Grow #4 - Blueberry

TugMasterson Ended hooking up the heater to keep temps above 70 degrees. I'm thinking this isn't technically the vegetation phase just yet, but there is no seedling stage option. Maybe they expect you to include this in the germination phase. Regardless, it is coming along nicely.

TugMasterson Looking good, not much longer until it will be ready for transplant.

TugMasterson The plant has been looking droopy all week long, not sure what is going on, I highly doubt it is an over/under watering situation. Figured it would be best to transplant to the self wicking base and hopefully here soon we will be back in business.

TugMasterson The plant bounced back just as I had hoped. I initiated my plan to try out some more intense LST with clips this run. So far so good. Added the sticky bug catchers because the dirt had bugs (Happy Frog). Will see how things go, may get some diatomaceous earth.

TugMasterson This is definitely a learning grow with the more intense LST and dealing with bugs. Will be interesting to see how it all plays out, just trying to keep the plant low and uniform.

TugMasterson It is coming along.... I prefer to top feed the nutes, but with the bug issue I have been putting the nutes in with the basin water. So far so good, I am seeing less bugs each time I open the tent to take a look. As for my efforts, I'm just trying to give all the internal shoots time to catch up in height by holding the bigger ones down. Coming up on week 7 is typically when I am thinking about flipping due to the plant's height hitting the point of no return mark. With this grow there is still a decent amount of space left. Should hopefully give all the small internal shoots a chance to grow and get stronger before flipping. My hope is this approach will support more, bigger buds.

TugMasterson We press forward, all the inner growth is catching up for the most part. The lighter green color makes me think nutes need to be increased. Still trying to nail down bottom feeding nutes. Debating about taking advantage of AC Infinity's black Friday deal to get a new light. I know in such a small tent what I have is sufficient (100 watts, part of the AC Infinity tent package), but I'd like to really push things.

TugMasterson I've really struggled with this grow. Add together the typical stressors of doing a winter grow (trying to maintain temps and humidity levels), with the bugs and testing out a more aggressive LST approach, and it has been a recipe for frustration. That said, I broke down and top fed nutes. I just don't believe it is possible to properly administer nutes via the self wicking bases. I did 4 basin feedings in a row and the plant didn't seem to improve much at all. Hopefully by top feeding I didn't just kick off a new bug war, but it had to be done. I want to get things dialed in before the flip to flower which is quickly approaching. I am also playing around with a cheap air stone to oxygenate the basin water. Some swear by it, but I'm not so sure.

TugMasterson Almost to the flipping point! I am so curious as to whether or not all this extra time in veg will pay off. Top feeding did re-ignite the bugs so I treated the next top feeding with mosquitos bits. That seemed to help, but it looks like I will need to reapply at least another time. To make things easier I ordered some liquid BT to avoid having to use the bits. Hopefully the bug's reign is close to ending. I did end up ordering a new light, but I am going to save it for the next grow. I went way overkill with the Ionframe Evo4, but my hope is to get a bigger tent someday.

TugMasterson Finally hit the flowering stage! Made the switch on 12/17/25. With it being so cold the heater has been running practically non-stop, especially now with 6 more hours without the light (12/12) helping maintain temps. I ordered some aluminum bubble insulation (have to be very conscious of water, so other types of insulation might lead to mold) to wrap the tent. Not sure how motivated I will be to wrapping the tent mid-grow, so this may have to be a level up for next winter. The tent isn't directly on the floor, it is perched on these slightly raised plastic tiles that allow for water to seep underneath, but I still want to add a layer of insulation. Excited to see where this grow goes, will all the extra time in Veg be worth it? Can I set a new personal yield record? Only time will tell, but I am fairly happy where it is at. The bugs seem to be lessoned after the use of BTI, but I really want to see if I can end this once and for all. To accomplish this I ordered some nematodes. Curious if it will be worth it.

TugMasterson Things are still looking good. I think the nematoads are actually working! Seeing much less gnats walking around in the soil.

TugMasterson The grow is going well overall, buds are starting to form and the nematodes appear to have done the trick stomping out the fungal gnats *knocks on wood*. I do have some concerns about how much this grow will yield. I'm getting flashbacks of my doomed 2nd grow. A 2x2 tent just feels so confining and doesn't allow for much light to hit the sides of the plant when you have so many branches in play. I'm very curious to see how things go not only with this grow, but in the next grow with the upgraded light. From what I have seen, 200 watts is the most you want to go in a 2x2, but right now I believe the light I'm using is only 100 watts. Hopefully doubling the light wattage will have some demonstrable impacts for the better.

TugMasterson Looking good, not much to add, just excited to be one week closer to chop time (still a ways to go though)

TugMasterson Getting nice and frosty. I ended up ordering a back up heater. The one I am using runs practically non-stop when the light is off to maintain temps, and it dawned on me that if it fails the plant would be doomed, so the price of a backup heater is more than covered if it saves a grow.

TugMasterson Things are looking good, but I'm a bit worried about this big storm that is going to hit major parts of the country (US) this weekend. If we lose power for an extended period of time the plant might not make it. I have a Buddy heater that I could use, but we may need to use it for our own needs if things get too cold. Back to the plant, I used some of the ties to hold up a few of the weaker limbs (by anchoring them to a strong neighbor limb). I could put in the scrog net, but I like to wait as long as possible or better yet not use at all. The reason for this is I lift up and rotate the plant a bit each day to prevent the roots from growing into the wicking lines. Daily rotation works great, but that can no longer be done (easily) once the net is in place.

TugMasterson I got the trellis net installed to help hold the branches up. My hope was that given all the extra grow time in veg the branches would be thicker/stronger but I guess not. Perhaps I need to consider adding something like Silica to boost branch strength? Looking forward to this grow being done, winter growing is such a headache.

TugMasterson Getting close to the end game on this plant. If I had to guess, I'd say two more weeks, but we will see.

TugMasterson Posting this a day earlier than usual because I am going to be out of town this weekend. Have a neighbor that is going to help out with watering the plant and making sure the humidifier gets refilled. I have the net low enough to hold up some of the smaller branches but now the higher branches are starting to fall over as the buds fatten. Might buy another scrog net (for future grows). Getting close to the end!

TugMasterson While the plant is obviously close to chop time, I honestly thought it would be closer. I don't see much amber yet when I take a look with a jewelers loupe (I believe it is called). We march on, hopefully just one more week.

TugMasterson I was really hoping this weekend would be chop time, but it just doesn't look ready yet. Thinking I give it one more week......

TugMasterson This weekend (tomorrow 3/7) is going to be chop time. I'm sure some would argue I should wait even more, but we will be at 80 days since starting the 12/12 cycle and I'm not too interested in chasing marginal gains. I feel like I have been more patient with this grow than any of my previous grows, so maybe honing in on the perfect time to harvest is just something you learn over time.

TugMasterson Ended up chopping the plant on 3/7/26. I had this brilliant plan to unhook the net and just flip the whole plant over, re-attach the net, and dry it that way, but it failed spectacularly. Ended up having to cut some of the clusters of branches apart to make it fit and allow for decent air flow. I checked things out today (3/13/26) not expecting it to be fully done, but it was almost too dry. Not sure how that happened, I have been trying to keep it at 60 degrees/60% humidity and if anything, it spent a decent chunk of time at higher humidity due to all the rain we have had causing the lung room to be quite damp. Ended up with only 3.5 ounces of dry flower. Not exactly the banger I was hoping for, but I don't have any regrets with the grow. I learned how to deal with fungal gnats (nematodes) and tested out some more extreme stress training. The conclusion I have come to is that my 100 watt light doesn't support a ton of branches with big ol' buds. To get bigger buds, I would have to top and restrict the number of branches like I did in the last grow. That said, I'm excited for the next grow because my plan is to play it back with Blueberry, but this time with a new light that can pump out the 200 watts I believe the tent can support (the light is over kill for the space, got it on sale). My hope is that there will be an obvious improvement which will show no matter what a grower does, if they aren't utilizing the most effective wattage for the space, they are essentially hamstringing themselves. Or maybe not and the grow will end up with similar results..... curious to find out. Going to wait a bit before starting the new grow until things warm up outside so I don't have to use the heater. 3-28-26 - I'd like to say I waited for two weeks of curing to pass before I partook, but then I'd be lying. I dipped into the half oz a week early and it smokes fine. Packs a decent punch. It is crazy how much stronger home grown is than Ohio's dispensary offerings. It is a bit dryer than I'd like but it is what it is. I no doubt had the filter fan running too strong which caused too much air flow. I was worried about mold with the humidity being so high. If i had to choose between moldy or slightly dry, I'll take dry all day. Even with it being dry it isn't nearly as dry as some of the stuff they have at the dispensary. I've got it packaged with some Integra Boost packets to try and boost humidity a bit. Exciting for the next grow: running it abck with Blueberry, only this time with the new light. Thinking I may start next week (early April).