Day 22–23 – Pre-flower kicking in 🌸
Day 22: Watered all plants with plain Lauretana water, no nutrients, alternating with last feed. They're drinking more now, a good sign the stretch is near. Royal Jack tops are showing pistils, and the Atlas girls have a few white hairs at the nodes too. The replacement is small but growing steadily.
Day 23: Topped up the pots with some fresh soil. The two Atlas are bushy and flat thanks to LST, deep green, with pistils popping at the nodes and no tip burn or yellowing. Royal Jack stays compact but healthy. The replacement now has true leaves and a nice colour.
Next step: a feed once the pots feel light again, starting the transition with a lower dose of Easy Grow and a half dose of Easy Bloom. The light goes up gradually we are now at 75%. LST wires stay, but no new bends from here on.
Day 25: Pre-flower is fully underway. Both Atlas girls are covered in white pistils on every top, and the LST has kept the canopy flat and even, so the stretch should start any day now. Leaves are deep green with clean tips, a sign the last feed was plenty. The Royal Jack is opening up at the top and showing its first hairs. It stays compact, but it looks healthy. The replacement is pushing out new serrated leaves and growing steadily.
No watering today, since the pots still had some weight after the plain-water round and the fresh topsoil. Next up is a transition feed set for tomorrow: low Easy Grow with a half dose of Easy Bloom. LST wires stay in place, with no more bending from here on. I crease the light to 80%.
I did a light defoliation. I removed a few small, shaded leaves and some tiny inner shoots from the lower part, so more air moves through and the plants put their energy into the tops
Day 26: was feeding day. The girls got 0.5 g Easy Grow, 1 ml Bigger Flowers, 0.4 ml Thicker Flowers and a drop of Supervit per litre, to support them through the stretch and the start of flowering.
The Mars Hydro is now at 80%, right on schedule for this week, with the LED still at 35–40 cm from the tops. They're deep in pre-flower: both Atlas are covered in white pistils and the Royal Jack is opening up at the top. The replacement keeps growing slowly but healthy, today I noticed first signs of stretch, so I'll keep an eye on the distance from the light. Plan for week 5 (from Oct 18): go to 90% and then 100%, raise the LED to 40–45 cm, and do a second light defoliation around Oct 19–20 to open the canopy for the new bud sites. Next watering is plain water.