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Placed gear into RO water with 3% H2O2 solution added. Placed in dark room for 24 hours under seedling heating pad set to medium. Seeds popped after 24 hours. Kept in water for additional 24 hours to allow tap root to grow prior to transfer. Day 2 soaked rockwool cubes overnight in RO nutrient solution (ph 5.8 ppm 300). Day 3 inserted seeds into rockwool cubes tap root down and placed into seedling tray w/humidity dome. To control humidity w/o spraying placed glass of RO water w/small air stone. Placed humidity dome w/hygrometer inside 2x4 tent with LED 30" high set at high keeping humidity temps at roughly 80% F with 80% RH. All 4 seeds germinated day 4. Day 5 transferred PCRbx and TKO to 2x4 bubble buckets w/nutrient (see above). Continue to monitor environment for remainder of germination week.
Nothing of note other than maintaining environmental conditions and monitoring PH, PPM, and PPFD on a daily basis. I did notice both the TKO and PBCRbx were a little slow out the gate, so I began a once a day top feeding using a syringe to apply. I also increased ppm of feeding to between 750-800, which in a few days time I've notice an increase in growth, including roots without leaf tip burn. Noticed a drop in ppm with next day readings, which from my understanding suggests plant is intaking the nutrients (no lockout). Roots look nice and white. Scheduled reservoir change planned for this weekend.
The little plant that wish she could. So, growth as been extremely slow. Given growth at a third of the TKO, I should have not changed out the reservoir last weekend. The good news is its starting to develop nice long while roots. Growth has sped up a little. Maintaining ph after change has been a constant, but finally got a handle on it. ppm were a little bit high, but drained a little from reservior and replaced with ph'd RO water with cal/mag supplement.
Having the same brown spotting as the TKO. I think it may that I need to add more cal/mag while ensuring ppm doesn't get too high.
Partial reset on this girl who is obviously stunted and struggling. Not all strains are created equal and experience combined with skill goes a long way. So, taking my lumps with this girl. So, long story short, I reduced the ppm by draining and replacing 2.5 gallons of ph'd RO w/cal-mag added. This resulted in bringing down the ppm to roughly 500 w/ph at around 5.6. Will continue to monitor ph, ppm, and water levels for the remainder of this week looking for stabilization. At that point, I will gradually raise the ppm levels. If she doesn't make it back before TKO is ready to flip, I may need to scrap her given limited space. Come on girl, let's go...
Midweek 4 update: Well, time has come for a decision. I moved the PBCRbx over to the 3x3 grow tent, so I can continue to care for her. Clear case of too much nutrients (high ppm levels) that have stunted early stage veg growth. Tried monitoring and adjusting ph twice a day but ppm remained higher than range resulting in fan leave tips looking burnt. Also some nutrient lock out occurring. Given ppm remaining high and water level dropping, I decided it was time to do a complete flush. Emptied and thoroughly cleaned bucket, air stone, and air line exposed in bucket. RO water with cal-mag and nutrients ph'd to 5.5 w/ppms at roughly 625. A day after flushing, the PBCRbx is looking a lot better. As a back up, I am running a separate PBCRbx by Ethos in a 3 gal fabric of coco peat, which is doing very well.
The complete flush has worked wonders as well as running much lower ppm range. She's completely recovered with the expanding root system nice and white. Continuing to monitor her and topping off with ph'd and nutrient RO water. Tiny bit of defoliation at top, so lower areas of plant receive adequate lighting. Switching over to flower is going to take a few more weeks before she's ready.
We're in the middle of week 6 veg prepping for 12/12 switch. The stabilized PBCRbx roots system has increased in size and remains white and healthy. Water and ppm levels dropped significantly since the start of week 6. Topped with 1/2 gallon of nutrient rich (830 ppm) RO water ph'd at 5.5. I also needed a way to LST a DWC bucket. I wanted something stable, but easily removable during maintenance and while topping/changing out the bucket. I came up with a simple and cheap solution w/o compromising the bucket. I used 22mm wire cut a little longer than the circumference of the bucket. Small enough to catch the last lip just under the top. Once wrapped around, I just made a simple twist with pliers to hold in place and used garden wires to LST lower stems fanning out the girl. Not a bad DIY solution on the quick. Topped her yesterday and plucked just a few fan leaves for better light penetration. I'll give her a week to recover and then flip to 12/12. As a result, I'll have to move the PBCRbx that I'm running in coco peat to the 2x2 veg tent. The DWC PBCRbx will flower along side a French Macaron (TH Seeds) and Gelato 41 cuttings taken from last grow.
This being my first DWC grow, I'm not trying to be cute. Just trying to maintain all controls, so that I'm harvesting some decent buds in the end :)
Haven't updated my grow diary for a little more than two weeks due to a severe back flare up. Yup, bad back strain, which has made it hard to sit, lay, stand for any duration of time. Suffice to say, much has happened since last update. The PBCRbx has undergone a growth spurt after a bucket change and upping nutrient (ppm) levels as I transitioned her to flower. And in that time, she received one defoliation in veg and a recent (and last) defoliation in flower. At this point, I just need to maintain healthy roots, consistent environment, and proper water levels with feedings. She's due another bucket change soon as ppm levels dropping and ph is adjusting upwards every reading. This is good sign from my understanding as a first time DWC grower.
As far as feeding, lowered grow big (veg) and upped both tiger bloom and beastie blooms along with a splash of big bloom and cal/mag. Topping off buckets with about 1100+ ppm, which helps maintain ph in bucket at roughly 700-800 ppm. But it's getting harder to maintain those levels in flower, so that's why I believe a bucket change is in order.
Here are photos spanning the entire 2-3 week period since last update.
Been two weeks since last update. Reoccurring back strain has made it challenging keep up with grow and diary. Just the basics. That said, I switched nutrient line from Fox Farm to GHE's trio. So much simpler that FF. Let's see how results are giving transition took place at bucket change. Figure one maybe two more changes before harvest.
For the last month, I've been dealing with severe back issues. Not gonna lie, but it's been challenging to keep up with daily DWC chores. That aside, this particular girl recently had ph swings, so reservoir change end of week 6 flower. I also switched from Fox Farm to GH trio and supplementing with FF Chi Ching during week 5 and into week 6 w/ppm running at 750-780. With bucket change beginning week 7, I went with just the trio lowering ppm to 500-520 range. I'm gradually bringing ppm down right up until flush.
She's finishing nice, which is all I can ask after having stressed her out the gate. She's recovered nicely, and the terpenes/aromas are just filling up the tent. I get the Hawaiian Punch profile references. She sticks are sweetness. Ethos genetics, so happy with first run of this breeders gear and happy w/results so far being this is my first attempt at DWC.
Enjoy the PHOTOS and hit LIKE, if you're so inclined to do so :)
As the plants are ripening and getting closer to harvest, I'm continuing to lower ppm levels while managing bucket water levels and ph. We're exactly at day 56 of flower (5/5/23) on Cinco de Mayo. The PBCRbx reflects a flowering time of 60-63 days, so no more nutrients at this point. I'll continue to monitor Trichomes through next week (i.e., week 9 of flower). Once I see more amber (approximately 20-25%), I will begin a 2-3 day flush with straight RO water. At that point, she is ready to come down.
The last bucket change between week 7 and week 8 strictly followed GH's recommended dosage. That bucket change out brought an end to the ph swings she was beginning to experience. After the change out, the balance between water consumption, nutrient uptake, and ph is spot on. Specifically, while plant is up taking water, ph and ppm have maintained stability.
She's looking and smelling incredible. Man those ETHOS beans are the bomb. There is a learning curve with DWC - no lie - but I've enjoyed the experience. That said, and if I had dialed her in from the start, she would have produced even better. Gratitude and thanks to ETHOS!
Week 9 of Flower and the Punchberry Cookies Rbx just about ripe at 63 days of flower today (5/12). I've never had to time a DWC bucket flush before, so going purely on instinct. Specifically, Trichomes are mostly milky with amber development. I am hoping a 3-5 day flush with ph'd RO water will bring out any potential color AND that Trichomes will continue to ripen bringing amber to about 15-20%.
As for the week in review, I'd say pretty uneventful, which is good. Continued daily water and ppm level drops with stable ph range readings - zero wild swings. She's kicking up some incredibly strong smells of fruit. She's frosty and does smell a bit like Hawaiian Punch as advertised. Looking forward to completing the DWC bucket flush and harvesting the girl. She and I got off to a rocky start. Fortunate that she recovered and produced the way she did. Next couple of posts (i.e., Harvest & Cure) will end this spring 23 run.
Well, week 9 of flower in the books and she is done as of this posting on 5/19 (day 63). She finished up well and the trichome development has nice mix of milky with a little amber. She's is extremely frosty and gives off a super strong smell of fruity goodness. She'll be cut down today, so stay tuned for the subsequent harvest report and pics.
All in all, first time DWC bucket grow went well, in my estimation. It's a lot of work, but the results speak for themselves. I learned a lot with respect to monitoring ph, ppm, and ppfd readings, as well as reading my plant for visual cues. I eventually understood I needed daily readings b/c growing hydro conditions can change on a dime, especially for someone new to this growing method. But once I found my stride, the process became easier. Another lesson learned was how much space is needed for vegetative and flower stretch. I literally had to move the buckets from the original 2x4 tent to the larger 3x3. And that is where she finished up.
First time growing using Ethos seeds, which
GrapevineGrower2
