🌿 Week 11: Frosty Heights & Real Talk (Flower Week 6)
First off, apologies for the slight delay! Usually, I drop these updates on Monday, but I was out celebrating my 25th birthday yesterday and, well... let’s just say things got a little out of control, haha!
But I'm back in the tent now, and the girls didn't seem to mind the extra day of peace.
Welcome to Week 11. We are deep in the flowering phase (Week 6), and the tent is looking like a winter wonderland. But let’s keep it real – while the frost is insane, it hasn't been a "perfect" run since it’s my first experience with living soil. Here’s the honest breakdown.
🛠️ The Big Defoliation & Adjustments
The canopy got so thick that I had to perform one last major defoliation. I removed a significant amount of the large fan leaves that were shading the lower bud sites. It’s always a tough call this late in the game, but it was absolutely necessary to get that light penetration down to the secondary colas and improve RH.
Combined with raising the entire tent to save the tops from light stress, the environment is now much more balanced. If you look closely at some of the upper leaves, you can still see a bit of "tacoing" (curling edges) from the previous light intensity and buds on the top of the sweet spot are not very well bulked because of heat stress by light. I caught it likely and the "scars" remained.
🌱 Organic Struggles & Success
The "Autumn Fade" is hitting harder than I expected. The remaining fan leaves are yellowing quite aggressively. In living soil, this usually means the nitrogen is running low what I read as the plant focuses everything on the buds. I’m letting nature take its course, but I’ll keep an eye on it to make sure they have enough gas to reach the finish line.
• The Scrog Management: My canopy isn't perfectly level. I have a few "underdogs" getting shadowed by the main colas even after the defoliation. It’s a lesson for next time – I need to be even more aggressive with LST early on to keep everything in one uniform plane.
📊 Stats & Environment:
• Genetics: Banana Purple Punch Auto (FastBuds)
• Status: Bulking phase.
• RH: Dropped to 45%-40% – absolutely critical now to prevent any bud rot in these dense clusters.
• Temp: 22-26°C.
• Aroma: A heavy mix of tropical fruit sweets and gassy undertones.
It’s not a catalog grow, it’s a real grow. The "girls" are finishing strong despite the big hiccups.
Thanks for riding along with me growmies, one love! 💜🤜🏼🤛🏻
Wondrej