'Northern Lights' by i49

x2 Nothern Lights by i49. Tagging @Mrs_Larimar for this grow as requested. Thank you for your support! Breeder Notes: Dominant Origins- 95% Indica/5% Sativa Parents of Northern Lights- Afghani & Thai Medicinal Application- Commonly used relieve sleeplessness, Northern Lights is ideal for treating stress and depression. The strain’s heavy body high is extremely effective in addressing chronic pain and its strong appetite-inducing effects are used to treat eating disorders like anorexia. Aroma- Pungently sweet and spicy. Flavour- Earthy sweet, with a hint of pine. Impediments- Side-effects may include dry mouth, dry eyes, dizziness, headaches, and mild paranoia. CBD Range (grown under optimum conditions)- Medium THC Range (grown under optimum conditions)-20-25% Equipment Listings as follows: Germination and Seedling Set-up equipment: -"Mammoth" standard 35x24x24" propagation tent (90x60x60cm) -x1, 10x20 inch tray and dome set -x2, square tray elevators -x2, low draw computer fans (No name, clearance from Staples) -x1, "Sunblaster", 18 inch, 32 Watt Florescent, T5Ho, full spectrum lamp -x1, "Sunblaster", 18 inch, 16 Watt LED, full spectrum lamp -Misc. items. include light ratchets, tye wires, wicking matt and temperature gauges (covered in Vegetation set-up) Vegetation and Flowering Set-up: -"Mammoth Pro-120", 47x47x79" propagation tent (120x120x200cm) -"Can-lite" 6x24", 600 CFM Carbon Filter -"Hurricane" 6 inch inline exhaust, 435 CFM w/ black lined, 6" ducting -"Vivosun" 6 inch inline intake, 390 CFM w/ black lined 6" ducting -x2 variable, inline motor speed controllers by "Active Air" (For use on squirrel cage, brushed motors only. Brushless motors will not operate with these) -x6 outlet, 15 amp surge protection power bar (Any kind with warranty and rigidity rated for no less then 1200W) -x5 outlet, 15 amp power bar, slaved off the surge protected power bar. -x1 "Zephyr-5" inline temperature controller with probe -x1 "Ink-Bird IHC-200" 2 stage, inline Humidity and temperature gauge controller with probe -x1 "Hysure" 2 liter de-humidifier (DO NOT BUY! Bad purchase!) -x1 "Hurricane" Clip on fan -x1, 12 inch oscillating fan (under-canopy circulation) -x1, 36 inch oscillating fan (under/over canopy circulation) -x1, "Accutemp" indoor/outdoor humidistat and temperature reader -x4, "No-Name" humidistats placed throughout tent at different heights and locations to assess averages. -Misc. items and devices such as ratchet straps, 18 awg wire, hemp twine, paper clips, tye wire, bamboo, sticky traps, etc... are also within the unit. Lighting and Specs in Vegetation Tent: -"Spider Farmer-2000" Quantum Board LED. SPECS: ✔️DB: 0dB ✔️Veg Footprint: 3 x 4 ft ✔️Flower Footprint: 2 x 4 ft ✔️Max Yield: 2.2g/watt ✔️Humidity ≤90% ✔️Lifespan: ≥50000 hours ✔️View Angle of LED: 90°-120° ✔️Spectrum: 660nm,3000K,5000K and IR 760nm ✔️Replace other red and blue light: 2000W ✔️Frequency: 50-60HZ ✔️Input Voltage: AC100-277V ✔️Lumen:34500Lm±5%@AC120V, 34460Lm±5%@AC240V, 34530Lm±5%@AC277V ✔️Amp: 1.67A @AC120V, 0.84A @AC240V, 0.73A @AC277V ✔️Draw Power: 202.3W±5% @AC120V, 196.7W±5% @AC240V, 196.6W±5% @AC277V Work Temperature：-4°F ~115°F (-20°C ~ 46°C) -"Phlizon 1200" Blurple Dual Switch Series LED SPECS: ✔️241 Watt, true wattage ✔️972.5 umol/m(squared) s ✔️Core Coverage Veg 3x3, Flower 2x2' ✔️120 piece, 10 watt, high capacity diodes, full spectrum (79pcs 630-660nm, 34pcs 460nm, 4pcs cool white 6500K, 1pcs UV 380-390nm, 2pcs IR 740nm ✔️Input: AC100-240V, 50-60Hz ✔️Lifespan: ≥ 50,000hours ✔️Material: UV protection and fire-proof PC Cover + metal frame Staging Area Set-up (Nutrient dosing, mixing and testing area): -x8, 5ml syringes. One syringe per supplement to eliminate cross contamination -1000 and 1400ppm Calibration fluid by "Grotek". (2 ranges for proper calibration) -7.0 pH calibration liquid by "BlueLabs" or "Grotek" (prefer Grotek if available. Cheaper solution with the same purpose) -x3, 60ml "Master-Measure" syringes w/ additional tubing -x2, 100ml "Master-Measure" syringes w/ additional tubing -Multiple pipettes (1ml) for micro dosing or high concentration supplements -"Milwaukee" pH pen (High quality, mid range price) -Manual "GHE" pH, "Liquid and Vial" test kit (Used in conjunction with pH pen to ensure accurate readings) -x2 TDS meters. One no name and one by "Realgoal" brand TDS. (Used in conjunction to ensure accurate readings) -x2, 5 gallon buckets (One for mixing & one for RO waste. Kept separate at all times) -250, 500 and 900ml measuring cups w/ two sets of measuring spoons (metal and plastic) for dosing, testing and sanitizing. -Roll of water proof, counter cover, White. (Keeps nutrient dies and stains from surfaces. Dollar store. Very cheap) Nutrients: -GHE "Floragro" series (Micro-Gro-Bloom, Base NPK supplement) -GHE Diamond Nectar (Fulvic/Humic Acids) -GHE Floralicious + (Molasses and terpene Dev.) -Emerald Harvest's King Kola (PK Booster) -Emerald Harvest's Sturdy Stock (Potassium Silicate for plant cell wall structure and strength) -Botanicare's Cal/Mag Plus 0-0-2 (Base Cal/Mag supplementation) -Advanced Nutrients Flawless Finish (Flushing agent) -Future Harvest's pH down and pH up (Much cheaper solution with higher concentration, larger amount and half the price) -Gaia Green's Bone Meal 2-16-0 supplement (Phosphorous and Cal, acting as a natural soil pH buffer) -Root Stim #1 for soft-wood applications (Used only in transplants, sparingly so) Medium: -Canna-Terra Medium 50% (Heavy Peat moss) -Dutch Treat Potting Soil 50% (Base soil with better retention) -Dutch Treat Perlite conditioner. Ratio of 1:10 in soil mix. Looking forward to growing this strain the most out of all three strains I'm attempting. Like everyone says, it's a classic and as a good Canadian I feel like I should grow a set of these girls. I'm an indica man and these girls will be right up my alley in terms of potency and the affects I'm looking for. Had it many, many times in the past and am excited to actually give it a go, myself.

Everything is going very smoothly w/ these 2 girls so far. Followed my own advice and didn't fill the solo's to the top, leaving room for shoring up and extra, new soil for roots to tap into after transplant. This coming week will be the first nutrient feed and pot up using 'Root Stim' for soft wood applications/plants. Only going to use a very conservative amount as it is my first time using it. After I bought it I found out this is the exact (almost) hormone my grandfather used when planting his 10 acre orchard 40 years ago (Apple trees, cherry trees, prunes etc...). Excited to see what it can or will do on it's first application.

Week #3 went very well for the NL's. They're not giving me a problem in any way and just keep plugging along. First feeding of GHE's 'Week #1 Schedule' on day 19; same day as transplant. 3 days after transplant and they're roughly twice the size and moving into full veg. Exciting times. Out of my 'danger zone'. Notes of the week: -Used Stim Root #1 for the first time, very conservatively. Gently mixed into the transplant hole/soil and gently moistened w/ spray bottle before plopping the girls in. -Used Diamond Nectar (Humic/Fulvic Acids) by GHE for the first time in order to optimize the end game yield. Flora-licious by GHE will be introduced to the schedule next week. **Update: Stim Root #1 worked very well and the girls did not stunt or stop growth when moved over. No transplant shock, root burns or stunting noticed**

Very pleased to report I've received my SF-2000 quantum board LED and decommissioned the 1200W Blurple on Dec 5th, 2019. The Girls were only under the Blurple for a total of 2.5 days, so I will be rating the new SF-2000 based on this grow ( I feel 2.5 days of Blurple is negligible and it will still be an honest review and assessment of the SF-2000, regardless of those two-ish days). Also happy to report the light is absolutely blinding in the best of ways. I had not seen in operation (in person ) and to see what everyone's talking about was incredible. It beats the Blurple in every way. Twice the initial lumens, smoother (more even) spectrum, higher par value, no noise, no fans, rigidly built, low profile, gives off way less heat then the blurple, better core spread for both Veg and Bloom by at least one foot and all of this this is drawing 42 watts less then the previous light.... As for functionality, it has to work right? Proof is in the plants. Well, my God, I know I'm not crazy and I see a difference. The girls are absolutely stoked to be under it. Vegetation has gone into over drive and they want for nothing. The SF was creating super tight internodes on all the girls and I literally had to back it off from the m manufactures' recommended height because I WANT them to stretch a bit. Hahaha. I need some space for topping and training and this light is so powerful, I can't do that unless I back it off. I feel this is a good problem to have. So far 10 out of 10. Reports on functionality, durability and plant health will be included in future entries. On to the actual plants. Both Girls had a tremendous week of growth. I barely recognize them and looking at the pictures from 7 days ago shows they have grown to about 4 times the size! Healthy, happy, strong stems, pushing a new node every 1.5-2 days and besides a blemish here an there, are all around thriving in their environment. Notes: -I have started very lite preliminary LST on NL #2. She's faster then her sister and I'm going to attempt to maintain an even canopy throughout the grow -Both girls will be topped within the next 5 days (6th node). I waited longer this time to top (last time node 4) so I had the appropriate amount of foliar surface area for the girls to bounce back faster after the stress of having their heads cut off. LOL -Both girls will be trained and grown the same as my first grow but with heavier pruning, defoliation and possible Lolli popping. Looking for only 8-10 main colas per plant. Will train and prune to accomplish this. (Looking at no more then 3 topped sections. Remaining tops will be accomplished through LST) -Along with the new nutrients added to their schedule/refining LST technique's and jumping down to a 20/4 light cycle (down from 24/0), I'm confident these girls will have a far better end game yield then my first attempt. Especially with the SF-2000 in operation. -Next feed is light flush before moving into early Veg feeding schedule and the introduction of flora-licious by GHE.

Hello all! The NL's had a 50/50 week. #1 is looking just dandy and there's no visible issues but #2 had a tough one. I have a small ceramic heater in the tent and it doesn't put out much at all, but was pointing at NL's largest fan leaf (top set). Damaged the blades quite badly and I had to remove them while leaving the remaining healthy blades alone. Also, you will see in the pictures above that she is showing a deformation and/or mutation on one of it's two main tops (@ topping site) and one lateral branch below it. They are BOTH on the same side as the heat damaged fan leaf and it may not be the reason for this but it sure is coincidental. Mutation shows very spindly growth or no growth at all for half of it's fan leaves. They are very weak and lopsided due to the weight difference of its fan leaf dev. Will be watching closely... May have developed a small fungal-gnat problem and will be treating with either a DIY Neem foliar spray or applying a mixture direct to soil. Thanks to the people that gave me advice on this (Weeda/Larimar). I am using Canna-Terra soil which has a large amount of peat moss in it and I suspect that's where they may have come from. My tent is fully sanitized and/or sterilized, no other plants or outside materials around, always fully enclosed w/ screens on intake. This is just a guess. I don't see how else they could have gotten there or even 100% sure they're fungal gnats. (don't look like fruit flies either). At the very least it's a precaution and can't harm them. SF-2000 is STILL 10/10. This thing is a beast and the difference between my first grow and this is evident. I didn't do much of anything different with these girls then I did with my first set, up to this stage of growth (not time). Much thicker, heavier stems and lateral branches. The fan leaves on all plants are just taking it all in and loving it. I'm very, very happy I picked this up when I did. Notes of the week: -Heater moved (LOL), obviously. It's now on an even lower setting and not pointing at the girls in any way. I was dropping my temp anyways, so this actually worked out. -Besides NL #2's issues both girls are still doing pretty good and growth is in full gear. Stems and lateral branches are thick but a lack of foliage/user error on #2 is affecting this -Introduced Flora-licious + to the feed schedule this week, moved to GHE 'Early Veg ' dosing, upped Cal-Mag to 3.5ml/gallon (Botanicare), reduced heat from 28 to 26 degrees (reacting to the high heat) and bumped RH up from 40-45% to 55-65%. Still working on optimizing the tent conditions as it's officially cold as hell outside and I'm learning how to tackle the lower temps/humidly. I think I'm getting there... -If there is any advice or concern from the community about NL #'2 de-formations PLEASE drop me a line and let me know if you've had this before and where it went. For example, should I just go ahead and cut her head off again at the node below? Or should I just leave her alone and let this go on? Thanks in advance!! Cheers! Thanks for reading and happy grows my friends. **Update #1: Added photos of dead gnat and comparison photo. Catching them and currently trying to burn them out.** **Update #2: Gnat problem under control. Update in week 6.**

Great week with the NL's despite some small mistakes on my end. The Good: -Growth rate is in full gear and the difference between week 5 and 6 is night and day. -Pulling good runoff readings at 6.1-6.2pH and 1350ish ppm's . -Topping caused very little stress and they have fully recovered and pushed at least 5 inches of new main stem growth. -LST is almost complete as I see I am already running out of room. Time to grow further upwards as I slowly train further out and take the rest of the un-used space. -Mutation/deformation on NL #2 seems to be working itself out. New full, healthy sets have appeared now, beyond the deformation. -Girls are going into pre-flower now. No pistils just yet, but node points are now growing offset from one another and they're getting ready to flower. The Bad: -Still concerned about NL #2 deformation and will be watching her very closely for any signs of male sex organs. The 'Meh': -Fungal gnat problem still exists but is under control for the time being. Non-invasive/cheap remedies used include, yellow sticky tape for flies/gnats, floor sticky traps for garden pests, 120+ hour dry out of medium, removal of any standing water, increased heat slightly while dropping RH to 40-45%, cut russet potatoes and placed face down in every pot to draw any gnats/larva to surface (old farmer trick apparently) and sterilized all surfaces and outside of pots with diluted H2o2 at roughly 2.5%. -Running out of room and have to plan ahead here on when to flip, when to defoliate/prune. -This grow is going much quicker then my first due to the errors I didn't repeat from my first attempt. Kind of feel like I'm caught with my pants down now as my projected schedule has gone out the window. Good problem to have though....just miscalculated/under estimated the changes I made would create such fast growth. Notes of the week: -Going to pot up to their final, 5 gallon home after it's next feed and subsequent dry out (Early January) -May not be able to push the 11-12 week Veg schedule I had planned and am now looking at 9-10 week before flip. -***Added photo of full tent space and a comparison photo from grow #1 to grow #2. The changes made have created a much healthier, faster and stronger specimen. The proof is in the photo, both day 41. Changes include: Upgraded from blurple to SF-2000, Intro to flora-licious and Diamond Nectar, intro to Stim root #1 for transplants, refined (heavier) feeding schedule through Veg (and carrying through flower), RH running a bit lower along with heat (25-26 Day temps and 50%ish RH), programmed intake/exhaust to trigger fresh air cycles 2-3 times per hour and new soil for faster aeration and feeding (50% Canna-Terra and 50% Dutch Treat). Super happy with the changes b/t this grow and my last. Excited to see how much bigger and thicker these girls will be before the flip, compared to the first*** Thanks for reading and Happy grows all! And no matter where you are or what you celebrate, Happy Holidays my friends!

Hello and welcome to the Northern Lights grow, week 7. The Good: -Lots of good, almost all good. These girls have given me zero problems from day one and seem to be a very easy strain to propagate. They're beautiful monsters and I see the potential of how far I COULD have taken them if it weren't for space restrictions. -The feeding schedule I'm using seems to be the 'sweet spot' and has done nothing but help push them into fast and healthy Vegetative growth -Gaining about .5 to 1 inch of height per day with newly formed, offset node points forming every 1-2 days. They are moving quick. The Bad: -No bad. Happy with what I'm seeing The Meh: -Besides space restrictions there is no 'Meh' either. Everything's dandy. Topic of the Week: ***Since there was nothing really special about this week, I thought I'd talk about the importance of journaling. The thought came to mind after a discussion with another member and they asked if I kept separate logs. I do, but I realize that many people don't... or this site is the only written documentation of their grows. If not, please consider logging your information on a back up disk or hard copy, like the journal. I'm in the trades and am already pretty used to safety documentation, paper work, checks/balances and scheduling. I carry a notepad everywhere I go and write down everything. This has served me very well and referring back to these notes has saved my ass countless times. I feel the same about Cannabis. Even if you have the memory of an elephant, without proper documentation (and keeping up on it) you're (or at least I am) going to screw something up eventually. It's unlikely something plant-life threatening would occur but then again, is it worth the risk? If ever I run into a problem or forget what I fed or when I fed, my physical, written journal is always close by for reference and it comes in useful on a daily basis👍. Also, having this info serves as a benchmark for future grows with the same strains or close relatives of those strains (example: working out Blue Cookies 'sweet spot' for feeding. I document everything and with the changes I've made I now have a benchmark to follow for future grows). As every strain is different, it can become overwhelming for me to keep up with everything if I don't write what I did and when I did it. With this physical journal, online diary and backed-up photo files, it becomes unlikely that I will make an egregious error. Journaling is just a checks and balances system. I've learned from experience in the trades that when you don't record what you've done, a problem down the road can/will take 5 times as long to remedy. Plus, it's a pain in the ass. Who wants to fix mistakes that could have been avoided? I carried this mentality into cannabis growing from the beginning and if I'd ever needed to know a specific feed, time, height, symptom etc... I have something to fall back on. Down the road, I can also pay it forward to other growers using these strains, as I have a logged benchmark for feedings and growth patterns. It's win/win for everybody! Hope that wasn't preachy! It's just so important to get into a habit of recording everything. Eventually, it becomes second nature and you won't think twice about doing it. ***Pictures of my journal with a couple example pages are at the tail end of this weeks pictures. I usually transfer everything from post it notes as I go along and update the actual journal every 2-3 days max*** Happy grows my friends and thank you for reading. Have a wonderful week and enjoy your plant babies! Cheers✊👍

Hello and welcome to x2 Northern Lights, Week 8. The deets: The Good: -Doing very, very well and have still given me very few issues. I have been able to let these girls do their thing with minimal interference and they have grown and formed themselves quite well. -Gaining roughly .75-1 inch per day with new offset internode points occurring every 1-2 days (still) -Adjusted feeding schedule and some environmental changes have given them even more vigor and they are ready to flip. The Bad: -I noticed the SLIGHTEST nitrogen toxicity starting on NL#2. Leaves were turning a darker green hue and leaf tips were starting to curl ever so slightly downwards. An adjusted feeding schedule @ half dose Micro and Grow formula (Nitrogen and Potassium) while maintaining my bloom and Cal/Mag doses, have seemed to work. After 3 days, leaf tips were back up and her green hue was starting to look more natural and what I'm used to seeing. -Slightest splitting at #2's main topping section. Not a big deal, but added two braces to support her and keep this from advancing or splitting any further. Also, released pressure of both training tyes that were holding those laterals down. Not going to force her to be squat anymore and will let her grow upwards as she pleases. The 'Meh': -As mentioned before and in the other diaries, I'm out of room and have added 5-6 bamboo stocks to form and pull her laterals inwards in prep for flowering weight and stretch. -Also, as mentioned before, the writing is on the wall and these girls (all girls) will be flipped at mid week 10 (roughly) Notes of the Week: -Moving to GHE 'Transitions' feeding schedule in prep for flower and see if they act as well with this schedule as they did the Vegetation schedule. -Gnat issue is a not issue now. Haven't seen one of the buggers for a week and the only ones I do see are long dead on sticky traps. During transplant I paid close attention to the presence of any larva or gnats jumping out of the soil when I moved them. Happy to report, There. Was. Nothing. Just wonderfully healthy and happy root system throughout the entire medium. BUH BYE jerks! -All bamboo in place, bracing almost complete and training tyes slowly being removed to allow her upwards and un-impeded growth. When removing any LST tyes, the form does not budge. They are strong and structurally sound. LST went very well, IMO. -I don't know if I previously mentioned this, but the NL's are prone to a 7-8 week flowering schedule whereas the other girls are 8-9 week. I either have to make the decision to let them go an extra week and allow some THC to break down into CBN/CBD or find a separate solution and drying location for an earlier harvest then her counterparts. Thank you for reading and happy grows my friends. Enjoy your time and peace with the girls! Cheers

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.✊😉

Hello and welcome to Week 10 and end week 1 of flower with Northern Lights. The Good: -Still very happy with the NL's. They're growing very well and with the stretch they're gaining height at a very quick rate. NL #2 two moves quicker then her sister, but both are looking pretty good -The slight Nitrogen toxicity from 1.5 weeks has not returned at all and the flush through performed has once again done it's job and removed any excess she doesn't need while replacing it with what she does need/want. -Forming inwards is going well, branches are getting thhhhick and firm. I removed tyes to see if she moves, and she does not. This may change with cola weight, but they're carrying themselves very well as of late. The Bad: -Weather, weather, weather. Going on to 12-13 days of -35 to -45 degrees Celsius (with wind-chill). I haven't felt these temps for 8 years or so, and I don't miss it. It is terrible for anything living and the plants are no different. Temperature is under control now, but RH is a constant battle. This is a very dry cold and the house is hovering around 20-25% RH. This sucks the moisture out of everything, like our skin and our plant leaves water retention reserve. Symptoms observed and actions taken are listed below. All things used or done were either very cheap or completely free👍 -Space restrictions are very tight. I have total projected height calculations listed in Blue Cookies, Week 10. There is not much room and I can already see that triggering at 24" was not leaving me with too many options if one of the girls decided to grow like crazy. B.C and NL #2 are those out of control girls right now and only time will tell where this'll end up and what I may have to do to reduce heat/light stress. The 'Meh': -NL's (especially #2) are still 'praying' and cupping even with the light backed off at a good distance. I realize now that this is more an issue with RH then my lamp intensity. So, leaving the lamp where it is and working @ balancing out the RH instead. -Want to use the blurple but keeping out of commission until this weather sorts itself out a bit. I do not want this additional lamp to burn off the only humidity I was able to correct, putting me back at square one😕. Looking at the forecast, I do believe I can put the blurple back on by the end of week 2, Bloom. ***Weather Conditions and simple remedies:*** As stated, the weather is bad; very bad. The cold isn't that bad to mitigate and it was relatively easily to do with a small ceramic heater or using my lights as my primary heat source. The issue lies with the relative humidity. The world is pure static and my home is seeing about 20% RH (25%) if I'm lucky. I noticed all plant leaf edges burning, top to bottom and didn't know low humidity could cause faster eating, or that our leaves will siphon whatever they can from the soil when in this state. So, even though I didn't have a Nitrogen issue, all plants burned slightly as they were taking too much from the soil, too quickly. After this research I knew that RH had to be adjusted...or else. Symptoms of low RH: -Fast eating, fast drying. -Leaves lose majority of moisture and they become very papery to the touch. -Plants start taking up too much Nitrogen (or anything it can) from the soil which resulted in a top to bottom leaf tip burn (If left alone, it would persist) Remedies (Cheap and/or free): -I don't like to have standing water in my tent (especially after my gnat issue) but I had to add a pan of water, placed on top of my 32 watt heat mat. This gave me about 7-10% additional RH but wasn't enough. -Hung large tea towel close to, but not touching the light. Clip on fan is cascading air over this tea towel and I can achieve 40-45% total with these two methods -There is always the tea towel, bowl of water and hanger method too, that I may implement if RH continues to fluctuate so wildly. ***End*** Notes of the week: -No early week photos included this time. I do not have them. I was far to pre-occupied with fixing the RH issue and DSD's Nitrogen toxicity issue that I forgot to take my progression photos😢 -After two consecutive applications of Emerald Harvests Sturdy Stock, I do believe I am observing a difference in the strength and form of my lateral branching. They're firming up very well and holding well. I may be incorrect but the EH is the only thing I feel I can attribute this too as it's the only change I've made to my schedule in the past 2 weeks. -As we move along, we're going to slowly drop the N/K and pick up the P/Cal supplementation. FloraGro is almost irrelevant now since FloraMicro covers the Potassium needed and the dose of Gro is almost negligible as is. -All training wires have been removed over the course of the week and there is nothing holding her back. Only bracing from within the inner canopy has been applied (Off 2 foot and 3 foot bamboo with paper clips) -Picture of blanket and clips used on lip of tent to help mitigate any potential light leaks through zipper tracks. I'm paranoid and noticed these when I did my 'dark' test before flipping. The dual zippers are not broken in yet (still new tent) and light DOES come through the track. I taped the other side up with the non-residue tape but I needed access to this side window, so the blanket was my solution and has proven to block out any extra light (Tested👍) Thank you for stopping by this weeks addition of Northern Lights! Any suggestions or concerns you have from the photos? Please contact me through PM and let me know! Cheers and happy grows my friends👍😉

Welcome to this weeks addition of x2 Northern Lights. The deets: The Good: -Still no problems with the NL's. They have proven to be very versatile and from day one they haven't given me any problems at all (besides the mistakes I made by my own hand) -Both plants are still in the midst of their stretch and are growing very well. NL #2 surprised me with the rate at which she picked up and has surpassed! Blue Cookies...did not see that coming. Current stretch is roughly .5-.75 inches of new growth per day The Bad: -Again, no bad with the girls. I love that they don't really need me... I feed them and they do the rest. Super easy strain to propagate so far. The 'Meh': -NL #2's height may be an issue but I have a plan listed in Notes of the week in order to mitigate this fast growth and stretch. All will be alright and I can afford to get as high as 90% stretch from flip before it will become a problem. I truly don't believe these indie doms will surpass that 80%, though, but I'm prepared just in case. -No space left, at all. I've mentioned it many times before, but every inch of this tent is full. Utilizing every last millimeter. I only get four plants, gotta make it count. Notes of the Week: -Changed lighting to mitigate light/heat stress as the girls are stretching further and further. They're slowing but I needed to make these changes to feel comfortable with what I'm seeing. Blurple, 245Watt is back in action and will be on for the remainder of the grow. SF-2000 has been moved further to the front of the tent, over top of the two smallest girls (NL#1 and DSD). The blurple has been placed further in the back with the tallest girls (NL #2 and BC). Blurple is less intense and I'm able to get it closer to the canopy without burns or stress, so she's going to take care of the big girls. I now have a solid flowering footprint and all girls should be seeing relatively the same amount of light/light intensity. -Back to operating ceramic heater at night and not in the day. Blurples on and will give me that heat, so heater is only for night time, and even then it will be decommissioned soon because I would like slightly lower night temperatures... -Cleaned up my wires and cables. As an electrician I was not happy with my sloppy cable management and fixed it up. Aesthetic only, but it drives me nuts when things aren't square. -Weather has sorted itself out, finally. Had a literal 25-20 degree Celcius swing in 2 days, from -35 to -5/-10. Girls are much happier. RH is in order and everything seems to be coming up millhouse. -Looking to do the smallest amount of defo in the coming two weeks on, specifically NL #1. She is much bushier then her sister and does need to be opened up a little bit. Will only be taking 2-3 fans every two days, as needed, to reduce stress and length of recovery time. Planning this defo around my feeds to help them bounce back even faster if they react negatively to these future snips. -Side note, instead of doing defo, I usually massage my fan leaves out of the way. If they're blocking light and air, I will attempt to adjust their position rather than taking it. Rule of thumb: If you don't need to take it, don't. B/t my forefinger and thumb I massage the fan leaf stem. It becomes somewhat malleable and I can then position it where I'd like. These fans will usually migrate back to there original position within 24-48 hours but I have the time and am able to do this everyday. Point of all of this? I save my sugar maker, I don't cause any stress and I still get the results I'm looking for (air and light penetration). I highly recommend this technique for all the reasons listed. That's all of it! Thanks for reading and I truly hope you all have a great week with your girls and your grow journey. Best of luck to you ALL and Cheers.👍✊

Hello and welcome to Week 3 of Bloom with Northern LIghts #1 and 2. If you all actually read these things, I've decided to add a short "What I learned this Week" section at the bottom. This will be a short blurb on new techniques, methods or general cannabis knowledge that has helped me. Most importantly, it will include the information I've gathered from other members that have helped me see past false information and notions about cannabis growing that I had believed... Anyways! The deets: The Good: -Another great week with the two girls. Just chugging along, happy and healthy. -NL #2's stretch has pretty much ended, along with the other girls. She really surprised me when she started to gain serious height in week 2, but didn't stretch too much in week 1. She stopped around 60-65% stretch and I still have room for another inch here and there. -Both girls are already becoming a sea of white and budding up faaast. Building nice columns of bud mass now and it's moving at top speed. These girls are projected to finish up at 7-8 weeks whereas the others are 8-9. I'm assuming her accelerated blooming rate may be a symptom of this? Fast budding strain, anyway, that's for sure. -Defoliation is going very well and I'm going pretty slow with it. She's not stressed or reacting negatively and I'm only taking 5-6 at a time around a feeding. By end of week 14 I feel they will be well dressed enough and will finish up flower that way. The Bad: -No bad, just meh's. The 'Meh': -Noticed a few fungal gnats making an appearance again. More sticky traps and cleaning surfaces with H2o2 has kept them at bay. Their numbers are small and I'm prepared to knock them out with a neem oil spray if they somehow start to multiply. -The lighting set up I had going on in week two caused a small stretching problem with NL#2. The lights have since been changed but #2 did noticeably stretch a little too far and there is a long internodal point half way up. You can see where I made changes because the internodes and bud sites get very compact after the long internode length. It is what it is and will probably be giving me a little more small nuggets then I'd planned on. All good! Nice and tight now. Notes of the week: -After a suggestion by another member I have changed my lighting set up...again. SF-2000 is now over the largest two girls and are placed in the front, now. The blurple will be taking care of the two smallest ladies from here on out (NL #1 and DSD) and will be rotated, but stay in the back for the remainder of the grow. I didn't think this through too well and the advice I received made total sense. More intense light over the big girls to slow stretch and less intense blurple over the little ones to encourage a little upwards movement, evening them out a little better with the rest of the canopy. -Stretch is essentially over, thankfully. All girls have seemed to tap out and have maintained the same height (maybe an inch here or there). It stopped at the perfect time...or I would have had to do some jury rigging to pull these lights as high as humanely possible. Very good news. -Increased intake and out take airflow/fan speed and have put vent line under the canopy. Previously it was blowing above to reduce wind burn, but the girls are tall and have cleaned up bottoms. This air flow doesn't hurt them anymore and I really need to keep that circulation under there since they're so bushy. -Defoliation of every plant is going very well. Taking a bit at a time and I can now see light penetration to the soil on all girls. Not much, but open enough to allow light to pass through. A few more sessions and it will be all said and done👌 -I see some shoots I could have taken, but I feel it's too late. Even if it's not, I would prefer to leave them be and it is what it is. I will simply have to adjust for my next grow and defo/pruning will still be another learning curve of mine. This is waaaaay better then the first and already less LARFy, but it could be better and I know that. Next time's the charm👍 -I have been a little complacent with my update photos! All photos posted are end week 12 with no progression pics throughout the week. Need to up my pictures and details. -Lastly, I have a new friend that's into photography on the macro level. She loves taking shots of plant life, most of all, and also loves her cannabis. I offered to have her come over to take pictures of the girls and she agreed. Hopefully at end of week 13 or 14, there should be some much better pictures, on the macro level, showing her beauty far better then my phone can... I'm really excited about it, actually. I want to see what they look like up close, too😊👍 What I Learned This Week: -Two weeks ago, when humidity was very low, my plants started to pray and I immediately took this as a bad sign. Then I found an article to justify my concern. Though the article was right about a few things and that praying can be bad, they do NOT explain that praying is also good, pending on parameters. If your plants are praying, it's a sign of vigorous health and happiness, not a symptom of light stress/intensity. If the praying is accompanied by burning, bleaching or there's furling of leaf tips and leaflets, then yah! that's not good and is a sign that the light needs to be backed off or turned down. -Took a suggestion and have been doing a trial run with new feeding methods. It is working very well... I am no longer allowing my plants to go into complete drought. Between feedings I have started to add about 800ml to 1 liter of balanced tap (or distilled at 6.0). I may also throw the smallest amount of one or two of my supplements in, pending on what I feel her greatest needs are. It's not much but it carries her through to the next feed and with re-moistening the media, it re-activates the uptake of nutrients already in the soil. I'm finding it's helping the girl take up the essential nutrients that may be left over from the last feed that wasn't needed at the time or dried out before it could be used. When I go to do my actual feed a day or two later, the soil is very receptive to liquid and takes the feeds very well. They have stopped drooping out completely when I feed, now. This is very important to me. I didn't like the recovery time it took when the plants were subjected to 2 gallons of liquid after a few days of drought. It was almost like shocking them and I didn't like doing this... With this new method I'm testing out there hasn't been a shock to their system and they hardly droop at all, even after an additional 2 gallons thrown in. Has NOT effected RO numbers or caused any problems. I'm really liking this. Hey folks, thanks for stopping by. If you see anything amiss, please drop me a line. I'm open to new info and anything to optimize my project and grow space. Cheers and have a great week with your girls and your grows! Much love😊👍

Hello there and welcome to Week 4 of Bloom w/ Northern Lights #1 and 2. The deets: The Good: -Great week with the NL's again. Terpene profile is developing and the tent is getting a little smellier these days👍. Pepper/hops (Caryophyllene) is clear as day and I'm happy to smell it. Caryo is my favorite and go-too terpene for anxiety, depression, insomnia and eating. There's two Northern Lights in the tent for a good reason😊. -Both girls are little different from one another, but they're both stacking up very nice. Bud development seems to be in full swing and all pistils being pushed are thick and furry. -Both girls went through a heavy trim of all extraneous shoots destined to be LARF and dying/blocking fan leaves. Both took the treatment very well and it was done directly after a nutrient feed for a speedy recovery. At the time of writing, 72 hours-ish have passed and there have been no negative symptoms/signs occurring on either. -Purchased King Kola as my PK booster for Bloom. It has been applied in it's first application to both girls and did not harm a thing. First dose kept at 66% of recommended, just to test the waters. All plants have been completely fine as a result of the new addition, so I will be going to the full recommended dosing for their next feeds. -Update that the Spider Farmer 2000, quantum board LED is still doing a hell of a job. Starting to see reviews pop up on YouTube from some of the gardeners I follow (I follow gardeners, not growers on YouTube, lol). I feel very validated in this purchase as all reviews coming back are golden and they're seeing the same quality I feel I see. The Bad: -All 'Mehs' again The 'Meh': -After cleaning up both the girls, it became even more obvious just how far NL #2 had stretched, coming into flower. There is nothing wrong with her but her height is not necessary. All my training could have been accomplished with a shorter girl. I took a huge risk by allowing them to get this tall before triggering the flip and I'm already considering the changes needed to be made in Grow #3 to mitigate height, train lower and flip sooner. I don't want this to happen again, it got stressful for a week there. -As I write this and I'm reviewing the photos I'm uploading, I see NL #2 is catching, what looks like, a small Nitrogen deficiency. I had cut FloraGro from the feed and maintaining FloraMicro, but I see I need to up the Micro/Bloom to cover my needs a little better. I'll ask again at the bottom, but is what I'm seeing as a Nitrogen deficiency agreeable to everyone else reading this? -Needed to back light off another 2 " as NL #2 has still moved a bit and I'm keeping her at a good buffer from the SF LED (23") . Still minor cupping and leaflets curing slightly upward on the top canopy. I'm hoping this isn't the result of a deficiency as well, but am watching it pretty close and seeing what she'll show me in terms of symptoms, next. -NL #2 has a beauty little purple pheno starting...but it's not necessarily supposed to be there. Definitely not a deficiency or toxicity but a result of my night temperatures. I don't mind lower temps later on in flower and I certainly don't mind the colors, but I did up my night temperatures by 1-2 degrees to hold it off until week 6-7. Notes of the Week: -I see this grow will have a larger yield then my first. All the changes in lighting, atmosphere, grow methods, techniques, feeding schedules and most importantly, new supplementation of Potassium Silicate, Fulvic/Humic Acids. molasses, root hormones for transplants and Gaia Green soil Bone meal Soil conditioner have made this possible. I do not regret a single thing I purchased in an attempt to optimize this grow over my first. Only with the advice and help of my favorite peoples on this site, would this have been possible. I didn't know about or look into any of this my first grow. I feel like I've been shaken awake and see all the things I CAN do to increase productivity, yield and quality👍. Thank you kindly to all those people that help carry me and are showing me the ropes to better grows. -All plants are essentially finished training, defo and trimming. They will be left alone to do their thing and I will just do my best to keep them happy while they do so. -3 Strains in one tent instead of two with my first, has given me a great cross section of plants to look at. They're all so different and seeing them show who they are is a cool experience. With their differences, it also taught me to treat the girls strain specific in terms of feeding and care. I've learned a lot by having my hands on these 3 and access to my friends 3 strains (BC Big Bud, Granddaddy black and banana kush). The more the better. -Introduction of King Kola to all plants this week. First dose @ 2/3rd's dose as a test and all girls are happy and showed no issue or stress with the new addition. I picked King Kola, after researching many blooming agents, for a couple reasons. Their trio series (micro-grow-bloom) is very close to the same dosing and concentration as the GHE trio series I'm using. Close to the same, everything....really. I knew that adding KK into the mix wouldn't hurt them as both schedules and concentrations are damn near the same. The other reason was based on community and user reviews. It was highly rated compared to other PK boosters I was looking at and since I was already using EH's Sturdy Stalk (with great success) I trusted the quality, what they had advertised the product as, and what it will do. -Continuing to cut Gro out of my formula while maintaining or upping both Micro and Bloom. Gro is essentially negligible at this point and I'm covering my potassium with the other two. Now with the PK booster, I feel there is zero need for floragro. -I loved EH's Sturdy Stalk and am looking forward to using it again in the Veg stage in grow #3. I'm positive that starting this potassium silicate supplement earlier in the grow will give me better, stronger and faster results. Late to the party on this one, but glad someone recommended it and I will up it's use, next go. -Was dragging my feet on picking up a PK booster, even though I saw and knew everyone was using this choice supplement. With a gentle push from a great acquaintance, I did my research and purchased what I felt would work best for me and my grow, as well as working in conjunction with my other nutrients. I understand now, just how much of a game changer this can and will be. It was explained to me that at this point in the grow, even though they're seemingly happy and healthy, they're also hungry. They can and will easily take a booster in order to swell and push fatter bud sites. What I Learned This Week: -I had resigned myself to all the LARF I noticed after the stretch. I was too paranoid to take any of it because of the dreaded "H" word. I've read multiple horror stories online of people warning DO NOT PRUNE IN FLOWER, OR ELSE!!!. I read these things before I even started grow #1 and it had made me believe that this was a "rule". Well, I kept looking at the LARF and it kept eating away at me. It was going to be nothing, I couldn't open up the plant anymore and I wanted my focus to be on my main tops, not the undergrowth...I think most all of us can agree or go for that. I then started a search for an experienced Defo'er on here. I found her and we had a good chat. Couple things. Firstly, there is a very high chance that all those people that had hermies after pruning in flower probably had a different ailment or stress issue occurring to cause this (like a light leak). The stress of pruning would need to compound on top of other problems to possibly cause a seeding issue. Pruning alone, with a healthy and happy plant, should not hurt her at all...that this is a normal practice. Not just with Cannabis but w/ a lot of fruit baring trees and plants. My grandfather did the same in his orchard to focus attention on the top canopies of his apple trees and even called the pruned sections "suckers"! Secondly, at the end of the day, if all parameters are in order, the plants are healthy, but they still hermie, it's very likely a case of genetics more then anything else. Picking out versatile genetics from the get-go is key. So! My genetics are good, plants are healthy and vigorous... I went ahead and did the trim and clean up. If something does happen, it's all on me and I know that, but I have great confidence that everything is alright and will continue to be alright. I guess this long ramble is a PSA to any newcomers scared to work on their plants because of the things they've read on that there inter-web. So much of what you/I read on Cannabis in forums and even in articles by "Reputable" sources is fearmongering. So many falsities and I really, really recommend staying away from all those unfit sources. So much of it is opinion over objective facts. On GD, it's much less of an opinion than it is a fact. Proof is in the pictures and there's plenty of proof to back up one's claims. This is a "put up or shut up" site to me, and I love it. To new comers, like me, reach out and talk to people on GD that have proven to be competent and knowledgeable growers. Crush the fear and anxiety with the help of these people. They ALL want to see you succeed, here. REACH OUT! Thank you all again for reading this weeks entry of Northern Lights. Have a great week and happy grows! ***In the above picture's of NL #2, are you seeing the same thing as me? Is this a lack of nitrogen causing the lighter color of my fans, or do you feel this is a result of bleaching from the SF? Thank you in advance for any advice you have. PEACE!***

Howdy, howdy and welcome to end of Week 5, Bloom w/ Northern Lights #1 and #2. The deets: The Good: -Both happy girls this week and both showed a lot of progress. Main colas are stacking nicely and she's getting very frosty now. Shedding trichs like crazy. NL #1 is easily thicker and fatter then NL #2, however. Don't know how that happened since I was training #2 to be bigger then #1, haha. Guess it wasn't up to me. -Terpene profile is getting stronger and stronger w/ a strong pepper and hops kick. -Colors are starting to change and I'm ready for a good show👍 The Bad: - No bad, just the meh's again The 'Meh': -Pulled some really messed up numbers in my RO for two consecutive feeds. I ignored it the first time...mis-calibration? Then the second RO reading proved that wrong. PPM's were through the roof on both but NL #2 was seeing the highest (kicking around 1750-1950ppm) and it just kept compounding higher and higher over the last 2 weeks, according to my notes. I adjusted and fed liter of distilled water per day for 4 days to help use up the excess in the soil that she wanted, then followed up with an actual feed/flush through. Numbers aren't perfect but both PPM levels dropped by about 15% and if I repeat this process this week (with a feed in between) I'm hoping to take another 15%. Right now they're sitting at a decent 1250 and 1550ppm @ 6.1/6.2pH. Happy to see the drop! Will keep on observing. -Cold weather temperature swings have been screwing with things again, but from the last cold snap I've learned what to do. I never removed any heaters or fans because I knew winter was far from over and we'd be seeing this again. This won't be the last time this year either. I'd put money on it. -Going to ask this again at the bottom, but I'm in need of a cheap or free DIY option to dry my harvests in. They won't finish at the same time and if I choose to chop the NL's instead of prolonging them a week, I'm going to need somewhere for it to go. I was thinking a DIY, cardboard wardrobe box? hang it in there with fans and such? IDK. Looking for/at options though. Notes of the week: -No daily progression photos this week, unfortunately. Chicken without a head, lately. Next week, I'll do my best. -King Kola is showing it's usefulness. Since applying 1.5 weeks ago, and after 9 days from first application, I feel all the girls are getting a lot fatter a lot faster then I've personally seen with my plants, so far. -Way over a week since the defo and clean up and all girls are all doing really well. NO HERMIES EVERYONE! So glad I did this and didn't listen to the crappy forums I find myself on sometimes. -Night temperatures are going to be dropped slowly to 18 degrees by Week 7 of bloom to allow their pheno's to pop a bit. I would like to see some colors in this grow. My first grow was pretty plain compared to what these girls are supposed to show me. Fingers Crossed👍 **Thanks everyone for checking this week out. I may add to this week in the near future with more info, but I'm going to save this entry and leave it here for now. Cheers everyone and happy grows this week. Peace!👌👍**

Welcome to end of Week 6, Bloom w/ Northern Lights #1 and #2. The (short) deets: The Good: -Both NL's are holding in there very well, but still slowly turning in and wrapping up. Starting to see purple/blue phenos showing on leaf edges and leaflets. Markings on some of the top leaves, at the largest cola sites, are turning faster then the rest and these two are the first to start giving me the show I was hoping for. -As with the others, both NL's are forming very well and stacking nicely. Getting a little fatter and firmer by the day and I'm really starting to itch for a taste. Patience!😑 -Terpene profile is strengthening but Blue Cookies still takes the cake for strongest aroma. As mentioned in previous entries, the NL's are a great source of Caryophyllene, my favorite little terpene -Re-braced NL #2 and didn't break anything, so that's a win👍. NL #1 holds her own, she's good. -PPM's have dropped to an acceptable level, even with a full feed. I repeated what I did in week 14 and it knocked it down by another 15%. I'm now comfortable with this level, kicking around 1050-1275ppm. Got some advice about potassium humate and will look into this next time I find myself with an excess of salts I need to drop fast. This process to knock down these numbers probably took an actual nutrient feed from her. The Bad: -No bad this week, again. Was sick for the entire week but plants are good. The 'Meh': -NL's missed a feeding this week at a pretty crucial time but there was no other choice. They got a big, full feed yesterday and did very well with it. Back on track and will finish them up with my tentatively planned schedule. Notes of the Week: -All girls may actually line up with one another when it comes to harvest, but I won't bank on it. The NL's are a 7-8 week w/ DSD and Blue Cookies @ 8-9 week. However, according to all trich pics they seem to be at the same pace and ripeness (for the time being). If it works out, that'd be cool... but I wouldn't put money on it. -Was concerned about drying my NL's and where. They are at the same pace as BC and DSD but I do expect that they will need an earlier chop to acquire an optimal product. I wasn't sure where to put them, even though I came into this grow KNOWING that they would wrap up early. I plan ahead a lot, but not for this one... Anywho, I had my solution staring me right in the face. I will be taking my 2x2x3' germination/seedling/sapling tent and flipping it on it's head to be 3' tall, not wide. Going to jury rig all my circulation and create an optimal environment as a test, before the chop occurs. The longest lateral that needs to be hung is 22 inches, with the tent at 36 inches. More then enough room to dry these two girls while the others have a chance to wrap themselves up in the big tent. Again, it was right in front of my the whole time and I just didn't see it. No need to build a DIY drying unit anymore👍. -Dropped temps by 1-2 degrees in day and night cycle. It's time for a show, I feel, and these girls have a good promise of one. I greatly look forward to seeing their character and form in late flower. I've been waiting for this...! -Allowed BC and NL #2 to purposely splay a little bit, while loosely braced. There was a lot of tops that needed exposure to light and air so this was my way of allowing them to get it. Now that growth has officially ended (no movement, 2 weeks) and those tops have reached further through the canopy, it was time to tighten them both back up. Good timing, as they were starting to interfere with one another and needed to be re-braced. Nothing is pulling, only leaning and supporting. Movement of plants is much easier with the two biggest girls and tops are no longer getting hung up. After the re-brace, all the tops have access to the light and air they need to flourish👍. There was a reason why BC and NL#2 looked a little unkempt, compared to the others. This is the reason why (never explained myself in the past updates). Updated photos do show a much nicer form on both ladies and they aren't so "wild" anymore. -I'm very reluctant in listening to flushing advice anymore. I'm starting to truly believe this is another form of stoner logic... The most educated and intelligible master growers in the world have stated that there is no need to flush... (Example: Greg Green). I didn't believe or trust that when I first read it because everywhere I looked said "Flush or else". Now, after even further research, articles and practical proof from highly competent/master growers (personal and Micro LP) flushing seems to be largely false and I'm not sure why or how this became a mandatory rule of thumb. I'm not ballsy enough to go with no flush at all, even with my convictions, but I will not be starving my plants for 10-14 days. This is a quarter of my NL's flowering time. Completely counter-intuitive to me. I will be running a 5-7 day flush, max, with both NL's. Flawless Finish will be used on one 5-7 day flush and only tap flush for the other NL. I want to see if there is a difference, if at all. After the flush, chop and dry of the NL's, if all flavor and taste is present without acrid smoke, BC and DSD will be receiving the same 5-7 day flush with FF. Next grow, I will be experimenting with a 0-3 day flush cycle to see if that even makes a difference...or are we starving our girls for no reason? -I'd wager my talk on the flush may not sit well with some people, and that's cool, but this is my belief and it is a belief held by many influential growers. The more I read, the more this notion of mandatory flushing seems wrong and we are willfully harming the full potential of our plants, their quality, quantity and potency. I'll report back if I'm wrong, but this is the course of action I am taking. Thanks everyone for dropping by and checking out the NL's progression. Any concerns you see in the pictures, please don't hesitate to drop me a line and let me know! Please and Thanks! Cheers and happy grows this week everyone. Enjoy the kids😉👍

Hello all and welcome to Week 7, Bloom w/ NL #1 and #2. The deets (**special note on flushing test at end of entry**): The Good: -Colors! I'm not good at taking pictures but I'm hoping to show it a little better with update photos this week or just do a better job next week. Purple hues are starting to take over all the mains and I'm very pleased to see this. I'm sure that this will only get more profound and colorful as they start to turn in. -Caryo on these two girls is extremely strong now and just about all I smell when I open up the tent. BC still smells great, but she lost the terpene battle...for now. -I'm happy with both plants, but NL #1 has become an absolute unit and is just pushing further and further outwards as she swells and pushes. She has so many substantial tops a great amount of bud on each. Looking forward to her yield. (Quality first! but ya, a larger yield over my first grow is one of my main goals) The Bad": -Just like the others, both NL's had a great week and didn't' show me any concerning symptoms, nor did they react to any defo or environmental changes👍 The Meh: -Not really any meh's either. The only concern was really where to dry them, but that problem has been solved and I feel very confident moving forward with their final days and when I plan to chop. -Had to re-brace NL #2...again. She's too damn tall and I'm going to have to continue to work with her to mitigate her cola weight. More on this in Notes of the week with both NL #2 and BC. Notes of the Week: -Both NL #2 and Blue Cookies are both getting top heavy and I'm working to keep them in shape and away from one another. I'm having an easier time moving them, at least. Grow number one, at this point and time, were already strung up with plant yoyos because they couldn't hold their new weight. I couldn't move them because of this and it was a pain. Happy I don't have to do that again. Yoyos were great! and served their purpose when I really, really needed them. But with the changes and stronger plants, I don't need them! This a good thing👍 -Ocimene is out as the dominant terpene in the tent (Blue Cookies) and Caryo has officially taken over now. Tent is niiiice and pungent with a thick peppery aroma. Fun watching them compete for dominance, haha. -From the new trich pics, it looks like the breeders notes are going to line up quite well. The NL's are wrapping up and I can see them ready for the chop around March 12th (8ish weeks Bloom). DSD and BC are looking like they're at the same pace and should be wrapping up around March 20th-ish (9-10 weeks). -Set up drying tent and she's ready to go. Moved the little tent right by the big girl and jury rigged all my equipment through splitters and timers. Did a test run with x2, 1 foot tower fans and two computer fans w/ makeshift hangers and tea towels to maintain a decent and constant RH. During the test, the unit held about 18-19 degree Celsius and 50% RH. Pretty much what I was looking for. -Trying to get better pictures of the plants without the obnoxious flash of my camera blurring all the trichs and colors. I feel these are a little better...but I still have some work to do and maybe pick up some decent, used lighting equipment to achieve the results I'm looking for. I love so many of the pictures on here. The extra effort really makes them pop and I'd like to try to do the same with the tips I've been receiving from other users. Some of you folks are an absolute inspiration and I appreciate the extra time you put into your photography👍 (I still suck at trich pics...I don't think that's going to get better any time soon, ha) Thanks all for stopping by and checking out these two monsters. I truly hope you all have a great week with your projects and things go dandy for you all's👌 Cheers! **Flushing Procedure**: -Firstly, thank you to everyone and their advice. It was nice to see so many competent growers validate my thinking when it comes to flushing and the discussions we had pertaining to the procedure was extremely informative and helped me plan this flush/chop accordingly. **Disclaimer** The results of this small experiment pertain to this grow and these two plants, only. Please do not take the results of this test as a blanket statement for all plants when it comes to the flushing procedure. There are parameters to be aware of when deciding whether or not to flush and for how long. I will list all of my parameters for this test and if they align with yours (if I have positive results), only then would I ask you to consider this procedure. Thank you! On to the details** Start Date: The 5-7 day flush will commence on March 5th, 2020 when they will receive their first "wash"/flush through. The first flush will be "Day 1". Second flush on "Day 5". Third and final flush on "Day 7". Estimated chop will be on Day 8-9 (Roughly March 13-14th) Parameters: -Both NL #1 and #2 have been on the exact same feed schedule from day one of germination. There has been no deviation or separate feedings of these two girls. They have both received the same everything, throughout this grow. -Nutrient schedule used was manufacture recommendation, throughout the entire grow. This schedule was GHE's Floragrow series, advanced schedule for "Drain to Waste" applications. Nutrients used are all listed above in "Nutrient" section of this entry. I won't beat a dead horse and repeat it here as I used more then one company/brand/product throughout this grow. (But all compatible) -Besides height, both NL's are almost identical in terms of product, health and stage of life. Both have been turning in on themselves and show the same pheno's, top side. They are both ready to go and both started to show me the little bit of amber trichs I was looking for, before the flush. Final RO #'s before procedure: -NL #1 @ 6.0pH and 1320 PPM -NL #2 @ 6.1pH and 1009 PPM Procedure: -I will be running a 5-7 day flush (instead of the 10-12 day flush) on both plants, starting at the same time. -One NL will receive "Flawless Finish" as it's chelator throughout the flush. After the first two gallons w/ a chelator, this NL will receive a basic feeding schedule of Humic Acids and Molasses in it's second 2 gallon wash through. The other NL will be strictly! balanced tap flushes starting at the same time. This NL will not receive any micro-dosing or chelator. -NL #1 has been chosen as the plant that will receive the chelator and micro-dosing as her PPM readings are higher then her sister. NL #2 will receive the balanced tap flush and tap flush only. -After each flush/flush through, I will update the new RO #' s to track pH and PPMS of the soil. -I will be taking 2 samples off of each plant. One will be mid flush (Day 5) and one at the end (Day 7). Will expedite dry time and test. -If the final sample, taken on the final wash through, is acrid or impure I will simply extend the flush cycle to save the product quality. -If the final product is serviceable and clean, both will be chopped and dried with a decently long review b/t the two afterwards. Does the smoke taste the same, is it acrid, should I have gone longer, which is more potent, which is more flavorful, did the chelator work or is it a gimmick, does a tap flush serve the same purpose, etc...etc...? **The Goal** The goal here is to refine my flushing procedure and find what works best for me and the plants. Seems everyone that demands a long flushing period has never gone without one or at the very least, a reduced flush schedule... so what are they basing their results on? That's what this tiny experiment is about. I don't want a black and white answer to this question. What are the parameters that need to be met in order to acquire the most optimal and quality product by end game? If I can reduce my flushing schedule without consequences, fit more feedings in for the final swell and avoid starving my plants, why wouldn't I? **Final Note Before Continuing with flush** I do not have any reservations or expectations about this experiment. I'm open minded and will accept the results as they come in. I could be completely wrong about all of this and I may still have to extend and flush further. But if I'm correct and prove some things to myself, I can optimize my grow and grow experience in future. That, in my mind, is worth the risk and worth the time to test my theories (and yours). I really do hope something good comes out of this and maybe we can start discussing/debunking more myths about cannabis propagation. It was only 4 weeks ago that I thought pruning in flower was an absolute NO-NO, only to find out this stoner science is largely false and should be ignored (pending on parameters, again, however). With the help of the community and further tests like this, I'm sure we can collectively crush these myths and it will lead us to far more fruitful harvests and knowledge. **Update #1, First Flush, March 5th, 2020** Both plants take roughly 2 gallons of water w/ 10% run off. Any more and it runs through. This is the soil retention for both NL's. The deets: NL #1, March 5th: -First two gallons applied w/ Flawless Finish. RO #'s: 5.6pH and 1584 PPM's -Second two gallons applied after 35 minutes without Flawless Finish and with a dose of Humic Acids and Molasses. RO #'s: 6.1pH and 745 PPM's (Already see the massive drop in ppm's) -Dose of Humic (Diamond Nectar GHE) and Molasses (Floralicious Plus GHE) were manufacture recommendations for late flower. 1.5ml/gallon Diamond Nectar. 1.5ml/gallon Floralicious. NL #2, March 5th: -First two gallons applied w/ balanced Tap at 6.1ph and 205 PPM's. RO #'s: 6.1/6.2pH and 825 PPM's -Second two gallons applied w/ balanced Tap at 6.1pH and 205 PPM's. RO #'s: 6.1/6.2pH and 838 PPM's (No discernible change in RO readings) **Update #2, Second Flush, March 9th, 2020** NL #1, March 9th: -First two gallons applied w/ Flawless Finish. RO #'s: 6.1/6.2 and 825 PPM's -Second two gallons applied after 35 minutes without Flawless Finish and with a dose of Humic Acids and Molasses. RO #'s: 6.1pH and 627 PPM's (Another decent drop) -Dose of Humic (Diamond Nectar GHE) and Molasses (Floralicious Plus GHE) were manufacture recommendations for late flower. 1.5ml/gallon Diamond Nectar. 1.5ml/gallon Floralicious. NL #2, March 9th: -First two gallons applied w/ balanced Tap at 6.1ph and 200 PPM's. RO #'s: 6.2/6.3pH and 720 PPM's -Second two gallons applied w/ balanced Tap at 6.1pH and 200 PPM's. RO #'s: 6.1/6.2pH and 570 PPM's (Good Drop with NL #2 w/ just tap) March 9th Notes: -May not run a third wash and allow the girls to go into drought before I chop them. Samples had been taken before the second flush. These samples have been dried and tested. All clean, all good to go, already. I don't see a need for the 3rd and final flush, now. I'll weigh my options when I get there, but it looks like this is a wrap after only two flushes. If I don't perform a 3rd flush, they will be coming down this Saturday/Sunday (March 14th/15th). Until next time, have a good one!👍 Thank you for your time. Happy grows till next time👍

Welcome to Week 8, Bloom w/ Northern Lights #1 and #2. The deets (short): The Good: -No complaints at all this week. They took the first flush very well. Saw a great drop in ppm's with NL #1 and both pH's stayed firm for the most part. -Still pushing like crazy and I had to brace NL #1 with non-static cloth too. Just keeps pushing outwards. She will certainly be the highest yielding plant, easily. #2 is a beauty to me, but I feel her yield will be quite a bit less then her sister. All good. -Great pheno's, even color and both turning in super well. The Bad: -No bad. Just a really decent week. The 'Meh': -NL #1 is so frigging big, when I moved her today for photos, multiple laterals got caught up. She is literally just a mass of buds. That's really good, but I did slightly damage/bend a couple branches just trying to navigate her out of the tent. I can definitely see myself snapping at least one branch before this is over. -No discernible drop in PPM's with #2 in the first wash through w/ four gallons. Hoping to see a better result on March 8th when I apply another 4-5 gallons, balanced tap. Notes of the week: -All girls, as of March 7th, have received their final nutrient feeding. I had tapered down my doses but we're now moving to the flush schedule. Looking to about March 20th for all plants to be chopped, NL's should be curing and BC/DSD will be drying by then. -I keep posting heights and Diameters but totally not necessary. They stopped growing 3 weeks ago, so I'm not going to beat a dead horse with the same heights and diameters. Probably should have stopped 3 weeks ago, haha. -Moving from GHE to a new line of nutrients. Haven't made up my mind yet, but there is a short list of suppliers I'm looking too. I found out GHE is owned by Hawthorne Gardening Co., which is a subsidiary of Scotts miracle grow which is directly partnered with Monsanto. I don't know about you all, but I won't willingly support Monsanto in any way. I wish I did more research before picking and running GHE. I would not have done so if I knew Hawthorne WAS Monsanto/SMG. -So after 3.5 months from the end of my first grow, I finally! concentrated my shake and milled herb (GG) into 21% (rough) oil👍. Wonderful product. Clean, potent and very relaxing. Used the insta-pot method, 1:1 product to coconut oil. Couldn't believe how easy this was and can't wait to make gummy bears next go. Only issue...I hate coconut but was told I wouldn't be able to taste it. Oh man, I can taste it and it's all I can taste, haha. Using butter next go (thanks to @Med_in_tropic for the heads up about olive oil and why it's a baaaad idea to use) -Not really pertinent to this grow, but I have chosen and received all genetics for Grow #3's menu. We're going to go with x1 Black Widow, x1 Granddaddy Bruce, x1 Purple Star Killer and x1 Space Cookies. I'm clearly still on the high potency, Indica Dom train. All these, except for Space cookies should exceed 20% THC quantity, easily. I'd imagine I'd have to make a lot of mistakes for it to drop below 20%. Genetics provided by Paradise seeds and i49. If you have an Insta-Pot or are interested in making concentrates with one, here are the basic steps to make some oil. Very easy, this will be short (7 quart version (7-ish liters)): Step 1: Fill with water to 3/4 fill line Step 2: Throw in your mason jar of cannabis with lid sealed very tight. Step 3: Secure lid, turn on and pressurize. After full pressure is achieved, De-carb for 12 minutes. (timer on Pot does this for you, just adjust to 12 minutes) Step 4: After the 12 minutes, de-carb is over. Vent steam through valve and wait for all pressure to disperse and for the spring loaded safety pin to drop back into place. Step 5: With gently melted coconut oil (250ml), open jar and add in. Re-seal Jar and repeat step 1 and 2. This is one ounce to one cup of oil. Pretty close to a 1:1 mix. Step 6-This time when we put it in, we allow it to pressurize and then countdown for 15 minutes, not 12. For stronger product, increase the amount of time. This will help burn off more oil and leave a more concentrated product. Be aware that 1-2 minutes more can make a very big difference and/or may even burn the coconut oil. I would recommend just using less oil @ 15 minutes then risk hurting the product. **Update #1, First Flush** Both plants take roughly 2 gallons of water w/ 10% run off. Any more and it runs through. This is the soil retention for both NL's. Procedure, schedule and details listed in Week 16, Bloom. The deets: NL #1, March 5th: -First two gallons applied w/ Flawless Finish. RO #'s: 5.6pH and 1584 PPM's -Second two gallons applied after 35 minutes without Flawless Finish and with a dose of Humic Acids and Molasses. RO #'s: 6.1pH and 745 PPM's (Already see the massive drop in ppm's) -Dose of Humic (Diamond Nectar GHE) and Molasses (Floralicious Plus GHE) were manufacture recommendations for late flower. 2.5ml/gallon Diamond Nectar. 1.5ml/gallon Floralicious. NL #2, March 5th: -First two gallons applied w/ balanced Tap at 6.1ph and 205 PPM's. RO #'s: 6.1/6.2pH and 825 PPM's -Second two gallons applied w/ balanced Tap at 6.1pH and 205 PPM's. RO #'s: 6.1/6.2pH and 838 PPM's (No discernible change in RO readings) **Update #2, Second Flush, March 9th, 2020** NL #1, March 9th: -First two gallons applied w/ Flawless Finish. RO #'s: 6.1/6.2 and 825 PPM's -Second two gallons applied after 35 minutes without Flawless Finish and with a dose of Humic Acids and Molasses. RO #'s: 6.1pH and 627 PPM's (Another decent drop) -Dose of Humic (Diamond Nectar GHE) and Molasses (Floralicious Plus GHE) were manufacture recommendations for late flower. 1.5ml/gallon Diamond Nectar. 1.5ml/gallon Floralicious. NL #2, March 9th: -First two gallons applied w/ balanced Tap at 6.1ph and 200 PPM's. RO #'s: 6.2/6.3pH and 720 PPM's -Second two gallons applied w/ balanced Tap at 6.1pH and 200 PPM's. RO #'s: 6.1/6.2pH and 570 PPM's (Good Drop with NL #2 w/ just tap) March 9th Notes: -May not run a third wash and allow the girls to go into drought before I chop them. Samples had been taken before the second flush. These samples have been dried and tested. All clean, all good to go, already. I don't see a need for the 3rd and final flush, now. I'll weigh my options when I get there, but it looks like this is a wrap after only two flushes. If I don't perform a 3rd flush, they will be coming down this Saturday/Sunday (March 14th/15th). Until next time, have a good one!👍 Thank you everyone who stopped by and checked out the NL's. I wish you all a great week with your projects and your girls. Best of grows to you all. Cheers and see you next week😉👍

Howdy howdy and welcome to end Week 9, Bloom, w/ Northern Lights #1 and 2. END GAME BABY! DEETS: The Good: -All soooo good. NL #1 came down on Saturday the 14th and #2 came down today, the 15th! Both are currently drying and the little tent has finally been optimized to 50% and 18 degree Celsius (at least that's where I personally find is a good mark and what I was looking for). -After multiple samples, these girls are clean and potent👌. It also helps that there is a tonne of it. -May not be a massive harvest to veterans of growing, but this was HUGE for me😀. I can confidently say that this was a success and 2 of these girls damn near yielded the same, if not more, then all of grow #1 (4 plants). Was so, so happy to see all the changes made had this big a difference in the end game yield. Would really like to buy a THC/CBD/CBN test kit to see if I hit breeder notes on all the girls and if there are changes I can make in the future to better the THC quantity. The Bad: -Zero bad. They done! The 'Meh' -Noticed some fox-tailing on both girls but it appeared to have just started and carried on for a week or so without my noticing. Was too late to adjust my temps and rectify this issue, but it didn't get out of control and I don't have a problem with a few tails here and there. There's no seeds, so.... that's all I really care about, haha.😀 Temps adjusted for the other girls though, just so this doesn't persist in their final week. -Little tent hard to acclimate. First time trying to use it to dry and I was not operating an optimal level for about 36 hours there (w/ NL #1). She was noticeably drying to quickly, so I dropped the temp, lowered the circulation a tiny bit (fans were on high...too high) and threw in a hanging towel to make up the RH difference. **Flushing Update, Results and Opinion**(Full procedure can be found in Week 15, Flush #1 and 2 results listed in Week 16) I don't know how to go about this, but I'll try to be as concise as possible (fingers crossed): Both NL's only needed two flushes and did not get a third as planned. Instead I allowed them to go into semi-drought and chopped them as per the original schedule. It was pointed out to me that I would have to do this large scale in order to get actual data driven results, and they're absolutely correct. This went really well, but it did not give any hard answers. That being said, I wasn't necessarily looking for hard answers, but what works best for me and what I need to look for in my plants before I harvest. I feel I have a much better handle on what to do and what procedures I need to follow in order to optimize the end game yield without sacrificing potency and quantity. Unlike the NL's, Do-si-Dos and Blue Cookies will be receiving at least 2-3 washes before the chop and will take about 9 days. There's a good reason for this and after reviewing my notes, schedules, feedings, RO #'s and actual plant signs, I knew they were carrying a tad too much to run a 5-7 day flush. Reason's Why the NL's did not need a 10-12 day flush: -Plant color was clearly and evenly turning in. -Notes and RO's leading up to the flush were steadily dropping, as my nutrient feedings were being tapered off. -Foliage was becoming a tad crispy and it was clear there was nothing left for her to take from her fans. Reason's why BC and DSD are getting a 10-12 day flush w/ chelator: -Color on both girls is not very even. Under growth is still very lush and holding onto a lot of it's color. I feel there's some excess nitrogen that needs to be flushed out first. -RO readings showed spiking PPM's with both girls, on and off, throughout the last 2 months. I had made some feeding mistakes w/ DSD and pushed BC a little further then I maybe should have w/ nutrients. -After the first flush w/ a chelator my ppm's spiked after the second wash through of 2 gallons, tap. The chelator took a lot out and I'm positive there's more to go. **Final Note:** So, yah. I had a successful chop and flush without having to go for twice as long as it's usually suggested. I'm happy I went through with this, even though it's not that helpful for other people, lol. I sure did learn a lot and it forced me to pay even closer attention to plant signs and symptoms. I feel like I made the right decisions based on my notes and my numbers. There is NO hard answer on how long or how to flush your plants BUT I did prove a couple things to myself. Namely, flushing for an extended period of time is pointless unless it's absolutely essential. Everything Cannabis is circumstantial, it seems, and I accept that. Nothing is or will be the same, grow to grow. There's just too many parameters, strains, growth patterns, techniques, methods, etc... that dictate how we approach our flushes. What's important is learning those parameters and my confidence in finding and seeing the signs of excess and/or lack of salts in my medium has risen. Knowing and paying mind to these parameters allows for an optimal chop and product, which is more then worth working towards. I plan on trying a 0-3 day flush next grow, but that's away's away and who knows...my parameters may not allow for it anyway. Ha! That wasn't too long was it, haha? ANYWHO! Thanks for dropping by and checking out the final photos of the NL's. I threw in a couple harvest photos for poops and giggles, but that review will be coming when they're dry, further manicured, jarred and weighed👍. Maybe the 22nd? We shall see! Cheers ALL!

Welcome to the End Everyone! Holy smokes, that's the ball game folks. This was a great ride and both girls gave me far more then I could have imagined. All the changes to methods and techniques, all the changes to nutrients and supplement additions, and the inclusion of the SF-2000 has made for two very large and heavy yielding girls. It isn't and can never be perfect, but growing these two was a very rewarding and satisfying journey. Now we're at the end, they have given me their fruit, taught me new lessons and been a treat to have around.😃 **Let's get to the numbers:**(Note: LARF and milled flower weights were halved when calculating final totals in the "Outcome" portion of this entry. I do not personally count excess LARF and milled flower as whole bud. This is only a personal preference. The numbers listed below are the full numbers weighed, but are different/higher then the final "Outcome") Northern Lights #1: -Whole bud- 98 grams (3.5 ounces) -Milled Flower- 52 grams (1.86 ounces) Northern Lights #2 -Whole Bud- 88 grams (3.14 ounces) -Milled Flower- 49 grams (1.75 ounces) Totals: -Whole Bud- 186 grams (6.64 ounces) -Milled Flower- 101 grams (3.60 ounces) NL #1, Jar #1- 35 Grams (1.25 ounce) NL #1, Jar #2- 30 Grams (1.07 ounce) NL #1, Jar #3- 33 Grams (1.17 ounce) NL #2, Jar #1- 30 Grams (1.07 ounce) NL #2, Jar #2- 29 Grams (1.03 ounce) NL #2, Jar #3- 29 Grams (1.03 ounce) NL #1, Milled Flower, Jar #1- 43 Grams (1.53 ounce) NL #2, Milled Flower, Jar #2- 40 Grams (1.42 ounce) NL #1 & #2, Milled Flower, Jar #3-18 Grams (.64 ounce) YES! Yes a hundred times, man. I couldn't be happier to see these massive numbers, especially at this quality and potency. It's always about quality, first and foremost, but I was looking to seriously up my yield in order to really carry myself and my needs. It seemed to have paid off/worked and these plants average yield is triple that of a single GG#4 from grow #1. Unbelievable😃. Bonus; the tent and all equipment has been paid off after this haul and half of this grow was money in the bank. From here on out, just power and supplies (as needed) and it's all money in the bank. The feeling of not being dependent on tonnes of sub-par medicinal or recreational cannabis is a huge relief. Table of Contents: Week #1- Full Equipment Lists week #7- Keeping Notes and Records Week #10- Low RH, Cold Weather and Cheap/Free Remedies Week #12- Praying and "Soil Priming" Week #13- Pruning and Defo in Flower. The 'Myth' Week #16- Flushing Experiment and Procedure Week #17- Flushing Update #1 & #2 Week #18- Final Flushing Notes and Final Thoughts **Grow #1 Vs. Grow #2** Long story short, in Grow #1 I was really hesitant to push the envelope in any way. I used a basic Nutrient Trio and Cal-Mag. I didn't do anything but what the schedule told me and I usually only applied 3/4's of the recommended dose. I was walking on egg shells and scared to hurt/kill them. They continued to look healthy and put out a great product, but it was clear that a lot of changes had to be made. The yield wasn't there and if I was to grow my own, to carry me and my family between grows, I needed to up these numbers, man. This was my mission and I made a lot of those changes. Below are most all the methods/techniques/nutrients/additives/equipment used to increase these numbers over my first go. 1. Nutrients/Supplements/Additives Grow #1: -Standard GHE Flora Series Trio & Cal/Mag 0-0-2 by manufacture's recommended doses, or less Grow #2: -Standard GHE Flora Series Trio & Cal/Mag 0-0-2 at full dose, advanced schedule -Introduction of Humic/Fulvic Acids (Diamond Nectar), Molasses (Floralicious Plus), Potassium Silicate (Sturdy Stock), a PK Booster (King Kola), Root Stim #1 (n/a) and Gaia Green 2-16-0 Bone Meal 2. Medium Grow #1: -First 3 gallons, Fox Farm's Ocean Forest. Last 2 Gallons, Dutch Treat w/ perlite conditioner (Soil was under conditioned and had high water retention) Grow #2: -All 5 gallons a 50/50 mix of Canna Terra (Peat moss for aeration) and Dutch Treat w/ 1:10 ratio of perlite added. (Sorry could breath, feeds could be applied faster and water logging was no longer an issue) 3. Lighting Grow #1: -Single 245 Watt, Blurple LED by Phlizon. (Specs in week #1 of this diary) Grow #2: -Addition of Spider Farmer-2000 Quantum Board LED for vegetation and both the SF and Blurple used in tandem for Bloom. (Larger output, higher PPFD rating and adequate footprint) 4. Environment Grow #1: -Held an almost constant 70% RH and 26-28 degree Celsius in Veg and 50% RH and 24-26 degrees Celsius in Bloom -Light cycle held at 24/0 for the entire grow Grow #2: -Held an almost constant 55-60% RH and 24-26 degrees Celsius in Veg and 30-45% RH and 21-24 degrees Celsius -Light cycle at 24/0 for seedlings and moved down to 20/4 roughly 3 weeks into Veg. 5. Training Grow #1: -Topped multiple sections, trained out, ran out of room and by the end they were not very sturdy and needed to be propped up with ribbon/yoyos Grow #2: -Topped the main once and once only. All other tops accomplished w/ LST. Additional bamboo sticks and strapping were planned ahead of time and by end game they carried themselves very well even with far more weight then the first go. 6. Trimming/Pruning Grow #1: -Did very little trimming, pruning or Defo. Was uncertain and this was more of a natural grow. Many, many tops with finite product on each Grow #2: -Planned for 8-10 Mains, max and pruned to accomplish this. I was not as hesitant to prune and defo as needed to help larger cola sites flourish. Achieved the 8-10 tops on both. Less LARF, easier trimming, more product, big win😃 So! That's the end of er'. I'd like to thank EVERYONE that has supported this project and helped me along at every little step...or misstep. There's too many to name individually and I'm positive if I attempted too, I would miss some very key people. So instead, if you're in the thread down below or you've checked in to help in PM, whether it was just to say hello, give a thumbs up or advice, I appreciate's allllll of you and I wouldn't have these successes without you. Glasses up to all of you. On a special note, there is someone I'd like to specifically call out and thank for all they have done for me. @Mrs_Larimar has been a beacon of knowledge, advice and a positive attitude in my grow experience. The large majority of changes I made (*see above) were from her direct guidance. So, just the biggest frigging thank you to you, Mrs_Larimar. I see her all over this site helping other new comers, ushering them into a lifelong and rewarding hobby/passion. I don't know where she finds the time....but Cheers to that: 1: Thank you all. I truly appreciate everything you've done for me and taught me. There's a lot more to know and a far ways to go, but with the solid set of contacts I've made on here, I'm positive my future endeavors will be fruitful. I feel like I have a great inner circle of like-minded people and I'm not going anywhere😊. Cheers everyone.