Double Grape - HLG QB V2 R-Spec

WEEK 7: IT IS WHAT IT IS OK, I am growing A carpet and not a Christmas tree! The buds that have formed are the buds that I will have. I just need to take care of them and let them mature. I'm not going to set any records, but I am learning a lot about how to optimize the growing environment. DAY 46: TAKE IT EASY ON THE WATERING * Based on new research, I am lightening up a bit on watering. The last time I watered was six days ago and this time I only used 1.5L rather than the 2L that I saturated the soil with earlier. Don't know if it will make a difference. I've never watered to runoff. * Vivosun has replaced my defective fan and the new one is now in place. It has helped stabilize the environment. * CALCULATING VPD: Temperature: 80-81F; RH: 55%; Leaf Temperature: 75-77F; VPD: 1.08-1.18. This is in just where I want it, the low end of the target range for mid-late flowering of 1.2-1.6. DAY 49: A GIRL IN HER ADOLESCENCE * Closing out the week a day early. * She has about 20 days to go, but I can see that she is filling out. * Gave her 1.5L of plain tap water pH'd to ~6.4. * When I gave her 2L of water it took six days to dry out. With 1.5L she was very light just two days later. I will continue with the lighter watering. * I think it was on Grow Week Easy where I read that when you have to water your plant every day, that is the time to up the amount of watering. I have not yet reached that point. * The environment seems stable at 84F, leaf temp of 76F and an RH of 44%. This makes the VPD 1.3, great for early to mid flowering. * It's interesting what watering did to the environment. It dropped the temp to 77F and the RH jumped to 82%! I suspect it will level out by the end of the day, once the topsoil dries a bit. DAY 51: NOTHING EXCITING * Watered with 1.5L pH's tap water. * VPD has stabilized. I'm letting it creep up as I get later into the bloom cycle. This, in turn, is responsible for more frequent watering. Think of it as a person working hard and sweating. That water needs to be replaced. * The grow room adjustments are coming along. I hope to run two plants in about and 18" x 18" area for the next grow. D52: "LOLLLYPOPPING" A CARPET * I dug into the plant today and effectively "lollypopped" the small branches and buds. Under the top visible growth, there is a layer of small under-developed branches and buds. I worked with the plant to remove these energy suckers. They were not getting enough light to fully mature yet they require water and nutrients. Removing these branches and buds also improves the airflow around the plant. Given how compact this plant is, that is important to avoid potential mold problems. * Watered with just 0.5L of molasses water. D53: MORE WATER, MORE ROOM PREP * While I have been watering more lightly lately, after watching it get thirsty again after just two days, I decided to go back to 1.5L of tap water at a pH of ~6.5. I water carefully and ensure that there is never any runoff. * I also working on the grow area and prepping it for a two-pot grow. Each pot a three-gallon smart pot. * I am using a try from a dog crate for the floor. It will contain any small spills. It fills the available area and I will be able to have an effective footprint of 18" x 18". * On top of the tray, I am placing a piece of shelving leftover from another project. This gets the pots off of the floor. When complete, I will have a new mount for the fan so the bucket doesn't take so much room. * I've started mixing my soil. I am looking forward to getting the pots layered and letting them start to cook. D56: STANDARD WATERING * Watered with 1.5L of tap water pH'd to ~6.4. D58: RUNNING TOWARD THE FINISH LINE * Plant seems to be showing some cal-mag and phosphorus shortages. I topped dressed the pot with Nature's Living Soil, Great White Mycorrhizae and Home Grown Bokashi Veg Castings Mix'Ins. This was watered in with 500ml of molasses water. * Watered with an additional 1L of tap water pH'd to ~6.4. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GROW ROOM IMPROVEMENTS INSTALLED ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Installed a tray designed to fit a large dog carrier on the floor. It has an inch-high rim that should prevent any type of water overflow. On top of that, I put a piece of wire shelving. This keeps the plants off of the cold floor and gives them room to drain. Finally, I was able to epoxy a 1-inch PVC pipe in the corner of the shelf, drastically increasing the space available for plants. It will now be easy to get two 3-gallon smart pots in the space. Looking forward to my next round. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE NEXT ROUND - EDITED ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I've been spending a lot of my time focusing on my next growing effort. I need to take what I've learned from this round, my first with Mephisto Genetics, a Quantum Board and using organics, and apply them to my next crop. Here are some of the things I've learned: 1. Start with the light far from the seedlings. Allow them to grow to the light. Dim the light if necessary. 2. Water much more lightly, especially early in the plant's life cycle. Kind Soil offers some very good advice here: http://www.kindsoil.com/seed-starting.html 3. Don't get too OCD over the pH. Anything in the range of 6.4-to-6.7 is going to be fine in an organic grow. * I'll be using 50L of Biobizz Light-Mix, purchased through Walmart, as my base. I will amend it with about two gallons of worm castings. * The top third of the pot will be only Light-Mix and worm castings. * For nutrients, I will be incorporating Nature's Living Soil in the "Living Soil" configuration. I will then create layers of soil using the Home Grown Bokashi 10 oz Seed To Harvest Pro Bokashi Set. (https://www.homegrownbokashi.com/p/10oz-seed-to-harvest-pro-bokashi-set) It will be some work to get this set up, but I've heard good things and I think it is fun to fuss with soil! 😊 * I will be running two 3-gallon pots at a time. ==>Back in a few days for the beginning of the Week 9 report. <==