Hello Community, Just wanted to share my start and the adventure. I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and so I am legally allowed to grow 4 plants. As such I am going to be doing just that along with my mom! Yes. My mom! She wants to use the trim leaves for salads and such for the THCA. Calgary gets a shit load of amazing sun - we aren’t the largest, sunniest city in Canada! My intention is to start the seedlings indoors and transition them outside to grow. So, I picked up some seeds from True North. I wasn’t wanting to mess around with a photo period plant for my first go so I picked up AutoFems. I currently have x1 Amnesia Auto Fem, x2 Northern Lights Auto Fem, x2 Afghan Kush Ryder Auto Fem. I have started them in small solo cups, under a T5 24W in a NanoDome. I was starting at 24/0 once they sprouted. Now I am doing ~18/6. Through the day I am running a fan on the seedlings to encourage appropriate stem/root strength before going outside. Additionally, I am acclimatizing them to the sun by keeping them at the window while the T5 is running and in keeping them outside for a few hours in the sun during mid day. They seem to be doing really well and in the sun I have really seen them take off. However, managing humidity and temps have been more of a challenge with fluctuations based on having to keep the dome ajar so the temp doesn’t climb above 30celcius. I started the seedlings in SuperSoil with ProMix. I have great compost and will begin to mix in amendments like worm castings to the SuperSoil as I transition to a larger pot. In their cups I have seen roots along the edges as well as attempting to escape out the drainage holes I cut into the bottom. I am watering every 2nd day - a spoonful or two of distilled spring water. I am very open to increasing that based on time outside and will monitor their soil daily for dryness. Below are pictures from yesterday and today. Yesterday I had three girls under the T5 (the right size) and today moved the remainders. Cheers and best regards, Scott
Good suggestion. I have been trying to keep them raised up towards the light as it sits on top of the dome and can’t come closer unless I remove it. That then makes management of heat and humidity much more challenging. The T5s have a stand I can use to keep the lights lower. Thoughts? Scott
Hey, I dropped the lights this morning. It was a chilly, rainy night and today doesn’t look like I’ll be able to get them outside. Watered again with a spoonful this morning as the two more established ones were drier this morning. I keep the paper towel damp to hopefully avoid any absorption from the soil medium.
A question: I am running autos and have seen several posters who have seedlings in solo cups and they appear to outpace mine by at least double in the same time frame ~2/52. Is my 24W T5 just not enough for them to really develop their leaf structure? Rooting seems to be going well and I can see the roots against the side of the cups. I’m wondering about upping my lighting to a 4bulb T5 fixture and acquiring a propagation tent to really hone the environmental aspect. Thoughts? Cheers
More light equals quicker, better growth and 24w is just not enough. A t5 ho lamp is the lowest powered I will use, a 4 bulb lamp does decent, but an 8 bulb would be better.
Thanks for your thoughts. I am using a single T5 24W and I have the same thought as you; it just isn’t enough.
Moved my girls into larger pots and kept the T5 close. I have acquired a propagation tent and will acquire a larger T5LED light fixture with FS and a blue spec. Cheers
Keep a grow Journal, and note everything (growth, temps, any issues, etc). Good job on your first grow. Learn from any mistakes. You seem to have an open mind on the suggestions, which is good. You will always get differing opinions. Listen to them all, and discuss further/make your decisions based on that and own research. I'm sure you will do great. I love growing in soil. How God intended. It is the most forgiving and best taste IMHO. My only suggestion would be (and maybe not for this year) but for next year, you should try to get it, so you never have to use commercial fertilizer ever/again. Research liquid manure options, such as comfrey (Bocking #14). Plant some out now (in an out of way place, like a corner--because you won't be able to get rid of it), let them grow and die/dormant over the winter, and next year they will be established. Hack em down, every 3 weeks or so before comfrey goes into flower (it is a pretty plant too..good for the bees). Put leaves in bucket weighted down with a brick with covered water. Let it seep for 3 weeks. When it smells like a sewer, it's ready! Mmmmm Hmmmm! Dilute 1 part comfrey to 15 parts water. Best fertilizer, ever! Your plants will love it. Great for all the other plants in garden (esp Tomatoes) too. Also can use as foliar spray, and it will keep the mildew at bay. Comfrey is truly the miracle/wonder plant. Thank you Henry Doubleday and Lawrence D. Hills!
A few things are, 1. The expirience of the other growers you are looking at, they have there environments dialed in so well there is great conditions and perfect amounts of water and fertilizer from the very start. 2. They are growing in coco possibly which has a much faster growth rate then soil.3. Even though it is hard dont let other peoples success diminish the achievements you are makeing.(as a first time grower this would be even getting a plant to harvest with smokable buds) 4. Even if your autos look pitiful a month into it you can still get some nice buds even if they are really small buds.
Popcorn, Thank you for the great suggestions and reminders!! All the best and fingers crossed! One of my good buddies and business partners lectures on cultivation so I have a good resource. Natas, I love living soil and the soil is now 1/5 EWC, 1/5 compost, 1/5 peat and finally 2/5 BS SuperSoil. I am hoping that the girls just take off in it! I will definitely look into a compost tea and fertilizer combo for next time. Cheers to you guys!
I think your girls will love it. I might put a post up advertising comfrey roots/crowns for anyone that is interested. I have plenty.
Hey gang. Question: I fully intended to grow my girls outside but was attempting to “Baby them” a little by starting them indoors under T5s/T5 LED (FullSpec). They do a number of hours in the sun most days and then back under the lights to make up the 18hrs/day. Will this change back and forth mess with them? Cheers!
As long as the "light" hours match up when you finally put them outside, you should be fine. Sunrise, sunset, dawn and dusk times around the World daylightHoursExplorer008
Hey gang. Question: I fully intended to grow my girls outside but was attempting to “Baby them” a little by starting them indoors under T5s/T5 LED (FullSpec). They do a number of hours in the sun most days and then back under the lights to make up the 18hrs/day. Will this change back and forth mess with them?
I do not believe it will as long as they are getting light for a consistent number of hours. I think the problems come in when you change the number of hours around alot. This is just my thought no research done for this topic.
Hello, A question/curiosity. Appears as though my autofem girls are going into flower at week 6. I know that shouldn’t surprise me but the lack of foliage does! They are under a new, LED fixture (see link Fusion Bright 2ft x4 72W (144W Equivalent) T5 LED System - T5/T8 Led Lights - LED Grow Lights) with x2 Full Spec and x2 “White”. I’m just aurprised by how little they have grown before they turned... Cheers, Scott
Hello, Updating: So the girls have all been outside now for over a month. I started these Auto seeds June 6 and then June 13th. The larger plant is maybe a feminized seed. It has double to triple the height and foliage size. It is the one I really want to focus on yielding. Was running in just BlueSky Organics Super Soil amended with ProMix HP soil. I’d done a few admins of tomato fertilizer but hadn’t seen much from it. Watering was done every day whether by hand from the pond out with waterfall or by rain. Volume was ~1L/5gal pot. Likely this frequency and smaller volume was a hinderence to growth. This summer in Calgary has been rainy and pretty lacklustre - no where near the usual sun and heat. Great White organisms were added to site of transplant for all plants just FYI. Today I started my first go at nutrients. I figured “what the hell?!” considering the lack of tremendous growth I have seen from others on their Autos. I am trying to keep it as organic as possible. Below are pics just after first feeding. Feedings alternating through week, watering until start to see run off. A: - Green Planet Medi-One - General Organics Bio Bud - In a few weeks (unless specified) I will add BlueSky Organics Flower Two to harden growth. B: - Kelp mix - Molasses - Every 2-3 weeks Great White beneficial soil organisms C: Pond water Cheers, Scott