I'll provide plenty of background here, questions all at the end. I've lurked for years now and finally got the courage to start my grow tent up. 10 days and 30 problems later I could use a "checkup" from a vet here. Setup: 600w mh/hps, 3x3 tent, cool tube deflector, 3 gallon geopots, FF happy frog +25% perlite, circulation fan, 6" fan cooling the light straight out, massive overkill 440cfm fan running filtered exhaust with passive intake. Runs 80F day and 70F night, 19/5 light, first week I kept humidity ~80% now a constant 50-60% My goal is to grow 4 autoflowers at a time with an 8oz harvest. If I could pull 4oz from grow #1 I'd be happy. I have seeds from 5 strains and decided on Super Skunk (plants 1-3) and Great White Shark (plant A) for this grow because I wanted a mix and I'm to believe these finish around 60 days while my other strains say about 75. So far in my grow: Planted straight to pot. Soil was only very lightly dampened. Lightly watered around the seeds. Water will all be tap water left out overnight. Day 3 sprouts 1&2 come up, seeds 3 and A were deeper. Planting was extremely rushed and I felt the need to unbury 3 & A a bit. Little did I know 3 was right at the surface and I brushed it up. No damage to the white sprout, I put it back a little crooked (best I could) Day 5 sprout 3 up and healthy, leaf growth is a day behind 1&2 and stays that way until day 10 Day 6 sprout A surfaces Up to this point I have been nervously over watering the top soil, well against my own advice, a couple oz once or twice a day. Day 7 gnats! No surprise. Raised temps slightly for the day, boosted fans to dry out top soil. Worried about not watering because there isn't much in there already. Day 8-9 consistent growth in sprouts, consistent decrease in gnats Day 10 (today) gnats are almost all gone. Sprout 3 has laid down. Moved circulation fan to stop hitting 3. I give it a little dirt mound to prop up fairly straight. Watered all pots 120% for first time. It's great to turn this theoretical knowledge into practice. Having and solving a problem gives me more confidence than spending hours researching it. I've got plenty of conflicting research in my head and worry that some of what I know is a little different when growing autoflower strains. Now I have some questions 1. I'm using my mh bulb right now, will switch to hps for flowering. I've heard not to bother with mh since the autos hardly take time to veg. Am I doing right by using both? 2. Where do I put my light right now!? I've been running it anywhere from 6" to 24" and 50-100% power to note how temps and humidity react in my tent/room/basement. I know about the charts, but hear "seeds should be no less than 6 inches away" and "LOL! They shouldn't be closer than 2 feet!" so could use clarification. 3. Will sprout 3 live? I got to it quickly, and assume it laid down from lack of water. It was definitely the weakest sprout. Could a few gnats cause a problem that quick? 4. How much should I worry about light during the night? I hear very important for regular strains, not very for autos. I have a passive air intake (read: hole) in my tent that bleeds a small amount of light in at night. 5. Light-proof air intake? Relating to question 4, but I need one anyways. Actually I want it to keep the light IN during the day. 6. Nutes? I have them all already, haven't used any yet. What are the 'general' guidelines as far as start/stop/flush (pertaining to autos)? I know it's a topic all on its own Out of time to post, I'll check in later. Thanks for the help everyone
Now for your seedling I would bury the stems...they won't fall over and they stay a little cooler. For question #1, I would want to veg as much as possible because the more veg you get, the more yield. #2 You should have those lights around 18" to 24". Nothing is wrong with using CFL light to veg...you can have then 4" away with no heat issues. #3 I think it will live...just bury your stems and stop watering so much. #4 light leaks are no good for regular seed or feminized seed..but for autos I'm not to sure...the plant is still green which means it still needs its dark time...so I would try and patch that up. cannabis from all strains do most of there growing at night. #6 don't use nute in veg till you need them..if there doing will with the soil, that's great. If it ain't.broke, don't fix it.
Looks good, but you can bury the stem all the way up to the shell leaves. You will get to a point when the stem slows down and you start to branch up and out.