WreckLoose Outdoor Soil Auto: GSC, Gelato, Blue Dream Matic, Californian Snow, Grow Journal 2020

[BigD13]

...because it's a lot easier to prevent mistakes than clean up after them .

Amen to that brother!

 

[WreckLoose]

When I started out here I found the best way to keep from making too many mistakes was to post a question in my thread before I made any big changes. That way I could get advice from the good folks here first, because it's a lot easier to prevent mistakes than clean up after them .

I'll most definitely heed that advice then, thanks! I would've maybe been a little hesitant to ask some questions when I can try to do research myself but with everyone being so helpful and friendly it makes it a lot easier. Speaking of which, when it comes to H2O2, will 3% do the job? Anything higher seems tough to find in my local area.

 

[InTheShed]

3% is what is usually being recommended unless someone mentions a stronger solution.

 

[WreckLoose]

Day 11:
I thought I would test out some of the camera features on my new phone and decided my little ladies would be the perfect subjects.
I'm really impressed with how healthy they are looking, especially considering they haven't had the best of luck with the weather (you would expect a lot more sun in the south of Spain). It's been very overcast most days and they've had to stay indoors by the window an awful lot. I also don't have any proper indoor lights so I've been trying to extend their light hours with a generic 2w led desk lamp from IKEA. That being said, I think they don't look half bad.

 

[InTheShed]

Nice pics!

 

[InTheShed]

You would really know what lux they put out at what distances. You might be better off with some curly CFL bulbs!

 

[WreckLoose]

I guess I'm mainly intrigued by the clamp feature, making them super easy to move around. The one I'm looking at advertises between 2500-3500 lumens?

 

[beez0404]

CFL bulbs over those in your photo ad

 

[WreckLoose]

So I really tried to find some sort of CFL setup that would work for me but decided to just go with the clamp lights in the end. Maybe they aren't the best but they'll definitely be an improvement to my little IKEA light haha. Thanks for the input guys, I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[WreckLoose]

Day 17:

The sun finally came out but sadly high winds came along with it so the girls got pretty beat up today. I tried to stake them but ended up just bringing them in early. All this frustrating weather forced me to make a super janky CFL setup for the time being and thankfully they don't seem to mind it.

 

[Pennywise]

They will enjoy the CFL while small.

 

[WreckLoose]

Also wanted to say thanks for the hydrogen peroxide/sticky trap advice. I've only sprayed them once so far, put out a couple of sticky traps and I haven't seen a bug on the plants since.

I do have a concern that the soil still seems to be moist a few inches below the surface. I've only lightly watered (no run off) twice since the initial saturation in fear of overwatering but now I'm worried they might not be getting the nutes they need and look a little small for 17 days in.

 

[Pennywise]

You could try bumping up the nutes but watch them closely for tip burn. They look super healthy.

 

[WreckLoose]

You could try bumping up the nutes but watch them closely for tip burn. They look super healthy.

Thanks Penny. That's a relief, I was worried I'd maybe stunted them. Should I continue with lightly watering? I read something about no run off possibly causing infections later on.

 

[Pennywise]

I water to runoff in coco from the second set of leaves.

 

[BigD13]

@WreckLoose I went back through your journal and I noticed a couple of things. I didn't realize you started your autos in their final pots. Even with autos, I start them in a smaller container that holds about a quart of soil. But I think the main problem is your lack of proper lighting. I grow outdoors and I've found that cannabis plants love full sun. Hopefully your weather improves, if not, you may need to get better lights.

 

[WreckLoose]

@WreckLoose I went back through your journal and I noticed a couple of things. I didn't realize you started your autos in their final pots. Even with autos, I start them in a smaller container that holds about a quart of soil. But I think the main problem is your lack of proper lighting. I grow outdoors and I've found that cannabis plants love full sun. Hopefully your weather improves, if not, you may need to get better lights.

Thanks BigD! I read a lot about how transplanting can shock them into early flower and that the best plan for autos was to plant them in the final pot. Perhaps some of the things I read are outdated now though. I think you're 100% right about the weather being the main problem, I live in the south of Spain and it's very unusual to have such dreary days this time of year. We're forecast for a couple of weeks sunshine now though, hopefully all goes well.

 

[InTheShed]

Final pot is best for autos (as is full sun from the moment they break the soil), but watering small plants in a big pot takes some care. The idea is to water them as if they were in a small pot, so I start with a ring about an inch from the stem and then slowly work a wider circle with every watering as the roots are filling in the soil.

 

[WreckLoose]

Final pot is best for autos (as is full sun from the moment they break the soil), but watering small plants in a big pot takes some care. The idea is to water them as if they were in a small pot, so I start with a ring about an inch from the stem and then slowly work a wider circle with every watering as the roots are filling in the soil.

Thanks Shed, I appreciate the input! I've just been trying my best not to stress them as much as possible due to being a first timer. That's pretty much how I've been watering so far but I've only watered them twice with a couple of mist sprays in between. Do you reckon I could skip completely saturating the soil before planting next time to avoid them staying moist so long?

 

[InTheShed]

I would skip saturating the entire pot until I knew the roots were close to filling all the soil (based on the size of the plant). When I plant tiny sprouts in a 7 gallon pot I water them like they're in a solo cup in the beginning.