🍮 8×8 Adventure – Week 12 Chem Brûlée – Pheno A ❄️ Still Green, Still Frosty, And Slowly Entering Her Final Chapter Hello everyone, and welcome back to another chapter of the 8×8 Adventure! 🌱💚 And here she is again... Chem Brûlée Pheno A. Still doing her thing. Still shining. Still growing. Still flowering. And honestly? She's becoming one of those plants where I don't really need to invent a story for her. She has her own story. 😂🍮💚 She's not the biggest plant in the room. She's not the smallest. She's not necessarily the most spectacular-looking girl in the tent. She's not the ugliest either. She's simply... a beautiful, normal, healthy-looking plant doing exactly what her genetics have decided to do. And I actually really like that. Because not every plant needs to be the superstar. Sometimes it's just about appreciating the individual expression standing in front of you. And Chem Brûlée Pheno A has absolutely earned her spotlight. So... let's give it to her. ❄️🌸💚 ──────────────────────── 🌸 Week 12 – The Beginning Of The Final Chapter We're now getting deeper into flowering. And this is where things start becoming particularly interesting. The plant is no longer building the same way she was earlier in the cycle. The structure is already established. The flowers are there. The leaves are there. The plant has spent weeks building herself. Now we're watching those flowers mature. And that's a very different process from simply watching a plant grow taller. At this point, subtle changes become much more important. The flowers change. The pistils change. The resin becomes more apparent. The plant's overall colour can begin to evolve. And eventually, the foliage begins telling us that the plant is moving toward the end of her journey. Chem Brûlée isn't finished. Not yet. But she's definitely beginning to show us that she's entering the later chapters. And that's exactly what I want to document. ──────────────────────── 💚 Still Green – And That's Okay One thing I really like about her right now is that she's still carrying plenty of green. Very green. Healthy-looking. Functional. Beautiful. And I think this is worth talking about because sometimes growers see a plant changing colours late in flower and immediately assume something is wrong. And sometimes... it's simply the plant progressing. The important thing is context. A plant doesn't suddenly become unhealthy because some leaves eventually begin changing colour. At the same time, colour changes shouldn't automatically be ignored either. You have to look at the whole plant. Are the flowers developing? Is the foliage generally healthy? Is the plant continuing its normal progression? Are the changes gradual or sudden? Are there other signs suggesting an actual problem? Those questions matter much more than simply: "Green = good." "Yellow = bad." Plants are more complicated than that. 😂🌿 And Chem Brûlée is still looking very much like a plant that has plenty of working green tissue supporting her final flowering development. ──────────────────────── 🌸 What's Happening With The Hairs? One of the easiest things to notice as flowering progresses is the changing colour of the pistils. Earlier in flower, many of those little hairs are bright white. Fresh. New. Standing proudly away from the developing flowers. As the flowers mature, those pistils naturally begin changing. Some start turning cream. Some become yellowish. Others move toward orange, amber or darker tones. They can curl inward. They can become less prominent. And gradually, the flowers start looking more mature. That's exactly the kind of progression we're beginning to see here. And this is another reason I love documenting the same plant week after week. If you only saw her today, you'd simply see: "Beautiful flowering plant." But because we've photographed her throughout the journey... we can actually see the transition. The fresh white pistils from earlier weeks. The developing flowers. The increasing frost. And now... the gradual change in colour and structure. It's the plant moving through her natural timeline. ──────────────────────── ❄️ But Don't Use Pistil Colour Alone And here's an important point. Pistil colour by itself isn't a perfect indicator of maturity. Those hairs can change for different reasons. They can be affected by natural flower development. They can curl and darken as the flowers mature. They can also be damaged or physically disturbed. So I'm not looking at one orange hair and saying: "That's it! We're done!" 😂 No. We're looking at the entire plant. The flowers. The resin. The overall development. The foliage. The progression over time. The plant is the complete picture. One little hair is only one pixel. And we've got the whole photograph to look at. ──────────────────────── 🌸 The Bud Formation Is Changing Too And this is probably the part I'm enjoying the most right now. The flowers are becoming increasingly defined. What started as individual flowering sites has developed into recognizable, substantial flower structures. Now we're watching those structures mature. The flowers are becoming more established. The pistils are changing. The resin is becoming increasingly visible. And the overall appearance is beginning to move from: "developing flowers" toward: "maturing flowers." That's a beautiful transition to watch. And Chem Brûlée is doing it in her own particular way. She's not trying to produce the biggest flowers in the room. She's not trying to outdo every other phenotype. She's simply building what she is capable of building. And honestly? That's exactly what I wanted from this experiment. ──────────────────────── ❄️ The Frost Is Still Doing The Talking If there's one thing this girl continues to do exceptionally well... it's shine under the camera. 😂📸❄️ The frost is beautiful. The closer you get to those flowers, the more obvious the resin becomes. The sugar leaves are carrying their own little layer of sparkle. The flowers are becoming increasingly textured. And this is where Chem Brûlée starts becoming much more interesting than a simple full-plant photograph can show. From a distance? A normal beautiful plant. Move closer? Oh... there she is. 😂❄️ The macro world tells another story. And I absolutely love that. ──────────────────────── 🌿 Leaves Are Changing Too – But Slowly The foliage is also beginning to tell us that we're getting deeper into the cycle. But again... we're not seeing some dramatic overnight transformation. And that's exactly how I like it. Plants don't necessarily go from: "Perfectly green" to "Finished" in one afternoon. The transition can be gradual. Some older leaves may begin changing colour. Some may fade more than others. Some areas remain green longer. And that's normal variation within a living plant. Meanwhile, the healthy green foliage that's still functioning continues doing its job. Capturing light. Supporting photosynthesis. Supporting the plant. And that's why I'm not interested in forcing the plant to fade simply because we're approaching the end. We're observing. We're allowing the plant to tell us where she is. And Chem Brûlée is telling us: "Not finished yet." 😂🍮🌿 Message received. ──────────────────────── ⚗️ And This Is Why We're Starting To Reduce The Base Now we come to another important change this week. We're beginning to reduce the base flowering nutrition. The Terra Bloom base has now come down from: 2.3 ml/L to: 🌸 2.0 ml/L And the EC has followed that reduction. We're now sitting around: ⚡ EC — 2.05 mS/cm This is a change I'm making gradually. And there's a reason for that. I personally don't like working with mineral nutrition by going from: "Full programme" to "Absolutely nothing" overnight. 😂 That's simply not how I prefer to transition these plants. We're approaching the final few weeks, so instead of slamming the brakes on immediately, I'm beginning to reduce the base gradually. A little less. Observe. A little less when the plant tells us it's appropriate. Observe again. It's a progression rather than a cliff. ──────────────────────── 🌿 Why Reduce Gradually? For me, this is about transitioning the plant rather than pretending there is a magic switch called: "FINISH." 😂 There isn't. The plant doesn't wake up one morning and receive a notification saying: "Congratulations! You have entered Final Week Mode." 🌸📱😂 The plant is still alive. Still functioning. Still developing. Still using resources. So I prefer a gradual transition as we approach the end. We're reducing the mineral base rather than suddenly cutting everything to zero. That gives us a little more control over the transition and allows us to continue observing how the plant responds. And that's important. Because every phenotype can move through this stage slightly differently. Chem Brûlée is telling us she's getting closer. She's not telling us she's finished. So we're listening. ──────────────────────── 💧 The Plant Still Gets The Final Vote This remains one of the most important principles of the entire 8×8 Adventure. We can have a schedule. We can have a feeding chart. We can have numbers. We can have expectations. But the plant gets the final vote. Chem Brûlée is showing: 🌸 Matured flower development ❄️ Increasing resin ? Changing pistil colour 🌿 Gradual foliage changes 💚 Plenty of healthy green still present That's information. And we respond to the information. Not simply to the calendar. That's the difference between following a schedule blindly and actually observing the plant. ──────────────────────── 💡 The Photon Experiment Continues The lighting environment remains the same as the rest of the 8×8 Adventure. The two additional Future of Grow Black Series 600W fixtures are still part of the setup. We're controlling them at approximately: 🔌 59% power from the plug. And we're seeing around: ☀️ 1,500 PPFD across the upper canopy. Again... that's the upper canopy. The plant is three-dimensional. Different flowers sit at different heights. Different leaves receive different amounts of direct light. And the deeper parts of the plant naturally experience a different light environment. That's exactly what we're observing. More lighting capability. Controlled output. Strong photons. And twelve different plants deciding what to do with them. Chem Brûlée is making her answer increasingly visible. ──────────────────────── 💚 More Light Doesn't Change Who She Is This is something I really love about the 8×8 experiment. We changed the lighting capability. We increased the available photons. We adjusted the output. And yet... Chem Brûlée is still Chem Brûlée. 😂 Her genetics still determine her structure. Her flower formation. Her proportions. Her pace. Her personality. The environment gives her opportunities. Her genetics decide how she interprets those opportunities. And that's why I keep coming back to the phrase: Same room. Different answer. That's the whole experiment. ──────────────────────── 🌸 The Final Weeks Are About Watching As we approach the final part of the flowering journey, my role becomes increasingly observational. We're not trying to rebuild her. We're not trying to change her architecture. We're not trying to make her become another phenotype. We're watching. Looking at the flowers. Looking at the resin. Looking at the pistils. Looking at the foliage. Watching the colour transition. Watching the overall plant. And making small adjustments when the plant tells us they make sense. That's it. The heavy lifting was earlier. Now the plant is writing the final pages. ──────────────────────── 📸 The Camera Is Capturing The Transition And this is where the photographs become particularly valuable. Because colour changes can be subtle. A pistil today might look almost identical to the pistil last week. But put the photographs side by side... and suddenly: There it is. The flowers have matured. The pistils have changed. The structure has become more substantial. The resin has increased. The plant is moving. That's why these individual diaries matter. We're not just creating a gallery. We're creating a timeline. And Chem Brûlée Pheno A has given us a beautiful timeline to follow. ──────────────────────── 🔬 Same Room – Different Finish Lines This is becoming especially interesting now. The twelve girls are sharing the same room. Same general environment. Same lighting philosophy. Same irrigation system. Same overall nutrition strategy. And yet... they are not all reaching the same stage at the same speed. Some are moving faster. Some are slower. Some have more white pistils. Some have more coloured pistils. Some are changing foliage earlier. Some are staying very green. Some flowers are denser. Some structures are more open. And that's not a problem. That's the experiment. The genetics are giving us twelve different timelines. And Chem Brûlée Pheno A is writing hers. ──────────────────────── 🍮 She's Not The Star Of The Room... And that's okay. I said it last week and I'll say it again. She's not necessarily the prettiest girl in the room. She's not the ugliest either. She's just... beautiful. Normal. Balanced. Individual. And I think there's something really nice about that. Because when you grow enough plants, you start realizing that beauty isn't always about having the biggest flowers or the most spectacular structure. Sometimes it's simply the plant's character. And Chem Brûlée has character. She has her own look. Her own flowering style. Her own rhythm. And now she's entering the final part of her journey. That's worth celebrating. ──────────────────────── 🌿 The 8×8 Lesson Continues If this project has taught me anything, it's that the plants don't read the same script. 😂 We can provide the same environment. The same equipment. The same care. The same room. And they'll still do completely different things. That's exactly why I'm enjoying the final weeks so much. Now we're seeing those differences become even more obvious. The way they mature. The way their flowers develop. The way their pistils change. The way their foliage ages. The way each phenotype approaches the end. That's where the real personality starts showing. And Chem Brûlée Pheno A? She's starting to whisper: "Okay... we're getting there." 😂🍮 ──────────────────────── 🌡️ Week 12 – Current Room Conditions The room continues running under the current 8×8 setup. The latest base adjustment has brought the EC slightly lower: • 🌡️ Day Temperature: approximately 26.5–27°C • 🌙 Night Temperature: approximately 25–26°C • 💧 Relative Humidity: around 60–61% • 🥥 Substrate Temperature: around 25–26°C • 💦 Nutrient Solution Temperature: around 25°C • ⚗️ pH: approximately 6.0 • ⚡ EC: approximately 2.05 mS/cm • 💨 CO₂: approximately 693 ppm • 💡 Light Schedule: 12/12 • 💧 Irrigation: around 1.4–1.45 L/plant/24h • 🌱 Pot Size: 15 L • 💡 Upper Canopy: approximately 1,500 PPFD • 🔌 Future of Grow fixtures: approximately 59% power from the plug The room remains stable. The lighting remains strong. And the plants continue moving at their individual rhythms. ──────────────────────── 🔮 Looking Ahead – The Finish Is Getting Closer We're entering that interesting period where the end is no longer some distant idea. It's starting to become visible. Chem Brûlée still has development ahead of her. But the changes are becoming increasingly obvious. The pistils are changing. The flowers are maturing. The resin is becoming more pronounced. The foliage is slowly beginning to tell a different story. And now we're beginning to reduce the base nutrition gradually. Not because we're declaring: "That's it." But because we're approaching the final part of the journey. And I want to transition into that stage gradually. No sudden cliff. No dramatic switch. Just another little step in the story. ──────────────────────── ❤️ Final Thoughts – Still Shining Week 12. And Chem Brûlée Pheno A is still doing exactly what she has been doing. Growing. Flowering. Developing. Shining. And slowly... maturing. She's not the most spectacular plant in the room. She's not the least spectacular either. She's simply Chem Brûlée Pheno A. And that's enough. The flowers are becoming more mature. The pistils are beginning to change colour. The resin is becoming increasingly obvious. The foliage is still carrying plenty of beautiful green. And now we're beginning to make the first small reduction in the mineral base. Terra Bloom: 2.3 ml/L ➡️ 2.0 ml/L EC: ~2.14 ➡️ ~2.05 mS/cm Nothing dramatic. Just a gradual transition. Because I don't like going from everything to nothing overnight. I prefer to listen. Reduce. Observe. And allow the plant to tell me how she's progressing. That's the way I like to approach these final weeks. And Chem Brûlée? She's talking. 😂🍮🌸 She's saying: "I'm getting there." So let's keep watching. Let's keep photographing. Let's keep those photons flying. Let's keep giving her the environment she needs. And let's see how this beautiful, completely individual phenotype writes the final pages of her story. 🍮❄️🌸💚 Let her shine. ──────────────────────── 🙏 Thank You A huge thank you to Zamnesia for giving us the opportunity to explore these Chem Brûlée genetics and follow this individual phenotype through the entire 8×8 Adventure. Thank you to Plagron for supporting the garden throughout this journey and providing the nutritional foundation behind this flowering cycle. A massive thank you to Future of Grow for the Black Series lighting powering our artificial sun and especially for providing the two additional Black Series 600W fixtures that we've been testing in this room. The additional lighting has given us more capability, more control and another fascinating variable to observe across these twelve different plants. Thank you to Lumiflora for helping bring additional light deeper into the canopy and allowing us to think about lighting as a three-dimensional environment. Thank you to TrolMaster for helping us monitor and manage the room behind the scenes. And of course... thank you to everyone following the 8×8 Adventure here on GrowDiaries. Every week we get a little closer. Every week the girls become a little more themselves. And now we're entering one of the most interesting parts of the entire journey. The final development. The changing colours. The maturing flowers. The increasing resin. The gradual transition. And the moment when each phenotype finally tells us: "This is who I became." Chem Brûlée Pheno A isn't there yet. But she's getting closer. She's still green. She's still beautiful. She's still building. And she's still shining. 🍮❄️🌸💚 So we'll keep doing what we do. Observe. Document. Provide. Adjust when necessary. And let the plant write the story. Because the best part of this entire adventure has always been discovering what happens when we stop trying to make the plants behave the same... and simply let them show us who they are. Until next week... Keep shining, Chem Brûlée. We're watching. Growers Love, happy growing, and take care everyone! 🌱💚🍮❄️ See you next week in the 8×8 jungle. 🌿🔥