'Northern Lights' by i49

Hello and welcome to an early addition of the Northern Lights Diary. I am doing this early, Veg, Week 9 (Day 60) because I have to flip. I do not have a choice. I was looking to mid week to end week 10, but I have lost control of the growth rate of two of them. One, the B.C and the other NL #2. They both gained, roughly, 5-6 inches in 4 days.... (since Tuesday-my last update) and have surpassed my flipping mark by an inch. They have to go to flower as I'm pretty unsure on how the stretch is going to go. Fingers crossed I don't exceed 60% or I may be in trouble. These are officially the last pictures of Northern Lights #1 and #2 before the flip tonight, 9pm, Dec 11th, 2020. Updates will now be posted every Saturday/Sunday from here on out. Pictures include a new silica base supplement that will be added to the schedule next feed, the 3M non-residue duct tape I use to mitigate light leaks and how I apply this tape. Lastly, since this is a rushed update, I will pretty much just be copy and pasting this info between diaries. So if you read the log here, there's no need to read the others. It will essentially be the same info but with their strain name subbed in. Any differences or additional notes will be noted in "Notes of the week" Thank you! Notes of the past 4 days: -Except for DSD, all plants are now hovering at the 23-24" mark (60cm) excluding the pot. My trigger was going to be 75cm (planned awhile ago), but with recent growth spurts I see I can't afford to risk it. 60cm became my new mark. -I highly recommend 3M, Non-Residue duct tape if you ever feel paranoid about light leaks. My tent still isn't really broken in yet, so the dual zipper flaps do allow light in and out. I use this tape to cover the zipper track so nothing can get in or out. Advertised no residue if applied for no more then 6 months. I have only had it applied for 4.5 months, but when I took it off there wasn't a single spec of glue or residue. This stuff is expensive, but for me and my concerns, it's wholly worth it. It doesn't stick as well as normal duct tape because the glue is weaker, but it does the job and can be removed/re-applied anytime without a problem.👍 -Potassium Silicate supplement "Sturdy Stock" by Emerald Harvest will be introduced into the feeding schedule next feed. This should have been in the regiment from the get-go but I actually had no idea about it. Once again, a great acquaintance on this site has directed me to pick some up and give her a go. Had no idea what this was or that it could help the cell structure of my plants to better carry their flower weight. Will be starting low and slow with this (half dose start) to see how the girls react to yet another addition to their feed. -Re-commissioned the 240Watt Blurple LED. It is now hung further in the back to help supplement any light in 'dead (er)' spots in the tent that the SF-2000 cannot reach (3x3 footprint in 4x4 tent). Activated yesterday to ensure it wasn't too much for the girls and they were fine. I figure by Flowering Week 2, the blurple will be on for the entire day period along side the SF. -Second Titan Digital Timer has been programmed to operate during the night cycle. This will turn on a small ceramic heater and 32 Watt heat mat to keep temperatures @ optimal levels. I don't want this heater or mat to operate during the day cycle as the power draw and heat is too high. Never will both lights and the heaters work at the same time for fear of tripping the breaker. The lights give off the adequate heat I need in the day so there is no use for the ceramic heater and mat anyway. If heat gets to high in the night cycle, the intake and outtake are mechanically interlocked to trigger at 21-22 degrees to disperse that excess heat and/or humidity and will continue to cycle as needed (roughly 2-3 times an hour it seems). Inline variable motor speed controls are inline with both the intake and outtake as well. When triggered the tent pressure is balanced so it does not puff out or suck in during the fresh air cycle. Trial and error to get that balance, but well worth it. -Last feed and full prune with a very small amount of defo (2 plants, 4 fans each) has been completed 3 days ago. The girls have fully recovered with no signs of stress (anymore) and this is another reason I feel it's appropriate to flip when they're in such a healthy and vigorous state. When pruning, for the first time, DSD and NL #2 actually did react negatively to the cuts and the subsequent feeding afterwards. I have pruned and watered before but they had never done this. B.C and NL #1 did not react at all with the same treatment.... Anywho, DSD and NL #2 were pretty pissed at me for a bit and it took about 6-8 hours for them to come back to full health (They dipped right out after the cuts and feed. Just super un-happy with me). I apologized profusely to them. I didn't think this was going to harm them as much as I projected it would. Sorry girls, but thank you for coming back and recovering👍 I think that's it (?). I genuinely ask for well wishes during this flip! I'm excited but also nervous on how this flowering period will go, especially considering it's my first indoor-winter grow and that has thrown a lot of sticks in my spokes, lots of trial and error. Any suggestions or comments, please let me know as soon as possible in the thread or through PM. This would be greatly appreciated and constructive criticism is welcome (I mean that). Happy grows and good luck to you all this week with the girls. I shall see you again on January 17th/18th for "End Week 1 Flower". Cheers my friends.✊😉