Grow #3, New Budmaster, New Autopots, New Room

[Canobud]

Ok bobrown14, help me out here with the Autopots. This plant broke soil the last week of October and has been in the Autopot since 11/17. I waited a week before turning on the reservoir. Is it just me or is this plant exhibiting signs of overwatering? The bottom leaves are drooping and honestly I was expecting growth to start taking off a bit now, instead I'd almost say she seems to have stalled. Next to no lateral growth either. Should I be concerned about anything?

Come to think of it, how is cannabis not always overwatered in an Autopot setup?

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[HemiSync]

Ok bobrown14, help me out here with the Autopots. This plant broke soil the last week of October and has been in the Autopot since 11/17. I waited a week before turning on the reservoir. Is it just me or is this plant exhibiting signs of overwatering? The bottom leaves are drooping and honestly I was expecting growth to start taking off a bit now, instead I'd almost say she seems to have stalled. Next to no lateral growth either. Should I be concerned about anything?

Come to think of it, how is cannabis not always overwatered in an Autopot setup?

I personally only use the coco/perlite mix and not soil and it just seems to work. I hand watered mine for the first 15 days and then turned on the reservoir and they are taking off. One of my girls started off as a mutant runt but looks better now and has that same overwatered look, while her sister is twice her size and reaching for the lights.

 

[Canobud]

So it's been a bit since my last update, but honestly not a whole lot to share of late. Growth has been almost glacial. I was hoping to put these into flower around the 2nd week of January (that would be 60 days for the younger of them), but I just don't see it yet. Considering the Budmaster, Autopots, and Sohum I am pretty underwhelmed by the growth rate so far. I'm starting to see more new light green in the tips the past two days though, so we'll see what happens.

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[CatnipTC]

Question. I know nothing about auto pots. Is this system feeding the plants from the bottom? If so how do small plants get feed if thier roots arent long enough to reach the bottom? does feeding from the bottom promote root growth?

 

[Canobud]

Question. I know nothing about auto pots. Is this system feeding the plants from the bottom? If so how do small plants get feed if thier roots arent long enough to reach the bottom? does feeding from the bottom promote root growth?

Hi Catnip. Yes, Autopots feed from the bottom. They tell you to water the pot thoroughly when you transplant into them and not turn the reservoir on for 7-10 days. The pots hold plenty of that water while the roots stretch down further, and when you finally turn the reservoir on gravity does the rest. Water fills the trays and then up into the pots through capillary effect. The Sohum soil is supposed to feed the plants through harvest. So, aside from any training and trimming desired, it should be idiot-proof set it and forget it growing. I poured 5 gallons of water in the tank on 11/17 and it's down about half that much today, 12/8. They've had none from above since going in the Autopots. I imagine water use will go up in the coming weeks.


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[HemiSync]

Your girls look like they are just starting to take off. Of course some of that could be the size of the pots. The ladies seem to like to stretch their roots out in these autopots before they start their above ground growth. My girls are autos so can't really compare to a photo plant but here are a couple shots just one week apart. The first is at 28 days and the second is at 35 days. You can easily see how much they take off once they start to go.

 

[Canobud]

Your girls look like they are just starting to take off. Of course some of that could be the size of the pots. The ladies seem to like to stretch their roots out in these autopots before they start their above ground growth. My girls are autos so can't really compare to a photo plant but here are a couple shots just one week apart. The first is at 28 days and the second is at 35 days. You can easily see how much they take off once they start to go.

Thanks Hemi, hope you're right. I know strains vary but there is a CLEAR difference in your plants at 28 days and mine, the taller of which is over 40 days old. With the holidays coming up I'm not stressing about it too much. I can drag out the veg stage if I need to. We'll see what happens over the next few weeks.




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[HemiSync]

Thanks Hemi, hope you're right. I know strains vary but there is a CLEAR difference in your plants at 28 days and mine, the taller of which is over 40 days old. With the holidays coming up I'm not stressing about it too much. I can drag out the veg stage if I need to. We'll see what happens over the next few weeks.

Just remember your pots are twice the size of mine and like you said you can veg those girls as long as you need.

 

[bobrown14]

Hey there CB.. patience. Green will come. I wasn't a huge fan of that soil when I read about it but it should work fine.

I add a layer of clay balls 1-2" at the btm of the AutoPot then soil on top of that. Those plants are smallish going into that big pot. It's going to take some time for the plants to realize the water is at the btm...then they will send large root shoots down and the plant will take off.

I've pulled these apart shortly after transplant when the plants are starting to green up and grow fast and have seen this.

My "gut" thinks the plants were small when you planted them. I would top water and add in some pure coconut water to speed up the rooting process. When the plant finds the water source, the growth process will change drastically. Usually when I see clawing they need more water so the roots are not finding the water yet. Top water and keep the trays full.. it will happen.

 

[Canobud]

Hey there CB.. patience. Green will come. I wasn't a huge fan of that soil when I read about it but it should work fine.

I add a layer of clay balls 1-2" at the btm of the AutoPot then soil on top of that. Those plants are smallish going into that big pot. It's going to take some time for the plants to realize the water is at the btm...then they will send large root shoots down and the plant will take off.

I've pulled these apart shortly after transplant when the plants are starting to green up and grow fast and have seen this.

My "gut" thinks the plants were small when you planted them. I would top water and add in some pure coconut water to speed up the rooting process. When the plant finds the water source, the growth process will change drastically. Usually when I see clawing they need more water so the roots are not finding the water yet. Top water and keep the trays full.. it will happen.

Thanks bobrown! I suspected I may have been transplanting them up to the big pots a bit prematurely from the solo cups but figured the watering in period before turning on the reservoir would hold sufficient water while the roots continue downward. Next time around I think I'll step them up slower and perhaps use a 1 or 2 gallon pot in between the solo cup and the Autopots. I do have 1-2" of clay balls in the bottom under the soil, so I'm good there.

Haven't heard of the coconut water trick before...if I top water a bit, what ratio of that stuff to water is appropriate?

Curious...what didn't you like about Sohum? This is my first run with it so I'm still very much in trial mode.

Thanks again bud!


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[Canobud]

No plant pictures today (I'll post some tomorrow) but it looks like I'll be moving the girls into a new space after all. I came home from a work trip last night only to find my amazing wife had the wall put up in our basement while I was gone as an early Christmas present. EXCITED AS HELL!! She even put a keypad door lock on the door for me. I moved the light hanger frame and few other bits in to start sizing up the place, but ultimately I've got 12x14 feet of space to do whatever I want in! Need to do a lot of cleaning and such since there's carpet in the room (which won't be coming out), but I figure with proper air management I should be ok.

Now I'm wishing I'd kicked off four plants in the closet instead of two. Oh well, next run!

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[Canobud]

Sunday update...I moved the plants into the new grow room today. I'm not certain if my fan will be up to the task of a room this size but it's fine for now in veg stage. Plenty of space to stretch out now.

I think they're starting to grow out a bit quicker now. I FIM'd the shorter one last week and it's starting to show new growths coming out up top. The taller one still needs to start filling out, but she is growing taller by the day.

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[HemiSync]

I like all the space. I always feel so cramped in a tent.

 

[Canobud]

I like all the space. I always feel so cramped in a tent.

Thanks...after two grows in a tiny 2x2.5x8 tent followed by starting these two plants in a 3x4 closet, this is a dream setup to play with. Can't wait to get all four Autopots going next time!


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[Canobud]

Two lights are better than one, right? Which got me thinking...do any of you worry about power consumption? I've always heard stories about busts stemming from that. By my estimates I'm drawing about 700 watts during lights on. Anyone else get paranoid about power?

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[bobrown14]

Hey there CB.. Nice to see another grower using AutoPots. I think you're going to be happy with them.

Rugs and growing containers indoors?? Respectfully questioning that... I've got hardwood flooring and tile in my VEG and flower rooms ... both floors get trashed and need moping from time to time.

Clean/flush the AP lines once a month. Just disconnect at the float and let the water run into a bucket for a few seconds is all that's required. I've learned that the hard way..... I sometimes get a build up of bacteria in the line right at the float where the line is screwed in. The build up sometimes catches in the valve causing it to stick open.

I love the light bar... did you make that? Looks super strong which is a very good thing. Props on that ... I'd like to build me a few of them. They are perfect.

 

[Canobud]

Hi bobrown. I'm thinking about building a flood tray just in case there's an accident. I'm also going to do my first line flush in the next few days to prevent one. Is there a need to disassemble the float from the tray to clean those items?

I did make the light bar. I was standing in Home Depot one day staring at pipe fittings and decided to build one out of black steel pipe. Ended up being more expensive than I thought it would but I'm super happy with the result.


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[HemiSync]

Two lights are better than one, right? Which got me thinking...do any of you worry about power consumption? I've always heard stories about busts stemming from that. By my estimates I'm drawing about 700 watts during lights on. Anyone else get paranoid about power?

I'm always paranoid about everything including the electric company. Right before I started growing I had an electric bill that was normally very low less than $60 a month. It doubled when I started growing and the the only thing that saved my butt was that I had just purchased an electric car. The bill jumped so much that they came out and put a new meter on my house, so I know it attracted attention. I made sure my car was outside and plugged in every time they came to read the meter. I was actually charging my car at work so was using no power from the house. LOL It must have worked because I never got a visit from the man.

I plan on starting up another grow area in my house and have been slowly upping my energy use around the house so it looks normal when I crank up another couple lights. Paranoid? Maybe, but been on this earth for 60 years now and haven't been busted yet. Knock on wood.

 

[Canobud]

I'm always paranoid about everything including the electric company. Right before I started growing I had an electric bill that was normally very low less than $60 a month. It doubled when I started growing and the the only thing that saved my butt was that I had just purchased an electric car. The bill jumped so much that they came out and put a new meter on my house, so I know it attracted attention. I made sure my car was outside and plugged in every time they came to read the meter. I was actually charging my car at work so was using no power from the house. LOL It must have worked because I never got a visit from the man.

I plan on starting up another grow area in my house and have been slowly upping my energy use around the house so it looks normal when I crank up another couple lights. Paranoid? Maybe, but been on this earth for 60 years now and haven't been busted yet. Knock on wood.

I hear you, HemiSync, in fact I think I can top that. A few months back when my last round was 7 weeks deep into flower I heard a knock at the front door. We almost never have visitors. I opened the door to two gentlemen in ties, one on the porch and the other down on the walkway about 10 feet back, sunglasses on. Guy #1 introduced himself as an investigator for a certain three-letter federal organization and asked if my wife was home, extending his business card for me to take. Guy #2 was clearly his FBI escort. My wife works in the medical device industry and they were reviewing a matter at a previous employer. I think they were hoping to find some former employees willing to talk. Standing on the porch even I could smell weed and to this day I don't know how I didn't shit myself on the spot. I told them she wasn't home and they went on their way. Paranoia level immediately shot up to 11!




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[HemiSync]

I hear you, HemiSync, in fact I think I can top that. A few months back when my last round was 7 weeks deep into flower I heard a knock at the front door. We almost never have visitors. I opened the door to two gentlemen in ties, one on the porch and the other down on the walkway about 10 feet back, sunglasses on. Guy #1 introduced himself as an investigator for a certain three-letter federal organization and asked if my wife was home, extending his business card for me to take. Guy #2 was clearly his FBI escort. My wife works in the medical device industry and they were reviewing a matter at a previous employer. I think they were hoping to find some former employees willing to talk. Standing on the porch even I could smell weed and to this day I don't know how I didn't shit myself on the spot. I told them she wasn't home and they went on their way. Paranoia level immediately shot up to 11!

I can imagine the stress levels must have jumped through the roof. I live so remotely that whenever a vehicle comes up my driveway I can hear it and usually can meet people outside. Thereby avoiding that standing in the doorway talking to them while wondering if the person can smell it. Plus if it is law enforcement I don't want them using that bullshit line of having probable cause because of something they saw or smelled from the open doorway. Back a couple winters ago when I lived in cold country, I had a state trooper pull up my driveway. Immediately went outside to meet him while he was still in the car. Had it been summertime I probably would have been sweating profusely. He was just returning my mailbox that the plow truck had pushed down the road. LOL Took me hours to calm down after that.