1st Attempt - Autoflowering Seed Grow Using Canna Coco & Nutes

Billybigbud

Billybigbud

New Member
Hi guys! I'm Paul, live in the UK and I'm brand new so please go easy on me!

I have only ever had one serious attempt at growing this fine herb quite a few years ago which ended in total disaster ... anyway, I've decided to have another bash and start a journal. I'm on a very limited budget so can't afford all of the fancy equipment and will hopefully pick up pieces for my next grow as I go along.

I've done a bit of research and have decided to use autoflowering seeds as they seem pretty foolproof (famous last words!). At the moment, I'm not looking for monster yields, just some decent bud and plants that won't die on me after a few weeks! I've got a mixture of 6 and will be planting them all.

This is what I have so far :

Seeds

4 x Northern Lights Auto - visionseeds - 8 weeks, 30-50g per seed
1 x Auto Critical - feminisedseeds.co.uk - 9-10 weeks, 75-100g m/2
1 x Super Hash Auto - pyramidseeds.com - 55-60 days, 500g+

ALL FEMINISED SEEDS

They were all bought online from Gorilla-seeds.co.uk (not an advertisement but they are well worth checking out as they give free seeds with your order)

Growing Medium

Canna Coco Professional - in 12" pots (slightly tapered)

Nutes & Additives

Cannazyme Root Enzyme
Canna Start for young plants
Canna A & B
Canna PK 13/14
Canna Flush

All bought from clevergreen.co.uk

Lighting

Right ... to start them off with, I have a budget LED panel (not a very good one I don't think) ... I haven't bought my 'main' light yet. This is where I am open to advice ...

This is my plan, what are your thoughts? - I am on a VERY tight budget (seriously tight, I'm having to save up just to be poor!) - My first 'grow room' is the cupboard below the stairs. I live alone in a detached house with no immediate neighbours so the smell isn't going to be an issue at all. The police helicopter seems to spend an awful lot of time hovering around here and there have been a few busts recently. I'm not keen on using HPS due to the Police chopper hanging about and the electricity consumption but I'm not ruling it out. I've been going through loads of journals on here and the CFL lights seem to work ... I was thinking of buying this : 200w Dual Energy Saving CFL to start off with for a couple of weeks then add another exactly the same with possibly a 3rd at a later stage. I don't know the science behind the lighting ... does 3x 200w CFLs = 1 HPS 600w or do I have that completely wrong? All help appreciated! Another reason I was thinking of using 3 CFL bulbs was because of the flexibility of positioning them to the sides etc ... This is for 6 plants (the NL auto ones are meant to be quite small though)

Grow Space

Is basically the space under the stairs! It's angled where the stairs go up so height is lost in some part but the basic room I have to work with is 32"w x 42"l x 48" height.

***

I haven't planted the seeds yet as I'm still waiting on the Canna Coco stuff (I have no idea at all why I went with this medium, but it's ordered and paid for so can't change it now). I'm just clearing the space and waiting anxiously like a kid on Christmas eve!

I've heard that it's best to plant autos in the pots they're going to end up in so that's my plan ... what I'm looking for is minimal fuss! The less I have to touch them, the harder it is for me to break them!

Anyway guys, ALL help appreciated. Times to water and how much, when to add nutes, light cycles etc...

Cheers!
Paul

PS. I have a hardware issue with my camera at the moment but will be taking and uploading pictures asap!
 
re: 1st Attempt - Autoflowering Seed Grow Using Canna Coco & Nutes

Subscribed. Thanks again for sharing!
I can't tell you how much I've learned by following others grow journals. Sometimes I learn what to do and sometimes it is what not to do. I'm new to indoor growing as well and am enjoying it so much! I hope you enjoy yours as much or more.

Be Well.

Oh, and +Reps for starting a journal!
 
re: 1st Attempt - Autoflowering Seed Grow Using Canna Coco & Nutes

Cheers TanR! I'm really looking forwards to it, I'm like a kid on Christmas eve lol

I got hooked on the journals last night! I started at 6.30pm and ended up turning the computer off at 4am! It's amazing to see so many different methods in action rather than just hearsay, it's quite handy for us beginners to pick a method which suits our environment and surroundings best. I was amazed at some of the results using CFLs and it's swaying me to go down that route as I'm not looking for monster yields just yet :)

Anyway, thanks for the reply dude!

PS. I need to check out how the 'reps' thing works :/
 
re: 1st Attempt - Autoflowering Seed Grow Using Canna Coco & Nutes

subscribed. light is measured in Lumens or how bright an light source is and rated at one foot distance from the light source. light decreases by 1/4 per foot distance from the light source. no 3x200watt compact florescent light bulbs do not equal 1 600watt light. compact florescent light bulbs do not provide the same coverage or penetration comparable to a High Intensity Discharge light bulb. there are some successful growers who use Compact Florescent Lights as well. i can not find a rated lumen output for the bulbs you have linked to. to use the Compact Florescent Light bulbs you must use multiple bulbs spaced out evenly to provide enough Lumen coverage to your plants. this limits the distance from the light source the plants will get sufficient lighting limiting how tall and how wide they may grow well. you would also need a blue cool white 6500 kelvin light bulb for vegetative growth and a red warm white 2700 kelvin light bulb for flowering. while maintaining enough distance to provide enough coverage area place your hand underneath the light bulb and move your hand to where you can not feel any heat from the bulb, move your lights above your plants to that position, raise the lights as your plants grows. when choosing a L.E.D light panel make sure you choose a panel that uses 3watt or 10watt L.E.D s, those provide enough penetration to be successful when used.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumen

here you can see the recommended distances from the light and get an idea of how much penetration the light will provide

grow-room-light-distances.jpg



here you can see the area of coverage a High Pressure Sodium light will cover

High_Intensity_Light_Coverage.jpg



here you can see the distance from the light source that is required to achieve tropical light levels for a High Pressure Sodium light

HPSGraphPAR.jpg



here you can see how Lumens diminish from the light source for a Metal Halide light bulb

Metal_Halide_chart.jpg



here you can see how Lumens diminish from the light source for a High Pressure Sodium light bulb

HPS_chart.jpg


here is everything you should need to know to post full size images in your grow journal.

Photo Gallery Guide: How to Resize, Upload & Post Photos
 
re: 1st Attempt - Autoflowering Seed Grow Using Canna Coco & Nutes

Cheers for that John! It's helped me out massively!

Right ... so now it's a toss up between a 400w or a 600w ... I'm thinking 600w but I'm not sure if it will be too strong for the space I have? Could that damage my plants?

Thanks for the info man, much appreciated!
 
re: 1st Attempt - Autoflowering Seed Grow Using Canna Coco & Nutes

Ok ... I had to wait over the weekend for the rest of my stuff to arrive so there were no updates.

I planted the 4 NL auto seeds yesterday, I'm thinking 6 is too many for the space. I'll plant the others in a few weeks once these ones are up and running.

I've got them in the pots they're going to end up in (roughly 10 litre pots) under the LED panel. Will get a few snaps now and upload :)
 
re: 1st Attempt - Autoflowering Seed Grow Using Canna Coco & Nutes

Billybigbud said:
Cheers for that John! It's helped me out massively!

Right ... so now it's a toss up between a 400w or a 600w ... I'm thinking 600w but I'm not sure if it will be too strong for the space I have? Could that damage my plants?

Thanks for the info man, much appreciated!
Click to expand...

while too much light can bleach your plants most likely your problem would be cooling a 600 watt High Intensity Discharge light bulb in your grow space. with 32"w x 42"l x 48"h for dimensions a 250 watt or a 400 watt High Intensity Discharge light is the highest wattage i would recommend, a dimable digital ballast could control the maximum light you can give your plants while staying in good temperature range. your largest factor will be adequately cooling the area for your grow and require a 6 inch inline fan to cool it with a 400 watt High Intensity Discharge Light bulb. a temperature of up to 30 degrees Celsius or 85 Fahrenheit is safe for your grow. that would largely depend on efficient cooling and input temperature of 21-24 Celsius and a 400 watt High Intensity Discharge light bulb, or using L.E.D's. remember you will loose some height to the distance from the light bulb and that will force you to use Low Stress Training and or Supercropping. i would not recommend Supercropping your auto flower cannabis plants unless you are out of head room below your light as auto flower cannabis plants do not deal with stress in their time sensitive lives.

here is everything you should need to know to post full size photographs in your journal.

Photo Gallery Guide: How to Resize, Upload & Post Photos

here is a youtube search for Low Stress Training

low stress training - YouTube.

here is a youtube search for Supercropping

supercropping - YouTube.
 
re: 1st Attempt - Autoflowering Seed Grow Using Canna Coco & Nutes

Hey thanks again John! Great info!!! 400w it is!!

The cooling isn't going to be a problem, I've got 2 fans, 1 x 6" and 1 x 12" and the door can be left open most of the time, I'm living alone so it's only when I have the occasional visitor that I'd need to close it.

The NL seeds that I planted are meant to produce pretty small plants so I don't think the height is something to worry about until I try a different strain. I'm currently converting a spare bedroom for the bigger ones if I can get the hang of growing!!!

The problem I had before was a combination of bad info and fiddling around with them too much! I'm determined to leave these ones well alone!

Do you have any experience with the Canna coco and nutes? I've got the root enzyme and the early plant nutes ... when would you suggest I give them a bit of those? I have the A & B for veg and the PK 13/14 for the blooming stage.

I've also just planted the other 2 seeds ... I'm going to grow the Super Hash Auto outside and see how the critical auto develops as that's meant to be a short plant too.

Thanks again man, much appreciated info! :thumb:
 
re: 1st Attempt - Autoflowering Seed Grow Using Canna Coco & Nutes

i have not used Canna coco and nutrients myself. i would give them pH adjusted water only until they have 5 sets of nodes and are 5 inches tall and begin to yellow a little then start them on 1/4 strength nutrients and your root mycorrhiza , a lot of people overdo nutrients when they are starting out.
 
re: 1st Attempt - Autoflowering Seed Grow Using Canna Coco & Nutes

Hi again Paul,

Glad to see your making progress getting your grow lined out. Like KingJon I haven't grown in Canna Coco either, but I seem to remember reading in some journal that the PH of water has to a little lower than in say soil. Depending on the quility of your tap water, distilled might be a good option but I beleive you will still adjust the PH of the water down some. Distilled water should be very close to a PH of 7 and if memory serves growers in coco prefer something the high 5's or low 6's.

I think you can reduce the PH of your water with vinegar if getting some PH down is an issue in your location. It might not be ideal, but I've read where folks used either it or lemon juice/citric acid.
 
re: 1st Attempt - Autoflowering Seed Grow Using Canna Coco & Nutes

Hi Tan, how's it going mate?

Thanks for the info man, I'm going to order a ph test kit from Ebay tomorrow to make sure I get this right!

My brother just uses regular tap water on his plants and says he never has a problem with it so to avoid over complicating things I might just stick with that ... saying that, he uses the canna soil stuff and not the coco. I'm kicking myself for buying it now tbh, I didn't do as much research in to that as I should have done :hmmmm:

No sign of any movement yet ... still checking every 5 minutes!!!!
 
re: 1st Attempt - Autoflowering Seed Grow Using Canna Coco & Nutes

if you decide to use your cana coco coir make sure you add additional calcium and magnesium supplement as coco coir is reported to hold onto calcium. you want pH 5.8 for hydroponic and soiless (peat moss and coco coir) and pH 6.5 for soil. there is a thread on using coco coir as well!

Lets Talk Coco! Organics & Salts

here is a nutrient availability chart

pH_chart7.jpg
 
re: 1st Attempt - Autoflowering Seed Grow Using Canna Coco & Nutes

you should include your grow journal in your signature so it is easy for other members to find your journal. to add your grow journal to your signature go to top right, Settings>Settings, left hand side, My Settings>Edit Signature, copy the web address from the first page of your journal and paste it into the open window.
 
re: 1st Attempt - Autoflowering Seed Grow Using Canna Coco & Nutes

DAY 4 UPDATE

Absolutely nothing so far :( problems with the germination maybe? I planted them directly in to the canna coco stuff about an inch and splashed on a little water on them, covered the pots in food wrap and left them in the cupboard.

Still too soon to see anything maybe? From most of the journals I've read, there's usually something showing within 2-3 days.
 

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