Durban Poison Auto 1st Grow

Green and healthy, invented an candle can that air intake hoses run to that allow me to burn unscented 15hr candles in to increase CO2 (I do not recommend doing this for the Fire Hazard it creates). Basically a 1.5-foot tall by 1.5-foot-wide aluminum can with holes drilled in to the sides of it for air flow. Inside the can is a candle lantern to protect the flame from drafts created by the intake hose and holes. I also put 2 inches of water in the base incase somehow it falls over or something. I place it on concrete floor away from anything. Only the intake hose is connected to it, and it pulls air through the drilled holes and sucks up the CO2 generated by the candles into the tent a few feet away. The size of the can and the internal lantern negate the heat it generates along with air flow. By burning 2 candles I get my CO2 up to 1200-1500ppm. I do not have a closed system, but it provides constant CO2 on the cheap. Burn 2 candles a day and purchased 288 candles for 100 bucks. Thats 144 days of CO2. Water the plant with honey water (48hrs aerated tap water to vaporize chlorine out and add 1 Tbsp of honey per Gal) to feed the microbes with Carbohydrates. Spray with Wollastonite (1/4 cup per Gal) to give Calcium and Silicon on the Cheap. 6 bucks gets enough to last you years for small grows. Miracle Gro Potting Mix has N-P-K and should maintain a PH 5.5-6.2 throughout the plant's life. I am worried about its nitrogen levels during Flowering. Its slow-release formula may be too much for flowering stage. Plan to dampen it with saw dust to leech Nitrogen out of the soil if I see Nitrogen burn. During this week her cotyledon leaves died so I cut them off. Increased lighting to 800PPFD due to CO2 increase. Watered 1/4-Gal exterior twice and sprayed Wollastonite foliage and surface soil twice. I use the knuckle check to know when to water and the plant of course. By end of week she is a thirsting and drinking fast. The picture shows a little droop but thats what she does just before the lights go out.

This week the abuse continues. I tied down the main stalk to control height by 2 inches and used the remaining wire to guide some branches to open areas. Want to give the lower branches some light as well. My tent is only 60 inches', so I need to keep her down to less than 3 feet. After lights and pot, I'll have 34 inches of plant height to play with. Being a Sativa and Durban Poison, it can stretch pretty tall if not careful. I know it's only week 2 and I'm LSTing. Probably should have waited another week. I hope she can handle the abuse. Had one leaf starting to curl and look dry and concluded it had wind burn from my fan blowing directly on it. I moved it so it just gets a little wiggle from the breeze occasionally and she recovered. Started to really sprout and distance between nodes are short but I pinch FIMed some new growth to create 2-4 Colas instead of one. Hopefully this works without slowing growth. I hope this also keeps height down. But she is growing and green. Also, when I mess with her, she skunks me with her dank. I hope this is not her getting ready to flower. Seems too early for that. Humidity has been a struggle to control (41%) since its so dry where I live. So, I placed a humidifier with control in the Tent. I believe I got it under control. Temps 71F/56% humidity with the humidifier. Also placed a heater with temp control in the tent as well. Was getting down to 59F at night without it. Had some slight browning along the edges of a few older leaves but not the tips. Could be a sign of many things. I think it's my humidity being too low all week. I cut off the damage and left the good portion of the leaves. If she produces a bud at all I'll be surprised at this point. lol Started to use more powerful Lights (250W LEDs VIPARSPECTRA 2024 XS2500 Pro LED Grow Light with New-gen Lens) since I moved both plants I'm growing into the same tent. Going to use the old lights as side lighting. She is getting 930PPFD, 400PPFD underneath the shadows of top leaves with the side lighting, and 1200-1500PPM CO2. Wollastonite every other watering (Surface and Direct Spray) and Honey infused dechlorinated tap water (1/4 Gal Exterior of pot with a slight run off).

I've really been pushing her hard with CO2, lighting and still having troubles with environment. Where I live is extremely dry so getting Humidity about 50% has been a challenge even with a humidifier cranked. I've decided to change my Air system to a closed loop to better manage resources of temperature, humidity, and CO2. The way it's been it's all going out the window causing my heater/humidifier to work overtime. The change worked and got environment optimized. 52-61% humidity, 71-76F, reduced CO2 (800ppm) this week because I don't have everything that she needs to use that much. I also reduced lighting because it was starting to look very dry to 720PPFD. Also turned offside lighting it was just too much of a good thing until the last 2 days of the week. It's my understanding that she will only be as strong as her weakest link (Light, CO2, Oxygen, Nutrients, Temperature, Humidity, Air Flow, and Water). It's also my understanding that when all those links are perfect, she could take 2000ppm CO2 and 2000 PPFD. But I'm not providing nutrients other than the N-P-K already in Miracle Gro potting Mix, Wollastonite (Silcon/Calcium), Raw B1 Vitamins, Honey and whatever is in my de-chlorinated tap water. Speaking of which I over watered a bit again. Looked droopy for a day after watering. I think I'm going to hook up an auto watering system using Bags and a drip lines. I've calculated a solid plan for the drip amounts during different stages in my soil. Seedlings 5ml/h for 1 day, none for 2 days. Veg weeks 1-2, 5ml/h for 4 days, none for 3 days. Veg week 3, 10ml/h for 4 days, none for 3 days. Veg weeks 4-6, 20ml/h for 4 days, none for 3 days. Flower weeks 1-3, 4 days 30ml/h, 3 dry days. Flower Weeks 4-5, 4 days 30ml/h, 3 dry days or if stretch stops reduce to 20ml/h for 4 days, 3 dry days. Flower Week 6 20 ml/h for 4 days, 3 days dry. Flower weeks 7-10+, 10 ml/h for 4 days, 3 days dry. No water the last 3 days before harvest. In all its 5.8 Gal of water. I believe those dry days are important to feed those microbes. I'll let the plant do the talking now that the drip line is installed and adjust from there. After a few days of 20ml/h was looking dry so bumped up to 30ml/h. She is drinking it all up. Marked my water bag to ensure it's giving the right amount. Clipped 2 lower branches because the leaves were dragging the ground. Green and growing.

First 2 days was still in Veg then on 3rd day it started to Flower. I was hoping to get a full 4 weeks of veg but with Autos they do what they do. Had a bit of over watering again. She had some yellowing in older lower leaves from it. Then brown spots began to show on a few leaves, so I turned offside lighting and reduced lighting to 700ppfd hoping it was light burn. But it wasn't it was Lock Out and she wasn't growing any more. Got some great advice from folks and decided to Flush and reset my medium. I don't have Meters, so I wasn't sure if its high or low PH issues. Flushed 4 gallons of water through the medium and allowed the runoff to escape and wash away salts and build up. I believe this issue is because I rarely allowed my waterings to cause run off. That allows nutrients to sit in the medium too long and become too high ph. By the end of the week, I got my meters and confirmed my ph levels. Tested my tap water with Honey and B-Vitamins and it's 9.8ph. Water alone was 9ph. Way too high for cannabis. Ordered some PH Down and will use that to control ph levels. After flush she looked a lot better took soil samples and soil ph was 6.3. Did some LST a little at time to not cause too much stress (Tucked leaves to open up bud sites, and lollipop lower 1/3 of plant). Got rid of lower bud growth sites that would not produce so the plant can focus its resources on exposed top Bud sites. She has some scaring but is currently healthy. Gotta get that PH Down soon or I'm going to have problems again.

I moved her into another tent while I'm fixing things in my 24"x48"x60". The light in this tent is only a 57W LED full spectrum. But to get the PPFD to 1000 I have to have it 4" away. The light hardly puts out any heat because of the low wattage and being LED. Normally this is my Veg tent and use the 2x4 for flowering. She has some scaring left from Ph issues. But she is growing, and I see a potential for 13 Bud Sites showing nicely. She seems small but I'm not sure if this is normal for an Auto Flower Sativa and such a short Veg Stage (3.5 Weeks). I believe I have a good watering system in place with 4 days 15ml/h and one good soil drench to run off followed by 3 dry days each week. Now I have meters and PH down I can correct my water ph of 9 and get it to 6.2-6.5ph. Stopped using honey added to water and RAW B1 Vitamins (Cloggs the Drippers). Almost 2 weeks of flower so I hope to see the stretch coming soon. Increased light intensity to 1000ppfd and my CO2 levels are 800ppm-1300ppm during the day cycle. Temps consistently 77F-80F, Humidity 50%-55% all week. My soil nutrients are a bit worrisome registering 300ppm-400ppm. This seems low. She seems not to be bothered too much by it other than being short. Other concerns are Soil PH slowly rose each day. I'm hoping the watering to run off will correct this issue today. Went from 6.2ph-6.9ph throughout the week. Those are acceptable ranges, but I believe unchecked it would get out of control. My water run off was 8.1ph today so I'm running distilled water through the drippers to get this lower. Having a soil meter has been great for checking soil nutrients, soil PH, and soil wetness allowing me to not over or under water her. The stem of the device goes deep into the Medium, so it is way better than the finger knuckle check. I think for a first-time grower Auto Flowers are not good. 1st timers are still getting environment and the basics down. By the time I started to get things consistent she was in flower and a lot of damage was done. With a Photo I could have kept things in the veg stage to correct the stunted growth/Ph problems/overwatering/over training etc... and got her to size before flipping. But that's why we do it. To learn and get better buds' next time. Thanks for stopping by and taking interest. See ya next week.

Another week of abuse. Soil PH was out of control. Tried flushing a second time with no success. Decided to transplant and She went into transplant shock. All Leaves turned yellow and died. I'm hoping she settles into her new pot and finishes strong. I down sized the Pot from 5 Gal to 3 Gal which is more her current size. Also when I transplantedd her I stripped her naked to just roots. I think that really stressedd her more. Should have left at least the clump of oldd soil around root system. Trichomes have begun to form. Baby nugs are slightly growing. Picked up some Big Buds Bloom I'll be using next watering. Want the soil to dry out first though. Soil nutrient levels have been low all week 400-500 ppm. Miracle Grow soil is not good. Its good starter soil for Seedlings but after about 3 weeks the nutrients are not there for the plant to grow as it should. Waterings at least are now ph balanced at 6.5. Lowered Light intensity from nutrient deficiencies and transplant to 800ppfdd from 1000ppfd. I hope this grow diary will help those to learn what not to do. Don't transplant during Flower. I almost killed her. One of the pictures is the result from that transplant of all the leaves that fell dead or plucked from her. I hope to only make these mistakes once. Next grow I'll use these lessons learned.

Update Grow Diaries: Flowering stretch seems over but Buds are increasing density and girth. She is Fading all this week and defoliated as needed. Trichs are ripening but not milky yet for harvest. I will wait till I see 10% Amber. Currently no Amber has been detected. Still have about 50% Clear Trichomes. Another Week or so probably before harvest. Environment has been stable. Soil Nutrients have been low. I applied a Bloom feeding but she got a little nutrient burn with tips and edges showing dark brown scaring. Laid off the Bloom and just gave 6.1ph water for second watering👍.

Watching Trichomes each day and currently 60% milky, 38% Clear, and 2% Amber overall. Lower bud sites have clearer while higher Buds have the amber and milky trichomes. Considering doing a mixed harvest of top buds then waiting a few days to allow lower buds to fully ripen. A lot of leaves have dried and fallen off. Pistols are also changing color to dark orange and drying out. Waiting to harvest until I see 10%-20% Amber.

Soil ph was high earlier in the week used super low ph (3.4ph) water for one watering with some bloom. Seemed to help bring Soil ph down to 6.5 from 7ph. She responded as well when her buds started to swell. Watching Trichomes each day and currently 70% milky, 27% Clear, and 3% Amber overall. Lower bud sites have clearer while higher Buds have the amber and milky. Considering doing a mixed harvest of top buds then waiting a few days to allow lower buds to fully ripen. A lot of leaves have dried and fallen off. Pistols are also changing color to dark orange and drying out. Waiting to harvest until I see 10%-20% Amber. The light I'm using on this plant is only a small 57-watt LED, full spec, so I have it 6 inches from the plant to get 900ppfd. Not my normal Flower light but it's getting the job done. Just have to park the light right on top of it. 👍

Still waiting on trichomes to ripen.

Harvest Finally. Advertised as 75-day seed to harvest. Its day 93. Harvested with approximately 75% milky, 15% Amber, and 10% Clear. I like a head high so very little amber. The smell is very gassy with hints of citrus and sweet. Placed in dark dry chamber for 3 weeks at 58% humidity and 68F. Wet trimmed. Estimated dry weight .165oz. lol I believe that all the issues I had throughout the grow played a huge factor in why it was under sized. I'm currently growing another 3 of the same seed and all 3 are bigger at 3 weeks than this plant ever got. I learned so much from this grow. Thanks for all you following this and I hope I could help others learn from my mistakes.