EarthBox [LOS] - Seedsman - Black Sugar

Introduction - Week 14 Summary - Ensign's log, stardate 100181.64, Steady as she goes Ensign! Yet another smooth week of growing! Smells have been getting louder and bud growth is looking pretty good! As far as vermicomposting, this was harvest week! Both fed and transferred my worms to a new bin. Later I applied a layer of the harvested castings to the top of the EarthBox's soil (during her mid-week feeding). This was the last week of Full Bloom feeding too. Also did another minor leaf defoliation (probably one of the last before harvest). Also checked the trichomes and wow! Found both cloudy and amber trichomes! Unfortunately they were only present on the leaf. Got a tip to check the buds instead of the leaves (thanks again growmie 🖖). When I checked an actual bud (this week checked a bottom pop-corn bud), all the trichomes were still clear. Harvest time begins once the trichome heads (on the buds) get to a ratio of 70/30 cloudy to amber. Or at least this is the current plan. Next week's feeding will begin the Bloom Ripening phase. Similar to a flush, until harvest, won't be feeding anymore fertilizer nutrients. I'll only be feeding doses of Horticultural Coconut (and maybe a bit of microbes and saponin too). To help with structural support, I started using garden yo-yos. Started with one, but by the end of the week I added 2 more. Makes it a lot easier to raise and guide bud cola growth. Towards the end of the week her terpene profile also started to change to more of a sweeter berry-like aroma. She still has the citrus-fuel terps too, but I'm liking this new scent as well! Stoked for next week which starts the 'bud ripening' phase! Going to begin lowering the overall daily light integral and the feedings will be even easier. The lowering of DLI levels is suppose to be a form of bio-mimicry which simulates a seasonal change from Summer to Fall. If all goes well, harvest time should be less than a month away! [START OF WEEK 14] Day 01 - Monday - 08/01/22 - Total Days: 082 ----------------------------------- Daily Averages - Temps: 81.6°F [27.6°C] - Humidity: 61.6% - VPD: 1.38kPa ----------------------------------- - [09:25]: Well good morning beautiful! --- Again, there's leaf tip burn. --- But overall growth is looking pretty damn good! --- Wow! Her main bud cola is just fattening up! - [22:33]: Growth is just amazing! --- Buds are just coated in frost and her sugar leaves are all resin railed out with trichomes! --- Wow! Out of curiosity, I squeezed a bud cola and was surprised on the biomass density! --- Also wow those terps were loud! Smelled straight up like a very familiar OG piney funk followed by a strong lemon citrus undertone! VERY HYPED! --- And Ooowee! Did not expect this, but she felt greasy!? More like a waxy grease. Not sure if this is a good thing, but I am utterly stoked! --- Currently I can barely sustain a single 4x4 tent. So at the moment, I doubt there's a way to preserve genetics perpetually (or at least I don't think there's any way). --- But now I wish there was a way to save a cutting or something because wow her terpene profile smells like OG dankness! --- Until I can get a second tent, going to have to just let these one-off gems go and just appreciate them as I continue to learn and improve. After all I'm still a beginner grower so there will definitely be better. - [22:57]: Time to water! --- Reservoir was dry so going to increase the watering a bit. Adding a bit of coconut too. --- Filled a pitcher with 7 cups of distilled water. --- Added 1/2tsp of Horticultural Coconut --- Mixed the solution and poured it straight into the EarthBox's fill tube. --- Growing along nice and steady! Day 02 - Tuesday - 08/02/22 - Total Days: 083 ----------------------------------- Daily Averages - Temps: 82.4°F [28°C] - Humidity: 62.3% - VPD: 1.39kPa ----------------------------------- - [09:29]: Growing along nicely! --- That center cola is just towering with growth! --- Buds are just frosty! Hyped! --- Not much to do in flower but just keep up with the watering and hope for best as she grows along. --- Very easy growing! --- Since this grow is in a low-till living organic soil, I plan to continue to reuse and re-amend the EarthBox for the next run (if all goes well, next grow run will be a bean of 'Sour Diesel' by 'Royal Queen Seeds'). - [22:23]: Growing along nicely! --- Bud colas are starting to get a bit heavy. Especially the one in the back. If it gets too heavy, I can always use either a garden yo-yo or just a piece of trellis netting draped over the canopy. But for now just going to let it ride. --- Reservoir had a bit of water so going to reduce the watering by a bit. - [22:39]: Time to water! --- Filled a pitcher with 5 cups of distilled water. Re-inoculating with more microbes, enzymes, and saponin. --- Added 1/32tsp of Quillaja Saponaria Extract --- Added 1/16tsp of Bio-Phos --- Added 1/16tsp of Great White --- Added 3 drops of Bio-Catalyst Enzyme Elixer --- Mixed the solution and poured it straight into the EarthBox's fill tube. Day 03 - Wednesday - 08/03/22 - Total Days: 084 ----------------------------------- Daily Averages - Temps: 81.0°F [27.2°C] - Humidity: 62.4% - VPD: 1.33kPa ----------------------------------- - [08:56]: Looking good! --- Bud cola growth looks great! - [22:48]: A bit late, but hello beautiful! --- Wow! Buds are just thickening up! --- There are yellowing leaf tips but just going to continue on. --- This is my first time through flower, so this attempt will sort of set the basis for the next grow run. I am stoked for this harvest, but am even more stoked for the next grow run! - [22:58]: Water time! --- Reservoir was dry so going to increase the watering a bit. --- Filled a pitcher with 6 cups of distilled water and poured it straight into the EarthBox's fill tube. --- Yea that back bud cola is really starting to droop. Too much weight? --- Going to continue to let her grow, but tomorrow, I'll probably attach a garden yo-yo to help give more structural support. Day 04 - Thursday - 08/04/22 - Total Days: 085 ----------------------------------- Daily Averages - Temps: 81.8°F [27.7°C] - Humidity: 64.1% - VPD: 1.30kPa ----------------------------------- - [09:24]: Stacking up with bud growth! --- Wow! Getting whiffs of some pretty loud terps too! --- Tonight, depending on how she looks, going to probably help the back bud cola by attaching a garden yo-yo. - [11:46]: Decided to transfer my worms to a fresh bin. --- The current bin has been through several feeding cycles and the coco and peat moss has fully been processed into organic castings (worm poop). --- Using a cleaned plastic container (exactly the same size as the current bin), I began prepping the coco coir. - [11:47]: Going to be hydrating more of the coco brick. --- Using a hammer and flat head screw driver, I 'gently and gracefully' chiseled out a few chunks and placed them in the new bin (there has to be a better way, made such a mess). - [12:06]: Filled a measuring cup with 1.5 cups of distilled water. --- Plan to add more water, but better to add less first (easy to add more to the medium if it's too dry but difficult to take back if overly saturated). --- I want to ensure that the worms have some nutrition so re-hydrating and inoculating the coco with a bit of microbes and food. --- Added 1/32tsp of Quillaja Saponaria Extract --- Added 1/2tsp of Pure Protein Dry [Organic Fish Aminos] --- Added 1/8tsp of each of the following: ----- Mycrobe Complete ----- Great White --- Added 3 drops of Bio-Catalyst Enzyme Elixer --- Mixed the solution and poured it straight into the bin. --- Fluffed the dried coco which more than doubled in mass. --- To further hydrate the coco, I added 1/2cup of distilled water. --- Re-mixed the coco which felt perfect (like a moist sponge). - [12:42]: Time to check the bin! --- It's been 14 days since the last checkup and feeding. I like to wait a bit longer before a worm bin transplant so the worms can really go through and decompose any organic food matter that may still be present. --- Wow! --- There was nothing! --- No trace of neither the food nor paper. Great! --- Mixing the bin revealed a lot of healthy worms! --- The soil was a dark black humic color with more of a muddy or clay like consistency (black gold). --- As far as smell, aside from a very slight 'pond water-like' odor near the bottom of the bin (which was more still more of an earthy wet smell rather than a rancid pond-scum odor), there was none. Great! --- A healthy bin should have an abundance of moisture, yet should not stink at all. --- Anyways, now the bin can be harvested! - [13:20]: Harvested the worm castings! --- I plan to use these casting in the EarthBox later tonight. Until then, will place the castings back into the bin for storage. --- Started by gently mixed and removed the castings and put them into temporary containers (started at the top and removed the castings layer by layer). - [13:28]: As I removed the castings, I gently picked the worms out and placed them into a smaller container. --- Afterwards I dumped them into their new bin with the hydrated coco. --- I also included about a 1/2 cup of the original castings. This will help to inoculate the bin with additional beneficial microbes and soil biology. --- Then added about a solo cup of dried BAS Oly Mountain soil on top of everything. This will give more material for the worms to move through and breakdown. - [13:46]: Time to top dress! --- Treating the worm bin similar to soil, so going to top dress some basic amendments. --- Sprinkled 1tbsp of both Craft Blend and Kashi Blend. - [13:51]: Filled a spray bottle with 1/2 cup of distilled water --- Misted most of the bottle onto the top soil. Plan to save a bit for later. --- Covered the soil in the bin with a bit of shredded brown paper. --- Misted the paper with a bit of distilled water. --- Covered the top with a sheet of brown paper and wet the top with the rest of the distilled water. - [14:03]: Sealed the bin with a cleaned lid. --- Going to let them sit for a bit before giving them a feeding. - [16:31]: Going to feed the worms! --- Was planning on waiting a few days before feeding, but had a fresh mango pit and some peels which were going to be thrown away. --- Why not!? Time to feed the worms! --- It's about 2hrs since the bin was last opened. --- Nice! Worms were already exploring their new home! --- Incredible how fast they can move too. --- Peeled the top paper back and dug a hole in the center of the bin. Since the soil and coco was nice and fluffy, so this was quite easy to do. --- Layered a few mango peels at the bottom of the hole. --- Sprinkled 1tsp of Kashi Blend on top. --- Then placed a fresh mango pit (with a decent amount of mango still on it) in the hole. --- Sprinkled 1tsp of Kashi Blend on top of that. --- Then covered the whole thing with half of a mango peel. --- Covered everything with a bit of the surrounding soil and shredded paper before re-placing the sheet of brown paper and re-sealing the bin. --- [*smokes a bowl] --- As an organic grower, vermicomposting is both fun and rewarding! --- For the bin I am using, after each weekly feeding cycle, I'll check the medium which will start to break down and become less fluffy and more clay-like (as everything gets digested into worm poop). Once the medium turns closer to a muddy clay (worm castings - black gold), I'll let the bin go about 2 weeks without feeding before harvesting the castings. At the same time, I'll transfer the worms to a new bin to start the process over again. --- Shredded newspaper and cardboard can also be used too, but I've found a mixture of coco coir and soil as better alternatives (I top dress with shredded paper and kashi). --- Depending on the type and amount of food given, I'll sometimes go 2 weeks or longer between feedings. --- A healthy worm bin should not give off any bad smells. A foul odor is the sign of too much moisture and bad microbes. Also a healthy bin shouldn't have any flies or gnats but instead should have beneficial bugs such as rove beetles and predator mites. This is the main reason why I use a plastic container with an air tight lid. Of course the lid is perforated with small pin holes (took a good amount of time to make all those damn holes. Ha!) along with about a dozen 1/8in drill holes (bin itself has no holes). --- The most challenging factor about this bin setup is to not add too much moisture. I've done it and it's not fun. The bin just wreaks of decay and pond scum (a bin transfer fixed the issue). --- Because there's no drain on the bin, all the moisture that goes in can only escape through evaporation through the lid. --- Adding bokashi can really help to inoculate the medium with beneficial bacteria and microbes such as Lactobacillus and Streptomyces to help keep the bad bacteria away (Streptomycin is the first amino-glycoside antibiotic discovered which is from the bacteria Streptomyces griseus). --- Adding fruits and vegetables with high moisture content such as melons and strawberries can easily provide more than enough moisture to keep the medium hydrated between feedings. Keep in mind that even when using a lid, be sure to also add some sort of top mulch such as leaves or shredded paper. This will encourage the worms to crawl at the surface of the soil. --- Spacing the feedings apart prevents the soil from getting too wet (don't over feed). --- Yes there are alternative bin styles which can have drains and can produce more castings, but I don't need a ton of worm castings so this small setup works just fine. - [Supplemental Entry]: Getting stoned and watching some worm bin time-lapse videos can also be mesmerizing (the internet has everything). - [22:05]: Looking good! --- Back bud cola is drooping and there are burnt leaf tips. But wow she looks good! --- Filled a pitcher with 8 cups of distilled water. --- Added 1/32tsp of Quillaja Saponaria Extract --- Added 1/8tsp of each of the following: ----- Big 6 Micronutrients [+ Humic Acid] ----- BuildABloom ----- Bio-Phos --- Added 1/2tsp of Pure Protein Dry [Organic Fish Aminos] --- Added 1tsp of Horticultural Coconut --- Added 8 drops of Bio-Catalyst Enzyme Elixer --- Mixed the solution and set it aside. - [22:55]: Using a pair of trimmers, I clipped off a few more leaves. --- Like last week, glad there were not that many leaves to remove. Set the leaves aside. --- Sprinkled 4tbsp of Kashi Blend onto the top soil of the EarthBox. - [23:16]: Prepped for a worm bin top-dressing by inoculating the top soil with some bokashi. --- Sprinkled 4tbsp of Kashi Blend onto the top soil. - [23:21]: Time to apply the worm castings that were harvested earlier in the day. --- The entire bin was emptied and the castings were spread evenly over the entire top mulch. --- Also made sure a few worms were in there as well. There are already worms tilling away in the EarthBox. Adding a few more to the population to help further till and regulate the soil. - [23:36]: Time to top water! --- This time only top watering 4 cups. --- Filled a spray bottle with 4 cups of the nutrient solution and misted the top soil evenly. --- Worm castings were very fresh and hydrated so the top was sort of muddy and clay-like. I hope I didn't add too much. --- Then topped a portion of the castings with the leaves I trimmed earlier. - [23:51]: Time to bottom water! --- Poured the remaining 4 cups of the solution straight into the EarthBox's fill tube. --- Overall growth is beyond amazing! There is always room for improvement. - [23:54]: The bud cola in the back is really drooping now from the weight, so going to help it out by attaching a garden yo-yo. --- In essence, a garden yo-yo is a support line that can be adjusted to variable lengths to help raise branches they are attached to. --- First I attached the hook end of the yo-yo just below a bud node on the drooping bud cola. For a more secure grip, I used both hooks. --- These yo-yos are spring loaded and are naturally retractable, but they can also be locked down to specific lengths. --- While keeping the string pretty loose, I attached the yo-yo end to the rim of the light. Then tension was gently applied to the string until it was at the correct length before I locked the length down. - [23:59]: Nice! Now the back bud cola is at a better height and is pointing straight up towards the light (which will increase the amount of photosynthetically active photons the buds can absorb). --- The only minor drawback with using a yo-yo in this way, is now the EarthBox is now anchored to the light (also the reason why I waited until later in flower to do this). So even with the wheels, I can't really rotate the EarthBox anymore. I eventually plan to fix this issue, but for now just going to go with it what I have. --- I don't really plan to do much defoliation anymore so this shouldn't be an issue. - [+00:05]: Took some height readings. --- She grew a bit and was 33 inches tall! --- Also the distance between the top canopy and the light was 7.5 inches. - [+00:10]: Took PPFD readings. --- The top canopy was at 1020 μmol/m2/s --- This gives a new DLI of 44.06 mol/m2/d --- This week's ideal range is 40-50 mol/m2/d --- Great! PPFD levels are okay so no need to adjust the light. - [+00:34]: Getting late, but hyped as ever! Time to check the trichomes! --- Checked a freshly cut leaf which had some frost on it. Under the microscope she goes! --- Wow! Trichomes look incredible! On some areas of the leaf I can start to see some amber heads. - [+00:43]: Clipped a lower popcorn bud to check for trichomes on the buds themselves. --- For a more accurate sign on when to harvest, got a tip from a fellow grower to check the buds instead of the leaves (thanks growmie! 🖖). So checking both! --- Under the microscope all of the heads were pretty clear with no sign of amber. --- Big difference from the leaf sample which already had portions with amber trichome heads. Fascinating. [🖖] --- To check a top bud, I may apply bud swelling on a cola next week (snip the tip of a top bud cola) and will check trichomes on that, but for this week a larfy bud was good enough. --- Besides, still way too early for harvest. This was mainly for fun and grower's curiosity. Day 05 - Friday - 08/05/22 - Total Days: 086 ----------------------------------- Daily Averages - Temps: 80.5°F [26.9°C] - Humidity: 60.9% - VPD: 1.36kPa ----------------------------------- - [09:24]: Growing along nicely! --- The garden yo-yo has really helped. Her back cola is now about the same thickness as her main cola (maybe even a bit thicker). Will be adding more yo-yos soon. --- Buds are continuing to thicken up! --- This week will be the last week of Full Bloom and will start Week 1 of Bloom Ripening. - [22:04]: Top growth is looking nice and frosty! --- Her center bud cola is getting pretty fat too. - [22:12]: Time to water! --- Filled a pitcher with 7 cups of distilled water and poured it straight into the EarthBox's fill tube. --- As far as growing, seems to be another easy week! --- Keep on growing girl! Day 06 - Saturday - 08/06/22 - Total Days: 087 ----------------------------------- Daily Averages - Temps: 80.7°F [27.1°C] - Humidity: 61.3% - VPD: 1.34kPa ----------------------------------- - [07:26]: Growing steady! --- Wow! Her terpene profile has slightly changed now to more of a sweet berry-like profile. Still has the citrus, but not as much. I'm digging it! --- Not much to do except just wait! Stoked! --- Bud growth is looking very nice! - [22:18]: So beautiful! --- Wow! Just towers of bud colas. Nice! - [22:25]: Water time! --- Going to also inoculate more microbes and saponin. --- Filled a pitcher with 7 cups of distilled water. --- Added 1/32tsp of Quillaja Saponaria Extract --- Added 1/16tsp of Bio-Phos --- Mixed the solution and poured it straight into the EarthBox's fill tube. - [22:39]: Decided to add 2 more garden yo-yos. --- These will help to raise the 2 side colas (left/right) a bit closer to the light. --- Nice! Now she has a more uniform canopy. Day 07 - Sunday - 08/07/22 - Total Days: 088 ----------------------------------- Daily Averages - Temps: 81.4°F [27.4°C] - Humidity: 62.5% - VPD: 1.33kPa ----------------------------------- - [07:28]: Wow good morning beautiful! --- Her buds are just getting larger by the day. --- Getting that sweet berry terpene too which is getting me even more hyped! - [08:41]: Another grow board filled! --- Using a white board has been a huge help with keeping track of feedings. - [22:05]: Aye looking great! --- Wow! Growing along! --- The reservoir did have a bit of water so reducing tonight's watering. - [22:14]: Time to water! --- Filled a pitcher with 4 cups of distilled water and poured it straight into the EarthBox's fill tube. --- Another easy week of growing! --- May add 1 or 2 more yo-yos next week. --- Wow! Nutrient-wise, almost at the end of Full Bloom. Next week will start the bud ripening phase. --- As far as DLI, this is going to be the highest PPFD she'll be getting in flower. Will begin to reduce the DLI from now on to simulate the season change in weather (Summer to Fall). I should also be lowering my temps, but can't control what I can't control. --- Regardless, --- Hyped for next week! [END OF WEEK 14]