51/7.2/1.4
Four days since an update, the main reason being is that there's just not a lot happening. In earlier grows, I've called it a "Maytag repairman grow" and, well, that's how it's been (so far).
Outdoor temps have been 70's to the high 40's but the garage has stayed in the 70's, as expected. A big change has been that humidity has been low so the Waykar has been able to keep RH in the garage in the 20's and 30's. That makes a big difference keeping RH down. It' much easier to add RH than it is to take it out! ("Looking at you, bud rot!")
I added the AC Infinity heater for my previous grow and it's been great. I've changed the light schedule from lights on 2300-1100 to lights on 0600-1800. I want to take advantage of "the heat of the day" (as little as it is) so I'm going to move lights on to 0900-2100. Temps in the tent have been lower than expected with the highs touching 83 vs 85+ in past Fall grows. That's made it easy to keep the grow environment right where I want it.
From the Controller 69 app. That's the RH and humidity distribution
for the past week.
Temp, RH, and VPD across the top. The graph at the bottom shows the humidifier run times in white (at the very bottom), the inline fan in light blue/grey blue at the top, and the heater in a darker blue running only at lights out.
I do have to futz with things a bit. When lights come on, I have to open the tent to get dry air in from the garage but, other than that, it's really been a "hands off" grow.
Unlike previous grows, I haven't see the big pH drop I've seen in previous grows. Yes, pH had dropped a few tenths a day for a maybe three or four days but as of day 9, IIRC, that stopped and I've seen pH gradually rising.
I bumped EC to 1.4 and change (720/500) and am adding back using RO + nutrient solution. That's worked well—there is no indication of any issues with nute strength. The only discoloration I'm seeing is that some of the older fan leaves are starting to turn so I've plucked them off.
Per the photos below, buds are starting to form and the branches are growing up above the canopy. Donna is growing much faster than Erica at 20"± vs 12". I've canted the light but there's about a 200µmol difference between the two and there's really nothing I can do to fix that.
The sensor with the blue tape are Govee sensors while the one without tape is the PulseZero. The sensor for the C69 is hanging behind the second Govee from the left.
That white rectangle in the center of the light is a sheet of paper that I taped around that light bar. It cuts PPFD by about 100µmol so it evens out the PPFD very nicely.
Tent dehu working well. Between the weather, the Waykar, and the tent dehu, RH is rarely higher than the high 50's. That little bunch of leaves is Erica. About 12" across and 12" tall.
When I topped Donna, I didn't leave enough of the apical stem and, while working with the plant, both of the branches at the fourth node broke off. Yeh, f'd that up. Despite that, I'm thinking this will be a good harvest. Leaves are a healthy green and, now that she's in flower, the branches are growing quickly and the interior of the plant is starting to "thin out". Since my 2401 grow was a goat rope, it's been a long time since I've seen a cannabis plant up close so I've gotten a little bit frustrated by "all those leaves". I've just forgotten that it tends to thin out when the plant in flower, when the plant gets taller.
Decent canopy.
The HDPE top was a good idea but I should have use ½" instead of ⅜" because the thinner sheet is sagging. The canopy is tilted so I cut a couple of semi-circles out of a net pot cover and put them under net pots to even out the plants. Donna had a double stack, Erica just needed one.
The branch structure is pretty robust. I have a trellis but Donna is only 20" tall and I've been using a silica supplement so I may not need to install it. Note the two USB fans on the res top. The plastic hose in the center is the hose for the doser.
Light before and after raising the light. I wasn't seeing any issues with light at >1200 so I raised the right side of the light about 2".
Lotsa words here but not much happening yet. Per the photos, both plants are just now starting to flower so the pace of change should pick up from here.
