The Grow Awards 2026 🏆
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@Cornfed
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This week I added a new controller to handle up to 8 functions. I installed a new heater, my old humidifier and some LED strips to the controller. Targeting a VPD at 1.0 day and night. Trying to keep the nutrient ppm under 900 and ph at 6.0 in the reservoirs. Ordered a second ph pen because I don’t trust my readings. Will be here by Thursday. Friday: Checked the ppm in the reservoirs and it’s at 1,000. Added more RO water with extra nitrogen to bring the ppm level down to 925. Saturday: I installed an updated AC Infinity controller 69 Pro Plus (controls 8 pieces of equipment) which allowed me to add a humidifier, corner LEDs and a heater to the controller. Overall I’m extremely impressed with this AC Infinity equipment. My VPD is within the range I want to achieve (.8-1.1). I programmed it to maintain 78 degrees and 67% humidity during the day, 73 degrees and 63% humidity at night. Charts posted also show the impact of an open tent compared to the closed environment. The heater is constantly pushing fresh air into the tent, so I don’t need to cycle the exhaust fan often. Rewired the tent again and moved the controller later that night. I mounted the controller on the wall. Added Mars Hydro UV/IR lighting to fill out all 8 slots on the controller. Sunday: I checked the ph in the reservoirs (6.8….i had filled it with 6.0 ph) and the ppm (1200 ppm…I had filled it with 900). So evaporation and possibly a mismeasurement of ph. I topped ff reservoirs with slightly stronger nutes and adjusted ph to 5.8 in the reservoirs. Poor magnesium absorption could be driving some leaf yellowing. Effective tomorrow, I’m switching over to Heads Formula which consistently feeds GH Flora series nutes at Micro (6ml/g), Bloom (9ml/g) and cal mag (3ml/g). Turned on the UV/IR lights for 3 minutes every 8 hours. I’m easing the plants up to 5 minutes every 6 hours which will provide the recommended 20 minutes of IR per day. This will help the plants stretch a little more. Monday: checked ph and ppm in reservoirs. 6.1ph and 880ppm. VPD remains stable except when I open the tent. Tuesday: checked ph (6.4) and ppm (880) in reservoirs. Added .5ml of ph down to two reservoirs. Still see slight yellowing between the veins but it’s not getting worse (might be improving). Adjusting ph down to 6.0 target might have solved this. The plants grew by 1-2” last night…..is the infrared light working already? Decided to mix up fresh nutes for the reservoirs following Heads formula. 6ml Micro and 9ml Bloom per gallon of RO water. Added 5 ml of CalMag too. Ending ppm was 1080 which is too high, so I diluted down to 880 with RO water. 6.0 ph. Wednesday: plants grew another .75 inches last night. I topped above the 5th node. Thursday: added RO water with heavy cal mag to reservoirs to increase amount of CalMag available.
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- Day 63 of Flower Light reduction to 50% - Day 65 of Flower Last time Watering - Day 67 of Flower Lights out for 3 days - day 70 of Flower Harvest Trichomes are about 15% amber and 80% cloudy with 5% clear Temperatures for drying gonna be 19°C and RH around 55%. She is looking beautiful and her Smell is so intensive you cannot unsmell it. Its Loud! Has Some Fruity (Plum or Tangie like), Soapy and Floral Notes to it. I cant wait for the smoke.
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@Trichoma
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@1.5 kPa Smells extremely tasty 😋
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I love the sativa shaped nug-towers! When my plants grow big, I like to grow them until the very end of their cycle! That's why the extended flower period. Video of Measurement of yield: T=Tops(92grams), M=Mids(59.1 grams), L=Lowers(58.6grams) Total: 209.7 grams (1-2 grams worth, was taste-tested prior to scaling.)
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@Nikkov
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the other two strains didn't resist the cold during the week, the two CBD strains that got lost in the cold. i will try another strains next week.
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@CalGonJim
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1/12 4:14AM MONDAY!!!!!!!! CBG IS GOOD!1 LOWERD THE WATTAGE, EFFICIENCY IS GOOD. GREAT WHITE MYCO HAS INCREASED UPTAKE AND AND!!!! PHOTOSYNTHESIS EFFICIENCY ......FUCKING AWESOME 💪💪💪💪 1/12 4:47AM I asked GROK: are samsung leds on my mars hydro lights seem more efficient than the PPFD meter says, I lowered the lights again by a few watts? Yes, the **Samsung LM301H EVO diodes** in your Mars Hydro lights (likely an FC-E series like FC-E3000, FC-E4000, or similar) are among the most efficient horticultural LEDs available right now—individual diodes hit **3.14 μmol/J** efficacy, pushing the whole fixture to around **2.85–2.9 μmol/J** PPE (photosynthetic photon efficacy) in manufacturer specs and independent tests. That's top-tier for full-spectrum grow lights, meaning they convert more electrical power into usable plant photons than older diodes or cheaper LEDs. If they "seem more efficient than the PPFD meter says" (your plants thriving at lower wattage/height adjustments), that's actually common and not a contradiction—it's often the **real-world efficiency** shining through once nutes/stress are fixed. Here's why this happens and what your recent wattage drop (a few more watts lower) likely means: ### Why Samsung LM301H EVO Can "Seem" More Efficient Than Raw PPFD Readings Suggest - **High PPE + Uniform Distribution**: These diodes excel at producing photons in the PAR range (400–700nm) with minimal waste (heat/loss). Mars Hydro FC-EVOs achieve strong average PPFD (e.g., 750–1000+ μmol/m²/s in tests at recommended heights/power) with even spread—no hot spots wasting energy. When your nutes were suboptimal (Advanced Nutrients issues), plants couldn't fully use the light (wasted photons → stress, stretch, lower efficiency). Now dialed in (GH powder + aminos + mycos), they convert more of that PPFD into growth—making the light "feel" stronger/more efficient even if meter numbers stay the same or drop slightly. - **Meter Limitations & Calibration**: - Handheld PAR meters (especially cheap/older ones) can under-read full-spectrum LEDs like LM301H EVO (strong white + red enhancement). They often have poor spectral response to the exact mix, reading 10–30% low compared to pro tools (Apogee SQ-500) or calibrated apps. - If you're using an app like Photone (mentioned in your diary), it's generally more accurate for Samsung full-spectrum lights (especially on iPhone; Android varies but often close with diffuser/paper). Many growers report Photone matching or exceeding cheap handhelds on LM301H setups—sometimes showing higher effective PPFD than a basic meter implies. - Bottom line: Your plants are the ultimate meter. Thriving (miraculous growth, no burn/stress) at lower wattage means the effective usable PPFD is higher than a potentially under-reading meter suggests—efficiency win. ### Your Wattage Drop & What It Means Lowering by a few more watts (on top of the earlier ~10% drop) is smart and aligns with the efficiency gains: - Dimming on Mars Hydro FC series is **very linear**—tests show PPFD percentage tracks close to (or slightly above) the dimmer % because diodes run more efficiently at lower currents (less heat/loss). - Example: Dropping from 100% to 90% might only reduce PPFD by ~8–10%, not full 10%, due to that efficiency curve. - Your plants handling it (still "miraculously better") without stretch or pale leaves confirms the sweet spot: likely 450–650 μmol/m²/s veg/late veg range now, with room to push if pistils emerge. - Solar bonus: Every watt saved = less battery drain on cloudy days, cooler tent (less fan/AC draw), and more headroom for extra plants without spiking consumption. **Practical next steps**: - Recheck PPFD (if using Photone/handheld): Average multiple canopy spots at current height/power—aim 450–600 for late veg autos, 600–800 early flower. - Watch response: If nodes stay tight/dark green/no cupping, you can drop another 5% or lower height slightly for denser canopy. - Log kWh if your inverter shows it—track the drop to celebrate the savings. - If meter still "under-says" vs. plant performance, trust the plants more—Samsung EVOs are proven beasts when the rest of the grow is dialed. This is textbook optimization: nute fix → better photon use → lower power for same/better results → solar efficiency skyrockets. You're building a truly lean system. How low are you at now (e.g., 70–75W total?)? Any pistils or new growth explosions today? Keep the momentum—it's paying off big. 🥊🍌👨‍🔬🚨🌞 1/13/26 7:47AM BRUTAL WEEK FOR THE MOP AND BUCKET GUYS AT MUDRUROS COMPOUND 1/13, 11:22 AM banana purple punch auto RF three is doing really great. I haven’t really needed to do anything. I decided not to top. I didn’t want to do anything except light stress training. I think she’s gonna turn out just great. Her stock is one of the thickest. She’s just perfect.😍😍😍
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@Andres
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She grew strong but had a stress because my dog ​​ate it twice and made an apical cut. and this is the result of an automatic. we will see his progress .. he has a normal smell we will see that he offers us
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@Hix57
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Cette semaine a été un peu mouvementée dans mon coin de jardin. Mes feuilles, surtout les petites dernières, ont décidé de prendre une teinte jaunâtre à une vitesse folle, ce qui a immédiatement déclenché ma mode "gardien de plantes" en me demandant si c'était une simple sénescence ou peut-être un petit creux en azote. Finalement, je me suis dit que c'était probablement un mélange des deux. J'ai tenté de jouer au super-héros des nutriments en ajoutant un quart de dose d'azote, histoire de voir ce qui se passait. À ma grande joie, la plante a plutôt bien réagi. Cela m'a donné le courage de doubler la mise, et miracle, aucune overdose à l'horizon ! En dehors de cette petite aventure, ma chère plante continue vaillamment son chemin, en plein dans la phase excitante de maturation des têtes. Ça promet d'être intéressant ! 🌿
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3° settimana di fioritura sta sviluppando dei grandi fiori profumati,e compatti come poche
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@ibbzy
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[UPDATE] 18/07/24 (WEEK 4 & 5) Continuation of week 4, will comeback and update this week with updates of plants recovery. Week 5 will be included with this update. Replacement of drip lines to NetBow halo rings by Netafim for a more uniformed watering Will be updating Germination week page with my current watering system set-up and it's upgrade next week along with EzRunOff Pump by The Bucket Company.
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@Canna96
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Hey now, I hope everyone is having a great weekend and happy father's day to all the dads. The Strawberry Banana is almost done stacking and almost heading to the ripening phase. I did raise her up on a 10 inch milk crate last week to ensure all plants have an even canopy. She is really starting to smell very strong, I definitely smell both strawberry and banana's on my fingers after working with her. currently have the Spectrum X running at 100% power and have upped the time on the UV/IR bars to 90 minutes just prior to lights off. I am super happy with this light so far, she puts out impressive PAR, and runs fairly cool. The only thing I would change is to have individual timers for the different spectrums. I did hear they sell a timer that does this but it does cost 0. Not much to do this week other than keep the reservoir full and in the correct PH range. The tomatoes outside are absolutely loving the runoff from these autos, as that is all they have had to drink since they were about 3 weeks old. Thanks for stopping by, Stay Safe and Blaze On!!! 💪 Website: https://medicgrow.com/ https://growdiaries.com/grower/medicgrowled
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@Gram_Solo
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👸🎂 Queen lizzies cake staying short like a bonzai lol, fattening up on the 4 main colas on 1 , I did some lst to keep apart the stems and defoilated the middle again as it was clogged up. Ended up snapping them abit but they took it like a boss! 😎
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The Sunset Sherbet influence in this pink phenotype is clearer by the day!