4 * Sticky Beast auto, LED (first grow)

This was another solid week: the buds are developing good. They’re gaining weight and look really frosty. The deficiencies I reported about in the previous update, stopped spreading 24-48 hours after the watering/feeding on day 50. In fact, some of the affected leaves started to get greener again. New growth (mainly sugar leaves) are looking nice and green. This confirms that it was definitely a case of underfeeding. The scent of the girls is amazing right now. Skunky, with lots of citrus tones and a hint of mint. On day 54 I needed to water and feed again, as the pots were feeling light. I used the same mix at the same strength and added about 7 liters of the feeding mix to each plant, resulting in 1-2 liters run off. The pH of the rootzone was exactly 6, while 6.8 is going in: perfect! Besides watering and feeding, I removed a dying leaf here and there at the bottom of the plants. Harvest is getting closer by the day, maybe 2 weeks or so, maybe even less. I expect to harvest around 15 February, based on other grow diaries with the same strain. However, I bought an USB microscope, which allows me to take a close look at the trichomes. Right now, most trichomes are still clear and glassy. Also, most pistils are still white and the few that turned brownish haven’t curled in yet. The harvest window is not open yet. It was really hard to stabilize the USB microscope when holding it in front of a bud side. Therefor, I removed a tiny bit of the sugar leaves of each plant (no more than 1/4th of a rice grain) and got a real close look. I added some pictures to this post. The only thing that worries me now, is humidity. It’s around 55%, but during lights off, it peaks at 65%. Right now, the weather is humid, but it’s expected to become dryer next week. Nevertheless: I am working on a better exhaust system. Right now, the ducting is just positioned at an open window, therefor, cold and moist air is entering the room via the window. I’ll cover the window with a plate and the ducting will go through it. This way, the air from the grow tent, will be exhausted outside, but the humid and cold air from outside will not flow into the room as easily. Off course, you can’t see anything from outside. If I can only reduce RH with 5%, I’ll guess I’m fine, since there is plenty of airflow in the tent (2 fans, two passive intakes at the bottom on both sides and the exhaust in the top of the tent). Another minor issue: Anna’s buds are a bit behind in development (it’s been like that since the start of flowering), about 5 to 7 days or so. Since I have to harvest all the plants at once (the drying has to be done in the same growing tent), it might be a little bit difficult to get the timing right. It’s getting close now: my first harvest as grower. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!