March 10 - 17, 2025
Lots of activity and growth in the tent this week.
After resolving two run away events with the Blumat system and the carrots in Anastasia and Carol Anne that I think are finally resolved.
Anastasia’s moisture curve is between 90 - 110 mbar. And the other two are also stable.
They are going through about 1/4 of a gravity feed 5 gallon bucket mounted 5 ft above the soil and outside the tent for easy access.
I am now mixing a bucket batch with 2.5 gallons of plain RO water ph leveled to 5.8 with an average temperature in the low 60 degrees.
I am still using the 10 part - General Hydroponic nutrient line feed chart on week 4+ moderate feed and am mixing into two gallons on RO water with an average temperature of 60ish.
Using the following nutrients in the exact order which is important to follow to avoid mixing issues.
2 gallons fresh Reverse Osmosis filtered water with a base zero EC level.
Silica = 5ml
Calmag = about 4ml
General Hydroponics Flora Series 3 part nutrients:
FloraMicro = about 11ml
FloraGro = about 14ml
FloraBloom = about 8ml
Additives:
- General Hydroponics FloraBlend = a out 10ml
- General Hydroponics Floralicious Plus = 3ml
- House & Garden HGDPC002 Drip Clean = 8ml
Last step is to level ph to 5.8
My nutrient batch ends up at 5.8 ph with an EC level of 2.0 at about 60 degrees f.
I then pour the 2 gallon nutrient mix into the 2.5 gallons of plain RO water to dilute the solution per sustainable village blumat system recommendations.
The final batch usually requires a final ph spot check and minor adjustments.
So far the planned schedule based on a current 4 day depletion rate will be to start with s fresh mixed batch as mentioned above.
When the bucket level reaches 3/4 empty i replenish the bucket to 1/2 full using plain RO water ph leveled to 5.8.
Then top off the bucket with another 2 gallons of nutrient rich mix as mentioned above.
This increases the EC level to about 1.25.
Then on the second reservoir depletion I will let the bucket drain to close to the empty level without letting it go dry.
After the 2nd replenishment is almost gone i will do a 3 gallon hand watering with a mix of Real Growers Recharge - Mycorrhizae Instant Compost Tea/Soil Microbes mixed into each 1 gallon poured into each pot. This achieves 3 things, the first are the obvious benefits of better nutrient intake. It also allows for a good drain to waste to help flush salt buildups. Lastly it saturates the pot moisture levels down to the low 70-80mbar range and essentially temporarily deactivates the blumat system and prolongs the call for water and nutrients from the reservoir for an extra 12-24 hours until the pots dry out to the blumat carrots calibrated settings of about 110-120 mbar.
I will have to adjust as I switch to flower but overall, now that the blumat system is dialed in and I understand it better I find tat it is very effective at keeping the tent environment more stable ad efficient. The plants seem happy as shit and maintain
Ing a reservoir with a bi weekly hand watering flush is so much better than my old ways of mixing 2-3 gallon nutrient batches and hand watering/feeding and dry vacuuming it all up every two days is way better and less wastefull and more sustainable.
So far It appears it was worth the investment and the test of my time and patience.
The week was also full of a few defoliation snd lollipoping with plenty of scrog net low stress training to continue to fill out the canopy.
Drizzella (right) is still stealing the show and dominating her presence in the tent with 30-40 potential cola points.
Anastasia (left) is smaller than her sister but is responding well to all the LST and defoliation. DD he has significantly less potential cola points, but her fan leaves are larger but also softer or more silky feeling.
Carol Anne (middle) continues to be a short stubborn and mesmerizing cultivar. She resembles a head of lettuce and is so strikingly different than her two cousins.
I rounded out the week with continued VPD monitoring to maintain about 1 kpa with an average leaf temp offset of -3 degrees.
I then pulled the Vivosun Aerolight 150SE led light from my smaller and currently dormant 3x3 tent and installed it in the 3x5 tent.
Even though the AC infinity Ionboard is doing the job on its own. I added the second light for better light distribution across the tent as I was getting good DLi levels in the 30s in the middle of the tent but it tapered off to low 20s near the walls.
After adding the second light I am now achieving PPFD rates of 500-600 and DLI levels in the low 30s from wall to wall and i think it will make a good impact on growth and a more efficient tent environment as The added circulation from the built in fan on the light, as well as increased heat generated from the lights is demanding less from the heaters.