Northern Lights Auto: First Legal Grow

[finbad]

Ok here goes. My state recently legalized rec marijuana. We are allowed 6 plants per adult and 12 max per household.

My experience: grew a couple sickly plants in a closet about 8 years ago in college, resulting in about 2 oz very light airy bud. Since then I have 5 seasons of successful outdoor vegi gardening under my belt.

My plants: I ordered sour diesel fem from crop kings. Well a week later I received the seeds except they were northern lights auto. CKS had great customer service and shipped out the sour diesel at no charge. Being impatient I figured my first grow could be the autos since it is faster and if I screw it up, no biggie they were free. I started to germinate them on 1/6. I was not expecting all 7 to germinate but they did. So now I have 7 plants going and they are about 10 days old.

My setup: not trying to spend too much I built a tent w supplies from my garage. I built a 3x4x7 foot tent and wrapped it w white plastic that we use to winterize boats.

3 gallon pots
Miracle grow soil (I know I know I know, it's not ideal)
600w hps wing reflector 20/4
Couple fans and a 240 cfm for exhaust ( I'm going to upgrade this when I get a carbon filter and cool tube. I had the fan for a project I never started so no cost on that for now)
Not sure about bytes since I bought MC and I know that makes measuring bytes very hard

I have done a lot of lurking and found some awesome info on this site and figured I could share my grow so people can learn from my inevitable mistakes.

Mistake 1: probably too many plants for 3x4
Mistake 2: thinking a 600w open bulb would be easy to maintain ideal temps
Mistake 3: my soil

Here are a couple pictures

Close up

Feel free to point out more mistakes!





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[finbad]

Re: Northern lights auto-first legal grow

One more of the tent I built. Used 2x2s left over from a boat restoration. My basement is in two rooms, so I blacked the windows out in this room to make up for the light leaks. I'm a little worried about temps. Low is 57f and the tent runs about 81f. Is this range too extreme?


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[emptymaster]

Re: Northern lights auto-first legal grow

Ok here goes. My state recently legalized rec marijuana. We are allowed 6 plants per adult and 12 max per household.

My experience: grew a couple sickly plants in a closet about 8 years ago in college, resulting in about 2 oz very light airy bud. Since then I have 5 seasons of successful outdoor vegi gardening under my belt.

My plants: I ordered sour diesel fem from crop kings. Well a week later I received the seeds except they were northern lights auto. CKS had great customer service and shipped out the sour diesel at no charge. Being impatient I figured my first grow could be the autos since it is faster and if I screw it up, no biggie they were free. I started to germinate them on 1/6. I was not expecting all 7 to germinate but they did. So now I have 7 plants going and they are about 10 days old.

My setup: not trying to spend too much I built a tent w supplies from my garage. I built a 3x4x7 foot tent and wrapped it w white plastic that we use to winterize boats.

3 gallon pots
Miracle grow soil (I know I know I know, it's not ideal)
600w hps wing reflector 20/4
Couple fans and a 240 cfm for exhaust ( I'm going to upgrade this when I get a carbon filter and cool tube. I had the fan for a project I never started so no cost on that for now)
Not sure about bytes since I bought MC and I know that makes measuring bytes very hard

I have done a lot of lurking and found some awesome info on this site and figured I could share my grow so people can learn from my inevitable mistakes.

Mistake 1: probably too many plants for 3x4
Mistake 2: thinking a 600w open bulb would be easy to maintain ideal temps
Mistake 3: my soil

Here are a couple pictures

Close up

Feel free to point out more mistakes!





Sent from my iPhone using 420 Magazine Mobile App

Add hydrogen peroxide to your water you have algae growing on the surface. Look a little overwatered. Not too many just gonna have to stay busy lst and rotating and clustering them together. Looks pro imo. Bad start stuff, should work nonetheless. As long as it's not a control feed I've done alot with good old miracle grow.

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[emptymaster]

Re: Northern lights auto-first legal grow

Yes your range is somewhat extreme. Try not to go lower than 60f and never higher than 80f. 77f is optimal in most cases

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[emptymaster]

Re: Northern lights auto-first legal grow

Try gradually venting in stages to stabilize the temp it takes practice and creativity wich it seems you have no short of. Keep an eye on the cold for now. Try some pinch bending and fimming to train and not sacrifice precious leaves. Remember think drag race with autos. Hit em hard and carefully they pay back really well when done purposely. Utilize the ability to grow 24hr day in flower. It's all about how much growth u can get in x days

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[finbad]

Re: Northern lights auto-first legal grow

Try gradually venting in stages to stabilize the temp it takes practice and creativity wich it seems you have no short of. Keep an eye on the cold for now. Try some pinch bending and fimming to train and not sacrifice precious leaves. Remember think drag race with autos. Hit em hard and carefully they pay back really well when done purposely. Utilize the ability to grow 24hr day in flower. It's all about how much growth u can get in x days

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Thank you for all the replies. Last nights low in the tent was 60, so I'm moving in the right direction. I've read a lot of conflicting info on light schedules for autos, right now I am doing 20/4 but I could go 24/0 once I get my heat concerns under control. Hopefully in a week or so I can top these plants, seems pretty common practice among the growers on here.


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[emptymaster]

Watch for stress 24 hours can cause stress. It can also give you 4 hours of usable growth on a daily basis that is huge amounts of ours different over one plants life.

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[emptymaster]

This is my first auto. But I grew my photos 24hr a day in veg anyways. As long as the plants respond in a positive way it's really preference

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[finbad]

So what could be causing this? Assuming just miracle grow soil? Wish I knew before I planted these babies.

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[emptymaster]

Get better light you just look deficient or pH is off. Test your runoff water after doing a full watering take your sample as soon as you see water coming out the bottom

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[emptymaster]

They look fine just a bit stressed. It takes a whole lot to kill them. Just go slow be careful and always double check your mistakes. Keep atleast basic needs and any plant should thrive.

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[emptymaster]

I mean get better light I can't clearly see what's going on with the leaves. They look like signs of stress and nutrient lockout of Cal mag deficiency

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[finbad]

Get better light you just look deficient or pH is off. Test your runoff water after doing a full watering take your sample as soon as you see water coming out the bottom

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Cool thanks. Been holding off on watering since they were over watered. Ph going in is 6.5, I'll water tomorrow and test. As for the light, 600w hps is what I have to work w for now. Once I get the cooltube I should be able to lower it considerably. They do seem to be adding new growth fine. Thanks again.


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[emptymaster]

Give me basic details. What nutrients you are using, what soil, tap water, filtered water, spring or well. Your water source can cause alot of issues if you don't know what's in it. In my experience good old Reverse Osmosis filtered tap municipal water is great comes at a ready PH by itself 6.5

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[emptymaster]

If your pH is off plants can't eat let me get you a chart real quick for reference

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[emptymaster]

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[finbad]

Ok cool. I'm assuming that is ph of the soil, so in other words the water coming out after watering. Right now no nutes, plants are 11 days old. Is there a set of nutes u would recommend, I hear fox farm on here a lot. All my experience out in the garden is more or less organic, chicken manure, peat etc. just the way my old man taught me. Also I assume I need to buy calmag too.

Tap water at 6.5 ph
Miracle grow potting soil


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[emptymaster]

Don't need Cal mag with soil that age it's 100%ph issue. Try switch to 5gal filtered water usually cost 0.25-0.35$per gallon.

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[emptymaster]

Tap water has calcium and magnesium. If you want to use tap water prefill a reservoir with your water and a air pump the does atleast 2gal a minute or about 8l per minute. This will maximize oxigen in water and also gas off any harmful chlorines.

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[emptymaster]

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