Morning Lemon AK-47 Collaboration

PUMP UP MY BUD'S! This is definitely the moment of truth when growing any strain. It’s all about the buds! We all want not just big buds but buds of substance. What I mean is some nice sugar-coated calyx density with a nominal amount of trichome covered sugar leaves to fill in a bit. While genetics plays a huge part of the overall bud quality, it’s our job to give them what they need when they need it to maximize the bud building potential of each and every plant regardless of strain or phenotype. We’ve spent some time performing a number of low stress techniques to give the buds the energy needed to focus on bud growth but now it’s time to put some weight on these jewels. Progressing through the vegetative stages focused on leave and stem growth, then transitioning through early flower development required a change in our nutrient proportions to maximize bud sites. Now we need to tweak or start using some extra phosphorus and potassium to feed those hungry buds. While the need for nitrogen has dropped during bloom it’s still needed for photosynthesis to occur. Too much nitrogen could lead to excessively leafy buds not what we like. Using a bloom nutrient with low nitrogen with medium to high phosphorus and high potassium is important in order for the buds to start the bulking up stage. Over the next few weeks you will see a significant increase in density and size of the buds as they begin to swell up. Adding a PK 13/14 type product during this time will give the extra phosphorus and potassium needed to maximize bud size. In addition to these macro nutrients it’s very important to note your buds are also hungry for calcium and magnesium. Hopefully you’ve been keeping an eye out for cal/mag deficiencies over the past few weeks and have increased the amount of cal/mag to satisfy bud growth which can really drain the leaves to feed their need. Another micro nutrient sulfur is very often over looked but it is needed in small quantities to ensure good bud growth. If you have stagnant bud growth/development and if you have upper leaves with a part yellow part green with red leaf stems, possibly showing red/purple streaks running up your main stem you may be looking at a sulfur deficiency. If this issue is encountered adding an Epsom salt (Magnesium sulfate) solution can help alleviate the issue. Some supplements may contain potassium sulfate which would actually be beneficial to the buds since we’re in bloom. What is important is trying to keep the nutrients in proper proportions to help prevent nutrient lock out. It should be 4- parts Potassium to 2- parts Calcium to 1-part Magnesium. Each one has the potential to lock out each other. So, in other words adding too much potassium too soon won’t do much for your buds since they aren’t using all of it. In turn if you keep adding it the concentration could lead to issues with calcium and magnesium deficiencies. The same goes for too much calcium locking out the plants access to potassium or magnesium. Hence too much magnesium will lockout calcium and potassium. In other words, it’s key to add the nutrients only when they are truly needed to avoid major bud growth issues caused by nutrient lock out. One way to avoid this issue is to make sure you perform a small flush prior to switching to bloom nutrients. This will help wash out any excess salts that have been building up during the first 4 to 5 weeks. I’m using a TDS meter with a 0.50 scale so when flushing I’m checking my runoff ppm’s they will sometimes be up into the 1500+ppm (3.0 EC) ranges a bit higher than I like. I will flush until I can get it down into the 850 to 900 ppm (1.7 EC -1.8 EC)range then add my nutrients to the last quart of flush water. I like to allow my pots to dry out a bit longer before the next watering or feeding. I find that doing this will prepare the plants and soil/pots for the steady increase in nutrients which will be at their maximum dosages during week 7 and 8 thus preventing any nutrient lockout issues during such a key period of bud development. Some growers like to start adding in some smaller amounts of PK 13/14 starting in week 6 then increasing it slightly in week 7 then giving the largest dose in week 8. Others suggest using it in one big pop around 3 weeks before harvest. To play it safe I like to use the gradual approach to adding PK 13/14 while adding in extra calcium, magnesium and sulfur supplements in an attempt to maintain some type of balance in the soil. Aside from truly overdosing with your nutrients and burning the hell out of your plants it’s nice to find out what their limits actually are when it comes to nutrient strength. What’s important to remember is auto flowers don’t need as many nutrients as photo-periods. You rarely ever need to use more than half strength nutrients on them even during the peak bloom period. I do recommend keeping detailed notes on each pot/plant in order to prevent your runoff ppm’s from getting too high or too low. If it gets too high use plain water in between feedings to bring it down slightly. Each plant may also be feeding/drinking a bit faster or slower than the others so always feed and water them individually depending on their actual needs. If it’s too low feed every watering to get it back up to where it needs to be. During week 7 and 8 I like to see my runoff after feeding to be in the 850 – 1000 ppm (1.7 EC -2.0 EC) range. It seems to work well for me. I do see some growers taking it up a bit higher for larger heavier feeding strains that burn through nutrients. Always a few rebels pushing their plants to the limit. Lastly this is the best way to develop your own custom feeding schedule for your nutrient line up to use on your future grows. So, get to it and start pumping up those buds! WEEK 7 UPDATE Buds are filling in getting denser. Increased nutrients ppm this will be the maximum I will be feeding. They are receiving a feeding about every third day as needed taking almost 1/2 gallon to take them to the point of slight runoff. I continue to remove/tuck a few fan leaves as needed to allow more light to bud sights. Temperatures ,humidity light conditions are the same as week 6.