Wedding Cake, first indoor grow

I received the clones from a friend. They were just a few inches tall and potted in small pint size pots. I left them in those pots for the 1st week I had them and only at a window receiving outside light. At the end of that week they weren't much larger, but they looked much healthier. Only fed them tap water. During the second week of having the clones, I repotted them into the 5gal smart pots and into Fox Farms Ocean Forest soil. They were much too small for this large of a jump in pot size, but I went for it anyway. I also added the agrobrite lights above them. One light for every 2 plants, so four lights. I regulated the water at 1/4 gal per plant and fed them Fox Farms Big Bloom only. At the end of that week the clones were about 6-8" tall. I did not count either of those weeks as my "vegetation" weeks since I feel they were still clones/cuttings and needed attention. During the 3rd week of having them, I counted it as my 1st veg week, I watered with just tap water (room temp) on Sunday, 1/4gal per. On Tuesday I watered again but with all three nutrients listed and 1/4gal per plant. On Thursday I noticed a very minor case of nutrient burn and flushed them with just water, 1/2gal per plant. On Saturday I measured them and they stood at 12" tall. Only the FL lights were being used at this point. ***Using the Fox Farm feeding schedule for the most part and only Fox Farms nutrients

This was my second full week of veg. Did nothing with them on Sunday. The soil was still very wet from the flush on Thursday. On Monday I changed out the four FL lights that I was using for two of the Dimgogo LED's. These provided a lot more light. I had four plants per light. I had a third light on order, but it was a week away. On Tuesday I watered, 1/4gal per plant, with all nutrients listed. Wednesday and Thursday you could really see a change in the plants. They really seemed to light the new lights a lot more. On Friday I watered, 1/4gal per plant with all nutrients listed. On Saturday I measured the plants and they averaged 18" tall.

Week 3 of veg. On Sunday I watered, 1/4gal per plant with all nutrients from above minus the Kangaroots and Flower Kiss, those were left out. Also added a 3rd LED light to the growing area. The third light jumped the in area temps up to the mid-80s. I added a ceiling vent, 4" with charcoal filter, to vent up into the attic. I had purchased the vent fan and filter ahead of time, knowing I may need them for the heat and the smell. I then moved one of the UV tarps so that it covered the in wall a/c unit, that way I could get cool air into the area. It brought the area down to 75*-77*F during the day and keeps the humidity between 50-55%. On Wednesday I used the Flower Kiss to foliar feed the plants at night after the lights had gone out. I misted the top and bottoms of the leaves. The soil still felt wet just under the first 1/4-1/2" of it, so I continued to hold off on watering. On Friday morning the soil finally felt dry in the top 1" so I watered heavier than normal getting ready for a flush at the end of next week. So I watered 1/2gal per plant, and with nutrients from the 4th week on the schedule wanting to get the nutrients in early before the flush. Give the plants more time to absorb them. On Saturday, at the end of the week, I took the pictures and measured the plant height. Plants were about 28" from the lights so I didn't move the lights yet. Figured I'd move them up once they get within 26".

Started week 4, on Sunday, by watering 1/2 gallon per plant with just Big Bloom, Boomerang, and Kelp Me. The plants needed water but I didn't want to add all the nutrients to two waterings in a row. On Monday I changed the light timer to a 16/8 schedule getting ready for the change to flower. I left the 16/8 schedule for Tuesday and Wednesday on the timer. On Tuesday I pruned just a few of the smaller leaves at the bottoms of the plants that didn't get much light. On Wednesday I watered with 1/2 gallon per plant and the full schedule of nutrients. Also, I did foliar feeding with Flower Kiss right as the lights were about to go off. On Thursday I changed the timer to a 14/10 split and left it that way for Friday and Saturday as well. I had to leave for an emergency so I didn't get to flush on Saturday as I had planned. To hold the plants over since they were thirsty, I had a buddy water each plant just 1/4 gallon each. Once I got back into town on Sunday I did the flush, but that's now part of week 5. I got a new blower, 6" 440cfm, to use as an intake fan. The room has a vent for the central air that runs under the house. I disconnected the vent line under the house and installed a filter on the light. In the room, I'm installing the blower to pull the cooler air from under the house to help cool the room so the a/c doesn't have to run so much. Also got the temp and humidity controls to hook up the blower and the dehumidifier and humidifier too. The in-wall a/c unit has a "dry" setting and works a little like a dehumidifier which helps a lot when needed. Also, the roommate finally got everything out of the room, so now I've been able to open up the plastic wall, so cooler the area is much easier now that I have the full 12ft. x 11ft. room to use. Oh, and you'll notice the a/c is set at 73. That's because I keep it on the economy mode a lot and at that setting, it keeps the air between the lights and the plants (the area I check the temp at) at 78 degrees when the lights are on.

Week 5, the first week of flower, was a good week. I started the week off on Sunday by switching the light timers all over to 12/12. Also on Sunday, it was time to water, so I did a flush using Fox Farms Sledgehammer by itself with ph corrected water. To get a drain out of the bottom of the pots I had to give each plant 1 gallon each. This was the first time so far in the grow that I gave them enough water to actually drain out of the bottom of the pots. I know the idea of watering until it drains out of the bottom is the old tried and true method, I believe it leads many people to overwatering their plants more often than they think. It also leads to extra humidity, and if you're having trouble with humidity being too high, the larger amounts of water will only make things worse. So I try to water with amounts that are gauged by the size of the plant and how fast the dirt drys out and they need more water. I like to be able to water every 2 or 3 days. My goal is to water/feed two to three times a week. I did this flush at the beginning of flowering just like Fox Farms suggests, which I'm sure is to help clear some of the salts from the nutrients. The soil stayed wet for a few days. On Wednesday I added a 4th grow light to the area. This is another of the same lights. Each light is pulling a true 585-590 watts. It was nice to finally have one light for every two plants. On Thursday I gave them 3/4 gal of water each with week 5 nutrients according to the Fox Farms Soil feeding schedule. I also did a small bit of pruning of the larger fan leaves to allow more light down to the entire plant. You can see the total amount of leaves I trimmed off in the wreath picture. On Friday I finally finished the fresh air vent into the room. Its drawing air from under the house, which is much cooler. I installed a charcoal filter under the house using 6" ducting into the room. The 6" duct fan pulls in the cooler air in and helps a lot. The room a/c unit doesn't have to run nearly as much. The air under my house is currently staying between 58*-62*. I have the duct fan hooked to a temperature controller, so it's only on if the air gets to 75* or higher. On Saturday I rotated the lights about 45* so they are at a diagonal. This allowed me to move the plants around and give them more room to expand and they don't shade each other as much now. On average the plants grew about 7" this week. I really don't want to train these plants at all, no bending over the tops, because I want a baseline of what the plants produce on their own. But if they keep growing and don't top out soon I will have to. I only have so much room for the lights to move up.

*labeled this week as vegetation by accident and can't change it. oops* Started the week off on Sunday by watering each plant with 3/4 gallon each, full week 6 nutrients. Removed just a few discolored leaves towards the bottoms. On Tuesday I trimmed up all the new growth from the pruned areas that I had already done on the lower portion of the plants. Wednesday they were ready for feeding again. Knowing that I'm doing another flush at the end of next week, I did another nutrient feeding instead of plain water. Trying to schedule my feedings and the flush ahead of time and get the timing just right. On Thursday just mins before lights out I did a foliar feed. Sprayed 16oz overall 8. So roughly 2oz per plant. On Saturday they were hungry again. I did another 3/4 gallon per plant with nutrients. Being the end of the week I went ahead and did week 7 on the nutrient schedule. I'll put that amount in next week when I update. Ended the week on Saturday night by removing a few more dying leaves and a few large fan leaves. Overall they are looking very healthy. They only grew about 4" this week. I'm hoping that they are done going up and will now put more energy into filling in and growing the buds. I don't know the phenom of these clones, so I'm just hoping for the best. I was told they were Wedding Cake but I don't know the history at all. If they don't turn out great, no worries, I have an entirely new strain getting ready to hit the soil soon.

Not a lot happened during week 7. Ended week 6 with nutrient watering of week 7 schedule on Saturday, 3/4 gallon per plant. Sunday and Monday were pretty lazy days with the girls. I was busy adding in a sub panel in the attic and extra outlets into the ceiling of the grow room for more lights and expanding the growing potential of the room. I pruned just a few yellowing, dead fan leaves. On Tuesday I watered, again with the week 7 schedule of nutrients and 3/4 gallon water per plant. After that, I left them alone for the next few days. On Saturday I did a flush with Sledgehammer according to the schedule. I used a full 1 gallon per plant, and I got plenty of runoff, filling the trays under the pots. I also took the time to trim all the fully dead fan leaves off the plants. I did wonder if they should be yellowing and dying, but after pruning them all off I realized that it really wasn't that many. The buds are looking pretty good. I would like them to grow at a faster rate, but I know my humidity gets pretty dry at 40% when lights are on. Maybe that's why I'm not really sure. It goes back up to 57-62% when lights are off. I've seen a pattern with the humidity levels when lights are out. Usually, if the humidity is down as far as 50% with lights off, then the dirt is fairly dry and it's time for me to water. I'm gonna keep an eye on that and see if that pattern continues. Could help give me a good clue for future grows. I have put down "defoliation" for a growing technique this week, but really I'm only taking what is dead or very yellow already. I'm trying to let them grow without too much training, I still want a base to judge my future training off of. Want to see if the training really pays off or not.

This week was a bit stressful. Nothing happened on Sunday, plants looked good. Dark green still but the random yellowing and dying leaves had me puzzled. On Monday I pruned back on the dead leaves. There wasn't a lot, but a little at a time makes a difference and they still need the fan leaves for growing the buds. On Tuesday the girls wanted water. The soil was fairly dry and the pots felt light. I watered with a gallon per plant and did week 8 on the Fox Farms schedule, still following it. A couple of hours after watering them I noticed the top leaves of each plant were clawing a little. This may have already been there, but I just noticed it. With the dark green in the majority of the leaves, a few random leaves dying on a regular basis, and now the clawing. I figured it was Nitrogen Toxicity. I took pics and asked questions here, on week 7's post. It was confirmed that indeed it looked like nitrogen toxicity. I didn't panic, just let the days play out. Wednesday and Thursday I didn't do much. I had run some lines to tie branches too, across the grow lengthwise, so I started doing a few of those. On Friday I finally downloaded an app and paid the $5 extra so I could check the strength of my lights with my phone. It was good on my main tops, but of course lower at the other tops on the branches. I decided to go for it and LST the main stock/tops of all 8 plants. I was very careful to just bow the stock and carefully tie the tops down at approximately the same height at the tops of the branches. Basically, tried to create a SOG of sorts, halfway through flower. See how this turns out. I was able to lower the lights a good 6inches, so that should definitely make a difference. On Saturday, to end the week, they were thirsty again. This time I changed up the nutrients and didn't do it according to the schedule. I cut out the Grow Big completely since it has a lot of nitrogen. I also did 75% Beastie Blooms and 25% Cha Ching, since Cha Ching has a lot of nitrogen as well. Fed them 1 gallon each. And of course, PH'd the water after mixing the nutrients.

This week was really about waiting to see how the plants would react to the sudden change and very low amount of Nitrogen in the nutrient mix. But really, nothing seemed to change. By the end of the week, yesterday and today, I had to do something. So Sunday and Monday nothing really happened. I just checked on them to see how they were doing. On Tuesday I gave them 1 gallon per with the week 9 nutrient mix, minus the Grow Big and no Cha Ching (has high nitrogen in it). I still had more and more leaves turning yellow/brown, showing the signs of the Nitrogen Tox. Wednesday and Thursday I just left them alone for the most part. On Friday I had finally had enough with the random dead leaves and decided to just flush them out completely. This was a major pain in the ass!!! I split it up and did four plants on Friday and the other four on Saturday. It took about 2hrs to flush 4 plants this way. What I did was I mixed up 1 gallon of water with Sledgehammer in it and put that into each plant, to begin with. Then after about 30mins I went back and flushed each plant with 12 gallons of pH water. I used a shop vac to suck up all the water as I flushed each plant. Before the flush, my ppm was about 2,100 in the run-off. After 12 gallons I was between 350-400 in the run-off. That was good for me. The water out of my tap reads about 125ppm, so down below 400 and I was happy. After flushing the plants I mixed up 1 gallon per plant of nutrients and added it to the soil. I let the run-off sit in the saucers for about 20mins and then sucked out the excess with the shop vac. I marked "Defoliation" for this week since I pruned so many leaves back, but really I just got rid of the dead and discolored stuff. At least another 3 weeks to go, so I'm hoping the buds will thicken up a lot more now. Only time will tell.

This was a pretty good week. To start it off on Sunday I had to tie up more branches. They definitely got heavy from all the water from the flushing the previous week. On Tuesday I wanted to get the plants some more nutrients so I mixed up a small amount since the pots didn't feel totally dry yet. Just a 1/2 gallon per plant. I gave them the week 10 scheduled dose plus added Beastie Bloomz for more phosphorus and also added CaliMagic. Wednesday and Thursday went ok, they looked fine, but still had some leaves dying off. On Friday the pots felt light so I fed them each a full 1 gallon with the same nutrient mix as Tuesday. Trying to get some blooming nutrients into them and just maybe boost their size. On Saturday, still more random leaves. Just fan leaves, sugars are fine. So I decided that I'm far enough along in the grow and tired of pruning a handful of leaves off each plant each day, so I took all of them. I pruned all the fans, for the most part, off the plants. Hoping this will help the buds in final development, don't think it can hurt at this point. I have to remind myself that the lack of bud size is totally my fault. I didn't want to train them because I wanted to get a baseline for what these could do. I have clones of them that I will grow and clone from as well. Those I will train and see if my yield actually improves. Also got a little air quality detector. Who knows how accurate it is but it at least gives me the difference between my house and the grow room. The house reads right at 303ppm Co2. In the grow room I added two 5gal buckets, each with 10lbs of sugar, and then yeast. I wanted to see just how much the DIY Co2 actually adds. With both in the room, right at ground level, the detector reads 521. So it doesn't really add enough to actually help with plants, but it does add something. Just a fun experiment.

Not a lot changed during week 11. Watered 1 gallon per plant with week 11 schedule plus CaliMagic on Monday. Dirt stayed pretty wet since temps dropped a bit. The buds got a little fatter but not a lot of change. On Saturday I flooded them with 2 gallons each with week 12 nutrients. Majority of the pistils have all turned orange and red, still some white though. Trichomes are almost all cloudy, very few clear. I even spotted a few ambers here and there. Mainly spent the week getting veggies and things started indoors for a garden.

So this week was just a lot of making sure the plants were ok. There was so much water at the end of last week, that it took days for the pots to dry out. The girls didn't need more water until Thursday, and then they got just pH'd water, 1.5 gallons per plant. To end the week Saturday I looked at the trichomes on the buds and sugar leaves. There were a lot of ambers on the sugar leaves, not many yet on the bud, which is good. I decided that it was time to really start ending this grow. I've read before of people switching to only the Bloom switch on this style of light during the last week or so. I figured why not try it and see how it goes. So they are now sitting under 12/12 of the very red Bloom switch only. I'm hoping to get through the end of this week, or more, without seeing too many ambers on the buds themselves. Just letting the buds fill and waiting to find the right time to turn the lights completely off and prep for drying and trimming. Can't wait for that.

This by without a hitch. Just plain pH water on Monday, 1.5 gallons per plant. Then let them be for the most part. On the last day of the week, Saturday, I watered for a last time, again 1.5 gallons each with just pH water. So that two weeks with just pH water and one week with just the red bloom only lights on. They will now go into 36hrs of darkness and then get cut to hang. Next week is dry time and trim.

The plants started out great. The big problem was the nutrient issues I had with them. I know now that I overfed them while in veg and it caught up to them while mid-way through flower. Finding out my pH meter was off was also a big set back and didn't help the plants at all. Doing things much differently now, making sure not to repeat those same issues. The yield wasn't too bad, but I was really hoping to get about 2lbs off of them with this setup. Considering the setbacks, I feel lucky to have about 1.5lbs that I did get. plant 1: 93.1 grams, 3.28 oz plant 2: 82.2 grams, 2.9 oz plant 3: 77.5 grams, 2.72 oz plant 4: 81 grams, 2.86 oz plant 5: 81.8 grams, 2.89 oz plant 6: 98.8 grams, 3.49 oz plant 7: 78 grams, 2.75 oz plant 8: 111.5 grams, 3.93 oz Total: 703.9 grams, 24.83 oz