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5 seeds of Northern Lights germinated nicely (feminized, photo period), amounting to 100% germination success. 2 plants were placed in a 2x4x6 Mars Hydro tent. Tent is located in my garage, and is equipped with: two small circulating fans, one on the floor, another higher on top. An inline 4” AC infinity fan was used for air circulation. The tent is located in my garage, roughly insulated. A dehumidifier and a portable heater were placed outside the tent. The idea was to control temperature and humidity in the garage rather than in the tent only. Seedlings soaked in distilled water and then transferred to a wet paper towel placed in a ziplock bag. All germinated seeds were placed in rockwool cubes, then planted into pint size yogurt cups. Seedlings were planted in 7 gal fabric pots once they felt sturdy enough (2 inches tall). A heating mat was placed under each pot. Gentle light, high humidity (with plastic dome at first), warm temperature and proper air circulation were achieved with trial and error. Environment dialed in as much as possible. Seedlings recuperated from transplanting stress very quickly. Medium was buffered, minimum nutrition was used at this point. Nutrient formula already contains CalMag
Plants have quickly adapted to tent environment and look healthy. Fine tuning light/dark hours and intensity was the focus of this week. PPFD and DLI closely monitored. PPFD = 300-470 and DLI= 19.5-27.0. Light intensity set up for 80%, about 24 inches from canopy. Plants look healthy, all things considered. Nutrition is increased over the week, although aiming for a maximum of 75% strength of manufacturer label recommendations. Careful inspection for any CalMag or Nitrogen deficiency. Experience has shown that these plants thrive with less nutrients than generally recommended. Absorption is heavily reliant on environment conditions. I decided to measure plant biomass production along the grow season for the sake of it. Plant height, leaf width and canopy width were consistently measured and recorded.
This week is all about achieving environment consistency in my garage during winter months in Western Canada. Playing around with a mix of appliances and variables to get good temp and humidity.
Plants are stablished. Pushing the boundaries for optimal growth, with gradual light and nutrient increase has been the objective this week 3. I’m targeting a benchmark of maximum 75% of the recommended nutrients and the plants are thriving at this point. Just goes to show that these plants are pretty resilient. Air circulation and plant movement have been essential. This is my 5th grow. Used to give plants too much food in the early days. Since this is an “experiment”, I’m doing a lot of measuring and recording this time around. Testing and debunking bro science, recording and comparing past mistakes helps me understand plant biology. Once you do, it is easier to find the sweet spot for temp, humidity, etc. I found that VPD charts are helpful, but they work well in tailored industrial grow. Humidity turned out to be too high in my previous set ups
No surprises. Topping has been done at this point. Temperature and humidity controlled as much as possible. Some bending and light intensity increase. A 2x4 tent is actually too small to bring two plants to the height and spread that I would have liked. Ideal for one plant. Targeted not to have these 2 tent plants grow higher than 36” to avoid overcrowding.
I’m measuring plant biomass this time around: plant HEIGHT, leaf WIDTH and CANOPY width for as long as possible, before tent space MAXED OUT. Target maximum plant height - 36”- 40”. Allowance for canopy width expansion of 2 plants in a 2x4x6 tent - varying between 24” - 36” from late vegetative stage through flowering. This is a stretch as far as space goes. One single plant would have be enough to fully fill the entire canopy of multiple colas. In other words, although one can legally grow up to 4 medicinal plants in Canada, and I chose to grow 2 of them, that does not necessarily mean extra yield. Plants are thriving and read to be flipped into flowering stage next. Light intensity increases and so does DLI. PPFD=683 and DLI=44.1. Photoperiod changes to 12/12 in week 6
HobbyistJames
