Two hippos in one box

KraftKlotz Week 1 – Early Vegetative Growth (Day 8–14) Status: Transition into vegetative phase Growth rate increased noticeably. Leaf surface expanded and photosynthesis stabilized. Focus during this week was on root expansion and establishing a solid plant structure. Setup & Conditions: Light: gradually increased to approx. 300–320 PPFD Climate: stable with constant air movement Watering: adjusted to rising consumption Nutrients: still mainly provided by the soil, no aggressive feeding Observation: Even leaf development with no discoloration. No signs of nutrient stress or overwatering. Plants began expressing their natural growth pattern.

KraftKlotz Week 1 – Early Vegetative Growth (Day 8–14) Status: Transition into vegetative phase Growth rate increased noticeably. Leaf surface expanded and photosynthesis stabilized. Focus during this week was on root expansion and establishing a solid plant structure. Setup & Conditions: Light: gradually increased to approx. 300–320 PPFD Climate: stable with constant air movement Watering: adjusted to rising consumption Nutrients: still mainly provided by the soil, no aggressive feeding Observation: Even leaf development with no discoloration. No signs of nutrient stress or overwatering. Plants began expressing their natural growth pattern.

KraftKlotz Week 2 – Established Vegetation & First Training (Day 15–21) Status: Strong vegetative growth, structure control begins The larger plant developed strong side branches. The smaller plant was topped to improve structure and canopy balance. First light defoliation and low stress training were applied carefully. Setup & Conditions: Light: approx. 360 PPFD using two Viparspectra P600 Photoperiod: 18/6 (5:30 – 23:30) Soil EC: approx. 0.6–0.7 mS/cm Root zone pH: approx. 6.2 Watering: demand-based and closely monitored Observation: Very good response to topping, LST and defoliation. No visible stress after interventions. Plants actively redistributed nutrients, older leaves acting as reserves.

KraftKlotz Week 3 – Vegetative Performance Phase (Day 22–28, current) Status: Transition toward high-efficiency growth After defoliation, LST and optimized light distribution, both plants showed visible growth within 24 hours. Light intensity is adjusted individually to balance plant size and development. Setup & Conditions: Light: Larger plant: approx. 410–412 PPFD Smaller plant: approx. 320 PPFD Soil EC: decreasing due to active uptake (0.65 → ~0.33 mS/cm) Watering: Larger plant: approx. 2.0–2.5 L Smaller plant: approx. 1.5 L Climate: Target RH: 53–63 %, later 45–55 % Strong air circulation, no stagnant zones Observation: Very efficient water and nutrient uptake. Leaves remain vital, no deficiencies, no burn. Clear resource shift from older leaves to new growth. Controlled development, no stress reactions. Overall Summary (up to now) Clear structure following GrowDiaries week logic Fully data-driven grow No panic actions, no blind feeding Plants behave exactly as expected under optimal conditions

KraftKlotz Day 31: Soil EC decreased from 0.68 to 0.56 mS/cm, clearly showing active nutrient uptake. Soil moisture continued to drop, plants are consuming water efficiently. Daytime VPD remained around 1.2 kPa, well within the optimal range for vegetative growth. Despite mild stress from recent defoliation and LST, the larger plant continues to develop strongly. The smaller plant is recovering as expected but remains behind due to age and training. Day 32: Early leaf symptoms indicate a temporary pH-related potassium and magnesium lockout, likely caused by a short-term pH drop below ~6.2. New growth currently shows no deficiencies, suggesting the issue is already stabilizing. Current status: VPD day: ~1.4 kPa VPD night: ~0.8 kPa (actively regulated via RH increase) Soil temperature: ~23 °C Soil EC: down to 0.22 mS/cm Soil moisture: 16.9 % (next irrigation due) Next steps: Upcoming irrigation with adjusted nutrient solution (EC 1.2–1.4 mS/cm, pH 6.5–6.6), focusing on restoring magnesium and potassium availability. Summary: The grow remains stable. Minor, temporary imbalances were identified early and are being corrected in a controlled manner. Both plants are on a solid trajectory.

KraftKlotz Growth day 42 Environment and lighting stable. Leaf color still mostly uniform green. No new visible issues. Substrate continued to dry, no watering. Growth day 43 No changes to the setup. First slight lightening visible on some older leaves, mainly in the upper canopy. New growth looked normal. Soil continued drying. Growth day 44 Watered according to plan. Soil moisture increased accordingly. During the day, leaf discoloration became more noticeable: yellowing on older leaves and first signs of marginal necrosis. New growth remained green. Light intensity increased to approx. 650–670 PPFD. Nutrient solution used: approx. 65 mg/l N, 92 mg/l P, 117 mg/l K, 177 mg/l Ca, 61 mg/l Mg. No Epsom salt added. Growth day 45 Leaf symptoms more clearly visible, mainly on older and more exposed leaves. Typical pattern of chlorosis with localized necrotic spots, not evenly spread across the plant. New shoots remained stable in color. Climate stayed calm and controlled. Growth day 46 No further interventions. Symptoms did not visibly spread to new growth. Affected areas remained mostly older leaves. Substrate continued to dry evenly. Growth day 47 Leaf appearance largely unchanged compared to the previous day. No visible progression, but existing damage clearly present. New growth still without visible symptoms. Growth day 48 Light intensity slightly reduced to approx. 600–620 PPFD. Upper new growth remained stable in color. Older leaves still clearly yellowed with necrotic areas, visually unchanged. Soil moisture at the lower range before the next irrigation. Summary This week was marked by one irrigation event followed by visible leaf reactions. Symptoms mainly affect older leaves, while new growth remains stable. Climate and lighting stayed controlled without extreme fluctuations. The current visual state is noticeable but can be clearly placed in context over time.

KraftKlotz Day 49–54 (Transition week / early flowering) During this period, the plants were mostly left undisturbed. No training was applied, only watering and close monitoring. Nutrient solution was kept around EC 1.3, which both plants absorbed very well. Substrate EC dropped significantly within a few days, indicating strong nutrient uptake. Daytime climate averaged VPD ~1.1–1.3, with higher night humidity but no signs of dew or mold. First clear flower formation appeared. Some yellowing and necrotic leaves are clearly linked to an earlier pH drift and a single nitrogen omission and are not spreading.

KraftKlotz Day 55–61 (stable flower development) Plants continued to develop in a very stable manner with moderate feeding. EC 1.3 proved to be a good balance, providing roughly 3–4 days of nutrient availability. Both plants kept pulling significant EC from the substrate, without any signs of overfeeding. Air circulation was optimized to avoid stagnant humidity in upper canopy areas. Defoliation was intentionally avoided to minimize stress. Hippo 2, although around 7 days younger, already showed larger flower sites compared to Hippo 1.

KraftKlotz Day 62–65 (transition into denser flowering) As plant height exceeded 1 m, the exhaust strategy was adjusted. Exhaust now runs continuously to prevent moisture buildup at tent contact points. Daytime VPD increased to ~1.4–1.5, intentionally accepted to reduce mold risk. Lower airflow was increased to improve vertical air movement through the canopy. Plants remain structurally stable, all LST ties were removed, and branches are fully self-supporting. The sole focus now is low-stress flower development.