About Me: Ever since I started using marijuana responsibly, I’ve given up alcohol and tobacco, and overall I’ve felt better (for 3 years now). That’s why, on the recommendation of some friends, I decided to start growing my own supply for personal use. They’d told me it’s almost therapeutic because, after all, it’s a form of gardening, but I never imagined it would be so enjoyable to watch simple plants grow day by day. It’s like taking care of pets, but it’s more like a hobby, and I love it. I’m learning a lot, and I hope that those who read this will do the same and be inspired to start their own.



Before I begin, I want to clarify that the goal of this grow was never to achieve the highest possible yield. My main objective was to use multiple simultaneous experiments to find out how different plants with similar genetics would react to a combination of different growing techniques, using basic equipment as well as inexpensive nutrients that I had on hand. I decided to do this for my first grow because, after several months of training and researching, I realized there were some contradictions in the information I was reading and seeing. I also wanted to learn firsthand which practices make a real difference and which are more like suggestions.  And english is not my first lenguage, so I'm sorry if I make a mistake.



Now then, let’s start with the basics.

  
Equipment:



\-Space

Closet 60x120x180

Terrace with direct sunlight



\-Pots

250 ml disposable cups

5 1-liter pots

2 3-liter pots

2 6-liter pots



\-Growing Medium

Nursery soil

Ammonium sulfate (Nitrogen)

Miracle-Gro

Calcium acetate

Banana tea

Terpinator

BigBud



\-Lighting

1 100W full-spectrum LED

1 energy-saving white LED

1 sheet/fabric/mesh that lets through 50–70% of light

Sunlight



\-Seeds

20 seeds from 2 or more years ago

20 seeds from 1 to 1 1/2 years ago

20 seeds less than 1 year old



\-Other

Bottled water

pH and EC meter

1-liter measuring cup

10-ml measuring syringe

Gram scale

Potassium soap

Water sprayer/misting bottle

2 fans (to circulate air inside the closet)



The first experiment involved planting seeds of different ages to see how this might influence their development. These are seeds I’ve been saving over the last 3 years from various samples. Since I wasn’t sure which would be male and which would be female, I decided to germinate 20 seeds that were 2 or more years old, 20 seeds that were 1 to 1 1/2 years old, and 20 seeds less than 1 year old. This way, I could see the experiment through to the end.



GERMINATION (early February)



I used the traditional method: I soaked them in water for 24 hours, then placed them in a container between two damp paper towels and stored them in a dark, warm place, opening the container twice a day to prevent the air from becoming stagnant.



Of the first group of 20 seeds less than 1 year old, 8 managed to germinate.

Of the second group of 20 seeds that were 1 to 1 1/2 years old, 5 managed to germinate.

Of the third group of 20 seeds that were 2 or more years old, 1 germinated.



Age definitely affected the germination rate; most didn’t even crack open their shells. I suspect that lightly sanding or scraping the shell a bit would be enough to allow water to penetrate—I’ll try that next time.



PLANTED IN THE FIRST POT



For the first pot, I used disposable cups filled with potting soil. I buried the seeds 2 cm below the surface and watered them with 50 ml of bottled water. For this establishment phase, I chose to keep the plants entirely in the closet under LED lighting on an 18/6 schedule (7 a.m.–1 a.m./1 a.m.–7 a.m.).



After a few days, the first typical beginner’s mistakes emerged: overwatering, seeds buried too deep, or the topsoil packed too tightly. Combined with the age of the seeds, this caused the success rate to plummet.



Of the first group of 8 seeds that managed to germinate, only 2 survived.

Of the second group of 5 seeds that managed to germinate, 2 survived as well.

Of the third group—the single seed that managed to germinate—it also managed to survive.



From this point on, I gave each plant a name so I could tell them apart more easily: the two from the first group will be Zoro and Sanji; the two from the second group will be Luffy and Nami; and the sole survivor from the third group will be Robin.



DAY 10 SINCE GERMINATION



Once the plants had settled in, they began to differ from one another. On the one hand, the two seedlings from the first group (the youngest) were growing rapidly and at the same pace; on the other hand, the two seedlings in the second group (the middle-aged ones) showed more moderate growth, with one of them growing slightly faster; finally, the seedling in the third group (the older ones) seemed to exhibit a form of dwarfism—it had the same number of nodes as the others but was less than half their size when compared, and it also had a particularly thin stem. I did not prune or train the plants this week.



Seeing that the plants were beginning to differ, I decided to introduce another variable: one plant from the first group and one from the second group would receive filtered sunlight at a window from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., to assess their tolerance to sunlight and see how a little extra sun would affect their development; the rest of the plants would spend most of their vegetative stage in a closet under LED light (that’s what I had planned).

  
I continued with the 18/6 schedule and kept watering them with bottled water, but now I wait until the top layer of the growing medium dries out.



DAY 16 SINCE GERMINATION/TRANSPLANTING INTO 1-L POTS



The extra sun was having a beneficial effect to a certain extent (shorter internodes), but in terms of size, almost all of them ended up catching up over the days (except for Robin, who remained half the size of the others), so I decided to transplant them into 1-liter pots to get their growth going again. When I transplanted them, I discovered that the roots had already spread quite a bit, which is why they had stopped growing.



Seeing that the extra sunlight was really helping Zoro and Sanji, I decided that Luffy and Nami would also get some sun, but this time it wouldn’t be sunlight filtered through a window—they’d all get direct sunlight on a terrace that gets sun for most of the day, but since the sun is very intense in the afternoon where I live, I decided to stick to a short schedule so they’d get just the right amount—their pots couldn’t handle too much sun because they retain very little moisture due to their small size. I kept them in direct sunlight from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., the rest of the time they completed their cycle with FS LED light, while Robin would stay in the closet with only LED lighting. I increased watering slightly but only with bottled water.



DAY 34 SINCE GERMINATION

  
Once I saw that the plants had adapted well and were still showing signs of growth, I decided it was time for LST, topping, fimming, and supercropping.



For Zoro and Sanji, I would apply fimming + LST + supercropping at the base of the stem—only to Sanji—to see if it helps thicken the stem (it worked).

For Luffy and Nami, I would apply topping + LST + supercropping at the base of the stem—only to Nami—with the same goal (it worked).

I only performed LST on Robin.



I continued with the same light schedule and increased watering slightly more with bottled water.



DAY 79 SINCE GERMINATION/TRANSPLANTING INTO 3-L POTS



After several sessions of pruning and adjustments, I observed the following:



Fimming worked better than I expected; every time I did it, I got 3–5 new branches that recovered quickly. Combined with LST, both Zoro and Sanji grew so much they looked like small bushes. Additionally, supercropping made Sanji’s trunk thicker and sturdier.



Topping also worked well, although it only produced two new tips, and recovery took longer than with fimming. Even so, when combined with LST, both Luffy and Nami showed good development, albeit more compact.



Robin, on the other hand, using only LST, began to convert secondary branches into new tips. Although she had started out smaller than the others, with LST she began to stretch and grow—somewhat slender, but she continued to grow.



Seeing that Zoro and Sanji were slowing down their growth again, I decided to repot them into 3-liter pots to see how much their growth rate would increase with that small change. I left the rest in their 1-liter pots to see how much their growth would be delayed—whether they would remain dwarf (bonsai) or continue to grow.



I continued with the same light schedule and increased watering a little more with bottled water, but this time with nutrients for vegetative growth.



DAY 163 SINCE GERMINATION/TRANSPLANT TO 6-L POT



Zoro and Sanji increased their growth rate like never before; at this point, everything was going perfectly—until I found out that during the days I was away from home, there had been several power outages lasting several hours over the course of a few days. That’s why, when I checked the plants on day 43 as I was taking them out into the sun, I noticed that some were showing bulges at the tops of their canopies—pre-flowers. Upon a thorough inspection, I saw that the ones with the most developed buds were Zoro and Sanji. I checked my notes and searched online, confirming that both were males. The reason their buds were more developed is that males mature earlier so their pollen is ready to fertilize the females. Fearing the worst, I checked the rest of the plants—Luffy was also a male; it had smaller sacs, but they were already distinguishable.



Given the situation, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Although Zoro and Sanji were my favorite plants—the largest ones and the ones I’d cared for the most—I ended up separating them and discarding them, just like I did with Luffy.



Even so, by this point I had already learned a great deal, so I decided to apply everything I’d learned previously to save the experiment and draw new conclusions.



I did several things at once:



1. PREPARE THE SOIL MIX. I started by recovering and recycling the soil from Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy’s pots. I mixed it with some compost I was preparing and a bit of black clay soil containing earthworms, and finally used that mixture to transplant Nami and Robin into 6-liter pots, taking care the whole time to ensure they lost less than 5% of their roots during the transplant.



2 PRUNING TO INCREASE LEAF MASS. Although the male plants had already started flowering, Nami and Robin still showed no obvious signs; but I learned that male plants mature a little earlier, so I had very little leeway. For this reason, I only made a few final Fimming cuts to the tips of the plants and readjusted the ties on both plants so that the LST would keep the branches as horizontal as possible.



3 STRENGTHENING THE BASE OF THE TRUNK. I applied supercropping to Robin at the base of the trunk to start strengthening it; she was the only one who needed it.



4 ADJUST THE NUTRIENT MIXTURE. I prepared a nutrient mixture designed for the transition from advanced vegetative growth to early flowering, since I wanted the plant to develop extra leaves and branches first while there’s still time and it doesn’t need to expend resources on fattening up the flowers.



5 INCREASE LIGHT QUALITY AND EXPOSURE TIME. I decided to gradually increase the sun exposure time for both plants, taking care not to stress them too much. After a few days, I adjusted their light schedule as they adapted, and it eventually ended up like this:



\-7 a.m. to 9 a.m.: Full-spectrum LED

\-9 a.m. to 12 p.m.: Direct sunlight

\-12 p.m. to 3 p.m.: Sunlight filtered through a sheet (it’s very intense at this time)

\-3 p.m. to 6 p.m.: Direct sunlight

\-6 p.m. to 7 p.m.: Full-spectrum LED

\-7 p.m. to 7 a.m.: Total darkness



6. CONTROL AND MONITOR DAILY WATER CONSUMPTION. I began managing watering based on weight; little by little, the plants increased their water consumption as the hours of sunlight increased, so I established an ideal moisture level for the pot before watering based on their daily consumption (they currently receive 2.5 liters of water per day).



7 CONTROL MOISTURE LOSS. I cover the topsoil in the pots with a sheet of white paper to minimize moisture loss; the paper is held in place by the pot’s rim, 5 cm above the soil. I take care not to completely seal off airflow to the pot, since air circulates through these gaps, keeping the soil cool and well-aerated.



8 IMPLEMENT A PEST CONTROL PROTOCOL. I conduct daily visual inspections of the plants for pests. Due to their increased time spent outdoors, both plants became infested with whiteflies and small water flies. Since I could no longer use pesticides and the plants aren’t very dense, I decided to manually remove the male whiteflies, nymphs, and eggs, using the flashlight on my cell phone (they glow), I inspected every branch and every leaf of both plants for a week. Because I detected the infestation quickly, I was able to control and eliminate it without using pesticides or anything that would alter the flavor. For the water flies, I used flypaper; I placed some in the openings left by the machine-cut leaves at the top of the pots, near the soil, which is where they lay their eggs. That way, when they try to leave the pot, they’re forced to pass through there and get stuck. While I can’t eliminate them completely, they’re pretty much under control.

  
DAY 180 SINCE GERMINATION/DAY 17 SINCE THE SWITCH TO FLOWERING/TODAY, AUGUST 3, 2026



The combination of all the above worked—both plants have more than doubled in size compared to when they were in the 1-liter pot in a very short time. Likewise, the number of main and secondary buds has multiplied, the roots have spread quite a bit, the stems have thickened, and the flowers have begun to multiply. Furthermore, the plants show no serious signs of stress, burn, or nutrient deficiencies. Currently, the plants look like the images I’ve attached.



By the way, about 4 days ago I switched the nutrient solution to one for early flowering, gradually adding BigBud to the mix and eliminating nitrogen almost entirely.



At this point, I can already draw some conclusions. The most important one is that you must always observe each plant’s behavior individually—one plant’s needs are not the same as another’s. Also, sunlight is the best source of light; the space the roots have to spread is what determines the final size; and a bonsai can regain its growth rate if you give it more space to spread its roots.



I hope this guide helps someone clear up some of their questions. Also, if you have any advice or comments, I’d love to read them. If you have any questions about my procedure (since I left out quite a bit of information), please let me know, and I’ll respond as soon as I can.



I’ll post an update in a few weeks.



Note 1. The first 6 photos are of Nami; the next 6 photos are of Robin. They include a 1-liter white pot for scale. All photos were taken after 6:30 p.m.

Note 2. This isn’t AI—I wrote it by hand; you can tell by the mistakes XD

Note 3. I made some corrections to the dates and formatting; they were way off. Sorry—I was a little distracted while writing, and trying to remember everything that happened since the beginning of the year was a bit complicated.



  




1st grow - Day 180 since germination/Day 17 of flowering (corrected dates)