First Grow: Bruce Banner TF-DWC

Day 1 Seeds placed in Rapid Rooters and put in system. 24hrs of darkness. (5 gallons PH’d) Day 3 Seeds have all popped. 2 seedlings emerged with yellow leaves. PH too high. Added PH down right to reservoir. (Don’t do) Day 5 3 seedlings emerged. Leaves turning green. Lights turned on (20hrs on, 4 hrs off) Day 7 All seedlings have emerged. Purple stems indicate some form of stress. Reservoir water changed. 5 gallons added (1 tsp each of nutes and fungicide. Water PH’d.)

Day 8 Had one seedling with a weak stem, put extra hydroclay around it to hold it upright. Switched lights to Bloom and Flower. Light is at about 16”. Day 10 Slow growing seedlings. 2 seems to be growing and 2 are stunted. I think the humidity is too low. I misted the walls of the tent with water to increase humidity to 70% Day 11 Added a humidifier to the tent. Tent is finally stable at around 70% humidity and 75 degrees. Plants are starting to take off. Day 13 Did reservoir change. Added 2.5 ml/gal of each Nute. PH’d to 6. Day 14 (May 16th) Woke up to see that the plants got Nute burn (see pictures). Did a reservoir change and brought nutes back down to 1.25ml/gal.

Day 15 Plants seem to be rebounding from nutrient burn. Grew a lot over the last 24hrs. No tampering needed today. Day 16 Smooth sailing. No issues. Plants are starting to grow quickly. Day 17 Another day with no issues. This is more like it. Took me a bit to get this TF-DWC system to where it needed to be, but it’s finally stable. Water is still cool. Temp holding around 77 and humidity around 70%. Tested the water because I have been having PH issues. Steady at 6.0 with 292 PPM. Day 18 Everything is still staying level. PPM went down to 279, so nutrients are definitely being used and it’s showing! On the back left plant the leaves are a bit droopy, not sure if that should be concerning. Also, they seem to be growing very short and bushy. I will take a picture of the main stem tomorrow, it’s thick. Hoping they start to stretch out a bit. Day 19 2 more days and I think they’ll be ready for their first topping! Day 20 Still growing. All is well, leaves are perking up a bit. Day 21 Asked a question today and got some solid answers from the community, thanks! I would like the plant to stretch a bit, so I moved the light another 10” away. Reason for it is because I will be topping on Monday, and I’d like for everything to be a bit more spread out. We will see what happens.

Day 22 Plants are really looking great. It was a bit hot in there today, so I spent some time controlling the temperature, but all-in-all, they’re doing awesome. Reservoir change tomorrow. May up the nutes a tiny bit. Day 23 Reservoir change today. A couple things to note. Water had a bit of a smell and the tote had some brown/green slime around it. Water was also pretty warm. Roots looked great, but I removed the lid, cleaned out the whole reservoir and cleaned everything I could. Hoping this is just from everything being new out of the package which is undoubtedly going to cause some foreign algae/debris to appear. I also had chopsticks in there holding the tube from my water pump upright (terrible idea, I should have known better) so those are gone now as well. I added 1.5ml per gallon of each nute this time. Ended up with 350ppm and a PH of 5.5 (will rise about .2 by the time its run through the system a few times) which is exactly what I was hoping for. Now here is the fun part; Topping! What a terrifying thing as a first time grower. I will be main-lining, so this is the first step. Ambitious? Yes haha. So I topped down to the 3rd node. That first snip took a good 10 minutes to come to grips with haha. I will give them a couple days for the growth tips to grow out so I can start some LST. Let’s see what happens! Day 24 Rough day. Got gold stripes on 2 plants, nitrogen claw on another. Just all out bad. What it ended up being, was I bought a cheap PH Meter off Amazon, calibrated it, and used it for the first time when I changed the reservoir. I asked a lot of questions in here and got a lot of answers. So I took my PH Drop Kit that I was using before and measured the PH... 4.5-5. The PH was too low and none of the plants could take in nutrients. I upped the PH and all the new growth looks great. Almost time to ditch those fan leaves anyways. Day 25 Nothing new. Still sorting themselves out from nute burn. Day 26 New growth looks great! I think I survived this one haha Day 27/28 Plants are still plugging along. No issues since I brought the PH up. Stoked!

Day 29 Smooth sailing! Day 30 Starting to wonder if now is when I should top again. I think I may top them tomorrow. I really want to get them to that 3rd node and they are super close, but I’ll wait a bit longer so I don’t accidentally cut the growth tips. Res change tomorrow as well! Day 31 Plants got topped again today. Also did a res change. They seem to be reacting quite well, I was expecting worse. The one in the back had 3 growth tips on the node I cut down to during the first topping so now I have 6. Looks pretty cool. Still debating whether or not to top again or just keep all 4 plants. 🤔 Day 32 The plants have rebounded very nicely. They perked right back up and the growth tips are getting bigger. I put the bloom light on to give them a bit more light. I’m going to see how they do and maybe keep it on from here on out. Day 33 Plants are doing well, seems like they prefer just the Veg light to be on. I think it’s because having both lights on is jacking up the heat and it’s hard to control. I have been bending the fan leaves to the sides to allow the growth tips to receive the light. As soon as the growth tips start to fan out, I am going to cut these fan leaves off. Day 34 Still healthy and happy! Day 35 Nothing to really say. I am going to trim the fan leaves and do the last of the LST tomorrow. I’ve decided to keep all 4 plants, but only top them twice. Now we let them go.

Day 36 Did (what should be) the last of the main-lining training. I will continue to grow the stems parallel to the ground until they all arrive in an area with no other colas around them. At that point I’ll allow them all to start growing up! After that it’s basically just reservoir changes and light defoliation until the end. Day 37 Added a higher ratio of FloraMicro and FloraGrow during the reservoir change today. Hoping for them to grow a bit more aggressively. The water I removed was at 460 PPM vs The 510 PPM When I changed it last. This weeks water goes in at 535 PPM. I was also happy to see that the water I pulled out was still at a PH of ~6.0. Let’s see how they do. Day 38 Bottom right seems to be growing slow. Not sure how I’m going to spread these out, I’m going to try to continue LST and space the colas. Stems are super tough. Day 39 Bottom left is a bit bushy. Everything seems cramped. Hoping I can just let it go and use the scrog net to space these out. Day 40 Moved the light down 6”. I’m going to see how low I can go without burning them. If I keep them at 25” then I’m hardly going to have space for the flowering stretch. Day 41 Broke a main stem in half today... taped it back up, looks okay still. I don’t know how to get these to grow more evenly, because the stems are too stiff to bend. Going to let them grow out and see what happens. Day 42 They’re really stretching. One more week until the switch to 12/12!

Day 43 Just a waiting game now. I am going to let them grow to 2ft before switching to flowering. They are definitely growing a bit slow, but that’s alright. Day 44 Defoliated the plants, they were starting to get bushy and the fan leaves were blocking all the growth sites Day 45/46 Growing steadily! They seem to be liking the increase of heat. Day 47 It’s getting a bit hot in the tent, but it seems like they are fine. Sitting at around 85-90 degrees Day 48 I need to get a dehumidifier, I can’t keep the humidity down. Did some light defoliation. Asked a question today. Not sure how many nodes I should be keeping on my main colas. I will keep them all this time around and just let it grow. I’ll probably wait another week to switch to flowering. Day 49 Dehumidifier acquired.

Day 50! Well, the plants seem to be liking the drop in humidity. I’ll be expecting them to drink more from the reservoir and really start to take off. One week until flowering. Day 51 Now that the humidity is down, I’m having a bit of trouble keeping temps down during the day. I am taking the small plant out tomorrow and transplanting to soil. The next day I am going to do a large defoliation and then put them into flowering. Day 52 I transplanted one of the plants to soil. It couldn’t keep up with the others and it was crowded anyways. Cutting the root system out was an interesting experience. The top left one looked a bit stressed today, but hoping they pick back up tonight. Tomorrow I will do heavy defoliation. Almost time for flowering

Day 53 Started a new week because I put them into flowering! I definitely think I lollipopped too high, but we will see how they turn out. Hoping for a massive flowering stretch to get those big colas. They are now on 12/12. I’m having trouble keeping the heat down still, so I set the timer for the lights to go off during the day. Hopefully that will keep temps down a bit. I also vented my tent to the outdoors, so that should help big time as well. Day 54 Plants are doing well. The one that was transplanted to the greenhouse he also taken well to the soil Day 55 Looks like they’re ready to stretch. Day 56 Added some water to the reservoir. The temp is much more controlled now and the plants are really growing. 👌🏼 Day 57 Well, they emptied out half of a reservoir in a day and a half... I upped the nutrients to 5ml/g, so hopefully they continue to like the increase. Water temp is a bit warm, but I’m doing a full reservoir change on Thursday, so a top-up will do for now Day 58 Gotta figure out if I pinch of these little growths or just let them go. I think they will just be little popcorn buds. Day 59 They’re really stretching. They’ve grown 6 inches in 4 days. Reservoir change tomorrow night.

Day 60 They have grown another 3 inches yesterday. Amazing. Looking very healthy. Reservoir change tomorrow. Day 61 The plants are doing awesome still. Getting a tad crowded, but I’m tucking leaves. Did a res change today. Roots look good. TDS went down a bit for this week on the sched I’m following (Nebula Haze Sched off GWE), but intend on getting it back up to 750 with the top ups. Day 62 Keep Growin Growin Growin Growin, WHAT! -Hemp Bizkit Day 63 These plants. They just keep impressing me. Drank about 2.5 gallons in the last 2 days Day 64 Made a risky move today. Did some HST to a main cola because it was getting so much taller than everything else. I think it will recover nicely. We’ll see Day 65 First signs of flowering! Starting to notice pistils. Great sign that they are female 👌🏼 Day 66 The canopy isn’t as even as I would have liked, to be 100% honest, but it’s not too bad! Pistils everywhere!

Day 67 Did some light defoliation at the bottom of the plants. So many growths that were just never going to make it to the light. I only have one more major defoliation, and that will be at the end of this week. Reservoir change tomorrow. Day 68 Reservoir change... ✅ Day 69 Got really hot in there last night, but they are seem to be okay. Really need an AC unit, the dehumidifier is blowing hot air out and making the room too hot. Day 70 Temperature was pretty steady today. Gotta add some more water tomorrow. Day 71 It’s crazy that they’re still growing the way they are. The buds are looking great! Day 72 Last major defoliation! Now to let her do her thing! Day 73 Everything is going smooth. Buds look awesome!

Day 74 Did a reservoir change today. Plants are getting hairier every day. Can’t wait to see the growth I get this week. I will likely grow for another 3 weeks and then harvest. Day 76 So excited to harvest these plants! Hoping the plants stop growing soon. Running out of space. Day 77 Really starting to see crystal all of the leaves. Also a very nice fruity smell on the leaves. Day 78 So..... I’m now starting to notice that one of these plants is different than the other two. I wonder if I got a random seed in the ones I purchased.... kind of a disappointment. May have to change suppliers. Day 79 Hoping these buds fatten up soon. Day 80 Reservoir change tomorrow. Also getting an A/C unit to try and tame these temperatures.

Day 81 Added an A/C unit. Trying to get the temp down. I’ve got some things to figure out here... Day 82 So the A/C and the Dehumidifier were fighting each other. The solution for now is to have the dehumidifier in there vented out of the tent and the AC unit outside the tent so the intake fan sucks cool air into the tent when the fan kicks on at 80 degrees. Day 83 Well the plants fell over... so now they have been tied up. The buds were getting too heavy and the plant started tilting. All good now. They look incredible! Day 85 Really struggling to keep temps and humidity down. I think keeping the humidity down is more important at this point. Day 87 I finally figured out a configuration that is keeping the plants at a steady 79 degrees. Phew. Also, I’m almost positive now that these are 2 different strains. One smells citrusy and the other more skunky. 2 more weeks!

Day 89 I need to get a microscope ASAP. I need to start monitoring the trichomes. They smell so fruity, it’s amazing. Day 91 Now that the temperature and humidity are staying controlled, you can really see them producing an insane amount of trichomes. They look incredible! Day 92 Got my macro lens for my phone today. Pictures were meh 🤷‍♂️🏼 I know they aren’t near ready yet, so I think I’ll need to get myself an old fashion microscope to check Day 93 Added some water today! Still looking great!

Day 96 Had to tie more branches up! They’re starting to get really heavy so they’re bending. Looking good!! Day 97 Nothing to report 🤙🏼 Day 98 Really starting to see the hairs turn brown. Getting close! Day 99 Brown hairs developing and starting to curl in slightly. This is definitely going to be 2 separate harvests. The one plant (which I believe is a different strain) is going to be ready much quicker. Day 100! Finally got a good picture of the trichomes! All clear still. They have a while to go! Day 101 Starting to really watch the brown hairs closely. They say once 70-80% of the brown hairs have curled in, that’s the best time to harvest. I will mix that train of thought with keeping an eye on the trichomes to see when they start to get cloudy and I should be able to harvest at the right time. Day 102 Added some more water this morning. It’s working out to be about 5 gallons of water needed every 3 days. Going to continue to just add to the reservoir and once I think they are close I’ll do a ripen week and then a 3 day flush. Kapow!

Day 103 Looking gooood! Had to tie up a few more buds today. They’re getting heavy. Day 104 Added water to the res, she’s drinking a lot lately. Day 106 🤦‍♂️🏼 Didn’t check on them for one night and went in the tent to a full dehumidifier and a broken exhaust fan.... really hoping I don’t get bud rot... looking for any advice or opinions on whether or not I should be worried. Dammit... Day 107/108 Wasn’t here, had somebody check on them for me because I had that fan fault. All went well. Day 109 First time seeing the lady’s in 3 days. They look awesome. Hoping to harvest in the next week and a half.

Day 110 So I’m hitting an issue here where I planned to have my plants harvested at a certain time, but the plants are taking forever to mature. I have switched the light cycle to 10 on and 14 off to try and speed up the process a bit. I added more water to the res, but next time I am going to move to the ripening levels. I know patience is key, but I will be leaving for a bit and don’t really trust anyone to finish this out for me. We will see what happens... I’m hoping there is a drastic change over the next 11 days. Day 111 My jewelers loupe came today. Got a really good look at the trichomes. Still glassy although some are definitely starting to cloud. Hopefully the hairs begin to change in color and curl in a bit before the trichomes are cloudy. Day 112 So I took another look at the trichomes under the 40x setting. I would say about 50% of the trichomes have turned cloudy. The smell is super strong! Almost like diesel or a bit chemically with a hint of fruitiness. Day 117 The plants look awesome, but I am 99% sure these are two different strains. Almost looks like one is naturally foxtailung and the other is growing into more of a cola. If you look at today’s pictures you will see what I mean. The plants are growing at different speeds, look different, and smell different haha

Day 118 Another check fan alert. Exhaust stopped working. We’re now back in action. Hoping this one will hold out for another week until harvest! Next batch of seeds have been put into Jiffy pellets. Will update on the plant I moved outdoors right before I put them into flower. It looks incredible! Day 119 Trichomes are still glass-like. Some are beginning to cloud, but it looks like probably another week or so to go. Day 121 Turning the humidity down to try and simulate fall weather. Try and get these plants to flower a bit quicker before the get nanners Day 124 Just starting to get some amber trichomes! Ready for harvest. Putting it into a 2 day flush and then she’s getting cut down!

Day 125 Plants began their flush this morning! I will flush them for 2 days and then cut them down to dry them out. So close and they look so good! Day 127 They’ve been cut down! Some of the smaller stuff that didn’t get much light was very airy and wasn’t worth keeping, so I will add that to my trimmings when I make hash. There are some very beautiful buds. They will be left to dry at 50% humidity and 70 degrees Celcius.

Well... it’s all done now. Final result? Extremely happy with the quality. Tastes good and smokes smooth (should only get better as it cures too!) and smells fruity. My only complaint is how it looks. I believe I may have defoliated a bit too much right before flowering and again 3 weeks in. The bud ended up very light and almost airy. I was hoping for a more compact bud, but it was my first grow and I think I bit off a lot by starting with hydro. I am going to try a soil grow next to see what I can pull from that. Hydroponics was interesting, but it seemed very involved (or maybe I was paying too close attention because it was my first time). Again, disappointed with the seeds. I have germinated my Blueberry Kush seeds from the same company and only 3 of 5 popped. So this will definitely be my last time using that seed company. Despite the negatives, what a ride it has been. I definitely didn’t think I was gunna pull 322g, so I was pleasantly surprised with that! That’s all for this one! Can’t wait to start a new diary and continue to get better at growing! Thanks for all the support from everyone, and all of the tips and answers to my questions when I was stressing out haha. Until next time, stay happy, stay healthy, and stay high! ✌️🏼💙 🌱🔥💨