Pineapple Chunk RDWC

phdown The seedlings have broken through the rockwool cubes and are growing.

phdown Things are slowly getting started... 😬

phdown Adjusting the nutrient solution due to Fe problems

phdown Unfortunately, I broke a shoot on one plant, but well, accidents happen. Other than that, everything is good, the plants are doing great.

phdown Week 6 is looking pretty good so far. 😊 Adding Trace Mix fixed the iron deficiency. The issue was most likely caused by the fact that I can’t run Canna Aqua at full strength early on, since my starting tap water EC is already around 0.2. For the December run I’ll probably get a 1:1 RO system, which should make nutrient management a lot easier. Apart from that, everything is running smoothly. pH has been very stable and EC is right where I want it. I did some light LST today, the plants are staying nice and compact with short internodal spacing, and the topping is developing well too. So far, so good. 🌱😁😎

phdown The Pineapple Chunks are developing really well and have filled out nicely this week. LST and the previous topping are starting to show their effect, with multiple strong tops and a fairly even canopy developing. I did another light defoliation to open up the plants and improve airflow and light penetration. Growth is compact, internodal spacing is still short, and the new shoots look healthy and vigorous. The plants are now starting to take up noticeably more space in the RDWC system. Overall, everything is looking stable and the focus for the next days will be on letting the new tops develop and continuing some gentle LST before the switch to flower. 🌿💪

phdown Day 50 — Veg Week 8 · Water reservoir change Fresh change onto the week 8 recipe, 140 L RDWC. EC 1.41 · pH 5.64 · water 20.6 °C, tent 25 °C / 50 % RH. CANNA Aqua Vega A+B, Haifa Cal GG, Epsom salt, Mono Trace Mix, pH down with 59 % phosphoric acid. Epsom raised from 0.10 to 0.15 g/L this week (+7 g topped into the fresh res) — that fixed Mg and S in one move and puts Ca:Mg back at 3.0:1. Calculated balance (mg/L): In range: P 42 · K 133 · Ca 122 · Mg 40 · S 45 · Fe 1.53 · Mn 0.96 · B 0.47 · Zn 0.48 Slightly over: N 163 · Cu 0.118 · Mo 0.119 N is structural, calcium nitrate always drags nitrogen along. 62 % of the Cu comes from my tap water (ICP analysis: 72.7 µg/L, likely copper plumbing), not the feed, so I flush the line before every change. Fe turned out to be a target problem, not a feeding problem! 😅 All calculated solution values, not uptake. Canopy work now, prepping for the flip. Next change in 7 days.

phdown Day 57 — Flip 🌸 · Bloom Week 1 · water change Lights flipped to 12/12 today — we're officially in flower.😁😎 Timed it with the reservoir change so the plants go into the stretch on a fresh, bloom-tuned res. Screen went in this week too: net's full, all 8 colas tucked and leveled across the grid, ready to catch the stretch. Fresh change, 140 L RDWC. EC 1.31 · pH 5.82 · water 20.4 °C, tent 25 °C / 60 % RH. Feed switched over to bloom (week 1 / transition): Aqua Flores A+B now in (0.7 each) alongside a tapered Vega A+B (down to 1.0, transition dose) Epsom up to 0.20 g/L (bloom value, was 0.15 in veg) for the higher Mg/S pull in flower Haifa Cal GG, Mono Trace Mix and pH down (59 % phosphoric) unchanged Mono Iron (EDDHA) stays out — Vega A + Trace carry iron fine from here, Fe holds around 1.3 Direction of the feed vs. late veg: N eases down (less Vega + Haifa), P and K climb as Flores comes in, Mg and S up from the bloom Epsom. Micros steady (Mn ~0.9, B/Zn ~0.45, Mo ~0.1), Cu still mostly tap-water copper, not feed — line flushed before the change as always. Roots white, EC sat in band all veg, no lockout going into the flip. Now it's stretch management under the net. Next change in 7 days.

phdown Day 63 — Bloom Week 2 · water change + full service Did the week-2 change a day early (W2 is official tomorrow) and made a proper service stop out of it, not just a swap: Full flush between fills: drained the whole system, ran a plain-water rinse through it, drained again, then refilled fresh and only after that added the nutrients back. Clean slate going into the stretch. Circulation pump filter checked: only minimal deposits after the run so far (📷), rinsed it anyway and popped it back in. Top-Off tank got its first full clean: after ~8 weeks standing I drained the last of the old mix, scrubbed the tank out (📷) and refilled fresh. Fresh res (140 L RDWC): EC 1,41 · pH 6,04 (Growee dialing it toward 5,8) · water 20,6 °C · tent 25 °C / 50 % RH. Feed moved on to bloom week 2, Flores climbing, Vega tapering further on the transition, terpene booster running, bittersalz at the bloom 0,20. Mono iron stays out, Fe holding via Vega A + Trace. Light-wise now that we're in flower: running far-red in parallel with the main light to push the canopy in bloom, plus an IR "sunset" at the end of the cycle, the IR runs on past lights-off so the plants ride the Emerson effect into the dark period. Full spectrum control is automated through my own GrowControl, main / red / IR all on their own schedules. Canopy's filling in nicely under the net, even, dark green, stacking the first flower sites. Stretch still going, roots white, clean res, no issues. Mixing the Haifa/Epsom base by hand as always (📷). Next change in 7 days. 🌸 🎥 Full flyover of the setup : 👉 https://youtu.be/fFv9O981Hv4

phdown Day 72 — Bloom Week 3 · stretch + big defol 🌿✂️ Stretch is in full swing — they really took off. After the second week of flower I went in and defoliated hard, opened the whole canopy up: pulled the big fan leaves shading the bud sites, cleaned out the understory, got light and air moving right down into the stack. Now they get to rest — no more cutting for a while, let them recover and put that energy into the sites. Feed got adjusted (full breakdown in my analyser): now in bloom week 3, Vega is fully out — the transition is done, so it’s pure Flores carrying it now (up to ~2.2 ml/L) plus the terpene booster. Nitrogen has tapered off exactly as planned for flower; Trace and the bloom Epsom trimmed a touch too. Fresh res (140 L RDWC), 2 days in: EC 1,41 · pH 6,02 · water 19,7 °C · tent 25 °C / 50 % RH. Water’s running a bit cooler now that autumn’s here (19–20 °C) nice for root oxygen. Roots white, EC holding its band, no deficiencies after the defol. Just stretch management and patience from here. 🌸

phdown Day 78 — Bloom Week 4 · stretch topped out + feed bumped 🌿📈 The stretch is done. Last Sunday they were sitting around 60 cm (≈23,5"), this Sunday they’ve come up to 104 cm (≈41") — a solid +44 cm (+17") in a single week. Good thing I defoliated hard at the end of flower week 2: the open canopy let all that new growth stack cleanly instead of turning into a shaded jungle underneath. They didn’t all come up uniform though — about half the canopy is leading the rest by a good 15 cm (≈6"), so the dominant colas are running ahead. A bit of tucking/LST this week to pull them back level before the sites start packing on. New week, feed bumped (full breakdown in my analyser): Flores up from 2,2 to 2,5 ml/L (A+B each), terpene booster from 2,5 to 3,0 ml/L, and the EC target lifted to 1,3–1,5. Vega’s been fully out since week 3, it’s pure Flores carrying the bloom now. EC and pH over the week told a clean story before the change. EC crept from 1,40 up to ~1,52 as they drank harder and concentrated the res a touch, exactly what you want mid-bloom: strong uptake, no lockout, band holding. pH drifted gently down from ~6,04 to 5,82 across the seven days (textbook flower behaviour), Growee held it in range the whole time, no swings. Then a fresh res yesterday (140 L RDWC) to reset clean for W4. Fresh res, 1 day in: EC 1,53 · pH 6,08 · water 19,8 °C · tent 23 °C / 57 % RH · VPD ~1,2 kPa. Water’s holding that lovely autumn-cool 19,6–19,8 °C, great dissolved oxygen down at the roots. Roots white, zero deficiencies through all that stretch, fresh white pistils popping on every top. Canopy’s a little tiered after the push, so this week is about levelling it out and then filling those sites. 🌸

phdown Day 84 — Bloom Week 5 · peak’s starting 🌿🌸 W4 was a week of hard drinking: EC climbed from 1,47 to 1,63 as they pulled water fast and concentrated the res, pH drifted gently from ~6,0 down to 5,86 — textbook flower, Growee held it in band the whole way, no swings. Water stayed autumn-cool at 19,5–19,7 °C, roots loving the oxygen. Ran a fresh res today (140 L RDWC) to kick off W5. Fresh res, hours in: EC 1,65 · pH 6,02 · water 19,7 °C · tent 22 °C / 58 % RH · VPD ~1,1 kPa. EC target now 1,6–1,8. The terp booster is just barely easing in this week — a token 0,2 ml/L to start. I pulled it completely for W1–4 after reading the product’s SDS: it’s a K₂SO₄-based booster (essentially a 0-0-4 potassium feed), so running it early just eats EC budget for no payoff. Now that we’re into peak it earns its place, so I’m introducing it feather-light and ramping over the coming weeks. Flores steady at 2,5 ml/L, Vega long gone. Canopy’s packed right in since the stretch — buds stacking on every site, first real frost dusting the tops, pistils bright white.