The Grow Awards 2026 🏆
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8/7 watered this morning. Cleaned out a lot of the fan leaves underneath the canopy. 8/5: tonight will be last feed, then planning on flushing for 2 weeks. Prelim. harvest date of about 8/21 given the estimates from Humboldt. Snuck in a couple minutes before the HPS turned on to get some better lighting pictures and a look at the trichomes. They’re basically all milky white. Some amber starting in the fuzz. 8/4: water this morning (should’ve been last night but plants did not appear to complain). 8/2: fed this morning. Smell is getting quite strong.
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Harvest Report – Runtz Automatic (Zamnesia Seeds) Final dry weight: 160g Grow setup: Indoor | Mars Hydro FC-3000 EVO | 10L pot | Plagron nutrients What an amazing result! This Runtz Auto truly delivered. The buds are super dense and hard, like little stones, and absolutely covered in sugary trichomes — they sparkle like they’ve been dusted with crystals. The aroma is strong, the structure is perfect, and visually this is top-shelf quality. Final dry weight came in at 160 grams, with the plant growing without any stress throughout the cycle. The genetics are truly impressive. Huge thanks to Zamnesia Seeds for this banger and to Plagron for consistent, reliable nutrition. This autoflower definitely earned a place in my top list!
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Week 6 and these girls got a scrog net added. As the plants are getting extremely heavy. Started to unfold an open up eagle spread style. So had to lend a helping hand. They got a scrog net added an the untrained plant got tied up from tents upper support bars an lower branches got some support also from the net. So far everything is going smoothly. The e680s light is putting in that work work
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D78. The second LED strip light arrived today, and I installed it to cover the right side of the tent. No clue if these sidelights will contribute much, but it's at least noticeably brighter in the lower canopy now. ------------------------------ D80. It looks like my campaign against the pesky thrips is successful. A few days ago, I could find both adults and larvae within seconds when scouting, but today it took me over five mins to find one single larva. Good riddance! ------------------------------ D83. Almost at the end of week six of flower, the girls are rocking it in the tent, getting fatter and smellier daily. I still haven't been able to find any thrips, so it looks like the lacewings were effective. The predatory mites that I also added are probably not necessary, but I wanna be sure all those pesky thrips are dead. There isn't anything to do in the tent now, and everything is running on autopilot, which is excellent as I'm going out of town tomorrow. I gave each girl 2.5 liters of water @ pH 6.3, with humic acid and FFJ. That'll hold them over until I'm home again in a couple of days. ------------------------------
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@Fa5Venom
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Plants are growing really fast just giving water when soil dry. Decided to top the big bud auto seems to be growing really fast. Was only going to lst because this is my first indoor grow and don’t want to fuck it up hahah. Not much else going on this week. One of the northern lights is tiny but I have faith in it
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@GizaWRZ
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O.Sherbert its have better structure of buds and better smell, high its diffrent then white widow but very positive 👍 O.S > W.W
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@CalGonJim
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1/12 4:14AM MONDAY!!!!!!!! CBG IS GOOD!1 LOWERD THE WATTAGE, EFFICIENCY IS GOOD. GREAT WHITE MYCO HAS INCREASED UPTAKE AND AND!!!! PHOTOSYNTHESIS EFFICIENCY ......FUCKING AWESOME 💪💪💪💪 1/12 4:47AM I asked GROK: are samsung leds on my mars hydro lights seem more efficient than the PPFD meter says, I lowered the lights again by a few watts? Yes, the **Samsung LM301H EVO diodes** in your Mars Hydro lights (likely an FC-E series like FC-E3000, FC-E4000, or similar) are among the most efficient horticultural LEDs available right now—individual diodes hit **3.14 μmol/J** efficacy, pushing the whole fixture to around **2.85–2.9 μmol/J** PPE (photosynthetic photon efficacy) in manufacturer specs and independent tests. That's top-tier for full-spectrum grow lights, meaning they convert more electrical power into usable plant photons than older diodes or cheaper LEDs. If they "seem more efficient than the PPFD meter says" (your plants thriving at lower wattage/height adjustments), that's actually common and not a contradiction—it's often the **real-world efficiency** shining through once nutes/stress are fixed. Here's why this happens and what your recent wattage drop (a few more watts lower) likely means: ### Why Samsung LM301H EVO Can "Seem" More Efficient Than Raw PPFD Readings Suggest - **High PPE + Uniform Distribution**: These diodes excel at producing photons in the PAR range (400–700nm) with minimal waste (heat/loss). Mars Hydro FC-EVOs achieve strong average PPFD (e.g., 750–1000+ μmol/m²/s in tests at recommended heights/power) with even spread—no hot spots wasting energy. When your nutes were suboptimal (Advanced Nutrients issues), plants couldn't fully use the light (wasted photons → stress, stretch, lower efficiency). Now dialed in (GH powder + aminos + mycos), they convert more of that PPFD into growth—making the light "feel" stronger/more efficient even if meter numbers stay the same or drop slightly. - **Meter Limitations & Calibration**: - Handheld PAR meters (especially cheap/older ones) can under-read full-spectrum LEDs like LM301H EVO (strong white + red enhancement). They often have poor spectral response to the exact mix, reading 10–30% low compared to pro tools (Apogee SQ-500) or calibrated apps. - If you're using an app like Photone (mentioned in your diary), it's generally more accurate for Samsung full-spectrum lights (especially on iPhone; Android varies but often close with diffuser/paper). Many growers report Photone matching or exceeding cheap handhelds on LM301H setups—sometimes showing higher effective PPFD than a basic meter implies. - Bottom line: Your plants are the ultimate meter. Thriving (miraculous growth, no burn/stress) at lower wattage means the effective usable PPFD is higher than a potentially under-reading meter suggests—efficiency win. ### Your Wattage Drop & What It Means Lowering by a few more watts (on top of the earlier ~10% drop) is smart and aligns with the efficiency gains: - Dimming on Mars Hydro FC series is **very linear**—tests show PPFD percentage tracks close to (or slightly above) the dimmer % because diodes run more efficiently at lower currents (less heat/loss). - Example: Dropping from 100% to 90% might only reduce PPFD by ~8–10%, not full 10%, due to that efficiency curve. - Your plants handling it (still "miraculously better") without stretch or pale leaves confirms the sweet spot: likely 450–650 μmol/m²/s veg/late veg range now, with room to push if pistils emerge. - Solar bonus: Every watt saved = less battery drain on cloudy days, cooler tent (less fan/AC draw), and more headroom for extra plants without spiking consumption. **Practical next steps**: - Recheck PPFD (if using Photone/handheld): Average multiple canopy spots at current height/power—aim 450–600 for late veg autos, 600–800 early flower. - Watch response: If nodes stay tight/dark green/no cupping, you can drop another 5% or lower height slightly for denser canopy. - Log kWh if your inverter shows it—track the drop to celebrate the savings. - If meter still "under-says" vs. plant performance, trust the plants more—Samsung EVOs are proven beasts when the rest of the grow is dialed. This is textbook optimization: nute fix → better photon use → lower power for same/better results → solar efficiency skyrockets. You're building a truly lean system. How low are you at now (e.g., 70–75W total?)? Any pistils or new growth explosions today? Keep the momentum—it's paying off big. 🥊🍌👨‍🔬🚨🌞 1/13/26 7:47AM BRUTAL WEEK FOR THE MOP AND BUCKET GUYS AT MUDRUROS COMPOUND 1/13, 11:22 AM banana purple punch auto RF three is doing really great. I haven’t really needed to do anything. I decided not to top. I didn’t want to do anything except light stress training. I think she’s gonna turn out just great. Her stock is one of the thickest. She’s just perfect.😍😍😍
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Realized when I setup the soil that I forgot to give it a good soak and allow to sit for 24 hours. It's just straight out of the bag and I feel like I'm not watering them enough.
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@Chubbs
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420 Fastbuds Amnesia Haze Auto Week 8 This week has been an interesting one to say the lease. It's been in the 100's in my grow tent even with air circulation. So I decided since my outdoor has been growing good I put them with um. Over all still watering straight well water 2 liters daily with no nutes. I do spray once a week for preventive maintenance with no issues. All in all Happy Growing.
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Continuing to water every other day/when dry. Watered with Real Growers Recharge on 5/12/22. New 200w led grow light came in and is looking great!
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This girl was a fast finisher harvested on day 46 of flower, nearly 7 full weeks.
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@Chubbs
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420Fastbuds TrainWreckAuto Week8 What up grow fam weekly update on these 2 gorgeous girls. Getting super hot in my tent as summer time is here. Over all besides some crispy leaf tips and having to water more frequently all is good.
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Top with new soil and recharged
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#3 has beautiful pink buds very happy with these girls, hopefully the other two show some colour as the Temperature comes down. Have swapped the 250 red CFL for a 150 blue. May turn it off for the last week to get every last bit of pink possible! Pots have a nice wet dry cycle, have tried to hold back and not over water so I've been watering with a spray bottle. I use a 1L hand spray bottle and fill it up three to four times depending on the weather. Although it seems impossible to overeater with the breathable fabric pots. Which are awesome if I haven't said already. Perfectly fit 11 in my small cupboard which is lucky as I ordered ten as soon as he free one arrived without measuring them! Stoners eyes never lie! 👁️ Buds should be huge if they keep going at this speed! Haven't topped them for the natural look, been a few years since I've done it can't wait to see a big fat cola bud at the end!
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I'm happy with the progress they have made, all have responded well to defoliation and LST. I'll be adding a few more light nutrients at some point this week. The gorilla zkittles is shorter than the rest but looks very sturdy and has plenty of bud showing already, I think this is because it started flowering maybe 7days before the rest and in them 7days the rest shot up rapidly! I'll update daily and try get some nice videos with lights out.