My biggest FIRST DWC grow

Antarctic Week 1 – Vegetation Everything is stable, plants are growing well, and nutrients were kept to a minimum. My plan is to potentially mainline them later. As you can see in photo #5, at the very beginning there were actually three Runtz in one DWC bucket. One of them I gave to my neighbor, who grows in coco right next to my hydro setup — he transplanted it into coco. From the remaining two in the same bucket, I transplanted one into another DWC bucket where I originally had a CBD seed. That CBD seed never germinated, so I removed it and placed the Runtz there instead.

Antarctic At this stage, I introduced a light feeding schedule — mainly Cal-Mag and base grow nutrients at a very low concentration. Plants responded well with healthy green leaves and steady vertical growth. Roots are developing well in DWC, with no signs of stress or deficiency.

Antarctic This week I increased nutrient concentration to support faster vegetative growth. Plants responded well, with noticeable growth in both height and leaf size. The roots in DWC are developing strongly, and each plant is showing a stable structure. No stress symptoms were observed, and the environment remained stable.

Antarctic Extra Notes – Week 4 I noticed something interesting this week while comparing my plants to my friend’s, who is growing in coco. His plants seemed to take off much faster for reasons I still can’t fully explain. If you look closely at my leaves, you can see slight burn marks — this happened because I started giving far-red light (deep red) too early in the vegetative stage, and the plants got a bit overheated. Once I realized it, I removed the far-red, but some leaf tips had already been damaged. I also did the first mainline cut this week, but decided not to continue with further training at that moment. The main reason was that I noticed my plants slowed down significantly compared to my friend’s coco-grown ones, and I got worried. Looking back now, I understand I should have continued with the mainline and pushed forward instead of holding back — I lost a lot of potential because of that hesitation.

Antarctic Week 5 – Late Veg / Pre-flower By this week, plants had recovered a bit after the first mainline and were starting to feel better. This would have been the right time to start the second mainline cut, but I hesitated — partly because I saw a slowdown in growth compared to my friend’s plants in coco, and partly because I was about to leave. Around that period I went to the Mary Jane expo, and shortly after, I left for vacation. Because of the timing, I decided not to take the risk of doing more heavy training before being away. Looking back, I probably could have pushed forward, but at the time it felt safer to just let them grow naturally.

Antarctic Nutrient levels were increased this week to match the later veg stage. Plants showed healthy green growth and were stable throughout the week. No burn or deficiencies, and root systems looked clean and strong in DWC.

Antarctic Week 7 (43–49 days from seed). Plants are now fully established with a strong canopy and large, healthy fan leaves. The root systems in DWC are massive and clean.

Antarctic Week 8 (50–56 days from seed). This week I performed a very heavy defoliation – probably more intense than I should have. At that moment, I didn’t fully realize that removing so much foliage would make the plant shift its energy into rebuilding leaf mass instead of focusing on stretching. I was expecting them to just grow taller, but in reality, they slowed vertical growth a bit and started producing a lot of new leaves. The canopy before defoliation was dense, with good light penetration only on the top layer. After trimming, airflow improved significantly, and light reached the lower branches. Plants look healthy overall, color is strong, and no major signs of stress other than a temporary slowdown in vertical growth.

Antarctic Week 9 (57–63 days from seed). This week was extremely difficult for the grow. I was away on vacation from late Week 8 until the end of Week 9, so plant care was fully delegated to a friend. He had no prior experience with hydroponics, but I gave him detailed instructions on pH adjustment, nutrient top-ups, and partial water changes. Unfortunately, there were major issues: One of the airlines (air tubing to an airstone) got blocked, which meant the plant in that bucket was not receiving proper oxygenation. As a result, it became extremely weak and dried out badly. "George Apai" also suffered — the reservoir ran out of water at one point, and the plant started to dry from the top down. Overall, plant health took a hit this week, with visible dehydration symptoms on some specimens. Recovery would require extra time and care in early flowering. Feeding schedule remained the same as Week 8, but stress from environmental issues outweighed the benefits of stable nutrients.

Antarctic Week 10 (64–70 days from seed). This was the final week of vegetative growth before switching to 12/12. I performed a heavy defoliation combined with lollipopping to prepare the plants for flowering. Large fan leaves blocking light penetration were removed, and lower growth that would not receive sufficient light was trimmed away. The goal was to open up the canopy, improve airflow, and direct plant energy towards the main colas. Plants handled the training well with minimal stress, though a short recovery period was expected.

Antarctic ✨ Week 1–2 Flower (Stretch Phase) ✨ Switched to 12/12 this week 🌗 — the official start of flowering! 🚀 Plants reacted quickly and began stretching hard, almost doubling their height. During this period I focused on providing a balanced feed: still strong in nitrogen to support growth 🌱, but already boosting phosphorus & potassium to prepare for bud formation 💪🌸. I also kept the environment steady: 27°C day / 20°C night, RH ~65%. Perfect VPD for the stretch. Added a mix of boosters like Big Bud Powder, Bud Candy, and Hesi Boost to give the plants all the building blocks they need . Mistake I noticed: I started IR light early to encourage stretch 🔴 — in hindsight, should’ve waited a bit longer. Plants stretched more than expected, but it’s all part of the learning curve. 😅 Overall, the tent smells fresher every day 🌿🔥. Trichomes are just beginning to appear on the leaves. This is the “transition zone” — next week flowers will really start stacking. 🌸💚

Antarctic 🌸 Week 2 Flower — Stretch still going strong! 🌸 Plants are now in their second week of 12/12. Stretch is at full power 🚀 — some shoots almost doubled in size compared to last week. Bud sites are becoming more visible and small pistils are showing everywhere 🧡. This week I slightly increased the nutrient strength (EC ~1.6–1.7 / 850–950 ppm), adding more bloom nutrients and boosters while keeping a bit of nitrogen for the last phase of vegetative growth. 🌡️ Environment stayed steady: 27°C day / 20°C night, 60–65% RH — exactly where I want it for VPD balance. 🌿 Aroma is starting to appear when I open the tent — a sweet/fruity smell, and trichomes are spreading onto the leaves ✨. Mistake from last week (using IR too early) is now more obvious — plants stretched more than I wanted 😅. But it’s still manageable with training & airflow. 👉 From here on, I’ll slowly reduce the nitrogen and fully switch to bloom nutrition. Next week should be the true start of flower stacking.

Antarctic 🌸 Week 3 Flower — Bud stacking begins! 🌸 This week was a turning point — stretch finally slowed down and the plants are now fully focusing on bud formation. The tent started getting really humid due to the extra leaf mass and transpiration 🌿💦. That’s when I realized: a dehumidifier is a must. Without it, RH would climb over 70%, which is dangerous at this stage. Temperatures are still steady (27°C day / 20°C night), but now I’m working on dropping humidity to ~55–60% for safer flowering. Nutrient-wise, I reduced nitrogen even more, focusing on PK boosters and bloom nutrients. Bud sites are stacking nicely, pistils are shooting everywhere 🧡, and the first serious trichome production has started ✨. Mistakes from earlier (too much IR, uneven light distribution) are still visible on some plants, but overall the crop is healthy and vigorous. Next week should be the start of real frost explosion ❄️.

Antarctic 🌸 Week 4 Flower — stacking hard! 🌸 This week buds really started to bulk up and frost over ❄️. Pistils are everywhere, calyxes swelling, and the tent is getting that loud smell — fruity and gassy terps filling the air 🚀. Humidity is now fully under control thanks to the dehumidifier (holding steady at 50–55%), so no more worries about mold 👌. Light intensity is increased to max safe PPFD, and I can clearly see the difference in bud density. Nutrients are now PK-heavy with Big Bud Powder and Bud Candy — plants are clearly loving it 🍭💪. I also added Rhino Skin to strengthen the cell walls, making them more resistant to stress. Mistakes from earlier are visible (JetFuel is still behind in size), but the rest of the plants are pushing hard. Looking forward to the trich explosion next week ✨.

Antarctic 🔥 Week 5 Flower — bulking mode ON! 🔥 This week colas are really packing weight and starting to look chunky 🍇. The stretch is over, internodes are filled, and now it’s all about bud mass and resin production ✨. I pushed the feed up to around 1300 ppm (EC 2.2) and the plants are loving it 💧. The recipe included the full combo: Hesi Hydro Bloom, CalMag, Big Bud Powder, C4, PK 13/14, Bud Candy, Hesi Boost, and a touch of Rhino Skin for extra strength. The smell is insane now — sweet, fruity terps mixed with some heavy fuel notes, the tent reeks every time I open it 🚀. Humidity is locked at 50%, temps around 30°C, and airflow is strong. This was the week I could finally see the payoff of stabilizing the pH and pushing the nutes properly. The buds are sticky already, and trichomes are frosting like crazy ❄️. JetFuel is still smaller (my mistake earlier in training and positioning), but even it is starting to put on some decent weight. Next week, it’s all about resin and ripening 💎.