DWC - Jungle Lava, Black Orchid

High_And_Hydro I proudly announce: 🙌 "Day 1" 🙌 They started their Day 1 on December 22, 2024, at 04:20. This is going to be awesome!!! The systems are now well set up, and I've managed to control the somewhat loud gurgling. Now the systems are nearly equal in noise level. The nutrient solution is stable from the start this time, as I soaked the buckets, clay pebbles, and rock wool cubes in full-strength nutrient solution beforehand. I had to adjust them for another 2 days, and from then on, the pH level was stable enough for me to throw the pre-germinated seeds into the cubes. With this method, I feel a bit "safer" this time, but let's see if they still look a bit ragged at the start. Unfortunately, that has always been the case so far. On the left is the Black Orchid, in the middle is the Young Lava, and on the right is the Black Dog, that's the layout. Enjoy reading and looking at the pictures. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all! 👋

High_And_Hydro Hey there, Day 7: I've got thrips again in the back clay pebbles, but Plant Diddy has enough neem oil on hand. 💦 Otherwise, everything looks good and even. Day 10: I think I've got the thrips under control, but the last shower left some marks. The leaves of the first node look a bit dry and burnt. Still, they've grown nicely, and you can already see that the Black Dog is a bit slower than the other two. I attribute that to it having a different auto in its genetics than the other two. It has the Super Auto in it, while the other two have the XL Auto. At the moment, it seems like the Aer-DWC has a slight edge, but that could change and probably will. Finally, the one in the middle wants to grow big, hopefully. 😅 The first single-finger leaves are quite large, and they're even trying to split off more fingers. It looks a bit like Ducksfoot at first, but I've seen that in previous runs. I'm really pleased that they're growing so well without any additives. I'm not using any Rhizotonic this time, nor any Boost. It's just Vega/Flores A+B, Calmag Agent, PK13/14, and Cannazym at half dosage. The light is running on a 24/0 cycle at about 350 µmol/s/m², so a DLI of about 30 mol/d/m². This way, I no longer have temperature differences since there isn't really a night anymore, and I can reduce the light intensity a bit. I'm hoping for less light stress despite the high DLI and absolutely uniform environmental conditions that don't change at all. This allows me to feel out the performance limits more accurately since the usual dynamics in the transition from day to night remain so static, instead of the leaves "rowing" in the cycle. Let's see how this test goes, but so far it's definitely better than I expected. But you shouldn't praise the day before the evening.... 😅 Day 12: Today I made a video and then unfortunately realized that the Black Orchid Auto is so motivated that it's even getting extra fingers on the cotyledons. At least it looks that way. Otherwise, they're doing well, growing extremely fast, and this run will probably be awesome again; I have a feeling about it. 💪👽👍

High_And_Hydro Hey Growmies, I switched to Mixed Garden and put strawberries and peppers in proper buckets and placed them in the tent. Let's see how it goes. 😅 Other than that, not much to say, except that it's turning into absolute awesomeness again. 💪😄👍 The leaves are huge and they're growing so fast that you feel like you can see a difference just from stepping away for a quick pee. 👻 The 24-hour lighting is working out better than I expected. Hopefully, the peppers and strawberries can handle it.

High_And_Hydro Tag 21: They are doing well so far, but I've noticed that they are getting dry leaves from the neem oil. I think using it too often isn't good, as I suspect the stomata have become clogged, and that's why the tips of the older leaves are now poorly transpiring. It's not too bad, but I didn't know that before, or I hadn't had any issues with it previously. My pepper experiment also seems to have succeeded, as all the seeds have germinated. I'm a bit unsure how many plants I can leave in the cube or should take out. So for now, I'll leave them all in and only cut some away if it gets too crowded. Tag 25: Everyone is doing well, even though the VPD is currently excessively high. It seems to be doing them more good than harm. The Black Dog is noticeably smaller than the other two, but it has a thick stem and doesn't look unhealthy. So it's quite likely just the plant itself that happens to be a bit smaller. I think there's a bit of variation there. It will definitely produce something, and I'm looking forward to the strain since I love Kush and Blackberry Kush and Headband are in the genetics. The other two aren't much different in terms of size and speed. They will definitely reach their full potential 👽👍

High_And_Hydro Day 29: Everything is going according to plan, what more can I say? Here and there I remove the big leaves, but overall I don't have much to do, they handle it all by themselves. Day 33: All good, I have nothing to report.

High_And_Hydro Tag 35: The Black Orchid and the Jungle Lava look amazing. They're about the same size, but each has its own character. The Black Orchid has been on bloom nutrient solution since yesterday because it developed dark spots on some older leaves. I also turned the top feed back on, as I now believe it makes a difference. Without the top feed, the leaves were drooping a bit compared to the Jungle Lava, which had the feeder running the whole time. I should have reset the Black Dog right at the beginning when I noticed it was lagging behind. But I didn't do that, so I thought I'd just go ahead and defoliate radically and see how it reacts. From experience, I already know it stays small if I don't take action. It can't get much worse, but maybe this will save it after all. I don't believe it, but we'll see. Next time, I'll just throw the little one out right away; so far, it hasn't really been worth it to grow one like this. They're always slower and waste time and light for a rather disappointing result. Even losing 3 weeks at the start would still be better than lagging 3 weeks behind and blocking the tent. Tag 38: Today I defoliated and removed the small shoots. It always looks a bit disastrous, but it'll bounce back in 2-3 days 😇

High_And_Hydro On day 43, I defoliated again. They are definitely going to be huge this time, that's for sure. They are already smelling a bit, I'm really looking forward to it. 👽👍 Day 45: I put them back in the net this time, as the Jungle Lava has just grown really well for it. It always looks a bit crazy when you're done. 😅 Day 48: They handled the defoliation well and are stretching further.

High_And_Hydro Everything as usual, they are growing, but the Black Dog isn't doing well and will be culled. The other two are doing fine and will perform well.

High_And_Hydro Tag 58: Today I defoliated again, as they are still producing leaves and new flower clusters. The Black Orchid has grown a bit stockier and "bushier," while the Jungle Lava shows perfect internodes for my growing style and overall very good growth behavior. The roots are super healthy and uniform, the length and size of the leaves are just right, which makes defoliation very pleasant. At the moment, the OG Kush smell is definitely coming through very strongly, but the Black Orchid also has a nice hint of lemon on board. Tomorrow I'll take the first pictures of the trichomes and share them later, unfortunately, the light just went out. Tag 59: The pictures are here and I like them. From now on, the coolest phase of the grow begins 💪😁👍 Tag 62: They are growing relaxed and steadily...

High_And_Hydro Tag 63: From now on, I just need to occasionally top up the nutrient solution and take pictures. I suspect I can harvest in 10-14 days 👽👍 Tag 66: I took some pictures without lighting, it looks crazy like this 💪😲👌

High_And_Hydro Day 70: They are doing well as you can see. At this stage, one is always particularly impatient, I'm already looking forward to the harvest, but the trichomes and stigmas say it might take a while. 👽👌 Day 72: The trichomes of the Black Orchid are almost ready, the Jungle Lava still needs a bit more time.

High_And_Hydro It's still growing and the trichomes on the tops are still partly clear, so the sides are still mostly clear and it will take a little longer.

High_And_Hydro Overall, the grow was uneventful and required rather little work. While trimming, I didn't find any moldy spots, despite it growing so densely.

High_And_Hydro Not much happened this week. Almost all the stigmas were brown and the trichomes were white, so I cut them down. I didn't find any mold, so everything was fine with the airflow, even though I was a bit worried at first.