Auto AK48 in coco, can't get past first seedling stage: first grow

[missmaconha]

HYDRO
Sunlight from indoors/outdoors
Medium: Coco coir and perlite
Strain type: 55% Indica / 25% Sativa / 20% ruderalis

I have been trying to germinate and grow SIX AK48 auto seeds for a couple of months now in the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia. I promise I'm not bashing them around, but 3 of them just went mushy in their seed pods after trying to get them to pop.

The 3 others managed to pop but then failed to live beyond their first set of true leaves.

- The first was put in a tiny felt pot of coir, after it had sprouted and got its first true leaves I gently touched it with my nail while inspecting it and it keeled over, causing a bend in the stem that it never recovered from. Here's a pic of it from maybe heat damage? I replanted it deeper and it's currently a tiny stunted thing with an itty bitty set of second true leaves that haven't done anything in about 2 weeks.

- The second shot up a little leggy but bigger and healthier, this time in some sphagnum moss and perlite. It then keeled over the second night (without being touched) and got a thin bit in the stem. Tried giving it support, weak part got weaker. Tried burying it deeper into a medium fabric pot of coir and perlite, the first little true leaves got brown spots and it stopped doing anything. It was munched on by a snail - so I pulled it out and inspected it and found that the roots had just mostly turned into brown scraggles. Goodbye second seedling.

Now I'm on my third and final seed, this is the only one that grew a semi decent taproot (1cm) before being potted. It's in its final pot now of coir and perlite (34 litre, felt fabric) upon recommendation of a balcony grow guide that said autos were easily stunted. I'm yet to see it peak its head above the coir.


1. Are autos usually so touchy? According to the original seller this strain is a beginner level grow and hardy.
2. I feel like coir is either wet or DRY, it changes colour so much as it dries. Does anyone have any experience with good guidelines for watering in coir?
3. What's wrong with me, why won't my seeds live

?


I feel like such a parent plant failure at this point, I've read so much online info it's just confusing me at this point.



These are the nutes I plan to use if I can keep this last one alive:

Professor's Original A+B

PART A Nitrogen: 76 (8%) Sulphur: 67 (7%) Magnesium: 51 (5%) Phosphate: 61 (6%) Potassium: 295 (30%)
PART B Calcium: 190 (19%) Nitrogen: 150 (15%) Iron: 8.3 (1%)
TRACE ELEMENTS Manganese: 0.44 Boron: 0.3 Copper: 0.06 Zinc: 0.13 Molybdenum: 0.01


Total NPK ratio when mixed according to directions:
N 23% P 6% K 30%

 

[Usherwood]

I'm not a coco grower but do mix coco with my soil just a touch. But here's my opinion as I'm a auto guy. I think that your over watering in the coco maybe try to start your set in a starter cube then add her to the coco. You want your auto to start out in the final pot no transplant as it slows them. Then when you water just water around the edge of the pot not the seedling that way the roots chase out to edges. Let things dry out a bit also between water seedlings are easy to over water and I'm thinking That's what caused your rot. I also use cfls the first week or 2 and put it very close seems to work just right for me. I've chased a few different growing methods with autos and have came up with this mix that seems perfect. I use soil mixed 50 50 with perlite then a bit of dolmite to level ph. Then I run a fish emulsion till I see pistols. After that I switch over to a fish emulsion high in phos and mix in molasses and milk. I stopped the nutrient lines a while ago after noticing issues with nearly every grow like plant stress and disease and things of that nature. Since my switch to teas and such I have zero plant problems and can water and feed by reading the plants not a calender which makes for a much cleaner grow imo. Please feel free to hit me up or check out my links. I just started this site this yr but have grown a ton of autos

 

[Oldbear]

I think they need more light. Very stretched out stem.

 

[Backlipslide]

Coco, is considered a soilless grow. Therefore it’s considered a hydro grow.

Water should be ph’d to 5.8 for coco.

It’s almost impossible to over water in coco, it has such great drainage compounds it has been known to not even need perlite. But it’s nice to add a bit in.

I agree they do look like they’re stretching, I see you tried to combat that by tying them up.

A simple fan blowing on them will help strengthen those stems.

I think I remember reading your using the sun? In a window?

Plants like to stretch when their placed in a window like that.

Either get your self a nice grow light, or get the plants in direct sunlight for more then 5-6 hours a day.

 

[missmaconha]

Coco, is considered a soilless grow. Therefore it’s considered a hydro grow.

Water should be ph’d to 5.8 for coco.

It’s almost impossible to over water in coco, it has such great drainage compounds it has been known to not even need perlite. But it’s nice to add a bit in.

I agree they do look like they’re stretching, I see you tried to combat that by tying them up.

A simple fan blowing on them will help strengthen those stems.

I think I remember reading your using the sun? In a window?

Plants like to stretch when their placed in a window like that.

Either get your self a nice grow light, or get the plants in direct sunlight for more then 5-6 hours a day.

I thought it would be difficult to over water too, but I believe I have been as the symptoms align with pictures and descriptions I’ve seen of damping off one stunted and one dead. One more seed planted outdoors in a fabric pot which I hope makes it.

I find the coco retains a lot of water, and maybe I didn’t let it dry enough before watering again.

That lanky seedling popped up quite tall overnight in the dark before I got it in some sun, Australian sun is quite intense but I have my last seed outdoors now as mentioned to minimise this.

 

[Backlipslide]

Yeah man, bottom line is you need to get them to stop stretching so much. Almost every pic of failed plant you posted, their all the same shape.

Yeah the Australian sun is much hotter then the Canadian sun, that’s for sure! Lol

You should be able to get a great big plant if grown outside.

If it dies again, I would suggest getting a small two foot T5 light (pretty cheap in cost as well)

Start your seedlings under that, until they mature then move them outside.

That’s what I have in my veg box and it works great!

Advantage to the T5 is you can have them inches away from the plant and not harm them.

Keep us updated!

 

[missmaconha]

Yeah man, bottom line is you need to get them to stop stretching so much. Almost every pic of failed plant you posted, their all the same shape.

Yeah the Australian sun is much hotter then the Canadian sun, that’s for sure! Lol

You should be able to get a great big plant if grown outside.

If it dies again, I would suggest getting a small two foot T5 light (pretty cheap in cost as well)

Start your seedlings under that, until they mature then move them outside.

That’s what I have in my veg box and it works great!

Advantage to the T5 is you can have them inches away from the plant and not harm them.

Keep us updated!

I have a 125W CFL that I’m hoping will be a good way to start a plant! It’s blue spectrum light and I can sync it to the outdoor lighting so I can move the plant outside after it’s a bit more established, dunno how many sets of leaves would be ideal for that.

Now I just need to construct some kind of grow tent so I’m not blinded by the light indoors lol! Don’t want anything too crazy as it’s really supposed to be an outdoor grow.

 

[CO Finest]

First time grower. Use Fox ocean in 5gal pot. Water only start to finish and done.

 

[missmaconha]

First time grower. Use Fox ocean in 5gal pot. Water only start to finish and done.

What is fox ocean? I couldn’t find anything looking that up. Is it something fox farms makes?

I want to maximise the size so I have a large 9gal fabric pot.

 

[CO Finest]

fox farm ocean forest

 

[Captain goodvibes]

Fox farms isnt available in australia as far as I am aware. Anyway this isnt about nutrients at this stage. If you are growing in any kind of coir or coco you will need to thoroughly wash the medium, I found out that a lot of this coir contains salt Also make sure you do not have the coco or coir with added nutes, from experience your seedlings will not do well in it. You need plain coco , washed until the run off turns clear. Since I have been doing this I have had no issue with my seedlings, previously they looked like yours.

 

[Backlipslide]

I have a 125W CFL that I’m hoping will be a good way to start a plant! It’s blue spectrum light and I can sync it to the outdoor lighting so I can move the plant outside after it’s a bit more established, dunno how many sets of leaves would be ideal for that.

Now I just need to construct some kind of grow tent so I’m not blinded by the light indoors lol! Don’t want anything too crazy as it’s really supposed to be an outdoor grow.

Many many ways to build your own grow tent. I built mine. Your welcome to check out my journal and see my tent. The first two posts are the original tent, then around page 17 I re-built it again, with sturdier material.

Yes that light should work, once the plant has grown more then the cotyledons. Once the first internode comes in and the plant is established enough.