New Grow, Help Needed

[Eirohir]

Just a quick update.

Watered 1litre each with nuts and calmag. There was a small amount of run off but it was quickly reabsorbed by both plants.

Its has been 5 days since the last watering and I will reduce the amount light by 1hr everyday and try to flip these girls a little early. I'm not certain if I can induce flowering with autos but I'll give it a try. If these get much taller I'll have take a saw to the closet and make it deeper

 

[Eirohir]

Day 48

Last feed with nutes today. I'm going to stick with plain old rain water from here on out. I have a 20 gallon barrel full to the brim.
I think I'm going to go with 1ltr per plant every 3 days and try to get them to really thicken up .
The first buds are coming in now, just a few pistins but the fun stage is finally upon us. These last 4 weeks are going to be epic.

Let the good times roll

 

[Eirohir]

Day 53 Major changes

I've been worried about my lighting setup for a while now and my new LED strips arrived today. So I had a lot of fun renovating the closet.

I stripped out the base and sat the pots in the drawer and I can still go deeper again if I need to. So that's nice.

The led strips came with mounting clips but they were so light and I didn't want the extra work, so I just taped them up there and even with the weight of the daisy chain cabled they just stay up there. So that's nice.

Finally I measured the lux (not lumens) and I got a 600 increase ish and I think that is exactly where I need to be.

I also whipped out the cheap LED panel, it added some lux to the grow space. But sadly I'm so congested there is simy no room for anything else in there, at this point the plants themselves are a tight squeeze.

FYI the first ss is just the led strips. The next is the giant cfl also. I really want to utilise the panel but I'm not creative enough to think of a way lol.

The Joy's of a closet grow lol.

Here are some pics. Enjoy.

 

[jodyhighrollr]

Can i ask why you are reducing the lights in an auto grow? My understanding is they will turn when they are ready so why give them less light that they need to grow? The same goes for nutes.. why would you stop giving nutes when you are just getting into flower??

 

[Eirohir]

Thanks for the question, as the title suggests. I'm an (idiot) novice. So I'll try to explain my reasoning. I'm happy to be corrected on any mistakes I've made.

I think I have increased the lighting in the closet by about 30% which is where I was trying to get it. The problem is the damn LED panel didn't fit anymore, so I figured it was still an increase without it. I might still find a way to use it.

As far as the no nutes policy goes, I have seen a few people on the Youtubes saying... paraphrase.... the soil is rich enough for 60 days of growth, stop feeding in flower and the buds at harvest will be better looking and better tasting.....

Not exactly scientific I know, but I wanted to see if there was anything to this. I can always feed again if things start to droop or change color too fast.

Feel free to school this fool xd but that's what I'm aiming at.

Thanks for the interest and taking the time to post something.

 

[SlyTown420]

I am not as experienced as some of the other growers here but from what I have read:

• In nutrient rich soil you may not need nutes for the first 30-days
• Organic nutes like FF Big Bloom (Bat Guano and Worm Casings) are great early on
• Fertilizer (non-organic) nutes are very important in flowering
• For taste and a clean harvest, you can flush 1-2 weeks prior to completion

You are off to a great start IMHO.

 

[Eirohir]

Yeah I agree, I have read the same thing, but... I have also read/watched growers completely dispell the idea that fertiliser is needed in already rich soil.

But now that two posters have warned against not using nutes for flowering, I have to admit I'm having doubts.

My original plan was to fertilise alot leading up to flower and then just use rainwater for the next 4 weeks. As you mentioned the soil should be rich enough for at least 20-30 days before deficiency starts to show, and by that time I should be close to harvest.

So I'm at odds with myself for choosing this plan now. If deficiency rears its head I'll add a little nutes to the water, of course I will. Until then I'll see if any more people want to steer me the right way, and hey this is only a learning experience for me so I won't be inconsolable if things do go terribly wrong for me.

Oh and @SlyTown420, thanks

 

[jodyhighrollr]

I use organic supersoil that I make myself and it’s so rich that I don’t use anything besides earth worm compost tea and molasses. Thinking about experimenting with aloe and coconut water this time. That being said I don’t know what’s in your soil but it might not be as rich as mine because I tailored mine to have everything the plant will need in it. What I did when I was using nutes was let the plant live off what’s in the soil for the first month then start to give them nutes in early veg and into flower. If your plant is isn’t showing sign of nutrient burn I wouldn’t change anything as far as nutrients go.

As far are your lights go my question was why are you turning it back an hour a day? I would keep it at 20/4 or 18/6 hours because your plants are autos and are going to go into flower when they choose to so you might as well give them all the light they can take so they convert it into sugars to make buds. When growing photos you would want to make the switch to 12/12 but my understand is that autos don’t need that and will flower when they are ready.

 

[Eirohir]

Gah your right!

The light thing was a waste of time, I just wanted to see if it would help in the slightest way.

I'll return to the 20\4 light schedule and thanks for shaking me back to reality lol.

As far as the soil thing goes, am I right or wrong to say the soil the plant lives in is still nute rich? I have been adding nutes every 7 days.

I suppose I'll just add 50% nutes next watering and reduce by 10% each week. I really don't want to have to flush, and I really don't want harsh tasting buds. This is after all a closet grow and I'm restricted in what I can and can't do.

Thanks and keep it coming

 

[Eirohir]

Alright alright.....

I put the lights back on 20/4, cycle and rearranged the LEDs and put the LED Panel back in to try get more lux per m2. Check out the lux reading at the canopy this time !

And boy oh boy did it work!

Thanks for the slap back to reality ! Boy that could of gone very wrong.

 

[Eirohir]

Day 61

Watered with nutes ph 6.2
2 litres each, 20% runoff. They were thirsty this time, the soil was bone dry, a good sign.
I must remember to water every couple of days now.

Light schedule is 18/ 4 reverted back from 12/12 since there is no gain in reducing light with autos. Thanks @jodyhighrollr for the reality check!

These plants are getting far bigger than I expected, just goes to show what happens when you get the right help. 30 ish days to harvest. May 14 will be 90 days I might wait a few days longer depending on the trichomes, looking for that cerebral high to de-stress and focus.
Hopefully it'll all go without a hitch.

 

[jodyhighrollr]

I'm glad everything is going well for you!! I would wait until you start to see amber trichomes. The nugs will swell up in the last few weeks so you don't want to cut them down prematurely. Just keep giving them love and I'm sure you will get a good harvest. Take it easy

 

[Eirohir]

Day 66

All is well, I will need to go even lower into this closet, or heaven forbid, the bloody summer comes in so I can move them outside lol. Would a 0degree night hurt the plant? I'm sure it would.

I spotted some burned leaves, I've been heavy handed in the feeding again.

I've been thinking about lst and still not confident, so I went a slightly Alt route to try spread the canopy a little. I used clothes pegs from the laundry to weigh the branch in certain directions. And it seems to be working just a clip on peg. No strings....the way I like it hehe. Oh damn sorry for the bad joke, not really lol.

ANYway things are looking up.

 

[Bilbobudkin420]

I completely messed up my last grow, sad as I am about it I'm still calling it a win because I learned a lot. I'm still determined to get it right.

I bought a new pack of seeds, Utopia Haze and these seem to be exactly what I was looking for.

"Friends of the folk at Barney’s Farm in Brazil had been raving about a special strain of sativa cannabis – indigenous to Brazil. After much cajoling and hunting, they got their hands on seeds. Thus began a 3 year selection process. Infusing no other genetics, backcrossing selected plants with strong genetics in the same line to get the desired phenotypes stabilized. They were looking for something original, with power, volume and unique taste and flavour. Finally just two phenotypes were chosen to work with. Hardy plants, – mould and disease resistant, and most important the power, taste and flavour are indeed unique. The high has indeed a sense of utopia, long lasting cerebral and heavenly" pretty nice!

Now my problem is.... well I'm an idiot and I need a few pointers, actually all of the pointers.

I'm going to assume everything that I have done to date was wrong and delete.

My setup.

Biobizz light mix + 50% potting compost.
3 gallon pot.
1000w cfl full spectrum. 5500k
Led panel 35w 165 red 125 blue 8 white 6 UV.
Grow space 2x2x3 feet

So before I even pop a bean what can I change for the better? Or perhaps a better question is what might the "ideal" setup be?

Don't get me wrong I have read hours of literature and watched dozens of hours of YouTube tutorials but I just can't seem to hit this nail. Any and all help is welcome.

I'm thinking 1 of these along side the Bubblious I popped last week.

Yoooo i see this journals been running for a while but forst off id take the potting compost out of the soil mix. Bio bizz light mix is perfectly fine by itself trust me .
Mind if i join yas? Ill be catching up shortly

 

[Eirohir]

Dude, friends are always welcome.

Coming to the finale now, your just in time,

 

[SlyTown420]

Day 53 Major changes

I've been worried about my lighting setup for a while now and my new LED strips arrived today. So I had a lot of fun renovating the closet.

I stripped out the base and sat the pots in the drawer and I can still go deeper again if I need to. So that's nice.

The led strips came with mounting clips but they were so light and I didn't want the extra work, so I just taped them up there and even with the weight of the daisy chain cabled they just stay up there. So that's nice.

Finally I measured the lux (not lumens) and I got a 600 increase ish and I think that is exactly where I need to be.

I also whipped out the cheap LED panel, it added some lux to the grow space. But sadly I'm so congested there is simy no room for anything else in there, at this point the plants themselves are a tight squeeze.

FYI the first ss is just the led strips. The next is the giant cfl also. I really want to utilise the panel but I'm not creative enough to think of a way lol.

The Joy's of a closet grow lol.

Here are some pics. Enjoy.

You know, I was looking at this again and, wouldn't it be bad ass if you could rig up something to lower those closet roof mounted lights down toward the canopy. Your LUX would be really good then. For reference a 300W LED I have generates 14,000 LUX at 24".

 

[SlyTown420]

Alright alright.....

I put the lights back on 20/4, cycle and rearranged the LEDs and put the LED Panel back in to try get more lux per m2. Check out the lux reading at the canopy this time !

And boy oh boy did it work!

Thanks for the slap back to reality ! Boy that could of gone very wrong.

Now I see the magic! Very nice use of those LED strips!

 

[Eirohir]

Yeah man, I had them on 24" zipties and closed the loop a few inches a week. Which means the canopy is getting even light distribution.

Problem now is, the plants are too big for the damn closet.
First world problems huh?

 

[SlyTown420]

Yes indeed. High class issues!

 

[Eirohir]

I couldn't take it any longer, lord I was crazed, and the feeling came up on me like a tidal wave....

I moved utopia haze outside, it was just impossible to keep her in the closet, I planted her straight in to the earth, I realized to last I should have kept her in the bloody pot .... I could hear roots tearing , it was like a nightmare.
Hopefully once she settles in to her new home things will improve for her. .... God I'm so freaking dumb....

The Bubblious on the other hand has room enough to stretch her little arms, since her sister moved out.

So "if" the UH survives transplant, we should have two very happy plants.
The biggest problem for the closet grow was the damn closet. So I am saying not recommend for tall plants , and dwarf plants just don't yield enough to make it worthwhile.

I'll continue this journal until harvest, as a few people have taken an interest, but ultimately the closet is for clothes growing plants in there is fun, but not realistic.