Let's Do Some LST

    Grow Goals Week 7 of Veg ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ 🌦️ VPD of 0.8-1.2 kPa for late veg 🌙 Diurnal Temp Difference of 10°F / 5°C 
🌦️ Prepare for Flowering 🔆 Maximum Light Infiltration 🔆 Maintain DLI at 40 for late veg 🚜 Microbes & Mycorrhizae 🚜 Defoliation 🔎 Pest Inspection 🔎 Nutrient Deficiency Inspection 🔎 Plant Happiness Inspection
 _____________________________________          🌦️  Lung Room Phase II     ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ Flowering starts next week. Phase II of converting the bedroom into a Lung Room is complete. I replaced the bedroom door with a new door of the same size. I installed a 90 degree register box after cutting a rectangle in the door for the box.      https://growdiaries.com/diaries/165223-grow-journal-by-negotiatebubble#gallery=6838803   A register box is used in homes that have central A/C or heat. It is the metal box thing that you see if you remove the vent cover. I installed mine on the bottom of the door in order to exhaust the hot air out of the Lung Room. I also cut another rectangle at the top of the door and covered each side with a vent cover. This will mix cool air from the hallway into the Lung Room.     https://mobileimages.lowes.com/product/converted/063467/063467850526.jpg    90 Degree Register Box   I prefer to combine cheaper equipment rather than more expensive all-in-1 equipment. I bought an inexpensive Inkbird Temperature Controller to work with an exhaust fan that I already own. From here, I watch the temperature graphs and tweak the settings on the controller. Now I can gradually reduce both the RH% and the temperature in late flowering to achieve my grow goals.      https://inkbird.com/products/temperature-controller-itc-308   Inkbird Temperature Controller ITC-308         🌦️  Graphing the VPD History    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ I have finalized a new spreadsheet that visualizes the past week’s temp and RH% logs into a VPD timeline graph. Graphing VPD is mainly for my entertainment, but I did learn that I was achieving a decent VPD even with all the crazy swings in RH% and temps.       https://growdiaries.com/diaries/165223-grow-journal-by-negotiatebubble#gallery=6838840   VPD Graph        🚜  Adding Epsom Salt    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ My tap water only has 30 ppm sulfate, so I am adding magnesium sulfate (epsom salt) to the feedings for increased sulfur.      
❗ Time for a Maintenance Flush   ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ Plant #2’s symptoms from last week prompted me to test the runoff after the next feeding. After Wednesday’s feed, the EC (I happen to use EC. PPM is also fine here) of the nutrient solution was 3.86 EC and runoff was 5.49 EC. This is too high and this plant has some nutrient buildup. The pH of the nutrient solution is at 6.20 pH and the runoff measured at 5.96 pH. 6.0 is a low enough pH to lock out P, Mg, and Ca, which lines up with the deficiency symptoms.     https://growdiaries.com/diaries/165223-grow-journal-by-negotiatebubble#gallery=6838801   PH Lockout Chart   When flushing early or mid grow, first I water with a weak nutrient solution until the EC of the runoff decreases to somewhere near what you normally feed. Second, I replenish the missing nutrients in the soil by feeding at normal levels again. I want to avoid starving the plant by only feeding it a weak solution.    Also, flushing washes away all of the short release organic micronutrients (I use organic soil), so I also add microbes to help unlock those micronutrients from the organic soil matter and allow them to become available again.         🔎  Pest Inspection    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ Pest free since closing the lung room door. I will continue to use yellow sticky traps to monitor for any infestation.   I also found a fiberglass air filter (these are the cheapest filters on the filter aisle), cut out a piece of the filter, and then placed it under the intake vent to prevent pests from being brought into the room.        🔎  Nutrient Deficiency Inspection    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ I am still dealing with symptoms for #2 (see above).   #3 has some burned tips and #6 is starting to show symptoms similar to #2. Given the nutrient lockout likely occurring with #2, it is time to test run off for all of the other plants and perform a maintenance flush regardless since we are heading into flowering.         🔎  Plant Happiness Inspection    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ Despite the burned tips, #3 is doing alright. #2 is still angry. The rest of the plants look happy     ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________      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 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 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-Arginine, 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,    Abscisic Acid (ABA), Adenine, Indole Acetic Acid (IAA), Adenosine, Zeatin, A (Carotene),    B1, B12, C, D, E, K, Biotin, Niacin, Choline, Pantothene, Folic Acid, Folinic 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