Hey I'm sorry for making a new topic I'm sure my questions are answered in other posts but I'm not finding them. 1. I'm growing auto's and I'm growing outside in the North East. I'm wondering how big the plants should be when I plant them outside. I'm going to start them inside then bring them outside but i don't want to hurt them by bringing them out when they are too small. is there a time frame I should bring them out or a certain height. I'm growing auto northern lights and auto pounder. 2. Can I use a standard house light when they are going from seeds to when I transplant them outside. I don't have the ability to have them get sunlight so they need to be indoors and there aren't any window spots etc for them. And I don't want to get a grow light just for the seeds. 3. Would anyone know the water they would need everyday and if I could water every other day. They will be right next to a decently fast flowing stream that is clean and safe to use. So water isn't a problem I just am not sure If I will need to water everyday. The temperature where I live can be 60-65 degrees at night on the cooler side and up to 90 on hot days. but not much hotter unless its a heat wave. I'm pretty sure I'm starting late but I just want some extra info that I haven't gathered already. 4. Finally has anyone used those watering spikes. They are light the aqua globe or whatever its called that was on TV. It releases water when the soil is dry. Why the soil is dry and there's more air it goes up the shaft and forces water out. people usually use them when they aren't going to be able to water their flowers. I figure If i'm not able to water them I could put 2 in each pot so the soil cant get completely dry until I water them again. And I forgot but if i'm using 5 gallon buckets do I water them to the point where water drips out of the bottom? Thanks if you answer any of these I appreciate it.
A lot of people seem to be trying autos this year. Autos don't like to be transplanted so if you haven't started them yet start them off in the grow pot their going to be finishing in. If your going to be growing in the ground then start them off in the ground and keep them watered on hot days. As for watering spikes those are only recommended if your going away for a few days other then that your better off using a drip system or watering by hand. On hot days you want to keep your plants hydrated but you also don't want to over water. As for lights the cheapest option is 26 watt daylight cfls that will work fine to get them going. The few people I know that have grown autos outdoors used grow bags and just started them off in the grow bags.
Hey how many lights would I need like do I need one for every plant or can I just use a couple lights covering the plants as a whole. and off topic but if I had a 400w HPS light how many plants could I grow inside with that. like two autos. just asking since im not sure. the lights aren't that big so im just curious.
400 watts of HPS light would be more then enough for 2 autos indoors. As for using cfls for starting off seedlings I just use a couple of 26 watt daylight cfls for about the first week after that their going to need a lot more light. If using cfls for veg and flowering you want 100 watts of cfl light for the first plant and an additional 50 watts of cfl light for each additional plant. Don't go by the cfl`s equivalent watts but the actual watts of electricity they use. If you want to mimic natural sunlight more indoors you can go with a 3:1 ratio of daylight cfls to softwhite cfls for veg and vice versa for flowering.
Alright thanks a lot for the help. The reason im doing autos is because It should take less time to harvest than regular plants would take right? for some reason Im forgetting things probably since Im on the internet researching at like 2 a.m lol. anyway though if I were to grow like sour diesel or ak47 i wouldnt be typically harvesting until around october right. and the autos would be in the end of august or the beginning of september
Hey if I use the biodegradeable seed starting cups do you think i would still have an issue with autos. they would obviously be smaller than i stated before. but just to get them to start rooting a little before i move them outside. and use the lights still. I dont really have room for them inside in there final pots. Im just cautious of weather effecting them when they start.