My First Grow

One day I was out front and saw a funny little plant growing in the gutter debris on the side of the road. A pot plant?! Now, I know it was probably just some wild ditch weed, but I scooped it up and threw it in a pot. It did pretty well for what little attention I gave it. Turned out to be a male, but it sparked an idea. "What if I just grow my own?". I've known people who have attempted, and it always ended in failure. I always thought it was difficult to grow, but after looking online I found out there are plenty of people doing it and they're (for the most part) very happy to help. Here goes! So this is my FIRST EVER GROW! I am a broke veterinary student so my setup isn't fancy. I originally planned to grow in a spare shower I have, but the bathroom it's in is getting too hot with the recent weather. I'm hoping once it starts to cool off I can relocate into the shower. For now, I'm starting out in a greenhouse frame that I have wrapped in mylar emergency blankets. I have it set up over the top of the AC vent in a spare room, and have a fan laying directly on the vent to help pull cool air from the vent and push it into the "tent". I have been able to maintain temps fairly well in the low to mid 70's up to low 80's. It's not pretty, but should work. I am growing in Fox Farm Ocean Forest (FFOF) soil, in a 7 gallon trashcan that I have drilled holes in the bottom for drainage, and holes around the rim for future LST. I had some gravel in the bottom of the pot to try and take up some space but the weight was just too much for my little greenhouse. I ditched the gravel and got some gutter leaf guard foam and cut it down and put it in the bottom. It's super light and gives great drainage. I checked the SDS on the foam and it says it isn't bad, but I still hope my roots don't get into it and fuck up the plant with some chemical. We'll see how it goes. Like I said, this is my first grow and I have spent a lot of time researching in hopes of doing it right. One thing I came across is people having issues with FFOF being too acidic right out of the bag. I took the time to check by mixing equal parts soil and pH'd water and testing the pH of the water after I filtered it. Sure enough, it was reading around pH 5! To combat this, I added 5-6 Tbsp of lime to the soil, mixed it well, and retested it. This time it came out right around pH 6.5 and should be good to go now. I have also added perlite, about 3:1 soil to perlite, for increased drainage as recommended. I'm also on a learning curve using General Hydroponics pH Up/Down, but getting the hang of it and realizing very little goes a long way. I am using distilled water as I don't trust my local tap water, but when testing it by itself, it runs a little high in pH (~8), so I have to bring it down a little before using. For my first grow, I'm growing a Barney Farms Zkittlez OG Auto. I germinated it using a damp paper towel in a ziplock and putting it on top of my deep freeze for the radiant heat. In 24 hours the seed was cracked open, and about 12 hours later it has a small growth. I placed it in a prepared coco disc that had been expanded with pH'd water, then placed the coco into the soil. I went this route because I have heard stories of FFOF being too hot for young seedlings and it made me nervous. I'm hoping the coco will help it get established before the roots get to the FFOF. Once in, I covered the seed with a cut water bottle to help trap some humidity. I am using an HLG 100 V2 quantum board light, and currently have it set about 24" above the top of the can. Once it sprouts and gets some true leaves, I'll probably lower it a little. Initially I'm running the light 24 hours until the seed shell comes off my seedling, then I will be switching to an 18/6 light cycle. After monitoring temps several days before planting, I'm going to have the dark time from 2pm-8pm to help maintain temps during the hottest part of the day. I also want to give a shout out to Lyndon Walker (sales extraordinaire) over at House and Garden Premium Plant Nutrients and Additives. I shot them an email just asking about some samples and he HOOKED me up! Like wow, was not expecting all of this! Definitely appreciate it! He sent base nutrients, a bunch of additives, and some swag to boot. Since I'm growing autos, I won't be using much, but am still excited to have them. Maybe if this all goes well I'll try some photoperiod plants and hit them hard with everything. Anyway, for those who read all of this, thanks! I'm just trying to get as much info in as possible so that if I have any issues, everything is out there. Any tips, advice, etc. is appreciated, I'm just a new guy getting his feet wet. Gutter foam used: https://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/roofing-soffits-gutters/gutters-accessories/gutter-accessories/future-foam-5-x-4-gutter-filter/1585107/p-1444430783374-c-5812.htm Lime used: https://www.menards.com/main/outdoors/gardening/lawn-plant-care/compost-soils-amendments/pulverized-lime-50-lbs/2667740/p-1444439323615-c-1463608034794.htm Seed used: https://www.barneysfarm.com/zkittlez-og-auto-472 Nutrient line to be used: https://www.house-garden.us/ Day 1 (7/17) Woke up this morning to my sprout just breaking through the soil. Overnight temps were pretty decent, so my AC wasn't running as much overnight. In the tent the temps stayed in the mid 70's to low 80's which is what I wanted for sprouting. I'll probably take another pic tonight and see how it has grown. I have also mixed up some Roots Excelurator Gold into a spray bottle. I wasn't planning on this, as I have seen so many posts saying with FFOF soil and autoflowers to not add any nutrients for 3-4 weeks. Concerning the Roots Excelurator, I've seen several posts specifically about autoflowers saying to use the root nutrient at recommended strength. The feed schedule says 1 mL/gal, and my spray bottle is 0.25 gal so I filled it with pH'd water and 0.25 mL of Roots Excelurator. That stuff is thick, brown, and stanky but mixed right in. I carefully & lightly sprayed the soil surrounding the sprout, making sure to not spray the sprout. At the end of the day, the sprout has grown some but the seed shell is still attached. From looking online, I'm not too worried at this point and hope it falls off on its own. Day 2 (7/18) Today starts with my little seedling having grown a bit overnight. The seed shell is still attached, as well as the inner membrane. The membrane is holding the cotyledons together, so I don't know if I should try and remove it or just wait and see. I may take some advice I've seen in a few forums about misting it to soften the shell and membrane. Some have said it can take a few days, but with an autoflower idk if this will inhibit it or not at this point. Might give it a few days but we'll see. The plastic cover is holding in moisture and humidity, so I won't add any water to the soil as it is still damp. I did give a spritz to the inside of the cover to keep humidity up. Today is going to get hot af outside, mid 90's with heat index of like 106. Living in a tin box (mobile home), temp control may be an issue today. I'm hoping it stays fairly decent in my tent, as I have it over an AC vent with one fan over the vent blowing air in, another blowing across that fan to circulate the air around instead of straight up, and a 3rd clip fan hanging up top pulling air from inside out in an attempt to vent warmer air. Update: after misting the seed shell and membrane, both popped off within an hour! My cotyledons are out as well as 2 new leaf growths. The seed shell is still hanging onto one of the cotyledons, but barely. I have removed the dome and will add in a small oscillating fan. Today has gotten hot af and I'm having trouble keeping it cool. Temps in the stand hit almost 90F and really had me worried. I raised my light a few more inches (~38") hoping it would help but it really didn't. Come to find out in my mobile home I have a large duct that crosses over to supply the other side of the house, where my plant is. Inspection showed that this duct was full of holes! I've been running the AC nonstop to cool the underneath of my home apparently 😡. Got it patched up and it REALLY helped the air flow into the tent. Temp started to go down almost immediately and maintained around 80F the rest of the evening and overnight to about 77F. I was really worried about my seedling, it started looking a little wilty, but it seems to have perked back up. Tomorrow I will replace the entire duct and that should be a big help. Daytime temps outside should be cooler the next few days, so I'm hoping that it gives it what it needs. I now have a total of 5 fans going in the tent and room to try and get the cool air in and circulating. Honestly could use a few more to get air out of the room. Day 3 (7/19) This morning my seedling looks back to normal (hopefully). The seed shell is still hanging around on one of the cotyledons and a small bit of membrane is on the leaf. The cotyledons look rough, but the new leaves look okay as far as I know, which isn't much. I lightly squirted some water/roots excelurator around the coco base, just enough to dampen it because humidity is a little low. I also have a bowl of water sitting on the floor to try and supplement some humidity. Tonight I am going to lower my light some and try and see if it kicks her into high gear. I also was able to gently remove the seed shell and membrane from the one cotyledon. It was nerve wracking but it came off without any issues. Day 4 (7/20) Nothing much to say early on. Today will be cooler but rainy, so the AC won't run much. Overnight it didn't run much and stayed around 80 in the tent. I started to second guess myself with lowering the light. I have it about 18" above. I decided to ask on thcfarmer.com forum and after several responses I decided it would be better to raise the light back up to around 24". Day 5 (7/21) Today I started to get a little leery about my seedling. I have looked at many other seedling pics from forums and diaries and I think mine is a little behind. I feel that it is tiny compared to most of the other pics I've seen. Though a lot have been thin and stretchy, and mine is short and thick. Maybe it's the strain difference, but I'm hoping the excessive heat didn't stunt her or anything. So I took some pics and asked around the forums on thcfarmer.com and autoflower.net. Everyone who responded said it looked great! It was definitely a relief that they think it looks good. I feel like between those two forums, they would let me know if they saw something wrong. I'll give it a full week or so before I lower it some more and hit her hard. I started putting to damp washcloths hanging in the tent to try and keep humidity up because with the AC, it is sitting around 58-60%. Not bad, but a little more would be better. I spritzed around the seedling with the water/roots excelurator. Not much, but like 4-5 squirts. I also gave a decent watering of the whole pot in case the roots were extending out into some dry soil. I used about 4.5 cups of pH'd water, staying about 2" way from my seedling and the starter it is in. I've been skipping the dark cycle most days this week, hoping the extra light time will be helpful. May keep it up a few more days but once more leaves start coming in I will cut back to the 18/6. Day 6 (7/22) Last night it cooled off nicely, so I opened up the windows. It had rained a bit a few hours before and the humidity was high (~78%). The watering yesterday and the cooler humid temps last night seem to have boosted this little lady, or at least that is what I want to tell myself. It's a daily struggle not to constantly check in on her, I know it takes time but I just want to see her prosper. I'm going to hold off on any watering/roots excelurator for a couple of days. She still seems short, compared to other grow pics, but that I can live with as long as she's happy and healthy. I think it will only be an advantage. So far, I haven't maintained the 18/6 light schedule. As a seedling, I assumed that the more light the better. Today I set the timer and am allowing the 6 hours of "dark". I closed the tent up for the dark period, and just checked the temp (4pm) and its at ~75F, which is a nice little drop from around 80F. I will continue to maintain this light cycle. Overnight it will cool off, I opened all the windows for the night. Day 7 (7/23) As the first week comes to a close, I'm feeling better about where she's at. From what I can tell, she's looking happy and healthy. Saw her leaves stretching up last night for the first time. I think after today, I'll lower the light a couple inches a day until I'm around 18" (currently 24"). Got hold of a sample bottle of Mammoth P today, look forward to trying it. After looking online, it was recommended to start using it in the seedling phase in order to build up the microbe population and food web. This puts in microbes that help with phosphorus, which is needed in bloom. It's mixed in at 0.6 mL/gal and I think I will add some molasses and let it sit overnight when it gets closer to watering time. I saw an experiment that showed it helped with feeding the microbes. I won't have high hopes, as the sample is dated Nov 26, 2018 and it is pretty dark compared to fresh, which a lot of people said = dead microbes. Oh well, free is free and it can't hurt anything, right? Worth a shot. Well it's the end of week 1. She's got a long way to go but she's going!

Week 2 Day 8 (7/24) Today I'm going to mix up some of the Mammoth P and some molasses. I'm going to start with 1/2 gal of water and add 0.3mL of Mammoth P and 1 tsp of molasses to start out with. I'll mix in the recommended Roots Excelurator (0.5ml in 0.5 gallon) as well. I'll let this mix sit for 24 hours to help boost what microbes might still be alive in the sample of Mammoth P (it's old). Might increase the molasses later, and definitely will bump it up in flowering. Last night I lowered my light a few inches to 22". I'll let it run today and during the dark cycle I'll lower it a little more. I'll continue this until I'm at 18". Day 9 (7/25) Today I will water with the half gallon I mixed of Mammoth P, Roots Excelurator, and molasses. Hope the half gallon is enough and not too much. I'll probably wait until the dark cycle starts, so it is all watered up when the lights come back on and it has plenty for the day cycle. I was considering topping at some point, but I think I have talked myself out of it. For my first ever grow, I don't want to mess up and cause too much stress on it. Maybe in the future I will give it a go, I just don't feel like I have the experience to want to risk it on my first run. I watered today with the half gallon mix, one cup at a time. At watering, there wasn't any runoff but later there was some in the tray. I cleaned it out because with the molasses in it, I didn't want to attract bugs. I lowered the light some more during the dark cycle, I'm now at about 18". The light recommendation that came with it is 15"-18". I'm going to stick around 18", as she is still stretching towards the light, but not as much as previously. As she grows, I will monitor the height and adjust accordingly. Day 10 (7/26) Yesterdays watering seems to have made her happy. Seeing some faster leaf development and she's looking more light a plant than a seedling now. I'm going to leave her alone for the most part today. Temps outside have been high all weekend, but I have been able to keep the temp in the tent around 80F at the hottest part. It helps that during the hottest part of the day I have my night cycle. I added a cleaned out oil diffuser to add some humidity. With the temps being high, I've kept the tent open so it unfortunately has negated most of my attempts at keeping humidity up. Day 11 (7/27) Humidity is staying in the low 60% range, which is better than the 50% range I was in. Not too much going on today, still trucking along. I noticed that her leaves weren't stretching up towards the light anymore. They weren't shying away, but they also weren't really reaching, so I raised the light about an inch or so, now sitting around 19-20" above the top. Day 12 (7/28) Checked the pot weight this morning and it's still pretty heavy. The soil is moist still just below the surface, so I'm going to hold off on watering for quite a bit and try to get it to dry up a good amount. I'm thinking I over-watered last time (day 9). Yeah, pretty sure I've over-watered. I had put the whole half gallon in and got a good amount of runoff. After a bunch of reading, I really shouldn't be going to runoff in the first few weeks. I'm chalking it up to a learning experience, though it may have been helpful since it was also with Mammoth P and molasses. Day 13 (7/29) The past few days have been pretty bearable outside, getting up to mid 80's F. In the tent I've been maintaining low 80's with the lights on, and during dark it gets down to about 73 F. The pot is still pretty heavy, so no plans to water today. Just gonna let her be and do her thing. I pop in every so often and check her temps and humidity. Humidity has been tough to keep up, usually around 60% or a little lower. I have a metal bowl with water in there, as well as hung up some wet washcloths last night to try and get it up. With the cooler temps, I've "closed up" the tent for the most part. Day 14 (7/30) As week 2 ends, I'm really starting to see growth pick up. She was a little droopy tonight, so I gave her a small drink (~1 cup) of water with some Roots Excelurator. I didn't give her much because I will need to water in a day or two before I leave town for a couple days.

Week 3 Day 15 (7/31) I gave her a small drink last night and she perked back up quickly. Lets me know that tomorrow I will need to do a full watering before I leave town overnight. Today I will mix up some water, Mammoth P, Roots Excelurator, and a little molasses. I'll let it sit 24 hours and water her tomorrow before I leave. I measured her this morning and she's just over 3". I'm hoping she shoots up some more pretty quick so I feel better about starting some LST. She seems too small right now. I watered her tonight. I used a half gallon of water, 0.4 ml of Mammoth P, 0.2 ml of Amino Treatment, and 0.5 ml Roots Excelurator. I held off on the molasses, I think I am only going to do that every other watering. Once I start with more nutrients, I might go with molasses on the days I water without nutrients. Again, there was a good amount of runoff. Day 16 (8/1) She's going strong still. I have to leave town today and be gone until sometime tomorrow. Hopefully the watering doesn't cause any issues while I'm gone. Day 17 (8/2) Got home this afternoon and she is looking fine Day 18 (8/3) Today I'm trying my hand at some tie down LST. I'm super nervous since this is my first time and I don't want to mess her up. I'm using some plastic coated wire that bends well and holds its position. Fingers crossed. Also, it is a gorgeous day today, so the windows are staying open. In my room, the humidity has dropped to the mid 40%, so I busted out the humidifier. My tent is was too small to have the humidifier IN the tent, so I have it sitting outside the tent and the tent opened up some. We'll see if the humidity gets better Day 19 (8/4) She seems to have taken to the LST pretty well! By the evening, her top was already turned back up and her side started to bush up. So happy it worked out because it was nerve-wracking to do it for my first time. For her next watering, I will definitely be adding in some of the Drip Clean, as it is supposed to help remove excess salts. After her last watering, there was a good amount of runoff caught in a pan. The water evaporated off and there is SO MUCH SALT in the bottom! Very surprising, and definitely makes me want to use the Drip Clean from now on. Day 20 (8/5) This morning I could barely tell she was even tied down anymore. I adjusted the tie-down and moved her over some to open up more areas. Also have been attempting to tuck some of the big leaves blocking light. I mixed up a gallon of water with Drip Clean (0.4ml), Roots Excelurator (1ml), Amino Treatment (0.8ml), Multi Zen (1.5ml), and Mammoth P (0.6ml). From that gallon, I pulled 5 cups (a little over 1/4 gallon) and added 1 tablespoon molasses. I gave her the full 5 cups and there was only a small amount of run off. I watered her about an hour before the lights came back on. I have noticed some of her newest growth is very light in color at the base of growth. I don't recall if this was similar to in the past, but makes me wonder if I should add some of the Soil A & B next watering... Day 21 (8/6) I readjusted her pot this morning to have her new growths more centered under the light. I'm hoping this kicks their growth up some. Soon enough, she'll start flowering!

Week 4 Day 22 (8/7) Nothing much new to report. I'm still wondering why the new growths are so lightly colored. I'll post a pic or two on forums and ask if it looks good. After asking around, seems like she is doing good! Day 23 (8/8) Did a little more tying down this morning to try and open her up some more. She's getting pretty bushy, and I've been trying to tuck leaves so more light gets deeper. She's drying out faster and will probably need water a bit tomorrow. I'll do just water this time and save the feeding until next time. Next feeding I'll add some of the Soil A&B to the mix I have left from the last feeding. Day 24 (8/9) Ugh, noticed some yellow spotting appearing on some lower leaves. I took some pics and posted on autoflower network asking for help. I'm sure someone will know what's up and how to fix it. Depending on the responses, I do plan on watering today with just water. So, after posting on the forums someone thinks its magnesium deficiency. Seems to match pics I've found as well. Simple enough, I am watering tonight and will add some epsom salt. I mixed ~0.75 epsom salt into 5 cups of water (1tbsp/gal). I did some more tying today as well. Day 25 (8/10) Well I done fucked up. I added the epsom salt last night before lights on and come to find out that isn't what I was supposed to do. I should have done it with the next FEEDING. A mod at autoflower.net gave me the heads up. I need to do it with the feeding so that all the required nutrients are there to enable to adequate uptake. Just adding it straight up doesn't do much if it is lacking something else. Kind of like the amino acid "rain barrel", where if there is a limited nutrient, it affects the uptake of ALL nutrients even if they are in excess. Oh well, lesson learned. He recommended a mini-flush and a feed of 50% nutrients. He also said most people start nutes at week 2 in FFOF, much sooner than the 3-4 weeks I had read previously. So today, I will go get stocked up on water and use some Drip Clean. I'll run a couple gallons through her, let her drain, then feed. I will be going by the schedule and using everything it calls for that I have. I'll stick with the week 2 of veg schedule as she hasn't started flowering quite yet. Fingers crossed! Day 26 (8/11) Holy hell. Yesterday turned into a clusterfuck as we had a big storm knock out power at about 11am. It just came back on today 4:20 (nice). Had to relocate my lady several times. Between windows and hiding her outside, she got enough light to get by. Being in the sun probably gave her a good boost. With the power out, stores were closed so I didn't have the RO water I needed to do the flush and mix up a feeding. Finally got my water, ran 2 gallons of pH 7-ish water with 0.4 mL of Drip Clean. Then gave her a feeding of full schedule but at 1/2 doses. After it was all said and done, I redid all my ties. I think I may have seen a few pistils, but I'm not for sure. She should be hitting flowering here pretty soon. I'm going to let her run under the light now that it's on, and let her go until lights out tomorrow at 2. Day 27 (8/12) I haven't noticed anything change since yesterday, so here's hoping that the feeding wasn't too much and she's over her magnesium deficiency. I'm going to let her run with lights today until 2 then get her back on her lights off schedule. Day 28 (8/13) As week 4 comes to an end, flowering is just around the corner. I think I see some small white pistils forming! I will continue to LST, but will go easy on her from here on out. I'm still kind of worried about her magnesium deficiency. I'm seeing, I think, some more spotting on more leaves. It's even more slight, but still. On her next water I may add some epsom salt, but water lightly, then follow up with a feeding a few days after.

Week 5 Day 29 This morning I noticed more color loss on the big fan leaves. I'm still worried about magnesium deficiency, especially since I didn't add epsom salt to the last feeding and relied on the magnesium present in the nutes. I had hoped it would have been enough but now I'm unsure. I gave her 5 cups of the nute mix from the other day and added 1/2 tsp of epsom salt. Ugh, I hope I kick this shit soon with this. Day 30 I don't know if it's just me being hopeful, but she seems to be looking better today! Also seeing more and more pistils popping up. We are on our way, can't wait to see her explode. I redid some ties last night. Day 31 With the magnesium deficiency seeming to be taken care of, she isn't getting any worse than she was. She still has her spotting, but it hasn't progressed from what I can tell. I readjusted her ties this morning some, and I'm thinking that it is the last time I will do this. I don't want her to get into flowering with her tops all pointing out instead of up. She seemed pretty dry, so I gave her 1/2 gallon of feed mix. Next time will be just water. Day 32 She's still going strong. There seems to be plenty of vertical growth still going on. Day 33 Holy hell, she is getting crazy. Probably could use a good pruning but I'm super leery to try that. She's just so thick and compact! I am thinking of changing her lighting cycle timing, as it has been getting nice and cool in the evenings. Plus with me being back in classes, it's hard to have her dark cycle start in the mid-afternoon and get her temps to drop like I want. She's still stretching upward a bit, and really showing how poorly I attempted the LST. I mean it worked well, but definitely could have been done better and cleaner. Edit: just got home from school and she's pretty droopy and needed watered. I gave her a 1/2 gallon of water, with 1/2 tablespoon of molasses and 0.6ml Mammoth P. I went high with the Mammoth P because 1) IDK if it is even still alive in there and 2) I wasn't going to let it sit overnight to allow the (potential) bacteria to use the molasses. With the 1/2 gallon, there was just a little runoff. I also went ahead and changed her timer. Her dark cycle will now be from 9pm-3am, to take advantage of the cooler temps overnight and have the windows open. Plus this is less work to adjust and maintain temps during the day dark cycle, which I had my wife attempting to watch out for. Day 34 She's still trucking! Super perky this morning, must have really liked the cool overnight temps with the light off. I was worried a little before bed because she was still droopy, but this morning she was wide awake and ready for the day. Day 35 Ending out week 5. I think she may be in flowering now? I'm honestly not even sure, being my first time. There are some pistils, but not a lot. When I got home last night, she was starting to droop again already. I checked the soil and it was pretty dry so I mixed up a gallon of water with nutrients. She was pretty close to going into her night cycle so I held off on watering until this morning. Gave her a little over 1/2 a gallon and there was just a little runoff. Her smell has definitely kicked up some, as when I open the door to the room it smacks you in the face.

Week 6 Day 36 (8/21) Well I guess she is officially in flowering mode. More and more pistils are popping up. She is very thick and dense, makes me want to prune her some. I'm nervous to try it much, but I did pull some fan leaves that were deep and dying. I've been working hard on leaf tucking, especially some of the big fan leaves. I have an oscillating fan blowing on her for most of the day, which makes it hard to keep some of the leaves tucked. She's still going strong, I haven't adjusted any ties for awhile and she's still doing some vertical growth. This last feeding I did 75% strength nutes (flower week 1), might try bumping it up a bit next time I mix some up. I still have about a half gallon of the last mix left, she'll get that this week. Her next watering will be just water, drip clean, Mammoth P, and some molasses. Day 37 (8/22) She is standing tall today! She seems like she grew an inch overnight! When I got home, her pot was a little light so I gave her a drink. 1/2 gallon of water with Mammoth P (0.3mL) and some Drip Clean (0.2mL). Watered her up and there was just a little runoff. Day 38 (8/23) It's getting hot out again and I'm having to put in a lot of effort to keep her cool. Today wasn't bad but it's supposed to be blazing all week. She's still shooting up, making room for them buds to come in. Day 39 (8/24) It's going to be another hot one today. I'll be at school all day so I'm pretty nervous for her. I'll be on my wife's butt all day to check her temps and make sure she's good. Her moisture was okay this morning but I'm thinking I might have to feed her later today. Day 40 (8/25) Ugh, it's another hot one today. Last night when I got home from classes she was pretty dry and light in weight, so I gave her the rest of the Flower Week 1 feeding I had mixed up, about 1/2 a gallon. There was no runoff, so I'm going to have to bump up her amount. With the weather and her size, I'm having to water about every 2 days. She still seems to be creeping upwards and those pistils are starting to pop. Really wishing I had done better LST, half of her is shooting up tall and the other half is content to stay short. I've had to raise my light up some to keep up, trying to maintain about 15" above. Day 41 (8/26) Still battling heat this week, but have been able to keep her under 82F at most. Have plenty of fans going and have the AC blowing directly into the tent. If it gets too hot, I put a frozen freezer pack in front of at fan and it helps to cool her off. She was a little light this morning so she may need some water later today. Day 42 (8/26) Rounding out the week, she's still going strong. Her pistils are popping and she's starting to get a little thick around them. Last night when I got home, her upper parts were pretty droopy. Checking the pot, she was pretty dry so I mixed up a gallon of water, some Mammoth P (0.6mL), Drip Clean (0.4mL), and molasses (1 Tbsp). I let it sit overnight because I didn't want to water her right before her dark cycle. This morning I watered her and am hoping that gets rid of the drooping. Between taking the time to water this morning and waking up a little late, I rushed out without getting my daily morning pic. Probably for the best because she was looking a little pathetic. Tonight she is just as pathetic, if not worse. Idk if it's the heat or what, but her tallest growths are droopy as hell. I posted on autoflower.net and am waiting to see what they say. I also think I'm seeing some more brown spots appearing, possibly dealing with more magnesium deficiency. Probably because I am only just now getting to full strength on the nutrients. Her next watering is a feeding, so I might add a little epsom salt to it.

Week 7 Day 43 (8/28) Ooooweeee it's gonna be another hot one today. I'm having a hell of a time helping her out with this heat. I've been able to maintain temps under 82F, but my humidity is super shitty, barely breaking 50%. I talked to someone on autoflower.net and took their advice and put a bucket of water with a towel hanging out of it in front of a fan. Hope this helps get the humidity up, she is still really pitiful looking and droopy as hell. Day 44 (8/29) Last night it cooled of significantly finally! I opened up the windows and let that cool air and humidity in. This morning she was so much better! Still a little droop, but compared to the past few days, she is looking good! I hope this wasn't too harsh on her. Today is supposed to be cooler, and it should be much easier to keep the humidity up where it should be. She seems very light in color, but it could just be that I only usually see her under the lights. Next watering will be a feeding, and I'll probably stick with still giving her the optional nitrogen boost, but maybe at partial strength Day 45 (8/30) Last night cooled off again, I'm really liking being able to keep the windows open! Overnight was finally able to get the humidity up. For today, I hung some wet towels in with her to attempt to keep the humidity up, my humidifier just isn't keeping up. She was still a little droopy in her tops, but hoping that feeding her this morning will help her out. I noticed some more spotting, looks like she still may be dealing with a lack of magnesium. I added some epsom salt to her feed to try and counteract this. I'm thinking that even though the Soil A&B have some magnesium, she may still be craving it. She took 3/4 of a gallon this morning before there was much run off. Day 46 (8/31) Well, noticed this morning that she has several leaf tips with slight browning or curl to them. Maybe some nute burn, but I'll ask around in the forums I frequent. Other than that, she was definitely perkier this morning. Between the cooler temps and the humidity finally getting back up, she's doing okay. I do think I have a calcium deficiency going on, probably because I use RO water. I'm going to look into either getting or making some cal-mag. Day 47 (9/1) *sigh* Well she wasn't looking the best last night, so I took some pics of her worst parts and asked around on autoflower.net. I thought I was dealing with nute burn and cal-mag deficiency. A guy who has helped me out tremendously previously says that she's hungry and that I need to start the Bud XL and maybe even the Top Booster. I asked for more details (when, how much, etc.) and am waiting for his advice. In other news, the temps lately have been amazing, but the daytime humidity leaves something to be desired. I'm still having a hard time keeping the humidity up. It sometimes gets down to low-mid 40% range. I have a humidifier going, a bucket of water nearby, and wet towels hanging in the tent in an attempt to help her out. When the humidity gets low, she droops a bit. It's pretty disheartening to see her like that... Day 48 (9/2) Last night when I got home, I mixed up a new gallon of feed. I did what was recommended by a guy that has been helping me out over at autoflower.net. If you grow autos, you have to check this site out. Great people who like to help out without being condescending (like I've seen on MANY other forums). They are also a good hub for vendors and such. Anyway, I skipped ahead on the feed schedule and went to week 4, but also added the Top Booster as recommended. I gave Soil A & B (18mL), Drip Clean (0.4mL), Bud XL (3.8) and Top Booster (4ml). Really glad I went to the school surplus store a few weeks ago and picked up some lab grade pipetts in a couple sizes. For $0.25 each, well worth it for measuring out larger quantities. Much better than the plastic disposable 1mL one I was using (I gave out soon after getting the new ones). I gave her the whole gallon and had some runoff but less than I thought I would. This morning she seemed pretty perky. Unfortunately it's going to warm up again today and through the weekend, so I'll have to keep a close eye on her temp and humidity. She is really kicking up her smell, to the point the wife says we need a filter. So I ordered an AC Infinity CLOUDLINE S4, 4” Inline Duct Fan and a 4"x14" carbon filter. I went bigger than what I need at the moment so I can use it in the future in my 4x4 tent. Once it comes in (Friday), I'll get it set up in my 2x2 tent and get my girl out of my janky homemade tent. I just haven't moved her yet because I was worried about handling the heat in it without any ventilation. I look forward to getting her in there. Day 49 (9/3) Closing out week 7, she seems so much better. Much perkier, no drooping, and I'm hoping whatever was going on with her leaves has cleared up. She is thickening up at her bud sites, but still quite a ways to go.

Week 8 Day 50 (9/4) Honestly, not much to talk about. She's thickening up at her bud sites some, and will probably need water tonight or tomorrow morning. My fan & carbon filter SHOULD be in today, so I hope to work her into her new home tonight in my legit 2x2 tent. I've been shopping around for lights for my 4x4 for the future...😀 Day 51 (9/5) This morning I checked her weight to see if she needs watered. She seemed pretty good still. I'm guessing giving her the whole gallon soaked her enough to get her by a few days. I'm toying with the idea of if a gallon lasts 3-4 days, maybe giving her nutrients each time. Idk, I probably won't but it is a thought. I wasn't able to get the fan & filter set up last night, wifey decided she wanted a date night so the tent got put off until today. I do need to get some 4" ducting, the ducting I have is dryer ducting and doesn't really fit. Day 52 (9/6) Got her all settled into her new home last night. I still need to figure out how to rig the oscillating fan in there for her. After running the lights for 3 hours or so this morning, her temp was 74F and humidity was 58%. I turned down the exhaust fan some to see if the temp goes up a bit. I only have one air intake opening open and have my humidifier sitting in from of it. This morning I fed her a gallon of water with Soil A&B, Top Booster, Bud XL, Drip Clean, and some Cal-Mag Plus. I did see that the pistils that had browned on some of the lower bud sites that I had noticed a week or two ago have been replaced with all new white ones, so she seems to be getting back on track. Day 53 (9/7) It looks like fall has finally rolled in. It's going to be nice and cool this entire week, so the windows will be open and she'll be getting fresh air. So far, the tent has been great. Holding good temps and humidity, even though I don't have the humidifier in the tent. Still working on a way to get my oscillating fan in there... Day 54 (9/8) Nothing much new going on, just playing the waiting game. Her last feed/water was two days ago. I checked her weight last night and she was good. I'll check again tonight and see where she's at. Day 55 (9/9) Her pot was still pretty heavy this morning. She hasn't been watered in 3 days (day 52), so she'll probably be getting light tonight or tomorrow. I'm sure the cooler temps have been helping her conserve water. Yesterday she stayed pretty cool, so overnight I stuck a space heater in the room and opened up the tent vent flaps. This morning she was at about 80F. I will keep the heater going and the humidifier going today to keep her nice and warm and humid. Day 56 (9/10) So far I've been able to maintain the temp and humidity in the tent pretty well. I have an exam this afternoon, but once I'm done I'll probably head home and mix her up some feed.

Week 9 Day 57 (9/11) Things are going well, or so it seems. She looks like she is starting to bulk up at her bud sites. Her pistils are everywhere and I'm hoping to see the buds forming soon. Being a first timer, I have no idea what I'm looking for, but it's still exciting! Temps and humidity have been holding fairly steady. I think I'm to to point of bumping the humidity back some, keeping it below the 60% range. I have a couple VPD charts I'm trying to go by and they give me a range I am trying to keep the temp/humidity in. I fed her last night and she seems happy. Haven't noticed any of the discoloring or anything continuing, so that's good. I added some Alaska Fish Fertilizer to the mix just because I got it for free and wanted to give her a little nitrogen boost because her youngest leaves are kind of pale. I've heard that it's hard to overdo it with it, so figured it was safe enough. It has an NPK of 5-1-1, so I thought the P & K boost might be good too. Day 58 (9/12) Humidity keeps getting a little high, so I busted out a dehumidifier. There is some yellowing on some newer leave serrations, but idk if it is new or I'm just thinking it's new. Day 59 (9/13) Yesterday got a little rough for her! I kicked on the dehumidifier I have before I left for the day, and good thing the wifey was home to check in! Apparently that dehumidifier pumps out some heat! Within a few hours, the tent temp was almost 93F and humidity was nearly below 40%. She was quick to turn it off, crank the exhaust fan, and get the window opened to cool it off. When I turn it on in the future, I'll have to be sure to keep an eye on the room temp. I feel like she is a long way off from being ready, really doubt she will be anywhere near the 70-77 day grow time. That's fine with me, as long as she's happy and filling out, she'll get there eventually. Most other journals I've seen, they don't chop until week 12 or so. I also felt up one of the forming buds a bit, and the smell she left on my fingers is maddeningly delicious, about knocked my socks off. Day 60 (9/14) Pulled her out last night and tried tucking in a bunch of leaves to get more light to some of the lower bud sites. It's wild how many she has. She probably could have used some defoliation, but being an auto (and my first time growing) I held off. Maybe in future grows I'll give it a shot. Doing a better job at LST would probably have helped as well. She's still trucking, starting to see some start of frostiness. Day 61 (9/15) She seems fairly light in the pot, I'll probably try to feed her tonight or tomorrow morning, it just depends on when I get outta school today. I have surgery today, so I'll be here until late so will more than likely just get it mixed up tonight for in the morning. Day 62 (9/16) I mixed her up some feed last night. She's been having some yellowing on her tips and serrations, likely from phosphorus deficiency. Hoping what I mixed up is plenty to stave that off. I mixed it last night and gave it to her this morning after lights on. Her smell has really kicked in, I'm glad I got a filter and exhaust fan or the house would smell amazingly illegal. I was running late this morning and didn't even remember to get a pic of her this morning. I'll try to get one tonight before she goes to bed. Day 63 (9/17) Some of her lower leaves are starting to yellow between veins, showing magnesium deficiency. I almost put some cal-mag in yesterday with her feeding, now I wish I did. I'll wait it out and get her some next time she gets watered, or sooner if she's gotten worse since last night. I feel like she is just gobbling through her food, but honestly idk. I may be just keeping her right at the edge of deficiencies.

Week 10 Day 64 (9/18) Doing good, really starting to see some frost form up. Waiting for her to dry out a bit so I can give her some cal-mag. I've read that autos tend to go heavy on the cal-mag, and using RO water doesn't help the situation. Day 65 (9/19) I gave her some water last night and added in some cal-mag. She seemed deficient so I went with 4ml in about 3/4 of a gal of water. She has a handful of lower leaves that are really yellowed up and the magnesium deficiency was getting worse. Hoping that it will go away with the cal-mag, though I'll probably give her some more with her next feeding. Day 66 (9/20) Her upper leaves are still noticeably more yellow than lower leaves. I'll do some research and try to figure out what is up. I doubt it is light burn, as I'm only using an HLG100 at about 12" from her tallest point. EDIT: just kidding, it may very well be light burn. I'll lift the lights up a bit. Day 67 (9/21) To combat the possible light burn, I raised my light up a few inches. Unfortunately, if it worsens I'll have to figure something out as I'm now at my height limit with the current setup. I could get a few more inches by finagling with the light hangers. Pistils are starting to brown on several buds, so hoping that is due to their ripening rather than something going on with nutrients. She'll probably be needing fed again in a day or two. Day 68 (9/22) Another day, another....whatever. She's still going, but still seeing some yellowing on her upper leaves. I'm hoping with her next feeding it will help her out, but I may have to pull her out and get some good pics and ask around some forums. They usually help me out, if anything they help ease my mind. Day 69 (9/23) I fed her this morning. Pretty much the same stuff as last feeding, but doubled the shooting powder (2.6g -> 5.2g) and went a little heavier on the Cal-Mag (5mL). I'm still seeing damage on the upper leaves, but can't tell if it's progressing or staying the same. I had her pulled out this morning for feeding and completely forgot to take pics to post and ask about her health status. Her pistils are browning up, so I think she is getting closer. I just have no idea when to start a flush. I'll whip out the microscope tonight and take a look just to see if I can actually see anything. Might have to invest in a better microscope. Day 70 (9/24) Finally got some good pics of her in normal light and asked around the forums I haunt. Consensus is that I have been overfeeding her and have caused a nutrient lockout. I messed up by feeding her with every watering, which I started doing when she was showing deficiencies with feeding on every other. Also one person said I shouldn't be feeding at full strength, but I feel that she has been at full strength for quite a while and it has been only recently that these issues have shown up. Idk though, being my first time I really don't trust my own rationality. It was recommended to use a TDS meter and do a flush to bring down the ppm. BUT I don't have a TDS meter. They didn't elaborate on how to go about correcting this without a TDS meter and monitoring the ppm, but they recommended not doing a flush. So I have no idea how to proceed at the moment. I'm thinking I may flush, and follow it up with a feeding a few days later. If I do, it might be the last feeding I do as I'll be starting week 11 tomorrow. Most of the Barney's Farm Zkittlez OG diaries I have seen go to about week 12, and I'm assuming mine will go to that at least. If I hear more feedback about my problem, I'll update.

Week 11 Day 71 (9/25) Well I made an partially informed decision with her. I went ahead and gave her a mini flush, ran 3 gallons of water through her to try and get some of the excess nutrients out. I'll give a few days, then will feed her again. I'm going to try and remember to bust out the microscope tonight and check her trichomes. She's still got plenty of white pistils, but I just need to see if I am actually able to see the trichs for when the time comes. Day 72 (9/26) Her pot was still fairly heavy this morning, so no plans to feed today. I'm thinking tomorrow she'll be ready. I feel so bad for her, she's looking kinda pitiful. I did get a chance to try out a cheap little phone clip on microscope I have. It was difficult to get it down to the bud, but took a few pics. These are zoomed in on the small area that it actually captured. Worked out okay, but it's gotta be like ON the bud to see anything, and now it's sticky and funky. Which to be fair, isn't really a bad thing. I think it will work well enough to check trichomes for readiness. Her pistils are browning surprisingly quickly, I wasn't expecting that. I may start checking trichomes every few days or so. Day 73 (9/27) Wasn't able to get on and get posted yesterday, the mother-in-law was at our house all day. But she was feeding us mushrooms all day, so I guess that's okay lol. Day 74 (9/28) I was able to get up early and get her fed. Her smell is amazing, sweet and potent. I messed around a bit with the microscope but it's pretty hard to get decent pics. Day 75 (9/29) Played around with the microscope a bit last night. It's pretty hard to get clear shots of the trichomes, but I'm getting better at it the more a mess with it. Debating on getting a handheld microscope off amazon or something, just to try to make it easier and more clear to see the trichomes. Currently working on the wife about getting some lights for the 4x4 and getting that tent going. I'd like to be able to run multiple plants! Day 76 (9/30) She's getting closer and closer! After the flush, it seems like the lockout is over as she isn't progressing like she was. Day 77 (10/1) I pulled out the microscope lens for my phone and checked trichomes. Realized I was probably better off just taking a video and checking multiple buds. Worked out pretty good, just paused the video when I had a clear shot and was able to zoom in and such to look closer. Here I am...just waiting....waiting...waiting...waiting...

Week 12 Day 78 (10/2) I'm really hoping that I will start to see some amber trichomes soon. Most diaries I have seen harvest after week 12, but some have gone even longer. I mean, I'm not in a rush but damn, I would love to get her finished and chopped soon. She'll probably need watered tonight, so I'll check trichomes again while I'm at it. Day 79 (10/3) I get the feeling that we are in the home stretch. I scoped the trichomes last night and I'm starting to see some sporadic amber. I watered her last night with some Mammoth P, but depending on how the ambers progress, she may not get fed again. Idk, we'll see. I'm really tempted to do some defoliating as there are MANY lower buds that are still sporting white pistils. I'm thinking that maybe they just aren't getting the light they need and are trailing behind in maturing? I've been moving branches around and tucking leaves like crazy, but I feel like I'm just going in circles with it because she is so bushy. A few days ago I moved the light down quite a bit, and when I got home last night a lot of the upper leaves had gotten pretty yellow. I figured it was light bleaching so I moved the light up some to about 13" above the tallest cola point. Day 80 (10/4) I finally bit the bullet and defoliated a little bit last night. I focused on just what was blocking the lower buds, especially deep in the middle. I was able to pull some of the outer branches out and maneuver some of the smaller ones that were buried out as well. There is a shocking amount of bud sites hidden all over. I have some trimmers, mini hygrometers, and Boveda packs on the way! Day 81 (10/5) Ugh, I'm really on the fence about how to continue, whether or not to give another feeding or stick with just water. I'm seeing very few amber trichomes, but her leaves are fading fast. She'll be needing water in the next day or two, and would be getting fed. Idk.... Day 82 (10/6) Just waiting.... Day 83 (10/7) Watered her last night. I put 2 Tablespoons of molasses in, some Mammoth P, and some Drip Clean to help get any residual salt out. She is quickly fading and her leaves are yellowing/browning. I scoped her trichomes last night and I think she'll be ready to partially harvest by this weekend! Day 84 (10/8) I'm thinking tomorrow....maybe

Week 13 Day 85 (10/9) I did a partial harvest tonight! Took off the buds that were ready, hoping that it will help allow the lower stuff to catch up and open up for more light. I got them all trimmed up and put into paper bags. Covered the bottom of 2 bags! In the morning I'll feed her, since she'll probably be another week or two to finish up. Day 86 (10/10) I fed/watered her today. Will probably be the only time I do and just do water from here on out when she needs it. Day 87 (10/11) Today is my buddy's birthday and I was hoping to have some buds ready for him to try but no luck. Oh well, they will be ready when I see him next. Day 88 (10/12) Just letting her do her thing. When I get a chance, I'll take the microscope to what she's got. I'm wanting to really let what's left amber up a good amount. Day 89 (10/13) She's coming along fine. She seems to have even more trichomes now. Day 90 (10/14) I'll try and take the microscope to her tonight. The first harvest was all cloudy with some amber. I'm going to try and hold out for a lot more amber with these buds, really try to bring out that indica effect.

Week 14 Day 92 (10/16) Checked her trichomes and she's just starting to show some amber. She may need watered tonight, probably will add in some Mammoth P and molasses too. Day 93 (10/17) I've been slacking on updates and pics, but there's just not too much to say or document. She's still doing her thing, really looking more frosty than the first partial harvest. Thinking I should have waited a bit longer for the first cut, but oh well, it still gets the job done. I have held off on watering as her pot is still pretty heavy. It was lighter this morning so maybe this afternoon I will water her. I'm keeping an eye on her trichomes as I want there to be more amber for the final harvest. Day 94 (10/18) Everything from the partial harvest has been dried and I finally weighed it all. Came out to around 48.5g (including the 4-5g we've been smoking on). There's still plenty more on her. Everything has been jarred up for a few days and I've got Boveda packs in the jars too. Day 98 (10/22) Checked the trichomes this morning and I think I might put her in the dark for 48 hours starting tomorrow night. She's turning into a fuggin 100 day auto. Day 99 (10/23) Well, I made the executive decision to prep her for harvest. When her lights went off last night, I unplugged it from the timer so she'll have her 48 hours of dark. I also added some ice cubes around her base. I've read about the dark helping and the ice simulating a frost, but I've never done this so we'll see. Shouldn't hurt right? So I'll be harvesting her Saturday night or Sunday. And hopefully popping another over the weekend 😃 Day 100 (10/24) Well she's been in the dark almost her 48 hours. I have family in town tonight, so she may have to wait until tomorrow to get cut. Or I might just stay up half the night and get her down tonight lol. We'll see. Day 101 (10/25) Technically week 15, but who's counting. Cut her down today. Got her cleaned up and into paper bags to dry. Will get a weight and post the harvest once she's dry. Getting another one ready to go 😉

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