Hey everybody. So right out the gate, this is my very first grow. I've got a tiny set up right now about 2 days into week 6 and I feel like they should be a bit further into flower (autoflowers) than they are. Now I've looked around a bit and most grows I've seen are well into flower at this point, but I have seen a very small minority that look to have been closer to my timeline. OK so the set up is: 2x2 tent 4 Cree 6500K COBs for veg and 4 Cree 2700k for the switch to full flower Adjustable exhaust fan with carbon filter 2x clip on fans inside Humidity controller 5 gal fabric pots x2 on risers and plates to drain 70/30 coco/perlite mix General Hydro nutrients trio with Botanicare Ca/Mg and PH Down RO system for water (my tap runs 300-400 ppm) Amnesia Haze Autos from CropKing The grow has been pretty smooth. I was using Kessils for the first week then switched over to the Crees and put them on a 24/7 schedule. One of the plants caught some light burn around week 2, but as soon as I saw it I adjusted the lights and it didn't really seem phased (the leaves didn't die and are some of the biggest leaves on the plant). I broke out the Par meter and keep the entire canopy around 400-500 PPFD now and haven't had that issue since. Around week 4 I started LST and just yesterday (I know this is fucking sacrilegious to some auto growers) I did some super light defoliation. Some of the fan leaves were just monstrous. No bugs, mold, I'm pretty sure I haven't overwatered and the plants look great and are pretty stinky. I've been following the Flora trio nutrient schedule as best I can and am pretty sure I haven't had any nutrient burn (some of the older leaves are a bit darker, but not leathery). I'm sure I'm just being worried about nothing, but would love it if somebody could take a look and lemme know. Pics below are of the set up and some macros of the pistils. Pistils popped around 2 weeks ago. Thanks. -A
Looks good to me. I’m also on my first grow. 3 weeks left. Just be patient. Maybe giving her 18-6 schedule might help.
In my opinion, 18/6 is the best for low stress on the plants. 24/0 is pretty harsh and I never did it because I was told that the result difference, if any amount, is extremely minor. As well as that the electric costs would be significantly higher. They look fine thus far. Good luck on your grow!
They look good. I would go to either 18/6 or 20/4 to allow rest and root production, or so I've read.
Thanks guys for the quick replies. So then can I expect the colas to start developing soon or am I still a couple weeks out from that?? Would switching over to 18/6 facilitate this?? I was on the understanding that autos would get there regardless of light schedule. I would really like to stick with the 24/7 (if I can) to minimize any abrupt changes but if you guys think it’s for the best then I’ll swap them over. Oh one last thing, I thought Sativa dominant strains were supposed to be tall and “leggy”. My plants have stayed pretty squat and bushy (even before LST). Not complaining, I’m actually totally down with this but would like to know why so I can do it again on future grows. I’ve read that 6500k lighting during veg will keep your plants small(er). Anyone else experience this??
Really I think It comes down to genetics. I don't think there is a huge difference between 18/6, 20/4, and 24/7 when it comes to autos. Like you said, autos are going to do their thing regardless of light cycle. I have only grown them under 18/6 but that's just personal preference. I have had some get really tall and some stay squat same strain same conditions just different phenos. Grofo Grows Autos&Photos w/288v2 260w kit
Word, thanks man. Since my first post both have added another inch. It's very exciting to see. I'll be sure to post a pic or two when I finally do get into flower for anyone who might be interested. Thanks everybody for all the replies. -A
Autos don't require a 12/12 light schedule? I know nothing about them. Only grew in regular feminized thus far.
No, 12/12 on an auto results in low yeild. I start at 18/6 an continue with that through out the whole cycle. Don't have to stress about light leaks or anything like that with autos. Grofo Grows Autos&Photos w/288v2 260w kit
Wow bro. Didn't even know this stuff as it pertains to autos. That's a nice looking grow you've got. Crazy how that's 60 days of time? That's literally two months and they're massive colas. As opposed to all the work I did for my first run. Veg'd regular feminized for around 3 months, transplanted from cups>1G>3G, and then finished off with around 9 weeks of flowering. What's the yield looking like for you, and how many plants do you have there?
I just chopped one at 78 days and got 3.5 oz from it. It was the smallest I've grown so far. The first autos i grew I got 314g from 2 decent autos and a mutant one. I didn't know anything about them really either, but I joined up on the vaults comparative on here and learned a lot. Grofo Grows Autos&Photos w/288v2 260w kit
Lol. That's wicked man. I have a 5ft by 5ft by 2m long tent. How many autos do you think I can cram in there if I buy into them for my next run? Also, what medium are you growing in? I want to emphasize yield for my next run. The regular feminized seeds I grew yielded around 1.3lb at the end of it all. Do you think autos a good idea for the space I have?
This is only my 2nd time with autos and my initial thought was I could grow more of them because they would be smaller plants. Boy was I wrong. I grew 3 in a 2×4×5, but only 2 fit comfortably. I learned that they can grow in all sizes and unless you have a stable strain, you can't really count your chickens before they hatch in that regard. What I can say is, if you want to cram don't lst or top or any kind of training. Autos are finicky and all the ones I didn't train or defoliate or anything grew the best. Grofo Grows Autos&Photos w/288v2 260w kit
You should check out The Vaults comparatives. They should be starting another one here in July. They send you a free t-shirt, 5 free auto seeds and all you have to do is post and doc your grow in the thread. Grofo Grows Autos&Photos w/288v2 260w kit
Yeah. I only heard good things about The Vault. I've heard of mephisto as well. I used CropKingSeeds for my first run. Buying from them should be great considering how many people are pleased with their seedbank on here. I just don't really know how to go about growing autos. I know what I know as it pertains to feminized, but autos are seemingly a different game. Need to get more info on this stuff. Especially what medium is best to run with it, because I grew indoors using Coco Coir for my first and only run thus far.
I personally am loyal to the soil. I've seen great things done in coco, dwc, hempy..What ever you're comfortable with really. They are not at all as confusing as they sound. They pretty much grow themselves. I start em 3 ways. In just Fox farm ocean forrest, Recycled amended soil, or 50/50 FFOF and Happy frog. They start to show sex around 15 days from seed, around day 35ish its in full flower. I don't feed nutes until about day 20, then it's just bloom and pk to the end. Grofo Grows Autos&Photos w/288v2 260w kit
I've heard a lot of good things about soil bro. I'm feeling like I want to tackle it. Not only is it way less expensive than Coco Coir, but you don't even need to mix anything into it like Coco(Perlite). Also, you feed in way less frequency from my understanding. This is one of the issues I was having in my first run since I don't have a watering system and had to manually feed. They just needed so much water at a certain point to reach runoff, and the coco was drying out so damn fast it became hard in those 3G pots. I was told to water Coco til runoff at all times, but I wonder about soil? So, I'm pretty much trying to figure out what I wanna do here and what improvements I can make. I would definitely prefer to not water as much as I did for my first run with the Coco, because I kept it to one feed a day til runoff til harvest even when I was told I needed two around late veg.
UPDATE: Looks as though things are heading into flower after about a week of 18/6. Not 100% but the new growth definitely looks a bit different with quite a few pistils sprouting. If somebody could take a look and lemme know if I'm right or wrong I'd appreciate it. I moved my plants into a slightly bigger tent and switched my LEDs over to 2700K today. Maybe 3 or 4 days back my runoff was a bit low at 5.4-5.5 so I flushed and re-fed both pots at 6.0. I thought I jumped the gun a bit, but 4 or 5 hours after the flush they looked AMAZING!!! Not that they looked bad before, but they really seemed reinvigorated by the flush. Think I might just start doing a flush during late veg for all my future grows.