Cinderella 99

Day 16 update on the C99. We’re officially into early veg! 16 days since dropping the seed in the dirt and she’s looking solid.

Transplanted her into the 5-gallon on Day 13 and did a deep set to anchor her in (soil is the 50/50 happy frog and mothers groundswell performance soils.) She’s praying hard for the light right now. Got a tiny hook on the tips, so I’m just letting her dry out for 24 hours to balance things out before Monday.

Specs are looking good:

Temp: 74°F

VPD: 0.8 {Up from seedling 0.6)

Light: S22 @ 20% (19” height / 325 PPFD) - {That is up from the seedling 10% at 13-14" 175 ish PPFD}

Node 3 is coming in strong. Plan is to start the Athena line this Monday and let her take off.

19 days from seed, 14 days from sprout 🌱

First round of Athena blended at 25% strength- Cleanse, CaMg, Grow A, Grow B in distilled water = 0.65 EC.
Possible next feeding - Tuesday, unless she eats faster than projected.

Looking ahead: After LST recovery four 16" IonBeam S16 bar lights will be added to the vertical tent supports, early veg- an additional 4 S16 lights will be added for under canopy coverage.

🌱 Cinderella 99: Progress Report
Timeline: 15 Days from sprout (Sprouted ~April 18).
Current Structure: 4 nodes established. Tight internodal stacking (1/4" – 1/2" gaps). Healthy, thick main stem.
The "Vibe": Center growth is actively "praying" to the S22. Lower fan leaves are relaxed and acting as prime solar panels.
🌦️ The Climate (The "Power Band")
VPD Target: 0.8 kPa (Currently swinging 0.8 – 0.98 kPa).
Temps: 72°F – 76°F.
Humidity: 68% – 70% RH.
Tech: Humidifier on VPD trigger; manual exhaust; thermostat-controlled heater.
🧪 The Menu (Athena Blended)
The Mix: Grow A/B + Cleanse (2–5mL).
pH Strategy: Targeted 6.1 – 6.2. Using the "Vinegar Strike" to defeat high-alkalinity tap water.
Strength: ~900 – 965 \mu S.
Method: 750mL slow-pour "moisture ring" technique to force root expansion.
💡 Lighting & Hardware
Primary: AC Infinity S22 (Currently at 20% intensity).
Supplemental: S16 Ionbeams arriving tomorrow for "wrap-around" coverage.
Intensity: Maintaining a strict 400 – 600 PPFD canopy limit.
📅 What’s Next?
Topping: On hold until Node 5 fully clears the center (likely mid-week).
Training: LST (pulling to corners) coming once side branches hit 3–4 inches.
Tech Upgrade: Integrating S16s tomorrow; S22 height adjustment if PPFD exceeds 600.
Status: Dialed in. Ready for the vegetative explosion. 🚀

Raised the S22 by 4" and it remains at 40% power

S16s are on level 2

Combined total = 500-515 PPFD at the top node

She is responding incredibly to the addition of the S16 and her 2nd round of Athena feed at 25% potency.

Maintaining around 500 PPFD, 0.9 VPD @75⁰ F

She is on track for topping tomorrow, aside from that she is in a holding pattern as she processes that Athena feed and grows that 5th node up and out.

I had some vpd issues due to rearranging some things around, dialing the lights in etc so she had some clawing and canoeing she's recovering from.

Update: She healed her top snip perfectly! However, Day 8 of the dry-down revealed a hidden enemy: a massive "Salt Slug." The C99 was praying on the outside, but her roots were marinating in a toxic nitrogen fortress well over 3,000 ppm.

I have officially moved 3 gallons of 5.9 pH distilled water through the pot this morning. The "tea" coming out of the bottom shows the eviction in progress. Though i managed to fight the numbers down to 2,000 ppm, the battle isn't over. After this previous flush has a few hours to dissolve the salts I will be flushing with another at least 2 gallons of pH corrected distilled water.

The Status: ⚠️ Runoff: 2,000 PPM (Still hot, but moving!)

💡 Light: Dialed back to 300 PPFD for a metabolic "nap."

🎯 Next Move: A final 2-gallon "Kill-Stroke" at noon to liquidate the remaining salts. 🤞

She’s a fighter. I'm just clearing the path so she can breathe again. 🌿⚡

#Cinderella99 #GrowDiaries #PlantDetox #AthenaAg #HomeGrow #RootZoneReset

Preview-Heavy Nitrogen wall, pests, topping.

Growth: Topped the C99 at Node 5. Left a 1/4" stump to protect the main stalk and redirected all that energy to the Node 4 axial shoots. The goal is a clean manifold for an even canopy.

Issues: Dealing with a classic "Two-Front War."

The Canopy: Spotting some thrip nymphs seeking out that high-nitrogen "sweet" new growth. Manual eviction is in progress while we wait for the surgical site to callus.

The Root Zone: Soil mites are active on the fabric pot due to a heavy 8-day dry-down.

The Plan: Reset - Tomorrow is a 1.5-gallon distilled flush with a light Athena dose (15%) to clear the nitrogen bank and reset the soil EC.

The Defense: Food-grade DE is on the way to create a mechanical barrier on the pot and soil. Treating with Crop Defender 3 as needed per recommended intervals.

The Environment: Staying steady at 1.05 kPa VPD with lower light (350 PPFD) to let her recover from surgery in peace. S22 at 20% - 19", S16s - lvl 3, exhaust- lvl 2, S6 - lvl 5 to discourage flying pests at the moment.

Vigor is still high despite the uninvited guests. We heal today, we flush tomorrow. #C99 #HomeGrow #PestManagement #AthenaAg #IndoorGardening

Thrips are gone, applied a thin layer of Diatomaceous Earth on the fabric pot to evict the mites from the pot.

Seem to be pest free for the last 48 hours, LST is in the beginning stages but apical dominance is broken and she's getting thick on her journey to expand across the tent.

She is growing wonderfully!


S16 IonBeam side bars - off for 7 days to encourage longer growth and spread the clutter.

Overhead S22- 260 PPFD encouraging the stems to grow further from each other and closer to the light source.

Vpd holding around .98-1.02
S6 ran @ 5 with wide oscillation

Plan- get the canopy to grow longer laterally and spread out before training vertical with the trellis Net.

We are just hours away from the next feed, she did exactly what I was nudging her to do- leg out a bit to declutter the nodes. She drank that pot almost dry and she's taking in all that fresh oxygen, I'll let her bask in it for a little while longer.

Her nodes were insanely clumped together ( I had the lights forcing her to stay low and wide in anticipation for the vertical launch ). They are spreading out nicely and soon will be thirsty for that PPFD increase and some more invasive training.

PPFD- 240
Temp-73⁰ F
VPD- 1.0
S6 clip- Lvl 4 , wide sweep
S16 - Remain off for now