Mr. Sniffles Hydro AutoBomb Grow

[MisterSniffle]

Hello! This is my second grow journal (also, my second-ever cannabis grow).

The essentials:
Two Plants (started from seed)
Genetics: Bomb Seeds "Auto Bomb" feminized seeds, purchased via Attitude
Method: Hydroponics - Deep Water Culture
Container: DIY - 3 gallon pail
Medium: Rockwool/Hydroton
Nutrients: TechnaFlora BC Grow/Bloom (And the rest of Recipe For Success)
Supplements: Hygrozyme, Superthrive, Liquid Karma, Silica Blast
Lighting: Kessil H350 LED grow light, Magenta.

So, when I first decided to take a shot at growing my own meds I ordered some seeds from Attitude. I ordered some autoflowering seeds since they seem pretty straightforward for a new grower, and they finish fast. At that time I didn't realize that there are issues with yield and potency with most autoflowering strains when compared to strains that flower based on photoperiod. But I got excited and ordered my seeds before I had done enough research on autoflowering.

Anyway, since I paid all that money (and waited weeks for them to arrive!) I figured I may as well grow them, and maybe this is a good opportunity to test out this Kessil H350 LED light that I bought but haven't yet grown anything under. I have the Magenta colored one which is supposedly good for full-cycle growing but leans a little into red to help a bit more in the flowering phase.

I set up two seeds to germinate, hoping to end up with one female. I will grow one of these females in a GrowLab GL40 tent, which is pretty small! 16" x 16" x ~48". I originally bought this tent to hold a single bonsai mother (obviously for a non-autoflowering strain), but I will put off my mother project for a little while so I can do this LED/Autoflower grow in this small tent.

I started these seeds four days ago, so we'll start there:


A four-day old Auto Bomb seedling and her slower sister

One seedling is up and about, ready to shed its seed husk and open the cotyledons. The other seedling is still working its way up and out of the rockwool cube.

These seeds were prepped and germinated using the same method as in my JillyBean hydro grow journal.

Here's a gratuitous shot of the Kessil LED I'll be using for this grow. This is an older photo and shows the light in a larger 2x4x4 foot tent. This grow will actually be taking place in a tent that's about half the size of this one- But it's the same light!


Kessil H350 (Magenta) blazing away in a grow tent


-Sniff

 

[MisterSniffle]

Day 7 - Still Sprouting

Here's a shot of the two AutoBomb seedlings on the morning of day 7:


Two seedlings on day 7- One germinated earlier than the other

We've got a couple of little problems here:

-One seedling is way larger than the other- This is because one seed germinated about a day before the other. AND, that second seed has been having a bit of trouble getting up out of the rockwool.

-The seedling on the left, the tall one, looks stretched to me. I believe this is because this seedling was stuck in its seed hull for a couple of days too long, preventing it from opening its cotyledons. I believe the stem continued to grow during this time. I tried a couple of times to gently remove the seed hull, but it was on there pretty good. It finally split wide enough for me to slip off.

I understand that low light is the usual cause for stretching, and it's possible that this seedling would have benefitted from getting under the CFL light a day or two earlier. But I also wonder if the later opening of the cotyledons caused some stretching.


The second seedling- it has been 'stuck' here for two full days. Come on, little one!



-Sniff

 

[b.real]

I'm in. You should wet those cubes again, it may allow the roots to navigate themselves more easily.

 

[MisterSniffle]

Hi b.real!

You are correct, the cubes are looking/feeling pretty dry. I just now misted them with a bit of distilled water. I usually give them 2 to 3 sprays when they're looking dry, just until they turn a little dark and get a little bit of weight to them. I want to make sure not to put in too much water- don't want the lazy roots to stop growing in search of water and I certainly don't want any funk growing on the rock wool. So if anything I've perhaps been using less water than maybe I should be.

I'm fairly new to rockwool- I've always used RapidRooters in the past, so I don't have a good grasp on moisture control with rockwool just yet.

Any advice on just how damp these cubes should be during this time?

-Sniff

 

[b.real]

soak them, then let them dry a bit. that's the same way I do it now with mine, and they grow better than when I used to "baby" them and only give them 1-2 oz of water a day. they like it better, the wet/dry cycle.

ive got some babies growing here, and you can see how fast theyre growing, even though theyre already under a 12/12 light cycle. this is because im soaking the soil, then letting it dry for a couple days.

Snow White & More

good luck!

 

[MisterSniffle]

Thanks b.real. I think what you're saying makes better sense- Water the cubes well and let them dry versus trying to constantly keep them 'just damp'. I just mixed up a really light nutrient solution and soaked the cubes. I'll keep an eye on them but it looks like they won't need any water until tomorrow at the very soonest.

-Sniff

 

[MisterSniffle]

Day 11

AutoBomb autoflowering seedlings on day 11

The seedling in the front has the same stretching problem as a couple of my JillyBean seedlings, since right now all of my plants are on the same tray.

I fixed the stretching problem by lowering the light last week.

This is why the seedling in the back (which hatched a couple of days after the first) is of a more normal and healthy height. Nice sturdy stem, too!

For the past several days I've been watering these guys by pouring a very weak nutrient solution into the cubes until they are soaked, and leaving the cubes alone until they are dry. They usually require watering once a day, sometimes once every day and a half.

I have a very small tent (GrowLab 40) ready to take one of these plants all the way to harvest. Hopefully at least one is female! Everything's going well, just waiting to see roots

-Sniff

 

[Productgirl]

Sounds like it's going well Sniffles! They look beautiful so far.

 

[MisterSniffle]

Thanks Productgirl - I'll do another update later this evening. These guys are still plugging along.

-Sniff

 

[b.real]

put them in the tank my man and let em grow

if you don't want to turn on the led you don't have to, a cfl or two will grow them fast. place it 4-6" away from the canopy and watch how fast they grow. they need moisture and nutrients, put em in the home. idk what you guys do, I would throw them in soil right now is what im trying to say. give em something more to grow into, hydros gotta stay wet

only saying this because day 11 should be bigger by now. im confused is all. trying to help out as well and learn whats going on

 

[MisterSniffle]

Hi B.Real - thanks for your feedback again.

Tragedy has struck both of my very first grows. I knocked over the tray with my two auto bomb seedlings on it and they were both killed, their little stems snapped right where they emerged from the cube. So that's the end of this particular journal.

I've reorganized my grow area to be safer and more functional so that accidents like this aren't so easy to make.

I have started five new Aurora Indica seeds, and they're doing just fine. I'm going to keep my journals offline now, on paper, until I get everything ironed out. I have a couple of mistakes to make up for (see the Jillybean grow journal) so I'm going to use some of my cheaper seed stock until I have a better grasp of this tricky early growing stage.


PS- I believe these guys were so short on day 11 because they just weren't receiving enough light for proper growth. I've got a new lighting setup for seedlings now so hopefully we'll see more vigorous early growth with the Aurora Indica seedlings.

-Sniff

 

[David Bowman]

Thanks for sharing your grow with us.

We're so sorry this grow ended this way.

I’m moving this to Completed Journals now.

In the future, whenever you complete a journal, please use the Report Post feature found at the bottom left of every post, so we can be alerted to move it for you.

Hope all is well in your world.

Love and respect from all of us here at 420 Magazine.