🍃 Purple Haze Photo A — Week 4 | Preparing for Gravity-Fed Growth Every grow has one plant that quietly starts telling you a story before flowering even begins. Purple Haze A is becoming exactly that. Growing under the same Future of Grow LED, receiving the same PPFD, sharing the exact nutrient recipe, environmental conditions and care as every other plant inside the tent, she has decided to express herself in a completely different way. Instead of remaining compact, she has embraced her sativa heritage and is already showing the elegant structure Purple Haze is famous for. Longer internodes. Large healthy fan leaves. Fast vertical growth. Strong side branching. Exactly the characteristics we hoped to see. This diary is part of my ongoing 12/12 From Seed Challenge, documenting every step exactly as it happens. No shortcuts, no hidden techniques—just honest observations from a home grower enjoying the journey one day at a time. ⸻ 🌱 Week 4 Development This week was all about preparing for the next big milestone. Purple Haze continued building an exceptionally strong root system while producing vigorous new shoots across every node. The leaves are deep green, beautifully flat and reaching toward the light, showing excellent nutrient uptake and a very healthy metabolism. Stem thickness has increased noticeably, giving plenty of confidence that she’ll easily support future flower production. The spacing between branches also makes her an excellent candidate for training later, allowing light to penetrate naturally through the canopy. Sometimes you can already tell a plant has personality long before flowers appear. This one certainly does. ⸻ 🚿 Time for AutoPot This week also marks another exciting step. Purple Haze A will soon become one of the plants running on my AutoPot system. Since every plant in this project receives identical lighting, nutrients and environmental conditions, this creates a great opportunity to observe one important variable: Top watering versus gravity-fed irrigation. Rather than trying to prove one method is universally better, I simply enjoy comparing different growing styles under the same conditions and documenting the results honestly. That is one of the things I love most about this hobby. Every grow teaches something new. ⸻ 💧 What is an AutoPot? For anyone discovering these diaries for the first time, AutoPots are a completely passive irrigation system. There are: ❌ No pumps ❌ No electricity ❌ No timers Instead, everything works using gravity. A nutrient reservoir sits slightly higher than the pots, allowing the solution to flow naturally through the tubing. Inside each tray sits the heart of the system: The AquaValve The AquaValve is an ingenious little mechanical valve. When the tray becomes empty, the valve opens and allows fresh nutrient solution to flow in. Once the tray reaches the correct water level, the valve automatically closes. The plant then drinks exactly what it wants. Only after the tray is empty again does the cycle repeat. Because the substrate experiences a natural wet-dry rhythm while always having nutrients available when needed, roots tend to develop extremely well. Healthy roots often translate into healthier plants. At least, that has been my experience. ⸻ 🌿 Why I Enjoy Growing with AutoPots Every grower eventually finds methods that simply fit their style. For me, AutoPots offer several advantages: • Consistent moisture around the root zone • Reduced daily watering workload • Excellent oxygen availability inside the substrate • Stable nutrient delivery • Very vigorous vegetative growth Perhaps most importantly… They let me spend more time observing the plants instead of carrying watering cans every day. And honestly, watching the AquaValve quietly doing its job never gets old. ⸻ 📊 Week 4 Environment • Week 4 — Vegetation • Height: 25 cm • EC: 1.35 • pH: 6.1 • Temperature: 33°C Day / 25°C Night • RH: 63% • CO₂: 639 ppm • Light Schedule: 12/12 • Water consumption: approximately 1.1 L per plant every 24 hours ⸻ 🌿 Feeding Schedule This week the nutrition remained simple and balanced using the Plagron Terra line. • Terra Grow – 1.8 ml/L • Power Roots – 1 ml/L • Pure Zym – 1 ml/L • Sugar Royal – 1 ml/L • pH Plus – 0.03 ml/L • Lemon Kick – 0.03 ml/L The plant responded beautifully with rich green foliage, vigorous growth and absolutely no signs of nutrient stress. Exactly the kind of consistency every grower hopes for. ⸻ 💚 Final Thoughts Week 4 feels like the beginning of something special for Purple Haze A. She has developed into a vigorous, healthy young plant with beautiful structure, outstanding leaf health and plenty of energy heading toward the flowering stretch. Now the AutoPot system enters the picture, adding another interesting chapter to this diary. Whether gravity feeding produces bigger plants or simply makes life easier, we’ll discover together over the coming weeks. That’s the beauty of documenting everything honestly. Every plant becomes its own little experiment. ⸻ 🙏 Thank You A huge thank you to everyone following this journey and supporting home growing around the world. Special thanks to all the amazing companies helping make this project possible: 🌱 Zamnesia Seeds — for the incredible Purple Haze genetics. ? Plagron — for providing the complete Terra nutrient line and outstanding growing media. 💡 Future of Grow LED — for delivering consistent full-spectrum lighting throughout the entire grow. 🌿 GrowDiaries — for bringing together growers from every corner of the world and giving us a place to learn from one another. And finally… Thank you for taking the time to follow this adventure. Your comments, advice, questions and encouragement make these diaries far more enjoyable to create. Growers Love and see you next week, where Purple Haze A begins her AutoPot journey in earnest. 🌱💜