First Grow Autos In 4x4 With Canna Terra Pro Plus Soil

[Calvados]

Hi. Welcome to my grow journal. All comments, questions, and moral support are welcome.

First attempt with indoor autos from Royal Queen Seeds. 5th grow.

It's been 3 years since my last grow. I'm a very light smoker and I've still got more pot than I will ever smoke, but now the youngest buds are over 3 years old. I thought I would grow these and make oil or something out of the old stuff. I am playing catch up learning about autos. I didn't realise the nute dilutions were different etc. I've used all this stuff before, so I'm pretty comfortable with how things are going at the moment. As far as I know I haven't screwed anything up yet.

The Basics:

4x4 tent

Mars Hydro II 900w LED x 2. I'm using one at the moment.

5” extractor fan and filter

5” extractor (blowing air out)

Canna Terra Pro Plus medium which requires a water PH of 5.8 starting veg to up to 6.2 flowering

10-gallon fabric grow bags

Mosquito-bIts

2 x Semlos PH meters and PH Up/Down, water test strips

Temp/Humidity monitor

Small heater and humidifier for inside the tent


Nutrients:

Brand: Canna - Rhizotonic, Boost, Cannazym, Terre Flores, Terre Veg


The Plants: Royal Queen Seeds

Amnesia Haze Auto

50% Sativa, 20% Indica, 30%, Ruderalis, 18% THC medium CBD, 11-12 weeks (7-8 flowering), 50-100 cm, 40g-150g

Mimosa Auto

65% Sativa, 30% Indica, 5% ruderalis, 21% THC low CBD. 9-10 weeks (7-8 flowering), 60-150 cm, 40g-150g

Watermelon Auto

20% Sativa, 75% Indica, 5% Ruderalis, THC 20% CBD Medium, 8-9 weeks (6-7 flowering), 80-110 cm, 50g-90g

I thought they all had roughly the same profile. I must have been high.

23-12-23

I put 3 in a shot glass, and transferred them the following day to a wet paper towel in a shallow glass bowl with an opaque lid. After 3 days 2 had sprouted well. The other was a dud. I don’t know which is which, because I didn’t label the seeds. I’ll have to try and figure it out by growing them. I put the two remaining into small grow pots with Canna pre-treated for fungus gnats using a ration of mosquito-bits. So far just plain tap water for the seeds, which has a PH of around 8. The preferred water PH for this soil is 5.8.

I pre-soaked the soil with water (PH 5.8) mixed with mosquito-bits. I’ve had issues with fungus gnats. The nematodes in mosquito-bits eat fungus gnat larvae and babies. They have no other effect.



28-12-23

Transferred the plants to 10-gallon pots. Both have their baby leaves. Start of Veg phase which should last about 4 weeks (end of January). No nutrients planned for the first week as recommended.

I’ve created a feeding chart based on Canna Terras website and adjusting the amounts based on 42Fast Buds website. The gist seems to be to start with 1/8 of the dilution for photo plants and move up and down depending on the week.

 

[Calvados]

30/12/23

I have my light set on veg. I imagine that works. I will add the other light when they are established.

 

[OGpapa]

I'm excited for ya! Welcome back to gardening! Looking forward to watching your grow!

 

[Calvados]

Nutrients:

Brand: Canna - Rhizotonic, Boost, Cannazym, Terre Flores, Terre Veg



From what I’ve read autos need much less nutes than photo plants. I’ve created a feeding chart based on Canna Terras website and adjusting the amounts based on 42Fast Buds website. They recommend 1/8 for week 1 and then ¼ for week 2 etc. They make no mention of Rhizotonic or Cannazym. Between RQS and 42Fast Buds I’m not impressed by their attention to detail. I’ll assume they don’t know about these other supplements.

This is for photos based on my 12 liter bucket to mix up a batch. I've adjusted the amount based on the article.

 

[Calvados]

1st water with nutes. Didn't use Rhyizotonic (root stimulant), because I'm out (idiot). Ordered for next week's water. I don't think it will make much difference. I hope the plants are big enough next week to add the second light. So far so good.

 

[Calvados]

12-1-24 Still on the first water. Probably another 3 days til the second.

 

[Calvados]

2nd water with nutes double (1/4 of what is advised for photo). Added a second light (probably overkill) They look good. By next feed I think they will show signs of flowering. They are starting to smell, so I put the filter on. Not legal to grow here.

 

[Calvados]

19-1-24.

Full nutes water for veg plants (1/2 dose of photo). . Next water should reduce veg nutes and include flowering. Didn’t really need water for another 2 days, but I was concerned that the nute schedule was almost 2 weeks out of sync with the plan. As it is I skipped one of the waters. They looked a bit droopy and there was a nute burn on one leaf edge of the larger plant. Hope I haven’t just screwed this up.

The drying time has greatly reduced, because I’ve elevated the pots and the roots are taking hold. I should have done this from day 1 in the tent. I’ve also topped up the soil as it starts to compact from the watering and the developing root ball.

I have wanted to LST them, but I don't really see the point. They are bushy and not growing up as much as I assumed they would.

 

[Calvados]

22-1-24

Trimmed some lower leaves and branches. Tied down lower branches to create room. Removed 2 large middle fan leaves to create light.

Placed a CO2 bag directly above the plants, which should start in 2-3 days and last from 3-6 weeks.

Cranked the lights up again about 4 inches.

 

[Calvados]

23-1-24

Turned on the bloom lights. Turned off the bloom lights a few hours later. Temp in temp was at 85. Something I’ll have to deal with a bit later. I've kept it at low to mid 70s. There are no signs of flowering yet.

25-1-24

Full water. Pots were dry and plants were droopy.

26-1-24

Plants look great. Tied down some more branches to give them better light. I considered trimming a few leaves, but they are all so healthy I’m going to wait until they give me a good reason. The smell has gone from earthy to reefer. Turned the bloom lights back on. Possibly wishful thinking, but the temp should be under control.

 

[Calvados]

29-1-24

Full water. Started the bloom nutes mixed with veg. The pots are drying out quickly (elevated with side fan). Timeline for nutes is back on track. Starting to see the first signs of flowering.

 

[Roy Growin]

Are you still switched to veg mode, or are you using both red/blue now?
Can't see the lower branches/bud sites, maybe a couple of those top fans could go?

 

[Calvados]

30-1-24 (38 days from seed)

Hi. Added bloom light a couple of days ago. Cut out some more leaves today. Anything not getting direct light that was not really necessary. Made some adjustments with LST. They look good. I'm glad I'm using 10 gallon pots.

 

[Calvados]

 

[Calvados]

 

[Calvados]

31-1-24

Some middle leaves on both plants are showing cal-mag deficiencies. The last water included PK13/14 instead of bloom. I was out (ordered) and PK13/14 is used in the middle of bloom for a short period. That was my rationale. I have no idea if this latest water has locked the roots. The effect may be cumulative and have nothing to do with the PK13/14.

 

[Calvados]

1-2-24

Re-watered. Probably a day or two early, but the pots were light. I added bloom and cal-mag. I used a full dose of cal-mag (1ml per liter) without thinking. I probably should have used half. I’m hoping this fixes the problem.

 

[Calvados]

3-2-24

Lots of defoliating damaged leaves. More LST. I’m pretty sure the smaller of the two is the Watermelon auto and the larger is the Mimosa Auto. The watermelon is in full flower. The mimosa is behind in flowering and taller.

5-2-24

Full water. Added 9 ml cal/mag and 12 ml vega. Only bloom nutes were called for in formula. Hopefully that will slow down the yellowing/browning of the leaves, which is still spreading. I’m kicking myself for adding PK13/14 a couple of weeks ago. I don’t know if that is what has caused this, but I doubt that it helped.

8-2

Full water. No nutes. PH 6.0. The previous water burned a lot of leaves. Lots of unnecessary defoliating, but not the end of the world if they recover. It made me question what I was doing. I should have staggered the watering between nutes and plain water when the rewatering time compressed from 10 days to twice a week. I realise that after 3 years absence I’ve forgotten some basic things.

I’ve started a list of to dos for the next grow as a reminder and guide. All of it drawn from mistakes I’ve made. Particularly on this one. I’ll decide when this grow finishes whether I prefer autos to photo growing. If it knocks 2 months off, I think I’ll prefer it.

12-2-24

Full water with Flora nute. Lots of blanched/dried leaves. Lots of buds coming to life.

13-2-24

Plants are really stressing. Added some cal/mag to an extra water.

There are 3 variables that might be causing them to stress that I can think of.

• Water – I can rule that out. PH is correct. I do the soak until dry method.
• Nutes. Too little. Too much. Maybe, but based on what I’ve read in weed journals I don’t think so.
• Heat stress – that looks like a likely cause based on the state of the plants compared to pictures of others I’ve found on line.
• 24-hour light. I have strong lights that are always on. From what I had read I thought 24 hours was the point. There are other schools that go 4 hours of dark. The plants may be working too hard? This has become an issue after I turned the bloom lights on.

Action taken:

I’ve put them on a timer for lights off 4 hours. I raised the lights another 4 inches. I’ll monitor the tent temperature more closely. I should have been recording the tent temperature/humidity. I look at it most days. The combination of light and heat is the most likely cause of most of this. It is uniform across both plants.

I looked at this chart during veg, but not since. I can’t rule this out. I will know quickly.

It’s also time to spray with apple cider vinegar and water. That will prevent powdery mildew from growing. PM can’t exist on an acid base. Another problem I’ve had in the past. It happens when the humidity is high and the temps are in the 60s. It’s a good preventative and doesn’t hurt the plants. I’m going to bud wash these in any case.

14-2-24

When I put the lights on a timer I accidently disconnected the extractor fan. Figured that out today. The tent was really hot and humid. Yes. Moron.

17-2-24 (56 days from seed)

Half nutes (zym 15/flora 50/boost 25). Still need to spray for PM. Still struggling to control heat, which rises to mid 80’s. I’m sure the damage so far has been mostly because of this. The good news is that there are plenty of buds.

 

[Calvados]

21-2-24 (60 days from seed)

Watered with zym and cal/mag @ 5.9 PH. Switched lights off timing to daytime. Buds are thickening and COLAs are taking shape. Looking good.

26-2-24 (66 days from seed)

Watered with zym, flora, boost, ryza, PK13/14 all at half dose to photo plant. I’m no longer worried about finishing. I’m guessing another 3 weeks or so before the chop. The leaves are turning yellow quickly, so I raised the lights a foot. Replaced the extractor fan with a more powerful one. Temperature and overall environment were instantly better. The buds are starting to blow up. Things are getting interesting.

 

[Calvados]

2-3-24 (71 days from seed)

Watered with zym and cal/mag.

6-6-24 (74 days from seed)

Watered with zym, flora, boost (15/50/40)

Watermelon to the left. Mimosa to the right. I'm guessing another 2 weeks.