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My first attempt of growing with my own DIY setup.
Specs :
- PC box 19x42x43cm (after a few weeks I changed it with a bigger carton box)
- 4 x Bridgelux Vero 10, 3000K, 9.1 Watts, 80 CRI, 270mA, 143Lm/W
- Mean Well HLG-60H-C350B 70W LED driver
- 100k Linear Potentiometer for dimming lights
- Aluminum profile 30x7cm for mounting LEDs
- ESP32 Dev Board
- DHT22 temperature & humidity sensor
- 2 x Noctua-NF-S12A for ventilation with PWM control by microcontroller
- 3lt pot
- Blynk IoT app for remote control
Started germination of 1 feminized Northern Lights seed from SensiSeeds using paper towel method. Sprayed with some water and store it in small plastic food container.
Seed popped after 24 hours and after 48 it was ready for pot. Unfortunately didn't take any photos of the process.
As a newbie, summer conditions and because of my DIY setup my first week was quite HELL.
I used a cut plastic bottle as dome to maintain RH over 70% and bottles
of iced water inside the box to lower temperature. I was a bit reckless and
bend the plant a couple of times.
Doing a lot of experiment with lights' intensity and height.
Unfortunately a couple of times I realised something went
wrong with my setup and lights were running on full power leading to temperature of 38 degrees !
However she's still alive...
Strange things happened... Because of my recklessness it seems I injured
the top of the plant and as a result she started growing two main branches !
Cannot think of any other reason or it is some Sensi Seeds' strange genetics.
In any case, I am quite pleased about that cause I wanted to make 4 main colas anyways.
So less work and time :)
Also manage to maintain RH and temp easier than before. Still using iced water
and ventilation. Built a sketchy greenhouse for high RH.
Day 13 - Moved it to bigger pot and watered with biobizz grow for first time.
Seems so happy :)
Week 3 and everything is more stable now. She really looks like a healthy cannabis plant :)
Was amazed by her fast grow so I used LST and Topping techniques in the end of week. I know is a bit
early and risky but I intent in a fast and microgrow anyways. Also defoliated all leaves
except of the main branches' . Hope for the best...
Lot of stuff going on this week.
It seems that she had not stress at all after the early topping,
main new four branches growing fast and healthy !
Continued the LST to bend all four main branches.
Also, prior to flowering stage I realised my space is
too tiny ! So I did a fast relocation to a carton bigger box.
Day 25 - Wasn't expecting this kind of fast grow so fast
so I changed lights to 12-12, remind you I want a fast and
micro grow.
Bit of a boring week.
She is getting bigger and bigger every day but I cannot see any real
difference, I am so impatient ! Although I was stunned by the rapid
change of color around main colas :)
Day 31 - Defoliated lower fan leaves
Also add Bio Bloom and TopMax to the solution, can't wait to see
real flowers !
Week 6 and I am really pleased by her growth ! Pistils and new flowers appeared!!
However, I spotted a brown leave tip and got little anxious.
Some other minor issue is that all leaves crawled down twice after watering. After
research I think is because of underwatering. It seems that she need more amount
in every watering. Hope is not something important.
Defoliated a few leaves hiding the new flowers.
Doubled dosage of BioBloom according to
Biobizz schedule.
She looks really beatiful!!
Week 7 and here comes the disaster...
I was impatient once again, experiment with lights' distance and intensity.
The result ? In the middle of the week my plant was under a heavy lights/heat
stress. Most of the leaves crawled upwards :( Also saw a couple of more yellow tips...
I don't know what I should do. For the time being I fixed lights distance and watered
her really good.
Pistils still seem OK though. Hope she will make it...
Week 8 and shes going into some hell of a ride!
More brown/burnt tips appeared, seems more of a nutrient burn.
I flushed pot with plenty of water and lower lights' intensity a bit.
Apart from that, trichromes are now visible with naked eye and buds are
getting bigger. I guess she will make it to the end but I'm not sure about the yield loss...
I am really worried now...
Nutrient deficiencies don't mean to stop ! Tiny brown spots appeared in some leaves. After research I think its calcium deficiency :/
After all these different strange symptoms in the last days I believe now the main issue is that solution's pH is wrong.
Unfortunately I don't own a ph tester yet, although I intent to buy for my next grow, so I decided that I will go all the way
with nutrients + 1 week flush and not change anything until harvest. I believe my little Sensi will make it through the end...
The good news is that buds are getting bigger and bigger, although growth its relatively slow I think due to high humidity
or maybe cause of all these socking conditions.
Last but not least, a few of the pistils are turning amber... Harvest is not far away... Wish me luck!!!
Not big news this week.
Buds still getting thicker and more pistils getting darker. Although I start to believe
there's going to be some loss in my yield because of all these tribulations...
I think deficiencies symptoms not spreading anymore.
End of week 7 and I believed that she would be almost ready by now,
it seem though she still needs 2-3 weeks before harvest. Maybe its because
I am struggling to maintain proper conditions due to bad weather...
Nevertheless, buds are getting thicker and thicker :)
Also did some minor defoliation to uncover popcorn buds.
Last but not least, I added minor dosage of AlgAMic and CalMag just in case of
any new deficiencies.
End of flowering week 8 and buds seem almost ripe !
Most of the pistils are brown now and trichomes are like snow :D
I also watered her with nutrients for the last time, next week will
flush her and after that comes the harvest !! I am so excited !
So end of week 9 of flowering and my soooo impatient !
I believed that buds would be bigger and fully riped by this time but now I think
they almost at their peak.
Watered her only with plain water this week and I expect harvest in the next one !!
In some spots a few trichomes are turning amber but most of them are still milky white.
I also think that some leave tips turning into purple colour ! She looks beautiful !
So after a lot of struggle and patience I finally harvest my little Sensi :)
I am really happy about my first attempt as I think yield is about what I was expecting
for this DIY mini grow !
In final week I flashed her with plain water and cut some big fan leaves. After harvest
I hanged the branches in the same box for drying about a week. Can't wait to taste it !!
I will update my post in a few days with more photos and detail info about my whole experience :)
Update 1 : After 1 week of curing in jar she smells more and more like marijuana :) Taste got a lot better and feels like sweet mint !!
High is quite relaxed cerebral rather than stone at this moment although I think it will get even stronger next coule of weeks.
I am really happy about my first grow :D DIY at its best !!
@Jahngo, I'm an engineer too so couldn't help commenting. I layered the inside of my stealth cabinet with fire rated reflective insulation, It was only 40euro. All electrics are fed off an RCBO too for extra protection. Seen lots of small grows catch fire.
Well done you’re looking like your on the way to an excellent harvest! Keep up the great work and best of luck on your race to harvest day.
Happy Growing!
-The Projexx
@Justmeh, I am glad to hear that ! I believe going DIY is quite hard but it is worth the adventure :D I learned so many things through the whole process! Bless you mate :)
Jahngo
