🍪🌿 Animal Mints Week 7 From Seed | Week 3 Flower (12/12 From Birth) Yes — these girls have never seen veg lighting. They were born into 12/12. They have no idea what 18/6 even means. And that changes everything about how we read them. ⸻ 🔁 Quick Recap — For Anyone Arriving Now • 12/12 from seed • Hand-watered • Organic + mineral approach • Multi-layer LED system: • Over-canopy • Inner-canopy • Under-canopy (almost fully active) • CO₂: ~909 ppm • PPFD range: ~850–1200 (height dependent) These are not low-intensity plants. The room is tuned for consumption. And not every plant is ready to eat like this. These are. ⸻ 🌡️ Environment Snapshot • 🌡️ Day temp: ~28°C • 💧 RH: ~65% • ⚡ EC: ~2.9 • pH: ~6.5 • 💨 CO₂: ~909 ppm Now let’s address the elephant in the room: “28°C in flower? Isn’t that hot?” Only if you misunderstand LED physics. ⸻ 🍃 Leaf VPD — Not Room VPD Under LED lighting: • Minimal infrared radiation • Leaf surface temperature runs 2–4°C below ambient • So while room reads 28°C, leaf surface likely sits 24–26°C With RH at 65%: 👉 Leaf VPD lands right in early–mid flower comfort zone. Signs that confirm it: • No tacoing • No stress curl • No bleaching • No claw • Strong praying • Fast metabolism • Uniform green tone We guide with room readings. But we decide based on leaf behavior. And the leaves are calm. ⸻ 💧 EC 2.9 — Why So High? Because the room demands it. Let’s break it down: • High PPFD (850–1200) • Elevated CO₂ (~900 ppm) • High transpiration window (correct VPD) • Strong stretch phase (week 3 flower from seed) This creates a high-consumption environment. EC isn’t high because we want it high. It’s high because: • They are eating. • They are stretching. • They are metabolically active. If EC were too high, we would see: • Uniform tip burn • Dark clawing • Slowed stretch • Salt stress patterns We are not seeing that. We are seeing appetite. Important note for readers: Not all plants should be fed like this. You must read your room before copying numbers. ⸻ ✂️ Defoliation — Light Haircut, Not Surgery They didn’t desperately need it. But: • The room was being reset • Airflow harmonization matters • Light penetration symmetry matters • Under-canopy exposure matters From the timeline: Before • Healthy canopy • Some interior shading • Early bud sites forming After • Clean lower third • Clear interior airflow • Defined tops • Light pathways opened I didn’t strip. I refined. This is maintenance defoliation — not panic defoliation. ⸻ 🌱 Structural Observations Check the photos: • Internode spacing moderate • Tops stacking evenly • Pistil clusters forming • Stretch still active but controlled • Stems thickening in response to light intensity They are transitioning from architecture phase into production phase. Week 3 from seed-flower timing means: They are slightly developmentally behind traditional veg-then-flip plants. And that’s expected. ⸻ 🔬 Multi-Layer Lighting System — Why It Works We are not just blasting top light. We are: • Feeding tops from above • Feeding sides from inner canopy • Preparing lower bud sites with under-canopy This creates: • Even auxin redistribution • Less apical dominance • More balanced lower bud viability • Reduced larf development later When under-canopy fully activates? We’ll likely see lower sites tighten dramatically. ⸻ 📈 What To Expect Next Week Expect: • Continued vertical stretch (but slowing) • Clear bud site stacking • Increased water uptake • Slight calcium demand increase • Stem lignification Do Not Expect Yet: • Bud swelling • Dense calyx stacking • Heavy resin • Final terp expression We are still in early production. This is foundation week. ⸻ ❤️ Gratitude Section To: • The OGs following since day one • The silent readers learning quietly • The loud critics keeping us sharp • The lovers • The haters • The Grow Diaries community • The platform hosting this experiment • The sponsors supporting the journey • Every single person who clicks, reads, observes, questions This is more than growing. It’s documentation. It’s education. It’s transparency. And it’s respect for the plant. 📡 Please stay tuned they can try and take us down but we never quit https://www.youtube.com/@DOGDOGTHEDOCTOR NEW 🙏 Thank you for your patience and continued support. FOR DISCOUNT CODES AND MORE JUST FOLLOW THE LINK https://website.beacons.ai/dogdoctorofficial 📲 Don’t forget to Subscribe and follow me on Instagram and YouTube @DogDoctorOfficial for exclusive content, real-time updates, and behind-the-scenes magic. We’ve got so much more coming, including transplanting and all the amazing techniques that go along with it. You won’t want to miss it. GrowDiaries Journal: https://growdiaries.com/grower/dogdoctorofficial Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dogdoctorofficial/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dogdoctorofficial Deleted by Youtube Vimeo : https://vimeo.com/dogdoctorofficial Under construction stay tuned ⸻ Explore the Gear that Powers My Grow If you’re curious about the tech I’m using, check out these links: 🔆 Lighting & Environmental Control • Future of Grow — Advanced LED lighting technology https://www.futureofgrow.com/ DISCOUNT CODE: DOG20 • Lumiflora — Under-canopy LED lighting https://lumiflorade.com/ • TrollMaster — Environmental controllers and automation gear (past collaboration) ⸻ Genetics • Zamnesia Seeds — Genetics used in this project https://www.zamnesia.com/ ⸻ 🌱 Soil, Substrates, Boosters & Root Support • Plagron — Substrates, bio mixes, and supportive products https://plagron.com/en/ ⸻ 🎒 Storage, Curing & Preservation • Grove Bags — Curing and storage solutions https://grovebags.com/ ⸻ 📸 Photography Equipment & Tools (Not sponsors, but part of my creative toolkit) • Sony A6700 • Sony full-frame macro lens + few more • Stacking photography workflow - learning • iPhone (for behind-the-scenes shots) We’ve got much more coming as we move through the grow cycles. Trust me, you won’t want to miss the next steps, let’s push the boundaries of indoor horticulture together! As always, this is shared for educational purposes, aiming to spread understanding and appreciation for this plant. Let’s celebrate it responsibly and continue to learn and grow together. With true love comes happiness. Always believe in yourself, and always do things expecting nothing and with an open heart. Be a giver, and the universe will give back in ways you could never imagine. 💚 Growers love to all 💚 📸 P.S. – The Eye Behind the Lens All photos in this diary (for now — except for the ones showing the camera, which I took with an iPhone) are taken with a Sony A6700 paired with a Sony full-frame macro lens and a few more. Photography is part of the story — it’s how we share the fine textures, the glow, and the quiet details that words can’t always capture. I’ve also started experimenting with photo stacking — a technique where multiple images, each taken at a slightly different focus point, are layered together to create one perfectly sharp image from front to back. It’s not digital enhancement or AI; it’s pure photography — a way to reveal the plant’s beauty in microscopic depth, from trichome to petal. You’ll even see a few shots of "ghost me" capturing the shots — camera, lens, setup — because every grow deserves not just to be cultivated, but documented like art. FOR DISCOUNT CODES AND MORE JUST FOLLOW THE LINK https://website.beacons.ai/dogdoctorofficial NEW DISCORD - Official Server Invite Link : https://discord.gg/ksjAkA5T74