LET’S GROW
I am very excited about this grow. Thank you all for Growing Together!
Set-Up:
I have a new set-up for this grow. I down-sized into a Mars 4x2 Grow Tent and I am going to use one of the Mars SP-3000s to light it up. Be sure to check out my PAR test video and my Grow Light Physics Video featuring the SP-3000.
I am still setting it up, but I got the tent up and the AC Infinity Exhaust in place. The SP-3000 is too much for seedlings, so I am starting the plants now under the Viparspectra P-1500 (Test Report) – which I think is my new seedling light.
My Plan:
Based on my PAR test, the Grow Light Calculator estimates the Benchmark Harvest Potential for the SP-3000 at 473 grams or 16.9 ounces. However, the calculator rates the light for almost 10 sq feet. When estimating harvest, we currently do not adjust for actual grow space – The calculator basically thinks I have the 10 square feet. Since I only have 8, I am curious if it is achievable. I hope things go well and this grow will give some small insight that will allow improvements to the way we estimate harvest potential. It is also going to be a lot of fun to see if I can get over a pound from a 4x2 tent!
The Plants:
I am growing two main plants and will add a Party cup plant in a week or so. For the main plants I have two returning stars: Blueberry from Seedsman and Shining Silver Haze from Royal Queen Seeds. I have grown and loved them both before 😊.
Timeline:
0:00 hrs: Wednesday 8/19 2pm: Scuff and dropped seeds
2:00 hrs: Transferred seeds to paper towels in sealed pyrex on heat mat
30:00 hrs: Checked, both had tails, transfer to jiffy
60:00 hrs: Both Have cotyledons open
72:00 hrs: Touching top of the “Windowsill Greenhouse” Transfer to Humidty dome, under P-1500 in the tent.
GROWER LOVE
Seedlings are doing well. They both have roots just starting to come out of the Jiffy. Looks like they might want a little more light so I turned up the dimmer a bit. I am guessing they are up to about 350 PPFD now, but I have not actually used my meter to check. Hmmmm. Well, I say this a lot, I dont actually think you need a fancy PAR meter to manage a grow light. But now I am sort of getting curious 😉
Grower Love
Day 5 into Day 6
Girls were ready for their Party Cups! For these two the Party will only last about a week 😉
I also went ahead and put the PAR sensor in the dome with them... I turned the dimmer up too much yesterday I guess. The light was a little too dense (PPFD 430 umol/m2), so I dimmed it down to 350. The plants seem happy with everything so far 🙂
Grower Love
Girls have been growing along pretty well. Tiny signs of hints of issues, but basically fine. I am pretty hawkeye with seedlings and have actually kept up with all my hand waterings so far 🙂
I got the two cups prepared slightly differently. I am planning to re-use one of the cups with the actual Party Cup plant. I am still not totally sure when I will get that one going though. What is everyone thinking about their Party cup start date?
I worked the PPFD up to 500 µmol/m2/s. I just got there today, watching them carefully.
Inflow EC on the next event will be up to 800. Doing 2x daily.
Girls are growing well - Pretty much through the seedling stage at 12 days old 🙂
I will give them a couple more days in the cups but they are moving right along. I made a little video - shot earlier today
Grower Love
OK, it has been an interesting week.
I let them go in the party cups a little long - but only until day 16. As I mentioned in the newsletter, I prepared one of the cups with aeration along the sides and the other without. The Plant that had aeration is Blueberry and she is doing fine.
The other plant is Shining Silver Haze. She started to get grumpy in the party cup with no aeration. Her runoff EC started to spike and when I transplanted, her roots were under-developed. She was starting to go down hill - and the transplant seemed not to help - at least initially. It is crazy how much she suffered compared to her sister. I have not done any foliar to either - I wanted to see how this would play out without it. She is a little root stunted, but she is on the mend now and should be fine soon.
The aeration in the party cup was the only thing I did differently really - well until SSH started to go downhill. But they have been getting the same care in the same media. However, without adequate aeration the HFF in early life may have led to hypoxic root zone and stunted those early roots. This leads to dwarfism, and multiple signs of nutrient deficiency. The stunted roots contribute to poor nutrient uptake, which then leads to rising EC. When your seedling looks like that, it is a root issue. I thought I might see a difference with the two different cups, but I certainly did not expect it to be this severe! I'd like to go back to using seedling bags now 😉
But Blueberry has been growing well and it was time for her topping tonight so I cut her in half.
Trials and tribulations 😉 But they will get through this and go on to a life of glory (I hope) 😉
Hey, maybe I can win best recovery from disaster. 😉
Grower Love
I feel behind with my journal so quickly! But I am going to keep at it!
Just a quick update tonight because it is late and I have class tomorrow - But I had to let you all know it is Photontek Giveaway Week. The eligibility period just started - so update you journals and then check your lottery draw numbers here: www.cocoforcannabis.com/ptgc-giveaway/
My Girls are doing well. The Shining Silver Haze is a ways behind her Blueberry sister, but she is fully recovered and growing well. She still has one more topping to go. I let her go long in the second container - until earlier today - and she recovered a good root mass. So I potted her up and finally installed the SP3000. I have it at 20" and dimmed to about 80% I measured PPFD values around 800 at the plants, which is more than enough for today. As they settle in and fill in the canopy I will increase that max up to 1000.
Update your Journals - but I think I might get first name on the list!!!
