I thought Slurricane season was over

I'll start with the bad news, I changed the lighting from a T5 LED to my HLG-100 v2 and slightly bleached the tip of #1 as well as some yellowing on #2. Good news is that I gave them their first watering and feeding and they have exploded in growth and vigor. I made a solution of Recharge, activated EM-1, fish protein hydrolysate, kelp meal and aloe vera. The last two I blend together and make 2" x 2" ice cubes that I use for convenience. I want to begin brewing teas but have not bought a pump yet, though I hope to pick one up before we get these into flower. I am also incredibly stoked for my upcoming Earthboxes. I picked up BuildASoil's Probiotic Farming Kit and an extra Earthbox, so I hope to run both of these side by side. I'll be updating the diary with the setup and transplant, looking forward to seeing what results we can get with probiotics!

Temperatures dipped this week as we approach winter, so I went to work building new insulated walls and considering adding heating. I noticed some light stress and moved these babies over to the flowering area with the 240W QB at low intensity. I've alternated Activated EM-1 with EM-FPE and I've now made an EM-5 which is currently fermenting. I also made a new EM-FPE, rather than with a focus on IPM this one was aloe for vegetative plants. I hope to make Roberto's Brew soon so it can be ready for flowering as well. The only feeding was the same as last week: Recharge, fish hydrolysate, aloe and kelp meal. Other than the light burn they are healthy, so I hope with the new lighting and increased vertical space they can get over that issue quick. As for their final homes, the Earthboxes are en route, so I hope by next week I can transplant them. In the meantime I will be giving the space a thorough cleaning.

Big week! I got my new EarthBoxes and a bunch of goodies. I picked up the Probiotic Farmer's Alliance kit from BuildASoil, so I also got some EM-1, Kashi Blend, dolomite lime and Malibu compost. Alongside that I picked up Colorado Worm Compost (vermicompost), Gnarley Barley (malted barley, corn and hemp) and Craft Blend (aprox 3-5-2 organic mix). Unfortunately there was a bag of soil missing, so I ended up using my own mix though I am somewhat scared of it being too clay-heavy for the SIP. I inoculated with EM-1 and began fermenting a batch of activated EM-1 to make the bottle last longer. It looks about a week from LST, after that I hope to set up a two-tier SCROG setup and begin growing the bushes. I will begin spraying AEM-1/EM-FPE/EM-5 alternatively once a week for IPM, I will try to avoid using neem this round (unless I find this approach lacking). I also brewed a batch of EM-FPE with aloe that smells incredible, I can't wait to give it a go.

The plants have taken to their Earthboxes, especially #1 with the BuildASoil Light. The Earthbox with my Coots mix was the runt, plus I damaged the roots during transplant so it has an uphill battle, but I wouldn't count it out yet. It was looking droopy and with slight discoloration, but after a drench of Kashi Blend Tea (1/3 cup Kashi Blend, 1 teaspoon blackstrap molasses in 1 gallon of water for 24 hours) it perked right up. As for preventative pest management, I've kept doing foliar applications every 4 days of EM-FPE -> EM-1, next week I will incorporate the just-finished EM-5. I made a JADAM wetting agent (JWA) but I have realized even local bottled water is too mineral-heavy for it, so I will need to find a source of distilled water if I want to use it in my foliar regime. Next week I will begin doing LST to get some more tops going. At some point I plan to add a trellis, I have been busy with work but I will find the time to set up something, preferably a trellis that can move with the Earthbox to facilitate maintenance and not have them fixed in place for the entire training and flowering cycles.

I'm starting to remember why I committed to not growing in the winter, these babies are going slow! Super healthy but they aren't growing like I hoped, but it's to be expected with the temperature and humidity drop. I've focused on soil and amendments for most of my growing career because most of my grows have been outdoor, but I am starting to appreciate the importance of controlling my environment. To that end, I went back to the drawing board and plotted out the next few months of upgrades. For starters, I am upgrading to a 4x4 tent I picked up on Black Friday. I also got a second AC Infinity 4" without the smart controller, so I can pair it with my current one and get about 410 CFM and hopefully be able to run them in parallel at lower speeds rather than rocking the single and maxing it out. I will run the two Earthboxes for this cycle but will pick up another two for the next. I am waiting on a humidifier because I had a cold snap come in and drop humidity to 35% and have budgeted out an oil heater and insulation for my next paycheck. Keeping with the environment control kick, I also budgeted a whole-room dehumidifier for the flowering phase, so this will be my first run where I will be keeping track of VPD. I kept it in mind previously but without insulation and gear, there wasn't much I could do with that knowledge other than know I was off, now I will be able to dial it in. These are big investments, probably the largest since I started growing, but I feel this is what I need to step it up. Upgrading my grow size was the logical extension to this, if I was going to control climate at a room-scale, I should make the most of the room. With this equipment I can add a 4x4 or two in the future and have them all dialed in.

They keep growing slowly but with no stretch, they are stout and robust plants. I got the humidifier and saw the plants much happier, next week I get the heater, new tent, new exhaust and ducting. I think after December they will start going off, but for now we bide our time. I've followed the Probiotic Farmer's Alliance guidelines and added bokashi bran and a bokashi tea every week, this week I am also adding worm castings which is to be done once a month. I've topped off the reservoir with 1 oz/gal of activated EM-1 to water and applied my foliar rotation of EM-1 - EM-FPE - EM-5. I also got around to training #1, I've tied it down multiple times so it's no longer apical but the side branching is slow as the rest of the plant so it hasn't progressed as I hoped. Again I am hoping once the environment is fixed, growth picks up. If not I am tempted to cut my losses and start over with my environment on point from day one, but I am hoping it doesn't come to that!

I finally got my heater set-up with a humidifier, hopefully next week will show actual growth now that my VPD is in check. It's still a bit colder than ideal, but it should work much better than simply braving the cold. In the past I decided to simply not grow during those months, I am hoping this investment pays off by being able to grow year round. I am waiting on a shipment of worm castings and soil to top off the Earthboxes. In the meantime I've continued the weekly topdressing of Kashi Blend and Gnarly Barley along with a Kashi drench and bi-weekly, rotating foliar applications of AEM-1/EM-FPE/EM-5. The plants look great aside from some leaf damage from the overcrowding after the LST, I am excited about next weeks update with the environment improved and the new layer of compost!

It took a while for them to get used to the new climate, but they have taken to it and are starting to show growth. Even the one without side shoots developed shoots, I plan on tying it down in the next few days. In other news, I got my new 4x4 tent installed and another exhaust fan to handle the increased volume, an unanticipated bonus is that it maintains its climate much better than my closet! I am running 2 AC Infinity Cloudline T4, one with the controller for responding to humidity and temperature triggers and the other at a lower setting for air transfer. I am also running a 6" intake, I need to buy a filter to keep this tent as clean as possible. I also got a new Chapin 1949 sprayer and used it after top dressing, it's a game changer. Being able to work the amendments in with the flat nozzle works great, the pressure control is granular so I can use it on my other houseplants, and it's built like a tank. I can't wait till this summer and I get to use it on my big living soil containers and bed. I am running low on Kashi Blend and considering trying the Teraganix Bokashi as it's much cheaper and my DIY is still a few weeks away. I'm also not sure whether to get another bag of Gnarly Barley or get malted barley from a local brew shop. I should get a hold of some before the Gnarly Barley runs out so I can compare side by side.

It seems they've finally gotten out of their funk and are growing visibly by the day. I LST'ed plant #2 last week but didn't tie it down as I had injured the stem and taped it until it recovered. By then, the stem ascended and the top of the plant retook apical dominance. I hope to get the first SCROG screen set up next week, when it reaches it I will begin training it again. It has nice growth underneath that shouldn't take much to take off! Feeding has remained the same, bokashi bran every 2 weeks, compost every month, kashi drench weekly and foliar EM solutions bi-weekly. No pest issues, and with the nice environment I even have rove beetles popping up in the soil after not seeing any since buying the Colorado Worm Company vermicompost. The mites and nematodes thrived, but I thought the beetles were goners, happy to report they're still kicking! Flowering felt far away last week, but with the new growth I am optimistic about it coming sooner than I anticipated.

Insane growth this week, 6 inches on #2 so just shy of an inch a day! New growth looks healthy and vigorous, lower leaves are starting to look speckled and deficient. I am due a top dressing of compost but have had issues with my delivery, I hope to be able to re-amend midweek and address these issues that are coming up. I am almost out of the Kashi Blend, but my DIY bokashi bran is almost ready so I think I'll give it a go since I can't source any Kashi Blend or Gro-Kashi in the short term. I set up the first level of the SCROG and have one plant reach it already, I can't wait to see the canopy full for the flip!

Shit hit the fan this week as most of the older leaves got spotted, curled or burnt. Thanks to a heads up by GlazedGrow, I looked into my pH and sure enough, my water source was incredibly alkaline. I had previously used RO water, but it became difficult to source consistently after COVID hit and I used tap. I will be back to using RO water and hope to invest in a filtration system soon. In the meantime I checked runoff pH and flushed until they were around 6.5 pH. I've otherwise kept topfeeding as normal, new growth is picking up again and looking healthy, time will tell if these issues work out with the better source of water.

Well, they're recovering nicely and showing a lot of new growth! They're drinking RO water now exclusively with a weekly bokashi bran tea root drench. I added insect frass to the top dress and IPM this week, I'm interested in seeing how the plant and soil life take to it. I am getting antsy but will hold off on the flip until the canopy is full, next run I will add another Earthbox and run two plants per container to cut down on the veg time. I will also try to build a better SCROG, I don't like the flex the plastic trellis has but I'll manage with it for this run.

I supercropped this week and lowered the screen, filling up some more with lateral shoots. I also had some seedlings that were ready for transplant and plenty of space in the SCROG, so I went ahead and transplanted them. They are Ocean Grown Shockwaves, I added them to the diary and will keep updating their status along with the PEV. Speaking of which, still show some minor issues, but overall have improved a lot since switching to RO water. I hope the issues clears out by the time the canopy fills so I can flip 100% healthy plants. On another note, I continued my normal feeding schedule, the only exception being that I ran out of Kashi Blend. Instead, I am using my DIY bokashi bran and have seen good results. I haven't gotten the mats of mycelium, but I hope my next batch with frass gets closer.

Looks like they are almost completely recovered barring some older growth, I am hoping next week I'll have an almost full canopy of healthy plants! The smaller Shockwaves are growing at a great clip, with side growth reaching towards the screen. I will try to push them harder with the lights, as I turned it down a bit while they were recovering. Hopefully they can take the full power right before flip. I've been feeding them my bokashi bran, insect frass and worm castings, I will probably feed them again next week as they are devouring the amendments as soon as I lay them down.

I am happy to report the plants are looking great, I've slowly been increasing light intensity as they reach flower and by next update they should be at full intensity with the canopy full at 12/12! I bought a window A/C with a dehumidifier function along ducting for the tent fans to send the exhaust outdoors. Barring some issue with delivery, I will post the build next week, I am hopeful this will be enough but if not, I will look into options to keep the humidity low and VPD within range. Nothing has changed in terms of feeding, but next week I will top dress and will go hard as they flip into flower. I picked up the parts to build a compost tea brewer as well, if it comes together in time I might give it a drench of my first aerated compost tea! The plants look much better health-wise, large leaves are no longer speckled and rusted, everything looks green and healthy and is growing vigorously. The Do-Si-Dos x Purple Punch plants are very similar, while the Shockwave has some more diversity in its branching. The smaller of the two (#2) has surpassed #1 not only in height, but in lateral shoots as it has 5-6 viable shoots while #1 has 3-4. It will be a grow with many firsts, so I'm nervous about blowing it 😅 It's my first EarthBox (thought not my first SIP), my first 4x4, my first run attempting to keep VPD and DLI within certain ranges, first run with my EM-ferments as inoculants and as IPM, my first run using my own bokashi bran, and maybe even my first run with UVB if they look healthy enough in mid-flower. I'm excited to see how this progresses, hopefully it goes smooth and we get a great harvest 🤙🏼

Last week of veg done, next week I'm flipping to flower! I was waiting on my A/C, mount and exhausts to arrive, next week I will document the installation and share results of how well it works in reducing my humidity. This week I decided to feed pre-flip because I saw some leaves with chlorosis, a few days after the feed they're looking vibrant and praying. Not much else to add, I did some more HST and tie-downs to get the canopy even, the corners are still empty but I think they can fill out during stretch. The lights are at 100% now and the plants seem to be taking it well with no signs of light stress, cupping or burnt tips. I can't wait to see how this goes going into the home stretch.

At long last, these babies are in flower! I flipped and stripped, removing everything underneath the screen and lightly defoliating above the screen, mainly to avoid overlapping leaves and improve airflow and reduce humidity. They've grown back in days, but I plan take them off slowly rather than do another strip at 3 weeks like I've done prior. The suggestion came from Capulator's IG, the rationale being that slow and steady is less stressful on the plant, there's no need to wait for it to "bounce back" from a heavy strip this way. On the environment end of things, I finally exhausted my tent outdoors and picked up an A/C to keep the heat in check in the coming months. I am hoping these two will allow me to keep my VPD in check, but if not I will have to buy a standalone dehumidifier for late flower. I will keep an eye on numbers and make that decision in the weeks to come. Super excited about the weeks ahead! Home stretch, baby!

Another week of flower in the books! The plants are looking very healthy, I topdressed with cricket frass, craft blend, bokashi, malted grains and worm castings that I moistened with a smoothie of yucca, aloe, coconut water and the defoliated leaves. I also made an anaerobic bokashi bran tea, mixing 1/3 cup of bran with 1 teaspoon of molasses into a gallon of water, steeped for 24 hours with no aeration. Once the 24 hours were up I added a kelp and alfalfa EM-FPE and used the solution as root drench. The girls loved it, luckily I had enough leftover to hit up my herb garden and even had the dill praying! I also sprayed the leaves this week with my chili pepper and garlic EM-5, banana FFJ and BuildABloom, all of them using yucca extract as a wetting agent. No signs of pests, the plants are looking great and there's the slightest bit of burn at the tips which tells me I should back off on topdressing next week and stick with water. Can't wait to see the bud set in the next update!

Another week of flowering down! The plants are about done stretching, with buds forming and trichomes starting to appear along the bud and nearby leaves. I did not topdress this week, but I inoculated with an anaerobic bokashi bran tea along with an EM-FPE made with alfalfa and kelp meals. At the end of the week I plan to apply bokashi bran with malted grains and wash it in a DIY enzyme solution, as well as drench the roots with an insect frass tea. I might also get my compost tea brewer parts in, so with luck I will be making my first aerated compost tea as welll!

They're starting to stink up this week! I am also seeing a nice amount of frost on both cultivars for both strains, the "slurricane" especially living up to its namesake. They have also started to become resinous and smelly, with defoliation leaving me sticky and stinking of heaven. The Do-Si-Dos x Purple Punch smells sweet and grape-y, while the Shockwaves smell of lemon and gas. I top-dressed with Gnarley Barley and watered it in with "Flower Power" aka Roberto's Brew at 300ppm. I also brewed my first compost tea with my own castings, Rootwise Microbe Catalyst, alfalfa meal, kelp meal, insect frass and spirulina. The brew peaked around 20 hours so I feel I let it go slightly long, but the plants responded positively regardless. Not bad for a first time with so many inputs! Next week I hope I get my amendments shipped so I can feed it one last time, if not I will have to improvise! Looking forward to seeing these girls mature, and especially looking forward to tasting them in the future!

What can I say other than frosty, greasy, stinky and beautiful. I fed them this week, I had been saving the leaves I defoliated and chopped them up and mixed with alfalfa meal, kelp meal, neem meal, malted barley powder, bokashi, biochar and insect frass. I watered it in with Rootwise Bio-Phos and an insect frass ferment. I also used the insect frass ferment along with banana FFJ and Build-A-Bloom as one last foliar application. The next few weeks will be mainly water as it reaches senescence, not because it needs a flush, but because the nutritional demands are sharply diminished and this weeks feed should easily last until cut.

Another week closer to harvest! I fed them a bokashi bran tea and insect frass EM-FPE, BuildABloom and BuildAFlower this week. I sprayed the leaves with BuildABloom, insect frass EM-FPE and banana FFJ. Other than light layers of compost and root drench with inoculants, I don't plan on doing much else during the end run, and will likely do water-only for the last two weeks.

I'm getting antsy as they hit the home stretch, thinking of all the changes and improvements I have in store for next run. I am using water only when the reservoir ran dry and nothing else, just waiting for them to senesce and mature enough for harvest.

Another week of only water, waiting for them to mature for the cut. I added more close up photos, including some playing with the lights off and with flash photography and close-ups.

Water only again as they wind down! I almost missed this update because this week has been brutal with regard to work, but managed to get some nice late cola picks. These are coming down in the next week or so, can't wait to smoke these incredible smells!

I got so high on my harvest that I forgot to post the harvest 😂 This was a game-changing grow for me, it will have a place in my memory for some time to come.

Huge stretch and huge yield. Difficult but worth it.