First time grower, long time consumer, looking for some general firsthand experience regarding growth cycle, timeline and best practices, based on my specific grow situation. I’m (legally) growing three Bruce Banner autoflowers, from seed, sourced from a legitimate, reputable seed-bank. they went to seed in the first week of July, and I saw growth of about six inches, first recorded on July 9th. im growing in 3x3 Vivosun tent, under a full spectrum 1000W LED grown light. Nutrients fed via routine watering. Liquid nutrients recommended to me by grower friends. Appropriate levels of all appropriate nutrients, at various stages of growth. I feel I’ve been successful thus far. G Temp of climate (basement bedroom/office) is 76 degrees, and I keep humidity around 60. I also run a purifier outside of the tent, and a small oscillating clip-on Vivosun fan inside the tent in the top corner. All vent holes in tent besides one on bottom are sealed.airflow seems adequate. pH stays right aroun 6.5, and light meter shows adequate light levels. I’ve been using an 18 : 6 light cycle, although I’ve read that it doesn’t necessarily matter with auto’s. I chose autosflower, and this strain in particular, specifically because I was encouraged that it’s an “easy” one to start with. I’ve been having a lot of fun, and I’ve learned a ton. Questions: 1 it’s been a number of weeks, should I expect more growth by now, and when will they start to “flower?” 2 At which point do I switch on the “bloom” feature on my LED light? Currently, and since seedling, I’ve been using only the “Vegg” function. I believe the bloom function switches on a more warm/red light scheme, I’m just unsure of the consequences and if the results are desired at this stage (little over two feet tall). 3. I just transplanted to their “final” container/pot yesterday (pics with the black pots and netting), and the look really healthy today. Is there anything I need to look out for after successful transplant? 4 What’s next at this stage? Should I be trimming more? Encouraging different growth? Light cycle? Anythjng else that you kore experienced growers may advise, based specifically on my setup and environment, or in general. Am i just getting impatient, or am I correct to think these should be bigger by now if they first sprouted in the first week of July? Thank you in advance for your feedback and advice - I’m excited to join the community! M
If they sprouted in July then they aren't auto flowers,if they were,then you would be about to harvest, flip the light to 12/12 and they will start to flower
Thanks for the reply and advice! I suspected this was possible, but being a novice, didn’t know if I was just delayed due to something I may have done. will switch to 12/12 today and update in a few. Thanks! M
I thought I did by the leafs, but I’ve absolutely been wrong before, about many things lol! Would you be kind enough to advise, if possible from the photos. I can get some close-ups too. M
I would top the plants or there not going to fill the room, something is wrong, 12 weeks in veg Your plants look very healthy but they look about 6 weeks in veg. Maybe the light too far above the canopy, this can slow the growth or the plants could have been root bound but something is off.
Thank you so much for this reply, super helpful. When I transplanted them, there were roots wrapped and I had a hard time getting them out of their pots. Could this be the issue, and if so will they be back on track now?! Also, how to prevent in the future? I suspect just transferring to bigger pots earlier. I suspect there’s good info on topping online? I have only trimmed the fan leaves, but I should take the top off too? Ugh, I thought I was doing so well too! ♂️ A sincere thanks for the guidance! M
your welcome If you keep the plants in small pots it stunts the growth, can be helpful at times if you still have plants in the flower room, but now you have potted them up, they will grow like crazy in a few days. if you can take a side picture of each plant i will draw a line and you need to cut them. you need the maxim amount of side shoot, all at the same height, in 2 weeks time you can flower them off and the screen will be full.
This makes sense re: pot size. I should’ve moved them sooner. I’ll research a little more on when to transfer and frequency, as I’m sure I hindered growth. photos here are the three plants - side view. The fourth is all of them for perspective, with a standard Bic pen resting on top of the soil in the last photo for size/height perspective. Topping sounds scary, but I’m down for an adventure! What an amazing community here, I’m humbled to have such great resources! Thank you again!
I will keep topping the top center part of my plants in veg so my canopy will become very wide, short and even.
I agree with @CheapHomeGrown, you should top it so you have an even canopy, and I would clean the unnecessary growth on the bottom as well so my plant won't waste energy on it.
Ok, topping complete! A sincere thank you for helping this newbie! I’ll update with photos in a week or so. Anything else I need to do to keep them healthy after topping? More/different nutrients?