DWC Grow #3 - Week 5 (Day 28–34) | Canopy Takes Over + Trellis/Topping + Space Management (Dec 25–31) Week 5 was the week the plant stopped being “a plant in a bucket” and started being a canopy-management project. Growth turned noticeably more explosive, the footprint expanded fast, and I had to make real decisions about structure, airflow, and tent space. Day 28 (Dec 25) - Explosive growth Came home to a huge jump in growth. The plant looked healthy and vigorous, and it finally felt like the system was “locked in” after the earlier turbulence. Reservoir was stable, roots looked strong, and the canopy started to crowd the tent. I started seriously thinking about topping and how to manage height long-term. Day 29 (Dec 26) - Post-training recovery looks good The plant handled the recent canopy work well and kept pushing new growth. I logged a stable reservoir (temp staying in a good range) and the overall posture looked positive. Water usage was clearly increasing, which matches the jump in biomass. Day 30 (Dec 27) - Strong momentum + dialing light position The plant kept building mass fast. I continued to raise the light slightly as the canopy climbed and nudged intensity upward cautiously (still conservative relative to manufacturer “veg” suggestions). Reservoir readings stayed in the workable zone, and water level continued to drop steadily, confirming she’s drinking. Day 31 (Dec 28) - Steady readings, steady push No big interventions - more “observe, tuck, and keep it stable.” The canopy was getting denser, and I could tell the next phase would be about preventing the tent from turning into a packed, hard-to-service jungle. Day 32 (Dec 29) - Space management: moved extraction hardware outside To reclaim headroom and working space, I moved the inline fan and carbon filter outside the tent. This was purely about space and practicality as the plant expands. I kept an eye on airflow behavior and made sure the setup still pulled properly. Day 33 (Dec 30) - Canopy density reality check Canopy got dense enough that it started feeling like a “light and airflow engineering” problem. I did a light prune (nothing extreme - more like clearing obvious blockers). I also noticed some droop and ended up focusing on reservoir basics: keeping the root zone oxygenated and avoiding a too-high water line. I siphoned out some water to bring the level down. The water looked a bit murky but didn’t smell, which was reassuring. Day 34 (Dec 31) - Hands-off (New Year) I was away for New Year’s, so this was effectively a hands-off day. Sometimes that’s the best thing for me - less temptation to over-adjust. The plan was simply to return, assess water usage, and continue shaping the canopy with minimal stress. Week 5 takeaway: The plant is officially in “take over the tent” mode. Growth is strong, water consumption is increasing, and the limiting factor has shifted from “will she survive?” to “can I keep the environment and structure under control without over-correcting?”