Barney's Farm Laughing Buddha - Micro Cabinet

Plant_Scientist The first week has passed, and little Laughing Buddha is having a bit of a rough start. She’s struggling to stay upright on her own—definitely looking a bit weak and wobbly. To help her out, I’ve added some gentle support using toothpicks to keep her standing until she gains some strength. For now, I’m keeping the humidity dome on to maintain a low VPD and give her the best shot at recovering. I’ll only remove it once she’s strong enough to handle a higher evaporative demand. Fingers crossed she picks up some vigor in the coming days—still hopeful she’ll bounce back soon!

Plant_Scientist After a rough start last week, Laughing Buddha is slowly starting to show signs of recovery. She was looking very small, stunted, and her leaves had a yellowish tint—especially compared to the other plants in the cabinet, which are all doing just fine. I was a bit worried, to be honest. She had trouble standing upright at first, so I added some support using toothpicks to help her stay up. To reduce stress, I’ve kept the humidity dome on to maintain a lower VPD until she’s strong enough to handle drier air. But near the end of the week—good news! She started showing some new growth, and it’s looking much greener and healthier than before. Still behind the others, but I’m happy to see her fighting back. Let’s see how she does next week.

Plant_Scientist This week was a really good one for Laughing Buddha! After her shaky start, it looks like she’s fully recovered and has now settled into the rhythm of the growing cabinet. She’s looking healthy and vibrant with that rich, dark green color we love to see. She’s also doubled in height and packed on some solid leaf area—definitely showing her sativa spirit now. The climate was super steady this week, which no doubt helped her bounce back and thrive. No need to fertilize at this point either—the slow-release goodness from the BioTabs is clearly doing its job.

Plant_Scientist This was an eventful week in the cabinet, as I finally upgraded my lighting setup. After years of good service, I replaced my old grow light with AC Infinity's IonBeam LEDs, which use the latest Samsung EVO diodes. These new LEDs run at a much lower wattage but are significantly more efficient, so I’m curious to see how well they perform in my setup. Depending on the results, I might consider further upgrades in the future. After just a few days, I already noticed some changes. The cabinet no longer heats up as much during the day, and the leaves look much flatter and more relaxed. I suspect the more even spread of the IonBeam LEDs is reducing localized heat spots, leading to improved canopy conditions.

Plant_Scientist Exciting times—flowering has officially started! Laughing Buddha is showing her first pistils and has entered full flowering stretch. She’s growing quickly now and really starting to fill out her space in the cabinet. Temperatures have been on point this week, keeping the climate stable overall. However, humidity crept up a bit, sometimes reaching 70% at night. This was mostly due to heavy rainfall in my area, which raised the ambient humidity in my apartment. Not ideal, but I’m not too worried—conditions should improve next week as the weather settles. For now, I’m just happy to see her thriving. Bring on the buds!

Plant_Scientist Flowering is progressing nicely for Laughing Buddha! This week brought more flower development and a decent stretch as she continues to reach for the light. I removed some of the lower foliage to clean her up a bit—she's definitely taking on that classic "bud-on-a-stick" structure, with the focus clearly on the main cola. It’s becoming more and more obvious that she’s a true sativa: while the other plants in the cabinet are developing faster and stacking earlier, Laughing Buddha is taking her time, stretching and building her foundation. Patience will be key with her, but I’m excited to see those long, elegant buds starting to form. Onwards!