First Time Growing Anything - OG Kush

Introduction - Week 09 Summary - Her roots are just not growing. Not a lot of growth in her leaves neither which I assume is because of the lack of roots. But what ended this run was that the last rockwool cube for this strain did not sprout in over 10 days.. Mission failure... Since I no longer have any viable seeds of this strain (well I have one, but the shell is pretty pale in color and is soft when I squeeze it), I decided to end this journal a couple of days early. This way I can have an early start on the new grow dairy as well. Would've been incredible to have made it to harvest but I guess failure was always an option. Oh well! I tend to learn more from my failures than my successes anyways. Going to apply what I learned this time on the next strain: - Less is more. Less is more. and most importantly, LESS IS MORE! - Chiller was unnecessary for a single bucket grow. I have simplified the system by removing it. This will obviously raise water temps. So going to rely on beneficial bacteria and enzymes even more to keep the slime under control. - Also will be downsizing the net basket and removing the drip ring. This should reduce even more areas where bad bacteria and slime can form. - My light was way too bright for seedling growth. So I've dimmed the light all the way down which should eliminate any future light burn. - Nutrient solution's PPMs were also on average way too high. Next run going with the week 1 strength for more than a week (500-600PPMs). I am NOT going to increase the PPMs based on weeks. Instead I plan to adjust PPMs based on size and growth. I'll also try to increase the CalMag ratios overall a bit more while trying to keep the PPMs low. I'm still a bit confused on whether to adjust PH (while using 'PH perfect' nutrients) below a quarter strength. Not sure but I think the PH perfect technology only works at higher concentrations. Either way, I will continue to adjust PH if not between 5.5 - 6.3. Whelp. Time to end this log and begin a new! Sterilize and reset for a new (and hopefully a successful) grow! Next week I'll be attempting to grow some Fire OG from ILGM! - LLAP [START OF WEEK 09] Day 01 - Monday - 09/28/20 - Total Days: 057 ----------------------------------- - [0945]: Checked bucket solution. --- PH was at 5.8 --- PPMs were at 736 --- Did not adjust and did not top feed. --- Sprayed dome/tray with more distilled water. - [2245]: Dome and tray were dry. --- Mixed some Voodoo water. --- Filled a measuring cup with 100ml of straight distilled water (did not check PPMs). --- Added 4 drops of Voodoo Juice --- Added 4 drops of Sensizym --- Added 4 drops of Hydroguard --- Poured about half of this solution into the tray. Basically it was enough to create a pool of solution at the bottom of the tray yet not enough to reach the rockwool cube itself. Hopefully this will keep the humidity higher for longer. --- Checked the bucket solution. --- PH was at 5.7 --- PPMs were at 713 --- Poured about half a gallon of straight distilled water (no PH adjustments/no nutrients) to flush out excessive mineral build up on the hydroton and root zone. Did this of course in another bucket. Then I placed her back in the bucket with the nutrient solution. --- Supplemental note: Because of the lower light intensity, tent temps have dropped a bit. Raised the AC and exhaust fan to 78°F --- During the bucket solution check, I noticed a bit of brown build up on the down-stem of the drip ring. But I managed to rinse this off with a bit or distilled water during her flushing. --- Once the new seedling sprouts (well it's almost been a week now so I guess IF she sprouts..) going to change out the net basket completely. Going to reduce the size to a 6" net pot with no drip ring. --- Less is more, so I hope the smaller net pot means less room for bad bacteria growth (less hydroton so less room for build ups to occur). Also no drip ring for pretty much the same reason. Day 02 - Tuesday - 09/29/20 - Total Days: 058 ----------------------------------- - [0945]: Progress has halted. Pretty much no growth.. --- Since unfortunately I'm pretty sure this is the last week for this log (doubtful that the seed will sprout), just going to do basic checks with minimal adjustments. --- Sunday will be a sterilization of the bucket and tent for the new grow! --- Going to start a new journal with a new strain (most likely Fire OG from ILGM). --- Checked solution. --- PH was at 5.8 --- PPMs were at 714 --- Tray and dome were dry, so sprayed both with fresh distilled water. - [2330]: Checked the bucket solution. --- PH was at 5.9 --- PPMs were at 730 --- Tray and dome were dry, so sprayed both with more distilled water. - [2345]: Decided to put the table back in. This raised the bucket closer to the now dimmed light. --- Distance between light and top of bucket is 29" which is a bit close, but should be fine with the lower intensity. Day 03 - Wednesday - 09/30/20 - Total Days: 059 ----------------------------------- - [0945]: Checked the bucket solution. --- PH was at 5.9 --- PPMs were at 731 --- Tray and dome were dry, so sprayed both with distilled water. - [2330]: Checked the bucket solution. --- PH was at 5.9 --- PPMs were at 710 --- Tray and dome were dry, so sprayed both with more distilled water. --- There was quite a bit of salt build up on the hydroton. So poured about 1/2 gal of straight distilled water to help flush it out. Day 04 - Thursday - 10/01/20 - Total Days: 060 ----------------------------------- - [0930]: Bottom leaves are crispy. --- Also rockwool cube shows no sign of sprouting (9 days since initial planting). --- Checked the bucket solution. --- PH was at 5.9 --- PPMs were at 712 --- Tray and dome were dry, so sprayed both with distilled water. - [2300]: Checked the bucket solution. --- PH was at 6.0 --- PPMs were at 731 --- Tray and dome were dry, so sprayed both with straight distilled water. Day 05 - Friday - 10/02/20 - Total Days: 061 ----------------------------------- - [0945]: No new growth.. --- I'm pretty sure the rockwool cube is a dud too.. Going on 10 days now. --- Really depressing to see... Thinking of aborting this run early to reset and start the new grow earlier.. Maybe even tonight. --- Checked the bucket solution. --- PH was at 5.9 --- PPMs were at 710 --- Tray and dome were dry, so sprayed both with distilled water. - [2215]: Okay! Aborting this mission early and starting fresh a run tomorrow morning! Going to let the air stones run overnight but I turned off the light to save on the electricity. --- PH was at 5.9 --- PPMs were at 712 --- Tray and dome were dry, so sprayed both with distilled water. Day 06 - Saturday - 10/03/20 - Total Days: 063 - END ----------------------------------- - [0915]: Okay time to end this run.. Resetting for the Fire OG grow! --- Did not bother taking bucket readings... - [0930]: Cleaned the tray/dome with soap and tap water. Then rinsed with a bit of distilled water. --- Checked the rockwool cube and dug out the seed. The seed did break open. But didn't really grow from that point on. --- Not sure what happened. Sorry girl. RIP. - [0945]: Boiled both the air stones and hydroton in a pot of tap water. Drained and set aside to dry. - [1000]: Drained the bucket. As I was draining, I did notice a foam/film on the top of the water. Not sure why, but thought I'd mention it. But no slime! --- Cleaned bucket with soap and tap water. --- Removed the tubes and fittings from the bucket. --- Throwing out the old air lines and will cut new ones for the next grow (at least the lines inside the bucket). --- Soaked the bucket fittings and water fill tube (the blue tube that's used to measure the water level) in bleach water. Going to flush with tap then distilled water. I'll let dry them dry completely for a few days to allow for any bleach residue to break down into inert components (water and oxygen). --- Well like the last one, while emptying the net pot, I check on the seedling's roots. They didn't stink and looked okay. Just really short. It's as if all root growth (except for the tap root) just stopped growing past the net pot.. RIP --- Maybe it's the Sensizym dissolving the young roots past the net basket before they can fully develop? Looking through grow diaries that use the same nutrient line and none have used Sensizym this early in the grow. So I think I'm going to cut Sensizym (or reduce it by a lot) and will only add if slime returns. --- --- I will however continue using the Rhino Shield (at a lower dosage) because it doesn't affect PPMs too much while promoting more nutrient uptake. I will also be mixing this in first from now on instead of adding it last. --- --- Also, to all experienced DWC growers who happen to stumble upon this journal and wants to help me out with constructive advice and/or thoughts about this grow, please feel free to comment and I'll try to respond back. Thank you! --- --- Well that's about it for this grow journal. Learning from my mistakes while continuing to trek on! --- --- There will be no further log entries. --- --- LLAP. 🖖 Day 07 - Sunday - 10/04/20 - Total Days: N/A ----------------------------------- - [MISSION ABORTED] - [END OF WEEK 09]