First Grow: Essie

Day 22: Got the new dual AC Infinity 120mm cabinet fans with the 110CFM rating in yesterday and installed, replacing the tiny 80mm/26CFM setup - back to a steady high of 80-82 and lows around 70. Buddy of mine let me borrow his anemometer and I was able to gauge the airflow around the tent and move around the circulation fan to a more an ideal location, definitely much better circulation with the 120mms. I have, what appears to be, an even numbered set of fingers on a leaf coming in symmetrically... which is interesting I guess? And not a bad thing I hope? I'll start moving the light schedule a half hour a day until I reach a 20/4 schedule. Day 23: Yesterday we were at 18.5/5.5 today we are at 19/5. Tomorrow I'll make the last adjustment and by Day 25 we will be full 20/4. Watering tonight, will use some of the FF Micro - Big Bloom. My hydrangeas need some nitrogen too, curious to see how they handle FF Grow Big 🤔 (FOLLOW UP - They l❤️ve it!) We are at about 20" off the lights now. After considerable research, many growers are using this light with success in considerably closer ranges than the instructions recommend. Will watch close for burning. Day 24: No signs of light burn yet, fed last night with 500ml of purified water solution with 6 tsp Big Bloom and a bonus tsp of Grow Big because, whoops - wrong bottle... pH was 6.54. Didn't measure TDS but I guess I have a monitor now, so will do in future if only for consistency / recording sake. Unsure if it's horribly important for soil grows. Moved the timer the last steps out, today it'll see an extra 30 mins at night and catch a full 20/4 starting 30 mins earlier tomorrow morning. Day 25: Will top as soon as I have safe access to the topmost incoming node, between five and six. Would do it at current node but that 6 fingered leaf makes me want to let a new set come in first. Day 26: We ended up topping above the 4th node after all, we plan to manifold her. I gave her the quarantine haircut last night about 20 mins before the lights went out - seems the popular opinion is to do it immediately before the lights go off or come on. I choose the the evening as it works best with my schedule; though next time I may try the early morning. Also fed with another 500ml of the same FF BigBloom/GrowBig mixture as before. Growth near the inside already seems to be responding a few hours into the light schedule, so seems to be fine. Day 27: Some defoliation was in order, working towards a manifold or flux of sorts, something flatter and manageable. Day 28: Height adjusted up to 22" (from barely under 20") as I found a finger near the top appeared to be drying out (picture). I think the distance is fine, I just can't maintain a humid enough or cool enough environment for that closeness right now and don't want to risk it. I'm still peaking near 85 during hot days and when it gets that warm, the air between Essie and the LED is noticeably warmer at the 18" range than 22". Maybe I'll check that circulation is still in order, a problem more easily fixed if I already had a carbon filter and inline hanging I assume.