Northern Lights & Critical

therealgrowmie Aaaaaaand we’re off, Growmies! 🚀 Four out of five seeds have sprouted, and they’re looking lively. Once they reach a decent size, I’ll transplant them into slightly bigger pots, moving from 0.4L to 1L. I’ll let all four ride until the final transplant and then pick the best-looking candidates for the grand finale. Your Growmie is selecting like a professional now... jokes on me 😂 I’m genuinely excited for my first grow with photoperiods. There’s just so much more you can do with photos compared to autos, and I’m loving the options already. Here are the stats: 💧 Watering: Every third day 🌡️ Temp: 24–26°C 💦 Humidity: 75% RH (ideal for sprouting) 📈 VPD: ~0.75 kPa 💡 Light: ~300 PPFD

therealgrowmie The small plants are coming along nicely with solid, compact growth. I’ve just transplanted them from 0.4L to 1L pots and gave them a mild mix of fertiliser. They’ve settled in well with no real transplant shock, and the structure looks tight with short internodes; exactly what we want at this stage. A couple of leaves are slightly droopy and there’s a bit of yellowing on some lower leaves, which isn’t surprising after the pot-up and as nutrient demand starts to increase. New growth at the tops is healthy and green, so the roots are clearly starting to explore the fresh medium. The canopy is very even across all plants, which should make topping and future training nice and straightforward. Everything’s going swimmingly so far, topping is up next! 🌱✂️ Stats so far: 💧 Watering: Every third day 🌡️ Temp: 24–26°C 💦 Humidity: 75% RH (ideal for early growth) 📈 VPD: ~0.75 kPa 💡 Light: ~400 PPFD

therealgrowmie Back again, Growmies — with a certain someone who absolutely soaked the soil of his freshly transplanted plants, causing a minor nutrient lockout. 😅 Anyway, I got the airflow going, let the pots dry out properly, and now we’re back on track. Plants are responding well again. Topping is up next, followed by the final transplant into 11L pots. 🌱✂️ Stats so far: 💧 Watering: Every third day 🌡️ Temp: 24–26°C 💦 Humidity: 75% RH 📈 VPD: ~0.75 kPa 💡 Light: ~400 PPFD

therealgrowmie We got to the topping just 4 days ago, and the plants took it quite well. There’s some minor drooping going on right now, but the new tops are already coming along nicely. 🌱✂️ I slightly overwatered them just now, so I’ll let the pots dry out and give them at least 4 days before the next watering. Next stop: transplant number two. 💪 Lesson learned: after topping, less is more. Give them air, time, and a bit of dryness - they bounce back faster than you think. 😉 Stats so far: 💧 Watering: Every third day 🌡️ Temp: 24–26°C 💦 Humidity: 75% RH (ideal for early growth) 📈 VPD: ~0.75 kPa 💡 Light: ~400 PPFD

therealgrowmie Not every part of the New Year starts with a bang 😅 Before your Growmie went on a short trip, he massively overwatered his plants. I’m back now and fixing the mess I created. The strategy: After flooding the pots a few days ago, the roots were basically starved of oxygen. To make things worse, I then let them dry out a bit too much - classic overcorrection. 🤦‍♂️ Now it’s about finding balance: letting the soil dry properly, restoring oxygen to the root zone, and encouraging fresh growth. With some patience, they should bounce back within a week or so. 🌱💨 The Critical plant is also showing signs of nitrogen deficiency, which I’ll keep an eye on and address carefully once the root zone is happy again. For now, I’m not giving up on them. I’ll gladly trade a one-week setback over a three-week one any day. Feel free to follow along while I try to fix my own gruesome mistake 😂 Growmie lesson: Overwatering isn’t about how much water you use - it’s about how often. And overcorrecting can be just as stressful. Roots need air as much as they need water. Let them breathe, and they’ll recover faster than you think. 😉 Stats so far: 💧 Watering: Trust the process 🌡️ Temp: 24–26°C 💦 Humidity: 75% RH (ideal for early growth) 📈 VPD: ~0.75 kPa 💡 Light: ~400 PPFD

therealgrowmie Things are moving in the right direction again. After a rough patch, the plants have stabilised and are now showing only minor deficiencies. I decided to prune the most dysfunctional growth to focus energy on healthier, actively growing tissue and improve overall photosynthesis. That seems to have helped, as new growth is coming in stronger and recovery is underway, though they’re not fully there yet. We’re back on track for now and have also transplanted into 3L pots. The next days will be about monitoring and letting them settle in. Growmie lesson: Sometimes correcting a problem means acting decisively, but recovery still takes time. Removing damaged leaves can help, as long as it’s done carefully and not rushed. Stats so far: 💧 Watering: Every third day 🌡️ Temp: 24–26°C 💦 Humidity: 65% RH 📈 VPD: ~1.18 kPa 💡 Light: ~400 PPFD

therealgrowmie We’re very much back with three relatively healthy plants, even though they’re a bit stunted. I clipped a few leaves here and there, applied some LST (because I just can’t help myself 😅 probably not really necessary), and have now topped them for a second time. At this point it’s all about keeping conditions stable and letting them grow out. Onwards and upwards, keep on growing. 🌱 Stats so far: 💧 Watering: Every third day 🌡️ Temp: 26–28°C 💦 Humidity: 70% RH 📈 VPD: ~1.13 kPa 💡 Light: ~600 PPFD

therealgrowmie Alrighty, we’re closing in on the final transplant (moving from 3L to 11L) which should really encourage lateral growth. The two Northern Lights plants are very compact, so I’m already working on opening up the canopy early to prepare for a proper SCROG. If we transplant within the next 7 days, we’re likely looking at flipping to bloom in about three weeks. As a newbie to photoperiods (I’ve only run autos before), the growth pace feels very different; slower and more deliberate. But I actually enjoy how much more control you have. You can really shape them the way you want. Next step: stretch that canopy wide and let the net do its magic. The screen is coming soon; let’s weave a green carpet. Stats so far: 💧 Watering: Every third day 🌡️ Temp: 26–28°C 💦 Humidity: 70% RH 📈 VPD: ~1.13 kPa 💡 Light: ~600 PPFD

therealgrowmie The plants have now been moved into their final 11L pots after showing slight root-related issues. I’m hoping the extra space will resolve that and allow them to fully establish themselves again. In about a week, I’ll install the SCROG net, and roughly a week after that we’ll consider flipping to 12/12 — but only if the net is around 70–80% full. No rushing. The goal is an even canopy before making the switch. For now, it’s all about letting them settle in and monitoring how they respond to the transplant. Stats so far: 💧 Watering: Every third day 🌡️ Temp: 26–28°C 💦 Humidity: 70% RH 📈 VPD: ~1.13 kPa 💡 Light: ~600 PPFD

therealgrowmie There’s still a lot to learn. Just when I thought things were back in the sweet spot, moderate signs of nutrient burn started to appear. Several older leaves are showing the typical symptoms, so I’m cutting back on feeding and switching to pH’d water for the next couple of weeks until they stabilise and it’s time to flip. I’m also hoping the move into the 11L pots encourages more lateral growth, because what I have right now can’t really be called a canopy yet 😅. The goal is to fill things out properly before installing the net and thinking about 12/12. For now, it’s about restraint and letting them rebalance. Stats so far: 💧 Watering: Every third day 🌡️ Temp: 26–28°C 💦 Humidity: 65% RH 📈 VPD: ~1.18 kPa 💡 Light: ~600 PPFD

therealgrowmie We’re making substantial progress now. The root and nutrient issues have evened out, and the new growth is looking strong and healthy. The net is starting to fill out nicely. I honestly didn’t expect it to be such a bumpy road coming from autoflowers that just let it rip from day one. This has been a very different — and very interesting — experience. I’ve definitely learned a lot, especially when it comes to watering and patience. Now it’s just a matter of seeing how long it takes to hit that 70–80% canopy fill before the flip. Cheers. 🌱 Stats so far: 💧 Watering: Every third day 🌡️ Temp: 26–28°C 💦 Humidity: 65% RH 📈 VPD: ~1.18 kPa 💡 Light: ~600 PPFD

therealgrowmie The canopy has spread out nicely, and I’ll be moving to 12/12 any day now. The structure looks balanced, and we’re close to that ideal fill before the stretch kicks in. The single Critical Mass plant is still a bit limey in colour, but I won’t wait for it to fully even out. The fresh growth looks healthy, which is what matters most at this stage. Now it’s time to flip and let them show what they’ve got. Stats so far: 💧 Watering: Every third day 🌡️ Temp: 26–28°C 💦 Humidity: 65% RH 📈 VPD: ~1.18 kPa 💡 Light: ~600 PPFD