Critical - RQS - first full DWC hydro

Germinated 2 seeds and planted into peat moss plugs in AERO garden setup. One never rooted - so one seed grow! Probably for the best since my initial plan was to run two plants in this single 8" DWC net pot with a divider. Filtered tap water. No water cooler. PH control through citric acid (poor choice, but I had to learn the hard way).

PH control has been difficult. The plant is responding well to the environment. water temperatures are becoming a concern. Topped on Day 12. No major issues this week with nutrients or light burn. Handling environment well. Responded well to topping. Just using a small USB fan to pull air out of the top of the tent. Nothing special for ventilation yet.

Switched PH control to sulfuric acid and have considerably fewer issues and am using less to volume of acid to control. Added water cooler to maintain water temperature while lights are on. Preparing for SCROG and second topping. Plant is growing well and responding well to increased nutrients! Added SCROG and moved to final tent. (2'x2' into a 32"x32"). Final tent has inline 4" 195cfm fan with carbon filter.

Some defoliation as I approach the flip to flower. Double topped as the plant was growing way too fast and I feared I would run out of space in flower. Also wanted the plant to bush out more to make use of the SCROG!

training and double topping the plant has produced a very nice canopy as flowering begins. I expect some stretch and have plenty of room left to allow it to x2 or x3 if needed. Swapped out trellis netting to a 4x4 for better separation. Plant is blowing up from the nutrients. Lights flipped to 12/12, intensity to 95% and raised to about 24 inches to promote the stretch! Also added a CO2 generator (bread yeast & sugar) with water bubbler. The tube runs up to the fan on the side and as it produces should be pushed out over the plant and settle (in theory!).

Week 2 of flower has been a rollercoaster of a ride. Female preflower indications all over. One or two male expressions gave me concerns over potential herm (I have trained this plant quite a bit at this point). All signs indicate still female with some stressed expressions - no herm conviction yet. Stretching nicely at this point and no concerns about running out of space. Increasing the nutrient strength slightly as we approach the all-important week 3 of flower! Wondering if raising the light and increasing to max strength so early was a mistake - will I run out of PPFD to finish her in week 4/5/6? Still continuing with weekly water changes every Friday.

More concerns over potential herm or stress induced herm. Removing what I spot by hand. On day 21, I planned a heavy defol but due to male/female signs I leaned away from a heavy trimming. continuing to monitor the plant closely and remove male flower formations on branch nodes that I can spot. At this point hoping to save this plant from seeding out, I am hopeful as there is a chance the pollen sacks I may have missed are sterile (fingers crossed). Upgraded fans from stationary to a single oscillating fan to reduce wind stress on the plant. Refreshed the C02 generator, and continued to maintain about 16-20 inch light distance. About midway through week 3, I added another 40w bar LED light for better canopy coverage. Moved by main 150W light back in the tent slightly and reduced the intensity. Better light coverage and can now push lights in week 4/5/6. Continuing to stretch - might have promoted the stretch too much as internode spacing is more than I would prefer on the main stems, but plenty of time to fill in and stack more! Increasing bloom ratio on nutrients and increasing EC, still utilizing filtered tap water. Final EC around 1900 for main water swap and what was used for top off nutrient solution.

I ended up having to travel for work for a few days so don't have images of the middle of the week. Increased nutrient strength again to get to 2.0 EC for the main solution and top-off nutrients. Monitoring EC after water change indicated nutrients were wrong ratio as EC was climbing. Diluted top-off nutrients by half with pH-adjusted water. I had to move the lights up to keep a 14- 16-inch gap between the lights and tops. Concerned if it continues to grow I might have issues with space. Little to no fan leaf removal at this point due to over stressing concerns. Plenty of airflow with oscillating fan above canopy and below canopy - heat control is fine and humidity is no issue. Still seeing signs of nanners here and there but they are small and not as pronounced as earlier in flower - hoping they are duds. Still trying to remove what I can see of male flower formations. Flowers have swelled considerably and the plant is starting to fill out nicely! Some brown pistils (or stigmas?) here and there, but some of it appears to be from tent contact or from me accidentally rubbing on them while trimming. Hopefully nothing has truly been polinated!

Flower is progressing nicely at this point. Reduced nutrients slightly to keep EC under 2.0. Increased lights to 100% intensity, and added an additional fan to flow air up through the canopy. The plant looks like it needs Defoliation badly - going to try and hold out until week 6. Definitely clear that it is a female plant at this point, bud development up top has taken off. Only 2 male flowers/nanners picked from branch nodes - still on constant watch though! Great sugar development - will be saving trim now :D Week progressed nicely. Some light fading starting to show on lower leaves. Not concerned with that due to the lack of trimming I have done up to this point. Considering letting the plant help me defoliate over these next few weeks as I reduce nitrogen. Buds are swelling and starting to connect on the main stems. Sugar looks great under jeweler's loop - super clear at this point.

Day37: Week 6 is off to a quick start. Dropping the nutrients considerably to around 600ppm/1200ec. Fading is progressing faster than I thought it would, considering adding back some nitrogen on day 37. Buds are looking thick and starting to swell and continue to stack. The smell is sweet lemon followed by notes of coffee and fuel. Smells really amazing. Purchased new pH meter as the cheap $10 amazon one crapped out and can't be having that during week 6/7/8 flower...it arrived today and thank god it did because I prepared 3 gallons of water for top-off and pH adjusted with the cheap meter. Checked it when new meter arrived today and was not adjusted to 6.5 as I was targeting one gallon was measuring 7.1. Cheap pH meters are like playing with fire - almost got burned! Day 39: Looked the plant over really closely for male flowers and nanners, found a few spots. Picked a few spots and trimmed entire small branches where needed. Most of it was under the main canopy. Some of the faded leaves are ready for trimming, I pruned them to prevent decay. Plant is clearly moving towards senescence. As I am seeing the fan leaves still in a somewhat prayer mode in the pm photos, I am wondering if I have enough light for her as I was worried about in prior weeks. Day42: Got some lights off, flash on camera pictures in the morning before the lights turned on and my goodness is it frosty in there!!! Water change in the evening to transition into week 7.

Day 43: Replaced bread yeast C02 generator for final time this grow. Haven't pulled nitrogen completely. Light defoliation on major fan leaves that are fading. mostly under the main canopy. Top nugs are getting massive(2inch+ diameter), middle nugs are starting to fill out, and bottom nugs should have been trimmed - but will make good bubble hash! Day 46: The plant is looking great overall and only found one suspect-looking formation on a flower that I carefully removed (that was on day 45). Reduced humidity slightly to 50% ambient target. Raised lights slightly as tops were looking stressed and at about 5 inches away- also adjusted oscillating fan to ensure it is not wind burning the plants. Picking off leaves as they fade, definitely could have pushed the plant harder during week 4/5/6 with nutrients as I am seeing a P/K deficiency showing up late. Going to keep bloom nutrients in the top-off water until day 49, then plan to switch to pH-adjusted cal-mag water only to flush/finish the plant. Seeing some coloring on the pistils - trichomes look cloudy, no amber in sight yet! Day48: Plant is definitely maturing quickly these last few days, pistils are oxidizing as expected so lots of brown and orange coming in. Trichomes on the leaves are showing amber signs today, buds are still cloudy with a hint of clear here and there. Cut the water to just pH-adjusted top-off water. Dropped water cooler set point to 68*F. Keeping top-off water much cooler to try and shock the plant these last few days to sugar up and swell. Fade is setting in on lower leaves, I pruned most of the under the canopy and any larger leaves with fading. Resevoir PPM: 400 Resevoir pH: 6.8 Day 49: Complete water change to flush this morning to just pH-adjusted water - no cal mag, no nutrients. New PPM 213 & pH 6.7. Keeping water as cold as possible for top-offs to push the sugar development. The smell has gotten sweeter and less skunky over the last few days! Trichomes on leaves are 80% cloudy, 18% clear, and 2% amber (visual assessment), and buds are 75% cloudy, 1% amber, and 24% clear.

Day 51: The plant still maturing nicely, and the fade has slowed even though I have pulled nutrients. Buds are swelling and trichomes are continuing to cloud up; Leaves 90% cloudy, 5% clear, 5% amber. Buds 85% cloudy, 10% clear, 3% amber. pH is swinging wildly last few days (6.6-8). Keeping an eye on it and checking twice a day - adjusting as needed. Likely related to having no beneficial bacteria and no nutrients. Day 52: Leaves; 90% cloudy, 2% clear, 8% amber Buds; 90% cloudy, 7% clear, 3% amber Added back in 2mL of beneficial bacteria to the final gallon of top-off water to help with pH control these last few days and work out any remaining nutrient salts in the water or expanded clay. The plant is looking like it will be ready for harvest here in the next few days - maybe day 54/55 harvest. Day 54: Leaves: 85% cloudy, 1% clear, 14% amber Buds: 90% cloudy, 3% clear, 7% amber The plant is definitely looking like it is ready for harvest on 3/4 of the plant. Very top buds are still showing some white pistils - doesn't appear to be fox tailing but looks like the buds are filling out nicely. The colors on the fan leaves are finally starting to show up - some nice purples! Trichomes are turning nicely on most of the buds and leaves as well. Smell changed slightly - I think due to a pH drop in the reservoir (down to 5.0). Day 56: Harvest day I decided to harvest today as the buds were appearing about 10% amber on day 55. Some top nugs had white pistils but still had amber trichomes with the majority cloudy. Ended up with so much plant material for bubble hash, approximately 2 lbs worth wet - straight to the freezer. Nugs worth drying and curing are hanging in the tent. Scissor hash from light trim and cutting, the plant is super very resinous. The smell was incredible and quite potent during harvest until I got the tent sealed back up. Plan to hang for approximately 5-6 days depending on the stem snap test. Targeting 55-60% humidity, 65-68F. Looking forward to getting to taste some in the near future!

Harvest day 11/3/23 - day 56 Sent about 2lbs of trim, larf, and sugar leaves to vacuum seal and the freezer for bubble hash later. Unsure of the weight of the buds hanging, but I can say it is more than I expected that is for sure! Excited to get a weight here in 5-6 days before trimming and jarring. I ended up having to cut the plant down in smaller pieces due to the trellis netting. Also due to the fact I planned to utilize the tent for drying, I needed to be able to completely remove the DWC setup and adjust the ventilation and net to use as hanging. 11/11 Final result picture: 1 jar of sugar trim - for RSO or bubble 1 jar of stems - for RSO or bubble L (lower quality bud jars) 0.75oz, 0.75oz, 0.65oz = total 2.15oz M (middle-quality bud jar) 0.9oz, 0.65oz = 1.55oz T (top quality bud jar) 0.75oz = 0.75oz TT (super top quality bud jar) 0.75oz, 0.45oz = 1.2oz total dried and curing in jars: 5.65 ounces about 2lbs of frozen plant material for bubble hash 1 full jar of sugar trim for bubble or rso 1 full jar of stems for bubble or rso 11/29 update Made just under 6 grams of bubble hash from the trim and larf (one wash). Recooked the single wash trim and larf into butter with additional sugar trim added. Made about 1lb of butter - dosing unsure, but potent :D