Amnesia Auto & OG Kush in 2x2x4 Tent

SUMMARY: The GWE nute schedule I'm using for the Amnesia is very weak and so I have switched to the peak flowering feed from sensigarden.com (https://www.sensigarden.com/general-hydroponics-flora-series/) in the hopes the Amnesia will start to fatten up. For the OG I have started the updated GWE early bloom nutes now that it is flowering. I intended to flush the plant after discovering the pH issue with the OG however I misunderstood how to flush thankfully and so technically I didn't actually flush it which is good as I don't need to. The pH issue is mild enough to fix by increasing the input pH to 6.5 until it raises and so this is what I have done. The runoff pH is slowly rising and the yellowing has not spread any further. The OG is staring to get its colour back and is now drinking 4.5-5L every 48hrs and the Amnesia is drinking around 3.5L still though I have increased the input to 4L and am getting around 40% runoff. I also started with some light defoliation this week removing a couple of lower leaves and some fan leaves covering bud sites that I couldn't tuck. DAY 64 -------- Thursday 05/11/2020 The OG is starting to get its colour back I think, its hard to tell but there are no new yellowing leaves anyway and the new leaves that have grown in the last 48hrs all look very healthy. As I keep reading that you should flush with water when you have a lockout or pH issue I decided to give the OG 5L of water tonight with the intention of giving it another 5L next time as well. I gave the Amnesia 3.5L of midbloom nutes. OG (in) = 5L pH 6.5 OG (out) = 1.2L (24%) pH 5.5 [1.0 drop] Amnesia (in) = 3.5L pH 6.2* Amnesia (out) = 860ml (25%) pH 5.6 [0.6 drop] * I had pH'd the nutes to 6.5 yesterday but upon checking the pH today both the water for the OG and the nutes for Amnesia had dropped a little. I pH'd the water for the OG back up to 6.5 but didn't have time to mess with the Amnesia nutes and the plant is doing just fine so I'm not concerned about the intake pH not being 6.5. As the OG is still dropping by 1.0 I will give it another flush at 6.5 on Saturday and then hopefully will be able to continue with nutes come next Monday (09/11). I will continue to monitor the pH of both as I am using the Amnesia as a point of reference since she is doing great with a nice dark green colour but not too dark. It also should be noted that my pH pen does not seem to be the best with the results varying and having to re-calibrate almost every time I use it. DAY 65 -------- Friday 06/11/2020 I have been reading a lot on how to address the pH issue with the OG and have found that A) I misunderstood how to flush a plant and B) it is not necessary in my situation. To flush I should have slowly given the plant water at a pH of 6.0 collecting and testing the runoff until it is reading at 6.0 and then give it some very light nutes at 6.0 - this is all done in one sitting and not over a period of days as I had thought (I've mentioned I'm an idiot already). So I've given the OG 10L of plain water at pH 6.5 over the last few days with its last feed being on Sunday 01/11 5 days ago which is not good. I don't have time to feed the OG tonight and so it will have to wait until tomorrow evening when I will be feeding both plants. Judging by the current condition of the OG I dont think a flush is necessary and I think I am safe to continue feeding at a pH of 6.5 until the runoff is at 6.0 though if I'm honest I'm not expecting to harvest anything from the OG now - it is just here to help me learn and my priority is the Amnesia. https://www.growweedeasy.com/flushing-sick-cannabis#:~:text=Always%20check%20and%20adjust%20the,time%20you%20give%20them%20water.&text=Maintaining%20the%20pH%20is%20the,main%20reason%20to%20flush%20plants). I have been checking out other diaries and have noticed that my nute schedule is extremely mild and I haven't seen anything that isn't at least double my strength and so I did some more research on GH flora schedules and I think I need to up the nute strength. The amnesia is already swimming against the tide with the 12/12 light schedule and so I am going to up the feed to the updated GWE drain-to-waste schedule though I will build up to it as it is a drastic increase. To begin I will increase to the peak flowering feed from sensigarden.com (https://www.sensigarden.com/general-hydroponics-flora-series/) as it is pretty much half the updated GWE schedule which is still a large increase from the old GWE schedule. DAY 66 -------- Saturday 07/11/2020 I gave the OG 5L of GWE updated transition nutes and the Amnesia 4L of sensigarden.com peak flowering which is a big jump up from 5ml to 16ml total nutes. The OG is getting its colour back now and is looking MUCH better with some real nice coloured leaves. I also did some light defoliation on the Amnesia removing around 4-5 leaves total. I prefer to tuck where I can but it was becoming too clustered down low and some of the lower sites were being blocked from light. The lower Amnesia leaves are not looking too healthy, especially in comparison to the top leaves which are a nice dark green and so I hope this increase in nutes helps. OG (in) = 5L pH 6.5 OG (out) = 700ml (14%) pH 5.7 [0.8 drop] Amnesia (in) = 4L pH 6.4 Amnesia (out) = 1050ml (26%) pH 5.8 [0.6 drop] DAY 68 -------- Monday 09/11/2020 No signs of nute burn yet from increasing nutes and the plants are doing ok. The Amnesia is not fattening up like I'd hope'd though there is still another few weeks to go yet so maybe it will surprise me. I am very nervous and apprehensive about defoliating as removing strong healthy leaves just doesn't feel right and so I have started by just removing any dead/dying/unhealthy looking leaves from the lower portion of the plants the last few days. I have gotten braver today and removed 2 health fan leaves fromt he Amnesia that were blocking lower bud sites and also removed 2-3 healthy fan leaves from the OG that I couldn't tuck which were blocking the Amnesia bud sites. The OG is starting to flower a bit more now near the top which is very close to the light (10 inches maybe). I fed the plants again giving the OG some GWE updated early bloom nutes and the Amnesia some more sensi garden peak flowering nutes. I will be giving them a plain watering next time (Wednesday) before the start of Week 10. The OG is coming back into range though the runoff is reading at 5.4 and the Amnesia runoff whilst within range is droppign by almost 1 point which is a sign of an issue supposedly yet it seems to be doing fine... OG (in) = 5L pH 6.5 OG (out) = 1600ml (32%) pH 5.4 [1.1 drop] Amnesia (in) = 4L pH 6.5 Amnesia (out) = 1750ml (44%) pH 5.7 [0.8 drop] DAY 70 -------- Wednesday 11/11/2020 I gave both plants some pH'd rainwater. Both plants look to be doing fine and I have tried doing a bit of defoliating though I can't justify removing any from the Amnesia yet as I have been able to tuck the few leaves covering lower bud sites. I have however removed a number of smaller lower branches from the OG as I had read that this is advised to avoid wasting plant energy on lower small branches that will not produce any harvest-able bud. In doing so I have damaged the stem peeling back a thin layer about 1-1.5inch long however it is thin and I have pushed it back in place and so I expect it to heal and hopefully it will not stunt the bud development. I also think I made a mistake in removing the LST ties last week as I'm sure the trunk has straightened out a little and added to the already worrying height. OG (in) = 4.5L pH 6.4* OG (out) = 950ml (21%) pH 5.0 [1.4 drop] Amnesia (in) = 4L pH 6.4* Amnesia (out) = 1700ml (43%) pH 5.4 [1.0 drop] * I pH'd the water to 6.5 yesterday and took my time ensuring that the meter did not budge for over 30seconds after it settled at 6.5 however upon rechecking today before watering the plants it was reading a solid 6.4 (I calibrate the meter before each time i use it) I really don't understand why the pH of the medium is so low when its only ever been given an intake pH of 5.8-6.5. The nute schedule I have been using throughout the first 7-8 weeks is VERY conservative and so it just doesn't make sense to me based on what I have read and my understanding. I can only assume that this is just a red herring and the next readings will be higher and within range - its is far too late for a flush now in any case and so I will have to ride this out to the end continuing to give an intake pH of 6.5. I've been concerned over RH as the tent never drops below 55% with an average of 60% which is way too high for flowering stage from what I have read due to mold concerns. I'm very surprised my 20L dehumidifier is not doing the job in a 75cmx75cmx160cm tent as it is a good dehumidifier and was not cheap! I've only had to empty it twice since I put it in. I have read that I can further help with lowering the RH by defoliating and allowing the tent to air out for a little after I've watered by leaving the tent open for a short time. Adding an additional fan may also help though I am a bit pushed for room. However, I did some further research and found an article in cannabis business times where one expert suggests an RH of as high as 75% is not problematic so long as the temps are between 23°C-26°C and also shows a percentage of people who actually choose to keep RH to around 60% for flowering. ANother expert recommends 60-65% RH for flowering and 55-60% for late flowering. "Don’t be afraid of a relative humidity of 65% to 75% if air temperature is 75 degrees to 80 degrees. (The result: VPD = 0.9kPa to 1.2 kPa)" https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/moisture-matters/