RQS Apple Fritter Auto DWC

On September 11th The seeds were germinated between moist kitchen roll and planted two days later in the stone wool cube saturated with pH 5 water. Just 4 days later, the plant had grown well out of the block and the first roots could be seen on the ground. On June 17th The seedling was then inserted into my newly built DWC system and the empty space in the plant basket was filled with clay balls. The nutrient solution was adjusted to pH 5,8 and the EC value of the tap water was increased to 1,1 with Cal/Mag and fertilizer. At the end of this week the first root tips reached the nutrient solution. Before that, there was top feeding twice a day with a syringe and nutrient solution from the reservoir.

The grow has started well and more and more small roots are reaching the water surface. Growth is now increasing daily and the plant is getting larger and larger leaves and the trunk is becoming stronger. The pH value has now adjusted to 5.9 and I no longer have any fluctuations like in the first week. The system is now running in and the EC is slowly starting to fall. She drinks!

Nothing special is happening this week. The plant continues to accelerate its growth. The trunk is already very strong and it grows very stocky and compact. I removed the first large leaves and increased the EC value to 1.3. I'm also letting the pH rise to 6 now. Maybe next week I'll start training or start topping her. Let's see how it develops.

I have decided to wait another week before using training methods or do topping. I only cut some leafs. The plant should work a little more on its roots, leaves and shoots. In return she now receives more fertilizer. The EC was increased to 1.4. We're happy to continue as smoothly as things are going at the moment. She also starts to smell very strong. How is that supposed to happen when it's in bloom? :)

This week I was finally able to start training. Since the plant began to produce a lot of leaves and no more light shone on the shoots, a large part of the leaves were removed first. The main shoot and all other shoots would then be topped. I then glued holding points to the lid of the DWC box so that I could then pull all the shoots apart. I'm hoping for more growth in width so that all shoots get adequate air and light. The whole thing is quite risky with an automatic plant, but I'll take the risk because the plant can fill the whole tent later and I can't see any signs of flowering yet. If you don't dare, you don't win.

The plant just keeps growing like crazy. She had completely overcome the first round of training after 3 days and is now continuing to grow explosively. At the end of the week I will top all the side shoots again to further delay the growth in height and to gain width. These will be a lot of thick buds later if I manage to get them all at the same height without a net. I hope the blooms start soon. I installed another 200 watts of light. Including 120 watt Samsung LM301H Evo LEDs and 4 strips of 20 watt Osram Gen.5 LEDs with 660nm for flower formation. I've read a lot of good things about the Osrams and I'm excited to see how they enlarge the flowers.

Yay, the flowering is starting. That took a very long time for an automatic. On soil, the pre-flowering usually started between 2 - 3 weeks. I now had to wait 6 weeks in DWC. The lamps are now running at 70% and the EC has been increased again to 1,6. Now the stretch begins and I see small flower threads forming on each shoot. The trunk is now almost 5cm in diameter and the plant is slowly filling the entire tent. Defoliation and maintenance are becoming increasingly difficult. This is definitely going to be a monster! A smelly monster ;)

The plant grows extremely densely. Defoliating is extremely difficult due to the many branches and shoots. The plant develops an extremely large number of inflorescences. From the end of week 9, I will start giving Green Sensation. An update of the circulating air is planned this week to prevent mold in the flowers. Two more swiveling clip fans are installed and the nutrient solution is changed after 7 days. This is changed weekly and the 5 liters that the plant drinks every day is topped up with nutrient concentrate.

The fertilizer was increased to 2.5ml A + B and Green Sensation was added for the first time. A Spider Farmer clipfan now ensures better circulating air to prevent mold. Additionally, a 40 watt under canopy light would be added to bring more light into the very dense plant. I'll probably continue to defoliate later in flowering, but for now the buds should get bigger and build up volume. The stretch is now slowly coming to an end and the plant only grows about 0.5 cm per day. I think everything is on track so far! :)

The buds now develop faster. The stretch has come to a complete standstill and the plant continues to drink just over 5 liters of water a day. I reduced the fertilizer slightly because the leaves are very green and have slight yellow tips. The light has now been turned up to full capacity and I am now irradiating the area with almost 360 watts and around 1400 PPFD in order to penetrate deep into the dense plants. Another defoliation is planned for the week and I hope this will reduce the risk of mold again. It's winter here right now and I suck in dry air from outside and, thanks to the powerful lamp, I can keep the humidity below 50% in the light phase. Keep growing!

Not much happened this week. The buds keep getting bigger and build up volume well. Nutrient solution was increased slightly again to provide even more nutrients for the flower. Unfortunately the weather has been very rainy here in northern Germany the last few days. The humidity is often over 50% and I direct the fans into the flowers and under the plant to move as much air as possible. I would like to avoid mold, but with this dense plant the risk is very high. Fingers crossed. I think in 3 weeks I'll be able to start thinking about the harvest!

The flowers continue to develop and about 60% of the trichomes are now milky. The weather is still bad and it rains a lot, so I can barely get the humidity below 50%. There are now 4 circulating air fans running in the small 60 x 60 tent. I hope things go well for a while and I don't get any mold until the harvest. I will lower the EC starting tomorrow and switch to water only with CalMag from the middle of next week. Then see how she reacts. I think she can gain some weight by then and the buds can get even firmer.

The buds no longer swell much and are now slowly ripening. The trichomes are predominantly milky and brown and the plant smells so strong that if I open the tent even briefly, the entire apartment smells extremely like weed for 2 hours. Since yesterday she has only been given clear water with a little CalMag. My plan is to harvest them next week. This will definitely take me 2-3 days because I trim it wet. I'm really looking forward to the dry weight and hope that mold doesn't hit me in the last 7 days. It was my first hydro-grow and everything so far went absolutely smoothly and without any problems. Hydro was much easier than I thought and after just 2 - 3 weeks I understood how to mix the nutrient solution and understand the needs of the plant!

Very hot and relaxed grow with great results. Either I will grow Apple Fritter Auto again or maybe Amnesia Haze Auto. I have to get some new seeds first :)