DWC Forbidden Runtz Auto

13 October 23 - Transfered into a 1 gallon hydroponic system to assist in the rapid development the roots and ease of small setup environmental controls, before permanent placement into a 5 gallon DWC bucket. It will remain here for another week or so depending on the plants progress. With proper planning and timing of your grow using this method, it is easy to transplant the seedling without disturbing the roots whatsoever. It will not go into shock, stunt, or take days to recover in order to begin growing because you do not break any roots. The plant doesn’t know any difference other than the space it has to grow. It is easier to control a smaller environment especially when the need for large and intense lighting is not required. For the first couple of weeks the cannabis seedling doesn’t need a lot of light, or nutrients, just patience and a gradual welcoming into its long term home. - Feeding schedule updated - ViperSpectra 650 watt light set at 25% power, time on 24/0 - Maintain PH at 6.24 using GH PH Up or PH Down as applicable That is it for this week 12-18 October 23. Next week she will be moved to her permanent home. Thanks for the read and stopping by.

Week 2, 18-24 October 2023 23 October - Plant roots have made enough progress to transfer into it’s permanent 5 gallon DWC bucket system. This is carefully done without damaging any roots to ensure stress and transplant shock is eliminated (see pictures). The root system only recognizes more space to grow signaling the plant to catalyze its efforts toward rapid development. Water is not dirt. Because I grow in Deep Water Culture, there is a need to understand a different view in nutrients. It is not living or organic, carbon solid by nature. No matter what you do with it, it will never be considered organic. One cannot grow an organic cannabis plant hydroponically. So without dirt and the ways to supplement it with other solids, supersoils/boosters, and compost, DWC cultivators must substitute - dirt. This is indeed a tall order, the same nutrients available and used for dirt also apply to DWC for the most part. Understandable because of the basic cellular make up and plant needs. So where does it start and what is a good separation between the two. It depends on what you want your final product to be. Most hydro growers start off with a safe mix of the three basics; Gro, Micro and Bloom. They will produce a fine healthy grow, full flowers, with great results if all other conditions are stable. But this will not get them to their genetic potential. Taking it beyond the three basic NPKs is the only way your going to grow hydroponic cannabis and achieve it. Research with results show that Humic and Fulvic acids are a must in plant nutrient uptake at different levels, a wide range of additional minerals are also required, an inoculant to prevent rootrot, enzymes to stimulate rapid root growth, silicate to ensure strong branches, and others that will introduce you to advanced chemistry/biology. It can be head scratching sometimes, but not really. Once you understand that dirt is a very complicated structure, trying to imitate it with water makes it easier to comprehend. So when you look at my feeding schedule you may think it’s an over kill. But the way I interpret it is the method and origins used in the production of these nutrients have a dispersed background. Some end compounds may be presented molecularly identical, but the source used to gather/collect/mine or refine is a patently different way causing certain growth reaction/effect(s). Most add on nutrients I have found can be given at 1/2 the recommended rate. The bottom line is always a quantifiable result that can be duplicated repeatedly. Each nutrient tries to target its specific purpose with minimum overlap of the other. If one is removed a noticeable difference will be had. There is always a search for something to better the grows, knowing nothing is magic out there. This is what has worked for me and it continues to be refined with every new run. Hydroponics cannot replace dirt, but the end product can be debatably the same. Just to clarify my nutrient label. I understand that General Hydroponics has changed names and is now Terra Aquatica. It is currently not being used so I’m unable to verify the product. I’m going to be adamant about posting what I use, even if the company has stated the formula is the same. As soon as I start receiving new TA products I’ll start listing and reviewing them accordingly. Above anything else, if you want to grow these plants understand they require attention and a stable environment. It’s cultivation is therapeutic, the smoke is medicinal and recreational, the plant is a means of unique peaceful sociabilities that are all-embracing and universal. A natural gift - my opinion. - Feeding schedule is unchanged this week, until moved into 5 gal DWC system. This change will be reflected next week. - Using 2x ViperSpectra XS2000 Light power set at 25%, timer on 20/4 - Using reverse osmosis water - EC is 1.6 at 69 degrees F (5 gal system) - 672 ppm TDS (5 gal system) - Maintain PH at 6.24 using GH PH Up or PH Down as applicable That is it for this week. Next week I’ll talk about PH ranges in DWC. Thanks for the read and stopping by.

Week 3, 25-31 October 2023 15-31 October - She is making steady and even progress daily. At this young stage in the plants life, environmental stability is the key to success. For the DWC grower this success will be directly linked to the value of your potential hydrogen (PH) range adjusted between 5.5 and 6.5. This should be viewed on a more narrow scale of 5.8 and 6.2 considering the values required during uptake of some nutrients, which is more appropriate. I find the sweet spot on most of my grows to be 6.24. Hydroponic plant roots sit directly in water 24 hours a days. Normally this is enough to kill something non aquatic. Add constant aeration and nutrients to that water along with the proper PH and the plant will thrive. Of course there is a bit more detail to it than that, but that is the basics. PH has the power to lockup nutrients on the extreme low and high end of the scale. This means your plant cannot take up or absorb some or any nourishment to grow in a healthy manner. It will reflect it through deficiencies of all sorts leaving you to figure out what is wrong. Daily checking and correcting PH is critical, if not it could lead to the demise of the plant. Grow Diaries just released an article 29 Oct 2023 (an excellent and easy read) in their journal that discuss these deficiencies along with pictures and corrective measures here: https://growdiaries.com/journal/nutrient-deficiencies-in-cannabis-a-complete-guide The DWC setup doesn’t have to be elaborate. Simply checking/correcting the PH once or twice a day (or more) is sufficient. What do we check it with, strips or a meter? Strips are not accurate enough. Without a well calibrated PH meter it is likely you will have frustrating problems, and the plant will have a difficult, unlikely journey to maturity. It is not recommended for the serious DWC cultivator to consider growing cannabis without the ability to read, correct, and control the PH levels. It is a recipe for failure. Once you determine the method to accurately read PH levels, now you will have to correct them. There are two buffer solution that will do this, PH up and PH down. These solutions are very acidic and using just .5 ml p/gallon at a time can change a PH value significantly by .5 or more. Be careful when adding buffer solutions for corrections and take a reading after every adjustment until you reach your mark. Once the desired level is achieved your set. Check and correct daily. This can be very effective for up to 24 hours or more especially if you have PH stabilizing nutrients that keep your solution close to the same reading. If you notice that your PH readings are taking a drastic drop or serious increase that require bold corrections daily, it could be a sign for the need of new nutrients, consider when was the most recent change. The more you become familiar with growing in DWC the easier it is to understand. The plant speaks to you through its leaves and its roots, you respond in return by providing a conducive growing environment. The goal must be the ability to interpret and understand what she is trying to say. Self research is the best teacher in the world. Experience with this knowledge will give you the edge and necessary tools to build upon, and pass that working wisdom on to others. 🍽️ Nutrient change on 25 October 🐲 Feeding schedule has been updated 🌊 Using reverse osmosis water, maintain PH at 6.24 using GH PH Up or PH Down as applicable 🐉 EC 1.6 at 68 degrees 💡 Light at 50% power That is it for this week. Thanks for the read and stopping by.

Week 4, 2-8 November 2023 6 November - Defoliated large leaves and began shaping by removing some secondary side shoots from lower branches (see picture). This directs the energy to the top of all branches where I want it right now. The rest of the week she will just grow. Steady progress has been made again this week in plant and root structure (see picture). There should be a general vision in mind as to how you want to grow and train, but more than likely in the end they will have their own display of unique beauty. Simple evolution combined with human driven genetic interaction gave us more than you could imagine, accompanied with transitioning phases, looks and colors. This brings me to my next subject. What does the cultivator do when a plant succumbs to an unexpected event, or goes beyond recovery from a deficiency/toxicity? Lets face it, it could happen to anyone, anytime within the grow. Whether it is expected, foreseen, or out of nowhere, most have been there. Eagerly go into the grow room and find that we have lost that beautiful plant. My worst was seeing a Wedding Cake turn yellow overnight from heat stress, and looking at the damaged trichomes. Totally my fault. What I am getting at is how we react to it. Most of these losses will be grower fault - Rare will be genetic or other phenomena. I failed to turn on my A/C during a weather change from spring to summer. Realize what a sudden big environmental change will do to that fragile plant. 95-100(+) degrees F for hours in mature bud stage can and will ruin a harvest. Becoming upset, frustrated, depressed or concede defeat will not solve any problem. Reassess the circumstance, make adjustments to surroundings and attitude if necessary. Sprout more seeds. Let it go, grow on leaving the experience learned in place and the situation left behind. Growing is after all calming and relaxing. A master gardener has patience, kind words with a steady hand, ready to help in any circumstance. More than likely, they have experienced these mistakes, and will be the first to say, don’t stress. Realize this plant is just that, a plant. She is beautiful, medicinal, recreational, and therapeutic - nothing more, nothing less. It is her end rewards that set her apart like no other. This is the drive within the cannabis cultivater. To grow that perfect plant, always a little bit better than before. Try not to get wrapped up with a utopia that can turn into it’s own rigid doctrinaire. Smoq, enjoy, share and repeat. Nature, and life has a way of coming full circle. A change in weather is upon us, along with fewer daylight hours, so remember to winterize as much as possible wherever the cooler temperatures effect us! Just a growing reminder and food for thought. 🍽️ Nutrient change on 2 November 🐲 Feeding schedule updated 2 November 🌊 Using reverse osmosis water with EC/TDS at 0 🐉 Nutrient Solution EC 2.1 at 65 degrees F 💡 Light power at 50% That is it for this week. Thanks for the look, read and stopping by.

Week 5, 9-15 November 2023 13 November - Defoliated large leaves and continued shaping by removing some secondary side shoots from lower branches (see picture), directing energy to the top of all branches. The rest of the week she just grew. Next week the netting will be put on and spreading of the branches will begin. Cultivating autoflowering cannabis tends to place the grower in a moderately unknown situation. Trimming and shaping the plant bears a more unforgiving posture than the photoperiod strains. The grower may not be exactly sure when it will stop the vegetative cycle and go to flower exclusively. So it’s a race against time to gain size/bud sites, and in general she will only give the cultivator about 6 weeks to make all the right decisions. Then she will develop flower and overall density consecutively. All trimming will be complete - wait, watch, hope for maximum trichome/resin production. Sometimes synergy comes together and the grow is very successful, and sometimes not. As long as all efforts of success are put forward earnestly, the returns are usually matched in kind. Maturing in about three months or less from start to finish. Fascinating when it all comes together. Some cultivators do not appreciate or dismiss the thought of autoflowers. However they can have the same potencies, terpines, and cannabinoids of a photoperiod. It is the same debate between organic and hydroponically grown cannabis, which one is better tasting or more harsh. The plant itself is dependant on the cultivators practices and methods. The cannabis plant can take up good and bad heavy metals, it is also phyto-remediative, which means it can be used to clean up contaminated environments. An example would be the nuclear power plant disaster of Chernobyl in 1986. Hemp strains have been successfully used since 1998 to remove those contaminates from surrounding agricultural lands - but I would not want to smoke it. And on the complete other side of things we have to look back at the great dreamers. After all, it was a 1976 wine competition termed the “Judgment of Paris”, when California beat French wine in a blind taste test. Such an example where this has been done exclusively with weed eludes my memory, but there sure are some on a personal level. The end product and how you get there matters. A master gardener has positive words for all grows. To be stewards of the culture an honest and open discussion must be absorbed. Grow what you love and love what you grow is wise. Understand philosophies on how to achieve a better outcome are always evolving, and to be open without a rigid ideology is enlightening. 🍽️ Nutrient change on 9 November 🐲 Feeding schedule updated 9 November 🌊 Using reverse osmosis water with EC/TDS at 0 🐉 Nutrient Solution EC 2.2 at 71 degrees F 💡 Light power at 50% That is it for this week. Thanks for the look, read and stopping by.

Week 6, 16-22 November 2023 16 November - Bent the top of plant over only about 45 degrees - to avoid breaking it, put netting ring on and adjusted height to one foot. Continued to shape and place lower limbs in position as they grew. 17 November - Defoliated all branches. Bent the top of the plant a full 90 degrees (see picture). This is done in an attempt to avoid a tall center cola growth, and to spread her energy allowing all lower branches to even up in height creating a wide, level canopy. This has the same effect as topping without the loss of any plant potential and recovery time, she keeps right on growing without slowing down. 20-22 November - Beginning to show signs of early flowering, or preflower. She has let me know she was a female ever since week three, but that did not cause me to adjust a feeding schedule. I still considered her in a vegetative stage. Preflower is a more pronounced development of pistols during growth. She begins doing two things at once, developing flower and growing taller simultaneously without any environmental change. The autos nutrient needs must be tweaked slightly for proper genetic potential. There is no transition time with the autoflower, no two weeks of stretching, then waiting, setting the daylight time to 12 hours. But there is a question of just how big she will get. This strain is reported to produce up to 550 grams/m2 in about 65 days, and get 35-51 inches tall. She is in her 6th week of vegetation, has begun to show signs of flowering and is about 18 inches tall. So it will depend on when she decides to slow down, I have no doubt it is possible. However, she will need to get about twice as tall, and spread. Also, I have yet to finish an Autoflower in less than 90 days. With multiple grow experiences and varieties to draw upon, early signs tell me this one will not finish any different. Only time will tell as this is the first time I’ve grown this strain. They put the grower in a more reactive state rather than proactive, making success a little harder to gauge until the end harvest. So far she is responding very well and on time to a 13 week feeding schedule I’ve use for growing all my Autoflowers. Autoflowers had a very slow and rough beginning from the late 90s on. It wasn’t until the developement of “Lowryder” by the “Joint Doctor”, and its successful release in 2003 that they were considered competitive. Now, 20 years later thanks to this determined individual, Autoflowers are what they are. If you love these strains and what they bring, need I say more. Much respect to this man - he is a legend! 🍽️ Nutrient change on 16 November 🐲 Feeding schedule updated 16 November 🌊 Using reverse osmosis water with EC/TDS at 0 🐉 Nutrient Solution EC 2.4 at 67 degrees F 💡 Light power at 50% That is it for this week. Thanks for the look, read and stopping by.

Week 7, 23-29 November 2023 23-24 November - Continued to shape and place branches in position as they grew. 25 November - Her growth rate is still very fast so I decided to do another light defoliation. Bent the top of the plant and another lower branch that had caught up in height - 45 degrees (see pictures). Still trying to attempt to spread her energy and create a wide, level canopy. 26-29 November - Flower and growth have been fairly robust. She has grown over 3” this week (total height 8.5” from ScrOG), even with me bending tops. Hoping to achieve a canopy height of about 12” - and to spread more. If so I can better guess the yield. This ring is 28” diameter = about .5 m2. I have bigger and smaller rings, this is the medium size. This week she started producing flower and growing simultaniously, what some call stretching. Unlike the photoperiod, that tend to stretch before flowering and gain significant height - once the time is set back to 12/12 hour light cycle. These autos can produce flowers and height that can be uncommon and in remarkable time compared to photos without changing daylight time. The reason is really simple, its maturity is based on a timeclock within the plants genes, growing big is based on the hours of light given to the plant each day. How does the Autoflower mature so fast? It is because of a genetic code within the plant that triggers it to mature within a number of day’s rather than a day neutral signal by an environmental change. Amoung all the other basic conditions, light will be the most influential factor reguarding size of the cannabis plant, daylight hours matter. One can look at in many ways, but this is how I do. In a backward planning sense; -Photoperiod 8 week flower time (7 days x 12 hours x 8 weeks) = 672* light hours -Autoflower 6 week flower time (7 days x 18 hours x 6 weeks) = 756 light hours -They are both using approximately the same amount of light hours to achieve the end result. In general terms an auto can do in 6 weeks what it takes a photo to do in 8. There is no way around it. Again in simple terms, photo and auto alike, will grow for approximately 6 weeks before a flip to flower, or they begin to show signs of flower. Then its in accordance with the 18 or 12 hour schedule overall for another 6-8 weeks of flower. Because autos are growing in height and flowering, dealing with long daylight hours, nutrient needs must be tweaked to reach it genetic potential - until they begin to bulk in size rather than grow in height. I spend a lot of time going over nutrient schedules after every grow and ensure I tweak them. The photos tend to be more straight forward than autos. They will stretch for 2 weeks during transition (not show signs of buding until the end of it). Then settle into their flowering stage. I do not consider their nutrient needs the same during this time, separate schedules are required. This is what works for me and keeps the plants managable. Nowadays Autoflowers are about equal to Photoperiods in all aspects except one, the speed of the grow. There are several strains that claim to be well over 30% THC. They are easier and faster to develope, with unlimited potential for the plant geneticist. I dont know if they are the future, but they sure are in competition for it. 🍽️ Nutrient change on 23 November 🐲 Feeding schedule updated 23 November 🌊 Using reverse osmosis water with EC/TDS at 0 🐉 Nutrient Solution EC 2.1 at 67 degrees F 💡 Light power at 50% That is it for this week. Thanks for the look, read and stopping by.

📆 Week 8, 30 November - 6 December 2023 1 December - Bent all major branches about 45 degrees outward in order to spread and fill scrog. This is my last bend. From here out she will just grow with minor defoliations. 2-6 December - Minor defoliations and simple adjustment of branches to receive maximum light. 📑 This week I want to talk about a beautiful plant with little Brown Leaf Tips. I’m going to try to put my take on it. First off, nobody likes them, they are easy to get, don’t look good, and once you get them the damage is permanent. So the question is, are they degrading or cause less potency to the end product? Here are the basic grower errors that will cause this in an *otherwise healthy plant; 1) giving more nutrients than the plant can use - disrupting the flow of water, 2) underwatering, 3) overwatering, 4) low light, 5) sunburn and 6) PH is off. I am not even talking nutrient deficiencies. Lets stick with the basics. Of these 6, the number one problem will be giving too much nutrients - causing a chemical burn essentially. I am guilty of this (see picture). Even though I do my best to lower nutrient where needed and tweak schedules during and after each grow, it seems this correction is the hardest - it’s minor and can differ the slightest from strain to strain. Most of my nutrients are not organic and probably the main contributing factor. So changing over to an organic solution hydroponically could help, will be trial and error, may or may not solve the problem. Can I replace everything I use organically? Raises some questions that may be worth looking in to. So the other real question, does it hurt to have this problem? Well, as long as it is corrected when it happens and doesn’t effect anything but the tips, the answer is no. You don’t want it to destroy much of the leaf surface - effecting photosyntesis. After all, leaf are beautiful but who smokes them? I think I can safely assume we all smoke/use flower. Leaves lost in a vegetative state can be replaced by the plant. In the long term, most leaves are simply used by the plant to generate energy until they turn yellow, or block light to a bud and are cut off by the grower. The leaf is a solar panel, be careful “when” you remove them. If it is closer to a harvest, this becomes a problem because the focus will be on flowering, large leaf will be fewer and not replaceable. Bottom line, brown tips are avoidable because it is usually caused by overfeeding. But as along as it is addressed and corrected, they have no unfavorable outcome to the finished product of the cannabis flower. The earlier you catch, correct, and keep it under control the greater appearance your plant will be maintained throughout its life cycle. What cannabis can do is hyperaccumulate heavy metals if not properly flushed out of its system. Brown tips or not. Heavy metals can accumulate over time no matter what nutrients your using, organic or chemical, the plant cannot distinguish between the two. There is little to no debate over flushing a mature plant prior to harvest for this reason alone. In practice growers should strive to perfect a master grower status and consistently produce that perfect harvest! I guess having no brown tips in some opinion is one way of gauging and achieving that perfect grow. But by no means if you have them does it say your product is less than its genetic potential. 🍽️ Nutrient change on 30 November 🐲 Feeding schedule updated 30 November 🌊 Using reverse osmosis water with EC/TDS at 0 🐉 Nutrient Solution EC 2.2 at 65 degrees F 💡 Light power at 50% That is it for this week. Thanks for the look, read and stopping by.

📆 Week 9, 7-13 December 2023 7-13 December - Continued with simple adjustment of branches to receive maximum light. There was no defoliation of any leaf this week. Her growth rate has slowed and I believe she is heading in to the bulking stage. I’m satisfied with her size at this point. 8 December - Turned light power from 50% up to 75%, and raised lights from 18” to 21” from top of plant to facilitate the bulking phase of flowering. 📑 Let’s briefly discuss light and umol/m2/s or PPFD. First of all its all about numbers. Is there an agreeable starting point on these figures - the cannabis plant requires between 100-300 PPFD in seedling, 400-700 PPFD in vegetation, and 800-1000 PPFD in flower. It can go up to 1500 PPFD with certain C02 concentrations. I believe this may be generally accepted. Never being much of a numbers person, in ways I avoid it. I’ve grown indoor weed for a long time without a fancy device to tell me what this number was, the plant did that. A quality light and the plant itself will talk to each other in a matter of hours sometimes, days in others, I just need observe. But what I have come to realize the past few years is that these numbers, found in simple instruments (apps for smart phones) give us a very specific area of where she is within all these spectrums. It allows us more precision and insight to what would otherwise be a possible weak or vulnerable spot within our grow. I’ll use mine on a new strain, and to verify any questions. They are easily accessible tools for the common gardner. When we adjust our lights we can measure what will be optimal for our plant. Using my case in point; from: 50% power or 890 PPFD at 18” to: 75% power or 1080 PPFD at 21” **if not raised 3” - that number would have been 1320 PPFD - likely damage the plant - or raised any higher there would be no real benefit in what I’m attempting to achieve - likely waste of power** The 2023 ViperSpectra XS2000 lights (the ones I use) come with a new switch now that go from 25, 50, 75, 100% power and no option in between. So that kind of put a kink in a week or two during my grows I have to work around. Going from 50-75% power is a big shift in light intensity, and these lights are bright. Knowing what that number is and being able to adjust the height precisely to avoid damage is reassuring. I appreciate advancements that make growing a little easier. In most personal grows during flower I’ll go well over 1000 PPFD depending on the strain tolerance, without C02. Here are my experiences why: 1) my set-up allows it, 2) that number only reflects the greatest reading at the highest point on the plant - my reports, 3) when the plant is budding it is absorbing much more photons than when in the leafy only stage - everything is accelerated - this is a totally different discussion, 4) the additional light provided will proportionally increase a higher yield, and finally, 5) some of todays theories on light will change in 5 years, as it has from 10 years before, we still have a lot to research. LEDs are definately cream of the crop, but there is something new to learn I’m sure. Until then I can only tweak what I have in search for a tighter bud, higher in THC. I said I would briefly discuss this subject. Everything is possible with lights. It is science that says the cannabis plant does not have to produce secondary metabolites (trichomes and cannabinoids), in some cases it may not. It produces them based on its environment. She returns to you what you dedicate toward her. Something to keep in mind when deciding what kind of light to use to while trying to grow quality cannabis. 🍽️ Nutrient change on 7 December 🐲 Feeding schedule updated 7 December 🌊 Using reverse osmosis water with EC/TDS at 0 🐉 Nutrient Solution EC 2.1 at 65 degrees F 💡 Light power at 75% That is it for this week. Thanks for the look, read and stopping by.

📆 Week 10, 14-20 December 2023 14 December - Did a significant defoliation of older, damaged, and large leaves that shaded buding sites. This opened up the plant for newer leaves to receive direct light energy and allow flowers to mature evenly. Although she may look like growth is slow, in fact what she is doing is quite the opposite at this stage. Mass production of flower. 15 December - Found blue/purple color streaks filtering into trichomes (see pictures) from the outer leaves. An indication that certain terpenes/cannabinoids will be made. The pictures are an excellent close up example of the upperleaf surface (not from the bud) covered with silicone, maturing trichome heads - milky in color, volitile, changing, eventually cut off the bud and discarded. This can be used for other products if a good enough quality. 17 December - Handed off operations to trusted growmie apprentice and fellow enthusiast. I’m traveling for Christmas, will be out of vicinity for 10 days. 20 December - Yes this is an unpleasant situation for any grower, to rely soley on someone else to tend to your plant(s) in your absence. If your lucky enough to find yourself in this situation. Worse yet, what if you cannot? Just how automated are you? I can leave 24hrs without intervention, 36hrs tops before a depleted loss of water. After 48hrs irrecoverable damage. Not very long. For someone to dedicate any length of time to “your” grow, well - is a good friend in weed! 📑 These plants grow for 3-6 months or more. What do you do if your not set up for extended absences? Lets face it, unexpected things can happen that we are not prepared for. It is then growers become very inventive. The Einstein comes out of everyone to save that plant. As much as I enjoy cannabis, there is always one thing I keep in mind, this plant is here to relieve stress, not to produce or increase it. When it beomes stressful to grow I must reapproach what I am doing, rethink, and talk it out. Dont let your serenity become something else. Here is a true oxymoron, cannabis is the easiest and most difficult plant you will ever grow. If all goes well, I have this small production planned out accordingly. This is my back up scenario in real time. There will be a sort of practicum my grower will handle with daily checks and watering, a separate nutrient specialist for the solution change, and a photographer lined up for a few days. It’s a colaboration of professionals in which I find myself very fortunate to be part of. I trust next weeks update will be as good as any other week I have posted this far. If it does not, there are more seeds to crack, more time to grow, another diary to start, with no one but myself to blame. It will not be taken too hard. Christmas with family was worth it all. The secret stash is tucked away in storage, all is good. I don’t want to sound insensitive to growing pains and struggles. For the personal grower, especially those whose livelihood is in its cultivation, they are real. I’m just talking common sense approaches for those dabbling in growing your own personal smoke. If you grow for any reason, I highly recommend you have a viable and tested backup plan in the event of any system failure, the worst being in your absence. 🍽️ Nutrient change on 14 December 🐲 Feeding schedule updated 14 December 🌊 Using reverse osmosis water with EC/TDS at 0 🐉 Nutrient Solution EC 1.8 at 65 degrees F 💡 Light power at 75% That is it for this week. Thanks for the look, read and stopping by.

📆 Week 11, 21-27 December 2023 21-27 December - Allowed the plant to just grow with no defoliation. 27 December - Returned from vacation and resumed control. 📑 Christmas vacation with family was wonderful. I feel blessed and rejuvenated for the NewYear. I hope all my fellow cultivators have had just as an enjoyable holiday as well. There is so much to be thankful for. I’m pleased with the care of the plant during my absence. As the pictures show all is well with her health. What a wonderful thing when a plan comes together and all working pieces fall into place. I owe a debt of gratitude to the team, which will be eagerly returned. Up to this point what I have observed with this strain is that it’s sensitive to nutrient burn. If grown again, the solution values will be cut by about 1/4th the strength to avoid any toxicity problems. Burnt tips usually doesn’t bother me, but she is showing too much damage when the TDS PPM is not excessively high. I do push these plants to grow to their potential, but it is not my intention to overfeed. This has its own series of disasters that are, for the most part, avoidable. Of course everyone has there own rathers of cultivars, I lean more toward the Indica or Indica dominant variety. With the enormous amount of strains being developed it is important for an individual grower to keep up with everything new. Nutrient sensitivity doesn’t limit itself to Sativa or Indica. It can and will effect both equally. GrowDiaries covers nearly everything imaginable and is a good source for reference. The community does a great job keeping it very relevant. 🍽️ Nutrient change on 21 December 🐲 Feeding schedule updated 21 December 🌊 Using reverse osmosis water with EC/TDS at 0 🐉 Nutrient Solution EC 2.0 at 62 degrees F 💡 Light power at 75% That is it for this week. Thanks for the look, read and stopping by.

📆 Week 12, 28 December - 3 January 2024 28 December - Cut daylight time back 2hrs, which puts her on a 16/8 schedule now. This will help in maturing and give the plant more dark hours to produce cannibinoids and terpenes. 29 December - Did another selective defoliation, opening lower buds to light for even maturing. 30 December - Observed all buds forming well, swelling, but on the smaller side, with thick trichomes, milky and clear in color, sticky and very aromatic. 2 January - Noticed almost all white pistils have turned orange and plant is turning purple. 3 January - *Note that next week will be the final week of flower. 📑 Turning down light time and power during the final week(s) of flower. Voodoo science. Some think so and others give it more weight. One can simulate an autumn environment and cause certain brilliant color effects. It is well collaborated that cannibinoids and terpenes are so volatile they cannot survive in bright light (heat) and are produced only when low light (dark) conditions are met. I think nature has given us an excellent example to use. So I try to mimic it. Whatever you decide to do, consider the possibility of a comparative approach. Just as in flushing a plant prior to harvest, this is a solid practice used in all my grows, it makes a difference. The bottom line, it doesn’t hurt the plant what-so-ever. It can only effect the potency and taste slightly at best, same as in flushing. In my opinion neither one is bro science, rather a master gardener real life experience that distinguishes the difference between a good versus superior product. If I smoke it, it will be the best researched, managed, cultivated and available cannabis to be found anywhere. My personal standards are not easy to achieve and constantly tweaked because of this. 🍽️ Nutrient change on 28 December 🐲 Feeding schedule updated 28 December 🌊 Using reverse osmosis water with EC/TDS at 0 🐉 Nutrient Solution EC 1.3 at 63 degrees F 💡 Light power at 75% That is it for this week. Thanks for the look, read and stopping by.

📆 Week 13, 4-10 January 2024 4 January - Turned light time back 2hrs to a schedule of 14/10, and lowered light power to 50%. This will facilitate ripening by mimicking an autumn environment. 7 January - Flushed system, filled with RO water and 10ml p/gal HG FloraKleen, PH 6.2. 10 January - Turned lights off. 📑 This was the final week of flowering. It will be followed now by 3 days in darkness, giving a total of 7 days in plain RO water. This provides the proper nutrient flush and a small cannibinoid/terpene boost just prior to harvest. Which will be 13 January. She will then be followed by a 7-14 day curing process, where she’ll hang for 5-7 days until the chlorophyll has dried in the leaves, then trimmed, weighed, put into mason quart jars and burped until a RH of 62% is reached/maintained. While in this state the flower will reach its peak potency/flavor in about 30-40 days, and can last for 6-12 months. An overall interesting grow. Especially if you like the color purple. She grew rather rapidly for about 6 weeks as expected from an autoflower, then slowed down and flowered simultaniously. Buds are on the smaller side but tight. There certainly was no problem in resin development as she is quite frosty, sticky and smelly. The trichomes have purple and clear stems with milky heads, about 5-10% amber and 10%(+) clear. All white pistils have turned orange or brown. Genetics are very stable with no signs of foxtailing or hermaphroditism. The only problem I’ve had was with nutrient sensitivity in flower phase - specifically week 8. It will depend on the end product quality as to whether I will grow this strain again or not. My final update will run a few days later than usual, but will include the Harvest and Smoq review information. I want everyone to know I appreciate all the support, likes, looks, follows, mentions and speedy answers to my questions! You are all phenomenal! Muchas gracias! Vielen dank! Спасибо! Merci beaucoup! Thank you! 🍽️ Nutrient change on 4 January 🐲 Feeding schedule updated 4 January 🌊 Using reverse osmosis water with EC/TDS at 0 🐉 Nutrient Solution EC .8 at 60 degrees F 💡 Light power at 50% That is it for this week. Thanks for the look, read and stopping by.

📆 Week 14, Harvest 11-20 January 2024 11 January - I made a determination to cut light power to 25%, and go to a 12/12 schedule, instead of turning light offs for 3 days. After a review of current philosophies and theories - I understand there may be a possibility that coldness, not light, could be more associated with a terpene and cannabinoid boost during this end process. So I will try something new. . 13 January - Harvest Day. When I opened the tent, the smell of fresh berries, sweet, ripe, heavy with a slight scent of pine filled the air. I cut branches and all shade leaves off, without damaging the sticky buds, and hung them to dry. The closet was at a low 35% RH (due to the 0-5 degree F temps outside) and 60 degrees F. It will remain here with circulation for about 5-7 days. 18 January - The buds were small enough and the closet RH staying staying 35%, it was ready to trim and jar up. This wasn’t too bad a process actually. The leaves flaked off prefectly leaving the bud in tact, so most of the trimming was done by hand using my fingertips, not clippers. A delicate process but fast once you get the hang of it. I’ve weighed and jared them up, along with a boveda 62% RH packet #8 in with each. Here they will stay and cure until their peak THC/terpene levels are reached at about 30-40 days, burped daily until a RH of 62% is reached and maintained. 📑 Product Review: Hybrid Indica Dominate The outcome: 4.2 ounces/119 grams of quality bud in about 90 days. The developer says just under 65 days, this could be done, it would have to be manipulated somewhat. The buds appear large, compact in size, but not so dense, a true bush variety. They are however loaded with trichomes and covered in resin. There is an excessive amount of sugar leaves that make it more challenging for the beginner to know how to care for it in later stages, especially flower. This pheno definately turned purple. ✂️ Harvest on 13 January 🌊 Using reverse osmosis water with EC/TDS at 0 💡 Light power at 25% That is it for this grow. Thanks for the look, read and stopping by.