The Grow Awards 2026 🏆
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Hello Diary, Purple Lemonade has reached the end of its third week, at the same time it has completed the vegetation phase and is entering the flowering phase. This week it grew an impressive 20 cm, it got a bunch of new leaves and now it's at the stage where it looks like a small bush. Purple lemonade has slowly started to form flowers. The leaves are a nice green color and look healthy. It is really developing very nicely, which makes me super happy. The summer heat is still present which affects the temperature in the grow box, this week the average was 29 degrees although sometimes the temperature rises to over 31 degrees. But I don't notice that it is harming them, I make sure to water them regularly, so that the soil does not remain too dry although that sometimes happens. Every week, as the plants grow, I increase the amount of water when watering. I continue to add Bio Grow Fertiliser and CalMg with each watering. pH I drop to 6.0 with Plagron's Lemon Kick. At the end of the week, more precisely after taking photos for day 21, I increased the power of the led lights to 80%. Here is a quick overview of the week: 10/08/2024 - Day 17. Watering. I prepared 8 liters of water, added Bio Grow Fertilizer and CalMg and with that amount I evenly watered all three plants on the farm. 13/08/2024 - Day 20. Watering. I repeated the same procedure as the three days before. 14/08/2024 - Day 21. Photographing and measuring the height of the plants. Official end of the vegetation phase. Purple Lemonade - Day 21. - 33 cm That's all from me for this week, thanks to everyone for the comments and see you soon.
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What's in the soil? What's not in the soil would be an easier question to answer. 16-18 DLI @ the minute. +++ as she grows. Probably not recommended, but to get to where it needs to be, I need to start now. Vegetative @1400ppm 0.8–1.2 kPa 80–86°F (26.7–30°C) 65–75%, LST Day 10, Fim'd Day 11 CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity): This is a measure of a soil's ability to hold and exchange positively charged nutrients, like calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Soils with high CEC (more clay and organic matter) have more negative charges that attract and hold these essential nutrients, preventing them from leaching away. Biochar is highly efficient at increasing cation exchange capacity (CEC) compared to many other amendments. Biochar's high CEC potential stems from its negatively charged functional groups, and studies show it can increase CEC by over 90%. Amendments like compost also increase CEC but are often more prone to rapid biodegradation, which can make biochar's effect more long-lasting. biochar acts as a long-lasting Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) enhancer because its porous, carbon-rich structure provides sites for nutrients to bind to, effectively improving nutrient retention in soil without relying on the short-term benefits of fresh organic matter like compost or manure. Biochar's stability means these benefits last much longer than those from traditional organic amendments, making it a sustainable way to improve soil fertility, water retention, and structure over time. Needs to be charged first, similar to Coco, or it will immobilize cations, but at a much higher ratio. a high cation exchange capacity (CEC) results in a high buffer protection, meaning the soil can better resist changes in pH and nutrient availability. This is because a high CEC soil has more negatively charged sites to hold onto essential positively charged nutrients, like calcium and magnesium, and to buffer against acid ions, such as hydrogen. EC (Electrical Conductivity): This measures the amount of soluble salts in the soil. High EC levels indicate a high concentration of dissolved salts and can be a sign of potential salinity issues that can harm plants. The stored cations associated with a medium's cation exchange capacity (CEC) do not directly contribute to a real-time electrical conductivity (EC) reading. A real-time EC measurement reflects only the concentration of free, dissolved salt ions in the water solution within the medium. 98% of a plants nutrients comes directly from the water solution. 2% come directly from soil particles. CEC is a mediums storage capacity for cations. These stored cations do not contribute to a mediums EC directly. Electrical Conductivity (EC) does not measure salt ions adsorbed (stored) onto a Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) site, as EC measures the conductivity of ions in solution within a soil or water sample, not those held on soil particles. A medium releases stored cations to water by ion exchange, where a new, more desirable ion from the water solution temporarily displaces the stored cation from the medium's surface, a process also seen in plants absorbing nutrients via mass flow. For example, in water softeners, sodium ions are released from resin beads to bond with the medium's surface, displacing calcium and magnesium ions which then enter the water. This same principle applies when plants take up nutrients from the soil solution: the cations are released from the soil particles into the water in response to a concentration equilibrium, and then moved to the root surface via mass flow. An example of ion exchange within the context of Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) is a soil particle with a negative charge attracting and holding positively charged nutrient ions, like potassium (K+) or calcium (Ca2+), and then exchanging them for other positive ions present in the soil solution. For instance, a negatively charged clay particle in soil can hold a K+ ion and later release it to a plant's roots when a different cation, such as calcium (Ca2+), is abundant and replaces the potassium. This process of holding and swapping positively charged ions is fundamental to soil fertility, as it provides plants with essential nutrients. Negative charges on soil particles: Soil particles, particularly clay and organic matter, have negatively charged surfaces due to their chemical structure. Attraction of cations: These negative charges attract and hold positively charged ions, or cations, such as: Potassium (K+) Calcium (Ca2+) Magnesium (Mg2+) Sodium (Na+) Ammonium (NH4+) Plant roots excrete hydrogen ions (H+) through the action of proton pumps embedded in the root cell membranes, which use ATP (energy) to actively transport H+ ions from inside the root cell into the surrounding soil. This process lowers the pH of the soil, which helps to make certain mineral nutrients, such as iron, more available for uptake by the plant. Mechanism of H+ Excretion Proton Pumps: Root cells contain specialized proteins called proton pumps (H+-ATPases) in their cell membranes. Active Transport: These proton pumps use energy from ATP to actively move H+ ions from the cytoplasm of the root cell into the soil, against their concentration gradient. Role in pH Regulation: This active excretion of H+ is a major way plants regulate their internal cytoplasmic pH. Nutrient Availability: The resulting decrease in soil pH makes certain essential mineral nutrients, like iron, more soluble and available for the root cells to absorb. Ion Exchange: The H+ ions also displace positively charged mineral cations from the soil particles, making them available for uptake. Iron Uptake: In response to iron deficiency stress, plants enhance H+ excretion and reductant release to lower the pH and convert Fe3+ to the more available form Fe2+. The altered pH can influence the activity and composition of beneficial microbes in the soil. The H+ gradient created by the proton pumps can also be used for other vital cell functions, such as ATP synthesis and the transport of other solutes. The hydrogen ions (H+) excreted during photosynthesis come from the splitting of water molecules. This splitting, called photolysis, occurs in Photosystem II to replace the electrons used in the light-dependent reactions. The released hydrogen ions are then pumped into the thylakoid lumen, creating a proton gradient that drives ATP synthesis. Plants release hydrogen ions (H+) from their roots into the soil, a process that occurs in conjunction with nutrient uptake and photosynthesis. These H+ ions compete with mineral cations for the negatively charged sites on soil particles, a phenomenon known as cation exchange. By displacing beneficial mineral cations, the excreted H+ ions make these nutrients available for the plant to absorb, which can also lower the soil pH and indirectly affect its Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) by altering the pool of exchangeable cations in the soil solution. Plants use proton (H+) exudation, driven by the H+-ATPase enzyme, to release H+ ions into the soil, creating a more acidic rhizosphere, which enhances nutrient availability and influences nutrient cycling processes. This acidification mobilizes insoluble nutrients like iron (Fe) by breaking them down, while also facilitating the activity of beneficial microbes involved in the nutrient cycle. Therefore, H+ exudation is a critical plant strategy for nutrient acquisition and management, allowing plants to improve their access to essential elements from the soil. A lack of water splitting during photosynthesis can affect iron uptake because the resulting energy imbalance disrupts the plant's ability to produce ATP and NADPH, which are crucial for overall photosynthetic energy conversion and can trigger a deficiency in iron homeostasis pathways. While photosynthesis uses hydrogen ions produced from water splitting for the Calvin cycle, not to create a hydrogen gas deficiency, the overall process is sensitive to nutrient availability, and iron is essential for chloroplast function. In photosynthesis, water is split to provide electrons to replace those lost in Photosystem II, which is triggered by light absorption. These electrons then travel along a transport chain to generate ATP (energy currency) and NADPH (reducing power). Carbon Fixation: The generated ATP and NADPH are then used to convert carbon dioxide into carbohydrates in the Calvin cycle. Impaired water splitting (via water in or out) breaks the chain reaction of photosynthesis. This leads to an imbalance in ATP and NADPH levels, which disrupts the Calvin cycle and overall energy production in the plant. Plants require a sufficient supply of essential mineral elements like iron for photosynthesis. Iron is vital for chlorophyll formation and plays a crucial role in electron transport within the chloroplasts. The complex relationship between nutrient status and photosynthesis is evident when iron deficiency can be reverted by depleting other micronutrients like manganese. This highlights how nutrient homeostasis influences photosynthetic function. A lack of adequate energy and reducing power from photosynthesis, which is directly linked to water splitting, can trigger complex adaptive responses in the plant's iron uptake and distribution systems. Plants possess receptors called transceptors that can directly detect specific nutrient concentrations in the soil or within the plant's tissues. These receptors trigger signaling pathways, sometimes involving calcium influx or changes in protein complex activity, that then influence nutrient uptake by the roots. Plants use this information to make long-term adjustments, such as Increasing root biomass to explore more soil for nutrients. Modifying metabolic pathways to make better use of available resources. Adjusting the rate of nutrient transport into the roots. That's why I keep a high EC. Abundance resonates Abundance.
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Hello everyone, overall the plants are doing well; apart from signs of deficiency on a Fastberry, Zkittlez and the Rhyno Rider. I am noticing spots as well as burns on the upper leaves of the plants.
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22 days of Flower done, all pots have stabilised except the Small Ghost, I don't think it is genetically 'Small' as it's cut is just as vigorous as the other clones. Never recovered as quickly from the lockout as the others I suppose. Now, I will start slowly increasing E/C . How high I go for each plant? We shall find out together. I have begun to lolly-pop the plants, a process I will continue to do right up to flush, If its gonna be larf it's coming off! These plants are a lot taller than I had planned, the lockout and full recovery took longer than I expected, + days lost due to a quest for new coco. It will only cost me time in the end, and with big root systems only feeding 1 .77 sq ft of canopy after thinning, bending etc. It should not hurt my yield. I also realise there will probably be a large, 4 or so week window for these plants finishing, I can open up the space a bit then to help finish late bloomers. (I have a UVB lamp at the ready, to Speed it up at the end.( In more ways than one?) After more bending I will add some doses of silicone over a few days. Help repair the branches that I have Crush Bent. The silicone also toughens up the plants against Insect attack. When using Silicone I dilute before use to prevent precipitation of elements. Day 24 - Maltezerz This plant is most advanced into flower, plenty of resin being produced. Smell is forest fruits and berries first, then Afghan Hash with a distinct chocolate finish. If it keeps a similar flavour profile to the end and has the promised hit of THC, Wow. Orangesicle. This plant is a lot more stretchy than French Cookie parent. (Tangie influence) The smell is powerful and a distinct Orange but a bit on the sharp synthetic side of the profile. Probably change and mellow with maturity. Blue Sherbalato, Tons of resin with a distinct sharp citrus sherbet smell. GTH 1, The smell is complex 'Dirty Lemon floor polish' then Diesel, then underneath a musty mushroom type smell. Not unpleasant, but not that inviting. GTH 2 and 3 Clean fresh lemon scent very pleasant and lifting. GTH 4 This is also dominated by a lemon scent, but different, Sticky Sweet Lemon, like Drizzle Cake, an oily thick heavy lemon aroma. Scotts OG. This is weird, in the morning this plant smells like a custard slice, by lights out, the smell has a tinge of sour milk or yogurt to it . No hint of the Ginger and Spice of the grow phase stem rub! This plant is quite slow out of the blocks and stretched as much as the GTH's. No real resin production up to now. Wedding Cake. Beautiful complex aroma. It smells like a Panattone with a touch of Black Hash underneath. Different to the US cut I have grew before, which was high yielding and very potent but lacked much aroma at any stage.
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D49 - Today is the first day in the seventh week of veg for #2 and the sixth for #1. It has been a week since I topped the first girl, so I went ahead and topped her for the third and final time. #2 is thriving, and I'm using LST to spread her out while keeping her flat. With the toppings now done, I can install the scrog net soon-ish. As for the thrips, I haven't noticed any additional damage, and hopefully, the mites are doing their thing. I realized, though, that I had one extra package of mites. Instead of waiting for slow release, I went full Rambo by cutting up the package and sprinkling the mites/sawdust all over the girls and soil. I also redirected the airflow to not blow directly on the plants. I'll leave the sawdust there until tomorrow and then brush it off. The slow-release bags are still on the plants, so there isn't much to lose with additional shock-and-awe tactics. DIE THRIPS!!! Finally, I started a compost tea heavy with neem meal, which should help create an inhospitable environment for the thrips. Worst case, I have neem oil, but I don't want to go down that route unless I have to. D53 - I did some additional LST to both girls and removed a few leaves and branches on the underside of #2. I also cut back the cover crop and gave each girl 2.5-liters of water @ pH 6.3. D55 - I gave both girls around 2.5-liters of compost tea @ pH 6.5. The first girl has bounced back strong after her final topping, and in a few days, it will be time to flip, but I need to do one last defoliation before that. Sorry about the porn-light pics. I was a bit late, and my lights had already gone into sunset mode.
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First week of vegatative growth still on the small side but going smoothly overall. Water every 2-3 days depending how dry it gets and then re-watering with 190 ppm all purpose plant food once this week then other times with water again. pH averaging around 6.2 but still having some issue with pH. Will top one or them next week and attempt mainlining
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UPDATE - Thurs 4th March The week has been fine. I am going there today so you may get an update this evening. Iv been posting on TheWeedTube also so I have much more videos explaining what’s going on. Plants are looking great. I got paid today so I bought an online fan to plug into the thermostat and pull fresh air in through a duct from a cooler part of the flat. In summer it won’t be as useful but to be honest I’ll probably just duct tape the sucky end of the duct to a small ac or Friday type thing, iv not really looked into it yet. Even a hillbilly cooking system would be better than nothing. ( filling a bucket up with ice, water and salt and put the end of the duct into that so it sucks in the cold air). We’ll see! Update - Monday 8th March All is well, I just want the buds to start swelling now. I found some awesome supports in Aldi. They are metal rings that the plant weaves through and has spikes that go into the pot rather than a scrog net being fixed in place. Therefore I can still move them and drain the run off.
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@DaLawry
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Cherry Punch just got her last feed this past week. The next 2 weeks will be full flushing for them. Garlic cookies, watermelon Skittlez, Mint cookies, cookies and cream, and wedding cake are going to be fed up to weeks 7-8. All the plants are finishing nicely! smells are getting a little more dank forsure!😎
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Friday, 2021-06-25 Definitely the last Week of Flower for her, soon Harvest will come And she stands now under the VIPARSPECTRA XS-2000 Light is on 75 Percent, to get used to... because the Lights are very Powerful and I dont want to burn// stress her in her last Days Leaves are discoloring, all Pistils are Orange/ brown Trichomes are all Milky and afew Amber ones Tomorrow she gets agood drink with " Clean Fruits" to help her devour the Nutrient-Remainings Shopping Link for the LIghts: Amazon US: XS1000 10% off: it10mlarimar http://yx-8.cn/0y-6 XS1500 5% off: it15mlarimar http://yx-8.cn/0yA XS2000 5% off: it20mlarimar http://yx-8.cn/0y2Y XS4000 5% off: it40mlarimar http://yx-8.cn/0y5k Amazon Canada XS1000 10% off: it10mlarimar https://amzn.to/38udUVe XS1500 5% off: it15mlarimar https://amzn.to/3esVUyr XS2000 5% off: it20mlarimar https://amzn.to/3l5zAfg XS4000 5% off: it40mlarimar https://amzn.to/3l7k5Uj
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12/30 - Dropped the 3x3 net for spacing - Micro dosing Silica and Green Planet through harvest - Sick plants have bounced back and are flowering accordingly - Update concluded 😎😎😎😎 01/01 - First update on the new year!! (2026) if you are reading this, many blessings and prosperity to you and yours - Closing out in the first 30 days of flower - thus far all running accordingly - dropped the light intensity down to 50 for offset heat index down to 71 degrees, humidity around 50-60%
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10/29 - the injured plants growth has slowed and I'm starting to worry. I will watch it for another two weeks to determine if its worth growing. The second plant is doing well under LST and leaf tucking. Im trying my best to avoid defoliating as I do not like performing this training method. LST method is being further expanded by training the plant to grow in a spiral. Nutrient addition is on every 3rd feed. 10/31 - today marks the 31st day. I'm impressed with the development and growth from these Skywalkers.
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Good morning Growmies 💪 I started introducing Canna Pk 13/14 & AN Bud Factor X @ the beginning of the week, and it's already showing it's effects 💪 These lady's are getting fat, by the looks of it these 2 are gonna yield bigtime. Also the 👃 on these is something pleasant, it kind of reminds me of Tangie 🍊. Well i'm done again Growmies 👊 Rock on🌱
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@SAC87
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Hi Growers. So all 3 FastBuds Pineapple Express Auto seeds popped in less than 3 days. I’ve left them uncovered, added a humidifier and turned a fan on low to just to give them a little wiggle. They were sprayed and lightly watered in a 4” circle around the stalks to have those roots go search for water. Just gonna give them some time and mist for a week and start super low feeding according to the FastBuds auto feed schedule. I’m looking forward to seeing these babies grow!!! Happy Growing 🌱
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@ccdd420
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Starting to stretch a lot 3 plants 32 in the rest about 24. Have about 2 feet left until max light height. Do you think they will get that tall?
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Very high quality strain. No joke, I'm glad I have discovered such a fruity and sweet sativa strain. This m8 by gea seeds is a pleasure to smell, I'm so sad about growing her in that little 11l pot, hope next year I can make a very big bush full of fruity big colas 👨‍🌾🤤🍭🍓🍓🍏🍉🍉🍊 Loving the fragrance. Very recomended guys. Peace ✌️💚❤️💛
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At one point, the water in the reservoir became anaerobic, causing the plants stress, so I cleaned it out along with the tray and reapplied the BioBizz nutrients according to the chart. I also added an aquarium pump to help keep the water stirred. When using organic nutrients, I realized that the pipes can become clogged, so every four weeks, I flush and clean everything. Other than that, and some temperature heat waves that I struggled with, the plants were happy.
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Got some better shots without light and a little video my cam is a bit shit got a video of trichs also in there girls seem to be flushing well started flushing the quick one later than the others as wasn't as developed. Took the 2 tester buds of very bottom under the plants on the first day of flush to try estimate how long to flush for........last pic and vid before harvest next uploads will be harvest hopefully
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A big hello to all the cannabis growing gardeners...and all the other visitors that came across my grow journal. I apologise for the late updates, what you see on the photograph is what i found growing after my 5 day Christmas absence. i actually took the photographs on the day of my 41 birthday. During this time the four plants drank a lot of water that nobody was refilling, normally it was ok, this time though when i came beck the ph was at 5.6 after i replenished the missing water it jumpted to only 5.8. It happened first time to me so i thought "give it a couple of days girls will drink and the replenished fresh water with PH of 7.4 will up my reservoir", Unfortunately it was a bad choice, plants started to drink less and less every passing day, so at this week end started adding PH+ (first time since a long time, my PH+ bottle was bought in 2015 ;) During the week only added PH+ and PK 13-14. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The SE 7000 is hanged at 28 cm. over the canopy and runs at 550W. This whole grow's main sponsor is Spider Farmer. You can easily obtain all the great grow equipment we use at: spider-farmer.com A big thank you to Jessie and the whole Spider Farmer crew for supporting me with the newest technological advancements in horticulture. Thanks to them what i do here is possible. Thank you SeedsMafia for giving me the opportunity to try out your stock. seedsmafia.com/en/feminized-cannabis-seeds/moby-dick-feminized.html Plagron did send us their Contest package for the Power Buds competition . Thank you for your visit, please leave a like and hope to see you beck here in about a week.