Hindu Kush Ups

Hempanadas The seedlings needed to be repotted immediately, and one of the four plants showed signs of stress or a deficiency—likely magnesium or pH fluctuation—so the irrigation pH was adjusted from 6.0 to 6.5 to allow for a better absorption range, especially in high temperatures. For soil preparation and fertilization, Complete Organics was used, with 500 grams divided among the 4 pots. This amount will be repeated shortly before flowering. This 100% organic all-in-one fertilizer contains everything needed for the growth and flowering of flowers and plants. GK-Organics Complete Organics is a balanced mix of Guanokalong Powder, GK-Organics Seaweed Powder, GK-Organics Palm Tree Ash, GK-Organics Vegetal Fertilizer, and GK-Organics Lava Worm Powder.

Hempanadas Lamp at 25% power while maintaining a PPFD of 200, which will increase to 250 the following week. The plants have adapted well and are growing visibly fast. The amount of water per plant has also been increased from 0.250 L to 0.500 L with a pH of 6.5.

Hempanadas Increased the light intensity to 45% with PPFD around 460. The volume of water was increased to 1 litre per plant, and a mixture of mycorrhizae Rhizophagus intraradices and Glomus mosseae and rhizosphere bacteria was applied to stimulate the growth of deeper, stronger and more branched roots. This mixture is useful for -Efficient nutrition: Optimises the uptake of water and nutrients locked in the soil. -Stress resistance: Protects the plant from temperature fluctuations (heat/cold) and periods of drought. -Soil improvement: Enriches and regenerates the microbiome of the growing medium. Barney’s Hindu Kush will need to remain for another week or two under 18 hours of light in a separate tent, whilst over the next 24 hours the three Sensi Seeds Hindu Kush plants will switch to 12 hours of light, having reached a height of 45 cm, with a palm tree ash-based flowering fertiliser applied as a top dressing.

Hempanadas Guanokalong feeding - Powder (bat guano) NPKCa 1-10-1-15 50 gr/plant - Complete Organics (seaweed powder, palm ash, vegetable compost, fish meal, volcanic lava) NPK 2-5-3 circa 100 gr/plant - Sugar Cane Powder (early flowering and mid flowering) NPK 0-0-20 50gr/plant ------- Barney's Hindu Kush was kept in the vegetative phase under 18 hours of light for a week, and before entering the flowering phase, its fan leaves were removed to let light reach the lower side branches. The three Hindu Kush plants from Sensi Seeds have made it through their first week of flowering with moderate stretching; they are currently under a PPFD of approximately 750 and a 65% LED light for 12 hours of light.

Hempanadas End of the second week of flowering. The exhaust fan was removed from inside the grow tent to make more room for the LED light and accommodate the moderate stretching of the Hindu Kush. Ideally, I should have pruned the lower branches before flowering, but I missed it. Similarly, I had planned to defoliate at 21 days into flowering, but I had to move it up when I saw that the lower leaves were turning yellow due to lack of light. Barney’s Hindu Kush grows more slowly and, as indicated by the breeder, has a longer flowering period; nevertheless, it has begun to stretch significantly, and the first flower buds will soon be visible. The four plants are progressing normally, although they show slight signs of stress due to the heat and light intensity. They seem to recover quickly and do not require a lot of water.

Hempanadas End of the 3rd of flowering (DAY 23) It was necessary to apply the high-stress training technique known as “super cropping” to the two tallest plants in order to keep the flowers at the same height and ensure uniform light distribution; On day 19 instead of day 21, extensive defoliation was performed to allow for better light penetration; The amount of water given to each plant has increased significantly, reaching about 2 liters every 48 hours. The final dose of flowering fertilizer was applied in this case, Sugar Cane Powder (Potassium/K20)at a rate of 5 g per liter of potting mix (55 grams total per plant). PPFD around 920 - 150 W LED intensity at 85%

Hempanadas End of the 4th week of flowering (DAY 29) Last week's second application of Sugar Cane was likely excessive, considering that the soil was already rich in Complete Organics, along with the first application of Sugar Cane, which may have affected the soil’s acidity; Due to human error, the pH of the irrigation solution was incorrect, and this may have affected the soil’s pH a condition known as pH imbalance or, alternatively, a nutrient lock. Light intensity was reduced to 80% since the upper leaves were showing many signs of stress, such as heat stress, light intensity stress, over-fertilization, defoliation and pH-related stress... The flowers continue to grow, perhaps more slowly than they should, and the irrigation volume remains at 1.5–2 liters with a pH of 6.5.

Hempanadas With great effort, the plants are recovering and have resumed absorbing water more quickly than they did last week. Unfortunately, the leaves continue to look pale and have dry edges. With the next watering, I’ll apply Aptus Regulator and some enzymes, hoping for better recovery and faster flower development. The worst is over; I’m not giving up, and I’ll see this summer experiment through to the end. Light intensity, one of the triggering factors, has been reduced to 70%, maintaining a PPFD of 780–820. The plants cannot tolerate more than this under current conditions. Given the high temperature, I’m keeping humidity around 60–65% to maintain a VPD value between 1.5 and 1.7.

Hempanadas All things considered, it seems that the flowers are slowly beginning to swell, and to prevent them from further spoiling the final result, I’m carefully removing the brown, dry leaves near the flowers as thoroughly as possible. Temperatures have finally dropped, and the plants appears to be suffering less. The flowers are sticky and the smell remind me the classic hash, musky, with earthy and sweet hints of sandalwood and pine. Light dimmer set to 70% - PPFD between 770-820 VPD around 1.5 After identifying the stress factors, Aptus Regulator was applied in an effort to improve the plant’s health. Specifically, Aptus Regulator is expected to work as follows: - Increases resistance to abiotic stresses (environmental: temperature, wind, drought) - Increases resistance to biotic stresses (pests and pathogens) - Improves the uptake, absorption, and utilization of nutrients - Increases the strength of cellular structures and the epidermal layer, strengthening plants and thickening stems (increased dry weight) - Reduces and controls internode elongation caused by thermal stress and unbalanced fertilization - Increases resistance to salinity (salt accumulation) - Reduces transpiration (moisture loss through the leaves).

Hempanadas Another successful week of flowering has come to an end. The soil is taking a long time to dry out, likely due to a lack of an optimal number of healthy leaves, so I decided to take a chance by applying a minimal amount of products from the Aptus line, hoping for more direct nutrient absorption to improve the ripening phase. At first glance, the response seems positive considering that the flowers are visibly denser than the last week. Light dimmer set to 70% - PPFD around 750 - VPD around 1.5 *UPDATE: I don't know if there really is a connection or if it's just a coincidence, but ever since I started using the Aptus line, it seems like the plants have started absorbing water more quickly, and I can confirm this based on the data from the soil moisture sensor. In the days before, the pots would remain wet for many days. Sometimes the Spider Farmer soil sensor needs to be pulled off and re-plugged into the first 1/3 of the pot's height, but this time seems like the root system fully recovered.