BoohdahLovah's Soil Purple Juice Auto Grow Journal 2023

[Melville Hobbes]

Perfect. Thanks for your help. As eager as I am to try her out, I’m more than happy to wait for the buds to ripen fully.

Sorry for a random question, but is your name in reference to a comic strip about a boy and his tiger friend?

Yep!
Wasn't supposed to be, but I was stoned, and it ended up being a name I can live with!

 

[BoohdahLovah]

I managed to pick up the fan and have now set it up. I’ve got the carbon filter in the tent, with the fan sitting outside for the moment. I also moved the driver for the light outside of the tent. Hopefully this’ll keep the temperature down.

I can now see the humidity as well as the temperature inside the tent. It shows temp in Fahrenheit, and I know celcius, but I’ll use trusty Google if I need to convert.

So the humidity in the tent is around 42%, which seems a little low. I might get a humidifier or something if I need to.

I’ve set the fan for max temp 82 degrees f, and min 62 degrees f. And max humidity of 65% and min 35%. Please let me know if they’re alright. The fan definitely kicks on and kicks off when it’s too hot and when it goes below the max temp.

It’s so good to have some more stats to help get the best out of my grows.

 

[BoohdahLovah]

Day: 82 since planting the seed

She still doesn’t quite look ready as there are still plenty of clear trichomes. I’ve stopped feeding her extra nutes and will just leave whatever’s left in the soil. I’ve read mixed reviews on whether flushing does anything, but I’m going to go ahead with it as that’s what I did with the last grow.

She’s still smelling sweet and some of the buds are looking massive. My mate who gave me the seed has grown another one and he’s reporting that his is stumpy too.

I’ve ordered another tent of the same size so I’m keen to get the Gary Poppins going. I’m going to start another journal when I get started. It should hopefully arrive within a week. I was hoping before the weekend so I could set it up, but I don’t think it’s meant to be.

I love the FC-3000 light and I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do with it. I’m also happy with the soil and nutrient schedule I’ve got going on. It’s supposed to be all organic, so I feel like the end product is going to be even better than I can imagine.

I think I might get an oz from this grow, even though she’s stumpy. I’ll be posting whatever the weight is. I’m not the best trimmer yet, so my buds are not going to look top shelf, but I’m sure I’m going to enjoy the smoke.

 

[BoohdahLovah]

Day: 86 since planting the seed

The humidity has been a bit high today. The fan is currently on the highest setting and it’s sitting at about 60%. I really hope it settles down. I’ve got a small dehumidifier that I can put in the tent if it doesn’t go down tomorrow.

I’ve taken some pics and hope someone can help with letting me know if she’s ready or close to being ready. Apologies in advance for the quality of the photos. Holding the magnifying thing and my phone at the same time isn’t the easiest for me, and steady shots are hard enough to take.

 

[Azimuth]

Depends on how you like your effects, I suppose.

I don't see any amber in the trichomes and not all of the pistils/stigmas have darkened and crinkled in yet. Once they do, start checking trichomes.

Clear = not ready yet, mostly cloudy with just a little amber = more uplifting, energetic high, mostly amber = more couchlock as more of the THC converts over to CBN, the sleepy time cannabinoid.

 

[BoohdahLovah]

Depends on how you like your effects, I suppose.

I don't see any amber in the trichomes and not all of the pistils/stigmas have darkened and crinkled in yet. Once they do, start checking trichomes.

Clear = not ready yet, mostly cloudy with just a little amber = more uplifting, energetic high, mostly amber = more couchlock as more of the THC converts over to CBN, the sleepy time cannabinoid.

Thanks for your reply @Azimuth. I’ll keep an eye on the plant for the signs to show when she’s ready. The Purple Juice is an indica dominant strain, but I don’t mind if I have it a bit more uplifting. There are some underdeveloped buds under the top ones, so I’ll chop the top ones when they’re mostly cloudy. That way I guess I can let the second round go a little bit longer with more amber to get a feel of both.

I guess I’m getting a little impatient and want to reap the rewards too quick. Patience is a virtue that sometimes escapes me.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Azimuth]

Harvesting too early also can sacrifice some yield as they usually bulk up as well going into the end.

Hard to wait, but well worth it in the end.

 

[BoohdahLovah]

Harvesting too early also can sacrifice some yield as they usually bulk up as well going into the end.

Hard to wait, but well worth it in the end.

Also, I’ve been looking into SIP and I think I’m going to give it a go maybe with the next grow. I’ve been seeing journals with monster growth which is pretty exciting. It seems pretty straight forward. I’m thinking of going with the perlite base to begin with, seeing as I’ve already got some, and see how that goes.

 

[StoneOtter]

I'm having a lot of fun SIP'n! Plants get so happy!

 

[BoohdahLovah]

Day: 91 since planting the seed

I feel like this is taking ages, but I really want to get the most out of this grow. Surely she’s ready soon.

The buds are so fat and smell so nice. I’m so keen to test her out once she’s dried and ready to go. I’ll hopefully give a good smoke review. The tent’s about 44% RH and 23 degrees celcius. The temps got in the low 30’s (86F) today and because the exhaust fan was on it got down to the mid 30’s % RH, which I hope isn’t going to negatively affect anything at this stage.

I’ve put the Gary Poppins in for veg. I’m going to create a separate journal for it. I’m using my old @Mars Hydro 96 reflector led for now. When I save up enough I’ll buy another FC 3000. The light has done a great job on this grow. [EDIT: Journal link now in my signature]

I’ll be getting a clone of Cereal Milk in the very near future, which I’m hoping to keep as a mother plant. I’ve heard good things about it so I’m looking forward to trying that out too.

Anyway, I’m hoping someone will have good news for me from looking at the following photos and tell me the ideal harvest window is open.

 

[StoneOtter]

The window looks open to me BL! When the pistils get all crinkled up and dry it's time. Trichomes milky with some amber is what I usually try for but that's a personal judgment. Trichomes get read on the bud , not on a leaf. One thing that would keep that one alive for me would be to get the lower buds more mature if they need it. Nice work!

 

[BoohdahLovah]

The window looks open to me BL! When the pistils get all crinkled up and dry it's time. Trichomes milky with some amber is what I usually try for but that's a personal judgment. Trichomes get read on the bud , not on a leaf. One thing that would keep that one alive for me would be to get the lower buds more mature if they need it. Nice work!

Music to my ears SO. Thanks for the info. I was thinking about doing a two stage harvest, so you’ve just helped confirm that’s what I’ll do. My only issue is that I used the tent to dry last time because I thought it’d be the best environment available to me. Now I don’t have that option. I might have to do it in a cardboard box or something. I’ll look up alternative methods.

 

[Azimuth]

Music to my ears SO. Thanks for the info. I was thinking about doing a two stage harvest, so you’ve just helped confirm that’s what I’ll do. My only issue is that I used the tent to dry last time because I thought it’d be the best environment available to me. Now I don’t have that option. I might have to do it in a cardboard box or something. I’ll look up alternative methods.

Any room for a small, narrow cardboard box in the tent? You could hang some wire or string between the sides and create your own mini drying station. It's about keeping light off them at that stage as much as it is controlling the temp and humidity, but if you have room right in the tent that might give you another option.

 

[BoohdahLovah]

Any room for a small, narrow cardboard box in the tent? You could hang some wire or string between the sides and create your own mini drying station. It's about keeping light off them at that stage as much as it is controlling the temp and humidity, but if you have room right in the tent that might give you another option.

I’ve got two tents going now. They’re both 2’ x 2’ x 6’. Tent 1 has a new grow I started the day before yesterday, which is in veg. That has a passive intake and exhausts with a 4” fan to tent 2 (via ducting), which is this grow. Tent 2 has a filter and fan exhausting out. What I’m thinking of doing is putting the cardboard box between the two tents, so the exhaust of tent 1 goes into the box, and the box then exhausts into tent 2. That should give me plenty of airflow, but will it be too much?

 

[Azimuth]

I'd be concerned it would be too moist and retard your dry and open you up to mold. If you do that, make sure you have a hygrometer in the drying box you monitor your levels.

 

[BoohdahLovah]

I'd be concerned it would be too moist and retard your dry and open you up to mold. If you do that, make sure you have a hygrometer in the drying box you monitor your levels.

The last thing I want after all of this time is to lose the buds to mold or ruin them due to not drying correctly.

I’ve got the cheap, mini hygrometers that can be put in curing jars which I was definitely going to put in the box. The exhaust fan in tent 2 is connected to a humidity/temp sensor which is set to go on at 55% humidity and 27 degrees celcius (80F).

If I was to somehow squeeze the box in the tent, how do I go about getting airflow in it? Do I make some holes in the box, or will opening to check it everyday work well enough?

 

[Azimuth]

If I was to somehow squeeze the box in the tent, how do I go about getting airflow in it? Do I make some holes in the box, or will opening to check it everyday work well enough?

Here's one Shed built with lower holes on one side, upper holes on the opposite side. @Carcass built one similar but with a filterar the top of the box that also has a small fan to increase air flow. Don't have a link to that one for some reason.

 

[BoohdahLovah]

Here's one Shed built with lower holes on one side, upper holes on the opposite side. @Carcass built one similar but with a filterar the top of the box that also has a small fan to increase air flow. Don't have a link to that one for some reason.

Thanks for posting the link. That’s super helpful.

I’ve got a couple of nappy/diaper boxes I’m going to put together to use as a big box. I’ve been able to cut a hole in some spare cardboard as a test to stick the mini hygrometer so it stays in place but can be seen from outside. Hopefully that works too.

 

[BoohdahLovah]

Seeing as I’ve got a whole lot of cardboard boxes, I’ve put together my initial idea of using the two tents’ exhaust/intake and see what the readings are like before I do my first round of chopping. If I don’t like the readings I’m going to try and fit a box in the tent somehow as @Azimuth has proposed.

So I’ve taped two boxes together, giving me about a metre (3ft) tall box. I’ve got the exhaust from tent 1 going into the bottom and the exhaust from the box at the top going to the into tent 2.

I’ve put a piece of cardboard with holes poked into it just above the box intake as a sort of baffle so there’s no direct breeze going on, but I can remove it if necessary.

I’ve put a mini hygrometer just above the baffle and another one close to the top of the box to monitor the temp (in Fahrenheit) and humidity.

So after I have a few looks over the next few hours I should (hopefully) have a fair idea if the conditions are alright for drying.

Please let me know your thoughts.

 

[BoohdahLovah]

So the readings are as follows as per the mini hygrometers I put at the top and the bottom of the boxes. I didn’t record as many as I probably should have. I also only took a record of the sensor on tent 2 at the last read as another comparison.

2:30pm
Top: RH 41% Temp 22.33C (72.2F)
Bottom: RH 43% Temp 22.05C (71.7F)

3:21pm
Top: RH 38% Temp 21.94C (71.5F)
Bottom: RH 39% Temp 22.44F (72.4F)

9:32pm
Top: RH 53% Temp 17.38C (63.3F)
Bottom: RH 51% Temp 17.94 (64.3F)
Sensor on tent 2: RH 53% Temp 22C (71.6F)

From what I’ve read, these readings could possibly work with my little frankendryer, and I think I’m factoring in the RH will rise a little when the buds are in there. My aim is to keep the buds on the stem and dry trim. I’ll be chopping tomorrow night so there’s a little bit of time and I’d love some feedback if anyone would like to share. Thanks heaps in advance.