Strawberry Mango Crumble Autopot + Coco

stutch After I pretty much fucked up the Old School Mango Haze Grow, here's a round of Strawberry Mango Crumble. Seeds planted in a peat pot aka Jiffy on March 27th, pictures are from April 2nd. I give it about 50-100ml of water daily with a pH of ~6.0 and it's under a small airdome to keep the humidity nice and high. Let's see what happens this time.

stutch 03.04.: Watering continues with tap water + Pro Roots. I don't want to burn my roots. I made a nutrient solution consisting of DryGrow, silicate, and magnesium, based on my shitty water values of 116mg/L calcium and 4.7mg/L magnesium. I used 0.3g/L Epsom salt to raise the magnesium to a total value of 33mg/L. So the cal/mag ratio is about 3.5 : 1. EC of the irrigation water is 1.3, I will dilute with demineralized water until I get to about 0.9 to 1.0. 04.04.: Watered approx. 0.5L nutrient solution with PH 6.0 and EC 1.0. 05.04.: Watered approx. 0.5L nutrient solution with PH 6.3 and EC 1.0.

stutch 12.04.: Week 3, the little one doesn't look 100% healthy. Due to the very light green leaves, I have increased the fertilizer supply a little, the spots on the leaves look like a lack of calcium or magnesium. I'm carefully trying to get this under control by mixing the tap water less with distilled water, maybe a few sprays with the bottle and CalMag. I'm currently not happy with the growth, but I'll persevere and see what I can do better next time. On April 11th I added a little nutrient solution with the elevated values, so far it doesn't look like anything has improved. 5 liters of nutrient solution prepared: 1.1g/5L Silicate, dissolves poorly in water and I'm already trying out how many g/L I can add without having to constantly stir the autopots afterwards 0.26g/L Epsom salt, so a total of approx. 55mg/L magnesium in the water 1.3g/L TA Grow. EC is now at 2.2, will be lowered to around 1.2-1.4 at the next watering so as not to shock the plants too much. 13.04.: Watered with EC 1.4, drain had EC 1.0. This fits in quite well with the appearance of the plants, they seem to be in need of food. I will probably wait 1-2 days now as the plant is quite small, then I will give it the next dose with EC 1.6-1.8, let's see how it develops until then. 14.04.: I thought I would kill the plant with 1.4 EC, but the opposite seems to be the case. The leaves have a lot more color, felt as much growth as before in a week over 24 hours. Tomorrow I will water again with an EC of about 1.6-1.7 and see what happens then. 15.05.: 1.6 EC, 5.9 PH approx. 1 liter watered, this time with Fulvic + Pro Roots (forgot to add it last time). Let's see how she reacts to the slightly higher EC. Drain EC was 1.0, so the amount of fertilizer will be increased further (EC 1.8). 16.04.: 1.8 EC, 5.9 PH. Drain again at 1.0 EC and PH 6.3.

stutch Watered on 17.04. with approx. 1 liter of nutrient solution, pH 5.7 and EC of 2.1. Plant looks quite good, have concerns about the size at the moment but I'm going through with it for science. Note to self: water coco daily with nutrient solution, preferably twice a day. 18.04.: poured approx. 1.5 liters EC 2.1 pH 5.8, drain was approx. 1 liter with EC 1.2 and pH 5.9. The values are slowly developing in the right direction (drain EC = input EC). 19.04.: 700ml nutrient solution poured, EC 2.1 and pH 5.8. Drain values: 1.2EC and 6.0 pH. About 450ml of the 700ml came out at the bottom, so I could pour a little less. 20.04.: approx. 500ml nutrient solution poured, EC 2.1 and pH 5.8. 21.04.: approx. 700ml nutrient solution poured, EC 2.1 and pH 5.8. 22.04.: approx. 700ml nutrient solution poured, EC 2.1 and pH 5.7. 23.04.: approx. 700ml nutrient solution poured, EC 2.1 and pH 5.8. Drain EC 1.4 pH 6.0.

stutch I'm starting to get the feeling that this plant could become relatively strong. The stem looks extremely thick for the size of the plant, I'll take a picture of it in a few days. Apart from that, the Autopot system was started on 26.04. Let's see what happens now. EC 2.4, PH ~5.7 in the reservoir.

stutch Since switching to the Autopot system, the grow has been going extremely well. The plant looks great, has no deficiency symptoms, and is currently growing really fast. Flower buds are present. Tank has dropped from ~22cm to ~17cm in about a week, so it's not too thirsty yet. EC is about 2.4 in the reservoir, I always set the pH to 5.5-5.6 and only lower it again when I'm at 6.0. Lamp spacing is always adjusted so that the top spot ends up at a DLI of 40-45. Addendum 09.05.: I drained the water on 08.05. Until then I just had to check the pH value and more or less let the plant do its thing. Every day I forced a few shoots under the net to maximize the light yield. Overall very easy going at the moment, the plant looks great and I no longer have any stress with watering.

stutch New nutrient solution with 20 liters added, nothing else to report. Lamp on 100% and always ~30cm away from the mainbud, shoots are stuffed under the net, pH always around 5.7-5.8.

stutch I was on vacation for a few days, during which time the plant developed wonderfully. The autopots are doing their job reliably, the plant is growing and thriving. No problems with pests in the substrate or on the plant, just a few small brown spots on some new leaves. Maybe there is a small CalMag problem, maybe I have a lockout. On May 14, I prepared the nutrient solution, this time with about 25 liters of water. The water is almost used up, and that within 6 days (today 20.05.). After the initial watering by hand and about 2-3 weeks of grow fertilizer, the transition phase aka preflower progressed relatively quickly. I have mixed the nutrient solution once or twice at most, mix it a few times a day because the silicate settles despite using half the dosage, and check the pH. The Terra Aquatica stuff is definitely really good when it comes to stable pH values, I started the nutrient solution 6 days ago at 5.6 and have now reached 5.9. I'm happy to accept the fluctuations, I want to give the plant a little more of the nutrient spectrum. The next nutrient solution will be prepared using the Bloom scheme. 1.8g Drypart Bloom, 0.2ml Pro Bloom, and probably just under 1.5g silicates. The silicates are the only thing that annoys me a little, the stuff just doesn't dissolve properly. I keep reducing the dosage until I've found the sweet spot, the quantities deposited in the Autopot Tank.

stutch On 22.05. I mixed a new nutrient solution, this time according to the Bloom scheme from Terra Aquatica. PH 5.6, EC 2.2. Not much to report, it’s been a mega chill grow for some time now. Water in, hide a few leaves under the net from time to time, that’s it. Can go on like this.

stutch There really isn't much to report. I stir the water a few times a day, check on the little plant and press a few leaves under the net, that's it. It has slight CalMag deficiency symptoms in the upper leaves, but as long as it doesn't get worse I'll leave it as it is. 01.06.: Dumped out the nutrient solution, added water with Flashclean from Terra Aquatica. As I am going on vacation in a few weeks, I will switch completely to FinalPart in 2 days, on 03.06.. The harvest date is 15.06.-17.06., otherwise I won't be able to dry it before my vacation. 03.06.: Switched to FinalPart (5ml/L), you can see the lack of fertilizer on the leaves relatively quickly. Trichomes look good, still a good part clear, many milky, no amber.

stutch As you can see, the leaves have already turned a good yellowish color or are necrotic, I took the liberty of cutting a few out today to give the lower buds some light. It stinks like hell when I open the tent, I'm already looking forward to the harvest. The harvest date of 15.06. should work out, trichomes are not yet 100% where I want them, but there is still some time left.

stutch Week 12 starts today, June 12th. On Saturday I'll switch back to Flashclean for 24 hours, until then I'll give the last bit of nutrient solution and that's it. Trichome heads look good, see pictures. On June 15th Madame will be harvested and then it will go to drying, I'm really looking forward to the final product. More pictures will follow on Sunday, there is currently no point in documenting updates as very little is happening visually. 14.06.: Tipped the last bit of FinalPart out of the reservoir, added new water, 3ml/L FlashClean. Last update on the “living” plant, it will be harvested tomorrow at 3:30 pm.

stutch The harvest is done. The plant has yielded a total of 107.2g dry, which is okay but not yet at the level I want. It smells delicious, but I can't really pinpoint it. Pleasant high, is not too much and still packs a good punch. I tried a new drying method from Sharkmouse Farms: Phase 1 - 48 hours 22.2°C 55% RLF = 1.2kPa Phase 2 - 24 hours 23.3°C 52% RLF = 1.39 kPa Phase 3 - 48 hours 23.9°C 50.7% RLF = 1.5 kPa It was like 30°C outside at the time, so I couldn't really control the temperature very well. I used the VPD values as a guide and did this for 5 days, I'm happy with the result. I had to open the Grovebags again because the RH was a bit too high (~64-67% after 24 hours), but this may also have been due to the drop in temperature outside. In the meantime, everything is in the green zone and nothing is moldy, which is the main thing. I will dry like this again for the next grow.