Seedsman Alaskan Purple Auto

PlantMike So we're gonna give DWC hydro a go since I got a new tent as a gift. As much as I consider myself an advanced grower in living soil with organic nutrients, I am that much of a newbie when it comes to synthetic nutrients and hydroponic setups. Decided on Alaskan Purple from seedsman as the pack has been sitting around for awhile and it always sounded like a fun cultivar to try. Sort of throwing together nutrients as I have available and the light is one I wouldn't normally use but again a friend was trying to be nice and got me a gift so I thought I'd use it, bar style light and seems pretty bright actually. Here we go for hydro!

PlantMike The DWC grow is starting off surprisingly well. I have checked the pH of the reservoir the last few days and other than a little bit of drift it has stayed very consistent. The grodan cube seems to be wicking enough water until the roots emerge into the reservoir water and the growth is picking up. So far so good!

PlantMike A little late for the weekly update as life got in the way but my girl purple Alaskan is doing awesome! Great root formation down into the reservoir now, I upped the EC to 1.4 and changed the reservoir water completely this week. I have been getting some pH drift but I think it's from the bucket I'm using so I have been adjusting to 5.8 as needed. I added the scrog net today as I know she's gonna be growing like crazy now!

PlantMike Friends, this girl is absolutely crushing right now in the 5 gallon DWC bucket. it puts noticeable size on throughout every day and is just blowing me away on the speed of growth. I'm currently counting 16 tops and it has just about scrogged out the entire first net. I made the mistake of inadvertently topping her when trying to bend the main under the net but she never skipped a beat. No signs of pistil hairs yet so I guess it's grow baby grow!

PlantMike Purple Alaskan has turned into a beast. She eats like a hog and puts size on all day every day I'm running the solution at 1.95 EC and still cannot properly feed her. I just mixed the res with a solution of a shade over 2 ec and pH to 5.5 to account for the pH drift I've been encountering, first pistil hairs are evident now and I have been deleafing to try to keep intra-canopy humidity in check. I added a new Viparspectra P1000 in the tent to give 220w of power to give her the photons she needs without keeping the one light right on top of the leaves. Here comes flower!

PlantMike Alaskan purple continues to be a beast and is fully transitioning to bloom now, I added the AC Infinity Ionbeam S16 lights running the Samsung evo diodes for some undercanopy to help minimize stretch. The plant is drinking like crazy and I have upped the EC to 2.3 but switched the nutrient ratios to support the bloom transition. Everything is looking good!

PlantMike We're fully in bloom phase now, stretch has stopped perfectly so as not to be too close to it he lights. Running the EC at 2 this week as the 2.3 seemed a touch too hot, also backed down on the light duration as it was evident the plants were hitting their max DLI well before the lights were scheduled to go off, I could tell when the plants were shutting down as the humidity would drop substantially in the tent and the leaf turgor would suffer. Since backing down on duration plants look very happy and ready to stack!

PlantMike Buds are in full development mode now, early terpenes are very pleasant, the first thing that comes to mind when I brush against a bud is orange creamsicle, still looking a little deficient on nitrogen and iron but I continue to supplement as best I can. Overall the plant looks very healthy and she's starting to stack nicely!

PlantMike She's really starting to fill out at each nug site, pistil hairs are still vibrant white and an intoxicating citrus/melon smell has taken over the grow tent! Still feeding at an EC of 2 and keeping the pH around 5.5-5.8. Leaf health is good for the most part and I did add a small under canopy fan to keep air moving through the plant. Plant shows no signs of senescence at this point so let's keep it going!

PlantMike Well, finishing week 10 now and Alaskan purple shows no signs she's ready to call it a run. I've been backing down the temps and now the EC is down to 1.5 but she's still drinking at peak levels, leaves are green and vibrant and pistil hairs remain white and vibrant. Seed pack says this Autoflower should be down at longest by 63 days but I guess she just loves life and wants to keep going for it! Top lights have been dimmed to 80/90% and VPD is being held between 1.2-1.45. Let's finish I her out!

PlantMike Alaskan purple is fully consolidating her flowers now, still some stacking going on and I've noticed since I backed the VPD down to. 1.4 I've been getting lateral stacking on the buds as they size up. Density is still a 3.5/5 I'd say but the more stable environmental conditions have been helping. Both lights are at 75% power now, EC is down to 1.2, when I tested the reservoir I noticed the plant is drinking more than feeding as I was getting a nutrient spike as solution level went down so I changed the res and dropped to 1.2, plant looks good, starting to see fading in the fan leaves, sugar leaves are starting to autumn as well. I'd say we're around 14 days from harvest so I'll be transitioning to water only this week!

PlantMike She, just, keeps, stacking. I could have grown a photoperiod in this amount of time! I feel like seedsman really undersold the intoxicating scent from this cultivar as it is one of the more attractive aromas I've smelled since growing cannabis. Sweet orange meets melon, almost a fruit salad is the overwhelming terp she's putting off. Buds are showing the fade and leaves are tired and it looks like she's tightening the buds in as she finishes. Yields should be big, she's been a pleasure to grow

PlantMike Well it's finally almost over for Alaskan purple. She's fading well and the plant looks to be finally shutting down, pulling pistil hairs back and drying, leaves are yellowing and buds are purpling. Only Ppm is what's naturally in my water, lights are at 50%. I expect I'll harvest in the next week. It's been a fun one!