Grand Daddy Purple Auto from RQS: LST, Nutrients, and Working on Photography

[Aeromatics]

For those that have been following the start of my other journals (Green Gelato and Hyperion F1), you may see that this is actually the older plant of the three. That’s an astute observation and absolutely correct! I started this GDP Auto close to 4 weeks ago, so you’ll see some work in progress in the photo-documentation of my plants. Nonetheless, GDP Auto is looking great and I look forward to providing weekly updates, just like my other journals!

The first three weeks of my Grand Daddy Purple Auto grow have been all about building a strong foundation. After some less-than-ideal experiences with my last autoflower grow (where I tried to rush through LST), I’ve decided to take a much more patient and deliberate approach this time around.

Before we get into the journal, here are some initial specifications for seeds, soil, nutrients, and grow environment:

Seeds: Grand Daddy Purple from Royal Queen Seeds

Soil: Paonia Soil Co.: The Bomb 50/50 Mix

Nutrients:

Root Boosters and Blends Great White Mycorrhizal Fungi Root Enhancer, DYNOMYCO Premium Mycorrhizal Inoculant, Mykos Mycorrhizal Inoculant, Tribus Organic Microbial Inoculant

Main Nutrient System: Ventana Plant Science (VPS), FlavUh, Stash Blend

Grow Environment:

Light: AC Infinity IONBOARD S44 – LED Grow Light Board 400W

Tent: AC Infinity CLOUDLAB 642, Advance Grow Tent 4 x 2

Humidifier: AC infinity CLOUDFORGE T3

Ventilation and Circulation: AC Infinity CLOUDLINE T-Series Duct Fan 4 Inch, AC Infinity Duct Carbon Filter, Australian Charcoal, 4-Inch, AC Infinity CLOUDRAY A6, Gen 2 Grow Tent Clip Fan 6”

Pots: AC Infinity Heavy Duty Reusable Fabric Pots 1 Gallon

Weeks 1-3: My Grand Daddy Purple Auto: A Slow and Steady Start

Focus on Health & Minimizing Stress: My primary focus during these early weeks has been on fostering optimal plant health and minimizing any unnecessary stress. I’ve been meticulously monitoring her water needs and ensuring she receives consistent and ample light. Most recently, I watered with 750 ml PH balanced water with 1 ml/Gallon of Tribus and ½ tsp Great White.

Slow and Steady LST: I’ve been implementing low-stress training techniques gradually and carefully. Instead of aggressively bending and manipulating the plant, I’ve focused on gentle adjustments, allowing her to acclimate to the changes at her own pace. I have yet to find a plant wire that I like, holds up well, and can be driven into the soil to hold strength during the training process.

Early Observations: The plant is responding well to this slower approach. She’s showing signs of vigorous growth with healthy, vibrant green leaves. I’m particularly pleased with how she’s responding to the low-stress training. The branches are starting to spread nicely, and the plant is developing a strong and sturdy structure.

Have a look at this Day 2 to 28 timelapse to see how she is looking!

GDP Auto Day 2 to 28: LST, Root Building, and Developing Photography Technique

Looking Ahead: Throughout the next week, I’ll continue to monitor the plant closely and adjust my approach as needed. There may be a dose of Ventana Plant Science or Stash Blend, but I want to be sure to monitor the plant’s needs (especially with Nitrogen). I’m excited to see how she continues to develop and ultimately express her full genetic potential.

[Retiredoldguy]

morning @Aeromatics

[Aeromatics]

Good morning, @Retiredoldguy!

[Aeromatics]

Hey Grow Lovers!

As I mentioned in my previous entry, the first few weeks of my 1-gallon GDP Auto have been all about laying a solid foundation. My focus has been on nurturing overall plant health and minimizing stress by making gentle, gradual adjustments with low-stress training.

Training has been going well, and the plant is definitely on the smaller end heading into flowering. However, that is both a trait of GDP in general, as well as by my design!

I decided to introduce some Ventana Plant Science, FlavUh, and Stash blend on Day 34 of the grow in order to bolster plant health and feed the well-developed root structure. I want to be careful about over-fertilization and cognizant that I can always add more, so let’s see how this dose, delivered in 2-3 watered heading into week 6.

Have a look at my notes, pictures, and my ongoing timelapse and let me know what you think!

GDP Auto: Day 2 to 37 - Low-Stress Training and a Start to Flowering

Day 27:
I gave my plant a gentle hydration of 750 ml total—500 ml to the bottom and 250 ml to the top—using a mix of Tribus (1 ml per gallon) and Great White. The plant responded beautifully and is thriving without the need for extra nutrients!

Day 30:
I stepped things up with 1 liter of Tribus water, evenly split between the top and bottom. The plant’s overall health looked excellent, and it’s already starting to bud, so I might try bud-specific nutrients at the next watering. 1 liter of water for a 1 gallon plant might be too much, so I want to monitor how long it takes to need watering again.

Day 31:
I made a subtle adjustment to my low-stress training by removing a few fan leaves near the base to improve light penetration and airflow.

Day 33:
I noticed some wiry leaves today and found that the pots still felt quite heavy, so I decided to hold off on watering until day 34.

Day 34:
I watered with 500 ml of a fresh solution enriched with 1/4 teaspoon of Stash, along with 1 ml each of Structure, Grow, Expand, and FlavUh.

Day 37:
I applied 500 ml of nutrient-rich water—250 ml to the top and 250 ml to the bottom—and trimmed away some dying leaves.

Overall, I’m super happy with the progress. Heading into the next 2 weeks, I expect to see some major bud development, so I may adjust back to 750 ml of water, but for now, 500 ml is working great.

What do you all think?

[Aeromatics]

Apologies! Life can be crazy, sorry for the delay!

This entry serves as the full update for my GDP Auto grow! I harvested her on day 93, several interesting things occurred, and I like to think I recovered from some cold damage and possible nutrient burn. However, I learned more during this grow than any previous experience, and I cannot wait to start my next journal to share with you all!

Day 38: I Watered with 750 ml of Tribus-inflused (1 ml/gallon) water with a touch of Great White. No additional nutrients needed; plant looks like it is thriving! For watering, I did a mixture of bottom and top watering: 500 ml watered at the bottom, 250 ml on top.

Day 41: I upped the water to 1 liter of Tribus-inflused (1 ml/gallon) water from the top and bottom, both from the top and bottom. Plant health looks great… She’s starting to flower! I am considering adding some flower VPS nutrients to boost plant growth at this stage

Day 42: Adjusted low-stress training and removed fan leaves close to the base.

Day 43: Leaves are looking a little wiry. Research and see what can be done. Pots are still heavy. I will review weight of pot tomorrow to see if I need to water.

Day 45: Watered with 500 ml Ventata Plant Science Nutrients (1 ml/gallon of: Grow, Expand, FlaVuh) as well as 1 tsp/gallon Stash blend

Day 47: Watered with the same nutrient-filled water as day 45: 500 ml (250 ml top, 250 ml bottom). Trimmed dead leaves. Plant health looks fantastic.

Day 49: Adjusted lights to bring light at an angle, around 800 PPFD for GDP Auto and Green Gelato. I read a bit about proper DLI for autos, and my light was a bit low for this stage. I was also vegging multiple photo-period plants and I can see some problems emerging with approaching two different plant stages in the same tent. It may be worth moving plants that are at different stages into different tents.

Day 50: Watered with 500 ml Ventata Plant Science Nutrients (1 ml/gallon of: Grow, Expand, FlaVuh) as well as 1 tsp/gallon Stash blend.

Day 52: 500 ml Tribus-infused water. from the top. Plant is looking a bit like it might do a dose of flowering nutrients soon.

Day 53: Plant was thirsty, gave another 500 ml. Might think about going back to 1 liter of water per watering as opposed to 500 ml, maybe 750 ml. I did a Slight trim but am noticing some yellowing of the leaves, I am wondering if it’s a water issue (underwatering?)

Day 55 (YIKES, Brutal Cold Damage): 750 ml of water bottom-fed, infused with: 1 ml/gallon Tribus, 1 ml/gallon FlaVuh, 2.5 ml/gallon Flower, 2.5 ml/gallon Support).

This was tough to see. I live in Colorado, and we got hit with a massive cold front that dropped temperatures well below 0. I grow in my basement, so tent temperatures got below 49, and my plants were placed directly on the carpet floor. The cold shocked everything in my tent, and made me immediately purchase an AC Infinity Thermoforge Heater. I hope I can bring the plants back, but this is definitely a hit to general plant health.

Day 57: Plant health looks poor with yellow leaves, darkening tips. My ThermoForge arrived today and I set it up to maintain a 68°F, and aimed the piping directly towards the floor. Additionally, I raised my plants off the floor with an upside-down saucer. Hopefully these 2 adjustments will save my plants and minimize long-term fallout.

Day 61: She looks better after adjustments, though there’s some significant damage. Watered with 1 liter of Tribus-infused ph-balanced water.

Day 63: One liter of pH-balanced water with Tribus and FlaVuh.

Day 65: Same 1 liter water as Day 65.

Day 67: 1 liter of nutrient water, same nutrients as Hyperion’s Day 31 entry.

Day 69: Given all of my troubles, and wanting to further invest in both my growing skills and operation, I purchased a new PH/TDS meter, the AC Infinity PH Meter Pro. I immediately calibrated and did a runoff test, giving about 1.25 liters. The runoff was very revealing… a TDS of 2700 PPM! Whew, this is the first time I have even done a TDS test for any grow run, and my mind was blown. I am going to go just ph-balanced water for as long as I can and see if she can stabilize. I’ll continue to test run-off, but this GDP plant is turning into a huge “how can I fix the problem” type of grow, haha.

Day 71: One liter of pH-balanced water with Tribus.

Day 73: I had to move all 3 of my flowering autoflowers to my 4x4 tent, which has a 12/12 light cycle for flowering photos due to a Giant OG Kush plant. Not a bad problem to have, but yet another adjustment for this poor girl to adapt to.

Day 75: Plant looks okay after transfer to 4x4 tent. 1 liter water is the perfect amount.

Day 77 to 88: Watered with regular water every 2 days

Day 89: time to start flushing!

Day 93: Harvest time!

I ended up harvesting on Day 93. With a 10 day dry in 60% humidity running an average of 60 degrees, my final yield was .49 oz.

I planned for a smaller yield since I ran this in a 1-gallon pot, but I have no doubt that some errors, as well as the cold snap, drastically reduced this lovely plant’s potential. However, the bud is absolutely delicious after curing for around 3 weeks in my Volcano vaporizer, and I learned so many important things and I am really looking forward to my next grow!

Here is a list of things I learned!

1. Climate control is essential: I thought I had it all figured out but it turns out I was missing one crucial piece… a heater. Now, don’t get me wrong. I can’t blame myself too much for freak weather. However, I can learn and adjust! My plants recovered well under an average 65 degrees nighttime humidity, so I will work to absolutely maintain an above 60 degrees nighttime average moving forward.
2. Soil Tests and Starting PPM/TDS: Since I want to fully harness the power of Ventana Plant Science, FlaVuh, and Stash Blend, I need to get a bit more…well… scientific! I plan on running my next run under more controlled nutrient conditions, and one of my goals will be conducting a starting soil test experiment, as well as once a week soil TDS tests. Given those readings, I will adjust my feedings with precision to meet the needs of each individual plant! The fact that I had a TDS reading of 2700 towards the END of my grow means I have some real adjusting ahead of my, but I look forward to the challenge
3. Following DLI/PPFD week by week: On my next grow, I plan on following a weekly DLI/PPFD calendar to see if measured consistency can help bolster plant growth
4. Get plants off the ground: I believe that my plants suffered some root damage and shock due to being placed directly on the cold basement ground during the cold, Colorado winter. I plan on either raising my plants off the ground for better circulation, or adding some hydroton to the bottom of each plant.
5. Soil needs aeration: Upon examining the roots post-harvest, the root ball looked very tight. I am going to add more perlite and experiment with some hydroton amendments for my next grow. I hope to achieve better drainage!

For my next grow journal, I’ll be focusing on CBD strains (Royal Purplematic and CBDV). If you have interest in following a more scientific grow, be on the watch!

What are some of the coolest things you have learned during one of your grows? I would love to benefit from the wisdom of all!