Let's Do Some LST

      Grow Goals Week 1 of Flower ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ 🌦️ VPD of 1.2-1.5 kPa for Early Flower 🌙 Diurnal Temp Difference of 10°F / 5°C 🔆 Begin 12 / 12 Photoperiod 🔆 Maximum Light Infiltration 🔆 Maintain DLI at 40 for Early Flower 🚜 Microbes & Mycorrhizae 🚜 Even Defoliation Across Plants 🔎 Pest Inspection 🔎 Nutrient Deficiency Inspection 🔎 Plant Happiness Inspection 🔎 Note Growth Response _____________________________________          🚜  Maintenance Flush    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ After seeing signs of pH lockout, it was time to perform a maintenance flush. The initial runoff test was +1.86 EC over the EC of the feed, so I fed a nutrient solution that was 3.86 EC and the runoff was 5.49 EC. I flushed three times using a 20% nutrient solution. Testing the running off of each plant.   One thing to note, is that the very first runoff test for #2 for its very first flush measured at 3.56 EC. The plant had started to recover and was consuming much of that overfeeding. #2 is looking better.        🔆  No Far-Red (IR) Light During Early Flower    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ I have covered up the Far-Red (IR) diodes on my lights with electrical tape. They will stay covered until mid flower to minimize the stretching that early flower brings. The ratio of Red photons to Far-Red light is what activates the plant’s shade avoidance system (stem elongation). R:FR ratio has been studied since the 1960’s, but the emergence of Far-Red (IR) LED’s for growing has recently brought research back to the forefront.        “We get asked a lot about how these photobiological ratios apply to cannabis. The good news is that my laboratory has a state license to study   cannabis. So we've applied these ratios to predict cannabis growth, and they have the same value in cannabis as they do in all other crop plants.   Adding far-red is both good and bad and that's why the sensors are so important. You want to add the right amount at the right time to get full   advantage of it. More far-red can make cannabis plants taller. That’s usually bad. But it also helps expand leaves. That's good.”

       Dr. Bruce Bugbee. “Predicting Stem Elongation and Leaf Expansion: Percent far-red is a better predictor than PPE”, YouTube   www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_KPcg5eSV8&t=1111     Cannabis behaves more like tomato - the disadvantages of stretching outweighs any benefits of leaf expansion. Leafy greens like lettuce are all leaf expansion with no stretch. Far-red light has huge implications for indoor growing of the food that we eat. 
       “How about cannabis? Everybody wants to know colors of light. Cannabis, far-red makes it taller, blue makes it shorter. So cannabis is more like   tomatoes in this thing. We’ve got to be careful not to give too much far-red for cannabis because they get too tall.”     Dr Bruce Bugbee. “Photobiology Simplified with Dr Bruce Bugbee”, YouTube,   www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHOJQmYFW1A&t=452s     The below Far-red: The Forgotten Photons video is also a great watch:       “When plants perceive a high amount of far-red, they panic … they need to do one of two things: get tall fast to get into the light or get bigger to   capture more light.”   Far-red: The Forgotten Photons, Dr. Bruce Bugbee   www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS7aAcacfgk?t=1453       🌦️  Measuring Air Flow    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ Before I purchase any more fans for my grow tent, I need to determine if they are actually needed. Even a small fan in a large tent will beat the crap out of the closest plants. I currently use 3 cheap box fans bolted together to cool my lights. This box fan setup causes a visible updraft in the tent. My target air speed is about 0.8 m/s. This is the air speed used in non-related experiments by the USU Crop Physiology Laboratory.   I found a used hot wire anemometer on eBay for about 50 USD / 46 EUR. These air speed meters are commonly used by HVAC technicians, so you can find older, used models for cheap. The air speed that I measured around the canopy was no less than 0.6 m/s - on target. However, under the canopy I am getting very low readings. Humidity can build up under the canopy, so air movement is critical here as well.   I have already defoliated the bottom of the plants, so a few desk tower fans turned on their sides should be sufficient for air movement. I will be plugging all these fans into a single repeat cycle timer (25 USD / 23 EUR) so that they blow for 2-3 seconds every few minutes. This will decrease the amount of wind abuse inflicted upon nearby plants.     My Box Fan Setup   https://growdiaries.com/diaries/165474-grow-journal-by-negotiatedbubble#gallery=6715003     TPI 565 Hot Wire Anemometer   https://www.tequipment.net/TPI565.asp     Short Period Repeat Cycle Timer   https://www.bn-link.com/products/bn-link-short-period-repeat-cycle-timer-day-night-or-24-hours-operation       🚜  LST Canopy Closure    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ A few weeks ago, I attached some LST hooks to the tops of some branches and pulled all of the strings through a single cord lock for #6. A hole of the canopy had formed and I needed to close the hole just a bit.     Canopy Closure Before and After   https://growdiaries.com/diaries/165223-grow-journal-by-negotiatebubble#gallery=6859560       🔎  Pest Inspection    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ I am enjoying being pest free since closing the lung room door. I will continue to use yellow sticky traps to monitor for any infestation.       🔎  Nutrient Deficiency Inspection    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ #2 is recovering (see above) and I will continue to test runoff for a few feedings. No other visual symptoms.      🔎  Plant Happiness Inspection    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ Plants are looking very 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