Humboldt Dream Auto

Daily 20 ml feedings of water ph’d to 6.5 with ppm range 259-300. Both Phenos are performing well.

Week 2 veg - continued growth. Should be ready for some LST next week. This is a living soil blend with 1 gallon cool plug filled with FF Happy Frog. So far both Phenos are performing great.

Week 3 Veg - beginning LST to both Phenos using bamboo skewers crossed at base of stem. Twist tied and brought down gradually. Plants look great.

Continued LST as both autos doing very well. Gearing up for pre-flower top dressing and recharge tea.

Girls are doing really well. Increased water and continued with plant training using LST (bamboo skewers, twist ties, and binder clips). Also adjusted lighting all the way to top and set PPFDs in the 400 range.

Top dressed with mix of worm castings, langbeinite, and fish bone meal. Watered in with recharge. Continue with LST. More of a lollipoping and pruning than defoliation.

Continue with LST as girls stretch and develop. Beginning to frost and first smells developing.

Nearing the halfway point with these Humboldt Dream Autos. Both seem to be doing well. Substrate is a super soil recipe that I’ve modified using Mother Earth as a base with Down to Earth fertilizers, coco coir, worm castings, and bio-char compost. Giving recharge teas every 10-14 days.

End of week, I noticed yellowing occurring at upper leaves on auto 2. This being a super charge soil, I figured magnesium might be deficient since I don’t supplement with bottled cal/mag. Gave a thorough watering with RO supplemented with Epsom salt. Two days later auto 2 greened up a bit. More importantly new growth is not yellowing. I’ll continue to water using Epsom salts until prior to harvest.

We’re in week 7 (auto #1) and week 6 (auto #2) of flower. Both plants showing signs of nutrient deficiency. Top dressed both autos worm castings and compost. Last feeding until harvest. Slight pruning of old yellowing leaves. Begin monitoring trichomes over the next 4 weeks until harvest (est. 12/22).

The last two weeks have been extremely challenging b/c of being under the weather. I ended up catching a cold and then as I was nearing recovery, I contracted Covid for the first time ever. Double-whammy! So, while I was expectedly a little neglectful to the girls, they continue to outperform expectations. In fact, outperforming expectations given, IMHO, my current (and humble) skill-level and experience in the garden. What do I mean by that? Well, the breeder (Humboldt Seed Co.) has a suggested seed to harvest recommendation of 95 to 100 days. The trichome pics taken above were sampled from lowest bud sites of each Pheno and as you can see, all heads are full and milky white. Additionally, trichome inspection using a handheld scope confirms a sea of milky white filled heads with some transitioning to amber. The girls are only approaching 80 days according to my calendar. They are not taking up much water and both are beginning to pull from leaves signaling, in my estimate, final stages of growth. I could probably harvest now and be quite content with end product, but I'm going to listen to my gut and let these girls go another week or two. I'd like to see whether the buds continue to bulk up, while monitoring trichomes to avoid too much amber. The timing of harvest (along with drying and curing) is one of the most challenging aspects for a grower like myself. I'm banking on "patience is a virtue" when it comes to the final stages of this grow. Until next week, Happy Holidays everyone.

These girls are ready for harvest, which is way earlier than the recommended grow time from breeder. Day 83 and 78 by my calendar. After fully checking both Phenos for trichome development, I see very little clear; maybe 5% overall. Mostly milky-white trichomes covering 80-85% with the balance amber. From my perspective, I believe the is due to my grow environment (i.e., location, weather, tent, lighting, etc.). I gave the plant one last watering to full saturation to start the week and once they're dried back, I will harvest. Timing couldn't be better b/c samples will be submitted for the upcoming American Autoflower Cup competition taking place in Los Angeles on February 10, 2024. Enough time for a proper dry and cure before release to organizers for judging. As you can tell from pics, both Phenos are in senescence. Hugs are super hard with lot's of trichomes. Smell is this cross of fruit, berries, and i'm picking up a bit of spice. Nice aromas for sure. Just a personal observation regarding the way GrowDiaries captured nutrients on a weekly basis. GD does not take into consideration those of us that use super soils. So, the above is reflective of my nutrient use thorought; although amount reflected should be disregarded.

Took awhile to getting around to this posting. This cultivar definitely passes both eye and taste test. Easy to grow, however, not a high yield plant. I'm interested to see how well HDA will do outdoors. I happen to enjoy things on the fruity side with undertones of gas/diesel and this cultivar delivers. Overall, an easy grow with nice flavors and effects. Delivers on pain relief.