Hindu Kush in SecretBox + Osmocote

Hsihs 18 September 2026. Start of Week 3. Sprouted on 4 September. Week 3 started overnight on 17–18 September: the grow box runs on a reversed day/night schedule. No photos from the first two weeks, so the diary starts here. 4.8 g of Osmocote Bloom 2–3 was added to 2 L of substrate mix. A transplant into 20 L with Osmocote Exact Plus K 3–4 is planned for 23 September. I’ll be away from 24 September through 2 October inclusive. The switch to 12/12 is tentatively planned for 3 October. The idea is simple: **Can I grow a decent plant without all the messing around with nutrient bottles?** After a long run of failures, I’m back with my favourite breeder, Barney’s Farm. Good memories of Cookie Casket, and getting a like from Barney’s themselves felt pretty nice, not gonna lie))) then my career as a GrowDiaries star somehow went off the rails. I’m tired of fiddling around with organics. My daughter was born, time is short. I want growing to be something I enjoy, not another job. So “experiment” is probably too grand a word. Just techniques that are new to me — or maybe old ones we’ve forgotten about. Lazy growing))) Sorry, BioBizz. Kept your substrate though))))

Hsihs 23 September 2026. Pre-trip update. Technically, this is still the end of Week 3. I’m opening Week 4 a little early because I’m going away and won’t be around all week. Next photos on 3 October. Yesterday I transplanted into an 18 L pot. Same soil-to-perlite ratio, with expanded clay taking up some of the volume. The new mix contains Osmocote Exact High K 3–4 instead of Bloom. Two heaped dessert spoons — roughly 15 g each. Artisanal precision))) The roots looked good at transplant too — shame I didn’t take any photos. Maybe it’s Barney’s, maybe it’s Osmocote, or maybe I just haven’t had time to screw anything up yet))) We’ll see how it goes. There will be no watering while I’m away. I covered the soil with paper towels, hoping to reduce evaporation. No guarantees: this is risky as fuck. So now the diary has a little suspense: will it survive until 3 October? And if it does, what state will it be in?))) Sure, I could ask my wife. I have an automatic watering system too. I just don’t want to))) Why don’t I want to? Maybe my therapist knows😁 Sometimes there’s a drought. This is the way)))

Hsihs 3 October 2026. Week 5. Ten days without water. Back home. The suspense is over: she’s alive))) The video shows the very first opening of the box after my return. Photos were taken straight away, before watering or changing the lights. First thought: where are the side branches, and why are these leaves so huge?))) But I wasn’t disappointed at all. While I was away imagining all sorts of things, she was doing her own thing and growing nicely. Removed the paper towels — just dry soil underneath. After taking the photos, I gave her 5 L of water, partly hoping to wash out any salts that might have accumulated. I hadn’t held back on the Osmocote at transplant, followed by ten days without watering — that was my thinking. Raised the light and switched to 12/12. Veg ends today; from 4 October, I’m counting the first week after the flip. I haven’t removed a single leaf throughout this grow. The curly lower growth bothers me a little: I’d imagined barely touching the plant during this supposedly LAZY grow))))) Might have to tidy it up a little after all. We’ll see. After six hours of sleep, I checked again — she looked like she’d grown some more))) Barney’s and Osmocote are still leaving me without a dramatic storyline. Apparently, the main source of anxiety has been the grower himself))) The drought is over.

Hsihs 10 October 2026. End of the first week after the flip. 12/12 since: 3 October 2026. Height gain, 3–10 October: +11 cm, approximately 37%. Water use: approximately 2 L per day Skip a watering and the soil is already drying out))) The lazy grow is starting to expect me to show up. A nitrogen-heavy girl, but a pretty one))) I really wanted to pull off those giant dark fan leaves. But I touched NOTHING. Haven’t removed a single leaf this entire grow. And here’s the curious part: the side branches seem to have found their way around those giant leaves, and the whole plant has spread out sideways. We jokingly call huge leaves "lopuhi" in Russian. The same word also means gullible fools. So the branches found their way around the "lopuhi", while the other lopuh stood in front of the box thinking: where the hell are my "bokovuhi"? That’s Russian grower slang for side branches))) Well, there they are. Apparently, the plant had a better idea of what it was doing than I did))) The photos are original. The camera makes the new growth look properly lemon-yellow — it isn’t that colour in real life. I tried some colour correction, but decided to leave them as shot. We’re keeping it honest))) So far, the hardest part of a lazy grow is resisting the urge to do something)))

Hsihs 17 October 2026. End of the second week after the flip to 12/12. Flip date: 3 October 2026. Height gain, 10–17 October: +15 cm, approximately 37%. Estimated average water use: around 1.3 L per day, including days without watering. Not bad so far))) The flower clusters and white hairs are clearly visible now. The "bokovuhi" are all there — no need to go looking for them anymore. A few things are making me a little uneasy, though: the very bottom leaves have yellowed, some have dried out, and I noticed a reddish petiole. She also seems a little less "fat and leafy" now. Just my impression for the moment. Haven’t figured out exactly what’s going on yet. The branches also look a bit thin for my liking. Still haven’t touched anything — not a single leaf removed throughout this grow. And a correction to the previous entry: I got carried away with those two litres a day. That was an overestimate. Taking the days without watering into account, it’s probably closer to 1.3 L per day. Still approximate. So far, the experiment has exposed the limits of my water tracking. Turns out the least accurate instrument in the box was the grower))))