Blueberry OG in Coco + NFT

Day 43: Inflow EC 1.8 (900 ppm), pH 5.75. Still haven’t managed EC in the slab. Although the optimal EC is 1.8 (900 ppm) for now. Giving this EC results in stable runoff concentration and pH a bit rising (6.1). I have to keep runoff at 30-50% to get EC 0.9-1.0 (450-500 ppm) which makes me think she’s asking for EC 2.0 (1000 ppm) with 10-20 % runoff. Old leaves are showing small brown spots. That was predictable - early Ca deficiency due to constant underfeeding. My plan for the next few days is to raise EC in the slab till 1.6 (800 ppm) at least. I don’t even need to flush it before flipping to 12/12, since I keep runoff at a very high level and NPK was already adjusted for lower Nitrogen on week 3. High runoff percentage helps to keep algae at the bottom of the container under control. Adding 3 ml/l Hydrogen Peroxide to keep roots oxygenated in the darkness and keep some of that green stuff away from touching them. She is almost ready for flip. I saw first pre-flowers on top nodes. Today I’m going to install ScrOG net, and defoliate again right before the lights go off. Also I will try to bend the top a little bit. The canopy is not flat, but the lower shoots are not far behind the top. The top is receiving up to 45 DLI, while the first node is getting 20-22 DLI at about 30 cm distance from the top. That’s good. I will keep lower buds anyways, gonna preserve as much potential yield as possible, even few larfs. I want to go 12/12 not by switching it from 20/4 the next day after 4 hrs of darkness. I want to keep the midnight point the same. Then add per 4 hours in the “evening” and in the “morning”. Although a lot of growers claim there’s no difference in how you flip to 12/12, and in fact there’s a lot of “stoned science” behind those theories, I believe saving the midnight point is key for fast transition. Biological clock still work in plants and that’s not good to disrupt it. Last day of veg will be 16/8+4. That means the night will begin 4 hours earlier, and the first day after 12/12 flip will start 4 hours later. Day 44: ScrOG net is not ready yet, so I just defoliated and trimmed few shoots. Decided to make 8 clones from the cuttings. Never did that before. No cloning gel was available, so I just used Root Booster from T.A. in 5ml/l concentration (as they recommend for first roots seedlings/cuttings). They sit in tap water for 5 hours until I got prepared to put them in rockwool cubes. No signs of wilting/embolism. I presoaked the cubes in pH 5.5 and Root Booster for 3 hours. Then cut off a bit from the stem and split the lower 1cm in half to get more surface, and put into the cube. Cut some leaves in half. In the evening they look good, still no wilting leaves. Will move them into another box to let them grow a bit in veg, if they survive:) Having some issues with pH meter. Sometimes the readings are 0.1-0.15 points lower. Calibrating solution is old, not sure if I can trust it. Waiting for the fresh one to arrive. Good to have pH drops for back up. The plant responds very well to EC 1.85 (930 ppm). It’s just exploded after I started to raise it. Few days ago runoff EC was 0.8-0.9 (400-450 ppm), now it’s 1.1 (550 ppm). Inflow pH is 5.6-5.7, runoff is steady 6.2-6.4. Raising pH while dropping EC means the plant is still eating and asks for more. If I had pH drop in runoff, that would be a sign of too high EC. Hope to slow down root expansion in order to avoid root bound and any kind of issues caused by root damage. Will clean the surface underneath the container with peroxide. So good that I didn’t make holes throughout the bottom. Roots would go out like crazy. I just made 4 small holes in the corners. That is enough for complete runoff. The roots stay in container, just trying to go through the tiny hole, where they are eliminated with light and air. So it’s constant air pruning. If I could start from the very beginning, I would use black, non-transparent container. At least I would try harder to find it lol. In my case black-white plastic bag used for making the slab is the alternative. This weird setup turned into some kind of “hydroponic top feeding slab with elements of NFT”. Gonna maintain root health with extra fertigations and peroxide. Day 46: ScrOG net is ready. Need some clamps to attach it securely. Inflow EC 1.85 (920 ppm), pH 5.6. Runoff raised till EC 1.16 (580 ppm), not increasing anymore. pH 6.4. She’s asking for inflow EC 2.0 (1000 ppm) or for a little flush with EC 1.9 (950 ppm). Runoff EC target: 1.7-1.8 (850-900 ppm) at least. Some brown spots on old fan leaves. She recovered from last defoliation and started drinking water like crazy. About 50 ml/h. Also DLI is 45, close to maximum. Will increase CalMag up to 1.2 ml/l. Day 48: ScrOG net installed. Finally)) Inflow EC 2.0 (1000 ppm), pH 5.5 Runoff EC 1.3 (650 ppm), pH 6.2 Day 49: Massive defoliation before flowering, will give her another 3-4 days to recover. Maybe a bit of LST, when she gets a big taller. Maintaining inflow EC at 2.0-2.1 (1000-1050 ppm). Runoff stays at EC 1.3 (650 ppm), pH 6.2-6.1. That means I hope max EC will be 2.2 (1100 ppm), then I will probably not increase anymore. Only extra fertigations to reach desired EC 2.0 (1000 ppm) in the slab. Not going to decrease runoff percentage because it would affect healthy root growth beneath the slab. Expecting runoff EC increase today due to defoliation.