StrawberryYields
Well-Known Member
Hey all! Been a long while since I've been able to tool around on here.
I've been out of work on medical leave for my PTSD and major depressive disorder, and it's been rough to say the least. After months of intense therapy I've been able to avoid an IOP program. Becoming a grower has helped me sift through trauma I went through that I hadn't recognized before. Happy to say I finally feel on an upswing.
My plants have kept me busy, and it's been really nice to have something that I can put as much attention as I want into without NEEDING to do so much every day. It's also rewarding in the end, and learning about how plants interact with their roots, microbes, rhizosphere, etc. helps you understand why the world works the way it does. Coping becomes almost effortless and you start to forgive yourself for not being perfect when people expected you to be. Then it makes it much easier to forgive others when they don't act how you expected.
Anyway, onto the grow. Still made some mistakes, but they were minor and the plants have great genes haha Two plants this time, both also Strawberry Fields from the same batch of bag seed. Gonna bullet point to keep this short as possible after the long ass intro:
- Popped them on 7/31 and 8/2 respectively.
- Planted in 100% ProMix w/ mycorrhizae
(- First mistake was not knowing peat was inert)
- Lighting: Started them off in my 600W HPS tent, but didn't have what I needed to keep the VPD in range so they were pretty haggard looking early veg. Switched them to my LED tent (480W MarsHydro). They grew slow but steady after that. On Christmas, I was gifted a Rapid LED 100W plug and play logic puck. Game changer for sure. Knew it would be, but I'm still of the mindset that my Mars did more than what I needed it to for about the same price point. No denying that LED tech has gotten better, but that doesn't make blurples useless. People will disagree, to each their own.
- Flipped to 12/12 on 11/27 pre-flowers appeared by mid-December.
- Nutes: [VEG] Fox Farm Big Bloom and Grow Big. Supplemented with Microbe Life's all in one. Hit it with Recharge when I got my hands on a sample pack and they loved it.
[FLOWER] Aurora Soul's Bloom, Infinity, and Big Swell all at 1/4 to 1/2 strength. Having learned about inert media by then, and added the second light, they killed it in flower and harvested right around day 60. Color changes were absolutely crazy, didn't even know strawberry strains got that dark.
- Harvest: Chopped 3/7 cola on 1/17 of the larger of the two plants due to ripeness of trics. Put the remainder through a 48 dark period and took down the rest on 1/19. Wet trimmed. Noob error, didn't research the difference enough.
- Dry: My apartment is old and my closet isn't insulated. I made a nifty hanging container with some dowels, a computer box, and cheap hygrometer. Been working like a charm so far.
Putting as many pics as I can. Let me know what you think!!
I've been out of work on medical leave for my PTSD and major depressive disorder, and it's been rough to say the least. After months of intense therapy I've been able to avoid an IOP program. Becoming a grower has helped me sift through trauma I went through that I hadn't recognized before. Happy to say I finally feel on an upswing.
My plants have kept me busy, and it's been really nice to have something that I can put as much attention as I want into without NEEDING to do so much every day. It's also rewarding in the end, and learning about how plants interact with their roots, microbes, rhizosphere, etc. helps you understand why the world works the way it does. Coping becomes almost effortless and you start to forgive yourself for not being perfect when people expected you to be. Then it makes it much easier to forgive others when they don't act how you expected.
Anyway, onto the grow. Still made some mistakes, but they were minor and the plants have great genes haha Two plants this time, both also Strawberry Fields from the same batch of bag seed. Gonna bullet point to keep this short as possible after the long ass intro:- Popped them on 7/31 and 8/2 respectively.
- Planted in 100% ProMix w/ mycorrhizae
(- First mistake was not knowing peat was inert)
- Lighting: Started them off in my 600W HPS tent, but didn't have what I needed to keep the VPD in range so they were pretty haggard looking early veg. Switched them to my LED tent (480W MarsHydro). They grew slow but steady after that. On Christmas, I was gifted a Rapid LED 100W plug and play logic puck. Game changer for sure. Knew it would be, but I'm still of the mindset that my Mars did more than what I needed it to for about the same price point. No denying that LED tech has gotten better, but that doesn't make blurples useless. People will disagree, to each their own.
- Flipped to 12/12 on 11/27 pre-flowers appeared by mid-December.
- Nutes: [VEG] Fox Farm Big Bloom and Grow Big. Supplemented with Microbe Life's all in one. Hit it with Recharge when I got my hands on a sample pack and they loved it.
[FLOWER] Aurora Soul's Bloom, Infinity, and Big Swell all at 1/4 to 1/2 strength. Having learned about inert media by then, and added the second light, they killed it in flower and harvested right around day 60. Color changes were absolutely crazy, didn't even know strawberry strains got that dark.
- Harvest: Chopped 3/7 cola on 1/17 of the larger of the two plants due to ripeness of trics. Put the remainder through a 48 dark period and took down the rest on 1/19. Wet trimmed. Noob error, didn't research the difference enough.
- Dry: My apartment is old and my closet isn't insulated. I made a nifty hanging container with some dowels, a computer box, and cheap hygrometer. Been working like a charm so far.
Putting as many pics as I can. Let me know what you think!!
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