The Grow Awards 2026 🏆
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🌸 White Widow — Week 7 Flower (Week 11 from seed) Status: Full flower, bulking rapidly. Vibe: Dark foliage, compact form, heavy frost, 90s aroma profile. Feeding: Aptus + Plagron lineup (Power Buds, Sugar Royal, Green Sensation, Regulator, CalMag, All-in-One) Photos: Sony a6000 — loyal workhorse for studio shots. 📷 ⸻ 🧠 Deep dive — Why 12/12-from-seed makes a plant “go hard” Plants evolved to reproduce. Their primary biological drive is to make seeds. Photoperiod (day length) is one of the most reliable seasonal cues plants use to decide: is it time to flower? Mechanisms at play (simple → nerdy): • Photoperiod sensing: Leaves detect day length via phytochrome systems (Pr Pfr). Short days (or the 11/13 rhythm) flip the hormonal cascade toward flowering. • Florigen & flowering hormones: When the plant senses “short days,” it produces mobile signals (florigen) that travel to the shoot apex and shift gene expression from vegetative growth to reproductive development. • Carbohydrate reallocation: Energy stops making more leaves/branches and is directed into calyxes, resin synthesis, terpene pathways, and seed/flower tissues. • Result: A plant that thinks “the season’s ending — reproduce now!” goes all-in: denser flowers, rapid calyx swelling, intense trichome production. Important point: they don’t know about pollination. The plant can’t tell you whether pollinators exist or whether pollen will land — it simply invests in attractive, resinous flowers to maximize reproductive success. As growers, we exploit that drive to produce potent sensimilla (unpollinated) flowers. ⸻ 🔬 Why your White Widow is exploding in quality right now • Immediate reproductive programming: Starting floral signals early (12/12 from seed) forces the plant to prioritize flower formation rather than vegetative mass. That yields compact, dense colas. • High PPFD + short day = strong DLI in less time: With fewer hours of light, your lamp intensity is higher in those hours → powerful photosynthesis during the window the plant has chosen. • Nutrition tuned to flower: the Aptus + Plagron stack feeds the metabolic surge — PK + biostimulators for bulking, sugar stimulators for terpene pathways, Ca/Mg for structural health. • Genetics: White Widow is resin-happy; give it the right cues and it will frost up like a sugar cookie. ⸻ 🌈 Why her colors are going dark (and why that’s beautiful) Leaf & bud color comes from a balance of chlorophyll + accessory pigments (anthocyanins, carotenoids) and is influenced by: • Genetic propensity (some phenos are naturally darker) • Temperature swings (cooler nights often increase anthocyanin expression) • pH / nutrient balance (some deficits/ratios nudge color pathways) • Light spectrum intensity (strong red/far-red influence can shift pigment expression) Dark phenos often correlate with high terpene and anthocyanin expression — visually stunning and often highly aromatic. ⸻ 🔁 Quick timeline recap (for newcomers) • Germination & early mistakes: initial heat-mat loss → restarted, one strong survivor. • Veg: compact, short internodes under the 11/13/12-12 shuttle → stacked nodes. • Early flower: slow to show, but once she flipped she committed. • Now – Week 7 flower (Week 11 from seed): heavy bulking, thick trichomes, deepening color, classic White Widow aroma emerging. ⸻ 🔭 What to expect next (this week → next week) Expect: • Continued bulking of calyxes and cola weight. • Explosion of trichome coverage — white, cloudy glands multiply. • Stronger terpene smell (earthy, spicy, resinous 90s profile). • Possible color intensification — deeper greens, potential purples depending on phenotype & nights. Do not expect: • Major new stretch — she’s committed to flower and will remain compact. • Immediate harvest — typical White Widow still wants its weeks; plan for patience (mid-late flower bulking happens over several more weeks). ⸻ ⚖️ Should you run all seeds 12/12 next cycle? (pros & cons) You asked if you might run every seed 12/12 — here’s the honest rabbit-hole: Pros • Much faster cycle → less time to harvest. • Compact plants → ideal for small spaces or stealth grows. • Often denser single-plant yields; less training needed. • Great for experimentation, multi-strain rapid rotation. Cons • Generally lower total biomass per plant vs. long veg runs. • Some genetics need veg time to express full canopy & branching; yields may be lower for those strains. • Root systems can remain smaller → may stress under high PPFD if not supported. • Less flexible for heavy-topping/lst/manipulation strategies. Bottom line: for strains with good genetics for flowers (like White Widow), 12/12-from-seed can be very rewarding. For sativa-dominant, tall strains you might lose yield without long veg. ⸻ 📷 Gear love — Sony a6000 shoutout I’ve got to echo it: that camera is a workhorse for growers. Compact, responsive, great color fidelity, and perfect for low-light studio shots when paired with proper exposure. The a6000 captures the leaf texture, color depth, and bud gloss in a way phones struggle to match. Long live the loyal shooter. 📸✨ ⸻ 🙏 Gratitude — the usual and the real Thank you to: • Zamnesia — for the genetics & the nostalgia. • Aptus & Plagron — the chemical & biological push that lets the plant sing. • ThinkGrow / Future of Grow / TrolMaster — lighting, control, and environment orchestration. • You — the makers, lovers, critics, curious readers — your energy fuels this diary. And to our White Widow — for showing up, forgiving mistakes, and giving back in beauty. 💚 ⸻ Week 7 flower — Week 11 from seed. Darker colors, heavy frost, the classic 90s scent, and a compact structure that proves 12/12-from-seed can produce absolute fire. We went full-in on Aptus + Plagron, kept the Emerson red-lead sunrise/sunset, and trusted the genetics. Watching her build is pure joy. Come see the series in 4K on YouTube — every detail, every shimmer. 🌿🔥📷 #WhiteWidow #Zamnesia #GrowDiaries #12fromSeed #EmersonEffect #Aptus #Plagron 📲 Don’t forget to Subscribe and follow me on Instagram and YouTube @DogDoctorOfficial for exclusive content, real-time updates, and behind-the-scenes magic. We’ve got so much more coming. You won’t want to miss it. • GrowDiaries Journal: https://growdiaries.woodroom.tel/grower/dogdoctorofficial • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dogdoctorofficial/ • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dogdoctorofficial ⸻ Explore the Gear that Powers My Grow If you’re curious about the tech I’m using, check out these links: • Genetics, gear, nutrients, and more – Zamnesia: https://www.zamnesia.com/ • Environmental control & automation – TrolMaster: https://www.trolmaster.eu/ • Advanced LED lighting – Future of Grow: https://www.futureofgrow.com/ • Root and growth nutrition – Aptus Holland: https://aptus-holland.com/ • Nutrient systems & boosters – Plagron: https://plagron.com/en/ • Soil & substrate excellence – PRO-MIX BX: https://www.pthorticulture.com/en-us/products/pro-mix-bx-mycorrhizae • Curing and storage – Grove Bags: https://grovebags.com/ ⸻ We’ve got much more coming as we move through the grow cycles. Trust me, you won’t want to miss the next steps, let’s push the boundaries of indoor horticulture together! As always, this is shared for educational purposes, aiming to spread understanding and appreciation for this plant. Let’s celebrate it responsibly and continue to learn and grow together. Friendly reminder all you see here is pure research and for educational purposes only, With true love comes happiness. Always believe in yourself, and always do things expecting nothing and with an open heart. Be a giver, and the universe will give back in ways you could never imagine. 💚 Growers love to all P.S. — Deep dive on DLI (Daily Light Integral) — short, clear, and a little nerdy (in the best way). 🌞🌿 1) What is DLI, simply? DLI = the total amount of photosynthetic light (photons) a plant receives over one day. It’s expressed in moles of photons per square metre per day (mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹). While PPFD (μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹) tells you instantaneous light intensity, DLI tells you how much light the plant actually used that day. ⸻ 2) The formula (how to calculate it) Use this exact formula: text{DLI (mol·m}^{-2}text{·day}^{-1}) = frac{text{PPFD (μmol·m}^{-2}text{·s}^{-1}) times text{seconds of light per day}}{1{,}000{,}000} Where seconds of light per day = hours of light × 3600. I’ll show worked examples so it’s easy to follow. ⸻ 3) Worked examples (digit-by-digit so it’s crystal clear) Example A — your reported PPFD ≈ 766 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ and 11 hours light • seconds of light = 11 × 3600 = 39,600 s • photons per day = 766 × 39,600 = 30,333,600 μmol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ • convert to moles: 30,333,600 ÷ 1,000,000 = 30.3336 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ So: 766 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ × 11 h → DLI ≈ 30.3 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ Example B — same PPFD but 12 hours • seconds = 12 × 3600 = 43,200 • photons = 766 × 43,200 = 33,091,200 • DLI = 33,091,200 ÷ 1,000,000 = 33.0912 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ Example C — other quick refs • 700 μmol × 11 h → DLI ≈ 27.72 • 800 μmol × 11 h → DLI ≈ 31.68 • 400 μmol × 11 h → DLI ≈ 15.84 • 1000 μmol × 12 h → DLI ≈ 43.2 (You can plug any PPFD and hours into the formula — those are ready-made reference points.) ⸻ 4) What DLI targets are useful for cannabis? • Vegetative (gentle): ~12–25 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ • Flower (typical good range): ~25–40 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ — most home/pro growers aim here • High-intensity/CO₂-enriched commercial: 40–60+ mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ (needs CO₂, stronger conditioning) So your example (≈30 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ at ~766 PPFD × 11h) sits very nicely in the flower range. That explains the dense bulking + heavy resin you’re seeing — our DLI is right where White Widow loves to convert energy into flowers. ⸻ 5) Practical implications — what DLI affects and what to watch • Higher DLI → higher photosynthesis → more carbohydrate to drive bud bulking and terpene/trichome production. • Higher DLI requires more water and nutrients. Plants transpire more and pull more minerals; be ready to feed and irrigate appropriately. • Leaf temperature / heat stress: pushing PPFD up increases canopy energy/heat — keep airflow, VPD, and room temps under control. • CO₂ matters: if aiming beyond ~40 mol/day, elevated CO₂ (e.g., 800–1200 ppm) becomes productive; otherwise additional light won’t be used efficiently. • Distribution matters: DLI is an average over the canopy. Hotspots or shaded pockets mean some flowers get too much or too little — even light spread (and PAR mapping) matters. ⸻ 6) Actionable tips for your run (based on your 11/13 / 12/12 experiment) • We’re hitting excellent flower DLI (≈30 mol/day at 766 μmol × 11 h). That’s why buds are dense/frosty — keep the rhythm. • If you shorten hours (e.g., 11 h) keep PPFD high to maintain target DLI. If you lengthen hours (12 h) you can reduce peak PPFD slightly and still hit the same DLI. • If you raise PPFD to chase more DLI, ramp slowly (a few μmol/sec per day) to let stomata and roots acclimate — avoid sudden bleaching. • Watch watering & EC — higher DLI → faster uptake → more frequent but measured feeding. • If you ever push DLI 40 mol/day consider CO₂ enrichment and perfect VPD control to have that extra light used efficiently. ⸻ 7) Quick rules of thumb • Want to hit ~30 mol/day with 11 hours on the clock → aim for roughly 700–800 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹. • Want ~33 mol/day at 12 hours → ~766 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ matches that nicely. • If you see leaf cupping/bleaching, you’ve likely exceeded safe PPFD for that canopy or temps are too high — back off, check VPD.
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Всем привет, дорогие друзья! Ещё одна неделя в копилку. 50 дней позади. Начинается активный рост перед цветением, одна из соседок-халкберри уже выпустила одуваны аж на 8 день в режиме 12/12. Банана активно пьёт компот, по 2-3л в день, лейкой орудовать становится сложно. Задумываюсь о капельном полив на след цикл. В целом все хорошо как мне кажется. А вам? Пишите в комментариях, всегда рад Вашему вниманию, коллеги и спасибо! 23.10.21. Заснял спящих красавиц. Оцените музыку😍 сделаю ещё видос как проснутся и фото
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@CreoWeed
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Hello guys! Here we are with another week... At the end she was indeed flowering already, due to the stress and, I guess, some heat issues in the tent... Well, so we start seeing some very awesome, little purple flowers popping out everywhere. I'm still using LST technique to better fill up the tent, as well as defoliating some fan leaves. I also finally moved her to the 20 liters pot, and soon gonna be in the tent alone, as the other diary I have, the gigantic Glue Galato, it's almost getting to an end. I've started the flowering nuts dosages and for now all looks pretty fine, there's any sign of deficiency! I'll keep you posted with what, in my opinion, seems to be a funny diary, thanks to this incredible strain. Stay tuned and stay high!
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This Is my first grow ever i found out about this website about 5 weeks to late.. but I'd appreciate all feed back
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@Andres
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she is almost ready ... she has 141 days in the outdoor ... I think she will cut it at the end of the month when she has 100 days just of flowering ... she has already started 10% amber in her ... with a typical smell of .a indica ... mint ... to earthy wood ... under a little temperature and a little cloudy ... but patience.and there is little left ... if I would cultivate it again it is obvious that if .. She will be very generous in her buds ... and she continues to feed herself organically ... and these are her results ... I am happy
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@Chubbs
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420 Fastbuds FBT2302 Week 5 These two girls are starting to transition into flower very nice. Don't mind the dropping in the leafs my lights just came on. Over all haven't done really much besides another defoliation and lollipoped them taking off the lower 3 nodes. Should allow them plenty of light through flower and air to prevent moisture build up at pot level. All in all Happy Growing
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@NoLimitQ
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27/03/21 убрал растение на сутки в темноту перед харвестом. 28/03/21 харвест
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@Luna91
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Hey! My ladies are growing massive!! Tall and bushy! Eventually I had to change the height of the lights as I noticed some signs of hheet stress! After applying that big AC to the room, I could manage the heet but still the plants didn’t like it very much! So Im leave 1Veg/2Bloom lights on for 20h,but increase the lights for a few hours evry one a while to maximum. I also did my last defoliation and made a video for you guys . Best of luck!
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@Dunk_Junk
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18cm vertical growth this week. She's not very tall.... Not sure what I've done wrong. 😐 Slowing down now we are entering flowering. She is VERY bushy!!!!!! Very short internode length. I've cut the big fan leaves off the main stem to allow light to penetrate her lower leaves!!! I never usually do this, but she is so bushy they had to go.
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Some plants are showing sex always an exciting time right also did a topping and started some lst gonna keep them in 1 gallon pots awhile longer then final pots after I know how many females I’m working with
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I love growing its a big passion of mine , and the fact that GD exists makes everything so much better, one can interact with others and enjoy and learn from each others. Thank you all growers love and keep them green <3 <3 <3
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I’m so excited to show you guys week 3. These plants are huge!!! Even though I’m watching them grow right before my eyes I’m still shock as to how big they are. I browsed through other growers diaries that’s growing the same strains as me and I haven’t came across none as big as mines. The plants are responding well to their nutrients and TLC from me. I was planning to scrog this grow but I’m curious to see how big these autos are going to get so I’m going to just let them ride it out. Make sure to follow my diary for your weekly updates and give a like if you like the grow. Peace Love & Guidance #OwlGang #AGrowingEmpire
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@Hambone
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10/16 So the girls are doing well. They have been watered twice now and #2 is a bit smaller. They are absolutely exploding veg wise and raising the light was necessary as #2 was much to short, will be updating with transplant soon! 10/18 Ok so transplant happened today. They were growing so quick we needed to move them as soon as they were water ready! They got transplanted into 5g fabric style pots. Did 2/3 Fox Farms "ocean forest" and 1/3 perlite mix. Used same nute mix for watering on the transplant, will change that up soon. See pics and video for more info! 10/22 There seems to be a nitrogen lockout. I'm guessing it was the unneeded cal mag add. Learned our lesson! Upped our grow big and giving the first water in big pots. Other than that they are growing amazing!
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@Rob691
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D-104 : Last week, I noticed a problem related to the calcium OR to the Ph. I didn't know if it was a deficiency or an excess. So I tried to just wetered girls with the right Ph and A bit more of CalMag 0.8 > 1.2/L. We'll see this week if It was the good choice. fingers corssed ! D-110 : As Chocolate Haze 1/4 start to show nanners and her trichomes are mostly mature, I desicided today to remove her from the main room to settle her in the small room for 48h of black out. For her, the harvest and the drying process will start in 48h from now.
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Picture 1 and second video: 20th and 21st November Plant is looking really healthy so far and can take a decent amount of Water and Nutrients. Also the first Pistols are showing up! pictures and video (3-5): 25th November Plant made a good stretch and reached a height of 145cm. Looking like a bonsai tree right now. Gave her 10l with a 2.3EC on the 24th and she is looking very healthy! I’m looking to thin her up a bit at thursday (day 21) to get some light penetration. I will also do some lollipopping to get this plant to its full potential. pictures and video (6-9) 28th November Gave her a really aggressive cut/lollipopping and deployed the scrog net… also did a little lst to get an even canopy. The plant was quite big before and I was a little scared that she will stretch too much…. But we will see 😜🤟🏻 See ya next week
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Hermosos colores, exquisito olor afrutado, resinosas, las frutas engordan con normalidad. Terminará de buena manera este cultivo.
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***** Week 10 growth - February 13 to 19, 2021 - Week 2 Flower ***** Mandarin Mimosa is certainly growing beautifully!!! MM1 has been strong and a taller grower from the start. MM2 however has taken off in stretch.......she is also being grown in a 3gal pot so she will be slightly smaller than MM1. These are 1:1 girls but I am really looking forward to smoking this strain😍👍 The terps should start coming out more over the next couple of weeks, Terpinator being added now as well to assist with aromas. Tips up on these girls almost all day long, they are the happiest in the tent this week😂😂 2nd SCROG layer in now....finally😞 Lots of work to do in cleaning up the lower leaves next week. Will do larger leaf strip and lolipoping when they start focusing more on bud development. Light is at 24” only pulling 310 watt, and the meter at the tops of the girls is roughly 28,500LUX. It is feeling like it’s a little strong for them but it’s close......the curling leaves is slowly increasing on the tops. By the end of the week we are at 400watts and reading 38,500LUX, this should be roughly 980 umol/s/m2.......over 900 and less than 1,000.......should be good for going into week 3. Nutrients switched over to flower schedule and following week 2.....but so-called back a couple of items. Adding some other items beyond IPP line so backing off some of the ppm to compensate. Still only one “feeding” per week. Early flower so hitting the microbes a little harder this week and next and then slowly start backing off. I like Remo’s Natures Candy for sweetener because it has humic, sweetener and old school molasses, amongst other things to feed the microbes as they are in coco. Bud Fusion being used now for pk boost.........no more “red kool-aid”😂 Still adding Rezin from Green Planet becuase it seems to boost my trichome quantity.....Terpinator likely this week as well......increase some of the sulfer to increase aromas. Little more detail....... Feb 13/21 - Day 8 - 3.5L watering with CalMag @ 1ml, Nature’s Candy @ 1ml, Resin @ 1.5ml Feb 14/21 - Day 9 - 2nd SCROG added today.....finally. Plucked a bunch more leaves in the process - watering with microbes only today. Recharge has some molasses in it so just adding that. - 4L water for these girls with Recharge @ 1/2 tsp/gal - 320ppm and 6.0pH Feb 15/21 - Day 10 - today is big feed day....its been 7 days. - 3L each girl with all the IPP line as listed plus silica @ 1ml, Nature’s Candy @ 1ml. (Bud Fusion was 0.2gr/L) - 1325ppm and 6.0pH - Girls gave run off at 3L today so didn’t push past that. Feb 16/21 - Day 11 - some feed left from yesterday so added 6L of plain water to dilute it and watered into the girls tonight. - 3L full feed of nutrients for each girl - 800ppm and 6.1pH Feb 17/21 - Day 12 - 3L each girl with Terpinator and CalMag @ 2ml, Nature’s Candy @ 1ml, Recharge @ 1/2 tsp/gal - 775ppm and 6.1pH - increased light power to 350 watts. Now at 32,500LUX.......take it slow over the next week and keep creeping up. Leaves have a bit of a taco shape coming out and looking fairly serrated at the edges.....pushing the light intensity on the tops👍 - leaf colour on the girls is very good......tips are not burnt either. Feb 18/21 - Day 13 -3L each girl of plain water today - added beneficial bacteria and enzymes @ 1.5ml - 330ppm and 5.9pH - was looking for a little lower pH as I have not been checking runoff. - have to do a leaf strip this weekend......start of week 3. - light power increased again, 400 watts now. Feb 19/21 - Day 14 - day out day.......they have not had one in a bit. - humidity was higher today as door to grow room closed today to assist clones with more humidity. So that takes us through two weeks of flower now. Not knowing these girls enough yet, I suspect feeding will stop at the end of week 6. That leaves four more weeks. I will treat the next two weeks like mid flower for nutes, and the following two weeks as late flower. Feed supplements accordingly. These two girls are very happy and looking like we should get some nice colas from MM1!! They are rocking ETS.......looking forward to seeing the bud swelling next couple of weeks💪👍👊