I also do not intend to go with autos in the forseeable future. If I like this one I may do an all auto run if I'm over stocked with meds at some point. Another grower from my area and I were talking and he threw it out there to why not throw the free auto seed in a big pot with good soil and see how good the genetics could be. I agree though that while they've made great strides with autos, they're still not better or even the same as most photos. I've heard there are some autos out there that can produce like photos but I think that's if you get a great pheno and also have the experience to nute her up without stressing it out.
Wise words. I got 4 free auto seeds, so I decided to buy another one as well. I bought the extra to compare it's quality to the free ones (it's called Pandora - and apparently it's a great auto). I want to try growing autos mostly because I'm curious to see if I can make some comparisons of things like time/electricity saved vs bud weight/quality forfeited, but also because being presented with 5 different strains I've never grown (or smoked) just makes me so keen to try them! I only have a small rotation of plants, so it'd be nice to try growing one of each strain at the same time for an experiment. It could end up being a nightmare of course...
Subbed up!! As always great details!! I've been lazy lately on stuff but looks for a regeneration journal soon
**UPDATE** 2/23/14 BlimBurn Critical Automatic -- Day 4 -- Today she seems to have decided to lean a little. Its odd how seedlings will just randomly move to get optimal lighting. Its weirder when their directly under the light all by themselves haha. No worries just an observation. Soil around the base of the stem still seems slightly damp so no water today. I'm thinking either tomorrow or tuesday. Next watering I'm going to give her a small dose of some General Hydroponics Rapid Start Root Enhancer. I believe the instructions give a dosage by the 5 gallons, I'm going to just mix up 1 gallon worth at around 1/2-3/4 strength (whatever the math happens to work out too, i'll post it when it happens). That way i'll have a bunch already mixed if I like the results. I'm not expecting much of anything, I know a lot of this stuff is unproven...but this was a freebie and I'm in the mood to experiment and test I was tossing this idea around all day yesterday and today I've decided I'm going to roll with it. In an effort to really maximize her potential I am going to bump the ballast up to 75% (450w) starting on day 8. Previously I was going to run it at 50% (300w) for the first 14 days. The old plan just seems like it'll be wasting precious time with an auto. I think after a full 7 days above soil and given the good ventilation and air cooling that she'll be able to handle it. Of course the light will be adjusted for any issues that arise. Green House Seeds White Rhino -- Day (n/a) -- I was really slacking off on getting these going but it's finally done. I placed (4) feminized Green House Seeds White Rhino seeds inside a warm damp paper towel and placed that within a ziplock bag which is 1/2 closed at approx. 10:00 pm. I only close the baggie 1/2 way because I believe that mold can set in really quickly with the bag fully sealed. It may take slightly longer this way but I feel safer knowing there is some air exchange with all that moisture inside the bag. This method has never failed me in the past. I will not count day 1 until they have broken above the soil, it should be sometime this week! I prepared the 16 oz. SOLO cups I use for the initial veg stage. I make sure to put plenty of drain holes in each cup to ensure proper and efficient drainage. I think I will post a small tutorial tomorrow outlining my method for anyone looking for ideas/tips/advice. Stay tuned! *** Again no changes to the city today
**UPDATE** 2/24/14 BlimBurn Critical Automatic -- Day 5 -- Glad to see that she is done stretching and starting to open up. Those first leaves are coming in nicely, despite the pics (I hate trying to get in focus pics under the hps but im too lazy to do it any other way atm lol!). I wasn't convinced today that the soil was dry enough yet to warrant a watering. Should be ready for some tomorrow I think. Leaning is still there but she looks like she's starting to bend back to correct it. She's a curvy chick lol Green House Seeds White Rhino -- Day (n/a) -- Seeds have not popped open yet. Crossing my fingers that they will be ready to go tomorrow morning/afternoon! No pics as I do not want to keep disturbing them. *** No changes to the grow areas today.
Shit I went down this AM to check on things and I found the Critical Auto seedling laying over. It's not on the soil but close. I think it just went too long between water. Thought I could get away with going to today to water. I guess not. I gave her water asap when I saw it. I'm gonna give her a couple hours to bounce back and if not I'll try and stake her up Not a good way to start the day...
she'll be fine. Looks like she also might've stretched and fallen over from the weight as opposed to drying out. don't worry about it too much.
Yeah she definitely stretched too much. I got lazy with the light early on thinking 300w of hid power would be ok even kinda far away...nope lol. Thought I had it corrected but I guess not and you are right, she's gotten too too heavy for her current stem. I'm going down in a bit to stake her up a little. I also decided to just go ahead and bump the ballast to 75% (450w) to try and help pick her up too, was gonna do it in 2 days anyways.
Initially I didn't even check, prolly 36" lol. Than I moved it down as far as the ducting will take it and that was 24". When I did the ducting I never planned on having a seedling in here, only vegged plants plus pots so for those it can get plenty low...but not for a seedling that's in a tote I currently cannot get off the ground. That's why I bumped it up to 450w to overcome the distance a little more for the time being.
**UPDATE** 2/25/14 BlimBurn Critical Automatic -- Day 6 -- Trouble in paradise this morning Woke up to find that the little Critical Auto seedling had fallen over. Looks she just stretching a little too much too early and couldn't support the weight of the new leaves. I was able to bend and use 2 paper clips (thoroughly cleaned with ISO alcohol before going into the soil) to prop her back up. After a few hours she corrected her top out nicely. I do have a question for everyone reading...should I worry to much about the stem being curved even after being staked up and supported? My concern is if it thickens and shit with a bow than I could see it being unstable when its budding. I can always restake it and use a post and string but I kinda like how it is now. So what do ya think? Leave it or re-do it? I re-adjusted the fans to make sure there is a nice slight breeze gently vibrating her just a little to facilitate strengthening of that stem! On top of the over stretching I feel that the soil got really really dry and that didn't help the situation. When I checked this AM the soil was bone dry . Not off to a good start here! I need to get my head back in the game. So I gave her 3 oz. of tap water (vented 36 hours) to which I added 2 drops of General Hydroponics Rapid Start Root Enhancer. A normal dosage is 1 tsp (5.0 mL) per 5 gallons but I'm not going to mix that much so I decided even though its wildly inaccurate and reckless lol to just put 2 drops since the freebie bottle I have is like a dropper. Probably a little to strong for only a little bit of water but from what I've read it really won't do much damage. Bumped the ballast up to 75% (450w) today in light of the stretching problem and because it was going to happen in 2 days anyways. I was also able to drop the light a little further and get it down to approx. 20" above the soil. The 6" inline fan is still not running and temps remain stable and within acceptable limits. Not heat issues currently. Was a rough day for this little girl Hope tomorrow is better! Green House Seeds White Rhino -- Day (n/a) -- Very very happy to report that all 4 of the White Rhino seeds succesfully germinated! On top of that they all did so together and all look like twins with all their tap roots almost all the same lengths! Hopefully this is a sign of stable consistent genetics to come Each seed was placed in a 16 oz. SOLO party cup filled with a 50/50 mix of Fox Farms Ocean Forest and Fox Farms Light Warrior. Each one also got a small handful of additional perlite added to help with drainage and oxygenation of the soil. Once the seed was carefully placed using sterilized tweezers the soil was lightly moistened with tap water (vented 36 hours). They have been placed in the veg tent under the light with the ballast set to 75% (300w) for the first couple days. The light is 20" from the top of the soil and will be adjusted accordingly to avoid any stretching issues like above. In the picture from LEFT to RIGHT it is WR #1, WR #2, WR #3 and WR #4 View attachment 1384882 *** No changes to anything within the city today other than noted above
Have you thought of taking a few handfulls of dirt out and lower the plant in the pot and cover the stem back up. I usually allow for this in my planting. And if u have a bunch if old phone books or something to stack up under the pot u could get a lil higher to the light if its a big concern. Or add a clear cup with lil holes in it over the top of it for super humidity. Just a lil baked readin and writin...
**UPDATE** 2/26/14 BlimBurn Critical Automatic -- Day 7 -- Measured the young lady today. She checks in at a lanky 4.50" from soil to top. I checked my log from the last grow and at this point the Northern Lights were exactly 1/2 as tall. Oh well. She's stretched atm but with the supports shes recovering. Still not completely stable and strong but getting better. I wish her curvy stem would straighten out. Going to re-asses and re-do the supports next time I take her out of the tent. I'm happy with the conditions in the flower tent without the inline fan going even at the 75% (450w) setting. Temps peak up around 75-77* and RH hits up around 55% peak. Veg tent is another story, smh... She is starting to grow in her next sets of leaves. Wish overall all the growth was as perky as the last grow but she's gonna do her own thing it looks like. No water or anything today. Green House Seeds White Rhino -- Day (n/a) -- No changes today. Nothing has broken soil or even looks like its currently in the process. I turned off the inline fan for the veg tent today because the temps were not even climbing out of the high 60's and the RH was super low around 16%. After turning the fan off temps rose to around 73-75* and the RH was able to climb to the mid 20's. I'm not happy with the humidity but I already have extra water sitting in the tent in an effort to improve it. I could bump the ballast up to 100% and that would help as conditions with the MH bulb during last veg were much better. This dry and cold winter is really the thing I'm fighting against Will count Day 1 as the day they break soil. I'm hoping it's tomorrow so that both tents or on the same week end/begin day. No pics of the White Rhino today as it looks exactly the same as yesterday, nothing to see. *** As noted above the changes to the city today were that the 4" 190cfm inline fan was turned OFF in the veg tent. This was done in an effort to improve temps and humidity.
Subbed again, your grow was great man! You should defs get a macro lens to get some sick shots of your plants Sent from my SPH-L300 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Thursday morning glass porn! Found this bad boy while searching and browsing for bubblers. Anyone wanna buy it for me? J Red Double Donut Mini Bubbler w/ Flip Top Dome Drool...........
Mmm gotta share what we did for dinner. Home cooked chicken noodle soup with sour dough rolls. Pictures do not do it justice, smells so fucking good. If you're interested in the recipe just post and I'll get te fiancé to write it out . It's really easy, just takes 8-10 hours