EarthBox [LOS] - ILGM - NYC Diesel Auto

Introduction - Week 00 Summary - Ensign's log, stardate 100304.76, Back with another newbie grow attempt! As the harvest from my first completed grow cures for 3 weeks ('Black Sugar' by 'Seedsman'), time to reset and start a new! Gonna try to germinate and grow my first autoflower! Stoked to attempt to grow some 'NYC Diesel' by 'ILGM!' I have 10 seeds. What can possibly go wrong!? So far, this grow has been relatively simple with a minimal issues. Completely focusing on DLI and VPD while learning the differences between growing an auto verse a photo. Within the first two days of dropping the seed into the water, the first seed popped! Already have her planted and am hoping for a fully rooted seedling by the end of next week. Planted in the same EarthBox as the last grow along with slight alterations (see full log for details). Also had a slight AC issue, but overall just a smooth week of growing! Steady as she goes Ensign and set a course for another seed to harvest! Engage! 🖖 [START OF WEEK 00] ========================================================== WEEK 00 - Germination [Pre-Veg] 09/12/22 → 09/18/22 This Week's Mid-Week Estimated Goals ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DLI: 12 mol/m2/d PPFD: 185 μmol/m2/s VPD: 0.5-1.0 kPa This Week's Meter Readings & Averages ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DLI: 11.47 mol/m2/d PPFD: 177 μmol/m2/s VPD: 1.48 kPa ========================================================== Day 01 - Monday - 09/12/22 - Total Days: N/A ----------------------------------- Daily Averages - Temps: N/A - Humidity: N/A - VPD: N/A ----------------------------------- --- [No log entries for today] Day 02 - Tuesday - 09/13/22 - Total Days: N/A ----------------------------------- Daily Averages - Temps: N/A - Humidity: N/A - VPD: N/A ----------------------------------- --- [No log entries for today] Day 03 - Wednesday - 09/14/22 - Total Days: N/A ----------------------------------- Daily Averages - Temps: N/A - Humidity: N/A - VPD: N/A ----------------------------------- --- [No log entries for today] Day 04 - Thursday - 09/15/22 - Total Days: 001 ----------------------------------- Daily Averages - Temps: 79.4°F [26.3°C] - Humidity: 55.7% - VPD: 1.48 kPa ----------------------------------- - [10:11]: New day! New grow! --- Ensign420's back with another grow log! --- Going to attempt to grow and harvest some 'NYC Diesel' by 'ILGM!' --- This will also be my first attempt at growing an autoflower. What can go possibly wrong!? --- Anyways, --- Have 10 beans but won't be popping them all at once. Will try to germinate a seed one at a time. --- Going with the tried and true method of soaking a seed in a cup of water. --- More specifically, a shot glass of distilled water warmed to around 85°F --- Let's go! --- Cleaned a shot glass (with isopropyl alcohol) and filled it with 25mL of distilled water. --- Randomly picked a bean from the lot of 10 seeds. - [10:23]: Dropped the seed straight into the shot glass. --- Then placed the shot glass onto a heating mat covered with a towel. --- Covered everything with a black opaque plastic bowl. --- Also used towels and foam for further insulation and stability. --- Have the thermostat set to a warm 86°F with the current temp at ~80°F --- The germination process has officially begun! --- If all goes well, should see a tap root in about 2-3 days! - [10:52]: Time to clean the tent! --- Mixed about a 1/4 cup of EM-5 solution. --- About a 1-to-1 ratio of distilled water to EM-5. Poured the solution into a spray bottle. --- Vacuumed and sprayed the tent clean. Made sure to also clean the walls with a bit of the EM-5 solution. - [11:30]: Okay done! Tent has been reset! --- Everything for the most part is all set for the run. Hyped! - [11:40]: Adjusted the grow light's wattage and dropped it down to the lowest setting. --- The light's watt meter was reading 211.4w. --- Using a screwdriver, I adjusted the light to the lowest level. This light has 2 ballast which each had to be adjusted separately. --- The watt meter was reading 102.7w --- Great! Day 05 - Friday - 09/16/22 - Total Days: 002 ----------------------------------- Daily Averages - Temps: 78.8°F [26.0°C] - Humidity: 56.0% - VPD: 1.44 kPa ----------------------------------- - [Supplemental Entry]: Damnit, my AC unit is leaking water. --- Also the compressor is using more energy while not cooling the room. --- Ordered a new one. One that I can't afford. Great! --- Damnit Ensign. --- [*smokes several bowls] --- [No further entries were logged for the remainder of the day] Day 06 - Saturday - 09/17/22 - Total Days: 003 ----------------------------------- Daily Averages - Temps: 79.7°F [26.5°C] - Humidity: 57.1% - VPD: 1.44 kPa ----------------------------------- - [20:04]: Okay! Time to check the bean! --- Wow! She popped! --- She was floating, but accidentally knocked the glass over (Damnit Ensign). --- Refilled with more distilled water and set the glass aside. - [20:08]: Time to prep the EarthBox for the new girl! --- Going to do things a bit different this grow and will try to use the plastic mulch cover. --- My plan is to dig a decent size hole and fill it with fresh soil. This way her initial start will be in a less nutrient dense mixture. --- Instead of using a plastic solo cup, plan to use a bio-degradable brown paper bag as a temporary seed starting pot. Her roots can easily pass through the damp paper and the bag will eventually decompose into the soil. --- Before planting, plan to place the paper bag into the hole but will leave a bit of an air gap between the bag and the sides of the hole. --- Once she has sprouted and is growing, I'll fully bury the paper bag by filling the hole with fresh soil and cover the top with the plastic mulch cover. --- Or at least that's the idea. --- Can even add a bit of mycorrhizae powder or even more worms into the hole before filling it. --- Can also spray the bag with some microbes and enzymes too before burying it. --- I digress, --- Anyways! --- First I removed the plastic mulch cover. --- Then I dug a hole straight into the center of the EarthBox and evenly distributed the freshly dug soil evenly onto the top soil. Made sure to dig to the bottom leaving about a half inch of soil left. --- Noticed that the soil was still nice and moist. Great! --- Won't need to add any water. --- Also made sure to dig the hole larger than the paper bag. - [20:20]: Time to mix up some soil! --- Took the rest of the BAS Light soil that I had (about 2 solo cups worth) and dumped it into a plastic container. --- A bit dry. --- To help wet the soil and to jumpstart the microbiology a bit, going to make a wetting solution. - [20:33]: Filled a measuring cup with 1/3 cups of distilled water. --- Added 1/64tsp of the following: ----- Quillaja Saponaria Extract ----- Horticultural Aloe --- Added 1/32tsp of Mycrobe Complete --- Mixed the solution and poured most of it into the dry soil. --- Kept about 15-20mL of solution for later. --- To prevent over-watering, wanted this soil to be more on the dry side. --- A bit drier than a moist sponge. --- Perfect! - [20:51]: Time to fill the bag! --- Took a small brown paper bag and filled it with the freshly moistened soil. --- I cut and folded the bag's sides down. Then using a pair of scissors, I removed the excess paper. - [21:01]: Filled the bottom of the hole with some fresh soil. --- Using some BAS Oly Mountain soil, I filled the bottom of the hole with about 1.5 solo cups worth of soil. --- Then I placed the paper bag into the hole which sits about flush with the top of the soil. --- There's about a quarter inch air gap. Perfect! - [21:09]: To make a shallow seed hole, took a pinch or two of soil out of the middle of the bag. --- Made sure to remove any pumice or twigs. Will use this bit of soil later to cover the seed. --- Sprinkled 1/64tsp of Great White into the seed hole. --- Great! Time to plant! - [21:12]: Using a cleaned dab tool, I carefully scooped the seed out of the shot glass. --- Nice! Her white tap root was about 1/4in long. --- I then placed the seed gently into the center of the hole. --- To cover the seed, I sprinkled the bit of saved soil from earlier. --- Gently patted down the soil and poured the remaining wetting solution from earlier onto the top. - [21:18]: Added a top mulch of rice hulls. --- Scooped about 2tbsp of some (BAS) rice hulls into a small plastic container. --- Added about 10-15mL of distilled water to re-hydrate the dried hulls. Mixed and layered the rice hulls on top of the soil in the bag. - [21:23]: Covered the top with a cup. --- Misted a clear solo cup with a bit of distilled water before covering the soil. Nice! --- For maximum humidity, there are no hole in the cup. Once she sprouts, I'll upgrade to a larger dome. --- While I try to increase the RH in the tent, this makeshift humidity dome will help to increase the RH around the seedling. --- With this being said, VPD readings will be off because the added dome will provide more humidity than the tent can provide (VPD readings inside the dome should be closer to the target goal). - [21:34]: Took a PPFD reading. --- Using a light meter (Apogee MQ-500), I took a reading just above the soil level. --- Light levels were at 177 μmol/m2/s --- On an 18/6 cycle gives a DLI of 11.47 mol/m2/d --- Using an autoflower DLI chart as a guide for target values. --- The current goal is 12 mol/m2/d --- Perfect! --- This grow will not have any supplemental CO2 so I am going try to have DLI just under the target goal. --- Over the next few days, going to try and dial in the tent's environment. --- Temps seem okay, my main concern is the low relative humidity. Need to bump this up. - [23:29]: Updated the tent's environment. --- To control the tent's environment, for ventilation, using an AC Infinity Controller 69 connected to a T6 inline exhaust fan). As far as temps and RH, using an Elitech 5TC-1000Pro TH controller connected to a basic humidifier (Vicks V4600) and mini space ceramic heater (Honeywell HCE100B). --- The exhaust controller's temperature triggers are set to 85°F/75°F [HIGH/LOW] with the MIN/MAX speeds set to 4/10. --- The heater and humidifier's controller target values are set to 76.0°F/63.0% [TEMP/RH] --- Gonna be adjusting these values and will update accordingly. --- Anyways! --- Hoping for a healthy sprout in a few days! Day 07 - Sunday - 09/18/22 - Total Days: 004 ----------------------------------- Daily Averages - Temps: 78.2°F [25.7°C] - Humidity: 59.8% - VPD: 1.29 kPa ----------------------------------- - [07:18]: Quick plant check! --- Nice! The cup still has condensation. --- Oops! --- Need to adjust the light cycle! - [08:04]: Adjusted the light's timer (Damnit Ensign). --- The light is now set to an 18/6 [ON/OFF] cycle. --- To keep temps lower, going to have the light off during the day from 10:00 to 16:00 (or 10am-4pm). --- Since this is an autoflower run, the light cycle will not be altered throughout the entire grow. - [19:42]: Night check! --- No sign of the sprout, but it's only been one day, so not expecting to see anything. --- Refilled the humidifier. --- Everything else looks pretty good! --- May give the top soil a quick misting later, but not much else to do but wait. --- This first germination week has gone quite smoothly! --- Had a successful germination with minimal discrepancies. Great! --- Hoping for a healthy sprout early next week! 🖖 [END OF WEEK 00]