Hello growers,
Welcome back for vegetative week 14 of the Pineapple Upside Down from Humboldt.
This week was clearly a difficult one. The plant is still growing, but something was off. The overall development slowed down, and the lack of vigor became more noticeable compared to previous weeks.
After checking all the usual parameters, the issue finally became clear.
The reservoir pH was perfectly stable, sitting in the correct range around 5.7–5.9. However, the real problem was happening in the tray. The nutrient solution was sitting there for too long, and the pH was drifting significantly, reaching around 6.8.
This caused the coco substrate to buffer at the wrong pH level, leading to a partial nutrient lockout. Since the plant wasn’t drinking enough, the solution had time to degrade and shift, which is one of the limitations of the Autopot system when the plant is not actively feeding.
To correct the situation, I decided to fully reset the system.
A complete flush was performed using FlashClean from Terra Aquatica, with a very low EC and a pH adjusted to around 5.5. The goal was to clean the substrate and remove any accumulated imbalance.
After the flush, the system was left to drain and stabilize over the weekend.
I then restarted feeding manually with a much more controlled approach. Instead of letting the tray stay filled, I used small amounts of nutrient solution at pH 5.7 and EC 1.7, allowing the coco to absorb it before removing any remaining liquid to avoid stagnation.
The objective is to progressively bring the substrate back into the correct pH range and restore proper nutrient uptake.
This method will be maintained throughout the week to observe how the plant reacts. If the plant shows a strong recovery and regains vigor, the Autopot system will be reactivated. Otherwise, manual control will remain in place.
I also performed a light defoliation and cleanup, removing lower growth and excess foliage to improve airflow and light penetration.
At this stage, the situation is under control, but the outcome will depend on how the plant responds over the next few days.
The next update will be important to confirm whether this recovery strategy was effective.
Alright growers, take care and see you next week.