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Let's see how disciplined I will be in writing my first grow diary. My very first grow was a fully self build aeroponics system which failed mainly due to cheap fittings, and it was way to complicated but I studied Physics and had plenty amount of time... so I went through different self-build systems until I arrived at a reliable, easy to maintain and not too expensive setup.
Light: 2x 130W QuantumBoard V2 LED Light (LM301B Diodes) with a dimmer.
Light sensor: iPhone + Photone app
Watering: AutoPots are the best invention I know so far. Nothing beats a physics based valve that does not rely on electricity and sensors but purely on the needs of your plant. Really great! I am using a small submersible pump that keeps the nutrient solution in motion.
Soil: I had best experience with BioBizz, and I mix it usually with 50% clay pebbles.
Nutrients: Masterblend+Calcium Nitrate+Magnesium Sulphate from Hydroponics Europe
Let's go :)!
I used my standard method of germinating seeds (until now 90-100% success rate):
1. put the seed into tap water for 24h (if it's good it will float)
2. once it sinks--transfer it into some kind of first habitat. this time I used soil plugs from Royal Queen Seeds (otherwise I use rock wool cubes).
3. put the soil plug under a plastic dome and keep it warm and moist.
Usually the plant starts sprouting after 1-2 days, which it did. I put the baby from the very beginning under 23h illumination. I want to push the plant a little bit and see where we are going... I start with 16 DLI (which is 200PPFD).
I do not really know when vegetation starts and germination stops. But to me vegetation starts when I see leaves.
I put the baby under roughly 16DLI (200PPFD), 23h/1h. I keep it moist with our tap water which has roughly pH of 7 and EC 350ppm. The soil plug from Royal Queen Seeds has a pH of 5.7 and an EC of 0.8. So in total we should be in the acidic regime and the plant should have more than enough nutrients for the beginning.
Plant is doing well. I definitely see a difference to low cost seeds. I still have issues to get the nutrient solution below 6pH. Run-off seems to be pretty high with 7.2pH.
I ramped up the light to 31DLI (360 ppfd).
Plant is doing overall well. I think I have now a stable 5.8-6.0pH nutrient solution.
Due to the healthy growth I have fimmed the plant as I did not want it to grow in height but mainly in width.
Alright. Flowering has started and the plant is drinking now like there is no tomorrow. I defoliated it (leaves and some not needed branches) and applied some LST to promote a good light coverage of the main buds. So essentially I did the full program. Fimming, defoliating, LST and some main lining. From now on I will not manipulate the growth anymore.
Nothing to comment. Plant drinking like there is no tomorrow. 30L per week.
I switched to Terra Aquatica due to better solubility and I’m using their pH down.
My guess on the yield 100g dry mass.
The humidity dropped in the grow tent from 65% to 40%,meaning the plant isn’t growing anymore at all. Only buds are now ripening.
I stopped giving the plant any new nutrients; just plain water. Reduced light cycle to 12/12. I will harvest in 1-2 weeks.
DktrMitch
