HashGirl's Summer 2021 Recreational Grow

[InTheShed]

So, 5 for the Blueberry, which is flowering and 4.5 for the Purple, which isn't flowering?

Correct!

I found this and am thinking about printing it and adapting the MC feeding chart with it:

Life Cycle of An Autoflower

I'm with Felipe on the age of that post, not to mention that generic week-by-week instructions only work for plants growing according to the printed schedule. I would just ramp them up from 1g/gallon with the first true leaves to 4.5g/gallon by 4 weeks in half gram increments. Once actual flowering happens, bump to 5.0 and then 5.5 about halfway through flowering.

And keep in mind that a wet pot will keep you from bumping the nutes because the plant won't be needing water. Personally I don't go 3x the original pot diameter for small plants in big pots. I go about 2" beyond the original outer edge, and I don't enlarge that until I see healthy new growth. Then another 2" and wait.

 

[FelipeBlu]

ramp them up from 1g/gallon with the first true leaves to 4.5g/gallon by 4 weeks in half gram increments. Once actual flowering happens, bump to 5.0 and then 5.5 about halfway through flowering.

^ This is the most concise primer on MC feed rates for Autos!

 

[HashGirl]

Correct!

I'm with Felipe on the age of that post, not to mention that generic week-by-week instructions only work for plants growing according to the printed schedule. I would just ramp them up from 1g/gallon with the first true leaves to 4.5g/gallon by 4 weeks in half gram increments. Once actual flowering happens, bump to 5.0 and then 5.5 about halfway through flowering.

If you ramp up in half gram increments, it would take you 8 weeks to get to 4.5g/gallon. Did you mean to say ramp up in 1 gram increments?

 

[InTheShed]

That's assuming you only water once a week. If you give it less water you will water more often.

 

[Virgin Ground]

Yep. BB in ProMix w/MC. I don't know what version as the bag it came in split early on and it's now in a container. However, I just bought it last summer so it should still be good. I suspect I'm not feeding it enough but as posted above, I'm not exactly sure of the

I think you have the not so great version of MC. The one that sucks up moisture and doesn't dissolve well.
I needed MrS to help me assemble a nute schedule with what supplements I had around to limp me through until harvest of the Kalashnikov.

I now have the new MC from a few months ago. Is night and day difference between them.

To test which MC you have, leave a small amount out overnight. If it's the version that I think you have it will start absorbing water right away. You'll notice within hours probably.

My new version takes days to react with the moisture in the air.

 

[HashGirl]

If you ramp up in half gram increments, it would take you 8 weeks to get to 4.5g/gallon. Did you mean to say ramp up in 1 gram increments?

That's assuming you only water once a week. If you give it less water you will water more often.

So, you're saying to bump up the nutes every time I water and not by the age/size of the plant?

To test which MC you have, leave a small amount out overnight. If it's the version that I think you have it will start absorbing water right away. You'll notice within hours probably.

My new version takes days to react with the moisture in the air.

So, just put a little bit on a saucer or something? Is the water it absorbs coming from the environment/air or do you want me to put a cup of water under it or something?

 

[Virgin Ground]

So, just put a little bit on a saucer or something? Is the water it absorbs coming from the environment/air or do you want me to put a cup of water under it or something?

You don't need to add anything. It will absorb water from the air.

 

[FelipeBlu]

If you ramp up in half gram increments, it would take you 8 weeks to get to 4.5g/gallon. Did you mean to say ramp up in 1 gram increments?

This is why I prefer perlite hempy. There’s no need to wait for the pot to dry out before fertigating again. You could do it every day (30 additions of fresh air in a month vs 4-8).

 

[InTheShed]

So, you're saying to bump up the nutes every time I water and not by the age/size of the plant?

If you are only watering once a week, definitely. If you are watering more often I would say to bump faster as the plant ages. Maybe get it to 3g/gallon more slowly and then move it up more quickly since it should be growing faster.

But in reality, how you get to 4.5g/gallon before flower is between you and your plant's growth.

There are no hard and fast rules you can apply to every autoflower plant in every growing situation, but an auto is just a photo with a very compressed (and uncontrolled) veg time. That's why it's important to get ramp up quickly before it starts flowering.

Also, if you water 3x the original pot diameter and you started with a solo cup (3.5" diameter), you would be watering a 10.5" diameter, which is the outside diameter of a 3 gallon GeoPot. That's way too much water.

 

[HashGirl]

This is why I prefer perlite hempy. There’s no need to wait for the pot to dry out before fertigating again. You could do it every day (30 additions of fresh air in a month vs 4-8).

I'll probably do another hempy grow at some point since I still have most of a bag of perlite left. Felonious wants to try coco but other than buying the coco, we haven't done anything about it yet.

 

[HashGirl]

Also, if you water 3x the original pot diameter and you started with a solo cup (3.5" diameter), you would be watering a 10.5" diameter, which is the outside diameter of a 3 gallon GeoPot. That's way too much water.

I'm not watering 3x the pot's diameter. I'm watering 3x the plant's diameter, which is what Emilya's instructions say to do until the plant leaves reach the outside of the pot.

 

[InTheShed]

Is she referring to autoflowers? They're very different from photos in veg growth. She did say:

It will take a week or more for the plant to use all of that water on this first round

I would never want to go a week or more without watering an autoflower in veg.

 

[Virgin Ground]

You can increase her feed before she is fully dry. The peat moss holds onto oxygen and moisture. It makes it really hard to drown your plant in this medium.
Premier Horticulture even says it's good for hydro applications.
I've fed mine to correct when they were wet.

Ya know...I don't think the watering has anything to do with it to be honest. I have DDA sprouts in fully saturated Pro Mix. They are doing just fine.

I think she is just hungry or the pH is off....or it's the MC.

 

[Virgin Ground]

Also keep in mind that you are in a soilless media( your hydro application) Emilya's watering technique is for soil grows.

Different animal.

 

[MrSauga]

@MrSauga - when you have some spare time, could you please advise me on the correct feeding of an auto with MC?

I think Shed pretty much covered everything. I tend to move up in 1g increments. By the fifth or sixth set of nodes you should be around 3g/gal. I tend not to go higher than 4.5g/gal, adjusting for the 1/2 gram at the end, until I see the first sign of pistils. The key is to feed them frequently. What you don't want is roots sitting in soggy soil.

Until MrS gets here I would just use the MC chart as your guide for autos, keeping in mind that they run from sprout to flower in under 30 days. That means that you are bumping the MC almost continually from first true leaves through pistils. From 1g/gallon to 5g/gallon in a month, in 0.5g increments.

It's been a while since I last ran autos. I should get them on my list for next run.

 

[InTheShed]

I think Shed pretty much covered everything. I tend to move up in 1g increments.

Thanks MrS, and 1g increments makes it even easier!

 

[HashGirl]

Is she referring to autoflowers? They're very different from photos in veg growth. She did say:

I would never want to go a week or more without watering an autoflower in veg.

No, @Emilya is referring to small plants in a large container and as VG said, she's talking about soil but I figured an auto in ProMix would be similar but I'm guessing what I figured was incorrect.

You can increase her feed before she is fully dry. The peat moss holds onto oxygen and moisture. It makes it really hard to drown your plant in this medium.
Premier Horticulture even says it's good for hydro applications.
I've fed mine to correct when they were wet.

Ya know...I don't think the watering has anything to do with it to be honest. I have DDA sprouts in fully saturated Pro Mix. They are doing just fine.

I think she is just hungry or the pH is off....or it's the MC.

Thanks, VG. I did give her 1L of water today doctored w/MC at 5g/gal. I also fed the other autos by diluting the 5g mix for various levels of growth. I gave the Purple 750 ml of 5g mixed with 250 ml of plain water hoping for around 4g MC/gal. And, I gave the Amnesia 500 ml of 5g MC/gal and 500 ml of plain water. And, the 19 day old Lemon got 250 ml of 5g MC/gal and 750 ml of plain water. (I wasn't high when I started this comment but I am now and I had to think really hard for that last part. I hope you appreciate it. )

Hopefully, she'll start to look better soon. Should I pull off the permanently damaged leaves or are they still helping the plant?

I think Shed pretty much covered everything. I tend to move up in 1g increments. By the fifth or sixth set of nodes you should be around 3g/gal. I tend not to go higher than 4.5g/gal, adjusting for the 1/2 gram at the end, until I see the first sign of pistils. The key is to feed them frequently. I recently ran 4 plants with an auto watering system. The timers came on three times a day for the life of the plant. The soil needing to dry out isn't as important as you would think. What you don't want is roots sitting in soggy soil.

And, now I'm high and I don't know if I can do justice with a understandable reply so I will bookmark it and I thank you very much, Mr.S for taking time out of your busy schedule for me again.

It's been a while since I last ran autos. I should get them on my list for next run.

Please tag me if you do. I would love to follow an(other) accomplished grower's journal from start to finish.

 

[MrSauga]

And, now I'm high and I don't know if I can do justice with a understandable reply so I will bookmark it and I thank you very much, Mr.S for taking time out of your busy schedule for me again.

LOL, no reply needed.

Please tag me if you do. I would love to follow an(other) accomplished grower's journal from start to finish.

I think @BooWho2 grows some fantastic autos. She follows the same system I would, for feeding an auto, so you can always bump her for some advice. The more the better.

 

[HashGirl]

I actually added an Autoflower schedule to my MegaCrop Feeding Chart document this morning and coincidentally, it's kinda what MrS suggested with a little bit of Shed thrown in:

 

[HashGirl]

Thanks MrS, and 1g increments makes it even easier!

LOL, no reply needed.

I think @BooWho2 grows some fantastic autos. She follows the same system I would, for feeding an auto, so you can always bump her for some advice. The more the better.

Thanks, MrS. Yes, I'm following her and Justin Goody currently for autos and Carcass, too to some extent. There's so much to read all the time and reading online isn't something I enjoy doing for very long as it makes my eyes too tired so that's why even though I'm really enjoying the tunes, I'm going to grab some dinner and watch something on the PVR. I have 4 episodes of Schitt's Creek to watch.