HashGirl's First Indoor Grow: Dark Devil Autos In Hempy, 2020

[HashGirl]

Thanks, Amy. Since I have some arthritis in my hands, your glass dropper has some appeal. As long as I don't forget how to count (or get distracted ), these might be good for me, too. Could you post a photo of one just so I have a better idea of what I'm looking for? I'm a visual learner. That's why I went to college and not university like my dad wanted.

Oh, and thanks for the pep talk on the hopefully upcoming growth spurts of my DDAs.

 

[Amy Gardner]

Handily, i keep some next to my bed so here, realtime pics!

thatt’s a standard 25ml dropper bottle. Any dropper with this style of tip gives 20drops to a ml. I’ve tested, even the larger droppers are 20drops for a ml.

(Droppers with pointed tips make smaller drops (usually 28drops/ml))

 

[HashGirl]

Handily, i keep some next to my bed so here, realtime pics!

thatt’s a standard 25ml dropper bottle. Any dropper with this style of tip gives 20drops to a ml. I’ve tested, even the larger droppers are 20drops for a ml.

(Droppers with pointed tips make smaller drops (usually 28drops/ml))

Thanks, Amy. I filled up 3 bottles as you show above with my nutes and I'm fertigating tomorrow so I'll let you know how I make out.

 

[FelipeBlu]

How are your little ladies today, HG?

 

[HashGirl]

DDA2 is still looking perky. DDA1 a little less so. Fertigating is on the menu for tomorrow.

I'm still watering every 3 days. Is that still good?

 

[FelipeBlu]

Yes, unless DD1 starts looking wilted.

 

[HashGirl]

It's fertigation day and picture day!

It's interesting watching these 2 DDAs growing together. If you look closely, you will see the purplish/reddish Dark Devil colour in the new flowering growth in the DDA1 but it's completely white on DDA2. And, I do believe that DDA1 is now taller than DDA2. I half-assedly measured them tonight and DDA1 looks to be about 1/2 inch taller than DDA2. Both of them were looking a little wilted but they perked up nicely during lights out and I took more photos of them tonight, which I will also be posting.

Also, here's a photo of my new nute bottles that I'm using as per Amy's suggestion above.

DDA1

DDA2

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I apologize for the lighting and some blurriness. I don't have a very steady hand even when I'm not high.

I'll put tonight's photos in a new post.

 

[HashGirl]

DDA1 - Evening Photos

DDA2 - Evening Photos

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And, that's it. Hope you enjoyed the photos.

 

[FelipeBlu]

Looking very nice HG! Keep doing what you’re doing. You’re in the groove and the plants are getting it on.

 

[oldsmokey]

Looking good almost looks like she's praying in third last pic.

 

[HashGirl]

I think it's pretty cool that I can see trichomes on the leaves already.

Felonious said that he likes the seedling stage best but I much prefer when it starts to flower. It's way cooler, IMO.

I have a question. So, we're on Day 32 of what is supposedly a ~60 day grow. Should I be doing anything differently? The nutes are currently 1/4 strength for the Early Growth stage. When do I move to the Late Growth stage? And, what about all the Bloom stages? Where do they fall? Where do all of these fall for an auto that's only supposed to go to 60 days from seedling to harvest?

And, what about lighting? They're currently on (and have been since the beginning) 18 hours on / 6 hours off. Do they stay at this for the whole grow? Or should they change at any point and why?

 

[Pennywise]

Just keep your lights where they’re at if they’re autos.

 

[HashGirl]

Just keep your lights where they’re at if they’re autos.

Thanks, Penny! You ROCK!

 

[FelipeBlu]

Indeed!

As far as nutrients, I don’t subscribe too much to the feeding schedules for Autos. This is a great time to learn how to read your plants’ needs. But saying that, you could probably give them another ml of each.

 

[HashGirl]

Good evening.

DDA1 looks like she's grown 6 inches since yesterday but I didn't measure her. I'm planning on measuring them tomorrow when I feed them.

So, I was surfing the net and ran across this nutrient feeding chart using the Flora series for autos:

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Felipe, I know you said you don't really worry about nutes for autos but I thought I would post this anyway just in case it makes sense to anyone else for me to use it for my autos.

*The CaliMagic column is supposed to be for people using RO water or when growing in coco coir.

Here are their supplemental instructions:

Supplemental Instructions:

1. Never premix nutrients (mix nutrients in water).
2. Add "FloraMicro" to water first .
3. Maintain pH between 5.5-6.5.
4. Add all nutrients before adjusting pH.
5. Give plain water every other watering (coco coir, soil, etc.)

Notes:

• Give enough water for 10-20% runoff, and always remove runoff!
• Repeat Week 3 for a longer vegetative period
• Repeat Week 8 for a longer flowering stage
• Add CaliMagic when growing in coco coir or using RO (reverse osmosis) water

So, according to all this info above, I should be feeding my DDAs Week 6 nutes, which fall in the flowering stage and not the growing stage, which is where I'm currently feeding them from.

Given that they will be 35 days tomorrow from a lifespan of approximately 60 days, should I bump up the FloraBloom amounts to where the chart above says I should be or continue using the feed schedule for late growth?

 

[FelipeBlu]

Felipe, I know you said you don't really worry about nutes for autos

hmmm... I don’t recall that



Nope, doesn’t sound like me - I provide nutrition for all my plants. I may have said that I read my plants to see if they need any more nutrition.

All strains/plants are different and have different needs. I would trust my own observations over a feeding schedule.

That being said, if you are seeing any yellowing/paling of lower leaves, I would bump the dose.

 

[HashGirl]

I apologize, Felipe. This is what you actually said:

As far as nutrients, I don’t subscribe too much to the feeding schedules for Autos.

This is what I was talking about. So, with your nutes, do you follow the feeding schedule for photos? Or do you just "read" your plants to know how much nutes you need?

 

[FelipeBlu]

NP HG.

I view the feeding schedules as general guidelines. I have seen many a grower get burned from rigorously following a feeding schedule.

If you learn to read your plant, you will be much more successful.

 

[FelipeBlu]

BTW, I don’t want to be mischaracterized as a promoter for a non-sponsor, but I find the core element of my current nutrition to be tailor-made for reading when to increase/decrease. It’s never been easier for me.

 

[TorturedSoul]

WARNING: Opinions ahead .

DDA1 looks like she's grown 6 inches since yesterday

The stretch phase of the flowering period is a wonderful thing (unless you have low ceilings and a full grow space).

*The CaliMagic column is supposed to be for people using RO water or when growing in coco coir.

Because 0 PPM water contains no calcium. And because coco coir tends to "hold on to" Ca ions (especially if it wasn't pre-soaked in something like a solution of calcium nitrate before the gardener began using it). Of course, if you notice signs of insufficient calcium and/or magnesium, you'll need to add more. Not necessarily both, though, since these two elements have a relationship, and adding a combo product when you have an abundance of one of the elements could fail to solve the issue, if it drives the ratio further out of whack instead of correcting it. That's why it's a good idea to have products like calcium nitrate and Epsom salt on hand, even if the gardener ordinarily uses a Ca/Mg combination product.

An analogy for the above: If you eat a breakfast consisting of one unit of milk to five units of cereal, find that you are .5 unit of milk from having a correct ratio... then adding one unit of milk and three units of cereal to what you already have in your bowl will still leave you with a less than optimum breakfast.

Or something, IDK. I keep thinking of food today .

I see an admonishment to always add the Micro first. That is correct - if you are only using the three-part Flora components. If you are also adding a Ca/Mg product (or, probably, if you are adding any calcium product), add that FIRST, before the Micro. And if you are using a silicon product - such as Armor Si - you would add that first, then the calcium product, and then the Micro. Adding things in the proper order helps keep certain elements from precipitating out of solution. It can also keep some elements from combining into a substance that causes those elements to become inaccessible.. Gypsum, for example.

Maintain pH between 5.5-6.5.

I like 5.8 to 6.0. Or 5.95, if my meter has a two decimal place resolution. If there is a reservoir, where the nutrient solution will be around for a little while, and I know that the plant consuming certain elements is going to cause a minor drift in pH, then I'll be happy to end up with my nutrient solution's pH being on the other end of my comfort zone, since it'll soon be drifting through the zone instead of remaining static. And, if it's a big DWC reservoir instead of a tiny hempy one... then I will be maintaining its contents for at least a week instead of (more or less) doing a mini-flush and replacement every couple days. Therefore, instead of trying to readjust pH with the usual pH Up/Down products, I'll give a thought to what caused the change. In other words, what got consumed in a greater quantity. And add back some of that - which tends to correct the pH AND extend the useful life of the solution in the reservoir. Kill two birds and get stoned. (Lol.)

Add all nutrients before adjusting pH.

Common sense, that one. If your source water's pH was comparable to vinegar - or lye - then you wouldn't be using it to begin with. Assuming that it is anywhere near "reasonable," trying to adjust it at intermediate stages is counterproductive and, at best, just needlessly raises your solution's final EC. Plus, you could end up having used both a pH Down and a pH Up product in the same batch of nutrient solution (and that would be counterproductive and silly).

Give plain water every other watering (coco coir, soil, etc.)

Because you only want your plants to grow half the time??? Screw that. Even Mom has more sense than to do that, and she's nearly 80. When you have a conversation with people about why they do that, it'll make your head hurt even worse than usual. Because, almost without fail, they'll use "because, after starving my plant giving my plant plain water, I'll feed it - and notice an immediate growth spurt." Which should cause them to realize their error in logic the moment they utter the words, but generally only ends up showing you that, when someone gets a dumb idea in their head, it's harder to get rid of than herpes. So it's not surprising to see that little jewel mentioned - but it is kind of saddening, IMHO.

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot: If they then go on to say, "Well, I tried giving nutrients every time, but I burnt my plants," you could try to explain to them that this is a sign that they are feeding too much, not too often. Or you could smile, nod, and GTFO before any of that st00pid has a chance to rub off on you.

So, according to all this info above, I should be feeding my DDAs Week 6 nutes, which fall in the flowering stage and not the growing stage, which is where I'm currently feeding them from.

Given that they will be 35 days tomorrow from a lifespan of approximately 60 days, should I bump up the FloraBloom amounts to where the chart above says I should be or continue using the feed schedule for late growth?

I'd be somewhat wary of dropping the "Grow" component too low while the flowering stretch is still occurring. Unless you want small plants, of course. Note that this is a general statement, and that DDA does appear to be somewhat of a light feeder when it comes to nitrogen, according to some reports. Yet another reason to take nutrient schedules for what they are - generic recommendations - rather than something to mindlessly follow.

I'd be (cautiously) increasing the Bloom component, though. It's not really "either, or" - it's "give the plant what it needs." You want both large plants and a large yield at harvest time.

Remember, it's hydroponics, not a soil grow. If you see signs that indicate you maybe goofed, just mix up something else (maybe a different ratio of nutrients, maybe just a slightly weaker solution). Pour some in until it starts dribbling out, wait a minute or three, cover the hole, fill the container, wait, then uncover the hole. Your plant is now sitting in a different nutrient solution than the one that it had issues with. Water and perlite has no buffering ability. Soil growers point to this like it's a bad thing. But hydroponic growers realize that it can save their @ss, lol. It also makes it easier to figure out just exactly how you screwed up, because you won't have had time to do two or three other things before an issue presents itself.

I'd take that "60 days" with a grain of salt. Some people harvest DDA at 60-65 days - but others find that theirs aren't ready until the plant is 80, 90, sometimes even more days old. Seems kind of strange, since we all know what the indicator for a plant being ready to harvest is. And because a lot of us have probably been working with seeds that were produced at the same time, from a certain "selfing" incident three or four years ago. I suspect that availability of nutrients (in the proper ratio for that specific plant, etc.) may have something to do with this. Maybe switching too soon from a "grow" nutrient schedule to a "flowering" one causes the plant to run a little short of nitrogen, which causes its stretch phase to be somewhat abbreviated, which causes the overall flowering period to be that much shorter. IDK, that's just a guess. If your plant grew six inches (or even a couple) in 24 hours, it's definitely still consuming nitrogen in relatively significant quantities, though.

As usual, I'm just rambling.