Mimosas for breakfast

The first leaves are slightly weirdly developed and the plant is growing slightly slower. The seed took a while to germinate also. The second leaves look fine so I'm not worried but I was planning to top this auto (despite advice), but now I am hesitating. We'll see when the time comes.

I wanted to top this plant but it had a slow start and seems weak. It would have been my first topped auto, but I chickened out and opted for aggressive LST instead. I gave it its first dose of nutrients, a local 3-3-3. I also dug some deep holes about 2 inches from the stem and spread about 2 teaspoons mycorrhiza.

Day 30: Now starting to flower with visible calyxes forming at nodes. Aggressive with LST. No defoliation yet. Later this week I will remove the leaves pressed against the soil.

Day 38: More heavy-handed LST. Bent the main stem over itself back towards the center. The branches are nearly where I want them. I did some light defoliation to avoid moisture traps. Started bloom nutrients. Wouldn't usually use Top-Max this early but I had it already mixed. Day 40: More LST, got the canopy where I want it. Did some light defoliation and pruning. I will remove more bud sites when the stretch is over. Day 41, end of week 6: Got the stems where I want them. Will wait one week of upwards growth before I prune away some stems. Doing well. Could be bigger but zero issues so far. Height 26 cm, drinking 1.6 L / day, received about 2 ml BioGrow, 4 ml BioBloom, and 3 ml Top Max over the entire week.

Day 42: Still with the aggressive LST. Canopy is flat at 26 cm. By the end of the week I'll see where the colas are and which ones will be kept. Watered till run-off, 1.6 L. Day 43: Light defoliation of upper canopy. Top dressed soil. 1.5 L with 1 ml BioBloom. Day 44: 1.5 L water Day 45: No watering. Defoliation and light pruning. Day 46: 2 liters water with 2 ml each BioBloom and Top Max (1:1:1000). No run-off. Day 47: Heavy pruning. Day 48: Watered without nutrients until run off, just under 3 liters. End of week 7: It's doing well. Could've been bigger. The 'C' training is working well and the canopy is rather flat. I was aggressive with my pruning and removed many potential colas. Minor trichome development on buds. I'm not expecting much. I have an Orion F1 that failed to flower automatically and is still occupying the flowering tent so this one is in a crowded tent set up for vegetative growth.

Entering fourth week of bloom. It's a bit smaller than I wanted but that was predictable with the slow start. I defoliated and pruned heavily last week. It's stretching its leaves but according to Photone the canopy is getting 700-1000 umol /m²s. I will watch the plant for attempts at creating new bud sites on the lower nodes and defoliate as needed, but generally I'm done manipulating her. Day 49: Skipped Day 50: Watered 1.8 l with BioBloom and TopMax (1:1:1000) Day 51: 1.5 l water. Defoliated. Day 52: Skipped. Day 53: Watered, full saturation. 3.8 l, about 300 ml run-off. Days 54 & 55: Skipped End of week 8: She's heavy on the leaf and light on the bud. I feel the main cola is getting way ahead of the rest, despite the aggressive LST. The plant is throwing up leaves and stretching them. I need to get more light in there. Showing signs of nitrogen excess. Last BioGrow feeding was in week 6. Should remember to stop earlier with the next Mimosa. I'm convinced she's smaller than she can be due to starting her in very dry environment.

Week 9 - Jun 11 Starting the week with signs of nitrogen excess and calcium deficiency. Nothing drastic, I'll feed her cal-mag exclusively this week. The Orion F1 is finally finishing and the tent should be available in two weeks. This Mimosa may get three weeks in the good tent and hopefully this'll push the yield up a bit. Day 56: Skipped Day 57: Watered 2 l with cal-mag (1:1000). Day 58: Calcium deficiency accelerating. Never had it this early and bad with this soil. Top still wet but watered 1 l with cal-mag (1:750) anyway. Day 59: Skipped Day 60: Watered 1.5 l with cal-mag (1:750). Day 61: Skipped Day 62: Watered 2 l with BioBloom, TopMax, and cal-mag (3:3:2:2000). She's not doing well at the end of this week. Unfortunately the calcium issue is accelerating. It took me by surprise and went really fast. It may be nutrient lockout. I don't adjust my water but it has not been a problem before. In a few days she will go to the good tent and continue flowering under better light and environmental control. I'm not sure it'll help much at this stage, but hopefully she won't die before she's worth harvesting.

Week 10 - Jun 18 Now in the fifth week of flowering. She should have two to four weeks left, but trichome development is ahead of bud development. Nutrient issues all over the place. Nitrogen excess eased and all signs gone. The calcium deficiency spread very quickly and did a lot of damage. She has enough leaves to get her through flowering, but yield is definitely taking a huge hit. Day 63: Skipped Day 64: Watered 1.5 l with BioBloom and cal-mag (1:1:666) Day 65 & 66: Skipped Day 67: Finally chopped the Orion F1. This Mimosa has the good tent all to herself now. Top soil feels dry but she was rather heavy so I skipped watering. Day 68: Watered 2 l with BioBloom (1:1000)

Week 11 - Jun 24 Her final week. She had a rough life but she made it. Most trichomes are milky. The buds aren't very dense, but they smell wonderful. The sugar leaves are plenty and big. Unfortunate result of inadequate light. Cutting her down at the end of this week. I don't flush but the final week I only water once without nutrients because that would be a waste. Day 70: Final watering. Day 73: I harvested her. She'll yield something, but not much.