? Blueberry Muffin – Pheno A Week 8 | Okay… Now She's on Fire! 🔥 Welcome back to another week of the 8×8 Adventure! 💚🌱 If you're discovering this diary for the first time, welcome! This project is an experiment in patience, genetics and observation. Twelve different cultivars are growing together under the same environmental conditions, lighting, irrigation system and general feeding strategy. The biggest variable? The plants themselves. And Blueberry Muffin Pheno A continues to prove exactly why genetics matter so much. She has never been the fastest plant in the room, but this week something has definitely changed. This girl is on fire. 🔥? 🌱 A Quick Recap — How Did We Get Here? Blueberry Muffin is being grown under a 12/12-from-seed schedule. For anyone new to the concept, this means the plant receives a flowering light schedule from the beginning rather than spending several weeks under a traditional vegetative photoperiod. The idea isn't to force the plant into becoming something it isn't. Instead, we're allowing each genetic to show us what it can do when given the same basic conditions as every other plant in the room. During the early stages, I followed what I like to call a "no-touch" philosophy. Apart from necessary care, I avoided constantly manipulating the plants. There was no aggressive training programme and no obsession with making every plant look identical. There was some gentle leaf bending and positioning when necessary, but for the most part: I let them grow. That has given us something I find incredibly valuable now that we're deeper into flowering. We can actually see how naturally each plant wants to grow. And Blueberry Muffin has developed into a tall, open and beautifully structured plant, with plenty of space between her flowering sites and excellent visibility throughout the canopy. 🌸 Flowering Development And now we're getting into the fun part. The flowers are becoming much more obvious this week, with fresh pistils developing throughout the plant and the individual flowering sites beginning to take shape. She's still not the densest-looking plant in the room, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. At this stage, I'm much more interested in how the plant develops over time than in trying to judge the final result too early. The structure is allowing light and air to move through the plant, and the flowering sites are clearly developing. We're entering the stage where the focus gradually moves away from producing more vertical growth and toward flower development, stacking and eventually bulking. She's getting there. And judging by this week's photographs… she knows exactly what she's doing. 😄? ✂️ Defoliation — But Without a Calendar This is also the point where we've started introducing some selective defoliation around the room. And I want to explain this because it is very easy for newer growers to look at a diary and think: "Week X means I have to defoliate on this exact day." No. That's not how I approach it. There are twelve plants in this room, and they're not all developing at the same speed. Some plants are ready for a little leaf removal now. Others aren't. Some may receive attention next week. And some may barely need anything at all. I'm also doing this entire project myself, so there is absolutely no reason for me to create artificial pressure by saying: "Today is defoliation day for everybody." Instead, I look at the plants and make decisions based on what they're showing me. The goal isn't to remove as many leaves as possible. The goal is to remove what I don't need, while keeping enough healthy foliage to support the plant. For Blueberry Muffin, we're now selectively removing a few leaves here and there where they are blocking important flowering sites, creating unnecessary overlap, or simply no longer contributing much to the canopy. It's a much more surgical approach than stripping the plant bare. And honestly, I prefer it that way. Grow with the plant, not against it. 🌱 🌿 The Slightly Light Green Colour Now let's talk about something I mentioned last week. Blueberry Muffin is still showing a somewhat lighter green colour compared with some of her neighbours. It's particularly noticeable on some of the older leaves. But importantly: I'm not seeing anything that makes me panic. The plant is flowering, producing new growth and developing healthy-looking flowers. However, she is clearly a little more demanding nutritionally than some of the other plants in this room. And this is where growing twelve different genetics together becomes interesting. The entire room was asking for more nutrition, so we increased the overall feeding strength. But Blueberry Muffin? She's basically saying: "Thank you… but I might need a little more." 😂 So now we're going to give her some time to respond. Rather than immediately making another adjustment, I'll watch the new growth and overall colour over the coming days. If the plant starts returning toward a deeper, healthier green without developing signs of excess nutrition, we'll know we're moving in the right direction. This is one of those situations where observation is more valuable than chasing a number. ⚗️ Feeding Strategy The current feeding has been increased slightly as flowering progresses and as the room's overall demand has increased. At the moment we're running approximately: Plagron Terra Bloom – 2.2 ml/L Plagron Power Buds – 1 ml/L Plagron Sugar Royal – 1 ml/L Plagron Pure Zym – 1 ml/L pH adjustment as required Current solution: EC: approximately 2.0 mS/cm pH: 6.0 The important part here is that this isn't simply about pushing the EC higher because the plants are flowering. The plants are communicating their demand through growth, colour, water consumption and overall development. We've responded with a moderate increase and now we're watching. If Blueberry Muffin continues improving, fantastic. If she tells us that we've gone too far, we'll adapt again. There is no prize for following a feeding chart blindly. The chart is a starting point. The plant gets the final vote. 💡 Lighting We're currently maintaining a 12/12 light schedule, with the plants receiving a strong flowering intensity. The canopy is getting approximately 800 PPFD. For anyone new to PPFD, this is basically a measurement of how much photosynthetically useful light is reaching the plant canopy. It doesn't tell us everything about light quality or plant response, but it gives us a useful way of understanding light intensity. At around 800 PPFD, we're providing a substantial amount of light without trying to push the plants unnecessarily hard. At this stage, I'm happy with where we are. If the plants continue asking for more light and the environment allows it, there is always room to make adjustments. But once again: more isn't automatically better. We're looking for the balance between light, temperature, CO₂, nutrition and plant health. 🌡️ Current Environment The room continues to be remarkably stable: 🌡️ Day temperature: 29°C 🌙 Night temperature: 25.6°C 💧 Relative humidity: 60% ⚗️ pH: 6.0 ⚡ EC: ~2.0 mS/cm 💨 CO₂: ~693 ppm 💡 Light schedule: 12/12 💦 Watering: approximately 1.3 L/plant/24h She's growing in a 15-litre AutoPot system, with the root zone continuing to receive consistent access to nutrient solution. That consistency is particularly useful during flowering because we're not constantly creating large swings in moisture availability. The goal is simple: Keep the root zone happy and let the plant concentrate on the flowers. 🔬 Structure & Personality One of the things I really enjoy about Blueberry Muffin Pheno A is that she's becoming increasingly easy to read. She's not trying to be the biggest or bushiest plant in the room. Instead, she's developed a tall, open architecture with a strong central structure and numerous flowering branches distributed along the plant. The photographs this week really show that personality. And this is exactly why I wanted to run twelve different genetics together. If I had only grown Blueberry Muffin, I might simply describe her as "a tall plant." But when you see her standing beside eleven other cultivars receiving the same treatment, you start to understand that this is her genetic expression. That's the fascinating part of this project. 🔮 Looking Ahead For next week, I'm not planning to chase anything. I'll continue monitoring the colour closely, particularly the newer foliage, while watching how the flowers develop and begin to bulk. If she responds positively to the increased nutrition, we'll keep things stable. If she tells us something different, we'll listen. I'll also continue selective defoliation where necessary, but without forcing every plant onto the same timetable. There is no need to create stress simply because the calendar says it's time. We're now entering a stage where patience becomes increasingly important. The framework has been built. The flowers are here. Now we let them do their job. 🌸 And Blueberry Muffin? She's finally starting to show us why she took her time. The quiet ones can surprise you. ?🔥 💚 Thank You As always, thank you so much to everyone following the 8×8 Adventure. Whether you've been here since germination or you've just discovered this diary, I genuinely appreciate every visit, comment, question and conversation. This project has become much more than twelve plants in a tent. It's an opportunity to observe how different genetics behave when we remove as many variables as possible and simply give them the same environment. A huge thank you to GrowDiaries for giving us a place to document the journey and learn together. To Zamnesia, thank you for the fantastic Blueberry Muffin genetics and for giving us the opportunity to explore what this cultivar can do under a 12/12-from-seed approach. To Plagron, thank you for supporting the plants with your growing media and nutrients throughout this adventure. And to Future of Grow LED, thank you for providing the light that allows us to put all twelve personalities under the same sun and see how differently they respond. And finally, thank you. Because growing becomes even more rewarding when we can share the successes, the mistakes, the questions and the lessons with one another. Remember, this is simply my way of doing things and what is working for me in this particular environment. There is no obligation to copy anything you see here. Take what is useful, learn from it, adapt it to your own environment and, most importantly, learn to listen to your plants. Growers Love, everyone. 💚🌱 See you next week with Blueberry Muffin Pheno A… …and I have a feeling this little lady may have a few more surprises waiting for us. ?🔥