RS11 - Barney’s Farm

MistaOC 14.09. D7 Chapter 1 – Week 1 The first week is in the books, and RS11 wasted no time showing what she’s capable of. After breaking the surface on September 9th, the next few days were all about settling in and building momentum. By September 14th, Day 7, the little girls were already reaching around 10 cm and starting to develop their first proper sets of leaves. Still small, still innocent, but the direction is clear: they’re ready to grow. For now, I’m keeping things simple and letting the plants do their thing while the roots establish underneath. There’s not much to interfere with yet – just watching closely and seeing which phenotypes start to reveal themselves as the first real differences begin to appear. This is only the beginning, but the RS11s have officially left the starting line. Now let’s see where they take this

MistaOC 18.09. D11 Chapter 2 – Week 2 Week two started quietly, but RS11 clearly had other plans. Between September 18th and 20th, the difference was impossible to miss. What were still small plants at the beginning of the week are now starting to look like they mean business, with the tallest reaching around 15 cm. The structure is getting tighter, the leaves are spreading out, and that fresh growth in the middle is becoming more and more noticeable. Looking at them now, it feels like the moment where the story starts to change — they’re no longer just seedlings waiting to become plants. They’re becoming plants. The setup is also starting to look different as the girls settle into their pots and the whole room slowly fills with green. There’s still a long way to go, but the first signs of personality are beginning to show, and I’m already wondering which one is going to surprise me the most. Two weeks in, nothing has been decided yet. And that’s exactly what makes the next chapter interesting

MistaOC 27.09. D20 Chapter 3 – Day 20 At first, everything looked like it was going exactly the way I wanted. I started with five RS11 seeds, expecting the usual waiting game. But only two decided to show themselves. That wasn’t quite the start I had in mind, so I gave it another shot and popped five more. This time, all five came through. Seven plants in total. From those seven, I picked the four that looked strongest and most promising, and that’s where the real story began. Twenty days later, I have to admit that the picture is getting more complicated. Barney’s Farm describes these F1 Precision Seeds as something special, with exceptional quality and a high level of uniformity. But when I look around the tent, uniformity is not exactly the word that comes to mind. Two of the four are developing in a very similar way and are looking solid. Nothing that makes me stop and stare, but definitely healthy and promising. Then there’s another one that has taken a completely different path, with noticeably longer internodal spacing and a growth pattern I simply don’t like as much. And then there’s the one I really didn’t see coming. She was the first to crack, had the strongest root from the beginning and seemed to be winning the race every step of the way. She was the one I would have put my money on. Now she’s the one struggling. The leaves are showing clear damage, the plant seems to be having trouble taking up what it needs, and suddenly the early frontrunner has become the biggest question mark in the room. What makes it even more interesting is that the environment hasn’t changed. The other plants are dealing with exactly the same conditions, and they’re moving forward without the same issues. So at this point, I’m finding myself asking a very different question than I did at the beginning: is this simply one difficult phenotype, or am I starting to see the real level of variation hiding inside this pack? Yesterday, on Day 19, I opened the Autopots. That means the plants have now entered a completely new phase, and maybe this is where the story takes another turn. I’m not ready to judge the RS11 yet. But after twenty days, the promise of exceptional uniformity has definitely given me something to think about. And the plant I thought would lead the pack? She’s currently the one I’m watching most closely

MistaOC 03.10. D26 Chapter 4 – Day 26 For a while, I honestly wasn’t sure what was going to happen with this run. The plant that started out as the clear front-runner had turned into the biggest question mark in the tent, and after the last update I was watching her more closely than the others. But something has changed. She’s still different, and she’s definitely not following the same script as the rest, but she’s fighting her way back. The damaged leaves are still part of the story, yet the new growth is telling a completely different one. And while she was busy trying to catch her breath, the others didn’t wait. They pushed hard. After topping, the structure opened up and suddenly there are shoots everywhere, turning what was once a group of young plants into something that finally looks like a proper canopy. It’s almost strange to look back at the photos from only a short time ago and realise how quickly the whole tent has changed. The differences between the phenotypes are still obvious, but for the first time I’m not looking at them and thinking about what went wrong. I’m looking at them and wondering what each one is going to become. And that’s when I made a decision I hadn’t originally planned on making this soon: tomorrow will be the last day of veg. They could probably use a little more time, but something tells me this is the right moment to stop waiting and let the next phase reveal what these plants are really made of. The early doubts are still there, buried somewhere in the back of my mind, but the tent doesn’t look like a disappointment anymore. It looks like a question waiting to be answered. Tomorrow, I turn the page

MistaOC 08.10. F5 Chapter 5 – Day 5 of Flowering: The Real Test Begins Five days into flowering, and the tent is starting to tell a very different story than the one I expected when this run began. Remember the plant that had me questioning everything? The one that started out like a champion, only to stumble when it mattered? Well, she hasn’t disappeared from the story just yet. Looking at the tent now, you’d almost forget how much doubt surrounded these four plants only a short while ago. The canopy has filled out, the shoots are reaching into the light, and the whole setup has taken on a new character. Topping has done its job, opening up the structure and giving the plants room to develop their own personalities. But that’s also where the differences become impossible to ignore. Two plants still seem to be reading from the same playbook, growing in a remarkably similar way. Another has her own ideas about structure and spacing, while our former front-runner is slowly finding her feet again. She’s looking better than before, but I’m not ready to call it a comeback just yet. I’ve grown enough plants over the years to know that a good-looking canopy doesn’t tell you the whole story. Sometimes the most promising plant disappoints you, and sometimes the one you nearly write off ends up surprising you. Right now, I’m keeping an open mind, even if my confidence in the F1 Precision promise has taken a few hits along the way. The switch to flowering was the next big decision, and now there’s no going back to the comfort of veg. The plants have crossed that line, and the coming weeks will show whether their differences are merely cosmetic or whether they’ll translate into something much more significant. I’m particularly curious to see how the struggling plant responds as flowering progresses, and whether the two more consistent phenotypes will continue to develop along the same lines. For now, the plants look vigorous, the new growth is pushing forward, and the tent is finally starting to look like a run with real potential. But I’m deliberately holding back on the victory lap. Barney’s Farm sells these seeds with a promise of exceptional quality and uniformity, and that promise is still something I need to see for myself. So far, this run has given me more questions than answers, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise just because the latest pictures look encouraging. The first five days of flowering are only the opening scene. The real character of these plants is still hidden somewhere ahead, waiting to reveal itself. And after everything that’s happened so far, I’m more interested than ever to find out which of these four will actually deliver

MistaOC 14.10. F11 Chapter 6 – Day 11 of Flowering: The Calm Before the Storm Something is changing inside the tent, and this time it’s not just the calendar telling me we’ve entered flowering. The plants are beginning to show what they’re made of. Eleven days into bloom, the stretch is underway, but it’s happening with a restraint I didn’t quite expect. No wild explosion, no sudden race towards the light. Instead, the four RS11 phenotypes are quietly building their positions, each following its own rhythm. The difference in height is becoming more obvious by the day, and the canopy is starting to look less like a uniform group and more like four individual stories unfolding under the same light. The front-left plant is currently setting the pace. She has climbed from 40 to 52 cm, adding a solid 12 cm without losing that healthy, vigorous appearance. The others are stretching too, just at their own pace, and I’m genuinely curious to see where they’ll end up once the flowering stretch reaches its peak. There’s something fascinating about this phase: from the outside, everything can look calm and predictable, while underneath that green canopy, the plants are making decisions that will shape the entire run. Branches are reaching out, new growth is pushing forward, and the future bud sites are beginning to establish themselves. The tent is looking increasingly promising, but the real question is no longer whether these plants can grow. It’s which phenotype will turn that growth into something special. And then there’s the plant at the front right. If you’ve been following this run from the beginning, you’ll remember that she hasn’t exactly made life easy for me. While the others seemed to settle into their rhythm, she struggled after the AutoPot system was opened, and her leaves told a story that didn’t quite fit the picture I had in mind. My suspicion is that her root system simply wasn’t developed enough at the time to handle the transition comfortably. Too much moisture around a root zone that wasn’t ready for it may have contributed to the setback. That’s still a theory, not a confirmed diagnosis, but the progress since then gives me reason to believe she’s finding her balance. Her root system has had more time to develop, and she’s looking considerably better now. Even so, I get the impression that she’s not entirely comfortable with the constant moisture of the AutoPot setup. She’s recovering, but she’s doing it on her own terms. And honestly, I’m rooting for her. Not because she’s the strongest plant in the tent, but because these are exactly the moments that make a grow interesting. Anyone can celebrate the obvious winner; watching a struggling phenotype fight her way back is a different kind of satisfaction. For now, the plants look healthy, the environment remains steady, and the transition into flowering is progressing without any major surprises. But I’m keeping my expectations in check. The stretch still has room to surprise us, the differences between the phenotypes are becoming harder to ignore, and the first real clues about their eventual structure are only just emerging. The easy part of watching them grow is over. Now comes the part where they have to prove themselves. And somewhere among these four plants, there may already be a favourite in the making — or the biggest surprise of the entire run. I’m not ready to call it yet

MistaOC 18.10. F15 Chapter 7 – Day 15 of Flowering: The Stretch Has Just Entered the Chat There’s a moment in every grow when you stop asking yourself whether the plants are going to fill the space and start wondering whether you’ve given them enough of it. I think we’re getting dangerously close to that moment. Four days ago, the RS11s were already showing their intentions, but looking at the tent now, it’s clear that the warm-up is over. The stretch has shifted into another gear, and these girls are wasting absolutely no time. Branches that once sat comfortably beneath the canopy are now pushing upwards, reaching for the light, while fresh growth keeps appearing at the tips as if someone has quietly turned up the speed when nobody was watching. The difference between the phenotypes is becoming more pronounced, too. Some are building a broad, bushy structure with a multitude of promising tops, while others are stretching more vertically, sending their branches higher and opening up the space between them. From above, the tent is turning into a dense sea of green; from the side, you can see the real story unfolding — stems climbing, new shoots claiming their territory, and the entire canopy changing shape almost before your eyes. This is exactly the phase where a grow can become seriously exciting, because the plants are no longer simply recovering from the switch to flowering. They’re showing us how they intend to play the game. And if these pictures are anything to go by, the RS11s have decided that playing it safe isn’t part of the plan. What interests me most is that there isn’t one single blueprint emerging from this group. Each phenotype is interpreting the same environment in its own way, and that’s where the real character of this run begins to reveal itself. The taller, more open plants are reaching upwards, while the broader ones are building a much fuller framework beneath the light. Neither approach tells us yet which will ultimately produce the most impressive flowers, but it does make the coming weeks all the more interesting. The front-right girl, who gave me a few headaches earlier in the run, is also part of that story now. Her earlier struggles haven’t disappeared from my memory, but she’s no longer the only question mark in the tent; the focus has shifted towards what all four phenotypes are going to do with the momentum they’ve built. For now, the foliage looks healthy, the plants are pushing forward, and the whole setup has that unmistakable feeling of a grow gathering pace. There’s still plenty of work ahead, and I’m not about to declare winners before the flowers have had their say. The stretch can still change the balance of the entire tent, and once the vertical growth begins to settle, we’ll get a much clearer picture of the structures these plants are preparing to carry. But one thing is certain: the RS11s have stopped asking for room and started taking it. Day 15, and the race is properly underway. The next chapter should tell us whether this explosive growth is merely the opening act — or the first glimpse of something special. 22.10. F19 Chapter 8 – Day 19 of Flowering: Twenty Centimetres of Pure Chaos Four days. That’s all it took. Four days since the last update, and suddenly the entire tent looks like someone hit the fast-forward button. Twenty centimetres of additional growth in that time — let that sink in for a moment. Twenty. The RS11s aren’t stretching anymore; they’re rewriting the architecture of the grow room. The tallest phenotypes have pushed their way towards the light, while the more compact girls are busy building their own structures beneath them. Looking at the tent from above, you can already see how dramatically the canopy has changed, but the side shots tell the real story: long, confident branches, fresh white pistils appearing across the developing flower sites, and an ever-growing number of potential tops reaching into the available space. The stretch is still the main event, although the first signs of the next chapter are beginning to emerge. Those early flowers are taking shape, and the plants are gradually shifting their attention from simply gaining height towards developing what we’re all here to see. And then there’s the smell. That first unmistakable cherry-like note associated with RS11 has started to make itself known. It’s still early, but the first hints of the profile are finally coming through, adding another dimension to a run that has been full of surprises from the very beginning. The tent is changing by the day, and the first real clues about the personalities behind these plants are starting to reveal themselves. But there’s one thing this run continues to make abundantly clear: uniformity is not exactly the headline act here. Despite the F1 label, the phenotypes are showing substantial differences in structure, branching and stretch behaviour. Some plants are tall and relatively open, with long branches and plenty of space between their developing flower sites. Others are considerably bushier, keeping their growth closer together and building a much denser framework. The contrast is impossible to ignore when they’re all standing side by side under the same light, sharing the same environment and the same overall setup. It’s a useful reminder that an F1 label alone doesn’t guarantee that every plant in a particular seed pack will look identical; the actual genetic background and the parents used matter enormously. A well-bred, uniform F1 can be remarkably consistent, while other crosses can show more variation. Likewise, an F5 generation isn’t automatically more stable simply because it has gone through more generations — that depends on the selection and breeding work behind it. So, rather than fighting the differences, I’m letting this run tell its own story. No premature favourites, no big predictions based on a few early flowers, and definitely no judging the final result by height alone. For now, the RS11s are healthy-looking, the stretch has been spectacular, and that first cherry-like aroma has given us something new to look forward to. The next big question is what happens when the vertical race finally begins to slow down and the flowers take centre stage. Will the tallest phenotypes turn all that extra height into something special, or will the more compact plants have the last laugh? Day 19. Twenty centimetres later, the tent has changed almost beyond recognition — and the most interesting part of this story may only just be beginning.

MistaOC 25.10. F22 Chapter 9 – Day 22 of Flowering: The One Nobody Wanted to Lose October 25th. Three days since the last update, and the RS11 tent has reached another turning point. The stretch is gradually giving way to flower development, fresh white pistils are appearing across the canopy, and the differences between the individual phenotypes remain impossible to ignore. Some plants have reached impressive heights, stretching their long branches towards the light, while others have taken a completely different route, staying compact and building a much denser structure. There is plenty to be excited about when looking at these pictures, but today’s update comes with a bitter aftertaste. During the latest inspection, I discovered that one of the plants had started showing hermaphroditic traits. And at this stage, with the flowers developing and the surrounding plants already well into bloom, this was not something I was prepared to gamble with. Nobody wants to remove a plant after investing weeks of time, attention and effort into it, especially when the whole point of a run like this is to see what the genetics can deliver. But sometimes growing means making the decision you’d rather not have to make. So, as difficult as it was, the affected plant had to leave the tent. No drama, no second-guessing the decision afterwards — just one of those moments when protecting the rest of the run has to come first. It’s a disappointing development, particularly in a grow that has already shown considerable variation between phenotypes. Still, the remaining plants are standing, the flowers are progressing, and the journey continues. This run has been a reminder from the beginning that a label alone doesn’t tell the whole story. The differences in structure, branching and stretch have been striking, and now we’ve encountered another unwanted surprise. It would be easy to turn this into a sweeping verdict on the genetics, but one plant showing hermaphroditic traits is not enough to establish the cause or judge the entire line. Genetic predisposition can play a role, while environmental or other stress factors may also contribute. For now, I’m simply recording what happened and keeping the focus on the plants that remain. The close-up shots show how quickly the flowers are developing, with fresh pistils emerging and the first signs of resin becoming visible on some of the sugar leaves. The taller phenotypes continue to dominate the upper canopy, while the compact plant presents a completely different picture, with its tighter structure and clusters of developing flower sites. It’s a fascinating contrast, even if today’s discovery has taken some of the excitement out of the room. The affected plant is gone, but the experience stays with the grow. I’ll be watching the remaining plants closely for any further signs of unwanted pollen-producing structures and keeping a careful eye on the environment. No premature conclusions, no pretending that setbacks don’t matter. Day 22 of flowering, one plant removed, and a reminder that even the most promising run can take an unexpected turn. Sometimes the best thing you can do for a grow is accept a disappointing outcome, make the hard call, and keep moving forward. The RS11 story isn’t over yet.