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OpenGrowBox MicroGrowing

5d ago

VEG

T1 Beast Light Emitting Diodes/65W

Farming Monkey

FLO

T1 Beast Light Emitting Diodes/65W

Farming Monkey

Tent

Mini (35x48x52cm)

DarkBox

Fan

Pure Fan Inline

Pure Factory

Fan

5V Pc Fan

noname

Contr

OpenGrow-Box

Home Assistant

Sustrato Universa Soil

Compo Sana

Indoor

Room Type

LST

weeks 3-5

Defoliation

weeks 4, 6

5 liters

Pot Size

0.06 liters

Watering

Start at 6 Week

1/5

gamberro Welcome to my microgrowing project! This is actually my second grow attempt. My first one was outdoors, but sadly the plant didn’t survive while I was away on vacation. This time, I’m taking things indoors with a completely different approach: ultra-limited space, maximum automation, and plenty of enthusiasm. Setup: - Grow space: 35x48x52 cm (yep, almost impossible – it’s originally a clone tent). - Pot: 4-gallon fabric pot cut down to around 5 liters, bonsai-style. The idea is to keep the plant lower and avoid it getting too close to the light, since vertical space is super limited. - Automation: everything is controlled via Home Assistant + OpenGrowBox project . Humidity, climate, and ventilation are all automated as much as possible. Strain: - Gorilla Z Auto (FastBuds) – a strong and popular autoflower. It was a gift from my grow. Germination: I started on Day 1 with the classic paper towel method. Within a couple of days, the seed cracked, showing a healthy white taproot. On Day 3, 48 hours from the germination date, I prepared the soil by moistening it with 100 ml of water, then transplanted the seed into its final pot. To maintain high humidity, I used a cut plastic bottle as a mini greenhouse. Progress: - Day 1: seed placed in paper towel. - Day 3: taproot emerging strong, transplanted into soil after moistening with 100 ml. - Day 4: first sprout breaking through the surface. Grower’s Notes: - The space is ridiculously small, but it's the space that I have, which makes this a fun challenge. - I’m very curious to see how FastBuds genetics will perform in such a restricted setup. It will need a lot of LST. - This will basically be an experiment in extreme microgrowing, trying to make the most out of minimal resources.

2 likes

1 comment

Used method

Paper Towel

Germination Method

1/7

6 cm

Height

16 hrs

Light Schedule

26 °C

Day Air Temp

6.6

No Smell

Smell

65 %

Air Humidity

26 °C

Solution Temp

22 °C

Night Air Temp

5 liters

Pot Size

0.01 liters

Watering Volume

Nutrients 1

Acti-Vera

1 mll

gamberro This week marked the very beginning of the journey. On September 11th, the seedling received its very first watering: 50 ml with 0.1 ml of Acti·Vera by BioBizz, to encourage healthy root development and reduce early stress. A few days later, on Sunday the 14th, I repeated the same dose with another 50 ml. Everything is being monitored through OpenGrowBox, and so far I’m really happy with the automation – it keeps the main parameters under control and makes things much easier. When it comes to watering, I still feel a bit uncertain: I’m giving small amounts because I don’t want to overdo it, but the substrate stays evenly moist, which tells me the plant is getting what it needs. The pictures show the seedling evolving day by day: cotyledons opened strong, and within a couple of days the first set of true leaves appeared. The stem stretched a little, which is common in the early stage, but overall she looks healthy, with a nice green color and no signs of stress. A promising start – the plant is settling well and ready to take off. Day by Day – Week 1 Day 1 (Sep 11 – evening) First watering after germination: 50 ml with 0.1 ml Acti·Vera (BioBizz). Cotyledons recently opened. Day 2 The seedling is standing up straight, cotyledons are fully extended. Still small but looking healthy. Day 3–4 The very first pair of true leaves starts to emerge. Stem elongates a bit as she reaches for the light. Day 5 (Sep 14 – morning) Second watering: 50 ml with 0.1 ml Acti·Vera (BioBizz). Leaves show a nice green color, no signs of stress. Day 6 True leaves grow larger, stem looks a little stretched but strong. Substrate stays evenly moist. Day 7 The seedling is settling nicely, developing the second set of true leaves. Healthy start to the journey!

2 likes

comments

1/7

8 cm

Height

16 hrs

Light Schedule

25 °C

Day Air Temp

6.6

No Smell

Smell

65 %

Air Humidity

25 °C

Solution Temp

20 °C

Night Air Temp

5 liters

Pot Size

0.01 liters

Watering Volume

Nutrients 2

Acti-Vera

1 mll

Root-Juice

2 mll

gamberro The seedling looks healthy this week, with a nice green color and good symmetry. The stem is still thin but standing strong, which is normal at this stage. The third set of true leaves is coming in and growth is progressing steadily. The soil looks well-aerated with good drainage, no signs of overwatering. Environment seems stable thanks to the fan and climate control. Overall, she’s reacting well to the root stimulators and starting to build momentum for faster growth in the upcoming week. Watering & Nutrients - Day 8: 150ml of water with Acti-Vera (0.12ml) and Root-Juice (0.22ml). - Day 10: 150ml with the same mix of Acti-Vera + Root-Juice. - Day 14: 100ml of plain water.

3 likes

comments

Grow Questions

gamberrostarted grow question 1mo ago

I’m wondering if this is the right moment to do a top cut (apical pruning). Should I wait a bit longer, or is it fine to do it now? Also, is it okay to top a FastBuds autoflower, or is it too risky? I’m dealing with some space limitations, only 52cm of vertical space. Thanks

Solved

Techniques. Topping

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Mooncatanswered grow question 1mo ago

Just go with some LST

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Complain

Selected By The Grower

1/10

9 cm

Height

16 hrs

Light Schedule

25 °C

Day Air Temp

6.6

No Smell

Smell

65 %

Air Humidity

23 °C

Solution Temp

19 °C

Night Air Temp

5 liters

Pot Size

0.06 liters

Watering Volume

Nutrients 5

Acti-Vera

1 mll

Root-Juice

2 mll

Bio-Grow

2 mll

gamberro This week the girl kept developing nicely — she’s looking stronger and bushier every day. The leaves are a healthy green and she seems to be enjoying the environment so far. On Sunday night I noticed the first signs of pre-flowering: a few little white hairs started showing, which means she’s already switching gears into the next stage. Exciting moment! You can see them clearly in the close-up shots. On Monday I started some light LST (low stress training). The main reason is because of my limited grow space — she’s showing a very bushy structure, and I could already see that light wasn’t reaching the lower leaves properly. By bending her down I’m hoping to improve light penetration and open up the canopy. So far she has reacted well, no stress signs. Watering has been consistent, around 200 ml each time, with nutrients added: - Sep 25 (Day 17, Week 3): Acti-Vera (0.1 ml), Bio-Grow (0.2 ml), Root-Juice (0.4 ml) in 200 ml water. - Sep 29 (Day 22, Week 4): Top-Max (0.2 ml), Bio-Grow (0.4 ml), Bio-Bloom (0.2 ml) in 200 ml water. So far she’s reacting really well to the feeding schedule — no signs of burn or deficiencies. Another thing that makes this grow so smooth is the OpenGrowBox project. Everything is super automated: it keeps perfect control of temperature, humidity and VPD, turning on and off the fans, extractors and humidifier exactly when needed. Honestly, I barely have to keep an eye on her — OpenGrowBox does the job really well and I’m really happy with how it works. The structure is coming along nicely, and thanks to the LST I’m confident she will spread out with a better canopy for the upcoming weeks.

1 like

comments

Used techniques

LST

Technique

Grow Questions

gamberrostarted grow question 1mo ago

First time trying LST. I have very limited space and my plant is getting bushy, so I used garden wire + clips to bend her down (see pics). Not sure if I did it right. Any tips or corrections are welcome!

Solved

Techniques. LST

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00110001001001111Oanswered grow question 1mo ago

You want an anchor at base of plant tied to opposite side -- this prevents the plant from pulling/damaging its roots. It may look fine today, but resistance over time can pull it through the substrate. Training is simply about manipulating apical dominance. Tallest growth tip on more primary branch will take the most resources and grow the fastest. LST is attempting to spread that strongest growth out across more than 1 branch. The more level you make it, the more even the growth distribution will be... Growth may not be perfectly even, initially, but you can further manipulate it by temporary tying the taller branches lower than the shorter ones and it will even out quickly. Release when even. to get a more horizontal bend, try bending in 2-3 spots close together... don't need to damage vascular tissue, so don't do this to the point of feeling it get squishy or anything like that... just creating multiple points in stem that help it create a near-90-degree bend. Now is the time to tie it down with the anchor in place and the bend if mostly formed on its own. The tie-down can pull it down the last little bit to level it out. you usually get too many branches with LST. So, i'd bend it 'on a growth axis' so 1 is pointing up and symmetrical growth is pointing down.. .prune off branches facing down. You can always bend down between growth axes and now you have 2 branches at a 45-degree angle that can both easily grow upward, but like i said, usually don't nee dso many branches emenating from a small stretch of trunk. Also, have a plan. you want 2.5-3 colas per sq ft... divide that by number of plants.. and you know how many colas you want per plant... don't waste time overcrowding beyond that. once you have the right number of vertical or future vertical branches, even it out and let it go. Easy to apply to any size area and any number of plants... just be systematic and it'll save you time, money and effort. Cutting off a bunch of growth is just wasting your money and time. find a path that reaches end goal of canopy with least amount of waste.

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Selected By The Grower

1/8

10 cm

Height

16 hrs

Light Schedule

26 °C

Day Air Temp

6.5

Weak

Smell

55 %

Air Humidity

23 °C

Solution Temp

19 °C

Night Air Temp

5 liters

Pot Size

0.1 liters

Watering Volume

20 cm

Lamp Distance

Nutrients 3

Acti-Vera

1 mll

Bio-Grow

2 mll

Bio-Bloom

1 mll

gamberro This week I got a really helpful comment from another grower — he mentioned that my plant looked too small for her age and suggested I check the light distance. As a complete newbie, I realized I hadn’t adjusted the light height at all during the whole grow. It was way too high from the start. Once I lowered it (since my light isn’t super powerful anyway), the difference was instant! The plant started showing much better growth, the leaves look healthier and perkier, and overall she’s looking way happier. Small Defoliation & LST Update I also did a small defoliation, removing a few big fan leaves that were blocking light to the lower branches. Now the lower sites are getting much more light, and the LST is helping the plant open up beautifully — lots of healthy new growth points are forming . Watering & Nutrients Two watering sessions this week with BioBizz nutrients: - Sep 30: 500 ml total - Acti-Vera: 0.5 ml - Bio-Bloom: 0.5 ml - Bio-Grow: 1 ml - Oct 4: 200 ml small maintenance watering - Acti-Vera: 0.2 ml - Bio-Bloom: 0.2 ml - Bio-Grow: 0.4 ml Everything was well received — no signs of overwatering or nutrient stress. General Notes: - Adjusted light height → huge improvement - Slight defoliation to expose lower branches - Continued LST training - Two feedings with BioBizz nutrients - Healthy color and structure - Bud sites developing nicely She’s looking much happier now! Excited to see how she keeps responding in the coming days.

4 likes

comments

Used techniques

LST

Technique

Defoliation

Technique

Grow Questions

gamberrostarted grow question 16d ago

Yellowing lower leaves in early flower

Solved

Leaves. Color - Yellow

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AsNoriuanswered grow question 16d ago

Thats lockout from overfeeding. This plant is small, pot big, you overloaded food.

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Complain

Selected By The Grower

1/14

12 cm

Height

16 hrs

Light Schedule

26 °C

Day Air Temp

6.5

Weak

Smell

55 %

Air Humidity

23 °C

Solution Temp

20 °C

Night Air Temp

5 liters

Pot Size

0.1 liters

Watering Volume

20 cm

Lamp Distance

Nutrients 4

Acti-Vera

1 mll

Bio-Grow

1 mll

Bio-Bloom

2 mll

gamberro Learning the hard way – Overfeeding and recovery mode This week started off looking good, but things took a turn after my mid-week feeding. On October 8th, I gave her a mix of Bio-Grow (0.5 ml), Bio-Bloom (1 ml) and Top-Max (1 ml) per 500 ml of water, thinking she could handle it — but that’s when the problems began. A few days later, I noticed the lower leaves turning yellow and the overall color getting darker — clear signs of overfeeding / nutrient burn. Once again, thanks to the awesome GrowDiaries community, I realized I’d gone too far with the nutrients. Classic rookie mistake! To correct it, on October 12th I watered only with plain water + Acti-Vera (0.2 ml x 200 ml) to help flush and let her recover. For the rest of the week, I’ll continue watering lightly with the same mix, to give the roots time to breathe and clean themselves out. Despite the stress, she’s still doing okay — buds are forming nicely, and new growth looks healthy and green. The yellowing on the lower leaves is still visible, but she’s pushing through. No pruning or major training this week, just maintaining the LST to keep her open and get even light exposure. Lesson learned: less is more when it comes to feeding! Waterings / Feedings - Oct 8: Bio-Grow 0.5 ml/L, Bio-Bloom 1 ml/L, Top-Max 1 ml/L – 500 ml total - Oct 12: Acti-Vera 0.2 ml/L – 200 ml total (light watering for recovery)

3 likes

comments

Used techniques

LST

Technique

1/8

12 cm

Height

16 hrs

Light Schedule

24 °C

Day Air Temp

6.5

Weak

Smell

55 %

Air Humidity

23 °C

Solution Temp

19 °C

Night Air Temp

5 liters

Pot Size

0.06 liters

Watering Volume

20 cm

Lamp Distance

Nutrients 2

Acti-Vera

1 mll

Alg-A-Mic

0.264 mll

gamberro This week was all about recovery. After last week’s mistakes, I’ve accepted that this run will stay small—but for a first grow I’m fine with that. The new goal is simple: stabilize her and see if we can still fatten the buds. Lower leaves kept yellowing while older fan tips showed a bit of burn—classic after-effects of overfeeding. The good news: new growth looks green, pistils are fresh, and the little tops are stacking. I kept the LST in place to open the center and avoided any extra stress (no pruning, just removing a couple of fully yellow leaves). Feeding-wise I parked the heavy stuff. I switched to light, tonic-style watering only: tiny volumes and gentle additives to help the roots breathe and recover. Environment stayed steady with good airflow and no overwatering. Lesson re-learned: less is more with nutrients—especially on a small auto. Waterings / Feedings - Oct 16: 200 ml water + Acti-Vera 0.2 ml + Alg-A-Mic 0.2 ml (light, anti-stress mix) - Oct 19: 200 ml water + Acti-Vera 0.2 ml + Alg-A-Mic 0.2 ml (continued recovery) Next steps: keep the gentle schedule, watch pot weight, and if she keeps greening up, consider a very mild bloom feed later—only after clear signs of recovery.

2 likes

comments

Used techniques

Defoliation

Technique

Grow Questions

gamberrostarted grow question 3d ago

My small plant (about 15cm) suddenly got droopy overnight. It’s in a 5L pot, last watering was 4 days ago (200ml). Humidity around 55%, LED 65W giving 61k lux. Top soil feels dry but still moist at the bottom (22% on meter). Did I overwater it or is something else wrong?

Solved

Leaves. Curl down

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Green_clawsanswered grow question 3d ago

Just had a quick look threw your diary. Your doing OK for your 1st grow and glad to see your carrying on till harvest learning along the way 👍. The plant hasn't rooted into that massive pot so please don't water the entire pot you will on create problem with it taking to long to dry back root rot etc.. So just do rings around the base of the plants, it's not ideal but you have to work with what you have got.. Keep on the Calmag and bloom feed just keep it at a small amount because there's not much of a plant so feed in propertion to that.. Good luck

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