Fenderbender
Well-Known Member
Autos? or photos don't fill the pot either?
How do I grow big plants?
- Thread starter guerrillabalconygrower
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- #22
guerrillabalconygrower
Well-Known Member
Yeah photos too. Small but I can understand that’s due to short veg times since I’m completely dependent on natural light. Hopefully will have better growth next summer.
Autos have a bigger problem. They start off slow and growth is sparse. Hence yield very poor.
AgedMaster
Well-Known Member
Could u not veg photos outside then bring them in under a light bulb it will stop them from flowering and u will get bigger plants u will need to veg for a little longer
first correct what you can control. the media, pot size, and nute choice are all suspect. get those solved first.
after that work on environment. 11hrs of sunlight won't cut it. you may or may not be able to do the balcony grow. controlling environment factors like light hrs may force you indoor.
outdoor grows are dependent on local climate, your climate may not be suited well. we would have to understand where you live and the climate it is associated with.
after that work on environment. 11hrs of sunlight won't cut it. you may or may not be able to do the balcony grow. controlling environment factors like light hrs may force you indoor.
outdoor grows are dependent on local climate, your climate may not be suited well. we would have to understand where you live and the climate it is associated with.
Fenderbender
Well-Known Member
Aye but do we have a climate where nobody is growing? I'm pretty sure people figure out a way to get something going wherever they are 
But medium is first suspect here.. the combo ain't good, and the garden soil could be a culprit as well as depending on how it behaves it might be hindrance.. you need very light, airy, bouncy soil that drains well and doesn't compact into a block when wet.
Especially for autos there it's all about the first weeks.. you want them setup in a pot where the tiny delicate roots encounter the least resistance, and they can suffocate easily with the first top watering if it's done too soon, as that can be too much water, compacts the soil around them and makes them lazy you kinda want them stretching and searching for the moisture in the pot.
But medium is first suspect here.. the combo ain't good, and the garden soil could be a culprit as well as depending on how it behaves it might be hindrance.. you need very light, airy, bouncy soil that drains well and doesn't compact into a block when wet.
Especially for autos there it's all about the first weeks.. you want them setup in a pot where the tiny delicate roots encounter the least resistance, and they can suffocate easily with the first top watering if it's done too soon, as that can be too much water, compacts the soil around them and makes them lazy you kinda want them stretching and searching for the moisture in the pot.
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- #26
guerrillabalconygrower
Well-Known Member
I have to work within my constraints
. I’ll go for a 3 gal pot, coco perlite with chem nutes all the way when I take up the next grow. 11 hr photoperiod is the condition right now since it’s winter season. But I live in a tropical climate. Avg daily temp throughout the year is 30-35 Deg Celsius and humidity is ~60% except July to Sept which is monsoon season. Max photoperiod is 14 hrs, min is 11 hrs. I realise that the ideal time for me to go for a grow is to germinate around summer equinox so I can utilise daylight to the max. Hopefully April to mid June it can veg enough before the monsoon takes over and daylight intensity drops. They’ll naturally flip by Sept end - Mid Oct. Another aspect is the genetics to choose. Will opt for Sativa photo fems since they’re more suited to the tropical climate.
Fenderbender
Well-Known Member
Also does OP want big plants or big buds.. and well big plants don't go well with limited growspace.. or growpot.. or light.
I think finding the right auto might be the way to go cause it also sounds like March to June is the window?
I think finding the right auto might be the way to go cause it also sounds like March to June is the window?
i can think of a few. i can think of loads more where they will grow but only very poorly. outdoor grows are nip and tuck here unless you are in a green house. other places in the country you simply plant and walk away with little or no issue.
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- #29
guerrillabalconygrower
Well-Known Member
Yeah when I dug up the auto I could see that the soil had compacted around the roots. Now it’s potted into a coco-perlite only mix. Have given plain water today. Will start feeding nutes next watering onwards.Aye but do we have a climate where nobody is growing? I'm pretty sure people figure out a way to get something going wherever they are
But medium is first suspect here.. the combo ain't good, and the garden soil could be a culprit as well as depending on how it behaves it might be hindrance.. you need very light, airy, bouncy soil that drains well and doesn't compact into a block when wet.
Especially for autos there it's all about the first weeks.. you want them setup in a pot where the tiny delicate roots encounter the least resistance, and they can suffocate easily with the first top watering if it's done too soon, as that can be too much water, compacts the soil around them and makes them lazy you kinda want them stretching and searching for the moisture in the pot.
Have also planted it in a self watering pot as per a few suggestions.
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- #30
guerrillabalconygrower
Well-Known Member
Yes I meant big yields. Tight dense multiple nugs. Training ensures I get multiple bud sites. But the buds seem to be airy and short.
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- #31
guerrillabalconygrower
Well-Known Member
Where I live, local Sativa varietals grow wild and free. What we smoke here is low quality, densely seeded, naturally grown. Climate is quite ok. Definitely not grown indoors.
I have to work within my constraints
5 gallon is essentially a minimum. you might be able to pull off a 3. i wouldn't hold my breath. 3 gallon won't produce as much and is better suited for a grow you can control flip for.
some small autos might be ok in 3 gal.
you want them started when you have long days in spring / early summer. they'll need at least 6 - 8 wks of 14+ hours of sunlight to develop into anything.
some sativas will take up to 120 days to flower. make sure your season is long enough.
that's all light and climate. change those if you want the results you are after.
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- #33
guerrillabalconygrower
Well-Known Member
Nah can’t setup a grow indoors. That’s just the way it is. No way around it
then you need to learn to work with your season and climate.
if you have an extended season with only 12 or less hrs of light i'd run photos. they'll run like an auto and start flowering at the fourth or fifth node.
a lot of indoor commercial growers used to run photos 12/12 from seed to shorten the time it took to grow out. i still know folk who grow that way. it's recommended for a number of long running sativas. many sativas grow in the wild that way. look at what is growing around you.
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- #35
guerrillabalconygrower
Well-Known Member
I don’t mind the longer finish time. 12+ hrs daylight begins Apr 1st week, peaks by Summer Solstice to about 13.5 hrs and then tapers to 12 hrs by Sept end. But in my experience, the plants don’t start showing pistils till late Oct. I think tropical Sativa varieties would be my best bet since they’re accustomed to a photoperiod of 12+/- 1 hr throughout the year. Think climates similar to Mexico City, Sri Lanka, Thailand
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- #36
guerrillabalconygrower
Well-Known Member
6 months with avg 11.5 hr daylight; and the other 6 with avg 12.5 hr daylight. And warm throughout
get some 5 gallon fabric pots and either use promix hp or coco for media and use cannbis nutes. the ones you have *might* be ok. learn how to feed by hand with nutes.
check out what is growing local and start with that. it's already suited to your climate. proper growing technique and training will help the local genetics reach full potential. it will probably be a long grow, but one that will be much easier on you and more relaxed.
you are definitely in a sativa climate.
What kind of pots are you using? Fabric pots will take months to fill up completely regardless of their size.. Even when I veg for 45 days the roots still never fill out the container fully because the air prevents the roots from growing to the ends of the pot
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- #39
guerrillabalconygrower
Well-Known Member
Fabric pots yes. 1-1.5 ft tall plan but root barely 1/2 foot in
Fenderbender
Well-Known Member
Yeah it's not that, weren't there pictures in another thread?
The plant never really took off, it looked like a micro grow.
A problem of course if you can only grow outside is that well you can't really practice & experiment a lot, you only get to try once each year.
Finding someone from your climate that gets good results and learn from that would be good.
And well starting right with correct medium, pot setup and watering practices and nutrients is probably the first thing to do.
If you go the coco route following Bill284's method probably ain't a bad idea.
And there's a whole thread on how to set up the pot and how to water etc.. I'll have to go look for the links they are not in his signature anymore
How many can you grow outside?
The plant never really took off, it looked like a micro grow.
A problem of course if you can only grow outside is that well you can't really practice & experiment a lot, you only get to try once each year.
Finding someone from your climate that gets good results and learn from that would be good.
And well starting right with correct medium, pot setup and watering practices and nutrients is probably the first thing to do.
If you go the coco route following Bill284's method probably ain't a bad idea.
And there's a whole thread on how to set up the pot and how to water etc.. I'll have to go look for the links they are not in his signature anymore
How many can you grow outside?
