Critical 2.0 XL, White Widow, Blueberry Domina All Auto, Indoor Grow!

[Deketx]

Well I'm a bit behind. It's day 15.
2 White Widow -Ministry of Cannabis
2 Critical 2.0 XL- Garden of Green
2 Blueberry Domina-Ministry of Cannabis

Soil: Detroit Nutrient Company water only soil.
5 gal fabric pots
Lights: a Niello 3 COB Led light, "600w" pulls a little over 200w at the wall. I'll be adding a second light when they get a little bigger.
Distilled water.
Nutrients: bloom nutes tbd
Where: basement, soon to be completed homemade tent, space is not an issue.

Things have looked up the last few days, finally some growth. You'll see in the pics a couple are behind the others. One WW is especially small. I've been watering sparingly, around the stem about 2 to 3 in out in a circle with a small spray bottle.

So should I start watering more heavily? Or should I keep doing what I'm doing? I definitely don't want to over water!
Water bottle cap is in pics for size reference, and the single plant with a cap is the white widow that's really small. Too small maybe?

 

[OrganicMan]

Hey to

Great grow so far mate all plants are looking good. I wouldn't say your far behind at all it has only been 2 weeks and they are still filling those pots with roots. The soil is also a highly fertilised soil, I prefer to use a lighter mix at the beginning some soil can be a bit to hot for little ones. I use to use canna terra pro+ but found slower growth in the first couple of weeks.

The rule I use for watering is by weight. I pick the pots up dry before watering and check the weight, then pick the pots up after a full water and check the weight. Then a few days later I check the weight again if they feel lighter and the top of the soil is dry its time to water. I like to see some run off when watering around 15-20% of what goes in.

I hope this helps greenest regard

 

[Deketx]

Hey to

Great grow so far mate all plants are looking good. I wouldn't say your far behind at all it has only been 2 weeks and they are still filling those pots with roots. The soil is also a highly fertilised soil, I prefer to use a lighter mix at the beginning some soil can be a bit to hot for little ones. I use to use canna terra pro+ but found slower growth in the first couple of weeks.

The rule I use for watering is by weight. I pick the pots up dry before watering and check the weight, then pick the pots up after a full water and check the weight. Then a few days later I check the weight again if they feel lighter and the top of the soil is dry its time to water. I like to see some run off when watering around 15-20% of what goes in.

I hope this helps greenest regard

Thanks! About the soil, I was concerned about it being too hot based on all the posts I've read. The owner of Detroit Nutrient Co. Assured me I could go from seedling on in the soil and not be too hot. I don't see any evidence of the soil being too hot and it burning many of the leaves Etc.
I chose to puy the plants right into those containers because everything I've been told is that Autos want to go into the final container. And that you shouldn't transplant. Because the first two to three weeks or so crucial for their growth you wouldn't want to stunt them. Now I did that, and they look way smaller than what I'm seeing from other people's autos at the two-week mark.
As far as the watering goes I don't want to soak down the pots yet they're not big enough use up of all that water? And I sure don't want to over water and choke out the little roots? So that's why I've just been spraying around the plant litely, and they seem to be okay I haven't once seen them droop from needing water.
It's just frustrating. Now I'll have to play the multiple heights game with the lights...

 

[OrganicMan]

I use a different method for autos. I put a lighter mix in the middle of the pot and a stronger mix at the bottom and sides so the babies dont get to much food as this can stunt the growth of plants. You won't necessarily see burnt spots just slow growth.

I have a few other questions-
What size are your pots?
When you watered them in at the beginning how much water did you use?
What is the pH of your water supply? I have to pH mine down as it is around 8.

I think you may need to water the pots through with a good couple of litres. The soil will probably be dry at the bottom and sides, stopping the roots spreading. Greenest regards

 

[Deketx]

Thanks for the insight.
Let's see, pots are 5gal , and I was not aware that the soil could stunt the growth, and not show any signs on the plants like a deficiency . Great. And I thought by using this soil I covered my bases by asking if it was too hot , and was told Im good to go from seedling through budding . Because I read online about soils like Fox Farm, Etc., are too hot for seedlings , so I chose something different.
I watered the pots completely before planting germed seeds. They sprouted fast. I used bottled spring water to water at first, now I'm using distilled.( I had a few gallons). My water is hard here, iron and calcium. I have never dealt with ph before. Last time I grew we used what ever was available, lol.
I'm sure the soil is too dry now, I've just been so worried about over watering as seedlings and young plants. The horror stories all over the web about too much water made me gun shy. I'm guessing it's time to water them well again? Use the distilled? Or my only other choice is to run it through the filter in the refrigerator or Brita. I don't want to use my tap water.
Thanks again for the help!

 

[Deketx]

I watered the pots completely the day before planting germed seeds.
I used bottled spring water to water at first, now I'm using distilled.( I had a few gallons). My water is hard here, iron and calcium I believe. I have never dealt with ph before. Last time I grew we used what ever was available, the hose, lol.
I'm sure the soil is very dry now around the edges, but the soil near the plant has moisture. It's darker, and I can tell it has some moisture in it. I've just been so worried about over watering as seedlings and young plants. The horror stories all over the web about too much water made me gun shy.
I'm guessing it's time to water them well again?
Use the distilled? Or my only other choice is to run it through the filter here at the house.
Thanks again for the help!

 

[John Wick]

I watered the pots completely the day before planting germed seeds.
I used bottled spring water to water at first, now I'm using distilled.( I had a few gallons). My water is hard here, iron and calcium I believe. I have never dealt with ph before. Last time I grew we used what ever was available, the hose, lol.
I'm sure the soil is very dry now around the edges, but the soil near the plant has moisture. It's darker, and I can tell it has some moisture in it. I've just been so worried about over watering as seedlings and young plants. The horror stories all over the web about too much water made me gun shy.
I'm guessing it's time to water them well again?
Use the distilled? Or my only other choice is to run it through the filter here at the house.
Thanks again for the help!

Good start, are you checking the pH of your water? 6.3-6.8, but I run mine between 6.3-6.5.

 

[Deketx]

No, im not. I don't have a ph meter.

 

[West Hippie]

Welcome Deketx to 420 magazine. Great start and I see you have great help already . I’m a hydro grower also from Willie Country ! And yes you need that ph tester and a ppm if you want to keep it right ! If you get the HEB spring water it’s 6.3 ph with 30 ppm tds great for soil growers .

 

[Deketx]

Day 21. So far so good. The 3 runts are still behind, and the others are doing well. Just water and prayers so far.

 

[Deketx]

Sorry here's the rest.

 

[Deketx]

Day 34. So far so good. The 2 Critical 2.0xl's are still not performing as they should, but everything else is doing ok. Sorry about the pink pictures, in the dark pictures, the reflective sides mess with my phone.

 

[Deketx]

Just in the last 48hrs flowering has started in earnest!

 

[Deketx]

These are about day 50. So far so good. Only one issue that started this past week. On one plant the main fan leaves started to yellow and work their way up to the 4th set, and the 5th is just starting. So some think root bound and potassium def . So I made some banana juice( thanks @Emilya ) and watered her today. New pot gets here tomorrow for transplant. Of course the biggest plant ended up in my one 2gal pot. Oh, and bought a new light to add for flowering, put it up last night. The light penetration now is killer!

 

[Agemon]

Hey Dek, I was just checkin out your pics. You were askin how to save your plants. I don't see anything wrong with them, they all look healthy, nice dark green. I will tell you the biggest difference between your autos and mine is, I'm growing in coco/coir and/ or hempy. Not to say that you can't get a nice auto outta dirt, but hydro growing is usually gonna win over soil medium. Our lights are different two. That Auto Purple Amnesia was 24/7 under a 260 watt QB 5000 Kelvin. I bought that light for my veg tent and now it's the Veg/ Auto Tent.

Your plants look great, you're feeding them well. Do you have air circulation in there? What are your temperatures like? How close is the light normally?

There are a lot of factors to getting big healthy plants and the most important is experience. When you get a few harvests under your belt well... You'll look back at yourself and realize how much you've learned.

From what I see, you may need more and/ or a better light. Check out QB's, I know they're expensive but if you shop around you can find a kit for a good deal and they are pretty simple to put together too. Here's a link to the build. I can't recommend the QB's enough. You will need to likely be using 3 teaspoons per gallon of CalMag after you switch over, trust me. I just bought a 3500 Kelvin for my flower tent and she's next to my Timber COB 300 watt(er).

I have several fans as well as intake and exhaust for both my tents, air circulation is key and can help to reduce temps. I like my tents between 75-83. Once you find the sweet spot for your plants in your grow room you'll be good. You just gotta get dialed in and the best way to do that... Experience and harvests, my first grow I got 1 ounce per plant of autos. I was inexperienced and new to the hobby. I've had green thumbs my whole life, now my hands are green!

I like to keep my lights at the top of the tent so I get a good spread of light and it helps to reduce light stress, light burn, and high temps at the top of the plants. This is where air circulation comes into play as well. I hope you don't mind if I post a coupla pics of my tents for you. Just to give you an idea of what i'm working with.

First up is my flower tent, it's got a lot of bells and whistles but it's pretty simple when you get right down to it. All the power is run up top and outta the way, I've got the lights up high and can use boxes to raise the plants.

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• Agemon
• Sep 19, 2019

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• Agemon
• Sep 19, 2019

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• Agemon
• Sep 19, 2019

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• Agemon
• Sep 19, 2019

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• Agemon
• Sep 19, 2019

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• Agemon
• Sep 19, 2019

Here's the Auto/Veg Tent, a much simpler set up. 6" intake, passive exhaust, 5000K QB up high coupla small fans in opposing corners and a large one up top (added since picture). And that's it!

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• Agemon
• Sep 19, 2019

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• Agemon
• Sep 19, 2019

I'm happy to help ya out Deketx!

 

[Deketx]

Thanks for taking a look. Wow, that is a nice set up. I'm using COB's, pull just over 400w at the wall 3500k . I'm not growing in a tent. The reflective stuff you see are partitions I made with some 6mm thick diamond mylar that goes into grow tents. It allows me to contract and expand depending on my plants needs. My plants stay right at 75 deg , and get plenty of air circulation.
As far as my plants , take a look at my thread " Quick flowering question". You'll see what I'm talking about, can't miss it, lol.

 

[Agemon]

Sorry, i didnt see your flowering question.

whats your question?

 

[Deketx]

If you look at it you'll see my plants that are struggling badly. Last week 3 of them decided to use up all the nutes in their soil and I wasn't prepared. Got some bloom nutes and Recharge on them yesterday. So fingers crossed!

 

[Agemon]

With my soil plants i like to water twice a week. Especially in flower. I usually give heavy nutes for one feeding and lighter for the next. The lighter feed helps to flush some of the salts out but still give fresh food. I always feed to at least 20% run off. You dont need to PH for soil, some people disagree, but i dont.

How much Calmag are you feeding? Some times i give up to 4 tsp per gallon, my plants love it. Gauge the plants and feed accordingly.

Go slow on the nutes, you dont wanna swing from under feeding to over. You can always flush and then start at 1/4 or 1/2 the feed you were doing prior, then add more until you see recovery. This really is a hobby of patience.

 

[Agemon]

this is not google