🍇 Purple Haze Photoperiod – Phenotype B | Week 4 (Vegetation) The Bush That Wants Every Ray of Light Week four belonged to Purple Haze B. While her sister is preparing for life on the AutoPot system, this girl is following a different path, remaining as a hand-watered control plant for what will become a very interesting side-by-side comparison later in the grow. Even though they are sharing identical conditions, genetics, nutrients, and training philosophy, every phenotype writes its own story. That is exactly why I love phenotype hunting. This one has chosen to become a compact jungle. ⸻ 🌱 Week 4 Overview What a transformation. During the week she exploded sideways, filling every available space with healthy branches and fresh growth. Instead of stretching upward, she invested her energy into building a dense, symmetrical canopy that is becoming thicker every single day. From above she already resembles a small green island. Large solar-panel fan leaves overlap beautifully while dozens of vigorous shoots continue racing toward the light. Every new node appears healthy, evenly spaced and ready to become another flowering site once the transition begins. The rich emerald color tells me everything is working together exactly as intended. Sometimes the healthiest plants are the ones that simply don’t give you anything to complain about. This is one of those. ⸻ 🌿 12/12 From Seed As with every plant in this project, Purple Haze B is being grown using my favorite 12/12 From Seed method. The lighting schedule stays at 12 hours from germination until harvest, allowing the plant to naturally progress through its life without ever experiencing a traditional vegetative photoperiod. The goal isn’t maximum size. The goal is efficiency, fast turnaround, excellent quality, and discovering how each genetic expresses itself under these conditions. Every phenotype reacts differently. That’s exactly what makes this project so exciting. ⸻ 🌱 Low Stress Training (LST) This week’s training focused exclusively on Low Stress Training. Rather than cutting or removing growth, branches are gently bent and positioned to create a flatter canopy. Why? Because every branch that receives equal light has the opportunity to become a productive flowering top. LST offers several advantages: • Improves light penetration throughout the canopy. • Encourages multiple dominant tops instead of one main cola. • Creates better airflow inside dense plants. • Produces a more even canopy before flowering. • Increases the number of quality bud sites. Watching this little bush respond over the week has been incredibly satisfying. Every adjustment rewarded me with even more vigorous growth just a day or two later. ⸻ ? Why This Plant Is Staying Hand Watered Although she’s growing inside an AutoPot container, this phenotype is intentionally NOT connected to the AutoPot system yet. She will serve as the comparison plant while her sister begins receiving gravity-fed irrigation. Everything else remains identical: • Same genetics. • Same substrate. • Same nutrients. • Same environment. • Same lighting. The only real variable will be irrigation. It should make for a fascinating comparison later in the grow. ⸻ 💧 What Is an AutoPot? The AutoPot system is a completely passive irrigation system that waters plants automatically without pumps, electricity or timers. Instead, it relies on one beautifully simple principle: Gravity. A nutrient reservoir sits slightly higher than the pots, allowing nutrient solution to naturally flow toward the plants. Each pot sits inside an AutoPot tray containing a very clever device called the AquaValve. ⸻ ⚙️ The AquaValve The AquaValve is the heart of the AutoPot system. It works like a miniature mechanical valve that opens and closes entirely on its own. Here’s how it works: • The tray fills with nutrient solution. • Once the plants drink everything available, the tray becomes empty. • Only then does the AquaValve reopen. • Fresh nutrient solution enters the tray. • The cycle repeats automatically. The result is a constant wet-and-dry rhythm without electronics, pumps or programming. The roots decide when they are ready for another drink. For me, that’s one of the smartest irrigation systems ever designed. ⸻ 🌱 Current Feeding This week the girls continued receiving the Plagron Terra program: • Terra Grow – 1.8 ml/L • Power Roots – 1 ml/L • Pure Zym – 1 ml/L • Sugar Royal – 1 ml/L Solution maintained at: * EC: 1.35 * pH: 6.1 The plants continue responding with lush, healthy foliage and vigorous new growth. ⸻ 🌡️ Environment Conditions remained stable throughout the week: * 🌡️ Day temperature: 33°C * 🌙 Night temperature: 25°C * 💧 Relative humidity: 63% * 🌱 Root zone temperature: 21°C * 💦 Nutrient solution: 26°C * 🌿 CO₂: 639 ppm Even with the warmer daytime temperatures, the plants have shown excellent vigor, with no signs of nutrient stress or environmental fatigue. ⸻ 📸 Final Thoughts Purple Haze B is quickly becoming one of those plants that constantly catches my eye whenever I open the tent. She isn’t trying to be the tallest. She’s building something even more exciting—a thick, compact canopy packed with potential flowering sites. In a few weeks we’ll discover whether the hand-watered approach can keep pace with her sister running on the AutoPot system. Either way… I’m pretty sure we’re all going to learn something. And that’s exactly why we grow. ⸻ 🙏 Thank You A huge thank you to everyone making this project possible. Genetics: Zamnesia Seeds 🌱 Nutrients & Substrate: Plagron 💧 Irrigation: AutoPot 💡 Lighting: Lumniflora and Future Of Grow LEDs 📖 Grow Journal: GrowDiaries Your support allows experiments like this to happen, and I hope sharing every step helps growers around the world learn right alongside me. Growers Love and see you all next week! 🍇🌿