NLa - How is this not?

Spike-GreenGrower How is this not: an Original Northern Lights auto? Officially, veg week 1 (according to my whacky standards) started yesterday. Something crucial happened this morning that could heavily influence this run, which is why I decided to push the diary update now and not in 5 days. It's better to note these things imediately, for just incase. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- June 14 After uploading and publishing this diary last week, her head had perked up and she showed us what she had been working on (besides getting taller): the first set of true leaves! PPFD is 400ish Watered 200ml + half dose of nutrients to prepare the medium for vegetation stage. 6.24ph going in 0.7g/L of Microbes because at a topsoil temperature of 28C, I don't suppose many are surviving, let alone being very productive 😅 ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- June 15 and 16 Tracking a steady growth of 1cm per day. She's getting leggy. Not on my watch! Lowering the lighting. 😈 PPFD to 450ish (June 16) ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- June 17 She is brighter colored than the past mornings. That neon green along the veins hints to me, and perhaps I am completely wrong here!, she found and is spreading Magnesium about. She found it a few days sooner than I would have liked, (which hints at her roots being bigger than I anticipated) but we'll see soon enough if any harm was done. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- June 18 Growth stopped at 5cm. It's not clear to me if she momentarily stopped growing due to: 1. the nutes 2. the lighting 3. an explosion of root growth 4. internal adjustments for the incoming veg stage or.. 5. a combination of multiple/all of the above Raising the lighting to get a PPFD of 425. I don't want to stunt her! Do not want her leggy either 😅 The leaves, upon touch, feel like velvet. Dunno if that's good or not but, documenting it here anyway. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- June 19 Main shaft/stem has started to grow! This is why the half-dose of nutrients was given earlier this week. I want her to grow from my resources and not her own aka. cannibalizing herself. That would stunt growth. She should be growing upwards and outwards, forming little tunnels and passing along nutrients, minerals and hormones. Not focussing energy inwards! She can do that at the flip 😋 ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- June 20 Woke up to find her neighbor, the OB3, with its pants down flashing its newly created sack-o-nuts. Sorry, not sorry but, HE was immediately removed from the tent due to "Disorderly Conduct" and "Indecent Exposure to a Minor". OB3 was brought before the court 1min later. Back to the NLa though, her Cotyledons halted at just under 5cm. With that, we have our answer to the question posed on the 18th. It was answer number 5 - a combination of 3 and 4. Based off of optics alone, I normally would have watered + fed her right now. The moisture meter is saying the topsoil is still moist enough (17%). Will not be watering her today. Nor tomorrow probably 😂 We'll see though. I'll scratch back some of the top layer when the meter reads 8% 😎 ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- She has the nutrients, the tent and the entire setup to herself now. I have decided not to pop any seeds until she is nearly finished and devote my upmost attention to her. Let's see what she can do in a 120x60x150 with two lights (at 35% intensity) shining down on her. If all of that isn't enough, I have yet another SF1000EVO (2024) to my disposal 😈😈😈 Erm, as long as my daughter's chili seeds don't hatch.. The intake and exhaust both run at two. The humidifier keeps everything at roughly 50%. Both ventilation fans run at speed one. You have enough headroom little lady. Show us what you can do. PPFD was 550ish after positioning both lights. 😅 Don't want to burn her! Raised the lights to 35cm and achieved a PPFD of 425ish again. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- For anyone wondering, The second charge against OB3 was later dropped in court by the ruling judge, Herr Spike. The decision refers to the age of the Defendant. HE is but a teenager himself, therefore also a minor. (👿👿 Freaking courts man, I tell ya! Can't win anything nowadays!! Bet the judge was bribed with money!! 👿👿) Thanks for stopping by 👊😎 (Hope to) See you with the next update! 😅

Spike-GreenGrower How is this not: an Original Northern Lights auto? (12 days old) Officially, veg week 2 would end this coming Friday. I'm pushing the diary forward a little because another heat wave could be hitting soon and I want every weather induced change to the plant documented. Light height and intensity had to be adjusted several times this week, to battle the heat. PPFD never changed though. Also, I had to reposition the humidifier several times as well. RH stayed 45ish though. This tank of a plant sure is chooglin along!! (Credence Clearwater Revival reference, for those that are wondering 😅) ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- June 21 Heatwave hit today and it looks like 34C weather the entire weekend and most of next week 😅 Other than nutrient dispersion issues, most likely from the heat and high vpd, I'm not really seeing anything else wrong with her. Wonder how she will respond to the upcoming days.. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- June 22 Nutrient dispersion issue has slowed. That could be a good as well as bad sign. The fact she exploded with growth in one day signals to me, she is doing more than fine. She wouldn't have exploded if she wasn't getting nutes where they need to be 👍 Heat/Light resistance is superb so far. She's not created any UV protecting trichomes as of yet but, the leaf edges are curling up slightly. That might be because I haven't repositioned the ventilation fan up 2cm higher, as an adjustment to her upwards growth. Could also be heat stress. Repositioned the fan 4cm higher and raised the lights 3cm higher to achieve a 435 ppfd reading. Scratched back a portion of soil directly around her base. The top 1cm was completely dry. Moisture meter is reading 6%. She could probably go one more day without, but getting nutrients and microbes into the medium again, before she starts complaining, is more important to me. Will increase CalMag from 2.7 to 3ml per 4L to help photosynthesis along. Watered her 2L of dechlorinated tapwater + feed (full doses) + PH Min to 6.2 Microbes stayed at 0.7g/L due to the soil temperature (30C). I doubt any are living, let alone being productive in these temps but I refuse to neglect her! I also readjust the moisture meter. It is no longer in the topsoil but placed through the side of the fabric pot. It is now measuring the root section's values. Her roots should be far enough down and wide enough that the measurements taken in this zone better represent what is going on in the medium. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- June 23 Main branches are coming in. I'm contemplating removing the uppermost leaves because they are blocking light from the underlying foliage coming in. Then again, she needs all the leaves she can get right now! Weather is still 34C/20RH outside. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- June 24 Heatwave dies off a little. It's only 30C outside today 😂 Sure made the tent manageable again. 28C / 45RH / 450 PPFD Lowered the lighting to 20cm distance and decreased intensity to 30%. Reading 450PPFD, only because the meter is directly in a hotspot. At this distance, the par map is all over the place with it's readings. The plant is comfy at 425. (Relieving her a little bit before the next dose of nutrients goes in) ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- June 25 Adjusted the lighting, again. The internode spacing of her topmost node is concerning me. She hit a hotspot under the lamps and was blasted with 600ppfd 😅😅😅 Understandable why she has trichomes now 😂 She doesn't look damaged in any way. On the contrary, I'd almost say she quite enjoyed it! I want the next batch of nutrients in the soil before I increase anything else. Yes, she might drink quicker if I bumped the ppfd from 450 to 500/525 but that would also increase the temps in the tent. If she is going to have to push through a hot summer, she's going to have to get stronger first. The moisture meter is currently reading 7.8%. She'll be thirsty tomorrow, latest Friday. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- In summary for this 'week', there are already noticeable differences with my previous grows. I'm pretty sure having used a citric based PH Down in the past, was the primary instigator to most of my grow issues. PH Min is not citric based, hence the moisture swings much less. And ph'ing the feed down to 6.1/6.2 has helped keep the ph under 6.5 up till now. That, and the nutrients. I'm sure those two have played major roles so far in her progress. She is a tank so far and I'm extremely curious what she has in store for us. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for stopping by 👊😎 (Hope to) See you with the next update! 😅

Spike-GreenGrower How is this not: an Original Northern Lights auto? (19 days old) What a f-ing champ!!! ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- June 26 Watered + fed 3L Last of the BioBizz Microbes used. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- June 28 I pondered long and hard if I wanted to top her. If so, it would need to be done no later than tomorrow, safely before she shows her sex and indicates the flowering stage will be soon. It's an autoflower, so she's probably extra sensitive to these things. In the end, I decided for a training method I have never attempted: defoliating the mainstem and keeping the future bud sites / nodes in direct light. The idea sounds easy. When the mainstem spits out another pair of leaves, and they start blocking vegetation under them, you cut them off. Simple as that, right? Not exactly. By removing these particular leaves, you are slowing the growth of the mainstem. This should let the lower foliage catchup in height, right in time for flowering stage to kick in. That's the theory of it and there are certain signs to watch out for, like, has she tossed a pre-flower yet? Mine has not... yet. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- June 29 As I was busy with the Vermicompost today, I took three handfuls of worm 💩, mixed it in to the NLa's topsoil and chased it with 1L of dechlorinated tapwater. Was there really an other reason besides, for the fun of it? Erm.. yes! Worm 💩 is full of nutrients and beneficial bacteria! Even though she is showing no signs of a deficiency, I want to make sure there is enough nutrients available to her at the end of this veg week. Usually around the 3rd to 4th veg week, autos take off.. again 😅 (We can discuss current weather vs growing capability later 😜) If or when she starts taking off, she might need those nutes I am adding today as the 4ml/L of Grow may not be sufficient to get her through that phase and into flower. Fingers crossed I don't burn her! ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- June 30 Okay, I didn't expect the defoliation route to payoff so quickly.. erm, two days later and she's nearly got an even canopy 😳😳😳 Was I too late with the worm 💩? We'll find out soon enough. I don't know how to handle this situation. I expected the canopy to even itself out after a week or so, not within three days!!! She still doesn't even have one pre flower yet but the canopy alone is ready for flower 😂 Gonna ride this out... ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- July 1 Well, she did it. Her canopy is an even height. She stands proud at 14cm / 45rh / 550ppfd and is praying most of the time. (Praying for someone to give her an ice bath!! It's 37.5C in the tent!) As a reward for pushing through the summer heat, I sprinkled 3g of Super Microbes BoostX into her topsoil. Did not chase this with water, this time, as the soil is dry but not ready for a watering. In hindsight, this might have been a bad idea as she just received the worm 💩. Secondly, because I just spotted a couple burnt leaf tips 😅 Is it windburn? Is it nutrient burn? I don't know. Repositioned the fan a little higher though. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- July 2 Today is the last day, for this week, of unbearable weather. It's supposed to get up to 40C in some places!! If she makes it through today... ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Sorry, but it's too hot to write and concentrate any longer. Thanks for stopping by 👊😎 (Hope to) See you with the next update! 😅

Spike-GreenGrower How is this not: an Original Northern Lights auto? (26 days old) We got pre-flowers!!!!!! ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- July 3 Found a couple tips of leaves that are having an issue. I figured it would be a nitrogen issue, but after close inspection, it turned out to be magnesium. I'll be leaving CalMag and switching over to Epsom Salt for the duration of this run. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- July 4 - 6 Checking multiple times daily for preflowers, or balls. Continuing the mainstem defoliation. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- July 7 Another measurement and application of a slight LST to pull the under canopy outwards just a little. Using the metal hooks as weights. She is starting to give of a smell. Pine-scent from the underside of the leaves. Upper-side smells like earth. It won't be long now. Either she is going to give of pre flowers or balls this week!! ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- July 9 Removed the metal hooks and tucked some more foliage. Upon closer inspection, I found the first two pre flowers!!! Will attempt to push to 600ppfd by the end of this week. End of next week 700. Goal is 750ppfd at the second week of flowering, if she'll take it. Will defoliate the bottom most foliage today, in preparation for the upcoming stretch. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for stopping by 👊😎 (Hope to) See you with the next update! 😅

Spike-GreenGrower How is this not: an Original Northern Lights auto? (32 days old) Well, the five weeks have passed. Does she resemble a Northern Lights? ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- July 15 She has pre flowers everywhere! The stretch is on as well. Going to have to remove Grow from her diet and replace it with Bloom starting next watering! Will mix two handfuls of worm 💩 into her soil as well, to prevent a N-deficiency until the Bloom kicks in. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Installed the 3rd SF1000EVO in the tent to help with the flowering stage. She is already that wide that she gets direct light from all three lamps 😳 Crazy I tell you! Lights are 20cm away from the plant. 750ppfd as of today, and slowly increasing as she gets taller. May have to raise the lights soon 😅 ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for stopping by! (Hope to) see you with the next update! 👊😎

Spike-GreenGrower How is this not: an Original Northern Lights auto? (38 days old) Well, six weeks have passed. Does she resemble a typical Northern Lights? ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- July 21 The stretch is on! She is growing about 4cm per day and smells very much like the typical 1990's dutch coffeeshop 😊😍 I may have to start farting in the grow room to hide her smell from the neighbors 😂 The height of the lights was raised to accommodate the stretch, and increased the intensity to 75% to achieve a ppfd of 700. That was 4 days ago! The uppermost part of the canopy is scratching 900ppfd, without any signs of tips burning. 😲😲😲 Innercanopy, she is filled up with leaves. It's a daily struggle not to remove any foliage, out of fear that I might stunt her stretch. Adjusted the two clip fans in the tent to attempt a useful airflow. We don't want mold developing in there!! She was drinking 4L every 2-3 days. Today, I attempted a batch of 7L of feed. She drank it all, with just 200ml of runoff 😨 Will see when she is thirsty again, and will adjust the amount of water/feed accordingly. I prefer to see dry-back more often than not though, her roots shouldn't be growing very much more after another week or two. Fingers crossed, she makes it through the stretch to the next defoliation (or perhaps even lollipop). That should occur next week Wednesday or Thursday. 🙏🙏🙏 ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for stopping by! (Hope to) see you with the next update! 👊😎

Spike-GreenGrower How is this not: an Original Northern Lights auto? (45 days old) Well, seven weeks have passed. Does she resemble a typical Northern Lights? ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- July 24 Just two days after the previous diary entry and she was sad as hell. She wouldn't pickup her leaves, and her uptake slowed. A quick look at the environmental measurements showed the RH hit 77% the day before and was currently holding steady at 70%. It was time to defoliate. Even though I did not want to bother her during the stretch, I figured, it'd be better to disturb her now, than wait another week. Unfortunately I was stoned at the time and may (or may not) have defoliated a bit too much 😅 RH is back to a consistent 50-55% though and she started praying again 30 minutes after removing the troublesome foliage!! That's a win in my book! ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- July 28 The stretch has come to an end. She grew from 27 to 65cm and doubled her height! Unimaginable that she stretched this hard, under such strong lighting! Her tallest bud sites are bathing in 1300 ppfd, while the rest of the canopy is basking in 1k. It's about that time that the light intensity should be increased (slowly) but I just don't see that happening in this tent. There is no more room to raise the lights 😅 I ordered a new tent today 120x60x180cm, because Spider Farmer hasn't yet acknowledged my awesomeness (or lack of!) with a sponsorship 😂 Shame too! My next investment was going to be a new grow light for this tent (SE4500). Will have to postpone that until next month, or the month after. Anyway.. she is drinking 2L per day. Epsom Salt has been increased to 1g/L, to combat a couple red leaf stems. This week is the last week she will be receiving Power Roots. The week after is the last week for Pure Zym. Anyone who has used Plagron nutrients knows what that signals... Green Sensation is about to be introduced into the feeding schedule 😎 ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ps. I don't know why the lights look like they are hung crooked. They are completely level! I tested this by measuring how long the smell of my farts remain in the tent 😘 Thank you for stopping by! (Hope to) see you with the next update! 👊😎

Spike-GreenGrower How is this not: an Original Northern Lights auto? (52 days old) Well, eight weeks have passed. Does she resemble a typical Northern Lights? The 180cm tall tent arrived! ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Aug 3 It was the last week of Power Roots, so I took it upon myself to only give half doses. Why? To start half-doses of Green Sensation! I don't see any abnormal effects on her, so after today, she'll receive 1ml/L of GS with every feed. This upcoming week is the last week of Power Zym, which will not be reduced to half-doses. The bud sites are stacking well, in my opinion. I hope the node spacing isn't too tight and won't cause issues in a couple weeks when the buds start to thicken. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Removed one of the three lights, to accommodate the PG as she is being flipped in the 60x60. The two remaining lights are at 30cm distance from the plant, set to 100% intensity. The central cola is basking in 1000ppfd, whilst the tallest colas are bathing in 1200. Thank you for stopping by! (Hope to) see you with the next update! 👊😎

Spike-GreenGrower How is this not: an Original Northern Lights auto? (59 days old) Well, nine weeks have passed. Does she resemble a typical Northern Lights? ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Aug 10 It was the last week of Pure Zym. Today was the first watering without. Green Sensation and Power buds should be doing most of the work now, along with Bloom. If I compare the pictures with last week's, I only see a small difference in the colas. Perhaps I am expecting too much? And perhaps, it's due to my PH meter having been off by +0.7% 👿 Recalibrated it yesterday so today's watering+feed measured 6.2ph with a ppm of 2048, without having to use PH Min! She looks very cramped 😅 Can't imagine it's good for her. Hands off anyway! These next 5 weeks are going to be interesting! ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for stopping by! (Hope to) see you with the next update! 👊😎

Spike-GreenGrower How is this not: an Original Northern Lights auto? (66 days old) Well, ten weeks have passed. Does she resemble a typical Northern Lights now? 😅 She is widening out A LOT!! Without any LST applied. The first trichomes are appearing on the upper most colas as well! She is doing this all on her own! ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Aug 16 This has to be one of my more boring diaries by this point. 😅 That's a good thing though! Hands off, letting her do her thing. Her colas are still stacking and have started to thicken, just a little 😍 Her smell, is of pepper and 'spice'. Dank pepper and spice. I don't know any other way to describe it 😅😬 Lowered the light intensity from 100 to 85% to combat the heat wave outside, that is affecting the tent too. Setup the humidifier to push 55% humidity and will slowly increase light intensity by 5% increments, as long as the weather allows. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- She is showing no more signs of creepy crawlies, so perhaps the introduction of the Ladybug larvae had effect? Thank you for stopping by! (Hope to) see you with the next update! 👊😎

Spike-GreenGrower How is this not: an Original Northern Lights auto? (72 days old) Well, eleven weeks have passed. Does she resemble a typical Northern Lights now? 😅 ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Aug 22 Her smell, is of pepper and 'spice'. Dank pepper and spice. I don't know any other way to describe it 😅😬 ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for stopping by! (Hope to) see you with the next update! 👊😎