First DWC grow (third try)

Highsenberg82 01/06/2026 Unfortunately, the last attempt failed again and I pressed the reset button......again, but not totally. I finally found the reason why i have algae issues followed by root rot: the fertilizer. I was able to keep the clones alive and I've cleaned and disinfected everything again. Switched to athena fertilizer with cleanse to keep the system clean. Now it works Grape Balls of fire is way much bigger then the other two. Was hard work keeping them alive before the new fertilizer arrived. 01/12/2026 Good progress now. Only the upper part of the roots from the grape balls are not looking good due to the problems before.

Highsenberg82 01/15/2026 The plants are now growing nicely and the system remains clean. The pH and EC values ​​remain stable and change as desired over the course of a week. 01/17/2026 If I'm not mistaken, the plants are growing really fast now. The root system looks healthy and has established itself well (without root booster). I'm just wondering if the slightly yellow tips on the leaves of the Grape Ball plant are due to too much or too little fertilizer. It's only noticeable on this plant.

Highsenberg82 01/20/2026 Growing bigger and bigger. The Grape Balls has already a thick trunk. Looks good so far. I trimmed the plants a bit, especially the Grape Balls. And now I'm realizing what the water level is all about once the root system gets bigger. The plants are drinking quite a lot, and I have to mix up and top up the nutrient solution several times during the week. I wouldn't have thought it would be this much already. What will it be like when they're flowering? If experienced growers have any tips, tricks and/or advice: I am always grateful for constructive criticism. 01/25/2026 Two liters of nutrient solution now disappear from the tank daily. Will send them into flowering period tomorrow. I think the grape balls will be too big otherwise. I defoliated a little more and switched the timer to 12/12.

Highsenberg82 01/26/2026 Switched light to 12/12 to start the flowering. Now waiting for the stretch. Looks good for now for the first try with dwc. A little bit trouble with fungus gnats. Will treat that with H2O2.

Highsenberg82 02/02/2026 After some heavy defoliation, the leaves droop slightly due to stress, but they recover quickly. Otherwise, I'm waiting for flowering. So far, no white hairs are visible.

Highsenberg82 Finally, the first signs of flower formation are visible. It was probably a bit stressful due to all the defoliation. Now we'll just have to wait and see what happens. The first fertilizer mix with some added PK is in the grow box. Sour Fraise shows a purple coloration from the beginning. Looks nice

Highsenberg82 Starting week 4. A little more PK added. I guess looks good so far. Some more defoliation and for now it looks like everything is getting enough light. 02/19/2026 A pleasant, sweet scent begins to spread more intensely throughout the tent. Very fruity and sweet. Some leaf tips looked like they'd been over-fertilized. I lowered the EC value in the fertilizer mix to 1.5. The pH value is stable between 5.8 and 6.0.

Highsenberg82 Start of flowering week 5: It still looks good, I especially like the Sour Fraise. The smell already reminds me of Hitschler's strawberry strings. Only Cherry Gar-see-ya is a bitchy diva and a little annoying. The fertilizer mix (fresh mix yesterday) was adjusted with some AN Hammerhead for a bit more K (NPK 0-4-12), and less Athena PK than planned. The EC value is definitely right and only Cherry Gar-see-ya has bad leaf tips. 02/25/2026 They're getting more and more hungry. From Sunday until today 9L fertilizer mix just dissappeared. Made another one today with a little more Hammerhead (14ml Hammerhead on 19L water) and less Athena PK (12ml instead of 26ml). EC at 1.6 for now. More potassium for that stage of flowering. Let's see how it works. So far it seems they like it. 02/28/2026 Visible progress during the week. Grape balls is getting frosty

Highsenberg82 Start of flowering week 6 The ladies still look healthy. Leaves in a nice 'high five' position for perfect light. And the problem with the fungus gnats has been resolved after the last treatment with hydrogen peroxide. The Grape balls is getting really frosty already. Nice to see 03/05/2026 EC and pH are rising day by day. So I think I should reduce the Hammerhead dose again and give more of the regular Athena PK with the 0-5-6 formula. Yesterday I lowered the pH again using TA pH minus and topped up with 5 liters of fertilizer mix with reduced EC. (6 liters had already disappeared; the plants probably absorbed more water than nutrients). Today I'll prepare a completely new mixture.

Highsenberg82 Still waiting for the buds getting bigger. Seems like the ladys will need 10 weeks of flowering, so I will switch to Athena Fade in the middle of week 8. Sour Fraise looks so nice already. This will be nice fruity purple stuff 😋

Highsenberg82 Seems that not much happened during the last week. Only the comeback of the damn fungus gnats..H2O2 treatment....again. Switched to Athena Fade for the last two week phase. Let's see if the buds swell a bit more. I'm not expecting much in terms of quantity from this grow, unfortunately. But I'm expecting quality. The smell in the tent (especially from Sour Fraise) is simply divine. And there's way much more frost then last time. I'm really excited how the Sour Fraise will taste after drying and curing. 03/22/2026 The leaves are getting darker and the smell is becoming more intense. Unfortunately, they're all just small nuggets. I'll give the plants about 10 more days before harvesting.

Highsenberg82 (Maybe) final week. Trichomes ckeck looks like there's still some time. Nice color so far. Cherry Gar-see-ya is pretty dark now. For the last 4 days just Flawless Finish and Cleanse. 03/25/2026 It looks like the grape balls are taking the longest of all of them. I should probably remove some leaves so the buds lower down get a bit more light. Also new white stamps on sour fraise buds. Another week until hanging them? 03/27/2026 Sour Fraise and Cherry Gar-see-ya will go to drying the next 24h. Grape Balls of Fire e needs another week.

Highsenberg82 Finally i see calyx swelling progress at the Grape Balls of fire Buds. Seems it was the right decision to give her more time. I guess 7 up to 10 days and she will be ready. Little Cherry Gar-see-ya looks like she will be ready the next 2 to 3 days. The Test bud of Sour Fraise is drying slowly since 4 days (15°C 51% RH). Still not dry but no signs of mold. The flower has shrunk less than I thought. I think they will become compact and dense during the curing process. 03/31/2026 Cherry Gar-see-ya has turned very dark. Pretty look 04/01/2026 Grape Balls of Fire last lady standing. Now just with osmosis water, Flawless finish and Cleanse for the final flush. The close-up pics say about 5 days, when I'm reading it the right way i hope.

Highsenberg82 03/28/2026 Sour Fraise is drying now. Temperature fits, humidity not. A little too dry 48% RH). Hope upcoming rain will raise humidity soon. 04/02/2026 Added the AC infinity Cloudforge T3 humidifier to the drying tent to keep RH around 60% (60/60 Method). So far so good. Still too humid for curing. Drying nice and slow.

Highsenberg82 🍒 Cherry Gar-see-ya drying together with Sour Fraise. I'm impressed how Athena Fade worked out. I guess that helped to get that dark purple coloration.

Highsenberg82 The last of 3 drying. What a terpy monster! Next round (with some upgrades) starting soon.