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Used paper towel germination method for 20+ years. Direct seeded last 4 crops to 15/16 seeds germinating. Keeping the tent dark and finely misting the soil around the seeds ~6 times per day, and covering with loose plastic wrap until sprouted, has worked like a charm. This new crop is 3 feminized seeds in 5-gal buckets in a 2'x4'x7.5' tent; all germinated in 3 days. Yay! And I didn't have to (mis)handle sprouted seeds!
Once sprouted, the light is on Seedling Spectrum: low intensity, low red and high blue. 18:6 photoperiod. Temp: 22 oC nighttime, 27 oC daytime. Ambient RH is 30%. Small humidifier (using distilled water) increases RH in tent to 40%.
Misting soil around the sprout root area only (will widen watering area as plants grow). No nutes added.
This first week since sprouting was gradually ramping up the light intensity and transitioning from Seedling Spectrum to Veg Spectrum, spraying around root areas and misting leaves, and cheering them on. Girls look healthy.
Ambient RH is 20-30% cuz we're into winter weather now...cold and dry. Forecast for early next week is -14 oC daytime and -25oC at night. Hoping for chinooks is a favourite winter past time here. Small humidifier raises RH in the tent by about 10%.
No nutes this week.
At the end of this second week, the plants are good. Healthy shaped leaves and colour, no signs of stress. They've shifted into a higher gear, and like a true Sativa, the side branches are in overdrive. 2 plants are ready for their first topping. Waiting on the runt. There's always a runt. Trimmed off all side branches at this weeks' end; am going for Main-Lining.
So dry here this past week. 15% RH outside. Small humidifier adds about 10% to RH in tent. So, misted the plants a few times per day this week.
No nutes this week.
End of week #3. Topped all 3 plants, twice, nipped off all the budding side branches, and started bending this week. Plants look healthy, are rebounding from the trimming, and are getting thirstier.
I bent one cola too much. It snapped, severed in half. I quickly tied it back in place with cotton string. Fingers crossed.
Added nutes to the water this past week, as the nutes in the original soil mix will be depleting. A weak solution of veg phase Dutch Nutrients - Growth Burst, Grow A & B, Diamond, Black and Gold. Will be gradually ramping up the nutes over the next 2 weeks.
RH continues to be low, even with the small humidifier. 25-30% in the tent. So plants are misted every 2-3 hours during the day.
End of week #4. I let the plants recover from the double-topping and side branch trimming of last week. All look good. Am bending the new main colas as they grow. Will do one more topping to create 8 main colas per plant.
Gradually increasing nutes. Dutch Nutrients: Grow A, Grow B, Growth Burst, Gold, Black & Diamond.
RH still low, 15% ambient, 20-25% in the tent.
End of week #5: Plants had 3rd and final topping, and were trimmed of all side branches and lower leaves, at the end of this week. Now it's waiting for the plants to recover, and bending the main colas to restrict height and form the manifolds. Plan is to veg for about 2 more weeks depending on their height. Aiming for plants to be 30" tall at harvest is just right for my 6.5' tent and light.
Nutes were up to 0.5ml each of Dutch Nutrients for veg phase (Grow A, Grow B, Growth Burst, Gold, Black and Diamond) in 4L of water, late last week. But was too much N; some of the leaf tips were curling under. They all got a plain water diet this week and all the new leaves look good. Will resume veg nutes, minus the Growth Burst, next week. Some near-surface roots have grown to the edges of the buckets.
RH still low; 20-25% in tent.
Week #6 is done. All 3 plants were topped a 3rd and final time, and all side branches and a few lower fan leaves removed. 8 main colas per plant remain. Bending to restrict height and shape the manifolds, and trimming to remove shade, continues.
The stem has grown around the string I used to repair the cola I snapped a few weeks back. It is the tallest, most robust cola of them all.
Will start transition to flowering this coming week. My light controller allows me to gradually change the red/white/blue spectrum and reduce daylight hours over a 7-day period. Usually, transition is week #8 of vegging, but the plants look ready (seeing hairs), and will soon run out of room for the stretch.
Outside RH is 65% today, 30% in the tent. Go figure.
Transition week is done. Gradually reduced daylight hours by 1 hour per day from 18:6 to 12:12. Gradually changed light spectrum from higher blue-lower red, to higher red-lower blue through the week. Here comes the stretch. Grow Diaries might think about adding a "Transition" to the list of weekly diary options.
Plants have all rebounded nicely from the healthy trimming they received this past week, but the runt, although it looks healthy enough, just won't catch up to the other two for height and width. I may have to put it on a box lol. Have 24 colas, and bending them to space them equally.
Will stay on Dutch Nutrients veg nutes (Grow A, Grow B, Black, Gold, Diamond), and add DN Bloom Stacker, for the stretch, then will swap out the Grow A and Grow B, for DN Bloom A and Bloom B.
As an aside, the water I use comes from the tap in my city. The water is consistently pH 6.7 to 7.0. I fill 4L plastic milk jugs, and let them sit uncapped for at least 24 hours before using.
First week of flowering is in the books. 9 more weeks +/- to harvest, if my research is correct. This is my first Durban Poison crop, so we'll see.
Plants are healthy, growing fast, and in need of a good trimming (will do this coming week).
Still on the Dutch Nutrients for veg (Grow A, Grow B, Gold, Diamond, Black) plus Bloom Stacker. Will swap out the Grow A and Grow B for Bloom A and Bloom B next week.
RH still below ideal, but not much I can do living in semi-arid conditions.
I need a bigger tent. I can legally grow 4 plants, and my current tent really only fits 2 plants. I'm pushing the crowding for this crop with 3 plants.
2nd week of flowering, done. Plants are healthy, don't appear to have any deficiencies or overload, and are starting to make bud. Have reduced daily and nightly temperatures by 2-3 oC, and reduced the misting to every couple of days.
Fed/watered every 2 days this past week, the last watering was a mild solution of Dutch Nutrients - Clear (designed to release the nutes in the soil, I guess). Will restart nutes with bloom food this coming week.
All plants got a good trimming (the last of the side branches) at the end of this week.
RH still low.
Week 10 is complete. Plants look healthy, lots of pistils now, and they're starting to get frosty and stinky.
Gave all plants a plain water flush this week, then started on bloom nutrients at the end of the week.
End of week 11 (4 weeks in flower): Plants are making bud! 24 main cola buds. They all had a generous trimming of fan leaves this past week, to remove shade and open up the air circulation.
Feeding/watering with weak solution of Dutch Nutients (Bloom A, Bloom B, Diamond, Black and Bloom Stacker).
Halfway through flowering. Plants are making bud! They need a trim.
Overfed them this past week, which surprises me. We use Dutch Nutrients for flowering phase (Bloom A, Bloom B, Bloom Stacker, Diamond and Black). 0.15 ml each, so 0.75 ml total (about 1/10 of a tsp), in 4L of water. We start watering with 1 L of plain water, then add the nute solution until the soil is moist through out, and we discard the runoff. Previous crop (also a Sativa) ate twice the nute volume like nothing. Plants are on plain water as of yesterday. Hope this doesn't knock back the bud-making.
(Unlucky) Week #13 is done. Some leaves showing a not minor nute burn. Damn. As I said last week, the nute solution was weak compared to what I've fed other strains in the same soil mix. Maybe this DP sativa is extra sensitive to any N during flower. They were are all on plain water this past week.
Despite this drawback, the buds are looking great. Frosty, stinky. and gaining weight. The pistils are starting to turn brown off. Just a few weeks left.
Plants are making bud, and very stinky and sticky, despite being nute burnt. Disappointed. Plain water last 2 weeks, and for the duration. Hoping the buds don't suffer.
2-3 weeks to go. Until next week...
Flower week #8 is done. Buds are getting fat and heavy. Yay! Plain water from here on in. Trimming deadfall now.
2 weeks to go, so UVB is on for 4 hours over midday for the duration.
Week #9 in flower is finished. Buds look good, fat and frosty! The biggest ones are starting to lean.
Continued UVB at 4 hours per day. Started gradual transition to low red and white, and high blue on the light spectrum. Final days this coming week will be all blue. Am also reducing daylight hours by one hour each day until trichomes are just right.
At the end of this week, trichomes were glass and white, some brown. Won't be long now. Will be harvesting this coming week.