New Grower First Grow - ILGM Blueberry - Indoor

[Bruce Campbell]

- These f###ers are getting hard to kill. Went a day longer than I should have between waterings, and they got a bit droopy during the dark. But, decided to try to kill feed them again.

- Sam's slowly getting better, but still past saving. I'll put him out of his misery when I get around to it.

- Easier to train now that they're growing like mad. Starting to fill out past the edges of the pots and run into each other. Need to start spreading them out and letting them grow up.

- Need to upgrade my circulating air. Trying to decide between a big-ass box fan I already have, putting the carbon filter I'm not using inside with another duct fan and elbow, or do it right with a decent-sized oscillating fan.

- Started adding some bloom nutes from the trio, but mainly to balance out K and Mg in the overall feed. We'll see if this finally kills them off. Feed so far:

Family photo (we made Sam hold the camera):

 

[Bruce Campbell]

Still going strong. Need them to start growing vertical, but since the lower nodes keep filling out and they keep getting bushier, I keep tying them down instead of letting them go up. Gave them a few days of water / no nutes to redistribute whatever may be building up in there. They're pretty thirsty and going through about 3 cups per day. Some burnt tips / edges on a few random leaves, but nothing to make me worry.

Sam (the scrawny one) is finally drinking pretty decently, but leaves are still coming in skinny and not fully developing. As a result, he keeps stretching. Figure I'll go full bonsai on him and start training him wherever he randomly wants to go.

Got a tower fan on the way, but put the box fan I have in there for now. Takes up a bit of space and I keep waiting for one of their branches to get sucked into it, but I should probably be able to remove the humidifiers soon.

Feed so far:

 

[Bruce Campbell]

- Looking a bit droopy, I think b/c I've been trying to keep them well-watered after I went an extra day last week between waterings. Light-green new growth went away, but now some random lower leaves are yellowing a bit. Probably time for another feed tomorrow.

- Raised the light a bit - was closer than I thought since they had grown. Should start carving notches in the tent posts or something to track them. Have some bamboo stakes I could add to do that. Should also do a better job of checking PPFDs, what height I should be at, etc...but, lazy

- Saw the first hint of a pistil on Sam, so I guess he gets a stay of execution for a bit. Growth tips so weird, though - the skinny leaves combined with what's starting to look like pre-buds. And the stems are almost growing more like vines than a flowering plant. I blame genetics. Yeah, that must be it...not my fault at all

 

[Bruce Campbell]

Fed again today. Updated actual feed schedule is below. A few of the bottom fan leaves on some plants are yellowing, so I may need to switch to more frequent / lower strength feedings.

These air pots dry out a bit quicker than fabrics, plus I think I used ones that are a bit smaller than I should have, so I'm watering just about every day. We're gonna need a bigger spreadsheet...

 

[Bruce Campbell]

- 35 days old! That means I should be halfway there, right?!?

- Fed them again at half-strength of the last feed. Not sure where the water's going, but Bubba drank nearly 3 pints in a day...

- Ashley and Briscoe have a few yellow leaves on the bottom, but I think it's more of a lighting / training issue than a nute issue. I trained them over to one side, so half of the lower leaves have to grow/stretch out from under the rest of the canopy. I left Bubba au natural with no LST and none of those issues with him.



- Here's proof of life on Sam:



Just training him however I can without snapping him again. He hasn't died yet, so that split in his main node seems to be sealing up.

 

[Bruce Campbell]

Keep getting some yellow leaves. Seem to be both big and small fan leaves at the bottom and within the canopy - mainly ones that have extra long stems, etc that seem to be struggling to get light. Also seem to be getting some general lightening of Ashley and Briscoe, and some purpling of stems on Briscoe.

I had changed feed to "go half strength, but more frequent", but they look like they need more N and P. So, I guess it's back to high strength.

 

[Bruce Campbell]

- Need to take some individual pics. I keep just taking full tent pics for the Mars contest...



- Stretching, with Briscoe leading the way at 2-in/day. Not all that much room left to raise my light...may need to top him if he doesn't stop soon. The others are also stretching, but ~4"-6" shorter than Briscoe.

- Tent humidity is hitting ~80% at night, so need to start thinking about changing up ventilation. No fancy AC infinity fans, so main duct fan is only on/off based on high temp. Would be nice if I had a second duct fan / exhaust line. But, for now, may eventually just switch the main duct fan over to the humidity controller outlet on my inkbird.

- Feed chart below. Waiting until stretch stops to start ramping down N. Still fighting some yellowing leaves at the bottoms - happens to both big fan leaves at the edges and random smaller leaves inside the canopy. Still telling myself it's normal and just a lighting thing, though...

 

[Bruce Campbell]

Just pics for today, no major updates. Still stretching ~2-in per day and drinking ~3 pints per day.

 

[Bruce Campbell]

Been starting to plan for my next grow. Main objective will be to use the feed ratios above and see if I can dial in the best levels for the strain.

Here's what I got so far:

• Keep running the ILGM blueberry. I got them during a buy 10 / get 10 free sale, so I have plenty. I'll run them a few more times to tweak things before switching strains.
• Switch to 2x2 perpetual grow. My canopy's crowded with 3 plants and a runt, so I'll stagger them. I'll do two at a time so I only have to worry about two different ages.
• Switch to Pro-Mix HP. It's just a 70/30 peat-perlite mix with myco, bacillus, and some lime. It's the closest commercial option I've found to Bigbee's mix. No nutrients (except some minor S/Ca from the limes), so I can feed from the start.
• Switch to Megacrop 2-part as base feed. After goal-seeking different options in Excel, it seems to be the best option for my target feed ratio. It's a bit high in micros compared to other brands and a bit higher in K than I'd like, but I'll start with it. Eventually, I may need to mix up half a dozen or more products if I really want to fine-tune the ratios.
• Purchase some 3-gal fabric pots. I'll try them out and compare vs. the airpots. I like airpots because they're more rigid and I move my plants around a lot. I don't like them because they make watering a bit of a pain.
• Stick with hand watering and feeding for now. Drip / flood system would come after I have a known workable feed rate / schedule.
• Next upgrade would probably be an extra duct fan and controller and/or switching to AC infinity fans, but probably at least a grow or two away.

 

[Bruce Campbell]

- Graph time!

- Stretch is slowing ever so slightly. Tallest is now only 12-in from light, so time to plan out some supercropping.

- Tomorrow is feed time. I guess I'll start to reduce N a bit...let's say ~20%. Excel goal-seek gave me this formula:

-	RO/Demin	1	gal
Bloom City	Silica Boost	0.75	mL
Fox Farms / CN	Grow	5	mL
Fox Farms / CN	Micro	5.5	mL
Fox Farms / CN	Bloom	7.75	mL

	N	P	K	Ca	Mg	S	Cu	Fe	Mo	Zn	B	Mn	Si
Total PPM (mg/L):	99.08	50.44	147.50	72.66	37.32	20.48	0.73	1.45	0.01	0.73	0.29	0.73	1.98

- For comparison, here's where my schedule says I should be about now:

	Fox Farms Schedule Feed: ppm = mg per L Water
	Week
Auto Week:	1-2	2	3	4	Skip	5	Skip	6	7	8	9	10+	Skip
Stage:	Seedling	Veg	Veg	Veg	Veg	Pre-Flower	Pre-Flower	Pre-Flower	Pre-Flower	Flower	Flower	Flower	Flush
Week:	Seedlings	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
N	13.04	26.08	117.38	117.38	117.38	117.38	91.30	91.30	91.30	65.21	65.21	0.00	0.00
P	2.85	5.69	11.38	11.38	39.84	39.84	34.15	62.61	62.61	56.91	56.91	56.91	56.91
K	32.48	64.96	140.75	140.75	184.06	184.06	119.10	162.41	162.41	97.44	97.44	86.62	86.62
Ca	0.00	0.00	65.21	65.21	65.21	65.21	65.21	65.21	65.21	65.21	65.21	0.00	0.00
Mg	3.26	6.52	13.04	13.04	32.61	32.61	26.08	45.65	45.65	39.13	39.13	39.13	39.13