First Grow: Northern Lights Auto

[RetiredRN]

@RetiredRN how big were your pots?

3 gallon fabric

 

[freedom8976]

Day 21
watered fully yesterday without added nutes, i also added the scrog net today to let more light pass through the potential bud sites.
On the top site there is some preflowering going on, hopefully it will start flowering the next week.
The browning of the tips has expanded on the big lower leaves though, three of em have it atm.

How should i feed it next week?
should i add bat guano and palm tree ash or not?
i have biobizz grow and bloom, bat guano and palm tree ash.
Im thinking of top dressing some guano and ash, plus feeding 1ml of grow and bloom per watering, not per/lt.

Let me know if my plan is reasonable guys! As i don't want to cause any further nute burn.

 

[freedom8976]

Day 24
I decided to take the the scrog net off as is made it difficult for me to water the plant, lift the pot etc.
I did use some wire to Lst instead, i am already getting 3 bud sites plus the "main" cola, if i take the fun leaf off next to it i will get more, what do you think?
I also watered and fed the plant with 2ml biobizz grow, top dressed 80g bat guano, 20g cal/mag and some diatomic earth to fight the pests.
I also cut the edges off of two leaves while trying to adjust the scrog net, let's hope that the plant was not harmed.
The little one is healthy and is getting just water for the time being, ill top it on it's third week and i will start feeding it.
I think that this variety is going to produce better yields if it gets topped as it tends to develop a big main cola and not much under it.

 

[freedom8976]

Day 28
more pics more issues xD
the big one is stretching well, the small one is doing good but has developed some yellowing on the edges and tips of the leaves, they are also curling up a bit.
I have never fed the plant since i planted the seed and have watered it very carefully, today it got a full watering btw.
Does this look like a nitrogen deficiency guys? Should i start feeding it? Also can i feed 2ml biogrow with just enough water since i watered it fully or do i have to wait.
Thx

 

[Paul Squiggle]

Day 28
more pics more issues xD
the big one is stretching well, the small one is doing good but has developed some yellowing on the edges and tips of the leaves, they are also curling up a bit.
I have never fed the plant since i planted the seed and have watered it very carefully, today it got a full watering btw.
Does this look like a nitrogen deficiency guys? Should i start feeding it? Also can i feed 2ml biogrow with just enough water since i watered it fully or do i have to wait.
Thx

I've just read the link you posted about the medium your growing in. It doesn't really tell you much. But Don't worry about that tiny bit of yellowing mate. If it starts getting worse then you can start adjusting nutrients to suit. It does look a little hungry though. It may just be the light the photo was taken in. But if it was my plants, I would be giving it something not eat.

 

[Paul Squiggle]

thats a nitrogen deficiency on one of my plants. I gave it a 7.7.7 and it stopped all together

 

[freedom8976]

It doesn't really tell you much

Yeh man it sucks !!! It says that it has all you need inside xD but doesn't mention amounts. I left the small one like that because i overfed the big one too early and i wanted to see how it will react.
The problem is that i watered it fully tonight without feeding it, can i put 2ml of biogrow in lets say 250ml of water and feed it tomorrow or should i wait?

 

[Paul Squiggle]

Yeh man it sucks !!! It says that it has all you need inside xD but doesn't mention amounts. I left the small one like that because i overfed the big one too early and i wanted to see how it will react.
The problem is that i watered it fully tonight without feeding it, can i put 2ml of biogrow in lets say 250ml of water and feed it tomorrow or should i wait?

I wouldn't mate. As it wouldnt soak all the way through the pot. Your ,250 ml of water would just sit at the top and not get right down into the mainroots and probably just evaporate off the top. Let it dry out abit
I noticed your using RO water and do you check the ph and do you use cal mag in it.
As from what I've read. Plain RO water can actually strip you plant of calcium and magnesium.

 

[freedom8976]

I noticed your using RO water and do you check the ph and do you use cal mag in it.

yes i use RO water, but i have never checked the Ph. I added cal/mag though after week 2, because the plant was showing signs of deficiency.
I know that the Ph is very important but, as long as the plants grow i don't want to spend more money.
The leaves had those white lines on them before i added cal/mag in the soil. All the new growth looks perfect though that leads me to believe that i took care of the problem.
The small one had them in the soil from day one so it's not cal/mag def. I ll just wait 3/4 days for the soil to dry out a bit and feed it 2ml, lets hope that i won't get burned like the old one xD
I am starting to believe that liquid nutes are both risky and pointless for growing in soil or coco, slow release fertilizers can't harm the plant and provide continuous nutrition to the plant. For autos 2 feeding will be enough for the whole grow !!!

 

[Paul Squiggle]

yes i use RO water, but i have never checked the Ph. I added cal/mag though after week 2, because the plant was showing signs of deficiency.
I know that the Ph is very important but, as long as the plants grow i don't want to spend more money.
The leaves had those white lines on them before i added cal/mag in the soil. All the new growth looks perfect though that leads me to believe that i took care of the problem.
The small one had them in the soil from day one so it's not cal/mag def. I ll just wait 3/4 days for the soil to dry out a bit and feed it 2ml, lets hope that i won't get burned like the old one xD
I am starting to believe that liquid nutes are both risky and pointless for growing in soil or coco, slow release fertilizers can't harm the plant and provide continuous nutrition to the plant. For autos 2 feeding will be enough for the whole grow !!!

You need to spend a little more money on a on a pH pen or cheaper still, the pH strips.. It is possible just to add non PH corrected water and get no issues but that is very rare. You need to know what pH your water is, as that is a variable. If you start getting nutrient deficiencies it could be as simple as your water not being the correct pH and you could keep pumping in nutes and poison her. When all along it was just a pH imbalance. I would not even attempt to grow anything without knowing what the PH of the water is and I would definitely not water a plant with just plain RO. You need to add some minerals back into the water every time you water.

 

[RetiredRN]

You need to spend a little more money on a on a pH pen or cheaper still, the pH strips.. It is possible just to add non PH corrected water and get no issues but that is very rare. You need to know what pH your water is, as that is a variable. If you start getting nutrient deficiencies it could be as simple as your water not being the correct pH and you could keep pumping in nutes and poison her. When all along it was just a pH imbalance. I would not even attempt to grow anything without knowing what the PH of the water is and I would definitely not water a plant with just plain RO. You need to add some minerals back into the water every time you water.

I agree. I started out assuming my water was ph neutral at 7 and when I got a ph checker I was shocked to learn it was 7.4, and then On top of that I was giving nutrients that were driving my ph down to 4.5. I don’t know how I kept from killing my plants. Ph checking is very important.

 

[Tbe]

2l, teaspoon of each works out for Me, gets me to 6.3/4....

But some say dont add ph down or up for soil.. As soil will do the buffering

 

[Paul Squiggle]

2l, teaspoon of each works out for Me, gets me to 6.3/4....

But some say dont add ph down or up for soil.. As soil will do the buffering

I grow in soil and I would never not adjust the pH. Between 6.3 and 6.8 always and then you know you have removed one of the variable factors..

 

[Tbe]

Im set on having it 6.3 too... But ya can see when people start out on a grow, they read that much, they bypass the basics

 

[Paul Squiggle]

Im set on having it 6.3 too... But ya can see when people start out on a grow, they read that much, they bypass the basics

Think we are all guilty of doing something wrong on our first grow

 

[Tbe]

Thats it dont panic cause ya can try again. But most beginners cant wait

 

[freedom8976]

You need to add some minerals back into the water every time you water.

i have added slow release cal/mag pellets in the soil.

Ph checking is very important.

I know guys, the next thing that i will buy will be a ph tester. Do you think the cheap one will last or do i have to get the more expensive one?

But most beginners cant wait

That is SO true, that's why i have planted the small one as a back up to my bad decisions with the big one. But so far so good

 

[freedom8976]

day 29
my bushy plant is bushy no more, i did a major defoliation exposing most bud sites to the light, i also removed all of the lower growth of the plant that wouldn't produce anything anyways and made it difficult to water. i am thinking of re introducing the Scrog net to make the canopy more even as i can't do much more with Lst.
also the first real flower is forming on the main cola.
one question/concern i have though is that only the main stem is "hardy" the rest of the stems are flimsy. I could break them off if i pulled on them lightly. Is it just too early for them to thicken up or am i having a problem?
Thx

 

[Paul Squiggle]

i have added slow release cal/mag pellets in the soil.

I know guys, the next thing that i will buy will be a ph tester. Do you think the cheap one will last or do i have to get the more expensive one?

That is SO true, that's why i have planted the small one as a back up to my bad decisions with the big one. But so far so good

I've had the same cheepo Chinese PH pen and TDS meter for two years.
They are £10 off the Amazono in the UK. Buy a pH buffer solution. Its a stable solution at ph7 , it lets you check how accurate your pen is and also useful for calibration.
I still think you would be better off putting the cal mag in the Ro water.see what others say. It's best to get as many suggestions as possible.

Slow release stuff is like a ticking time bomb in my opinion, but everyone has different methods and ideas

Try and get a closer photo of the stems.
I know a lad that will know. He's an auto guy and pretty damn clever
Oh!!! @Listersmeghead have you got 5 mins to check out this first grow please. Last post before this one. Just there's a concern on how flimsy his branches are and I know nothing about autos. Apart from I drive one.

Cheers buddy

 

[freedom8976]

Just to clarify, the stems have nothing "bad" looking on them, but when compared to the main stem they seem a little flimsy that's all. What i am thinking is that they where hidden under those3 big leaves that i cut off and haven't gotten enough light yet.
But an expirienced growers opinion would be very helpful.