaking the setup, and experimenting with techniques of getting the humidity and temperature down. At night with the grow light off, the max temp is 29.44 degrees C and RH 55-60%. At this stage, I'm aiming for 20-26 degrees C with the light on during the day and RH 45-55%. It's fair to say that getting within this temperature range may prove a challenge. The one of the fans will breeze across the grow while the other could draw air out. I'll need to allow a decent enough intake of fresh air. Let's see what happens. Thank you for stopping by.

WEEK 7 Day 1 (29th AUG): Temperatures: Highest day 29.7°C, Lowest day 25.3°C, Night 24.6°C, Relative Humidity: Lowest 61.6%, Highest 72.4%, Watering: 0mL (See nutrients chart), pH After watering: n/a. Techniques Used: Height adjustment Comments: The flowering is gradually becoming more prominent while stem growth is only beginning to slow down. Height is a problem as this strain is now taking up all available height. No longer hanging from chains, the pot is now sat at the very bottom. In coming days, I intend to move this underneath the other grow for the "#02 Tangerine" diary, and LST it to wrap around the right hand side of it with the hope that reshaping it in this way will prevent the main cola from hitting the light. WEEK 7 Day 2 (30th AUG): Temperatures: Highest day 28.3°C, Lowest day 25.1°C, Night 25.4°C, Relative Humidity: Lowest 61.9%, Highest 68.4%, Watering: 1000mL (See nutrients chart), pH After watering: No reading. Techniques Used: None Comments: In comparison to the other grow, the flowering stage on this one seems incredibly slow. So I've doubled the Bio-Bloom and Top-Max in the feed mix to see if that helps. The occasional small white dot has appeared on some leaves since it was last defoliated. I suspect I may have over done it but it's very slight. No worries on that yet. WEEK 7 Day 3 (31st AUG): Temperatures: Highest day 27.2°C, Lowest day 23.6°C, Night 23.7°C, Relative Humidity: Lowest 56.9%, Highest 67.8%, Watering: 0mL (See nutrients chart), pH After watering: n/a. Techniques Used: None Comments: I've added a 230mm circulation fan at the bottom of the grow space which seems to be helping with the humidity level and temperature. A little sign of bud growth picking up but too early to tell. Part way into the day I also installed the 42W EC fan and carbon filter. I majorly underestimated the size of the filter especially so unfortunately it has to sit externally. Running at 20%, it is just quiet enough, the smell has almost completely gone and humidity has dropped from around 68% to 57%. The perks of using an oversized extraction setup for a tiny space. WEEK 7 Day 4 (1st SEP): Temperatures: Highest day 27.0°C, Lowest day 25.0°C, Night 23.3°C, Relative Humidity: Lowest 52.3%, Highest 62.5%, Watering: 1000mL (See nutrients chart), pH After watering: 5.5 Techniques Used: None Comments: The stem growth of this one has calmed down significantly which is a relief. Some extra pistil growth but almost no trichomes yet. Lean & lanky this one, I am not impressed. The EC fan and filter is working wonders, despite doing extra work to the grow space by sealing up the doors, and removing one of the small USB fans. Temperature and humidity don't fluctuate as much now, and lower levels are more consistent. And at that, I should bloody hope so as that equipment was not cheap at all. WEEK 7 Day 5 (2nd SEP): Temperatures: Highest day 27.6°C, Lowest day 25.3°C, Night 24.7°C, Relative Humidity: Lowest 57.1%, Highest 67.3%, Watering: 0mL (See nutrients chart), pH After watering: n/a. Techniques Used: None Comments: I turned the circulation fan off and the EC fan down a little overnight to quieten the low hum a little bit. So the night air temperature was a degree higher than it could have been. So bud growth has started to pick up, finally, but also has stem growth. This plant is a pain in the arse, I won't be doing this strain again. WEEK 7 Day 6 (3rd SEP): Temperatures: Highest day 27.1°C, Lowest day 24.9°C, Night 25.2°C, Relative Humidity: Lowest 57.4%, Highest 68.6%, Watering: 1000mL (See nutrients chart), pH After watering: 5.5 Techniques Used: None Comments: Speaking with a friend about this one, we've come to the conclusion that this one is stretching out because it's not getting the light it needs. I'll keep going until the end but I'm not expecting much from it. The top is starting to be affected by being too close to the light, though, so I may have to bite the bullet and top off the main cola. It's been a poor grow so far so I wont be missing much. WEEK 7 Day 7 (4th SEP): Temperatures: Highest day 28.9°C, Lowest day 26.8°C, Night 24.7°C, Relative Humidity: Lowest 56.4%, Highest 68.9%, Watering: 0mL (See nutrients chart), pH After watering: n/a. Techniques Used: None Comments: The buds are becoming more prominent. It's in dire need of training so that'll be the focus through next week. I turned up the EC fan a bit, sealed the grow space doors as well as the door into the room it's in. I really need to keep smell down but the downside is an unfortunate rise in temperature and humidity. SETUP INFORMATION: A home built timber framed enclosed unit lined with foiled foam insulative sheeting. Silicon sealed to reduce noise and smell transmission. The unit is stealth disguised as a towel cupboard and located in an en-suite shower room which is kept clean and dry to prevent mould and higher humidity readings. Grows are suspended using chains to make the most of a narrow but tall vertical space with "S" hooks to hold the air pots. Internal dimensions are Width 520mm x Depth 300mm x Height 2000mm when completely empty (or Height 1600mm when subtracting the space used by the light). Phlizon 1500W CREE COB: (72x Full Spectrum LEDs - ON 18 Hours - 53x 660/630nm, 10x 470nm, 2x 3000k, 3x IR 740nm, 4x 6500k), (3x CREE COB LEDs - OFF - 1x 6000k, 2x 3000k). Phresh Hyper Fan V2 - ON 24 Hours: (150mm EC Fan with CarboAir Filter, Maximum Power = 42W at 100%, Usually run at 20%). 600mL Portable Dehumidifier - ON 24 Hours: (125mL removed daily and reused when watering). Ram 230mm Circulation Fan - ON 24 Hours: (Maximum Power = 40W at 100%, Usually run at 33%). USB Desk Fan - ON 24 Hours. ORIA Bluetooth Hygrometer/Thermometer. Digital Soil pH, Humidity, Lux gauge.

WEEK 8 Day 1 (5th SEP): Temperatures: Highest day 29.1°C, Lowest day 27.3°C, Night 26.9°C, Relative Humidity: Lowest 56.9%, Highest 72.9%, Watering: 1500mL (See nutrients chart), pH After watering: 5.5 Techniques Used: None Comments: An unwelcome rise in temperature after sealing the space but I haven't much choice. Humidity has spiked a bit as well. It has been raining a lot and the windows are usually open so once it passes it might come down a bit. I've moved the pot slightly and forced the plant to bend a little to the right to pull it away from the light a bit. Some more training is still needed. WEEK 8 Day 2 (6th SEP): Temperatures: Highest day xx.x°C, Lowest day xx.x°C, Night 26.5°C, Relative Humidity: Lowest xx.x%, Highest xx.x%, Watering: 0mL (See nutrients chart) pH After watering: n/a. Techniques Used: Comments: I just need more space for this. I want to train it by pulling the branches outwards and concertina the main stem, but the other grow is in the way. Some burnt tips at the very top where it has actually made contact with the light which obviously isn't good at all. WEEK 8 Day 3 (7th SEP): Temperatures: Highest day xx.x°C, Lowest day xx.x°C, Night xx.x°C, Relative Humidity: Lowest xx.x%, Highest xx.x%, Watering: 1500mL (See nutrients chart), pH After watering: Techniques Used: None Comments: No complaints from this troublemaker after increasing the watering this week from 1000mL to 1500mL every second day. The buds a coming on slowly and starting to converge on the main stem. I think it's becoming clearer now that the Blackberry Gum has been the loser in the competition for light and seems to be two or three weeks behind in flowering. It's just gonna have to wait a little longer for the other grow to finish. A half decent crop may still come out of this, eventually. WEEK 8 Day 4 (8th SEP): Temperatures: Highest day xx.x°C, Lowest day xx.x°C, Night xx.x°C, Relative Humidity: Lowest xx.x%, Highest xx.x%, Watering: 0mL (See nutrients chart) pH After watering: n/a. Techniques Used: Comments: So an update regarding the smell situation: it's pretty much contained. The EC fan and carbon filter are really doing the job nicely. For context, my grow unit is situated in the en-suite to my bedroom. Before I could smell it when stepping into the house, now as I type this in my bedroom I cannot smell it at all. WEEK 8 Day 5 (9th SEP): Temperatures: Highest day xx.x°C, Lowest day xx.x°C, Night xx.x°C, Relative Humidity: Lowest xx.x%, Highest xx.x%, Watering: 1500mL (See nutrients chart), pH After watering: Techniques Used: Comments: WEEK 8 Day 6 (10th SEP): Temperatures: Highest day xx.x°C, Lowest day xx.x°C, Night xx.x°C, Relative Humidity: Lowest xx.x%, Highest xx.x%, Watering: 0mL (See nutrients chart) pH After watering: n/a. Techniques Used: Comments: WEEK 8 Day 7 (11th SEP): Temperatures: Highest day xx.x°C, Lowest day xx.x°C, Night xx.x°C, Relative Humidity: Lowest xx.x%, Highest xx.x%, Watering: 1500mL (See nutrients chart), pH After watering: Techniques Used: Comments: SETUP INFORMATION: A home built timber framed enclosed unit lined with foiled foam insulative sheeting. Silicon sealed to reduce noise and smell transmission. The unit is stealth disguised as a towel cupboard and located in an en-suite shower room which is kept clean and dry to prevent mould and higher humidity readings. Grows are suspended using chains to make the most of a narrow but tall vertical space with "S" hooks to hold the air pots. Internal dimensions are Width 520mm x Depth 300mm x Height 2000mm when completely empty (or Height 1600mm when subtracting the space used by the light). Phlizon 1500W CREE COB: (72x Full Spectrum LEDs - ON 18 Hours - 53x 660/630nm, 10x 470nm, 2x 3000k, 3x IR 740nm, 4x 6500k), (3x CREE COB LEDs - OFF - 1x 6000k, 2x 3000k). Phresh Hyper Fan V2 - ON 24 Hours: (150mm EC Fan with CarboAir Filter, Maximum Power = 42W at 100%, Usually run at 30%). 600mL Portable Dehumidifier - ON 24 Hours: (125mL removed daily and reused when watering). Ram 230mm Circulation Fan - ON 24 Hours: (Maximum Power = 40W at 100%, Usually run at 33%). USB Desk Fan - ON 24 Hours. ORIA Bluetooth Hygrometer/Thermometer. Digital Soil pH, Humidity, Lux gauge.

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