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Another year, another diary! The Purple Chill Auto was probably my least successful from my first "Herbies Beginner Auto Mix" grow and I wanted to do a revenge grow with two (what I think are) 19L air pots. Long-time listeners will recall that of that first grow, the Ape Fruit Auto was the one that ended up flowering purple, and the Purple Chill Auto was limited to a purple fade on the sugar leaves. I'm not too sure why I decided to start the year with my least favourite strain, other than the fact this will essentially be a "summer" grow and I'm having trouble controlling temperature, so I wasn't too worried if the seeds didn't take.
In truth, I planted two seeds in peat cubes. The second one didn't appear to have germinated at all, at least, not until I dug it out of its peat cube and realised it was germinated upside down. This sort of gives lie to my acquired wisdom that it doesn't really matter which direction you point seeds up... by the time I rescued the germinated seed from the peat cube, it was too limp to take, despite some effort to try and transplant it to the pot (see next week).
23/01/2023 (day 1): A misting of plain water to get the soil superficially damp without too much thought for the seed.
26/01/2023 (day 4): Another misting of water for the seedling. Looking like the leaves are having some trouble emerging from the tight seed pod.
28/01/2023 (day 7): DLI is 10.5 - truthfully I forgot how much light seedlings like, and as a result (as you'll see) the stem got rather leggy and saggy at various times.
Week 2: 29 January - 4 February 2023
29/01/2023 (day 8): A misting of water. Evidently quite superficial as soil top layer is dry within 24 hours.
30/01/2023 (day 9): Nothing to report. Observe aforementioned second seed, having finally, limply poked its head out of its peat pallet. Looks like it has been underground for several days now. Put the pallet with seed remains together with the active seedling in the pot to see if it can stage a comeback (in which case I'd plant it in its own pot).
31/01/2023 (day 10): Another misting of water. Have given her a little support to avoid her falling over, so leggy is she.
01/02/2023 (day 11): Another misting of water.
02/02/2023 (day 12): Nothing to report. The second seed not looking good. Cut it out of its peat pallet and laid it to rest in the big girls pot with its germination material lightly buried under the soil top layer. Not holding out hope.
03/02/2023 (day 13): Another misting of water. Noticing curling in the leaves, and not sure whether it's a response to light stress (frankly doubt it) or heat stress. Either way I'm sticking to fair superficial waterings for the time being.
04/02/2023 (day 14): Another misting of water. Gradually increasing light. DLI has hit 13.
Week 3: 5 February - 11 February 2023
Week 3! In which I:
* removed the crutch that was my twisty tie forming a kinda hoop like support for my saggy stem;
* flicked the oscillating fan on, and then off again and generally messed around with it too much until I saw my baby girl going horizontal and decided I needed to up the lights;
* supported my baby girl to come to terms with the humming of the oscillating fan, supported by some rad new watering regimen;
* topped my auto on day 20 like some kind of maniac!
05/02/2023 (day 15): No photo or video, musta been away.
06/02/2023 (day 16): Wee water. Decided that it was time to remove the crutch that was the hoop of twisty tie. Can't exactly remember the whole saga, except to say I think she got a lil leggy there.
07/02/2023 (day 17): Another wee water. Timbaaaaarrr! The girl is hanging like a loose goose and not even particularly oriented towards light. This puts me on notice of the need to upjack the DLI, which is something like 13, but I lose focus and do nothing about it for several days.
08/02/2023 (day 18): I don't water her because frankly she still looks a lil muddy. However, she appear to be reorienting herself back towards the light and this may be soon that I have the brains to up the lamp.
09/02/2023 (day 19): I water her and notice that she is still on an epic lean although her leaves are properly oriented. I think about doing something with the light and maybe I even do.
10/02/2023 (day 20): Holy shizzle! She is looking bonny and healthy and just because I can see a wee new node above some true leaves, I decide to go for a gentle topping with my fingernails. I lay the top to rest beside its master (pictured).
11/02/2023 (day 21): She seems to be looking fine post-topping though I notice a couple of light spots on the leaves that I believe are caused by water droplet magnification. However, I lose my nerve and begin a feeding regimen of 1.5ML per 1L of each of my two vegetative nutes, and a 1ML dose of calmag that I intend to provide each feeding throughout this plant's life (until someone convinces me this is a bad idea).
Week 3: 12 February - 18 February 2023
Week 4! In which I:
* applied plenty more LST;
* left the lights surprisingly low to the plant;
* upped the amount of water
12/02/2023 (day 22): She seems to have recovered well from her topping and looks to be entering the prolific part of her vegetative stage. I'm unable to persuade myself that topping her early was a bad idea.
13/02/2023 (day 23): Wee water. Green shoots abound by the topping site. Happy girl.
14/02/2023 (day 24): Time for her first brush with LST. Wanted to ensure light penetration to all potential budsites so tied her on an angle that put the "L" in "LST".
15/02/2023 (day 25): She has immediately re-oriented from the LST so just gave it a wee tighten. Photographed from below the canopy to give an overview of what's happening with her stem/nodes.
16/02/2023 (day 26): Watered again, seems to gulp back a full 1.5L without too much runoff, which suggests her root system is expanding nicely subterraneously. Did a bit more LST afterwards and she looks truly ratty from above. Developing some golden/rusty outlines on leaves that I can't attribute to any deficiency, mainly because I'm not very knowledgeable.
17/02/2023 (day 27): MOOAR LST! Added a couple more ties to try and keep the nodes open to light and airflow, then (uselessly) photographed from above. She always looks so sad after the ties get tightened and it reminds me of days my braces got tightened as a kid.
18/02/2023 (day 28): And then some more LST, for good measure. Before and after shots demonstrate the extent to which she bounces back from one day to the next.
Week 3: 19 February - 25 February 2023
Week 5! In which I:
* applied plenty more LST;
* lifted the lights up a bit while maintaining a DLI of 35
* did some minor defoliation
19/02/2023 (day 29): A bit of water and LST tightening. She adjusts quickly to changes.
21/02/2023 (day 31): Another wee water. More LST though struggled a bit with the ties and finding the appropriate spot for them.
22/02/2023 (day 32): Nothing to report other than that the yellowing leaf spots continue. The plant generally looks happy (pictured).
23/02/2023 (day 33): The node sites are looking verdant and the plant looks to be approaching the pre-flower stage of vegetative growth. I would expect the first pistils next week! More LST at the end.
24/02/2023 (day 34): Tightening the LST has become a daily ritual, the stems don't look like breaking and she seems to be thriving.
25/02/2023 (day 35): A wee upskirt shot to show the stem system/sites and where (rather timid) defoliation has occurred. My girl boxes ahead. The yellow spots justify a quick grow question though I tend to put it down to heat stress, as the tent has been making it up to 31 degrees celsius at peak.
Week 6: 26 February - 4 March 2023
Week 6! In which I:
* saw pistils shoot and flowering begin;
* had the mercury hitting 30.8 degrees celsius
* had an average RH of 53.5%
26/02/2023 (day 36): Did some cool stuff I can't remember.
28/02/2023 (day 38): Watered. More LST I'm pretty sure.
02/03/2023 (day 40): Forty days young! Watered. Stalk to canopy she stands 28cm tall and the DLI sits at 32.5.
04/03/2023 (day 42): Pistils truly shooting now, we are flowering, yo!
Week 7: 5 March - 11 March 2023
Week 6! In which I:
* saw a nicely structured plant burst into flower
* had the mercury hitting 30.8 degrees celsius yet again
* had an average RH of 52.1%
* transitioned to bloom nutes and started adding the dreadfully expensive Canna BOOST Accelerator (just LOOK at those block capitals!)
05/03/2023 (day 43): Done a wee bit of defoliation but note the plant getting HAMMERED by the heat.
06/03/2023 (day 44): Watered with some bloom nutes in and tapered off the vege nutes. She is looking plenty green so probably time to get off the nitrogen.
07/03/2023 (day 45): Think I tied down the LST a little more but can't rightly say.
08/03/2023 (day 46): Looking verdant and nicely balanced.
09/03/2023 (day 47): Watered. Reaching out around the whole tent, going to be a squeeze once we stretch!
10/03/2023 (day 48): 31cm tall today, 35.5 DLI at canopy, light hangs 42cm from plant.
11/03/2023 (day 49): Watered and gave their last lil bit of vege nutes, we're full flower now!
Week 8: 12 March - 18 March 2023
Week 8! In which I:
* saw the bud structure begin to develop and the remaining pistils started shooting out properly
* did some minor defoliation of the lower leaves, however found myself too timid to "lollipop" like a pro
12/03/2023 (day 50): Watered. Heat still an issue but autumn is on its way.
13/03/2023 (day 51): A wee bit of spotting and discolouration in the lower leaves, which probably should have been completely defoliated in any case.
14/03/2023 (day 52): 1.5L of water, this girl can drink! Buds starting to get a bit of structure and keen to stretch.
15/03/2023 (day 53): Nil to report! Need to think about raising lights to encourage stretch.
16/03/2023 (day 54): Forgot to water. Poor girl was looking pretty thirsty by the time I came to her.
17/03/2023 (day 55): Finally watered having gone a couple of days without. She did not enjoy that!
18/03/2023 (day 56): Baby was praying when photographed and her "autumn colours" seem to be coming through. The fade has well and truly begun!
Week 9: 19 March - 25 March 2023
Week 9! In which I:
* was out of town for a solid few days so had a helper water, but took fewer piccies
* saw her reach 44cm from stem to canopy (stretch lyfe)
19/03/2023 (day 57): No photos today, but she did get a water before Papa left town.
20/03/2023 (day 58): Baby misses Papa.
21/03/2023 (day 59): Baby continues to miss Papa, does not get photographed
22/03/2023 (day 60): Watered, but not photographed.
23/03/2023 (day 61): Watered again. The buds are starting to fill out nicely and all pistils seem to have shot out. She is a hairy beast.
24/03/2023 (day 62): Worth reflecting on what my previous grow of this same seed/pheno produced in an 8L fabric pot compared to what she's doing in 19L with the tent to herself: https://growdiaries.com/diaries/147342-grow-journal-by-banurnerphone/week/820907
25/03/2023 (day 63): Watered again and did a top-down photograph to give an idea of the canopy/coverage. She's a good girl and standing 44cm tall today.
Week 10: 26 March - 1 April 2023
Week 10! In which I:
* was an April Fool with my watering and let her run dry for almost 72 hours.
* failed to take any meaningful measurements
* saw some []D[]-[]4TT135 developing; wondered whether Canna Bloom was actually a PGR given how hairy and pistillate it makes my buds.
26/03/2023 (day 64): The fade is real as we move into week 10
27/03/2023 (day 65): Watered. Did some minor leaf plucking with the blanched and wilted leaves, generally still a pussy in that regard.
28/03/2023 (day 66): More minor defoliation and a bit of marvelling at her beauty.
30/03/2023 (day 68): Yet again I have neglected to water her for 3 days! Got a huge fright when I opened the tent. She picked up throughout the day after a water.
01/04/2023 (day 70): Watered the girl. We are truly into our autumn colours now but the buds are fattening up nicely. Pungent smell and almost ready to start putting the trichs under the microscope.
Once again, it's worth reflecting on where my PCA had got to with my previous 8L fabric pot grow: https://growdiaries.com/diaries/147342-grow-journal-by-banurnerphone/week/823764
The buds seem to have matured much faster and I think it's a mixture of more light/space/less humidity and probably having the CANNA Bloom available from early flower onwards.
Week 11: 2 April - 8 April 2023
Week 11! In which I:
* observed the colas groaning under their own weight and wondered whether I should do something to tie them together or support them
* continued plucking away at the fan leaves where the "autumn colours" indicate total bleaching
* considered stopping feeding with every meal but then thought better of it and continued to.
03/04/2023 (day 73): Watered. The girl is 48cm tall and the light hanging 47cm from the canopy today.
04/04/2023 (day 74): I had a little look at the trichomes under the loupe. No sign of any amber action just yet.
05/04/2023 (day 75): Watered. The large colas are all on substantial leans and are struggling to support their own weight. I had this issue with my Zkittles Auto and ended up tying some together, but I don't think I'm there yet.
06/04/2023 (day 76): Had another look under the loupe. The trichomes are good n milky but not evidence of the gold I'm looking for.
07/04/2023 (day 77): Watered, although I note the soil/pot is retaining some moisture, so perhaps she's getting less thirsty.
My previous run of this pheno I let run a full 91 days before the sugar leaves started bleaching out and I chopped. I don't think I'll let this stay quite so long in the tent. While amber trichomes are the 'gold standard', I've found they were a bit late to the party last year, so I'll be monitoring closely.
Week 12: 9 April - 15 April 2023
Week 12! In which I:
* left the plants for two days unwatered and came back to find a bunch of the colas sagging
* staked them back up but created a new airflow problem for myself in that the colas are more or less tied together
* need to update this later.
10/04/2023 (day 80): Watered. A couple of the colas are looking ripe for chopping but they're the early bloomers among the plant.
11/04/2023 (day 81): Looking beautiful and milky under the loupe.
14/04/2023 (day 84): Went away for a couple of days and came back to find her sagging with some of her big colas literally upside down! Put up four or five small green stakes and tied the colas to them. Watered.
15/04/2023 (day 85): Had another look under the loupe. Seeing the beautiful purple outline on the colas' sugar leaves, which is presumably the "purple" that gives Purple Chill Auto its name.
Overall feel like I'm chopping in the next couple of days and have no wish to leave it too late and have all the trim shrivel up. With that said, there are still a number of fan leaves that are yet to fade out, so I feel like I may have a couple of days to go. Will put it to committee!
Does the Council of Wise Growers feel ready to call "chop" on my 86 day from germination Purple Chill Auto? Some colas have nice ambering (see close up of trichs) and others not. Sugar leaves haven't started dying. Last time I ran this pheno went 91 days (see diary).
hmm well is up to you what kind of effect you like to have..
Tricomes half clear/cloudy harvest at this stage produce more energetic / speedy high
Highest lvl of THC when most tricomes are milky/cloudy this stage produce greatest euphoria and pain relieving effects
Tricomes become more amber this stage produce realxing couchlock reduces anxiety perfect for Indica
Week 13: 16 April - 22 April 2023
Week 13! In which I:
* stopped feeding nutrients entirely and moved to a pH water-only cycle for the first grow ever (guess we shall see if flushing is "bro science"?)
* chopped the bastard on Saturday morning!
17/04/2023 (day 87): Watered with pH 6.0~6.5 water only. I'm not convinced about "flushing" in the least, but figure if the nutrient uptake will be minimal this close to chop, there's no point persisting with it.
19/04/2023 (day 89): More water. Things are looking frosty under the loupe though admittedly many colas have no visible amber trichomes (while others have up to 30%).
21/04/2023 (day 91): No water today as had fully intended to chop. As it happened, things got too late and I didn't have all my ducks in a row. Had a go at photographing stuff against a black sheet but realise that my camera equipment and lighting set up isn't really going to do justice to the sticky, stinky colas that this plant has produced. Interestingly, the sugar leaves have developed that beautiful purple outline again and the underside of the leaves has got nice and purple.
22/04/2023 (day 92): Chop day! The big stems produce 440g of wet bud on the scales. I will be interested to see where things land post dry-trim. I would love to have 3oz of heads though we shall see!
This chop at day 92 was one I hesitated about. I know there's a lot of "two more weeks" thinking but ultimately the decision to chop was borne from my last experience with this pheno (see Beginner Auto Mix Diary) where the sugar leaves ended up fading hard and the whole plant ended its life looking a bit 'overdone'. Under the loupe I had several colas that had 20-30% amber trichomes and several more that were a mixture of milky and clear. The smell of volatile terpenes as I chopped was so beautiful I wish I could bottle it and scent my room with it. Mmmm.
Week 14: 23 April - 29 April 2023
Week 14! Dry and trim week! In which I:
* Took a number of poorly lit, low-resolution photographs of my unlit buds hanging off coat hangers unceremoniously;
* Turned 440g (wet) of chopped plant into 67g of manicured bud for the jars; and
* Proceeded to wait a very long time before writing this up!
banurnerphone
