Biotabs/Autopot Tropicana Cherry

Theia It's been a busy week. After a day the shoots had exploded from their Coco plugs and where going to fall over so I potted the plugs into my little 100ml nursery pots in a mix of biobiz peat free light mix and a bit of Biotabs startrex. I guess I used a teaspoon in the 100ml. I left the Tropicana Cherry under a lamp giving 100umols on a 24hr cycle for 2 days. .I maintained a temp of 25c for the first 3 days to give the best start. However this was voting a fair bit in electricity and I was using 5 kWh a day on just heat. However with the dome maintaing rh in the high 60s low 70s the little shoots exploded and I was able to transplant again on day 6. Day 6. I mixed 10l of Coco/clay pebbles mixed to 40/60. More pebbles than Coco. I also mixed in 3 paddles of perlite. I guess around 500ml just to add so airation to this already very airy mix. Startrex. 50g for my 10l of substrate. Silicium Flash. 50g for my 10l of substrate 2 Biotabs tablets are buried at about 5cm recommended. I went to about 7cm. A hole is made for the nursery pots and a teaspoon of Mycrotrex is sprinkled into the hole. And then the shoot gets transplanted to this. Bactrex. 1g mixed into 1l of water is then fed . I will top feed water until I have a root system established in the new 15l Autopots at which point I will deploy the res and the plumbing and let it run itself. I will be growing from this point with just tap water using the Biotabs "Just add water" method. Lights are now up to 250umols ppfd on a 18hr cycle.. this is taking 94w and is at about 40% on the dimmer. Next week I will add royal blue to the spectrum to promote some nice growth. I have reduced the temperature max to 23c and mine 21c. It is to save on a bit of money on heating but if I need to I will return to 25c for the love of the ladies. That's all this week. 🌿🤙🏼 I

Theia It has been a good week of growth for the Tropicana Cherry. There is not much to say. She was fed 1l of water and Bactrex last week on the 14th. Since then she has only needed a little dripping to keep things moist as the roots develop. As there has been less attenstion needed on the plants them selves i have had time to look at my automation and i realised last week i had not set a night setting for temprature and my room was staying at the target day setting of 24,5c. This wa just a waste of money for me as i was using about 12p a day on heating that was not needed. The pics show the sensor readings starting fvrom the 14th when i realised the issue. Then the 15th as i was getting things dialled in as to how mucgh humdity adjustments were needed to maintain the 19c. but bu the 16th it is all dialed in and i get a nice drop from 24 to 19 for the 6 hours of lights off. Its also a nice progressive drop and rebuild much like nature would be. Chasing a vpd of 0.9-1.1 for lights on. On the lighting front i have added in my deep red 660nm and royal blue 450nm strips to adjudt the spectrum. Here are the specific benefits of that Deep Red (660nm) and Royal Blue (450nm) combination: 1. Extreme Vegetative Control (The Blue Benefit) Royal Blue is the primary signal for photomorphogenesis (how a plant develops its shape). Anti-Stretch: High levels of Royal Blue suppress the hormone gibberellin. This keeps your my plant squat with very short internodal spacing. Leaf Thickness: It encourages the development of more stomata (breathing pores) and thicker leaves, making the plant more efficient at gas exchange and more resilient to dry air. Root Signal: Blue light helps signal the plant to build a robust root system early on, which is vital for the heavy feeding they’ll do in flower. 2. Maximum Photosynthetic Efficiency (The Red Benefit) Deep Red (660nm) is the "sweet spot" for photosynthesis. Chlorophyll Absorption: 660nm is the wavelength where Chlorophyll a (the primary pigment for energy production) has its highest absorption peak. Energy Savings: Red photons are "cheaper" for the plant to process than blue or green ones. By adding dedicated red bars, i am increasing the total energy available for growth without significantly increasing the heat load or power draw of the fixture. Biomass Production: While blue builds the "frame" of the plant, Deep Red builds the "bulk." It drives the expansion of leaf surface area so the plant can catch even more light. I have measured and my target is 280 PPFD and will increase upto about 350 umol/m2/s by the end of week 3. At the moment it is taking 148.4W from the wall. by the end of this week i will also have added in my Far red strips which will give a 730nm go to sleep signal to my plants thanks to the Emerson effect. I will go over this more next week once i have it installed.

Theia it was a good week with very nice steady groth. Plants are sitting in an exact window of 23-24c at day and 19-20c at night its costing a fair bit on heating but worth it. They started on their res supply of water on Wednesday. These plants will have just tap water for their life span. light levels at 270umol spectrum is 301H evo whites 450nm Royal blue 660nm deep red. I will start the 730nm Far red at end of light cycle for 10 minutes for emerson effect.

Theia The tropicana cherry is a magnificent plant. Its stocky and stout with really great node space. I love how solid she is and i just see such a good foundation for stretch. A really explosive week of growth. I pushed PPFD up to 310umols. Dimmers are at 60% which is drawing 224w plus 18w of DRRB. I have alos started Emerson effect ... Another The Emerson effect is triggered by the simultaneous exposure of plants to light in the deep red and far-red spectra Deep Red 660 nm /Far-Red 700 nm . A bit of boring science that explains why you need both far red and deep red in order to trigger Emerson. The effect occurs because photosynthesis is driven by two distinct pigment systems working in series:Photosystem II (PSII): Absorbs energy most efficiently at shorter wavelengths (higher frequencies), like 680 nm (441 THz). Photosystem I (PSI): Absorbs energy most efficiently at longer wavelengths (lower frequencies), specifically 700 nm (428 THz). When you provide only the higher frequency (deep red), PSI becomes a bottleneck. When you provide only the lower frequency (far-red), PSII is not sufficiently excited to provide electrons. Providing both frequencies simultaneously allows both systems to work at peak efficiency, resulting in a rate of photosynthesis that is greater than the sum of the two lights used individually. To understand the Emerson Effect, think of photosynthesis not as a single engine, but as a two-stage assembly line. What is the Emerson Effect? Discovered by Robert Emerson in 1957, this phenomenon shows that plants perform photosynthesis much more efficiently when they are hit by two specific types of light at the same time: Deep Red (660 nm) and Far-Red (700+ nm). If you give a plant only Far-Red light, photosynthesis is very slow. If you give it only Deep Red, it's better but still limited. However, when you give it both at once, the total rate of photosynthesis is significantly higher than if you just added the two results together (1+1=3). What is Happening? (The "Assembly Line") Inside the plant's chloroplasts, there are two "workstations" called Photosystem II (PSII) and Photosystem I (PSI). They work in series, meaning the first one must pass "parts" to the second one. PSII (The First Station): This station is tuned to catch Deep Red light (660 nm). It harvests electrons from water. PSI (The Second Station): This station is tuned to catch Far-Red light (700 nm). It takes the electrons from the first station and uses them to create energy (ATP and NADPH). The Problem: If you only provide Deep Red light, the first station works fast, but the second station can't keep up because it isn't being "powered" efficiently by that specific frequency. This creates a traffic jam of electrons. The Solution: By adding Far-Red light, you power up the second station. It now "pulls" the electrons from the first station much faster, clearing the traffic jam and making the whole assembly line run at full speed. The Benefits for The Grow Because i am using the Biotabs water-only method, my plants already have a steady supply of organic nutrients. Implementing the Emerson Effect offers several distinct advantages: Increased Biomass: Because the "engine" is running faster, the plant produces more sugars and carbohydrates, leading to heavier fruits or flowers. Faster Finishing: Plants often reach maturity sooner because they have more surplus energy to complete their life cycle. Better Light Penetration: Far-Red light is very good at passing through the upper leaves. This "wakes up" the lower parts of the plant that would otherwise be shaded, allowing the whole plant to contribute to growth. Enhanced Secondary Metabolites: In many crops, this synergistic light can stimulate the production of terpenes and antioxidants, improving the "quality" (smell, taste, and potency) of the final harvest. The "Sunrise/Sunset" Trick I am using 4x Invisible sun Far red/Deep red bars,they use high-quality Samsung LH351H (660nm Deep Red) and specific Far-Red (730nm) diodes for 10–15 minutes at the start or end of the light cycle. This mimics the natural shift in light at sunrise and sunset, "waking up" the photosystems or signaling the plant to go into "sleep mode" faster, which can further optimize the flowering cycle. Enviromentally i am chasing a VPD of about 1,1kpa. My room seem to sit nicely at lights on at 24c with no real drama and a little help from a 220W greenhouse bar radiator. Its using abot 4kw/h a day atm because my room is attached to the side of my house and its been -5c.. I have had to add some humidity as its also very dry atm. Im aiming for RH of 65% with my 24c but it is more around the 62s.. VPD is crucial and is the focus for this grow for me. The autopots and Biotabs make it so easy ican really just focus on perfect enviroment. A VPD of 1.0–1.2 kPa provides enough "atmospheric pull" to move calcium and magnesium up from the roots, which is critical for the rapid cell division happening now.. Plants will be flipped on Saturday which is their week 5 as im a bit behind.. As this happens i will push PPFD upto 4-500umols. by week 2 of flower. Thats the plan anyway..