Auto Opium Organic Grow

Week 1: Both plants seemed to be responding well. Score. - Light: Currently the light is set at 70cm above the top of both plants. Began the week at 50% power on the led light and 10 DLI via Photone app on a 18/6 schedule. - Water: Began with 100ml of water every day, near the base of the stem. - Nutrients: Using a pre-fertilized All-Mix type substrate with autoflowers, so I'm going to refrain from adding any additional nutrients until a couple of weeks before flower. Last grows I was seeing some problems that looked like CalMag and/or pH issues early on. I will begin supplementing nutes to correct both if observed. Until next week. 👺👺

Week 2: Both plants have survived. 👊 I noticed some odd light staining of the first leaves, which is a similar issue I've had before and you can see it in the photos. Will supplement with CalMag as it looks most like a calcium deficiency (soft water here) or a pH issue (not usually a concern with Bio grows). With that said, I will wait until next week out of an abundance of caution and to see if I can narrow down the issue a bit more. - Light: 70cm above the top of both plants. Increased to 75% power 15 DLI via Photone app on a 18/6 schedule. - Water: Increased to 250ml every other day, per plant. Focused around the base of the stem and about halfway out to the edge of the pot. - Nutrients: Sticking with the Biobizz All-Mix substrate. 1x per week water with: 1) sulfur-free molasses at a rate of 3ml / L and 2) diastatic barley malt powder at 1/3tsp / L. - Environment: Dehumidifier set at 65. Molasses is a common component of organic nutes and the theory is that it helps to promote growth of healthy flora in the soil. Nothing too drastic, unlikely to have a negative impact at this concentration. Diastatic malt powder on the other hand is my baby. I was a professional brewer for 10 years and barley is like my second wife. (We may be separated now, but at times it was steamy [brewing that is] 😏). History aside, the active enzymes in the DMP are the same active ingredient in organic rooting agents, but at a fraction of the price. You can also apply this as a top dressing, but it's hard to beat the smell of this stuff when mixed with water. Yes, I'm strange. Until next week, ya'll.👋 💪

Week 3: Definitely time to add the CalMag and lower that pH! No problemo, kinda expected that to happen so it was nice to see that I'm learning! - Light: 70cm above the top of both plants. Increased power to 30 DLI via Photone app on a 18/6 schedule. - Water: Increased to 350ml every other day, per plant. Focused around the base of the stem and about halfway out to the edge of the pot. - Nutrients: Biobizz All-Mix substrate (still worried that this is going to be too hot for these autos. FORESHADOWING!). Added organic lemon juice to water to bring the pH down to 6.3. Also 1x per week water with: 1) sulfur-free molasses at a rate of 3ml / L and 2) diastatic barley malt powder at 1/3tsp / L. - Environment: Dehumidifier set at 60. Until next week fellas.

Week 4: This one feels like it went by fast. I'm happy with the growth of the plants, they look sturdy. Introduced defoliation, removing the bottom 2 nodes from one plant and only the first leaves on the second plant. - Light: Increased power to 35 DLI via Photone app on a 18/6 schedule. - Water: Increased watering significantly. Did a watering schedule of 2-2-3 days between. Started with 500ml and ended 800ml for this week. - Nutrients: added organic lemon juice to water to bring the pH down to 6.3. Also 1x per week water with: 1) sulfur-free molasses at a rate of 3ml / L. Continued with malt extract at a rate of .3ml/L. Plants seem happy enough. - Environment: Dehumidifier set at 60. Keep on truckin'.

Week 5: Noticed some of the new growth tips are turning color and clawing by the very end of the week. (Note: the last P2 pic shows it, but next week's pictures will be more clear). The battle plan until flower is going to be just keep watering till they pull through. I think it'll be ok. I'm going to cut out the malt powder - the roots to 'nutes action is sehr stark, my German friends. Ach so. - Light: Increased power to 40 DLI via Photone app on a 18/6 schedule. Made sure the burn was not related to light burn. - Water: Them are some thirsty plants. Watering schedule of 2-3-2. Started with 1L per plant, per watering. Ended the week at 1.5L. Noticed some drooping on evening of last water day. Maybe it's the nutrient overload or maybe they still need even more water. - Nutrients: lemon juice to water to bring the pH down to 6.3 - something like 5 solid shakes for 3 liters of water. Not much. Cut out molasses, malt powder and CalMag, for this week. - Environment: It's fall now. Introduced at dehumidifer to the room, set at 55%. Turned on infrared heating panel as well: set at 22 day, 24 night. The netting install for LST is going to be a game changer. Let's see if we can't turn this thing around by flower. 👊

Week 6: Well sometimes, you know, shit is going to hit the fan and you can't do anything about it. You can see on P2 how the tips are burnt and turned down. Cutting out nutrients for a week appears to have worked and at least slowed the progression of the nutrient burn. We are arguably in the first week of flower, so I'm thinking it'll be the last week without added nutrients. - Light: Increased power to 45 DLI via Photone app on a 18/6 schedule. This is tough because the top of the plant is getting 60 DLI, but a node down or so and we're back at 45. My thinking is that it is bit high at the terminus but the rest of the plant needs it. Seems to be tolerating it so far - keeping an eye out for signs of trouble. - Water: The increased watering has seemed to help, although mid week they were looking pretty droopy once again. 1.5L per plant, per watering is a good place to be at. Increased watering to every 2 days. - Nutrients: lemon juice to water to bring the pH down to 6.4. CalMag all week at .3ml/L. - Environment: Dehumidifier set at 50%. Infrared heating panel set at 22 day, 24 night. I knew growing in heavily fertilized soil is a gamble for auto-flowering seeds. Sometimes you gotta just run with the supplies on hand and see where it takes you. It has been a good experience to recognize a problem that's happen and adjust in real time. I feel like it was caught right in time and the plants steadily improved throughout the week. Now the key is when to add the bloom nutrients. Bring on the juicy buds.

Week 7: All and all, things are looking pretty decent. Not too much to report so how about a couple extra pictures? - Light: Kept light at max on a 18/6 schedule at max power. At the top of the tallest plant, the DLI reads 65, but quickly drops. I'm shooting for 45 for most of the plant. - Water: Watering schedule increased to meet thirst level. Watered 4 times this week, 1.5L each. - Nutrients: lemon juice to water to bring the pH down to 6.2. CalMag increased to end of week to .5ml/L. Including biobizz bio-grow, bio-bloom and a smidge of molasses. 1x DME at 1 tsp/ 3L, one watering this week. - Environment: Dehumidifier set at 50%. Infrared heating panel set at 22 day, 25 night. Not too much to report this week. I introduced week 2 of the BioBizz feeding chart. Near the end of the week I noticed some of the leaves near the bottom show sign of low K (and possibly need a bit more CalMag). I'll keep feeding with the current nutrients and give it a little time. ETA: 6 weeks and counting. Which means I'll need to start rationing my current supply from last grow. Winter is coming.

Week 8: We are full on blazin' our way through flower. Yee haw. Both plants look healthy, leaves are up and angled to the light. Went on a long weekend so the plants were both left without water for 3 days, but seemed to do just fine. - Light: Kept light at max on a 18/6 schedule at max power. - Water: Watered 4 times this week, 1.5L each. - Nutrients: lemon juice to water to bring the pH down to 6.2. CalMag increased to end of week to 1ml/L to account for the water profile. Including biobizz bio-grow, bio-bloom and upped molasses to account for flowering needs. 1x DME at 1 tsp/ 3L, one watering this week. - Environment: Dehumidifier set at 40%. In an effort to grow green a little greener, I've turned off the heater. Outside temp has been hanging around 15C and things aren't too cold: 24C day with 49%RH. VPD: 1.35 kPa (Mid Flower / high transpiration). I'm glad to see the progression of the tip burn on the leaves stop. I'm not exactly sure if this is due to needing more CalMag (as there are some rust spots on other healthy leaves) or if it's a lack of K (especially being in flower). Decided I'd cover my bases and increase both, however so slightly. Buds so juicy you can't help but give 'em a squeeze. Onto week 9 fellas.

Week 9: Keep on keeping on. Great purple color is really coming through on the top of plant 1. About 25% of the leaves are discolored now and I have continued to prune as necessary. I'm waiting for the increase in calmag and bloom nutes to kick in. - Light: Kept light at max on a 18/6 schedule at max power. - Water: 1.5L per plant, every other day. - Nutrients: lemon juice to water to bring the pH down to 6. CalMag, bio-grow, bio-bloom and upped molasses. 1x DME at 1 tsp/ 3L, one watering this week. - Environment: Dehumidifier set at 40% and temps in tent are 24C day with 48%RH. VPD: 1.38 kPa (Mid Flower / high transpiration). Holding strong with no heater, early October. I'm glad to see the progression of the tip burn on the leaves stop. I'm not exactly sure if this is due to needing more CalMag (as there are some rust spots on other healthy leaves) or if it's a lack of K (especially being in flower). Decided I'd cover my bases and increase both, however so slightly. Buds so juicy you can't help but give 'em a squeeze. Onto week 9 fellas.

Week 10: looking good! This is only my 3rd grow, so I'm still relatively new, but I always find mid-late flower to be a challenge in terms of judging if the leaves yellowing is normal or a deficiency. About half of the leaves are yellow/brown, but the rust spots seem to have come under control. I've also pruned the worst of the leaves. I think we're just going to ride it out! - Light: Kept light at max on a 18/6 schedule at max power. - Water: 1.5L per plant, every other day. - Nutrients: lemon juice to water to bring the pH down to 6.2. CalMag, bio-grow, bio-bloom and molasses. 1x diastatic malt powder mixed into feed water at 1 tsp/ 3L, but only one watering this week. - Environment: VPD: 1.25 kPa (Mid Flower / high transpiration). Seen some fluctuations in VPD this week. I think the night time temps are getting too low that the exhaust fan and dehumidifier can't keep up. Next week we'll turn the heater on. I'm going to continue to stick to my nutes schedule until chop. Since it's organic, my thinking is that any abrupt changes in feeding is just going to harm the organisms living in the soil. There's really nothing worth flushing, IMO. Trichomes look to be cloudy (at least to the naked eye) and I think we are getting close to harvest! Maybe 2 weeks. As a bonus treat, next week we'll get the microscope out. 😬

Week 11: We finished up another week and the end is in sight! Visually, both plants seem to be filling out a bit and darkening. As promised, I busted out a microscope from the DDR era and was able to snag a few photos of the trichomes after a lot of trying. Next time we'll be using something easier. 😬 I do see some amber, but it's mostly cloudy at this point. Divine Seeds recommends a 60 flowering time minimum and it looks to be on track. - Light: Kept light at max on a 18/6 schedule at max power. - Water: 1.5L per plant, every other day. - Nutrients: lemon juice to water to bring the pH down to 6.3. CalMag, bio-grow, bio-bloom and molasses. 1x diastatic malt powder mixed into feed water at 1 tsp/ 3L, but only one watering this week. - Environment: Turned on the heater this week because of ambient temp drop. VPD: 1.26 kPa (Mid Flower / high transpiration). Next week we'll germinate the seeds of our next grow, my first non-auto grow. 😘 Until then!

Week 12: The end is near! Both plants have a lot of yellow and brown leaves now. Still, there seems to be some green left to give. I feel like my first couple of grows were harvested too early and the buzz while pleasant, was not super powerful. Trying to ride this one out. With that in mind, I used a 200x camera attachment for my phone that gives better results than ancient microscope (RIP bruh). Seems pretty handy so far - can only recommend. 👊 There are some amber trichomes on the plants, but it's mostly cloudy. Ttrichomes on some of the lower buds appear to be only cloudy. - Light: Kept light at max on a 18/6 schedule at max power. - Water: 1.5L per plant, every other day. - Nutrients: lemon juice to water to bring the pH down to 6.3. CalMag, bio-grow, bio-bloom and molasses. 1x diastatic malt powder mixed into feed water at 1 tsp/ 3L, but only one watering this week. - Environment: External heater on to maintain humidity. VPD: 1.32 kPa (Late Flower / high transpiration). Hopefully we can hit week 13 without any issues. 👌👌

Week 13: plants are still alive, but I'd say they won't make it much longer. P1 had some nice deep purple colors and the fan leaves were mostly pruned away. P2 was a bit more green (= less pruned) and far less purple. Still, many of the the remaining leaves on P2 were yellow and crispy. I checked to make sure that this wasn't bud rot, mold or some sort of infestation. The leaves have been dying for awhile - I think it's just normal progression. I waited a bit to see some color on the trichomes. I'd say 5-10% amber looking over the final pictures. I included a handful of the shots here - I always thought that was what I had the most questions about myself. Also the last two days of the grow I kept the lights on 24/7 to stress the plants. Shout to @Waveform for the help here. 👊 The last close up picture shows some nice stickiness afterwards. I can't say for certain if this was due to the stress but I've seen enough to try it again. I'm inclined to believe it can yield results given the endorsement by Bruce Bugbee. - Light: Kept light at max on a 18/6 schedule at max power for five days, then 24/7. - Water: 1.5L per plant, second and fourth days of the week. Cut water afterwards. - Nutrients: lemon juice to water to bring the pH down to 6.3. CalMag, bio-grow, bio-bloom and molasses. 1x diastatic malt powder mixed into feed water at 1 tsp/ 3L. - Environment: External heater on to maintain humidity. VPD: 1.38 kPa (Late Flower / high transpiration). Time to harvest ya'll.

Choppity chop. Cut both plants shortly after Week 13. Hung to dry in dark grow tent for 6 days. RH was 50% and temp averaged 21C. I was happy with how things went on my third grow! Ended up with more dry weight than from previous grows, which is always rewarding. I'm looking forward to trying these after the cure. I think looking forward on things to improve: I want to nail down my late veg / early flower leaf yellowing. I suspect it is either a K or Mg deficiency, so next grows I'm going to try to mitigate that a bit more. Next grow I'm also going to try growing some photoperiod plants. I've had my eye on these Kabul seeds Divine Seeds sent... 👺 Let's run it back. Speaking of which, a big thank you once again to Divine Seeds for sponsoring my first contest grow. Cool to see how much they put into making this happen. Until next time.