Special Kush #1 - Photoperiodic

RealChazzy Hello there, fellow growers! After quite some time, I’ve finally decided to return to Cannabis cultivation. Although I’m a botanist by training, cultivation itself isn’t exactly my primary field of expertise, which makes this project all the more interesting to me. Rather than approaching it as an attempt to achieve a perfect grow from the very beginning, I’d like to treat it as a small personal experiment, documenting the plant’s development, observing its responses, and learning along the way. For this run, I selected Special Kush #1 from Royal Queen Seeds. The variety initially caught my attention because of its remarkably low price, especially considering the consistently positive feedback surrounding it. I therefore decided to take the opportunity to experiment with my first photoperiod plant. For germination, I opted for the classic combination of glass of water pre-soak followed by a moist paper-towel method. After approximately 24 hours of soaking, the seed was transferred to a moist paper towel, where it soon began developing a taproot. The germination process progressed rather quickly, and by Day 3, the emerging seedling was ready to be planted into its growing medium. I use BioBizz Light-Mix and a 26.5 L (7 gal) fabric pot as the final container. At this point, I also established the initial lighting schedule and environmental conditions for the grow. The cultivation takes place in an 80x80 cm (31.5x31.5 in) grow tent, with a Viparspectra P600 LED providing the primary light source. From this point onward, my main focus has been observation. As a botanist, I’m particularly interested in following the transition from the newly emerged seedling into a more structurally developed juvenile plant. I’ve therefore been keeping an eye on overall morphology, stem elongation, leaf development, and general plant vigor. During the first few days, the seedling remained relatively small and delicate, so watering was carried out conservatively, primarily with a sprayer. The water used was maintained at approx. pH 6. By Day 6, the seedling had reached 4.5 cm (1.77 in) in height. At this point, I made a small adjustment to the lighting conditions while keeping the fixture at the same distance. Interestingly, by Day 7, the initial period of rapid vertical elongation appeared to be slowing down, while development of the first pair of true leaves became increasingly pronounced. This was a welcome change, as the plant was beginning to exhibit a more recognizable seedling morphology rather than simply investing heavily in early stem extension. And that brings us to Day 9 since the beginning of germination, which I’m also going to designate as Vegetative Day 1 for the purposes of this journal. At this stage, the seedling looks exceptionally healthy. It has a sturdy appearance, good coloration, and is showing clear progression in true-leaf development. Its current height is 6 cm (2.36 in). So far, the experiment has been off to a very promising start. The coming weeks should be considerably more interesting as the plant moves beyond its earliest developmental stage and begins establishing a more complex vegetative structure. See you next week!