Let's Do Some LST


   Grow Goals Week 5 of Veg     ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ 🌦️ VPD of 0.8-1.2 kPa for late veg 🌙 Diurnal Temp Difference of 10°F / 5°C 🔆 Maximum Light Infiltration 🔆 Maintain DLI at 40 for late veg 🚜 Microbes & Mycorrhizae 🚜 Even Defoliation Across Plants 🔎 Pest Inspection 🔎 Nutrient Deficiency Inspection 🔎 Plant Happiness Inspection
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🚜 Easy On The Watering     ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ New pot sizes
 New brand of soil
 Increased ambient RH

   All of these add up to one thing: the water transpiration rate is slower is slower than I am accustomed to. This means that I need to go easy on the waterings / feedings while I “learn” how long it takes for the plants to get thirsty.   

Although feeling the top 3 inches of the soil for dryness is a great rule of thumb for watering, I ignored this while learning the plants’ drinking habits. I still was lifting up the pots to check the moisture content weight, but these are new pots and new soil type. In addition, as the plant’s mass gets bigger, the pot will have a heavier dry weight. What I am watching for is the plants to droop just a bit. They will be fine. It does not rain on schedule in nature
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After 7 days without watering/feeding, the plants were still fine in their 5 gal / 20 L pots. The top 3 inches of the soil was surely dried out. 7 days is a bit too long in between feedings. I need to increase transpiration rate by increasing temperature, lowering the RH, or some combination of both. I can get more nutrient input with increased transpiration.       🌦️ Decreasing the Humidity     ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ After reviewing a few years worth of humidity logs from a few Personal Weather Stations in my local area, I now know that ambient humidity will continue to be an issue. See my Week 4 Diary notes for more details on implementing a LUNG room to effectively manage this humidity issue.   
  
    Week 4 Diary
    https://growdiaries.com/diaries/165223-grow-journal-by-negotiatebubble 
   
A lower RH will increase the transpiration rate of the plants. During my last grow, I used a wall A/C unit to control the temperature in the lung room. It was easier to control temperatures than humidity using this method so in that previous setup, I favored RH and having temperature "chase" RH. That just means that the temperature was easily adjusted based on whatever RH I could hope to achieve (for optimal VPD).

   Now, I have low ambient temperatures and only need be concerned with the RH. It remains to be seen whether controlling temperatures using a 2nd exhaust fan vs wall A/C unit will be a different experience for me. The exhaust will periodically be mixing humid air back into the lung room, so controlling RH could be a fight.
     
  🌦️ Increase Ambient / Leaf Surface Temperature     ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ With my new variac to controller the speed of my fan, I can turn down the fan even slower. This will increase the heat in the tent, and increase transpiration rate. 
      

🌦️ Upgraded Fan Speed Controller       ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ The “variac” fan speed controller has arrived and it was worth the extra money that I paid compared to those cheap plastic speed controllers. It can rotate the exhaust fan extremely slow and no longer makes that loud roaring noise at low speeds (cheap controllers do this). I bought a cheap, random, smaller wattage (300w) variac that was available for 47 USD / 44 EUR, and compared to the plastic one for about half the price. Plus it won’t burn down your grow room. Below is the one I bought for United States voltage, but it will look similar.       Variable Voltage Transformer 300W   https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078Z7XYT2?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1     
🔎 Pest Inspection   ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ No signs of pests. Yellow sticky traps are clean. I also randomly inspected under a few leaves. I will continue to monitor for infestation using the sticky traps.         🔎 Plant Happiness Inspection        ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾  Happiness is back on course this week. Plants are loving the Microbes & Mycorrhiza and DLI is dialed in.       ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________     Fabric pots to prevent root binding. I am taking the Syn-ganics approach. Using soil with microbes + mycorrhizae added to the nutes. Mycorrhizae will be phased out during flowering as the high phosphorus the environment halts fungal germination (Teaming with Fungi: The Organic Grower's Guide to Mycorrhizae by Jeff Lowenfels) Enzymatic (Sensizym) will assist in breaking down dead root material in the soil. Any brand enzymatic that can break down cellulose will do just fine. Agsil16H Potassium Silicate is pre-mixed at 148g per 1 gallon / 40g per 1 liter of water. Silica will aid plant strength/structure and also make the plants taste terrible to pests. As a side note, plants with too much nitrogen input taste sweet and delicious to pests! Bacillus Thuringiensis subspecies Israelensis (Bti) (aka Mosquito Dunks) solution is added to the nutes to kill any larvae based pests such as gnats. Mixing Mosquito Bits into the soil is also a great idea. Seaweed Bottled Mix Ingredients (NOT an endorsement. I purchased this with my own money)
‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ - Ecklonia Maxima Kelp - Fish Hydrolysate - Blackstrap Molasses - Humic Acid / Fulvic Acid - Select Amino Acids (L-Alanine, L-Argine, L-Aspartic, L-Cystine, L-Glutamic Acid, L-Glycine,   L-Histidine, L-Isoleucine, L-Leucine, L-Lysine, L-Methionine, L-Phenylalanine, L-Proline,   L-Threonine, L-Serine, L-Tryptophan, L-Tyrosine, L-Valine) - Calcium Phosphate - Arcanite - Sugars - Yucca Extract - Tryptic Soy Agar - Plant Hormones, Plant Growth Stimulators and Vitamins (Auxins, Cytokinins, Gibberellins,   Abscissic Acid (ABA), Adenine, Indole Acetic Acid (IAA), Adenosine, Zeatin, A (Carotene),   B1, B12, C, D, E, K, Biotin, Niacin, Choline, Pantothene, Folic Acid, Follinic Acid) _____________________________
___________________________________________________   I Build My Own Custom Grow LEDs https://growdiaries.com/diaries/165481-grow-journal-by-negotiatedbubble   Custom Built Modified Grow Tent Frame https://growdiaries.com/diaries/165474-grow-journal-by-negotiatedbubble   Custom Built Watering Table https://growdiaries.com/diaries/165482-grow-journal-by-negotiatedbubble

   VPD Chart and Calculator spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Dta8AptwIIgo728nAu4l9acrWYWPdrljjV4uzXwGJ0Q/edit?usp=sharing
    My Custom Nutrient Spreadsheet 
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1grolLVrJLQVSdK7sdnR7dS86axWIzDgW1iWWZIFHhiA/edit?usp=sharing