Grow #1

June 5, 2020 Day 1: All good, so far. Planted 1-1/2” sq rock wool into pint-size pots with 50/50 mix of Miracle-Gro potting soil and perlite, watered in well and then straight into the grow chamber (2’x8’ closet) under 4’ x8 6500K T5s. The plan is to top water with tap water and Cal-Mag Plus when necessary for first week, then begin and Advanced Nutrients Grow+Micro+Bloom at 1/2 strength. At beginning of Week 3 will transplant into 1-gallon pots with 75/25 perlite & vermiculite mix. The final move will be to 5-gallon hempy buckets at a later point. Will be topping and low stress training until big enough to start with the 2’x4’ ScrOG made from 3/4” PVC pipe and nylon twine wrapped into a 3”x3” grid. This is my first cannabis grow. Wish me luck Day 2: Received the GOVEE H5075 Indoor Thermometer-Hygrometer, (Amazon $13). Calibrated it using the free GOVEE Home app. I like being able to monitor temp and humidity from my smartphone. Pretty cool! Day 3: Dialed in the fans and air circulation system for maintaining optimal temperature. I’m sure it will change from week to week with the different humidity and temperature changes that will come with increased vegetation. I ordered a 6” fan that will remain inside the grow chamber for the duration, it should be delivered tomorrow. The Bluetooth capability makes it easy to stay informed of differences in temp and humidity. The leaves looks slightly droopy, but that’s expected being transplanted only 48 hours ago, not too bad at all. Watered just enough to keep the rock wool damp, including a low dose of Cal-Mag plus, three hours before lights out. I expect to see them perk up tomorrow. They’re going to get an hour less dark time for each of the next couple days as I adjust the for 18/6 light timer from existing 6am-midnight to 5am-11pm and again the next day to 4am-10pm, which will remain until the flip to 12/12 flower schedule. It’ll be more in sync with actual sunrise and sunset. It makes me feel better, if not for any other legitimate reason. Other than the time it took to check the app several times, today I spent only around 5 minutes actually tending to the plants and system. I’m resisting being overprotective and trying to just let them do what millions of years of genetic evolution has programmed them to do. Grow baby, grow! Day 4: Our area is really hot with the high of 88°F and really dry today at 17% RH. It’s going to be like this for a couple more days. I have to work out a better cooling system for the grow chamber. Watered at 6pm, they were thirsty enough. Another short 5 hour nap tonight, then they’ll be on the 4am-10pm schedule for the remainder of veg time Day 5: It’s 87°F with 28% RH in the chamber at 11:45am. The hottest and driest day of the year, so far. I put the plants up on two overturned 5 gallon buckets and raised the lights accordingly to double the volume in the narrow chamber, that should help keep the temperature down some. Added a 6” fan to blow across the space between the lights and the canopy. Added another oscillating fan in doorway of the room to help move some cooler air from the rest of the house. Installed a humidifier on medium setting. Still no significant growth yet, that’s expected for first week after planting clones. Day 6: Correction, today was the hottest day. It got up to 98°F! Sucks trying to keep it cool in the chamber, it got up to 91° for about 90 minutes. Going forward I may have to get a small swamp cooler or something because the temperature averages 81°, but rises slowly every day and peaks around 5:30pm a few degrees below 90°. Too hot! I don’t want to stress the plants. I’m going to change the light cycle to have the dark period during the hottest part of the day, having lights off will certainly help keep the temperature down. So, they’re skipping dark time tonight and getting an extra 6 hours of light, it won’t hurt while in veg phase. The new light cycle is 6pm to noon. Day 7: Changing the light cycle worked like a charm! Nighttime averages were 78°F and 47% RH. Everything turned off today at noon except the 6” fan on low setting and the humidifier on medium, averages are stable at 83° and 42% RH. At midday there is a tiny bit of light leaking into the closet, but it’s as dark as any moonless night. I’ll blackout the two windows in the room this evening after 6pm when the lights come on again, that should remedy the issue. It’s rewarding to see roots already poking out of the drain holes, more canopy growth and it’s finally starting to smell like weed. Damn, it’s been such a busy, a fine tweak week. I assume it’ll be more of the same going forward as I figure this shit out. It’s been fun so far and really hasn’t taken much of my time at all.