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.

Bad Harvest

I tried to sell Bubba today, but no one wanted it. No surprise there since it's all covered in mildew. For now I'll have to pick out some of the more unaffected buds and simply throw away the rest. I estimate that I'll lose at least half of the batch, leaving me with 400 grams of Bubba instead of 800 if I'm lucky. That cuts into my total yield dramatically, and my profit for this harvest will be close to nothing if everything else still sells. And there's no guarantee that I can still sell the remaining Bubba or the other strains either.

VEG
Water
pH 5.8

I watered the HPS Veg lightly so as to avoid overwatering. The temperature in the veg is cold, so it won't add too much humidity even if I water heavily, but I don't want to stunt the plants. There's a lot more space between branches and underneath the canopy after I trimmed and cloned yesterday. A few of the trees look like they've been trimmed too much, but given that I still have a few days to set up the Master to receive these plants, it shouldn't be a big deal.

MH Veg is progressing rapidly. I trimmed all the Bubbas and left only the top three branches on all of them. I haven't trimmed the other strains yet because I want to clone them first. I only have a few weeks before I have to flower this rotation, so I have to be careful about the timing. If I clone too soon, the clones might be underdeveloped and won't survive. If I trim too late, these trees won't have adequate time to recover before they have to be flowered.

Not much going on with the clones yet since they were just made yesterday. The older Phantom clones that survived the mildew attack are also showing a total reversal. All of them were dipped in fungicide, and I also left some of the cloning water in the tray to soak the rockwool. One of the clones actually rooted, which is a good sign that these clones are going to make it to the net cups.

MIDDLE
Water
pH 5.8

I have this strong feeling that not using Phosphoload was a mistake. The quality seemed to come out a lot better than usual in the Master, and without PM I would've been able to sell all of it without any problems.

Master Harvest 3.2

It's been a while since I updated this because I've simply been busy as fuck. I harvested a week and a half ago and I've had to juggle harvesting, cleaning, cloning, more cleaning, and basic chores around the house over the past week. Since Christmas just passed, I also had to show my face around with the family for a couple of days. I would've rather enjoyed staying my ass home and completing all my work.

The Master hit roughly 3.2 lbs for this month. The weight distribution is as follows;

Bubba - 800 grams
Abusive - 300 grams
GG - 350 grams
Candyland? - 120 grams

I say roughly 3.2 because there will be shake. Considering that I didn't expect anything over 2, it wouldn't be a bad harvest, except that there's mildew all over the Bubba, which I happen to have the most of. I tried to sell a small amount of it to one of my more loyal customers, and he noticed the problem right away and refused to buy. It was a rushed trim job, but it's still demoralizing. I'll have to do a better job of eliminating the mildew, otherwise I'll have to either find another way to deal with it or drop the price completely, if that would even work. The market isn't too hot for mildew-infested weed.

MASTER
The Master looks a lot better going into the next rotation, but I spent part of today trimming the bottom leaves. I told myself I would leave it alone this time around, with all the research I did on trimming during flowering, but it would really be a waste for those branches to stay on the trees. I didn't trim the Middle and it seems to have caused a bottleneck in growth somewhat. I changed the tarp this time around. The old one was nasty and probably covered in mildew. I also mounted the wall fan by the entrance to the bathroom. It seems like this has helped the humidity problem a little, although not much. I haven't set up the dehumidifier yet, so that's one more thing I'll have to do as this rotation progresses.

The trees themselves are looking healthy as they should. I didn't water as often as I usually do because of time constraints (and some laziness). I figured they wouldn't need that much water since they were just transplanted. The lack of watering didn't seem to harm them as much, if at all, but they're generally more forgiving during the first few weeks of flowering anyway, so I shouldn't take it for granted. While I trimmed, I also rearranged a lot of the top branches to allow more light distribution. This was a huge problem with the previous Master rotation, so I'm trying to fix that problem this time around.

MIDDLE
The Middle still looks promising, but I'll have to keep a close eye on mildew and spider mites. It doesn't seem like there's any problem with the growth so far, only that it's smaller than I would've liked. (What a surprise) I didn't use Phosphoload this time around for fear of stunting growth too much, but I may have made a mistake. Hitting 3.2 in the Master changes things a bit, especially with regards to the Bubba. I noticed a lot of the buds had what I would call "calyx crowding." It's like more calyxes being bunched up together on the same bud, adding density and weight to the flower. It completely destroyed the other trees, so maybe there's a certain time frame in which I can use it? For now, I'll just have to compare the results of this rotation to the Master's. Hopefully it'll be better.

I chose not to trim these trees because the canopy was looking a little thin to begin with, but now I feel like that might have been a mistake since the flowers don't seem to be as big as they should be. I also used a lot of Big Bud this time around, so hopefully that will have some positive effects on the yield.

VEG
This room is an absolute shitshow. For starters, the HPS Veg that I tranferred from the MH is now overgrown. I transplanted them into the PW Heavy pots and now they're growing even more aggressively. I've decided to use this towards an expanded Master rotation rather than for the Middle. Considering I have about three weeks to veg for the Middle, this shouldn't be a problem. I have 14 trees total under HPS, of which I can only use 12 for a decent flowering. I figured I can use either two 1000 watt HPS bulbs or one special Gavita bulb for this. If I decide to go with HPS with the reflectors I have now, I'll have to purchase another two bulbs which could cost up to 350 bucks, not to mention I'd have to draw another 2000 watts and add additional ventilation. I also suspect that I'd have to find a way to cool the room even more, since HPS bulbs tend to produce more heat. If I decide to go with a single Gavita, it'll cost me about the same amount of money but would draw less power and produce less heat, but I'm still somewhat skeptical about how it'll perform. I'll have to test it here, side by side with two HPS bulbs, to know what they're really worth.

The MH Veg is looking good. I have a total of 25 pots in PW Mid pots. I think this was a good move, since the growth seems to be accelerated ever since I transplanted. I should stick to this type of rotation from now on. I haven't trimmed these plants yet because I need the clones from them. I lost a lot of the Abusive clones I wanted from the previous trays I made, and I want to continue using it for future rotations. It's a popular strain and I need to be very selective from now on regarding the strains I use.

Clone trays are a different story. I think leaving the humidity domes on them was a bad idea. Mildew completely infected the Phantom tray, which turned out to be a disaster. Ideally, I wanted about 60 clones to survive for the net cups, but now I only have close to half that amount. A lot of them also look pretty weak, and I had to throw some away today. I even had to plant the older clones I made about a month ago, which is even more upsetting since I know those Phantom clones would've been strong had they survived.

I made a new tray today consisting of mostly Phantom, with some GSC and No-Q, which is probably also GSC. I dipped each one at the cut in a generous amount of Clonex and then dipped the heads in a fungicide solution before stabbing each clone into the rockwool plugs. Hopefully this will help the plant resist any mildew that might infect it in the weeks to come. I expect that these clones should root in about two weeks, when the Middle cuts down. This will still fit into the rotation I've set up here. I have two weeks until the MH goes to flower, and I have a few days to set up the Master to receive the HPS Veg. If I wait a few days to clone off these trees, I'll have about a week and a half until they have to go into the Middle. They'll be shorter than usual, and I'll have to time the topping and trimming accurately to allow enough branches to fill out, but I have 25 trees to work with instead of the usual 16, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. In all likelihood, the increased number of trees might actually be much better.

I still have some leftover Phantom clones that survived the mildew attack, not to mention lack of water. I threw away all the duds and dipped the remainder into the same fungicide solution and I added the cloning water, (with root accelerator) into the tray. Hopefully these will root in a few days to replace the net cups I had to throw away.

All in all, not really a successful month, but not horrible. I had a decent harvest, but I'll have to keep working on the Bubba to get rid of all the mildew so I can actually sell it. I have enough money to take care of bills for now, seeing as I probably won't be able to clear out my entire inventory before the bills are due. The Middle room comes down in a few weeks, and with proper maintenance I should be able to get a decent harvest out of there as well. It doesn't look like the 4+ lbs I wanted, but then again, the Master initially looked like it was only going to give me 2 lbs, so I'll have to just wait until the final weigh-in. The Veg seems to be coming along, although I'll have to adjust the rotation slightly to accommodate for the fact that I'm short on plants for an entire room.

I think I'm going to go forward with the Gavita plan, as I'm calling it. If these 13 trees are under HPS for another two weeks, they'll be massive and disproportionate. I don't have the space to accommodate these trees in the veg. They're already just as tall as the trees in the Master anyway, despite being nearly two weeks behind in terms of flowering time. This plan hinders on the ability for the MH veg to catch up, but I can stretch their veg time if I have to, even if I have to trim and clone them. This will also be a good opportunity to test the Gavita against the HPS, and from then on I'll have up to 30 trees for an entire rotation, which was the first step towards expansion anyway. All of this is pointless without more 4+ harvests, and I'll definitely be able to get there with another light. Ironically, one problem has presented multiple opportunities.

I'll have to stay more current with posts from now on. It's no coincidence that my work seemed to fall off as I stopped posting.

Weak Harvest, Master Too Tall

Actions:
-Finished harvest
-HPS Veg transplanted, transferred to Master
-New tarp in Master
-Feed/water
-Full veg rotation

VEG
300ml base
1000-1100 ppm

HPS Veg was too tall this time around, but may have been ideal height five days ago when the harvest was supposed to have been finished. I'll have to trim bottom branches and constantly adjust tops to evenly bend, thereby executing a correct SCROG. My other option is to allow the tree to simply grow to its full height without any restraints, but possibly at the cost of light penetration to the lower part of the canopy.

MH Veg is also overgrown, and I'm conflicted about what to do with it. Although this veg was initially meant for the Middle rotation, I may have an opportunity to open two more lights in the Master for these trees, as long as I can control the temperature in that room. I could also expand into my bedroom, but that'll take more time, effort, and money, although it'll be the only time I'll have to make any more modifications to the setup for at least six months. My main option is to continue the rotation as planned, but with two rounds of cloning; one tomorrow and another round in two weeks, to contain vertical growth and sprout more heads. With four weeks to go, they should have enough time to recover and I'll have maximized light distribution in the Middle with a shortage of trees.

Clones look like shit. The Phantom tray has been afflicted by heavy mildew, and I had to throw about ten of them away. It seems that dipping them in fungicide is now mandatory. Only a couple of these rooted. Some of the other strains rooted just fine or better than usual. The older trays are still holding on, surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, at this point. These fuckers were dipped in fungicide, so it's no wonder they've made it this long (almost a month).

MIDDLE
300ml base
150ml Terpinator
6 tbsp Big Bud
100ml Overdrive
1400-1600 ppm

I decided to introduce Overdrive at 2/3 strength while still using Big Bud at full dosage. It's possible that I may have been underfeeding during the mid-flowering stage of the rotation. 1400-1600 ppm seems like the right range for mid to late flowering, as said on forums and other sources. Without a combination of Big Bud and Overdrive, PPM might be reduced to 1200-1400, which might be inadequate considering the plant is entering its prime physical and reproductive state. It's too soon to gauge the effects this may have had, but I can always simply flush if the PPM is too high.

Colas are already looking bigger in this room than they were in the Master, although that isn't saying too much since the Master colas were pitiful. Thankfully I haven't seen a single tree with unusual development other than the ones being covered from light.

Mildew has returned, and of course, it's all over the Bubba. Fucking Bubba. Fucking mildew. Fuck everything.

MASTER (DAY ONE)
300ml base

This room is tall as fuck. There's going to be some heavy training over the next few weeks in this room, but I'll have to refrain from cutting as much as I usually do. The only consolation I have is with the amount of branches all these trees have despite all this overgrowth. If I had harvested sooner, I may have avoided this problem, but it's soon enough that I can take appropriate action. I'll most likely rely on proper SCROG or simply just allow everything to grow into the trellis. Humidity will be the main concern here. I cannot afford to have this room, or any for the matter, affected by mildew. I'll have to keep air flow constant as well. I've mounted a wall fan at the corner of the room blowing halfway into dead space, and another into the canopy. I'll have to put the other fan in the opposite corner to evenly shift the air. I'm also considering opening a hole in one of the AC tubes to point into the wall fan so it can blow cool air into the canopy.

The challenge in this room is going to be controlling the height. I could use Phosphoload in Week 2 to keep the trees short, but this will immediately halt vertical growth. I can only use it if I feel like I have the appropriate amount of heads to get a good yield. If I decide not to use it, I'll have to rely on bending the branches up to Week 3 to get a proper spread on the canopy. I also have to trim bottom branches tomorrow as well, which will probably stall growth for the next few days.

I'm also fucked with regards to the timing. Today is the 20th (or 21st) and I'm on track to harvest this rotation on February 21. If I decide to cut down a week early, it'll be February 12. Not exactly an ideal date to be working my ass off.

Harvest Notes
The Bubba was surprisingly bigger than expected. Many of the colas were actually hidden by excess foliage. Most of them were also pretty dense. The problem is that they're all covered in mildew. I tried to trim most of the mildew off, but there are still many colas that will have to be trimmed even further before I can sell them.

The GG is fucking horrible. Had it not been soft, it may have contributed to the yield significantly, but the weight is so light that I might have a problem selling it. There also seems to be an absence of aroma despite all the Terpinator I gave it. One of the trees didn't even grow beyond the mid sized pot; an indicator of some type of root disease. Either way, I'll probably have to break even, or actually take a loss on this yield.

There is another strain here that wasn't identified. Colas were tiny, but THC was more abundant on these trees than others, although it could've been because there was less surface area for the THC to cover. Colas were also pretty dense, and hopefully they won't shrink too much so I can actually sell these too.

I estimate that this yield is probably in the 1.5 to 2 range. Shitty, but it's enough to keep me going for now. Throughout the harvest I noticed that many of the trees still showed pretty decent growth despite all the trouble it went through. Bubba, in particular, had some beautiful well-rounded colas as long as it had sufficient exposure to light. This has led me to believe that light distribution played a key role in the yield here. Bottom colas were unsurprisingly small, but not by much.

How I Fucked Up

Action:
-Replace clone tray water
-Water
-Fungicide Middle
-Calibrate pH meter

VEG
Water
pH 5.9
~17 gal

HPS Veg has shown relatively rapid vertical growth over the past few days, peaking at about one foot from the reflector. The canopy as a whole is almost too tall for Veg at this point, and these trees need to be transplanted within the next couple of days to prevent disproportional growth. In the future it will be necessary to do a second trimming/cloning to stall growth. I will have to trim/clone this veg anyway, but it would be more ideal to trim earlier to allow the plants to recover so growth isn't stalled during flowering.

The veg tables are also showing their limitations; plants seem to be growing taller rather than wider since the table sits in the corner of the room. However, this hasn't been a problem until this week, which probably could've been prevented if I had trimmed this veg last week to stall growth. Ideally, the plants would have recovered from trimming by now.

MH Veg is also growing taller and wider, as is expected. Distance between the reflector and canopy is about one foot. Although this shouldn't be dangerous in terms of light intensity since the ballast is running at 750 watts, the heat is still substantial enough to curl the leaves. Branches are wide and thick, which is good. I'll have to top/trim/clone when I trim the HPS veg, since the rotation is about to shift. I will probably trim again two weeks into HPS as part of a pre-flowering preparation.

Older clone trays are about a month old now and the success rate has been better this time around, with a rough estimate of about 70%. I'll know the exact number once they're planted. The newer clone trays are two weeks old now, and are showing signs of a mildew infestation. Some clones deteriorated at the base rather than the leaves and branches, which means that dipping clones in fungicide during cloning was a success. A few of the other clones that most likely weren't dipped in fungicide are showing mildew infestation at the leaves. Interestingly, a few of the clones have rooted above the rockwool as a result of 100% humidity, although this also helped the mold spread more rapidly.

MIDDLE
Water
pH 5.8
Fungicide (2 caps/1.5 gal)

Spider mites have returned, which is odd considering fungicide was sprayed aggressively above and below the canopy merely three days ago. There is a dangerous amount of yellow mite trails on the leaves and I will have to spray this room throughout the week to prevent further deterioration. Mildew is mostly absent from this room.

There also seems to be a pungent aroma emanating from these plants now, more so than previous harvests. It's hard to determine if this is merely the result of consistent growth or heavy use of Terpinator, but either way it's a good indicator of a favorable yield. Bubba is increasing in size rapidly, whereas the other indica-dominant strains seem to be noticeably less so. I've opted not to use Phosphoload here because I don't want to hinder cola production as I did in the Master. Whether or not I use Overdrive in the next feed will largely depend on how this room progresses over the next couple of days. If colas are still underdeveloped, I will wait until next week and continue with Big Bud.

MASTER

I've opted not to water today so the soil can dry for tomorrow, as most of the pots seem moderately moist. Upon examining the buds, I've noticed that many of the main colas in this room are Bubba, and are either leaning sideways on the trellis or propped closer to the light than other trees. It's possible that ineffective light distribution was a factor in underdevelopment of colas, but it's more likely that it was a combination of factors that lead to a low yield. On the bright side, THC production has stayed constant, and the colas are covered in THC, which will be the determining factor in how these flowers are sold.

HOW I FUCKED UP
Here I will identify the reasons why this room had a lackluster performance this rotation, and I'll order them by how much of an effect I think they had:

Trimming
If all the other mistakes were made here without trimming, this yield may would have probably been much higher. These trees were trimmed during Week 3-4 to promote growth on the upper portion of the canopy, but what happened instead was that the trees themselves were weakened to the point that it probably took close to an entire week (if not longer) to recover. During the first few weeks (pre-flower) light trimming may have been acceptable, even encouraged, to regulate growth, but during a time when the trees had already halted vertical growth and were trying to produce colas, trimming was counter-effective. On a technical note, the tree may have been stripped of valuable chlorophyll, among other nutrients, to effectively photosynthesize, thereby causing a bottleneck in the metabolic functions of the plants. Whatever the case may have been, it is imperative to limit trimming to veg only, and instead physically train the plants to allow for light penetration if the plants grow disproportionately.

Phosphoload
I intended to use Phosphoload as a means to boost cola production while not recognizing the chief function of Phosphoload as a plant growth regulator rather than a bud booster. Phosphoload may have been beneficial during the first few weeks to inhibit vertical growth, considering that this rotation consisted of overly tall plants, but it probably would've been better to avoid using Phosphoload altogether since I already had contained the growth with the trellis. Phosphoload should be used if the plants themselves are already formed in a manner that has allowed for even light distribution and height needs to be contained.

Growth Manipulation Techniques
Using the trellis to bend branches down here would have produced favorable results without Phosphoload, but the trellis still needs to be used more as a structural support tool rather than a growth manipulator. During past rotations, bending heads down didn't guarantee that lower branches would grow taller. The trellis only served to keep the heads lower than their natural height, but much of the top foliage still outgrew the bottom. It would have been much safer to instead bend all the branches outward from the center stalk, if at all. With proper training techniques implemented in veg, however, I wouldn't have to physically bend any branches at all, and the trellis would merely serve to keep the plants from falling over, as was initially intended.

Veg
Incorrect veg techniques and timing between trimming and cloning was also a factor here. From what I remember, these trees were left to grow tall and lanky, which is clearly a result of bad timing. Had growth been contained in veg, accounting for trim recovery time and vertical growth rates, I wouldn't have had to trim or bend branches in the first place. Phosphoload may have even been able to regulate growth for efficient light distribution, which also could have resulted in a higher yield.

Reaffirmation

During particular stretches of unfortunate events, such as low yields, it's important to consider all the reasons why we choose this line of work. Certainly there are plenty of other career paths and business opportunities that exist outside of the cannabis industry, all of which would require a substantial amount of time and effort just to get a foot in the door. It goes without saying that I've been through these "trials and tribulations," as they call it, after my first two years in the business, having suffered many losses and setbacks along the way. Some could even argue that my business is a "failure." I haven't seen the kind of monetary profit one would expect in an industry that mirrors the resurgence of alcohol in the 30's and the dot com boom of the 90's. At times, it seems like there is little to no advantage in doing what I do now, other than to avoid having to join the corporate rat race.

So why do this? Because profit doesn't have to always be monetary. Today I woke up a half an hour past noon. I stayed in bed for another two hours before I got up, took a shower, got dressed, and made a half hour drive to a Vietnamese restaurant for a bowl of pho and cup of iced coffee. I didn't call in sick. In fact, I didn't call anyone. I didn't have to be anywhere other than where I wanted to be. And it's Tuesday.

But with minimal tasks comes the thought of minimal progress. It's been said that you don't get anywhere by sitting on your ass doing nothing all day. Certainly there are things to do, such as general maintenance and planning for future projects. I still have a list of tasks that haven't been completed, although I've always been good at completing any set tasks within a specific amount of time regardless of when I start them. So where do we draw the line between generous time management and lethargy? How do we differentiate between "patient planning" and laziness?

The difference lies in how we define "work." Does work have to involve physical labor? Is it the amount of work we put in defined by the time spent on a particular set of tasks, or even the amount of tasks being completed within a certain amount of time? Do we define progress as the physical result of the work being completed? A restaurant manager might feel that they did a good job if all of the customers left the restaurant content with the food and service, whereas the owner might feel otherwise if there weren't enough customers to keep up revenues. A web developer for Amazon might be content with their performance after resolving a few lines of code to improve functionality of the website, whereas their CTO might feel that the entire code itself is fundamentally flawed.

Businesses such as these measure the quality of work by their peers, their competition, and their ability to sustain themselves, but therein lies one of the biggest difficulties of a sole proprietor. Without a general consensus of peers and competition, I have to constantly review my own work according to my own standards, which leaves little room for patting myself on the back even after hitting 4.5 under 4000 watts. I'm successful in my ability to grow decent product, but a failure as a business owner to keep profits high, and if I was to measure my own ability as an entrepreneur, I would be an absolute failure; entrepreneurs tend to measure themselves by net worth, and my business isn't an asset.

Looking forward, it almost seems like this business is inherently doomed. Legislation for cannabis isn't going to affect me directly, but if dispensaries have to adhere to government standards and customers refuse to buy from places that don't, I will have to adhere to the legislation as well, otherwise my market will be limited to non-compliant businesses. Powdery mildew and spider mites are going to be common problems even among experienced and well-funded growers, and there will definitely be compliant solutions to them, but I can only hope that these solutions will still be cheap. At this stage of my career as a private cannabis grower, I simply cannot afford to adhere to the rules without improving my yields.

There are other solutions. The cannabis industry is still growing, and a lot of money is going to be invested in cannabis in the near future. Every harvest is a resume that I'm sending to other growers and business owners. As long as the product is good and I am judicious with my choice in associates, I feel that I won't have to fold up my business in the near future. If I maintain production at a sustainable rate and progressively increase it, I may have a chance at something bigger. Staying the course I've set and meeting my own personal benchmarks is the best course of action at this point.

Pre-Harvest

Action:
-Feed/water
-Fungicide

VEG
300ml base
1000-1100 ppm
pH 6.0

HPS Veg is wilting more with every watering. Sub-branches are beginning to stretch more aggressively since last week. It's now apparent that early topping is necessary as an effective manipulating technique to inhibit vertical growth along with promoting sub-branch growth. I will need to transplant these as soon as possible.

MH Veg is also showing strong growth n branch circumference and overall foliage despite the shortage of plants here. Interestingly these plants are also growing wider than usual, although this is probably attributed to the shortage. Top branches seem to be producing more "Christmas" tree-like formations. By next week these trees should be topped to avoid any disproportionate growth.

T5 is growing at a much slower rate than all the other plants, which is expected. At least two of these plants are showing vertical and horizontal growth, while the rest struggling to produce more foliage. Powdery mildew has returned on the Bubba, as was also expected.

Clone trays are starting to show signs of deterioration. Older clones should already be rooted for the most part, and will be planted within a few days. The newer trays are showing some slight yellowing, but are mostly healthy. One Bubba clone on the newest tray elevated towards the HPS light has actually rooted. This tray consisted of only clones made with plugs in pH balanced water infused with the rooting supplement. It's unclear what the exact concentration of Clonex was used with these set of clones, but it most likely played a significant factor. So far, all the trays have had water changes every 3-4 days, with water exceeding no more than 2 cm in depth. Humidity dome was left closed throughout the process.

It's important to note that the main difference between this "Bubba" tray and the other trays is its proximity to the HPS light. This tray is elevated about two feet higher, while the other trays were placed in closer proximity to the T5 and MH. It's probably safe to assume that placing clones within a certain distance from the HPS could provide more favorable conditions than placing them near the T5. More research needs to be done to examine the difference effects each light might have on the clones, as well as with the entire grow as a whole.

MIDDLE
300ml base
150 Terpinator
6 tbsp Big Bud

Focus on growth has completely shifted from vertical stretching to cola production. Buds are becoming more prominent in size and weight. Fungicide was sprayed during the previous water, although there are very small signs of powdery mildew spreading among the Bubba, if at all. THC crystals are also forming heavily on the top colas. A point of concern in this room is the canopy size; many branches that were supposed to reach the second trellis haven't done so, while the foliage is only heavy among the trees in the front of the room. This could affect the final yield, but for now I believe it would actually be inefficient to add Phosphoload, as vertical growth as already stopped completely. This room is also approaching its 5th week, so the next feed will include Overdrive.

MASTER
Flush

Spraying fungicide aggresively (2 cups/gallon) seemed to work in washing a lot of the powdery mildew off the flowers, but I'll probably have to include a hydrogen peroxide bath when harvesting to clean as much of the buds as possible without harming yields and sales. Bubba seems to have ripened past its ideal harvesting stage as the pistils have turned from a light orange to a darker orange.

Growing Bubba has proven to be one of the more problematic strains to grow relative to other strains, given its lack of resistance to powdery mildew, difficulty in growth manipulation, and its 6-7 week flowering time. Interestingly, I've never had a problem selling Bubba, although there are many variations of the strain circulating in the markets. The problem lies in its inability to integrate into the system I have for growing mostly indica-dominant strains in addition to its low yield relative to other strains. If every Bubba tree was substituted for Abusive, True OG, Phantom, or Sour, the final yield would not only be greater, but the finished product would be easier to market. If Bubba is to be grown, it should be kept within a reasonable amount to simply fulfill a minimum order quantity, topping at maybe 1/2 pounds at most.

No Post

Actions:
-Feed
-Master flush

VEG
300ml base
pH 5.9
1000-1100 ppm
~15 gal

HPS Veg was more wilted than it's been so far, which is an indicator of increased metabolic activity. This rotation should be transplanted before next week to prevent any halt in photosynthesis, although it can probably wait until Monday at the latest. Sub branches are getting longer as well, and a light trimming will be necessary for bottom branches. Clones from this trimming session will be the most ideal to use for future rotations.

MH Veg is also drying at a faster rate, which is a good sign, although there is a concern that these pots might not be sufficient for continuous growth over the next month. I will probably have to transplant these sooner than usual, which shouldn't be a problem given that there are only 14 that are going in this rotation anyway.

T5 is progressing slower than anything else in the room, but steadily. GG, Abusive, and Mystery (probably GG) are growing tall and lanky, but fairly even. Bubba is growing compact, with almost no space between branches. This warrants constant trimming on the Bubba.

MIDDLE
320ml base
150ml Terpinator
6 tbsp Big Bud
pH 5.9
1200-1400 ppm
~18 gal

Top colas are quickly increasing in volume. Middle colas aren't that far behind tops and still growing. It's worth noting that pistils seem to be stretched out further than usual, which usually is a good indicator that the colas are developing as they should. There aren't any signs of wind burn despite the oscillating fan being in close proximity to the right side of the canopy, although the back right corner of the canopy has barely breached the first level trellis. There seems to be a higher concentration of heads reaching past the second level trellis in the middle of the canopy.

It's also worth noting that I haven't sprayed fungicide in the Middle in about a week. There hasn't been a noticeable sign of powdery mildew infecting this room other than in the back area. It's possible that fungicide hinders growth substantially, so I will refrain from applying it too often with this rotation.

MASTER
Flush

No data recorded.

Air Circulation

Actions:
-Water
-Changed clone tray water

VEG
Water
pH 5.8
~15 gal

HPS Veg isn't wilting as it usually would in square pots, except with the trees that weren't trimmed and cloned from, which leads me to believe that less moisture is absorbed from the roots following a heavy trimming. This would also lend more credence to the idea that trimming any foliage will actually result in a decrease in the overall metabolic processes of the plant. Trimming, therefore, must be timed precisely to allow for adequate recovery times, especially during pre-flowering.

MH Veg is progressing better than I had initially hoped. Branches are noticeable thicker, with even growth all around and consistent vertical growth, albeit a little slower than HPS. There was a possibility that MH, at 750 watts, was actually a major bottleneck in my production, but so far this theory has been dispelled by the progress of these plants. There is a fair degree of certainty that the bottleneck was attributed to pot size, as that is the only major difference between HPS and MH at this point. PW Lights and small square pots would initially show promise, but would stagnate while still under MH, producing skinnier branches, along with less desirable clones. Coupled with reckless and mistimed trimming in veg and bloom, root-bound pots would be a major reason as to why yields have been consistently low.

MIDDLE
Water
pH 5.9
~19 gal

Steady calyx development into colas. Vertical growth has nearly halted completely throughout the room. Most branches still haven't reached second level trellis. GG without SCROG, although boosted, seems to have shown the most vertical growth, as expected. I'll have to compare the yield of this individual tree with the Abusive in the back left corner to determine if SCROG produced any positive results; this Abusive was similar to GG in width, although GG had to be boosted to match in height.

Considering how the GG has developed, it would probably be better with future rotations to contain height below the first trellis upon transplanting into bloom without SCROG. All other variables considered, SCROG could actually hurt yields. In the past, when yields were higher without the use of trellis', branches were allowed to stretch horizontally, allowing for light penetration to the lower half of the canopy. Healthy development in bottom to mid colas was actually a benefit to achieving higher yields. For now I can only observe the differences in yields between the Middle and Master, but I intend to use the trellis in the Master as more of a support structure rather than a growth regulator.

MASTER
Water
pH 6.0
~15 gal

Bubba has ripened faster than all the other strains, which may warrant an early harvest. One GG in particular, however, hasn't developed at the same rate as all the other trees, and may actually need to be harvested earlier than it should for the sake of sticking to the schedule for the entire room. Hopefully this tree ripens fast enough over this coming weekend to meet quality standards. Abusive looks like it's deteriorating as well, and probably needs to be cut down early.

This room is a disaster. Powdery mildew, inconsistent growth, and the overall derelict appearance of the plants are all going to contribute to a shitty harvest. I'll have to spray fungicide again, and aggressively so, which might hurt the quality even further. I'll also be considering harvesting using a hydrogen peroxide bath to wash as much mildew off as possible. I'll also be flushing this room for the rest of the rotation.

Air Circulation
Proper air circulation involves using fans with adequate CFM ratings relative to the volume of the grow area to displace stagnant, warm, or humid air and replace it with fresh air. It was conceived that displacing hot air and pulling cooler air was necessary simply for temperature control, but the reasons behind it are actually biological.

The stomata on the leaves function as a way for the plant to absorb CO2 and oxygen while dispersing water vapor as a waste product in a process called transpiration, at which point the plant will draw more water from the roots. The stomata will behave according to the conditions of the plant and its surroundings. With a bright light and enough moisture available through the roots, the stomata will become dilated, allowing for more CO2 and oxygen to be absorbed. As the soil becomes dry, the stomata will close to preserve water, thereby halting photosynthesis. With too much water (overwatering) the stomata will dilate to release as much water vapor as possible, but at a rate that is dangerous to the plant's survival and development.

As the stomata releases water vapor as a waste product, this waste must be displaced from the room via dehumidifiers and inline fans. If the air becomes too thick with water vapor released from the stomata, the plant will have less access to essential CO2 and oxygen, which will disrupt photosynthesis depending on the stage of the grow. This is generally offset through the use of dehumidifiers and inline fans.

Oscillating fans present an interesting challenge. Placing these fans too close to the plants will cause "wind burns," where leaves become damaged through constant air being blown onto them. Oscillating fans would ideally be placed to gently circulate air around and above and canopy to keep the air from becoming stagnant.

Calculating the amount of CFM needed involves basic math. The Middle room will serve as an example here:

Volume: 10' x 10' x 12' = 1200 cubic feet

Adequate extraction time is about 3 minutes:

1200/3 = 400 CFM

Given a standard 6" inline fan provides 400 CFM, one should be adequate for a room of this size, but there are also other variables to consider. The number of lights, active/passive intake, use of carbon filters, and CO2 enrichment are all factors that should be included in determining a final CFM requirement, although a general rule of thumb is to always provide more CFM than required regardless of the situation.

In the case of the Master, with a requirement of 750 CFM, two 400 CFM exhaust fans with an active intake should be able to adequately circulate the air. The only foreseeable problem would be humidity, which can easily be offset with proper placement of oscillating fans and dehumidifiers.

Watering Intervals, Keeping Height Consistent, Trimming

Actions:
-Feed
-Fungicide
-Rearrange MH veg

VEG
300ml base
~15gal, little runoff

Top branches on HPS Veg are showing healthy growth, but lower branches don't seem to be going anywhere. I won't trim them for now because they could benefit me when they're put into the Master. Not much vertical growth except on the trees that weren't trimmed, although it's starting to pick up a little more. Recovery time seems to be average (about a week) from trimming.

MH Veg had to be rearranged. I'm down to 14 trees, which should be still be enough even without plants from T5 to compensate for the shortage. I believe there's enough foliage to cover an entire 4-light canopy, but this largely depends on their development over the next four weeks.

The Bubba clone tray, with the exception of maybe one or two clones, seems to be a lost cause due to mildew. Interestingly, The clones from last week are looking healthier than most of the others. I suspect that the use of plugs over cubes, generous use of Clonex, and more developed cuttings all played a factor, although it's too soon to say if they'll make it. They should be rooted later this week or early next week.

MASTER
300ml base
150ml Terpinator
150ml Overdrive
~15 gal, moderate runoff
Aggressive fungicide with focus on Bubba

Yield doesn't seem to be as hopeless as I previously thought, but it's still relatively low. Some of the colas from the middle of the canopy are looking the way they were intended, with natural calyxes and a cone shape. The production in the Master will still depend on the Bubba, but at least other strains aren't as hopeless.

MIDDLE
300ml base
150ml Terpinator
2 tbsp (6 tsp) Big Bud
~20 gal, moderate to heavy runoff

Soil was drier than usual with little condensation from AC, and without continuous operation of dehumidifier. Vertical growth is still slowing down but hasn't stopped completely, with more colas breaching the second level trellis. Other prominent colas are growing too close to the light, and I'm considering bending these branches down. Top colas have started to increase in size in the trees that have stopped vertical growth altogether, despite heavy foliage and slight obstruction from the light.

I procured a decent amount of Big Bud powder and introduced it for the first time here. I took a calculated risk, considering the powder had been slightly exposed to summer heat and winter moisture over the last year and a half. I mixed it according to instructions on the label, which recommended 1.5 tsp per 5 gallons. At 20 gallons this would equate to 6 tsp, or 2 tbsp, although I measured slightly less-than-level tablespoons. in addition to breaking up any clumps in the bag, in case the powder has indeed become toxic.

Powdery mildew for the most part hasn't returned in most of the trees except for the Bubba in the back of the room. It would seem that the lower humidity has kept the spread at bay as expected. I will have to continue applying fungicide for preventative purposes, but less aggressively.

Watering Intervals
Rule of thumb dictates that the soil should only be watered after the soil becomes relatively dry, but there are conflicting opinions about what "relatively dry" means. Many say that a soil medium needs to be dry up to one inch from the surface of the top layer of dirt, meaning that I would have to poke each individual pot of dirt to measure moisture.

With regards to coco coir, many say that it should be watered every two days and treated as a hydroponic medium, as coco doesn't break down in the same manner that other soil mediums do. It also has good aeration, especially when perlite is included in the mixture. In my experience with coco and Promix, plants need to be watered every two days, with the exception of newly-transplanted trees that may allow 3-day intervals.

Keeping Consistent Plant Sizes Pre-Bloom
The primary goal in Veg is to keep all the trees level in height, which can be difficult when it comes to strains that have a tendency to grow tall. This is especially true with Indica strains like Abusive, GG, and Sour. Several variables should be considered when dealing with height:

-Proximity of each individual plant to light source
-Growth rates of specific strains
-Pot size
-Foliage density
-Interval between trimming/cloning and transplant

This is given all other variables of the setup stay constant, including pot-to-light distance, grow space, feeding schedule, and plant size. (Between 4-5 feet at Day One in flower)

Rotating the plants around is an absolute must in Veg. Plants that are closer to the light tend to grow out of control, and even the bigger trees placed on the edges will tend to obstruct the light from adjacent trees. Similar strains should be grown together and trimmed accordingly to focus growth on the top third of the plant. Topping has to be timed precisely to allow adequate lateral growth, and should take place at least one week after cloning, and two weeks before flowering. Ideally, there will be a "menorah" branch formation prior to bloom.

Trimming
Trimming should also be limited to veg only, where growth can be easily manipulated. Avoid leafing and pruning in flower at all costs. It is more beneficial for the plant to absorb as much chlorophyll as it can in bloom through the existing leaves rather than produce new chlorophyll in new leaves. Leafing also disrupts the metabolic balance in the plant, which can induce premature maturation and under consumption of supplemental nutrients. This will result in undersized colas and can even lead to changes in sex. Despite bottom leaves turning yellow, there is a higher advantage in allowing the plant to flower without having to refocus its energy towards healing itself.

Harvesting and Curing

Actions:
-Water
-Fungicide everything
-Replaced water in clone trays

VEG
Water
pH 5.9
Late feed

The older Phantom clones are starting to show more roots, but most of the roots are coming from the Abusive and GSC. Some leaves on the Phantom are yellowing, but there seems to be enough rooted for T5 to be on schedule for a more than adequate rotation. There are also roots appearing on the stem above the rooting cubes, which is a definite sign of improvement compared to previous trays. Mildew has infected the Bubba tray as expected despite heavy saturation of fungicide. I am considering not using Bubba at all for upcoming rotations. A gel-like substance has formed at the bottom of the cubes as well, which I can only explain as waste product from plant development, although this could also be attributed to lack of aeration between the cubes; this type of thing wasn't a concern with the plugs.

HPS Veg wasn't as wilted again. New heads are sprouting from branches after topping, which is a good indicator of steady growth. I'm a little concerned about the lower branches not getting enough light, so I'll either have to clone a few more or just throw them away. I'll observe their growth more closely over the weekend to determine what I need to do next week.

MH Veg is growing well despite my concerns about overwatering. I'm tempted to top some of them, but I have to wait until the Master is cut down.

MASTER
Water
pH 5.9
Early feed

More white pistils and a slight increase in the underdeveloped colas, which is a strong indicator of a recovery from whatever happened to this room over the last two weeks. I still suspect an underwhelming yield.

MIDDLE
Water
pH 5.9
Dark feed

Humidity seems to be lower at this stage of flowering. AC condenser collected about 2-3 gallons over the past two days, while the dehumidifier ran almost a full day after the last feed. Vertical growth hasn't fully stopped yet, while calyxes are starting to form colas.

It's not certain if SCROG was a mistake here. In the plants that were bent over, more of the canopy seems filled and lush, with at least two heads per square in the trellis. Vertical growth almost surpassed the second level trellis as well. The trees that weren't SCROG'd seem to be more spaced out, and perhaps may even yield less considering their proximity to the lights. SCROG'd colas are slightly smaller than their un-SCROG'd counterparts, so it's difficult to say which method worked better. There also seems to be overgrowth underneath the canopy. I've refrained from trimming until vertical growth completely stops.

HARVESTING AND CURING
The Master is scheduled to be harvested in a couple of weeks, so it's important to review proper trimming and curing techniques. After years of experimenting with different methods of trimming and drying, I've opted to cut off as many leaves as possible at harvest rather than at point of sale. It's said that chlorophyll from the leaves is fed back into the colas during the drying process, which affects smell, taste and potency. It also adds moisture to the buds, which would explain why the last harvest, during which the buds were trimmed bare of any leaves, dried up faster than previous harvests.

Buds should have below 15% moisture to prevent fungal growth, and about 10-12% moisture for optimum quality. Finished product tends to actually increase in quality over time as moisture becomes uniform throughout the jar, although this also involves airing out the jars over the course of a week or two to "sweat" out excess moisture. As moisture gravitates towards the bottom of the jars, the product needs to be poured out and "fluffed" for a period of time and then placed back into the jars for a uniform look and feel to the buds.

Some of this can be tricky when faced with strict sale deadlines and looming overhead expenses, and proper techniques sometimes have to be compromised for sales. My current schedule gives me two full weeks from harvest to sale. Drying the buds usually takes anywhere between 4-7 days, while I'll have about another week to sell at least two pounds to cover overhead expenses. I've been fortunate enough to sell an adequate amount of product within the first two days of curing to cover those expenses, but without proper curing with low yields, lower quality product, or saturated markets, I need to be very cautious about curing.

Preserving weight while maintaining proper moisture levels hasn't been too much of a challenge, but storage, even if only for a couple of days, can have dramatic effects on the product if done improperly, as was the case with the True OG from the 4.5 harvest. Jars have to be cleaned thoroughly and buds have to be aired out sufficiently while awaiting sale. Daily maintenance should include a fluffing routine during pre-sale periods.