Side-by-Side GDP: Fox Farms vs. Advanced

DISCLAIMER(S): I have no interest or ties (financial, employment or otherwise) with either product manufacturer. I am doing this purely out of personal curiosity and thought others might enjoy watching as well. I will do my best to preserve the integrity of this blind experiment. If I am forced to learn the true identities of the nutrient trios for any reason, I will make note of them in that week's notes. Please take any conclusions from this trial with a grain of salt as this is only a comparison of one plant to another which may be influenced by irrelevant factors such as genetics, sprouting speed, or simply a particularly vigorous seed. In my opinion, you would need a larger sample size to truly draw a definitive conclusion. Now on to the fun stuff. Enjoy! Hello Everyone! Experiment parameters: So for my third grow I decided to do something a little different. In the past I have tried using the Fox Farms (FF) hydro trio but had persistent issues with nutrient burn (even at 1/8 recommended dosage well into veg) and immobility. I decided to flush them for 24 hours and try General Hydro's (GH) trio instead. The results were almost immediate recovery, new growth with no burns, and a much smoother ride for the rest of the grow. I was pretty upset feeling like I had wasted a few bucks so I swore off Fox Farms. Now I want to see if it could have been some other factor than just those base nutrients but instead of GH, I want to try AN's pH perfect trio. I am going to be doing a blind experiment to make sure neither plant is influenced by any biases I might have which means you won't know which is which either! My Fiance has graciously volunteered to play the role of adding the base nutrients to the reservoirs so that I will not know which plant is receiving which trio. After I harvest them (keeping them separate) she will reveal the plants nutrient manufacturer to us. A big thanks to her! Strain: Granddaddy Purps Feminized Breeder: MSNL Number of Plants: 2 (My brother requested GDP #1 be named Dankisha so there you go bud) Lifespan to date: Dropped seeds into water on 4/25/17, put into Rapid Rooter plugs in humidome on 4/29/17, placed in 6" net pods with hydroton and into reservoir on 5/1/17. Grow type: Deep Water Culture (DWC), 4.5 max gallon reservoir size. Nutrients: Each seedling will be receiving either the hydro Fox Farms trio or the Advanced Nutrients (AN), pH Perfect, Grow, Micro, and Bloom. Each plant will be receiving many different supplemental nutrients from the advanced line. See each week for specifics. Feeding strategy: After many over fertilization issues in my first grow, I decided from there on out to take a very conservative approach to feeding schedules. Each trio and the AN additives will be only be added to the reservoir when I notice the plants showing a "hunger" through early stages of visible signs of nutrient deficiency. At that point, each plant will be given a 1/4 of the manufacturers's recommended dosage for each component. The exception to this rule is the B-52 which I added 3 mls (1/10th recommended dosage for week 1) of to each reservoir because it is packed with b-vitamins which help will rigorous vegetative growth and stalk rigidity. When the plants have matured enough, I will increase the dosage to 1/2 for each base nutrient and then as high strength allowed by the plant in flower. Lights: Each plant has a 300W (132W actual) Galaxy Hydro LED positioned directly overhead throughout its life from veg to flower. Light to plant distances will be adjusted as needed, generally decreasing with plant maturity. Water: Home reverse osmosis treated water system beginning once nutrients are added. Update schedule: I will try to send out the updates every Saturday or Sunday when I change the reservoirs out. I am very excited to see how this turns out. My own hypothesis is that the Advanced Nutrient (AN) trio will be able to run at a higher PPM than the Fox Farms (FF) trio without burning the plant, causing deficiencies, or lockout. I am basing this on a shared opinion I have read online that FF causes buildup and blockage of nutrient channels leading to deficiencies or burns. I think that being able to run a more aggressive feeding schedule for a longer period of time will increase the bud weight of the Advanced Nutrient crop. I am also very interested in determining the validity of the "pH Perfect" technology claim by AN. I wonder if the inherent pH buffers in the AN trio will force the pH to stick at a sub-optimal (outside of the range of 5.8-6.2 for my purposes) level. I hope to do documented experiments similar to this one in the future as well. If anyone has any ideas, tips, or tricks they want to share, please feel free to let me know. Enjoy!

So this week was definitely a bump in the road. This is my first time raising my actual seedlings. My friend always took care of them for a while then gave them to me once they were established so I had no idea I was harming the seedlings by placing a humidome over them on their buckets (see previous week for pictures). Apparently the humidome combined with a high water level in the bucket caused my seedlings to start dampening off and dying. Once I realized this was happening I took the humidome off and they have started to get a little better but it looks like at least the first two sets of leaves are affected. I am hoping they can recover but this definitely isn't the greatest start. 😓 Neither seedling has received base nutrients at this point. GDP1 seems to be more vigorous than GDP2. Both of them are growing extremely slow because of the dampening off.

The plants are just starting to kick the effects of dampening off the seeds early on in their lives. I haven't given them any nutrients yet but I am hoping to see signs that they need food sometime this week. Neither plant has a root outside of the hydroton yet. At this point in time it does appear that GDP #2 is slightly ahead of GDP #1 in development.

So unfortunately the integrity of the blind trial was compromised. I had my fiance put each nutrient brand into the buckets but as soon as I looked at them I instantly knew that one was FF because of the color of the water. Oh well, I will still conduct this experiment it just won't be blinded. This was their first week of nutrients given at 1/4 manufacturer recommended strength. GDP1 - Advanced Nutrients GDP2 - Fox Farms Each plant received equal parts B52 and Voodoo. PPMs were 250 for FF and 300 for AN. Updates/observations: -GDP2 appears to be just slightly further along in foliage development compared to GDP1. -GDP2's roots are about a half an inch longer than GDP1. -GDP1 appears lighter green in color compared to GDP2. I moved the lights about 4 inches closer today. Once my Bubble Gum finishes drying and I get it into jars, I will switch them over to the larger flower side of the tent and give them an oscillating fan and add one more 300W GH LED.

GDP1 - AN GDP2 - FF I added a small dose of cal/mag today because GDP1 had some veins starting to yellow and GDP is supposed to like a little extra. PPMs: 355 for FF and 392 for AN Updates/observations: - GDP1 now seems to be more developed than GDP2 in terms of leaf size and height. - GDP1 is taller with more internodal spacing compared to GDP2 which is much more squat. - GDP1 seems to have a darker newest set of leaves with some yellowing on the veins compared to GDP2 which is lighter green. - GDP2 has started to show signs of nutrient burn so I backed off the strength of the FF trio to 1/8 strength this week. - Root development seems to be similar however GDP1's roots seem to be forming a type of root bridge between long runner roots where as GDP2 has roots sticking out at all angles. - Each plant has its own 132W Galaxy Hydro now bringing total actual watts up to 264 for the tent. - I moved them over to the flower chamber (keeping them on 18-6) because it is larger and I wanted to use my veg tent for my strawberries.

GDP1 - AN GDP2 - FF PPMs: 418 for FF and 415 for AN Updates/observations: I realized that I made a mistake and was following the wrong feeding chart for the FF trio. I am surprised because the chart I saw actually had me giving the plant lower amounts even than this updated one. We will see how they do now with the correct ratio of nutrients in the bucket. Today was their first haircut. Each plant had grown up to 6 nodes tall which means it was the best time to top them, knocking them back to just 3 nodes total. I will let the two new nodes grow out several inches before I start to manipulate them horizontally for the manifold. - GDP1 seems to now be much more developed than GDP2 in terms of leaf size and height. - GDP2 seems to be miniaturized and very nutrient burnt. - GDP1 is taller with more inter-nodal spacing compared to GDP2 which is much more squat. - GDP2 Is continuing to show signs of nutrient burn so I left the strength of the FF trio at 1/8 strength this week.

GDP1 - AN GDP2 - FF PPMs: GDP1 - 547 ppm (1/3rd strength base nutrients and additives) GDP2 - 464 ppm (1/8th strength base nutrients and additives) Nutrients: See last picture in album for actual nutrient amounts (I do;t like the measurements) Height: GDP1 - 6" GDP2 - 4" Updates/observations: - Nutrient burn symptoms on both plants seem to have ceased. - GDP1 remains significantly more developed with more height and inter-nodal spacing compared to GDP2. - I was able to LST GDP1 to her bucket with my planters tape however GDP2 remains too miniaturized to attach tape to without covering a growth tip.

GDP1 - AN GDP2 - FF PPMs: GDP1 - 350 ppm (1/3rd strength base nutrients and additives) GDP2 - 411 ppm (1/8th strength base nutrients and additives) Height: GDP1 - 6.5" GDP2 - 4" Updates/observations: - GDP1 remains significantly more developed with more height and inter-nodal spacing compared to GDP2. - I added one more 132 W actual GH LED because I have a few autos growing in there and I am going to be using it for flower anyway. - I re-calibrated my pH pen and and I believe it was a little high for the beginning of this grow. - All cuts/tops are officially done on both plants. For more information on my manifolding method used here see this link . They are tied down with their eight nodes beginning to grow upwards so now lets see what they can really do! - I have determined that I can let my largest plant reach 15" before I flip to account for a 2x stretch period up to my max of 30". Thanks for tuning in everyone! Happy growing!

GDP1 - AN GDP2 - FF PPMs: GDP1 - 402 ppm (1/3rd strength base nutrients and additives) GDP2 - 365 ppm (1/4th strength base nutrients and additives) Height: GDP1 - 8" GDP2 - 5" Updates/observations: One of the nice guys at my local hydro store hooked it up with a free sample of Recharge and he said some of his people have good results with it and others hate it so I thought I would give it a shot. It made the reservoirs really foamy and the water really dark but I am curious to see how it does because my reservoir temps have been way too hot lately. It has been hot outside so my tent rarely goes below 90 degrees F. I used about 1 tsp in each bucket. - GDP1 remains significantly more developed with more height and inter-nodal spacing compared to GDP2. - I have been really aggressive with GDP2 pruning and trying to open that plant up so it is not quite so miniaturized and can grow upwards. - I decided to use some LST and my green gardeners tape to train them outward further to utilize as much of my tent as possible. - The roots finally took off this week. They were super slow beforehand. I am interested to see what this Recharge will do. - I lollipopped both plants a bit to get them growing out and up. - I have determined that I can let my largest plant reach 15" before I flip to account for a 2x stretch period up to my max of 30". Thanks for tuning in everyone! Happy growing!

GDP1 - AN GDP2 - FF (I have had these switched for a few weeks so sorry for any confusion it caused. I went back and corrected the records.) PPMs: GDP1 - 458 ppm GDP2 - 275 ppm Height: GDP1 - 12" GDP2 - 6" Updates/observations: *I switched the lights to 12/12! Here we go! Recharge update: So I tried out the Recharge. It made my water super dark and murky and it created a ton of foam that eventually went down. Up until I put the recharge into the water, my roots were nice and white. Now there are brown patches that I really hope are staining from the product. I hope I do not have root rot but it would make sense why GDP2 is so small and slow. The roots exploded with growth on GDP1 though. Like they went absolutely nuts. I am pretty sure I am going to be picking up a jar next time I stop at the hydro store and replacing Voodoo and other root supplements. Look at the root picture of last week's journal to see what I mean. I am sold. Damn. - I have been really aggressive with GDP2 pruning, today I lollipopped her. She just started growing her axillary buds out like crazy and it made this tangled ball of a plant which isnt going to produce anything and will be a powdery mildew problem I can already see it. - GDP1 is an absolute monster. Her rate of growth for a supposedly slow vegger is great. I believe she will hit 15" next weekend and I can flip her. See if we get purple! - I selected 5 secondary colas so far that were especially thick and vigorous to fill up the middle of the canopy. Depending on what happens as they stretch I may keep them or get rid of them and select others. Manifolding is awesome! - GDP2 started showing signs of nutrient burn so I backed off her food. - I will be flushing the plants for 24 hours of clean RO ph'd water right before I make the switch to 12/12. - I have determined that I can let my largest plant reach 15" before I flip to account for a 2x stretch period up to my max of 30". Thanks for tuning in everyone! Happy growing!

GDP1 - AN GDP2 - FF Day 7 of Flower as of 7/9/17 PPMs: (Please see picture of notes for actual amounts of nutrients) GDP1 - 330 ppm GDP2 - 245 ppm Height: GDP1 - 17" GDP2 - 8" Updates/observations: - Flower has started and GDP1 has started stretching for sure. - GDP2 does not appear to be stretching much. - I noticed slight downward curving leaf tips on GDP1 so I backed her nutrient solution off by about 20% - I have been pruning tops that grow in places that wont have enough light as well as any large fan leaves that block these sites. - I flushed the plants for 16 hours of clean RO ph'd water on F5. Cheers!

GDP1 - AN GDP2 - FF Day 14 of Flower as of 7/15/17 PPMs: (Please see picture of notes for actual amounts of nutrients) GDP1 - 297 ppm GDP2 - 320 ppm Height: GDP1 - 22" GDP2 - 11" Updates/observations: - No sign of sex yet and it is day 14 of flower which makes me a bit nervous because I do have a veg section of the tent and I am hoping there are no light leaks that I cannot see keeping them in veg. - GDP2s roots look pretty bad. I am almost positive it is root rot at this point which is the primary reason I am switching to soil or hydro next grow. She drinks almost nothing. - I had to remove two of the main colas on GDP2 because they were falling over and were much lower than the rest of the canopy. - I reduced the PPM of GDP1 because of some light clawing so I know she has all of the nutrients she needs. She is drinking about 2/3 - 1 whole gallon/day right now it is madness. - I have been pruning tops that grow in places that wont have enough light as well as any large fan leaves that block these sites. - All 6 clones I took of this momma survived and I did not even use cloning gel or anything, I just misted them with a spray bottle for two weeks. This is a sign of a healthy plant so hopefully she does good in flower and gives me some purple. - I took three clones and put them into 2.5 gal air pots with roots organic soil and watered them in. I put two clones in the flower chamber to flower immediately for fun and the most vigorous clone in the veg tent to preserve the genetics in case she gives me purple. Good luck out there folks!

GDP1 - AN GDP2 - FF Day 21 of Flower as of 7/23/17 PPMs: (Please see picture of notes for actual amounts of nutrients) GDP1 - 394 ppm GDP2 - 372 ppm Height: GDP1 - 28" GDP2 - 16" Updates/observations: - They are showing their pre flowers now which is great! - I have been pruning tops that grow in places that wont have enough light as well as any large fan leaves that block these sites. - GDP1 is getting very tall. I have had to back the lights off almost to their max. She looks very healthy. - GDP2 is still kicking. getting a little bit taller all the time. - They both seem to be slow to flower compared to previous grows. Happy growing!

So, sad day friends. I got spider mites and had to throw all my plants out. This is what I think happened: About 2-3 weeks ago I noticed some freckling on the lower leaves. I looked at it and thought it might be a cal/mag issue so I added cal/mag that week and went about my business. I saw it about a week later and it wasn''t getting any better so I added more cal/mag. This continued for about 2-3 weeks until I finally took off a leaf and examined it under my microscope. I saw little bugs crawling everywhere and my stomach just dropped. My fiance did some quick research while I was panic ripping leaves off (see pictures) and she correctly diagnosed it as spider mites. I debated with myself and my close friend and ultimately I decided to throw all the plants in my tent away. I know that there are a lot of people who will say that there are things I could have done to make it to harvest but what it came down to is the people I take care of and personal pride. I consider myself a caregiver and I give away product for free that I am not going to use to my family and close friends. I thought to myself "Would you smoke this?" and when my answer was "ehhh, I don''t know", I thought about how it would feel giving it away and immediately made the decision to destroy them. I take an immense amount of pride in my product and this hobby and if I am not going to stand behind it I would rather just start over. I grow from my heart (shout out to the Grow From Your Heart Podcast!) to help people and make sure my family is not getting unsafe product from sketchy people. To spray pesticides in flower that may hurt people and have little bug carcasses in there just goes against that in every way and is just wrong in my opinion if you are giving it away to others. If you are the only one smoking it then it is one thing to take that risk but not with your patients. I want my medicine to help people, not create or exacerbate health issues. It is also important to note that the mites had moved from my flower tent into my veg space and took over my auto berry as well. Damn things are crafty and fast. So that is why I made the decision to destroy them all after 3 months of res changes, pruning, and manifolding on a slow vegging strain. Feel free to chime in with your opinion but I do not and will not regret my decision. I threw out my new clones, mother plant, and auto berry I had on my veg side as well. Shout out to all the other growers out there that do the right thing by their patients. Caregivers > Cash croppers. For anyone curious, I removed everything from my tent and scrubbed it all with a 20% bleach/water solution. All equipment has been wiped down and stored in the garage away from any organic materials. I will give them until tomorrow (2 days) to air out and dry and then I will wipe it down again with bleach and wait another 2 days. Hopefully that will make sure everything is dead and will not come back next grow. That next grow should start in about a week. It sucks but sometimes it happens and you gotta be ready for it. Lesson learned. Never bring outdoor plants into your indoor garden even if it is after just a day or two. A bunch of people on here and Reddit warned me and I did not listen. Now I have learned the hard way and it feels like when your parents "told you so" haha. Thanks to everyone who stopped by along the way. Stay tuned for a new grow coming soon. It is going to be some cool new limited edition Mephisto Illuminautos. I am pretty excited. Good luck out there and always grow from your heart folks. -Grim