[burnoutstoner]

---

Hey everyone, first-time grower here. I’m finally starting a diary so I can track progress, get feedback, and hopefully not screw this up too badly.

For this first grow, my only goal is to make it to harvest while learning along the way without torching my plants. LMFAO — already off to a rough start, but luckily some members here helped me out:

https://www.thcfarmer.com/threads/n...y-seedlings.174656/?post=3407794#post-3407794

I’m now getting this grow back on track and starting this grow diary.

First step, I need to identify my females, then I will make clones of them to flower.

Next, I will be learning mainlining, LST training, and SCROG methods.

Next grow, after this harvest, I will start popping more seeds to begin a Mr. Nice Seeds - Critical Mass Strain- phenotype hunt. For now, I only have 5 beans and only 4 popped, so I’m working with what I’ve got and gaining some experience. Then I will buy more seeds.

My goal is to get really good at growing this Mr. Nice Seeds Critical Mass strain.

I just want big yields of decent-quality buds. I’m not really super picky or looking for all the exotic strains. If it gets me high and is decent enough for me and my friends to smoke, I’m happy.

Full Setup​

Main Grow Tent
AC Infinity 4'x4'
HLG Scorpion Diablo X – 715 watts
System PPF Efficacy: 2.95 μmol/J
Total Output: 2105 PPF
Two HLG UVA 30 supplement bars
AC Infinity AI controller
Ventilation (4x4): AC Infinity Cloudline PRO 6"
Two AC Infinity THERMOFORGE T3 heaters
AC Infinity CLOUDFORGE T7 humidifier
AC Infinity HYDRONE 5 dehumidifier
AC Infinity Self-Watering Fabric Pot Base XL with Auto-Fill Valve Kit

Mother Plant Tent
Mars Hydro 2'x2' tent
AC Infinity 69 controller
Mars Hydro TS 1000
Ventilation (2x2): AC Infinity Cloudline T4
AC Infinity CLOUDFORGE T3 humidifier

Clone Station
T5 full spectrum light
9-site aeroponic clone system

A few more details about the products and materials I’ll be using during this grow:

Fabric Pots: 1, 7, and 10 gallon pots
Medium: Fox Farm pre-buffered 70/30 coco coir in 16 oz red Solo cups (5 drain holes each, elevated on a rack for full drainage)
Water: RO filtered water (baseline 10–20 µS EC)
Nutes: Jacks 3-2-1 (Part A 5-12-26 + Part B 15-0-0 calcium nitrate + Epsom salt). I’m using Jacks 3-2-1 because it’s cheap, easy, and has everything cannabis plants need. I bought 25 lb bags of Parts A, B, and C, so I’ll be using these nutes for a long time
Additives: GH Rapid Start, GH Armor Si, GH Cali-Magic, Great White mycorrhizae, Clonex
IPM: Athena IPM, Captain Jack's Neem Oil, and Summit Mosquito Bits
Seeds: 4 regular photoperiod seeds (breeder: Mr. Nice Seeds – Critical Mass)

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Anyway, that’s the plan for now. I’m sure I’ll make plenty of mistakes along the way, but that’s part of the learning process. Feel free to follow along, give advice, or roast me when I inevitably do something dumb. I am gonna need all the help I can get.

Hopefully this diary ends with jars full of Critical Mass… and not me posting a “what went wrong?” thread in three months.

 

[PlumberSoCal2]

---

Hey everyone, first-time grower here. I’m finally starting a diary so I can track progress, get feedback, and hopefully not screw this up too badly.

For this first grow, my only goal is to make it to harvest while learning along the way without torching my plants. LMFAO — already off to a rough start, but luckily some members here helped me out:

https://www.thcfarmer.com/threads/n...y-seedlings.174656/?post=3407794#post-3407794

I’m now getting this grow back on track and starting this grow diary.

First step, I need to identify my females, then I will make clones of them to flower.

Next, I will be learning mainlining, LST training, and SCROG methods.

Next grow, after this harvest, I will start popping more seeds to begin a Mr. Nice Seeds - Critical Mass Strain- phenotype hunt. For now, I only have 5 beans and only 4 popped, so I’m working with what I’ve got and gaining some experience. Then I will buy more seeds.

My goal is to get really good at growing this Mr. Nice Seeds Critical Mass strain.

I just want big yields of decent-quality buds. I’m not really super picky or looking for all the exotic strains. If it gets me high and is decent enough for me and my friends to smoke, I’m happy.

Full Setup​

Main Grow Tent
AC Infinity 4'x4'
HLG Scorpion Diablo X – 715 watts
System PPF Efficacy: 2.95 μmol/J
Total Output: 2105 PPF
Two HLG UVA 30 supplement bars
AC Infinity AI controller
Ventilation (4x4): AC Infinity Cloudline PRO 6"
Two AC Infinity THERMOFORGE T3 heaters
AC Infinity CLOUDFORGE T7 humidifier
AC Infinity HYDRONE 5 dehumidifier
AC Infinity Self-Watering Fabric Pot Base XL with Auto-Fill Valve Kit

Mother Plant Tent
Mars Hydro 2'x2' tent
AC Infinity 69 controller
Mars Hydro TS 1000
Ventilation (2x2): AC Infinity Cloudline T4
AC Infinity CLOUDFORGE T3 humidifier

Clone Station
T5 full spectrum light
9-site aeroponic clone system

A few more details about the products and materials I’ll be using during this grow:

Fabric Pots: 1, 7, and 10 gallon pots
Medium: Fox Farm pre-buffered 70/30 coco coir in 16 oz red Solo cups (5 drain holes each, elevated on a rack for full drainage)
Water: RO filtered water (baseline 10–20 µS EC)
Nutes: Jacks 3-2-1 (Part A 5-12-26 + Part B 15-0-0 calcium nitrate + Epsom salt). I’m using Jacks 3-2-1 because it’s cheap, easy, and has everything cannabis plants need. I bought 25 lb bags of Parts A, B, and C, so I’ll be using these nutes for a long time
Additives: GH Rapid Start, GH Armor Si, GH Cali-Magic, Great White mycorrhizae, Clonex
IPM: Athena IPM, Captain Jack's Neem Oil, and Summit Mosquito Bits
Seeds: 4 regular photoperiod seeds (breeder: Mr. Nice Seeds – Critical Mass)

---

Anyway, that’s the plan for now. I’m sure I’ll make plenty of mistakes along the way, but that’s part of the learning process. Feel free to follow along, give advice, or roast me when I inevitably do something dumb. I am gonna need all the help I can get.

Hopefully this diary ends with jars full of Critical Mass… and not me posting a “what went wrong?” thread in three months.

That ain't so bad. Get a schedule of 3-5 times a day and fertigate (water but always with nutrients) with 10-20% runoff. 3-5 times a day. You can't over water in coco.

Here's an easy one to get you started: 9am, 12 noon & 3pm. Never allow the coco to dry out.

Go easy on nutes, use half strength for the next couple weeks then up it to 3/4 then full (whatever the nute line you're using says is full strength).

That's about it other than lighting, temperature and humidity but I'm not an i door grower so someone else can help you with those parameters.

Keeping that coco wet with nute water is key

 

[burnoutstoner]

That ain't so bad. Get a schedule of 3-5 times a day and fertigate (water but always with nutrients) with 10-20% runoff. 3-5 times a day. You can't over water in coco.

Here's an easy one to get you started: 9am, 12 noon & 3pm. Never allow the coco to dry out.

Go easy on nutes, use half strength for the next couple weeks then up it to 3/4 then full (whatever the nute line you're using says is full strength).

That's about it other than lighting, temperature and humidity but I'm not an i door grower so someone else can help you with those parameters.

Keeping that coco wet with nute water is key

If I feed them 3 times a day, is there any chance of getting root rot? Also what about algae? I’m already dealing with some algae on the surface, which I covered with coco.

 

[PlumberSoCal2]

If I feed them 3 times a day, is there any chance of getting root rot? Also what about algae? I’m already dealing with some algae on the surface, which I covered with coco.

You're growing in coco coir with some perlite, yes? If so minimum 3 fertigations a DAY. 4 or 5 is even better. The only real downside is waste water. In the grass, flower bed, trees or even the sewer. You do not want to dump the waste water on the same spot day after day or it could do damage to the grass, plants and trees and the sewer might be best.

The leaf damage is caused from not keeping the cation exchange sites in the coco charged by keeping the coco wet with nutrient water. When I was still working and missing fertigations I'd see the same results.

3 x's a day minimum. The algae will always be there and covering it isn't a bad idea and while it will utilize the fert water it won't take away from your plant if you fertigate 3 x's a day.

No problems with root rot in coco as the amount of oxygen in the coco.

I use to have an auto system with timers and 55 gal drums and set at 5 x's a day. The growth rate was exceptional and no issues.

 

[MrSativa]

Mr.Nice genetics are FIRE i've grown almost every strain they got. goodluck !

 

[burnoutstoner]

Mr.Nice genetics are FIRE i've grown almost every strain they got. goodluck !

Yeah, I agree. I’m new to growing, but I did some research before investing in all my grow equipment. Genetics matter a lot. I’m not trying to win any cannabis cups — I just want to grow something I’ll be proud to smoke and share with others. That’s why I chose Mr. Nice seeds, since they’re known for having some of the most respected and award-winning cannabis genetics in the world.

 

[burnoutstoner]

You're growing in coco coir with some perlite, yes? If so minimum 3 fertigations a DAY. 4 or 5 is even better. The only real downside is waste water. In the grass, flower bed, trees or even the sewer. You do not want to dump the waste water on the same spot day after day or it could do damage to the grass, plants and trees and the sewer might be best.

The leaf damage is caused from not keeping the cation exchange sites in the coco charged by keeping the coco wet with nutrient water. When I was still working and missing fertigations I'd see the same results.

3 x's a day minimum. The algae will always be there and covering it isn't a bad idea and while it will utilize the fert water it won't take away from your plant if you fertigate 3 x's a day.

No problems with root rot in coco as the amount of oxygen in the coco.

I use to have an auto system with timers and 55 gal drums and set at 5 x's a day. The growth rate was exceptional and no issues.

Yeah you nailed it — I was 100% treating coco like soil at first, letting it dry back way too much before feeding. Learned that lesson real quick lol.

I’ve switched to 3 fertigations a day now and things are already looking better. Makes sense what you said about keeping the cation exchange sites charged — I was definitely starving the medium in between feeds before.

Quick question on that though — I thought Jacks 3-2-1 already has some cal-mag in it… are you suggesting I should still add something like GH Cali-Magic on top of that, or just stick with the standard mix?

Good to know about the algae too, I won’t stress it as long as I stay consistent with feeding. I might even look into setting up an auto system like you mentioned because 5x a day sounds ideal.

Appreciate the knowledge

 

[burnoutstoner]

Day 21 Update

I transplanted all 4 plants into 1-gallon fabric pots last night and gave them a solid feeding right after. I increased my Jacks 3-2-1 nutrients to 0.8 EC, and the pH is at 5.9.

All the new growth is looking healthy so far.

I’m also adding:

2 ml/gallon silica
2 ml/gallon cal-mag
Great White mycorrhizae (during transplant)

Right now, I’m watering until 10–20% runoff, but it’s using a lot of RO water. It took me about 3.5 hours to make 45 gallons this weekend, which will probably last 8–10 days.

I’m really looking forward to switching to the AC Infinity self-watering bases since they won’t waste water like drain-to-waste feeding. I’m a bit concerned about RO production time once they hit flower since I know water demand will increase.

Each plant currently has 4 nodes, with no signs of sex yet. They’re staying short, bushy, and have tight node spacing.

I’m planning to switch to an 18/6 light cycle tonight.

Environment:

Temp: 71.7–77°F
RH: 64–72%
VPD: 0.82–1.02 kPa

 

[burnoutstoner]

Day 33 from seed and things are moving along nicely.

I’ve got 4 plants going right now:

• 1 is clearly showing female
• 1 is showing male (small growth, no hairs yet but pretty obvious)
• 1 is likely female, but only showing at one site so I’m not calling it 100% yet
• 1 is still unknown

Overall, they’re looking healthy and progressing well. Structure is solid and growth has been consistent.

Just did my weekly IPM spray to stay ahead of any potential issues.

Feeding:

• Jacks 3-2-1 at full strength (100%)
• Running 18/6 light schedule

No major issues to report — honestly everything appears to be going great at this stage.

Plan from here:
Once I can fully confirm the females, I’ll be removing the males and taking clones from the confirmed girls to lock them in. I will also transplant into bigger pots. (currently in 1 gallon pots)

Staying patient on the sexing, but things are definitely heading in the right direction.

 

[burnoutstoner]

Quick update — Day 34 from seed.

I’m starting to think I might actually have 3 females… but I’m honestly second guessing myself right now. The pistils (those two little hairs) are so small and hard to see that I keep going back and forth on it.

Right now it’s looking like:

• 1 confirmed female
• 1 confirmed male
• 2 that appear female, but the signs are still super early and subtle

The plants are sitting at around 6–7 nodes right now, so they’re definitely at that stage where I should be thinking about topping.

I don’t want to jump the gun and make a mistake, but at the same time I’m thinking ahead…

If I really do have 3 females, I need to start topping ASAP. My plan would be keep them in veg a while longer and then:

• Flower all 3 females
• Take at least one clone to keep as a mother
• Start shaping them early for a SCROG with topping + LST

My concern is letting them get too big before I start training. I’d rather get ahead of it than be fighting height and structure later.

So right now I’m kind of in that awkward waiting phase — trying to confirm sex with confidence while also not falling behind on training if they are females.

Anyone else ever deal with super early, barely-visible pistils like this? At what point do you personally call it and move forward?

Appreciate any input — trying to time this part right.

 

[burnoutstoner]

Correction they are at 8-9 nodes now. I think I need to top them ASAP.

 

[burnoutstoner]

The hell with it—I pulled out a jeweler’s loupe and I’m pretty confident I’m seeing pistils at the nodes on three of my plants.

Honestly, I’m a bit shocked to have three females out of this run, but I’m not complaining. One female is bigger than the others and looks like it’s going to be a monster. I’m going to move forward assuming those are my confirmed females.

I want a clone of the big female. The plan from here is to start topping and doing some LST on the ones I believe are female. Then I’ll take a few clones before I transplant them into 10-gallon pots.

Things are looking pretty solid so far, so I’m just going to keep training them and see how they respond over the next week or so.

 

[burnoutstoner]

Day 35 Veg – Topping, Cloning & First Real Stress Test

Today was a big day in the tent.

All three of my confirmed females are at about 8 nodes now, super tight internode spacing and very bushy overall. Honestly didn’t expect them to stack this tight this early, but I’m not complaining—it’s exactly what I want going into a SCROG.

I went ahead and topped them at the 5th node. The plan is to build a strong, even structure early so I can spread everything out later under the net.

While topping, I used the top as a clone. The cuts are on the shorter side—only about 1.5 inches of stem below the neoprene collars—but they’re in the aeroponic cloner now. Running RO water with Clonex liquid mixed in and pH’d to 5.8. Pump is cycling 20 min on / 10 min off, temps are steady around 72°F, and I’ve got a 20W LED T5 about 12 inches above them.

Hoping the top cuts root fine. I know they can be a little more sensitive than lower branches, but they looked healthy going in.

One small issue—I did get a slight crack at one of the nodes while topping (classic tight-node problem). I tied it up so the wound is closed and stable. There’s a tiny bit of browning at the edge, but it looks like normal oxidation/healing so far. Keeping a close eye on it, but I think it’ll recover fine.

Right now I’m just letting everything settle:

• No LST yet
• No transplant yet
• Just letting them recover and redirect growth

Plan from here:

• Give them a few days to bounce back from topping
• Watch for new growth at the nodes
• Transplant to 10 gallons once they’re clearly back in stride
• Then start LST + SCROG training

I hope the clone roots. If I see roots in ~7–10 days, I’ll know everything is dialed in.

Also I trashed the male plant. And kept the 3 females.

Overall, feeling good about the direction. Plants are healthy, structure is where I want it, and now it’s just about timing the next moves right. I am going to wait 7 days before doing anything else to give the plants time to recover.

If anyone has experience rooting shorter top cuts in aero cloners, I’m all ears.

 

[PlumberSoCal2]

Day 35 Veg – Topping, Cloning & First Real Stress Test

Today was a big day in the tent.

All three of my confirmed females are at about 8 nodes now, super tight internode spacing and very bushy overall. Honestly didn’t expect them to stack this tight this early, but I’m not complaining—it’s exactly what I want going into a SCROG.

I went ahead and topped them at the 5th node. The plan is to build a strong, even structure early so I can spread everything out later under the net.

While topping, I used the top as a clone. The cuts are on the shorter side—only about 1.5 inches of stem below the neoprene collars—but they’re in the aeroponic cloner now. Running RO water with Clonex liquid mixed in and pH’d to 5.8. Pump is cycling 20 min on / 10 min off, temps are steady around 72°F, and I’ve got a 20W LED T5 about 12 inches above them.

Hoping the top cuts root fine. I know they can be a little more sensitive than lower branches, but they looked healthy going in.

One small issue—I did get a slight crack at one of the nodes while topping (classic tight-node problem). I tied it up so the wound is closed and stable. There’s a tiny bit of browning at the edge, but it looks like normal oxidation/healing so far. Keeping a close eye on it, but I think it’ll recover fine.

Right now I’m just letting everything settle:

• No LST yet
• No transplant yet
• Just letting them recover and redirect growth

Plan from here:

• Give them a few days to bounce back from topping
• Watch for new growth at the nodes
• Transplant to 10 gallons once they’re clearly back in stride
• Then start LST + SCROG training

I hope the clone roots. If I see roots in ~7–10 days, I’ll know everything is dialed in.

Also I trashed the male plant. And kept the 3 females.

Overall, feeling good about the direction. Plants are healthy, structure is where I want it, and now it’s just about timing the next moves right. I am going to wait 7 days before doing anything else to give the plants time to recover.

If anyone has experience rooting shorter top cuts in aero cloners, I’m all ears.

So I guess keeping 'em wet has worked Go to 5 x's a day and it's out of bounds but 3 works. No dry backs.

Looks/sounds great and wanting to see what you did there

Cloning, we all do it a bit differently but warm, moist, gel or powder. Here's the thing, the stem most times will rot before roots start so protecting the stem (a node is always best on the bottom of the stem or close to it) is very important. I use aloe vera. Got several growing and I cut off a few leaves and split one down the middle, not all the way through so I can place a stem in and close the leaf around the stem while I grab the powder hormones.

I've heard it said that honey and cinnamon will do the trick but you end up craving breakfast I don't know if this works and I would think all that sugar could attract ants so beware.

I use a powder as I've had the gel go bad. 2 $20 jars bearly used. Keep the gel in the fridge and always remove a small amount with spoon or dropper to dip your stems in.

I keep the cuts in rook wool as it's what works best for me.

Keep in mind I'm outside, greenhouse. It gets hot so I remove that cover by 9am or the heat could stress and weaken them. I do the same with seedlings

in coco. To avoid transplant shock I start seeds (you can also use this for cuts but I personalty do better in the wool) in 2" peat pots full of coco.

I never give seedlings or uprooted cuts any nutrients. I give seedlings at least 7 days from sprouting before moving them into a solo cup larger pot and begin the 3 x's a day using half strength. By week 3 up it to 3/4 strength. I've found I can run a plant through harvest with only reducing the calcium the last 4 weeks.

More nutes then required by the plants (really the coco to provide fresh to the plant as needed) is never a good thing and causes leaf ends to brown.

Congrats this watering (fertigating) 3+ times a day goes against everything I was taught and did in all my years (decades) of gardening. For me this was the hardest aspect to overcome but here we are

Enjoy this success and keep learning 'cause it is half the fun

 

[burnoutstoner]

Honestly, I’m not sure if I took the clone correctly. The plant is super tight, compact, and bushy, and the main stem is about as thick as a dime. I couldn’t figure out how I was supposed to fit something that thick into a neoprene collar.

Because of that, I feel like I didn’t really have a good option to include 1–2 proper nodes from the main stem (where the growth tissue is).

 

[PlumberSoCal2]

Honestly, I’m not sure if I took the clone correctly. The plant is super tight, compact, and bushy, and the main stem is about as thick as a dime. I couldn’t figure out how I was supposed to fit something that thick into a neoprene collar.

Because of that, I feel like I didn’t really have a good option to include 1–2 proper nodes from the main stem (where the growth tissue is).

It can and does still work. There are growers here that tell me they just snip off a stem and stick it in water until it roots. There's many different ways. I used an ice cream bucket with 4 holes to hold baskets and an aquarium air stone in the bottom. Worked like a champ. Find what works best for you and your conditions

 

[burnoutstoner]

It can and does still work. There are growers here that tell me they just snip off a stem and stick it in water until it roots. There's many different ways. I used an ice cream bucket with 4 holes to hold baskets and an aquarium air stone in the bottom. Worked like a champ. Find what works best for you and your conditions

How does the air stone mist the stem with water? Is the stem supposed to be submerged in the water?

 

[PlumberSoCal2]

How does the air stone mist the stem with water? Is the stem supposed to be submerged in the water?

It doesn't but the water and air movement promotes root growth. Worked really well for me.

 

[burnoutstoner]

Day 45 Grow Update – Transplant, LST, Clones & Setup Changes

What’s up everyone,

Just wanted to drop a solid Day 45 update because a lot has changed over the past few days.

First big move — I transplanted everything into 10-gallon fabric pots, and honestly… huge upgrade already. I’m now running them on the AC Infinity self-watering fabric pot bases, and I’m seriously relieved. Doing drain-to-waste in the 1-gallon pots was wasting way too much water and time. This setup should simplify things a lot once the roots fully establish. From what I understand, once the roots hit the bottom and start drinking from the base, feeding becomes almost semi-automated, which is exactly what I was aiming for.

I’ve also started LST (low stress training). Not gonna lie — I’m kind of winging it. I’m basically just bending branches outward and downward to spread the canopy and improve light penetration. If anyone sees anything off with that approach, feel free to chime in. The goal is just an even canopy and better light distribution across all tops. I’ve got my trellis net sitting about 10 inches above the top of the coco, so I’ll be guiding everything into that as they grow out.

Clone update:
I was honestly unsure if they were even going to root, but today I finally saw a solid ~1.5 inch root on one of them. Even better — it’s a clone from my fastest-growing, biggest female. That’s a huge win in my book. Plan is to transplant that clone into a 1-gallon pot in about a week and keep it as a mother plant.

Also, I still can’t believe how things played out genetically…
Out of 5 seeds:

• 1 didn’t sprout
• 4 sprouted
• Ended up with 3 females and 1 male

I feel like I got pretty lucky there.

Water filtration issue (annoying):
I was planning to grab backup filters for my RO system, but I’m running into a problem. I’m using the VonWater V1-600N-WF system, and I literally cannot find replacement filters anywhere. Not a great feeling considering it’s only about 4 months old. I’m going to contact the manufacturer, but if that goes nowhere, I might have to replace the entire system — which is honestly ridiculous.

Environment notes:
I’ve got a small 5000 BTU A/C unit running basically 24/7 on max. It keeps the lung room dialed in pretty well, but if I fully zip up the tent with the lights on, temps creep up into the 75–80°F range. Not terrible, but I’d prefer a bit more control. Might need to tweak airflow or keep the tent slightly open during lights-on.

Harvest prep (thinking ahead):
I picked up some VIVI cure packs to test out for curing. Got 8 packs total — supposedly each one can handle up to 12 ounces, and they claim a 10-day cure process. I’m definitely curious to see how they perform.

From what I’ve gathered, these are meant to simplify curing by controlling humidity and airflow within a sealed environment, speeding up the breakdown of chlorophyll while preserving terpenes. If they actually deliver a smooth, flavorful result in that timeframe, that’s a game changer compared to the traditional multi-week jar burping routine.

Of course, I still need to properly dry the harvest first — these are strictly for curing, not drying. So I’ll still be focusing on a slow dry before even using them.

Next 2 weeks plan:

• Continue LST to widen the canopy
• Start lollipopping to clean up lower growth
• More topping where needed
• Begin training into the trellis net

Overall, things are moving in the right direction. The transplant + watering system upgrade alone feels like a major step forward.

If anyone has tips on dialing in LST or experience with those VIVI cure packs, I’d love to hear it.

Appreciate you all

 

[trygrowup]

It's the oppesit for me. I always think the biggest plants are males.
But i was also lucky with mine 3/5 females so far. 2 still need showing sex and i think they are males because the size and how they look.
But time will tell.

Your plants looks great man