March 8, 2024 Day 22
Light Specs:
Power: 70%
Distance: 25.5"
DLI: 32.4 mol/mยฒ/d
PAR: 500 ppfd
Plant Specs:
Height: 4.5"
Nodes: 2
Leaf Sets: 3
A new week! Week 3 to be exact. So this week is going to focus on lighting and plant growth. Feeding is a thing, but it's not really changing except for the increase. But watering will be the same. 500 ml per day until the container is fully moist.
To start, let's talk about the plants themselves.
Both ladies look fantastic. They have beautiful green and have super fat leaves. They have 3 nodes and side branches popping out now. I expect her to double or triple in size over the next week as they start to really grow. They should take off any day. Like tomorrow or the next day. I'll be training once they have 4 to 5 nodes. I was thinking about earlier, but they aren't big enough to tie down yet.
I've finally installed the basins. The aren't active yet, but will be when training starts.
That being said, I had to mess with the light and changed the DLI to 32.4 mol/mยฒ/d.
I increased the power to 70% and have the distance at 25.5". This should be perfect for this week. Next week I'll be increasing the power again. Hopefully I can get the distance to around 24" for the rest of the grow. I'll accept 22", but I would much rather have the larger footprint. Especially because the plants are spaced out into their own quadrant. I wasn't expecting to go up to 70% power.
Today, they got the remaining water from last week at 475 ml. It was the end of the gallon, so there wasn't a point in making up a new gallon for 100 ml. So tomorrow, I'll water in the 500 ml with the new nutrient dose.
Micro: 6 ml
Grow: 10 ml
Bloom: 6 ml
Cal/Mag: 6 ml
Recharge: 1/4 tsp
Bud Candy: 6 ml
This regimen will be for this week. I may add a couple more if I can get them in time. Like Voodoo Juice: 6 ml
Piranha: 6 ml
Sensizym: 6 ml
Rhino Skin: 6 ml (if I can find it)
Next is the environment. It's near perfect. I'll be dropping the RH down to 58% for the week and will hold it there for the rest of the veg stage. I'll be keeping the temp around the same at 77ยฐ. I might drop it down to 76ยฐ if I can. The extra power with the light will increase the temp, so I'll need to compensate for that. I have both circular fans just above the canopy, making a very light breeze to help the plants grow up to be big and strong. The exhaust fan remains at power level 2, which seems to be perfect. It will most likely drop down to level 1. But that's because it's exactly at 58% humidity.
Anyway, this is the setup for the week. I'll be keeping a close eye today to make sure they are taking to the light and have no issues.
Grow System Environment:
Temp: 74.9ยฐ
RH: 60.7%
VPD: 1.13 kPa
March 9, 2024
Not much going on today. Both ladies were fed 500 ml of the new nutrient dose. I also did a foliar spray with cal/mag. I know you should wait for lights out, but my light isn't bright enough yet to really cause any issues. And the air flow is set to power level 1. Same thing with the exhaust. I'll also do a second foliar spray at lights out.
Hopefully the foliar spray with the added nutrients helps. They aren't light green like the Tropicana Cookies in the tent, but they showed signs of deficiency. So I'm treating them like they need the boost.
No need to change the light yet. Soon though. I'll have to raise the light up a couple inches.
The environment is still looking great! 58% humidity and 77ยฐ flat. Perfect. It does bounce a bit between 76ยฐ and 78ยฐ but hovers mostly at 77ยฐ all day. Night temps are still about 70ยฐ, so that's also a bonus.
Grow System Environment:
Temp: 76ยฐ
RH: 59.9%
VPD: 1.21 kPa
March 10, 2024
Not much to do today. Both ladies got 250 ml this morning. I'll be adding another 250 ml this afternoon. I'm finally getting some moisture at the bottom of the containers. Not quite enough though. I'm hoping this 250 ml will do it. If not, another 500 ml tomorrow. I really want to get it where I don't have to water everyday. I'll be activating the bottoms feed system next week and I really need to b prepared for it. There is a science to it. You have to get the soil moisture level where you want it to stay. Then activate the system. The wicks will start to work their magic and will provide the containers with the perfect moisture level. These work great! I have discovered that they won't handle massive plants though. But medium sized plants are perfectly fine. Not that having massive plants is an issue or anything, but the basins aren't thick enough to handle it. So top feeding to compensate is the solution.
The plants look great! Wonderful greens. The branches are getting pretty long. They are nearly ready for training. Another 3 to 5 inches and I can tie them down. I may wait for the branches to be long enough and then tie it all down at once. It may stress the plant a bit, but then they will all grow the same height. What a lovely canopy I shall create.
Anyway, lighting is looking pretty good. They grew about a half inch but the DLI hasn't changed much. Up by 0.1 mol/mยฒ/d. I'll lift the light in a day or two when they are a bit taller. I'll have to drop the light back down when I tie them down, or increase the light power.
The environment is still on point. A bit warmer since yesterday afternoon. But it was just the heat in the house kicking on and me not compensating for it. However, the humidity hasn't changed a bit. If it gets warmer, I'll turn the humidifier back on to cool it off and keep the humidity where it is.
Grow System Environment:
Temp: 74.9ยฐ
RH: 60.2%
VPD: 1.16 kPa
March 11, 2024
Nothing going on today at all. No light changes. No environmental changes. They got 250 ml feed today. I kinda wish these leaves were darker. Hopefully the extra boost of nitrogen does the trick. No clue why they aren't dark green. Don't get me wrong, the green is beautiful and definitely acceptable. But I feel they can do better.
They are reaching a tiny bit. I'll definitely have to raise the light tomorrow. I may check later today and see what the intensity looks like.
Again, today I may also add more water. The bottom of the containers are moist, but the outside of the container is still pretty dry. I need the WHOLE container to be moist. Next week I'll start doing a liter every couple of days, or as needed. I don't expect them to start taking down water a lot yet. So the liter should do it next week.
Update:
I didn't end up watering or changing the light. The soil moisture has been hovering around 35% which should be fine. I will water 500 ml in tomorrow. As for the lighting, nothing to change. It's just above 550 ppfd. I may have to raise it tomorrow.
What I did end up doing was rotating the plants. Now Banana Purple Punch A is in the front with B in the back. Banana Purple Punch A is slightly taller than B, and like the Tropicana Cookies I'm running with these, the one in the back is taller. The hope is to increase plant height in Banana Purple Punch B and allow A to grow as she is.
Grow System Environment:
Temp: 74.8ยฐ
RH: 58.6%
VPD: 1.19 kPa
March 12, 2024
Not much going on today. I'll be watering later on. I've noticed that the containers are drying out much quicker than I thought. So for a test, I'll be watering in another 500 ml today and another 500 tomorrow. The bottoms of the containers are moist, but the pots are light. Well, light enough for me to question. I am definitely activating the bottom feed system next week.
Lighting is still fine. I may also raise it up later today. Just not right now. They are growing and happily, so I'm not messing with it until later when they get a tiny bit taller. Which should be by the end of the day. They are growing fairly rapidly now, so the light may need to stay.
As for the environment, it looks great. Night temps are 68ยฐ to 70ยฐ with day temps hovering at that 77ยฐ mark. Humidity is also looking great. Staying solid at 58%. So it's all good.
The plants are also looking fantastic. They aren't as big as I had hoped at this age, but they are bushy and dark green. Very healthy. Plus, from what I understand from this strain, they don't grow super tall. So let's hope for some huge flowering stretch. They are at 5 nodes now. Branches are starting to really grow and are nearly cautious up to the top of the plants. Banana Purple Punch A is slightly taller still, but I'm also thinking this is a sativa dominant phenome. A bit slower to grow nodes. However, the internodal spacing is longer than Banana Purple Punch B. Not by much, but the structure is different, so not as bushy but they share the same leaf structure. We'll see what happens.
Update:
I decided to only water in 250 ml instead of thee 500 ml. The reason being is that the moisture seems to be all over the container. Top to bottom. I'd also like to note that Banana Purple Punch A is already showing roots on the bottom. However, Banana Purple Punch B isn't showing any signs of roots showing. I'm wondering what the deal is. Maybe the fact that A is a different phenome. I'll have to keep an eye and document.
Grow System Environment:
Temp: 74.8ยฐ
RH: 59.1%
VPD: 1.18 kPa
March 13, 2024
Both ladies got some leaf tucking today. I can't bend them yet, but very soon. They grew about a half inch last night, so tie downs will be installed soon.
I also lifted the light an inch today. The DLI is spot on now.
They got their watering today. 250 ml first and another 250 ml later this afternoon. I will load up a liter next week and activate the bottom feed system.
Both ladies look great. They have beautiful colors and sturdy branches. They are also starting to put off that classic weed odor. It smells great and I can only imagine how much stronger they will get in the coming weeks.
Update: I only had about 750 ml left, so each plant got 175 ml for this afternoon. It's fine.
Grow System Environment:
Temp: 74.3ยฐ
RH: 60.0%
VPD: 1.13 kPa
March 14, 2024
Today is the last day of week 3 in Veg. There's some white hairs coming out already. It looks like pre-flower has begun.
That being said, I started training today. Just a little bend at the very top. The tucking was also a success. The side branches are nearly level with the top now. The bends I did will certainly help both plants take off.
Banana Purple Punch A was a bit easier because of the open canopy. She looks really good. 5 nodes and big lush leaves.
Banana Purple Punch B is super dense already. Tight nodes and huge fat green leaves. She looks absolutely beautiful. So just a little bend was all that was needed. The leaf tucking produced excellent results. She will definitely be a bushy plant.
No watering today. I figure if I'm watering to runoff tomorrow, it makes sense to let the soil dry out a bit and soak it just before activating the bottom feed system.
No change in lighting today as I'll be changing that tomorrow.
The environment is still on point. The temp was a little low last night so it's offsetting the average VPD and temp for the day. No matter, the temps will be back up in no time.
As for the rest, roots are showing and they are ready for the bottoms feed system. From then on, I won't be top watering unless absolutely necessary.
Grow System Environment:
Temp: 75.0ยฐ
RH: 59.7%
VPD: 1.16 kPa