First Grow - Auto LSD-25 & Auto West Coast OG

[Book of Thoth]

Hey All, welcome to my first proper grow attempt. After years of lurking various forums and gleaming knowledge, i've decided to see how I go. I'll try to be as in depth as I can, and hopefully if you have advice and criticisms it'l help us be on the same page.

SETUP

box

I've constructed a box out of wood with a 70x70cm base and a height of 170cm. I have started my grow before painting/lining the inside white but I will soon.

It has a passive air intake at the bottom to let air flow in, and a 150mm inline fan with a rate of moving 240 cubic metres of air/hour attached to a 4 inch/300mm carbon filter for extake. After taking the photos i've added a 30cm fan inside to push air around too.

For lighting, I have a 400W Ballast and light, with a SOLARMAX 400W with a 95,000 lumen output. The light shade ended up being a perfect fit in the box, I have it suspended on hooks with rope ratchets to adjust.

seeds

I got my seeds from SeedSupreme and chose Auto LSD-25 and Auto West Coast OG, both by Fast Buds. I chose them for the variety provided between the two, and thought it'd be interesting seeing them mature together. They also have similar heights and lengths of lifespan so they should be compatible.

THE GROW SO FAR

I germinated the seeds in a glass of purified water then transferred to a paper towel in plastic bag, they popped 24hrs later. I put them in dissolving plant starter pots and after 48 hours both had surfaced. West Coast OG had a hard time losing its shell casing and i had to help him out, but it seems to have had no effect. LSD is growing taller, but it is to be expected according to its genetics.

Currently they are mid Day 4, I have placed their dissolvable pots into 15L pots filled with 70% organic soil sourced from an organic gardener friend and 30% cutting mix for drainage. They seem to be happy so far, and their roots had outgrown the 5cm depth of the starter pots after day 2.

They are running on a 18/6 light cycle

LSD-25 is currently 4cm.

West Coast OG is 2.5cm.

The temperature sits around 27 degrees Celsius in the daytime under the lights, which is 60cm from the plants.

I appreciate all advise! Thanks for visiting and have a nice day

 

[premedgrow]

Looks like a great start! I'm subbing in for this one

 

[Serpent]

your off to a good start keep it up

 

[Book of Thoth]

DAY 5

Hello All, Thanks for visiting. First update, another day and a little progress for both plants.
Firstly, i've added a 30cm fan to circulate air around the plants, and on a medium setting it seems to have them
swaying in the breeze nicely.

I've been watering in a ring around the plants quite regularly to encourage the roots to branch out, and since they are quite small but in 15L pots the soil seems to soak up everything i've put in so far. As for the plants themselves, the West Coast OG, although off to a slow start seems to have overtaken the LSD-25 in size!

West Coast OG Day 5

LSD-25 Day 5


Other than this, not much to report! I'm trying to decide on some fertiliser to start them off in their quick veg stage, any suggestions?

Thanks for stopping in and until next time!

 

[McCdive]

Yes, a fine start, Book. Think I'll grab some and see how things go for you.

Best of luck!!
Andy.

 

[Book of Thoth]

Day 11


Hey Guys, Thought it was time for a quick update! Not too much to report, it's been smooth sailing; regular temperature, very thirsty 15L pots so i've been watering regularly with tap water that I leave out for 48hrs to evaporate off some chemicals.

Height wise, not too much distinct difference. I did top up some more soil, maybe 2 cm more so they have grown up a little, but mostly they've been producing leaves. Maybe i'll see them shoot up sometime soon but for now they sit about 5cm above the surface. I took some better quality photos with my light on that are very yellow, but some others in true light too to get a sense of the healthy green glow they're developing. I am paying close attention to the LSD-25 for any signs of its signature purple colour, hoping it develops as desired! Tomorrow I plan to buy some nutes to start these guys out on, i'll see what eventuates. Many thanks for tuning in and without further ado, some pics!

LSD 25

WEST COAST OG

 

[Serpent]

looking nice

 

[premedgrow]

Nice looking ladies going on!


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[Book of Thoth]

Day 17

Hey All, I took some more photos yesterday, and it looks like the confusing, all powerful photo uploader has decided to let me post them today which is merciful it! I brought out my nicer DSLR camera too which is letting me get some nicer shots to share with you all. My ladies have really taken off since last post, without further ado I will bring you up to speed!

Fertiliser Regimen

5 days ago I begun giving my girls some nutes with their water, alternating every other day so far. I purchased some Baby Bio for them, which has an NPK content of 10.6-4.4-1.7. I figured that the high Nitrogen levels would give the necessary boost to my plant's photosynthesis in their rapid growth stage, and to my delight they have taken on some healthy darker green hues. The internet tells me it isn't the most ideal fertiliser for the bloom stages, so I will be picking up some other supplements later on as they mature.

Autoflower LSD-25

This lady seems to have put some effort into her height so far, at least moreso than the West Coast OG. In comparison to the latter she has less sets of leaves so far but is taller, I imagine that my two plant's phenotypes are becoming more visible as they grow and there is more of them to be observed. Her tendencies to go purple also seem visible on some stem areas. Her leaves also are a little more narrow but definitely no signs so far of being unhealthy. Here are the pics!

As you can see in this photo the side branches are just starting to pop out.

Autoflower West Coast OG

I'm not one to pick favourites, I love these girls equally, but there really is something special about the way this plant is growing. So far its inter-node distance, leaf size and growth rate all seem to be up there at the peak of what is possible for weed plants. Really beautiful genetics, I really love watching this girl grow. As compared to the LSD-25, it has stayed quite staunch, and is small and bushy. The grower's website states that "...It then exhibits a burst of growth toward the end of the vegetative phase, reaching a height of 1 meter (3.2 ft) . It responds favorably to artificial lighting, yielding up to 650 g/m2 (1.4 pounds per light). It is quite a compact, chunky plant, and well suited to cultivation via SOG and SCROG methods." So it appears that my girl is preparing for this growth spurt! here are some pics.

In this photo I tried to show the coverage and dense cluster that this plant has created with its compact structure.

Check out all that new growth happening at once! Looks like 6 branches on the way.

Thanks for checking this out. I'd really love to hear some opinions, does anyone here have experience low stress training auto flowers, or should I allow them to grow naturally? Considering tying them down soon. I feel like so far I've had smooth sailing, but I am staying alert as the plant grows in complexity! All the best to you readers wherever you are in the world, I hope you enjoy your day and thanks for tuning in! Until next time, this is Book signing off

 

[McCdive]

Hiya, Book. Hey, you didn't mention the Ph you're running the nutes at.
As for LST, all I did with my LSD-25s was top them once. A couple branched out really well on their own. I have to say, I'm not happy with the LSDs at all. Of ten seeds, three fizzed out after popping and going an inch or so. Of the seven remaining, one is a genetic mutant that's not going to yield squat. Three more look to be pigmies that may yield an oz. Maaaaaybe. And one is a week behind the others and I have little hope for too much more growth on her. Of ten seeds, I have two plants that may be half decent.
I sure hope you have better luck!

Oh well, live and learn.
Later, Andy.

 

[Book of Thoth]

Hey Andy,

Nice to hear from you again! The Easy Grow has no PH reading on the bottle and I am yet to get a PH meter - guess in a way I am leaving a bit too much up to chance! I have read bad things about topping autos, the week of recovery they go through before getting back to it is valuable time in their 8-9 week countdown and ends up with a compromised yield. I was, however, considering tying them down to redirect those auxins to the side shoots without the physical trauma. As for your ten LSD-25 seeds, that doesn't sound too promising! Compared to my West Coast OG plant she is growing pretty tall and sparse, I am just hoping that her frame will be filling out i the weeks still to come

 

[McCdive]

Well, the two I didn't top are 1 - the one that's a mutant (lol) and the other is the one that's a week behind the others. We shall see.....
Anyway, yea, you're living dangerously without a Ph meter! Without the proper Ph, your nute uptake will be screwed! It's a CHEAP meter. (Well they make cheapies) I'd look into one asap, Book.
I'll be updating my journal in a couple days. Kinda busy these days.

Peace, Andy.

 

[Book of Thoth]

Day 23

Just a quick update with some photos, both plants have seen a bunch of growth over the last couple days!

Auto LSD-25

Auto West Coast OG

Until next time!

 

[Laank Dank]

Day 23

Just a quick update with some photos, both plants have seen a bunch of growth over the last couple days!

Auto LSD-25

Auto West Coast OG

Until next time!

Looking good.Cant wait to see what comes from this..

That leaves looks like it had a bit of heat issues how far is the light from the tops?

 

[Book of Thoth]

Hey man, thanks for saying so! I notice someone pointed out heat stress to you in your grow and it made a difference, I'll move the light a little farther away today. It's currently about 20cm away from the tops. My breeze fan was proving to keep the air around 23 degrees celsius currently so I figured I could be cheeky, i'll move it to 30cm to be safe.

*correction*

I've gotten home now and my light was 30cm above the plants. I lifted it another 5cm just to be safe. They are looking a bit happier today, I had watered heavily before taking yesterday's photos so maybe that contributed to their appearance.

 

[Book of Thoth]

Day 31

After going away for a few days i've come back and discovered my plants have more than doubled vertical height - average 6 cm growth a day! Pre flower sites galore, today I will buy some bloom fertiliser and (hopefully) help em plump up nicely. Also, could anyone shed some light on how much water I should be giving these girls every day? Here are some quick photos, more to come in higher quality soon!

AUTO LSD-25

If I could take a good enough quality photo you could see that all this girl's pre flowers are already a beautiful shade of purple. Really happy that those genetics are displaying themselves. The main cola has shot up considerably and I am hoping it will bulk out in the weeks to come. This plant sits about 75cm high.

AUTO WEST COAST OG

This girl's budding sites seem a little more developed than the LSD-25's, they also seem whiter which is to be expected, not much to say other than it's exciting to see it grow. Height is around 65cm.

Thanks for tuning in, any advice is really appreciated!

Until next time

 

[Dl27]

Hey man, I can't believe how much they have grown!!! I'm really glad I came across this thread. I'm also growing an LSD 25 auto. An AK auto also and I am at the 17 day mark. Seeing yours growing the same rate mine have re assured me it was going well. This is my first grow but all seems to be going good. I hope mine shoot up like yours have..h f**k me.... lol. Can't wait to see your next update

 

[Book of Thoth]

Day 33

Greetings! Thanks all for tuning in, I too am quite surprised at the rate of growth that I have going on! I guess i'll try to keep conditions in the sweet spot as long as I can and hopefully ride this over the weeks I have left.

These two girls are filling up the limited space I have rather quickly, and today I took upon the task of tying them down to get some even light penetration, and hopefully even flower growth too. The space I am working with is 70cm square in floor space, and as they are in opposite corners I splayed out branches to the sides using binder clips and some twine. I found it to be more delicate and time consuming work than I assumed, but by the time I had achieved a fairly even canopy I was happy with, the first stems to be tied down horizontal were already looking back up. All seems well!

They drink about 2 litres of water a day currently, here is a pic of the current spread

Auto LSD-25

This girl continues to show her purple, here's a closer look at an early flower. Apologies for the stripy effect

Auto West Coast OG

This girl is looking mighty white, and although shorter in height, her buds seem to have taken on a little more size already in comparison to her roommate.

Thanks for tuning in again and any advice is not only welcomed but appreciated. To finish off, here are a couple photos of what i've been smoking on as I sit and watch the garden grow.

Some Pineapple Express:

And can't leave out this Maple Leaf!

 

[dirt mcgert]

Looking good

 

[Dl27]

It just gets me more excited haha. This is my first time on a forum and haven't quite mastered uploading pictures yet but I shall upload my lsd at its current phase. Your doing great man keep it up!

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