Middle 12, Master 35

Today I spent nearly four hours replacing all the filters in the reverse osmosis system. This was extremely overdue. The only filter that wasn't completely destroyed was the grain-activated pre-carbon filter, but it was most likely used well beyond its intended lifespan. The sediment filter was an orange-brown color, and there were what looked like mold spots in the membrane.

I'm a moron for not doing this sooner. This probably was the main reason all my yields have been diminishing over the last few months, and most likely why my clones haven't been rooting as they should. The PPM reading was at 100 when I checked the water the other day, and that was only after I had taken my sweet time changing out the batteries in the PPM meter to begin with.

Anyway, I should be having less problems now that everything seems to be in place. I just need everything to continue as planned and I won't have too many huge problems going forward.

VEG

This room is pissing me off. I haven't seen a lot of growth anywhere around this room besides the mothers. I want to blame the water most of all, but I can't even fathom how that would be an issue if it wasn't an issue only a few months ago. Maybe the contamination in the filters grew exponentially after the plumbing issue was fixed. Maybe the water had been ruining all my strains this whole time and I'm only now able to see what they're really supposed to do. Maybe I'm just an idiot.

MIDDLE

Day 12

This room is beginning to worry me. I'm not seeing a lot of growth in the GG or the Bubba. I need them to get taller. To hit 4 lbs in this room with trees, I need an average of 3.2 ounces per tree, The Abusive and XJ13 look like they can hit those numbers just fine, but the Bubba and GG seem a little stagnant as far as height is concerned. They're about 3 feet off the ground, but from experience, I know that anything under 4 feet generally doesn't come close to the 3-4 ounces I need. I'm willing to bet that I might even hit an equal weight to that of the overgrown trees I'm used to growing. Then again, it's Day Fucking 12, so I can still hope.

MASTER

Day 35

Following the theme of the rest of the grow, the Master has begun to turn on me. The Phantom trees are ripening faster than I would've liked but aren't getting any bigger in size, which is really what I want at this point. It's as if they're almost done with the entire rotation. Girl Scout Cookies, on the other hand, doesn't have as many orange hairs, but isn't nearly big enough to get a good yield. I flushed everything out with this fresh RO water I just got from these new filters, so hopefully any damage to the plants that I've inflicted over the past month won't have too much on an effect on the final yield.

I had to use more bamboo sticks on the Gavita side after I noticed that the entire canopy was leaning over. Doing so gave me a chance to take a peek into what's been going on in the area of the canopy I don't usually see. The good news is that there isn't any mildew; the bad news is that I'm only going to get tops, and maybe a few decent middle colas if I'm lucky. I just have to hope that this side carries whatever inadequacies I see from the main side.

All in all, another shit week, with another recovery week to follow.

Middle 9, Master 32

VEG

Something interesting is happening with the clones that I've never noticed before. There's a little condensation accumulating on the side of the humidity dome that wasn't there during the first few days after I made the clones. Most of the clones themselves are spreading out their leaves. My guess is that there was almost no metabolic activity until a few days ago when the condensation became apparent, and now the clones are officially "alive." A few of the sponges actually became dry and I had to change out the water, which I have to say is a lot easier to do now that I'm using sponges with slots. However, I did notice some spider mite tracks on some of the leaves, so I might have to spray fungicide on these clones if I see more.

I saw some signs of mildew on the Bubba (of course) and some of the other strains as well, so I sprayed fungicide on everything just to be safe. I'll have to drop the HPS tomorrow to make sure these plants get as much light as possible before the next rotation. They already seem like they're behind schedule.

MIDDLE
Day 9

Mildew on the Bubba again, so I had to spray it off, again. I'm a little worried about the integrity of the crop, but I'll take any other problem over mildew at this point. Considering how these plants are progressing, I probably could've afford to put 16 instead of 20 in this rotation, but it's a little too soon to call it. I don't see a lot of change in height yet, but I'm definitely seeing a lot of lateral growth, probably because they were all topped a day before flowering. I estimate that most of the room won't reach the second trellis. I could be wrong though.

MASTER
Day 32

One of the Phantoms on the Gavita side fell down the other day. Fortunately, the whole pot tipped over with it, otherwise the stem would've snapped. I planted some bamboo sticks to support the trees on the edges so it doesn't happen again, along with the GSC/NO-Q that I believe caused the tipping to begin with; one of its branches is actually bent all the way down. The price of not using a trellis at all, I guess.

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with how the Gavita is performing. Even if I didn't overcrowd that side with an extra row of trees, each tree looks like it could be a heavy hitter. Middle colas are far more developed than I would've expected. The foliage is ridiculously thick, to the point where I can't even see past the first row of trees. I'm also pretty impressed with the number of colas I'm seeing at the top of the canopy. It may be that using a trellis might have actually been hurting my yields this entire time. And this is only a single Gavita. I still have to wait until everything gets cut down, but it looks promising.

I changed the batteries of my PPM meter (finally) and I noticed that with a combination of base nutrients, Terpinator, Big Bud, and Overdrive, I'm getting a PPM of 1300-1400. I vaguely remember PPM being a lot higher in the days I used to hit massive yields, but the orange hairs on the colas right now are making me hesitant to play around with the food. I also noticed that the water by itself is actually reading 100 now, which means I have to do something about the reverse osmosis filters. Most likely, I'll have to order a fresh set tomorrow after I take it apart and examine them.

Middle 7, Master 30

MIDDLE
Day 7

With growing cannabis, there are no sudden realizations. There's only the gradual understanding of things. I'm beginning to realize what a mistake it was to grow taller trees, or even veg too soon. Only the top three feet of foliage ever yields me anything, and everything else is waste. I spent too much time taking care of overgrown plants, trying to SCROG, putting nets up to hold them all together, when I should've been focused on keeping them short, containing them with constant trimming and topping.

These trees came in at about two feet tall average, the tallest still barely now penetrating the first trellis. I topped them right when they came in, which will stall vertical growth even more. I used to think that vertical growth was a healthy sign, but I had to also consider the distribution of growth. If I only limit the canopy to what the trellis can hold, my yield will be limited to what the trellis can hold, and I'll be stuck at 3/4 lb per light. On the other hand, if I simply regard the trellis as a support tool and not rely on it so much for SCROG, I think I can maximize my yield significantly.

I spaced out some of the trees on the other parts of the room to grow beyond the frame. The trellis will still have the same effectiveness in supporting the plants, but this way I'll be able to get more heads by using more surface area. Another "I should've thought of this before" moment.

Powdery mildew is still going to be a problem here, though. If I spray fungicide again, that'll be the third time this week. I won't stop until I absolutely have to.

MASTER
Day 30

I'm not satisfied. These trees were just too tall coming in, but now they're ripening and the soil is drying up faster than I would like. I feel like this is going to hurt yields if I allow the pots to get as dry as they are. The buds themselves are looking nice, at least in quality. I can smell everything, and the THC is thick. I still don't see one light producing a lb, but I'm counting on it producing a much better yield than this last one. As long as I keep mildew at bay and temperatures down, I can get plenty out of this room.

I hardly see any yellowing, which is probably because I raised the lights a lot higher than usual above the canopy. I'm worried that this is hurting yields a little bit, but I'd rather sacrifice a little yield for nice green leaves. I'll probably have to prop the trees up the Gavita side with bamboo sticks soon so they don't fall on each other. It's going to be a bitch to maintain, but at least I'm not losing more money here.

VEG

It's all about the clones right now. I can't say if the 24 hour T5 is helping or not, but it's definitely not hurting anything. I'm constantly checking the water level in the tray to see if there's enough moisture in the sponges. If even one of these doesn't get adequate access to water, the mildew will start to claim them all and I'll be fucked. On the other hand, too much water will ruin the integrity of the tray itself and I'll also be fucked. I have to be cautious.

The rest of the room is already starting to look nicer. I'll have to lower the HPS light and trim a little bit tomorrow after I feed, or else these plants won't be nearly ready for the rotation. I'm a little hesitant to trim because I still need clones, but I only need 16 to start anyway since the Gavita rotation is two weeks behind. I also have those extra Mystery trees, which I've decided to label XJ13 since it seems closest to that strain. Considering the size of these plants I might have to start with 20 trees rather than 16, or else I'll have a lot of unused space in the Master. It just all depends on how well these plants do over the next few weeks.

CURING

I have to remember not to jar fresh buds too soon. Even leaving the lids open on the GSC and XJ took away some of the freshness. I took everything out and laid it on drying nets, so everything should be ready for sale tomorrow.

The GG and Abusive had a lot of burnt tops, which couldn't really be avoided considering the Middle room has lower ceilings. Another problem from having tall as fuck trees. Discounting the Bubba, I'm probably looking at about a two pound yield, which is pitiful. Luckily, my bills for this month don't amount to all that much, but I still need money to pay for bills and expenses in the coming month, so I'll have to find a way to supplement my profits. I desperately need this Master to hit.

Middle 5, Master 28

MIDDLE
Day 5

Not much going on here since yesterday. I saw a few spider mite tracks earlier in the day so I sprayed fungicide again. It'll help with the mildew on the Bubba as well. I'll have to get used to doing this often and as early as possible when I see something wrong. I still have to change out the reflectors, but so far so good.

MASTER
Day 28

Temperature was in the high 70's last I checked, which is slightly lower than usual. Growth seems a little stagnant, as always seems to be the case around this stage of the grow. So far no real problems with mildew, spider mites, or anything else. It's strange having everything seem alright since everything else is going to shit, so I'll have to be careful.

The Gavita side is interesting. Without a frame, mid-flower trimming, or too much overall care, these trees are actually progressing well. While only two weeks behind the rest of the room, flower production is consistent with HPS. The canopy is huge, and even the middle buds are growing in size. Comparing these trees with the HPS is going to be very interesting in the next few weeks to come, if I can make it that far.

VEG

The 10 net cups I planted yesterday are dead. Not surprising, but still a reminder that I need healthy clones to make all of this work. I cleaned out the closet and adjusted the T5 to sit higher than usual. It's also on 24 hours now, which should help the rooting process. This might throw off the veg a little bit, but it doesn't hurt to have more light while plants are still vegging anyway.

I'm reverting back to cloning with black root sponges. I still believe the rockwool to be a more than viable option, but I think rockwool is more susceptible to other problems like mildew, mold, or algae. Also, using rockwool allows me the humidity dome to completely enclose the tray, which helps keep the humidity at 100%, but also traps excess respiration from the clones themselves. I'm too weary at this point to keep tinkering with it while my entire operation goes to shit.

Since cloning is a huge issue, I've decided to mother as many strains as I need so I don't run into a shortage. I have two Phantom's, one WF, and I'll have to mother one GSC, Abusive, Bubba, and XJ each. I'm also going to try to get at least one Sour so I can bring that back into the rotation. Having strong mothers will grant me more ability to choose exactly how many of each strain I wish to grow without being confined to simply growing what stays alive. This is one of those "I should've done this a long time ago" moments, and I feel like a moron for not doing it sooner, but such is the life of a cannabis grower.

I'm really worried about my finances right now, and I'm considering taking on another loan to survive this coming month. If I can manage to get through it, I'll be in decent shape.

Middle 4, Master 27

MIDDLE
Day 4

Plants were wilted slightly because I waited until today to get the soil for transplanting. I think I'm going to have to put in new reflectors because one in the back is malfunctioning. It'll turn on and off on its own, which I think hurt the yield a little bit last time. (Actually, I put the Bubba under there last time, which was rendered useless anyway because of mildew.) I'll have to go in tomorrow and make the final decision. If I go through with it, I'll have to go to the storage unit and grab two Blockbusters to add to the two I already have if I want to change the whole room out. It'll be a pain in the ass with the plants and nets already set up, but it might help the yield, and I can't afford to let that opportunity pass.

Most of the plants themselves look healthy, although I'll have to spray fungicide as often as possible because of Bubba. They're smaller than usual, which is probably better for efficient metabolism. It also helps with the air flow since there won't be foliage covering the fan. I have four Abusive plants in there as well, although they're a little taller, which is expected since those bitches tend to be lanky. I trimmed all the bottom leaves and branches when I transplanted them today, which should help contain growth and focus it towards the branches that need it.

MASTER
Day 27

Phantom is starting to annoy me a little. While most of the heads are looking to hit, everything else below the trellis is probably going to give me nothing. The GSC is another story; a couple of them are too tall and getting dangerously close to the light. I'm debating whether or not I should just bend the head, but this late into flowering might hurt the plant. I guess it'll hurt more if I leave it. The Gavita is looking strong, but the proximity of some of the center plants might also take a toll on their yield. It doesn't really matter though, because anything I get off this light is a bonus.

Strangely, my electricity usage hasn't gone up that much, if at all. I'm paying 1700 for this past month, which is about the same as last month. Next month, the meter predicts that I'm going to pay about 100 dollars more, which is odd considering the Gavita uses 1100 watts. I'll have to wait and see what the real cost is next month.

It's hotter than usual in this room because the thermostat isn't triggering the house AC to turn on, yet the weather outside isn't cool enough to keep the room under 80 with that Gavita on. Even then, I'm not really seeing any decline in growth, and in fact, there isn't as much powdery mildew as there would be. I did some research and some people did say that hotter temperatures could actually contain mildew spread, since the moisture is simply being evaporated by the warm air. I guess this could be substantiated by the fact that I haven't really had to keep up with spraying fungicide as often, although I do anyway for preventative purposes.

VEG

The shitshow continues. Two whole trays of some of the best clones I could ever cut, and what does it give me? Ten fucking survivors, most of which probably won't survive planting. What an absolute disaster. If I was told that out of almost 200 clones I could probably only keep 10 if I was lucky, I would've told them to go fuck themselves. But alas, 10 fucking candidates for the next Middle rotation.

I transplanted all the good net cups into PW Mid's, and I'll have to hope that they produce enough branches for me to clone from. I have two weeks to get them clone-ready, and then I still have to get the motherfuckers to root, which will take me at least another two weeks. Once they root, I have another four weeks to clone off them again for the Master while also getting them ready for the Middle.

I'm in deep shit. I'll most likely have to clone from the Phantom mothers as soon as tomorrow so I can have somewhat of a head start. I also have to figure out a way to keep the clones from getting infected with mildew. I'll probably be leaving the clones somewhere else where it's cool and safe from mildew, most likely downstairs. I can also leave the light on 24 hours a day as well, which should help them root faster. I should've done all this shit months ago. I'm an idiot

Middle Day 0

MIDDLE
Day 0

Transferred 20 pots into the room today, excluding the weaker Bubba trees and one WhiteFire (which is probably something else). These trees are about half the size they normally would be for Day 1 Bloom, but I'm thinking it might be more efficient to have shorter, bushier trees rather than tall and lanky ones. I fed them without any supplements and I sprayed fungicide. Hopefully I won't have too much of a mildew problem this time around, especially with about half the room being Bubba.

MASTER
Day 23

The tops of the Phantom are looking amazing, but the only drawback is that there aren't a lot of tops. I have to remember to keep everything shorter going into bloom from now on, because the bottom of the canopy simply isn't going to make me any money. This shouldn't be a problem with this new schedule I have. I still feel like I'm cutting it a little close, especially because I haven't been able to get any good clones. Abusive and GSC are also looking pretty good, but I'll have to watch for mildew on the GSC. I already noticed a slight outbreak of it and I'll have to spray fungicide tomorrow. Spraying once a week and keeping temperatures higher than usual is working on containing the spread, but I'm still worried that it's going to hurt yield.

I've been pretty consistent with using Big Bud this time around, and I'm curious as to whether I'm getting favorable results because of the Big Bud or the fact that most of the room consists of Phantom. Either way, the Master is looking as good as it's ever been, especially with the addition of the Gavita. That side of the room is progressing nicely, even on the edges of the canopy. If I can get 1.5 lbs from that side of the room alone, that would be enough to justify changing the entire house to Gavitas.

Temperature was an issue last week when I cut off the house AC, but raising the lights helped a little. Air flow is pretty good around the room with the addition of that oscillating fan in the corner, and there's even a cold spot in the opposite corner.

VEG

Clones are a serious problem. I lost more than half of the Phantom tray to mildew and the other tray is only barely starting to root. The net cups look okay right now, but if I have to cut clones from them later, they'll be too weak for bloom. I have a couple of Phantom mothers, but it'll be at least another week or two before I can cut some clones from them, and it'll only be Phantom. I saved a WF for mothering as well, for the sake of variety. I also held back four Bubba that were meant for the Middle room, but I'm trying to steer clear of Bubba entirely because of the mildew problem. I'll have to be even more proactive about mildew control if I'm going to continue using Bubba in my rotations.

I'm considering putting my clones somewhere else where they won't be affected by mildew. I know for sure now that opening the humidity dome early was a bad idea because the Phantom tray was most affected by mildew, while the other mixed tray wasn't. Now is probably a good time to do a Veg reset by taking both tables outside for rinsing and putting a new tarp on the floor. This might help with the mildew problem, since the floor is probably where the mildew is sitting, even though I can't see it.

HARVEST NOTES

Fucking mildew destroyed the Bubba. Even with rinsing with hydrogen peroxide, I know I'm going to have a problem trying to sell it. The H2O2 wash also eliminated the smell of the bud, which is not good. I have a few strains I can't really identify; I know I have GSC, True OG, and GG, but differentiating them is going to be somewhat of a challenge when they're ready to sell. Everything else, with the exception of True OG, also has mildew, but not as much as the Bubba. I didn't wash the other strains, so hopefully the mildew isn't as noticeable on those strains.

GG is a waste of time. It doesn't smell as pungent as anything else I've grown, and it doesn't have as many THC crystals as a lot of the usual strains I have, both of which hurt the value of the bud. Unfortunately, I still have to grow it, because I don't have any other substitutes at the moment.

All in all, I'm expecting a shitty yield, along with a shitty return for this month. I hope I can at least pay the fucking bills.

Middle Cutdown Day 1

Dealing with another powdery mildew infestation. The mildew has gotten deep into the Bubba buds. I'm experimenting with soaking the branches with a mixture of about 5 gallons of water and 12 ounces of hydrogen peroxide, followed by a thorough rinse. I've come across some comments on YouTube and cannabis forums that rinsing with warm water helps preserve the THC heads, and that I should probably be using 8 ounces of hydrogen peroxide per 2 gallons, which means I have to double my dosage to effectively clean the mildew off. However, one Bubba tree took me nearly two hours to clean, and I'm pretty sure many of the other infected Bubba's will take even longer.

So far, it seems like the Bubba will have the most mildew out of the entire room, so I won't have to be as thorough with the other strains, but I'll still have to be thorough regardless. The mildew isn't visible after cleaning, but there will be problems if the buds are broken at the point of sale. The entire cutdown will probably take me two whole days, not including clean up and replants.

The Master isn't looking as bad in terms of mildew, but there are other problems. I experimented with turning off the house AC because of the cold weather, and the results weren't too bad during the first couple of days, but problems with growing cannabis usually take time to manifest after at least a few days. The temperature increased to about 81 degrees on the thermometer, but was probably higher in the canopy. Bottom leaves turned yellow and the soil dried a lot more, and bud growth seemed to stall slightly. I turned the AC back on today and there was about a 4 degree difference in temperature, but I'll have to watch closely to see if the drop in temperature justifies the growth.

The house itself was almost robbed last night when someone took a metal chair and tried to break into one of the windows downstairs. They would've gotten in if there wasn't a PVC pipe blocking the window rail, but I'll still have to repair it tomorrow before I do anything else.

One Week from Harvest (Maybe two)

MASTER

Water

Mildew has begun to spread underneath the canopy towards the back of the room. I'm not sure that fungicide is even working. I sprayed it twice within the last week, both times with a strong dose of two caps per spray. For the mildew to come back only within a matter of days suggests that the fungicide has a minimal effect, if any, on the spread of mildew. I sprayed again in the affected area and it still hasn't completely gotten rid of the problem. nor does it prevent the spread of the mildew. The next thing I'll try is a combination of neem oil and baking soda, perhaps with a small amount of liquid soap. Hopefully the problem won't persist over the next few weeks.

MIDDLE

What a shitshow here. I'm about a week away from having to harvest and everything doesn't look as big as I'd hoped. I may have made a huge mistake by not using Phosphoload. In the last harvest, Phosphoload seems to have brought out the "calyx crowding," where the calyxes were so densely packed together that it seemed to be a fully flower, whereas most buds would usually form into cones rather than bulbs.

I expect this harvest to be somewhere in the range of 3-3.5lbs, although I seem to frequently underestimate the yield right before harvest. I seem to have a mix of four different strains, including a "Mystery" strain which I believe to be either True OG or GG. In either case, the buds look full and healthy. Mildew is going to be a problem with regard to Bubba, but with a thorough hydrogen peroxide bath and rinsing, they should be okay for sale. I also have one other strain that seemed to bud well at the tops, but seem pretty underdeveloped past inside and under the canopy. Usually the discrepancy in growth between tops and mids aren't as big, but in this case it'll probably hurt the yield more than usual.

VEG

Had to throw away about ten clones because of mildew. Dipping the clones in fungicide didn't seem to work here either, but I also could've made a huge mistake by opening the humidity dome too early. It's possible that I allowed too much mildew-infested air to get into the clone tray, which I knew might be a risk. I dipped the Phantom tray in fungicide again and replaced the water for all the trays. The mixed tray, with Abusive and other strains, hasn't seem to be affected by mildew at all, probably because I haven't opened the humidity dome. I need to keep humidity domes closed from now on, and replace the water more frequently to prevent any algae or mold to infect my clones. I have close to 150 clones, of which I only need about 60, but the margin for error gets smaller with every clone I have to throw away.

The rest of the room doesn't seem to be moving fast enough. I expected my next rotation to at least be a foot taller than it is now, but trimming and cloning may have pushed my schedule back another week. I also have to top some of them soon, which is going to delay vertical growth even further. I'm thinking about vegging them in the bloom room for another week to ensure a solid yield.

The Master rotation is also looking sketchy. The net cups haven't progressed as well as they should have. An entire set of Phantom hasn't grown at all, and I'll probably have to throw them away. I was hoping to have replacements from the clone trays rooted by now to avoid having a shortage, but as of now I only have about maybe twelve plants that I'll actually be able to bloom in six weeks. I also need these clones to root soon so that I can plant them and get both rotations adequately supplied.

The Veg problem is becoming more of a concern with every plant that doesn't make it. Originally I had a full 30 I could've picked from, but I'm down to such a low number that, in the worst case scenario, I'll end up having to split both rooms into two separate harvests each. This is generally acceptable given the workload of harvesting an entire room, but I still need my clones to be properly maintained. I'm considering purchasing an extra florescent light and putting the clones under a 24-hour cycle. This might help them root and grow faster and would also help in preventing mildew contamination.

Master Extension

Today I set up the Master extension. I haven't set up the trellis or even the frame yet, but the plants should be able to hold until then. I'll have to set it up soon because the plants will get too tall for the Gavita to be effective. Right now, the Gavita is sitting about 3 feet above the canopy, and that distance is expected to shorten quite a bit in the coming weeks.

VEG
Base
~10 gal

With the Master extension, I have room to plant more trees. Unfortunately, I don't have many more trees to work with at the moment. The old Phantom clone tray hasn't rooted enough to plant into the net cups, and I don't have any other alternatives. The net cups themselves aren't progressing as well as I'd hoped, although this is probably due to the lack of water over the past few days. I placed them under MH now that MH was transferred to HPS. I cloned Abusive and GG to back up the clones that might not make it with the newer tray. I also opened the humidity dome about halfway to allow the clones to breathe. It's been said that gradually opening the dome increases the likelihood of survival, but I'll have to wait and see how it'll affect these clones.

With cloning came trimming, and the last trimming session I should have with this HPS rotation. I have about two weeks to Veg these for bloom, and one more week if I decide to stretch it. It's a slightly risky move since these plants are way shorter than what I'm used to working with, but that should work to my benefit since every rotation has been too tall to begin with. Today these plants average at about one foot tall. I expect that under a max power HPS, they should be about double that size by the time I transplant them. If I top them in about seven days, they should grow only slightly taller, if at all. That leaves me with plants that are about half the size, but with 25 plants rather than 16, I shouldn't have too much of a problem, and it may even work to my benefit to have shorter plants.

MIDDLE
Yesterday I sprayed a heavy dose of fungicide to combat the spider mites and mildew, and it seemed to keep all the pests at bay. The Bubba seems to have ripened fully, although the buds are about half the size as some of the biggest buds I cut down from the Master. Interestingly, the dehumidifier and air conditioner aren't pulling as much moisture as with previous rotations. This could be because both are working simultaneously; if I leave the dehumidifier turned off, it takes about two days for the air conditioner to collect about 3-4 gallons of water, whereas if both are working, it might take up to a week for both the waste bucket and dehumidifier tank to fill up. I don't have a thermostat to check the humidity in the room, but it shouldn't be more than 40%. This could be a big reason why mildew hasn't spread as much.

The plants themselves are looking healthy on top of the canopy, except for a few buds that are being burned by their proximity to the light. Nothing I can do at this point, since some of the lights are at their max height. I need to make a note of where I'm putting the taller strains, since the ceiling is slanted after all. Underneath the canopy are a bunch of dead leaves which I'll have to remove soon, but for now this room looks on track to hit an average yield of possibly 3 lbs.

MASTER
Base nutrients
Terpinator

With the Master extension completed, both rotations are exactly two weeks apart. Temperature has risen slightly because of the added light, but not as much as two HPS lights. I set up the dehumidifier to run continuously and hooked up a water hose to drain the excess water into the Master bathroom toilet. I also put another fan in the back corner of the room oscillating around the "Gavita" section of the room, and I can feel the air moving around from the opposite corner. This will change once the trellis frame is added and the plants grow taller, but if temperatures don't rise too much it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I'm a little concerned about the light distribution of the Gavita. The light doesn't appear to be reaching the edges of the canopy as much as I'd hoped, and I feel that this could hurt yields. It doesn't help much that the height is pretty uneven. There's about a two foot difference between the tallest and shortest trees, and the bottom part of the taller trees won't be getting much light. The reflection of the light on the wall actually shows a slight cascade. It'll be interesting to compare the results of these 12 trees against the 16 that I have under 4000 watts of HPS lights. For a fair comparison, I'll have to subtract a third of the yield from the Gavita when it finishes, because there would be only 8 trees under normal circumstances. If the Gavita produces a yield similar to two HPS lights, I'll strongly consider replacing all the lights with Gavitas and use only half the number of lights I use now.

Fungicide has been working so far in terms of keeping the mildew at bay. Combined with humidity control, I feel that I can take care of the mildew problem for the most part as long as I try not to grow too much Bubba. I still don't know why Bubba seems to have the highest concentration of mildew compared to all the other strains, but I don't care. Bubba sells well, but not as well as Phantom, Abusive, Sour, or GSC. If I keep spraying the fungicide with a more aggressive dose and keep humidity low enough in the bloom rooms, I can at least keep the mildew from spreading to other strains. Just to be sure, I'll also be harvesting with hydrogen peroxide to wash off any mildew I couldn't eradicate, as well as any excess fungicide and spider mite webs.

For now, I won't clone any more Bubba and try to introduce more Phantom and Abusive in the rotations. GSC sells well, but doesn't nearly yield enough to justify its place in the rotation, especially considering that I have to sell GSC at the same price as everything else. I'm also dealing with the last remnants of all the experimental strains I decided to work with from months ago, like GG and White Fire, both of which turned out to be mediocre strains at best. I have to be more careful when selecting new strains to work with.

Fuck Mildew

Watered Master only.

VEG
Clones are looking as good as they can for having been made only a few days ago. The older tray is surprisingly picking up since they were treated for mildew and essentially rejuvenated with root accelerator. They'll probably be dry tomorrow so I'll have to put more water in both trays.

The T5 is looking a little sketchy. A couple of more of these trees don't look like they're going to make it. Tomorrow I'll have to probably plant the older clones to replace them, even if they're barely rooted. I actually need these plants to pick up without delay since my rotation will be slightly modified for the Master expansion.

Both sides of the Veg are still looking promising. Growth has slightly slowed down on the HPS Veg since they were trimmed, which is good considering how tall they are. MH Veg is picking up fairly quickly, and I'll have to decide when I want to trim and clone these plants.

MIDDLE
Some pots were a little drier than others, but I decided to wait until tomorrow to water them. The light had turned off by the time I got back to water, and it would've been a waste to feed nutrients when the plants weren't going to absorb them anyway without photosynthesis. Mildew and spider mites are beginning to take their toll on this room, but not as heavily as what happened in the Master. All buds are looking pretty strong in size, and should become denser over the next couple of weeks. A lot of branches are even leaning, which is usually a good sign.

MASTER
Trimming hasn't seemed to stunt growth much. There's good air flow underneath and above the canopy ever since the wall fan was mounted. I should've done this sooner. I haven't installed the dehumidifier for continuous use yet, but I will tomorrow. I'll also be installing the special Gavita reflector in the back of the room to accommodate the HPS Veg coming in.

It's going to be a long day tomorrow. I have to make clones wherever I can in the Veg, replace the net cups under T5 that didn't make it, and spray down as much fungicide as safely possible throughout the entire grow. I won't be able to work on the Master until at least 5:30 PM, since that's when the lights turn on, so between working on the Middle and Veg, I'll be paying bills, managing finances, and taking care of household chores. I'll also be cleaning the work areas most of the day. I'll have to go to Home Depot and pick up some PVC pipes to make the trellis frame, but this won't be a huge priority yet seeing as I can just use bamboo sticks to support the branches. I'll definitely have to install the dehumidifier tomorrow, since the raise in temperature will undoubtedly raise humidity. I'll have to install another wall fan on the opposite side of the room from the one that's already mounted.

With the Master being extended, I'll have about a week and a half gap between harvests. I could speed up the extension with Phosphoload to close that gap to a few days, but that largely depends on how these plants grow under the new light. I probably won't use it so I can measure the differences in yield and quality between HPS and this new reflector.

I'll also have to decide how long I should veg for the Middle rotation. With the current schedule, I would have about two whole weeks to make these 25 plants ready for bloom. This should be adequate time if nothing goes wrong. If I trim tomorrow, it'll have to be the final trimming to avoid any stunting. I can top these plants after a week, and they'll be able to recover just in time for bloom. I could also stretch their veg time while I harvest the Middle room as well, and even veg in the bloom room for added growth. This will cost more, but with the weather change reducing my power consumption drastically over the last month, I feel that this is an opportune time to do it. Moving the plants around will also give me a chance to clean out the Veg and get rid of any lingering mildew that might be on the trays and equipment, and my best chance to do so would be when the Master extension is set up.

I'm also looking into ways to get rid of mildew on dried buds, but haven't found any solutions thus far. I'll just have to test the hydrogen peroxide bath tomorrow while I try to salvage what I can from the harvest. I'll be looking into different methods of eliminating PM as well. So far, the Master hasn't shown any signs of PM, even on the Bubba. I feel like changing out the tarp was the best move I could've made, but humidity will be low for now with the light foliage, so I'll have to see how it progresses to know if there's any real change in the mildew spread.

This last harvest was a clear reminder that mildew is a serious problem. I've lost a significant number of sales opportunities so far, with three major lines of distribution rejecting product. It's clear that a hydrogen peroxide wash will now have to be a standard part of the process. The product will be void of anything toxic, and I've noticed that the aroma is a lot thicker when bathed in the hydrogen peroxide solution. I'll have to do more research on different ratios of hydrogen peroxide and water, as well as the different grades of the solution I'll need for an efficient wash.