Welcome to my grow blog for my first cannabis plant. I am growing a clone from a strain called "New Englamd Lights". The plant is supposed to be an indica heavy hybrid. Here I'l share updates, photos, and notes here. Day 1 marks the day I picked up the clone, already 3-4 weeks old. After years of reading, I'm finally diving into the grow process. This journey started with the plant riding shotgun in the '05 Prius, radio on, and windows down... ready to change the world one bud at a time...
I'm running 80* with 65% humidity in early flower to balance VPD. I'll monitor and adjust as needed. As flowering progresses, I'll lower humidity to prevent mold and bud rot.
Continued SCROG, keeping the canaopy as even as posssible.
Considering trimming smaller branches in the center to redirect energy to larger branches with more bud sites. Will decide in the next couple of days based on growth.
Sprayed with neem and water before dark cycle.
Feed Schedule this week:
Day 1 (Feed):
Silica: Recommended dosage (adds strength to plant cell walls and stress tolerance; add first)
Big Bloom: 3 tsp (organic base nutrient to promote healthy roots and growth)
Tiger Bloom: 1 tsp (high-phosphorus fertilizer for flowering and fruiting)
Grow Big: 1 tsp (nitrogen-rich nutrient for strong, leafy growth during early stages)
Bembe: 1 tsp (a blend of sugars to feed beneficial microbes and enhance flavor)
Great White: 1/2 tsp (microbes to improve root health and nutrient uptake)
Day 3 (Water Only):
Plain, pH-balanced water
Day 5 (Feed):
Silica: Recommended dosage (add first)
Big Bloom: 2 tsp
Tiger Bloom: 1.5 tsp
Grow Big: 0.5 tsp
Bembe: 1 tsp
Microbe Brew: 2 tsp (feeds soil microbes to enhance nutrient cycling and soil structure)
Day 7 (Water Only):
Plain, pH-balanced water
Day 35 (11/20/24):
Run off test notes:
EC - 1004 and PPM 432
These numbers are lower than last feeding meaning that the plant is using them faster than I am giving them.
pH 6.7.
Will measure again tomorrow since this is on the higher end. The nute mix I gave below measured pH 6.1, so might bring it down.
With the readings above I felt confident feeding the same as 2 day ago: 1 gallon w/ 3 tsp Big Bloom, 2 tsp Grow Big, 1 tsp Tiger Bloom all Fox Farms. 1 tsp TPS silica.
For the nutrient trio I'm using the suggest EC in week five to be 2,200-2,900 and PPM 1250-1450. Nutrients build up over time and my low numbers are from lack of feeding due to starting with the Gai Green fertilizer which is slow release.
Flip to flower date is likely going to be pushed, I want to ensure it has the proper nutrients before starting that phase.
While all the numbers indicate I need to be feeding a lot more, I'm still a bit nervous that I overfed today. Should see if that is the case in the next 48 hours.
Readjusted SCROG, filling in nicely. Waiting for a couple more days of growth to reweave.
Day 33 (11/18/24):
Over the weekend, I moved the plant to the basement to prep for flowering... poof! A 3x3 tent and 400W light appeared like magic.
The old 2.7x2.7 tent now has the 150W and 200W lights. Ready to handle seedlings, clones, and veg duty. I will be starting Blueberry Sunset seeds in about 6 weeks.
Brewer would not lay on the cold ground, so I needed to bring a bed downstairs for the king.
Other notes:
Fed 1 gallon w/ 3 tsp Big Bloom, 2 tsp Grow Big, 1 tsp Tiger Bloom all Fox Farms. 1 tsp TPS silica.
Fed half dose 4 days ago to test the reaction. So I went full dose today hoping the plant handles it okay.
Tested runoff:
546 PPM (Parts per million)
1161 EC (electrical conductivity measured in µs/cm)
pH 6.2
PPM and EC measure nutrient concentration in water. High levels indicate more nutrients, but excessive amounts can cause nutrient burn. My readings are really low, as I've been avoiding overfeeding while letting the plant grow naturally. With flowering approaching, I'm gradually increasing the nutrients.
Pretty heavy defoliation after trellis went up and starting SCROG.
Goal is to pull and weave the branches out as far as possible. This gives the smaller growth access to light to catch up.
Trellis on:
Defoliated and stetched/weaved:
Day 31 (11/16/24):
Trellis goes up tomorrow to start a technique called SCROG (Screen of green).
Every day or two you weave new growth into the trellis. This keeps an even canopy before flower.
Still unsure exactly when I will be flipping to flower, but I'm geussing this week.
4 weeks of veg is usually when people flower, but not a hard stop. I want to get a little more growth and try out SCROG.
Will be putting the tent in the basement. Not because of smell, the carbon filter is amazing. I am running out of space in my office. I built a platform down there to keep it off the ground.
Filled self watering pot, about a quarter empty. Half gallon water w/ 5ml Fox Farms Grow Big and 2.5ml Tiger Bloom.
This girl is thicker than a bowl of oatmeal:
Filling in nicely after haircut:
Expert craftsmanship:
Happy anniversary to the love of my life. No matter what life brings you are always loving, caring, supportive and always awesome. Love you!
Day 29 (11/14/24):
pH run off was 6.3 today (range: 6-7).
Fed 1/4 gallon of water with 1.25ml of Fox Farms CalMag and 1ml TPS Silica gold. Basin in self watering pot is already about halfway gone.
Silica strengthens plants, improving cell walls for better stress resistance and sturdier growth.
First big defoliation during vegatative stage. Girl got her hair cut.
This helps neaten up the plant, but also in this stage I want to redirect as much energy as possible to the nodes where buds will form.
This means trimming big fan leaves that hang low and just drain energy. These same leaves also block light, stunting growth in other node sites. So
I also ended up topping that branch that was broken and almost healed. This will allow other parts of the plant to catch up and potentially create 2 new branches.
Next step will be to put the trellis net up and then start to weave new growth into the net. I could do this now, but I am thinking another week of the training I'm doing now.
Before Defoliating:
After Defoliating:
Also made this sick pot that combines bars for LST, a lazy susan to spin the plant and the selfwatering pot. PS plant is droopy after being out of the tent for 30 mins and watering. Should pop back tomorrow, if not I will let it dry out before next hand water.
Day 27 (11/12/24):
Another day, another plant tie. Moved LST ties and tied down anything new.
Neem oil on last night, no issues with sun spots. Will apply again in 3-5 days as I did a light dose. Also found a lady bug in the house, straight in the tent. They eat pests, but not your plant.
Ditched my beloved tomato cage.
Was saying to my brilliant wife that it's hard to get to the back and I need to reach or rotate the plant. Annie said "why don't you put it on a lazy Susan"? Best idea ever.
Diatomaceous earth (DE) powder on soil tonight. Went to Target and bought my first enema to use as a homemade duster to apply.
DE: fine powder made from the fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of algae. It's often used as a natural pesticide because its tiny, sharp particles can damage the exoskeletons of insects, causing them to dehydrate and die.
Still waiting for a consistent nutrient schedule. Leaves seem to be super dark and slightly clawing at the end. This can be an early sign of too much nitrogen.
Talked about water yesterday. I noticed today that the self-watering reservoir was very close to empty.
I filled that 7 days ago and it holds 1.3 gallons... So not only is the pot doing its job, but this plant is thirsty!
I now have a small, yet growing plant pharmacy...
While fixing the splint, I knicked a little growth. Not enough to clone, but I stuck it in some soil. Probs by tomorrow.
Break from yesterday almost healed completely. I took the splint off to check and to apply aloe. Now that it is stronger than yesterday, I readjusted the splint. I expect it to be 100% tomorrow.
Healing Break:
Plant Pharmacy:
Day 26 (11/11/24):
Did a good amount of LST last night. Pics below of after training last night and what it looked like this morning. It's crazy how much the plant grows and corrects in just a day.
I need to pick up watering. After extensive reading, I may be starving this poor plant a little.
The plant has looked healthy and overwatering is a common rookie mistake. A plant this size could be doing a gallon+ every few days.
I'm going to slowly ramp up starting with 32 ouces today. I don't want to shock the plant with too much at once.
More white spots.
From pictures online, it's likely thrips. A small amount like I may have is easy to take care of. I will spray neem tree oil on the plant at bedtime.
Natural petiscide from neem plant. It works by disrupting insect hormones, preventing feeding and reproduction for pests like aphids, spider mites, and thrips.
White spots can also be sign of calcium and magnesium deficiency. CalMag can be given anytime in veg stage and a lot of growers do weekly.
Watered 32oz today with 1.5ml Fox Farms CalMag.
Tried to train an offshoot that was almost touching the tent to the side.
Went to far and had a sizable crack. Splinting it now. I was either going to have to top it or train it, so either outcome is okay!
After training last night:
This morning:
Splint:
Thrips:
Day 24 (11/9/24):
New Humidifier is so much more consistent and efficient. VPD has been more consistent, even during dark periods
I changed my duct fan triggers to below:
Max Speed Trigger for temp over 80* or humidity over 59%
During dark period, this allows for the duct fan to pull the humiditiy out to keep VPD low. If it corrects too much, the humidifier is set on stand by to bring it back to 1.0
Chart below show how much more consistent the VPD has been since the new humidifer. Old = Purple and New = Green
Other Notes:
Soil test via runoff: 6.4 pH
16 oz water
Adjusted lights up a little bit for easier access to the plant. Extra distance required me to raise light intensity to 50% from 35%. PPFD still ~580
Starting to see what may be some nutrient burn. It doesn't seem to be affeecting the ends of the leaves where it shows from pictures I've seen.
Poor research on my end, Fox Farms soil doens't typically need nutes until 30 days after potting. I did it on day 19.
Day 21 (11/6/24):
Big updates today!
Remodified the modified tomato cage. Gives me more anchors and space around the plant.
New 200w light daisy chained w/ 150w. 350w total, which is more light than this tent needs/can handle at full strength. Details on reasoning below.
200w light purchase (yes, I needed it Annie!)
(Plus the 150w will be useful when I get a second tent for seedlings and veg)
Suffecient wattage for flowering needs to be 30-50w/sq. ft. Tent is 7.1sq. ft - meaning my original 150w light = 21.1w/sq. ft
With 350w maxed out we reach 49.3w/sq. ft.
This presents new challenges to keep the VPD consistent as the additional light creates more heat.
For reference, the 150w was set to 80% intensity. With both lights, they are now set down to 35% and a bit closer.The lower intensity puts off less heat, allowing for easier contorl over VPD by adjusting humidity.
PPFD now ~ 600
New humidifier
Will provide the automation that this set up has been lacking.
VPD has been pretty consistent between .8 and 1.2 (optimal range for veg. stage), but some fluctuations during night and the hottest part of the day. This humidifier will correct this... Lesson: I should have bought this one first, it's cheaper than the one I'm running now and is designed for this application.
Branch break(ing) report: Spliced the end of the branch after it did not heal. Looks to be growing into two different branches. No node/leaves yet. Hoping it fully recovers into two new branches.
Day 19 (11/4/24):
Added a bent tomato cage to use as tie downs for LST.
I think I am pushing the branches too hard. I saw a slight crack in the center stalk while adjusting ties today. Got aloe and put it on the center and the area of the break.
As we saw, the broken branch did not make it. Lesson for next time: be careful and if it's a close to clean break, just clone. The splint is a long shot.
Other notes:
PPFD ~560.
Topdressed 1 tablespoon of Gai Green all purporse fertilizer. Took 16oz of soil and nutes, mixed in a paper bag and spread evently.
6 oz of tap, all over for nutrient purposes. Water in self watering pot filled (about half way down).
Other plants removed, spacing issue (sorry mom!).
Day 17 (11/2/24):
First minor setback today. While moving my LST ties, I tugged too hard and had close to a clean break.
Teflon tape and a toothpick to splint it. Since it was close to a clean break, I'm not too optimistic about it recovering.
I could have made a clone, but I want to see if this remedy will work. From reading online, it's 50/50 and plant-specific.
While it's a bummer, it's still relatively early in the vegetative stage, and the plant will be fine overall.
I've read that if the leaves continue to wilt a day after the splint is in place, it's likely done. It's been ~5 hours since the pics below, and I see no additional wilting.
Also, remember when I said I was not going to try to FIM or top? I couldn't resist... Tried it here yesterday, will monitor growth.
Day 15 (10/31/24):
Soil pH measured at 6.4 via slurry method. Range is 6-7
Good pH range helps with nutrient intake
Will continue to monitor pH weekly or at any sign of issues.
I decided to leave the plant as is and not top or FIM. The LST is working well; for my first grow, I want to focus on a healthy plant.
LST providing good light exposure across the plant.
Keeping humidity consistent during dark cycle has been a struggle. Optimal VPD for vegetative growth is between .8 and 1.2.
VPD has dropped as low as .5 while lights are off, usually for an hour towards the end of the dark cycle.
Tried several humidifier cycles. I started with 1 hour on/off. The VPD continued to be low by the end of the dark time.
Below are charts from the Vivosun app, showing RH/VPD/Temp for 10/30 - 10/31.
Exported to .csv to show these numbers for dark time (8p - 2a)
Mean VPD: 0.85 kPa, with fluctuations mostly between 0.7 kPa and 1.1 kPa.
45 min cycle for the humidifier seems to be the sweet spot, but will continue to monitor.
Day 14 (10/30/24):
Happy Birthday Annie!
Day 13 (10/29/24):
Plant growth is really ramping up. I retied the stems to continue the spread of the canopy.
Last picture looks like I could top or FIM there. Reading online shows that typically LST and topping/FIMing are used exclusiely. Will continue to read up on this subject.
Lowered light a bit to push up the PPFD to ~550 micromoles per square meter per second.
Gave 6oz of tap water. Tap was measured with a pH of 6.4 today.
Tomorrow: Test PH in soil. Run off method looks easier than slurry method, but I am not giving the plant that much water right now.
Day 12 (10/28/24):
LST is working well. Even in one day, we see the plant starting to grow upward. I need to move the ties further to the end of each stem so that they continue to grow out, not up.
Some of these look like they can be topped or FIMed, I am doing more research and may try tomorrow.
Day 11 (10/27/24):
As the plant gains height, I am going to start low stress training (LST) to fill out the tent. The idea is to spread out the "top" of each stem, so when flower time happens, the light reaches the entire canaopy. Before and after LST set up from today.
Before:
After:
Day 9 (10/25/24):
Plant is fully recovered from overwater at this point. I have also introduced selfwatering pots that should help regulate the amount of water the plant takes. This will work until I switch to the flowering cycle, where the plant can drink more than 4L a day.
Plant growth is visibile each day. The plant seems like it was already topped or FIMed. There are 4 tops that are naturally spreading. I may try to FIM one more time as the vegitation continues in the next week.
Day 7 (10/23/24):
Just like any living thing, plants need some friends... I added a basil and rosemary plant to the tent. This will increase CO2 levels, which will help keep the tent more humid. Plus, who doesn't want fresh basil and rosemary all winter?
Day 6 (10/22/24):
To combat humidity fluctuations, I opted for a single room humidifer. The issue I ran into is the low capcity at 3L. To keep levels consitent, I was going through a full 4L in about 2 hours. I decided to build a reservior so I could fill less frequently.
Not wanting to get a valve or pump involved, I decided to use our friend gravity and set up a siphon from the reservoir.
The idea is to have the reservior slightly higher than the humidifier fill level. The water level then evens out at the same height in the reservior and humidifer.
After thorough testing outside to make sure it would not overflow and flood, I moved it inside next to the tent.
The second bin is a saftey next, if there was leak/but the weight is distributed evenly on a base.
The resevior bin is ~39L. To get the water level even with the humidifier, it is filled about half way. The extra 19.5 L (5.1 gallons) will allow me to refill the reservior ever 4-6 days instead of daily.
Days 3-5:
Plant is settling in I barely gave it any water per instructions from the grower. Growth is already happening about 7" tall today. At this point no PPFD was calculated.
After some reading and advice from reddit, I gave the plant ~ 9oz of water. I saw droopiness within an hour and then it bounced back the following morning.
After watering:
Day 2 (10/18/24):
32"x 32"x 63" Vivosun grow tent and plant was potted with Brewer's help.
