Aug 3: still going strong starting the third week of flowering. I’m putting her in the garage at 9 pm, doing the 730 nm far red light to put plant into dark mode 2 h faster, and then out of garage at 7 am. So 10+ 2 h is 12 h dark and 14 h daylight or a 26 h day. The far red light definitely works as a bloom booster and helps the plants finish faster when the sun is stronger.
Did morning foliar spray of Extreme Blend and potassium silicate.
Aug 4: always some defoliation to be done and I took out all the small stuff that was growing into the centre. If I had a longer season I could have left some of these small branches but I want the energy directed toward the prime bud sites. Also removing leaves makes it more stable in the wind. Yet another growing trade-off.
Aug 5: she looks great coming out of the dark garage this morning. Lots of colas with lots of buds 👍👍
Aug 6: added UV lights from AC Infinity. This far north we run out of strong sunlight before it gets too cold in the fall. By adding UV lights, this will make Edmonton in September seem like California in July.
Along with genetics, UV light is the main factor controlling trichome and THC production. Adding UV light for a couple of hours per day centred at peak sun (currently 1:39 pm) should help a lot this far north.
At the other end of the light spectrum, I use Forever Green Indoor (FGI) 730 nm far red light. This is the third season using the far red light as a bloom booster and it definitely works. A few seconds at dusk is all it takes to put the plant into dark mode two hours faster, and is like getting a 26 h day. Bud ripen earlier and therefore under stronger sun. Both of these lights are low power LED used for a few hours (UV) or just a few seconds (far red). Gotta love science and technology when it allows us to figure this kind of out.