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.