Northern Lights Auto Indoors In Coco

[Spacebouquet]

This is my 3rd space bucket grow this year, given the size of my operation, only 1 plant will germinate and be grown to completion in a 5L "clever pot". This is an upgrade in size from my first grow where I used 4 x 1.5L pots (expecting to keep the plants low) inexperienced decision as I ended up having to water several times in such short periods.
I also have mother nature to contend with moreso with this grow due to winter being on the approach here in the UK.

The seed I've selected is a Northern Lights auto Fem by Seedsman.
Info from the breeder;
Indica dominant
Autoflower
Feminised
THC 23%
CBD 0.5%
Expected to begin flower between 2 to 4 weeks after germination. Upto 9.5 weeks until harvest.

Growing space
My growing space is an 85L round ABS dustbin approx 3ft tall with an internal diameter of about 1.5ft² at the base. I have approx 2 to 3 inches all the way around the pot between that and the bin wall which helps with air flow.
I have built into the lid of the bin, 2 x 2inch PC fans which are capable of 72cfm each, mounted on opposite sides pointing down at a slight angle towards the dead centre of the bin. These are wired to be either used together/individually, depending on the climate. As I am only growing 1 plant, I don't use any odour control and have 2 exhaust holes cut out, 2 x 2 inch cut out of the lid (to expel hot air) and another, slightly smaller vent at the bottom of the bin. Using these locations for the fans and vents has allowed me to have better control over temperature and humidity by closing off certain vents and/or fans.

Lights
I am using 3 x 24w CFLs = 100w approx
4 x 15w led full spectrum light bars aligned vertically down the sides and I think it was 2m of warm white led strip lighting around the interior for better visibility.

Medium and nutes
Coco coir + perlite 80/20%
Wormganix organic worm castings 10% mixed into the top half of my pot.

Bio bizz (haven't worked the full schedule out yet, will commence using them 1 week in, 01/11.
Bio grow
Bio bloom
Top max
Fish mix
Cannas calmag for visible deficiencies.

I do also have Epsom salts but haven't worked out how much to use as a top dress yet so will confirm the amount after some more research

Saturday 23/10/2021
Seed sprouted after a couple of hours in my DIY germinatrix (patent pending) currently holding a personal record for shortest time to open and show the tap root.

Monday 25/10/2021
I transplanted my sproutlet into its first and final container. Temp 24.5°C humidity 72% (placed a glass over the centre to increase humidity)
Gave 3 or 4 light squirts of fresh water to the centre before adding the glass.

 

[Bill284]

This is my 3rd space bucket grow this year, given the size of my operation, only 1 plant will germinate and be grown to completion in a 5L "clever pot". This is an upgrade in size from my first grow where I used 4 x 1.5L pots (expecting to keep the plants low) inexperienced decision as I ended up having to water several times in such short periods.
I also have mother nature to contend with moreso with this grow due to winter being on the approach here in the UK.

The seed I've selected is a Northern Lights auto Fem by Seedsman.
Info from the breeder;
Indica dominant
Autoflower
Feminised
THC 23%
CBD 0.5%
Expected to begin flower between 2 to 4 weeks after germination. Upto 9.5 weeks until harvest.

Growing space
My growing space is an 85L round ABS dustbin approx 3ft tall with an internal diameter of about 1.5ft² at the base. I have approx 2 to 3 inches all the way around the pot between that and the bin wall which helps with air flow.
I have built into the lid of the bin, 2 x 2inch PC fans which are capable of 72cfm each, mounted on opposite sides pointing down at a slight angle towards the dead centre of the bin. These are wired to be either used together/individually, depending on the climate. As I am only growing 1 plant, I don't use any odour control and have 2 exhaust holes cut out, 2 x 2 inch cut out of the lid (to expel hot air) and another, slightly smaller vent at the bottom of the bin. Using these locations for the fans and vents has allowed me to have better control over temperature and humidity by closing off certain vents and/or fans.

Lights
I am using 3 x 24w CFLs = 100w approx
4 x 15w led full spectrum light bars aligned vertically down the sides and I think it was 2m of warm white led strip lighting around the interior for better visibility.

Medium and nutes
Coco coir + perlite 80/20%
Wormganix organic worm castings 10% mixed into the top half of my pot.

Bio bizz (haven't worked the full schedule out yet, will commence using them 1 week in, 01/11.
Bio grow
Bio bloom
Top max
Fish mix
Cannas calmag for visible deficiencies.

I do also have Epsom salts but haven't worked out how much to use as a top dress yet so will confirm the amount after some more research

Saturday 23/10/2021
Seed sprouted after a couple of hours in my DIY germinatrix (patent pending) currently holding a personal record for shortest time to open and show the tap root.

Monday 25/10/2021
I transplanted my sproutlet into its first and final container. Temp 24.5°C humidity 72% (placed a glass over the centre to increase humidity)
Gave 3 or 4 light squirts of fresh water to the centre before adding the glass.

Hello @Spacebouquet hope you are well today.
Great start, welcome to 420magazine my friend.
One thing you didn't mention in your set up.
How is your fire suppression situation.
Smoke detectors, large fire extinguisher?
Check this thread.

Fire Safety: How do you prevent a disaster?

Hello everyone. Here is my question. How do you prevent a grow room fire? Do not let this happen to you. For those of you who don't know I had a horrendous fire in my grow room. For those that do know, Thank you for all your love and support. Everyone here has been a godsend of love and...

www.420magazine.com

Stay safe.
Bill

 

[Spacebouquet]

Hello @Spacebouquet hope you are well today.
Great start, welcome to 420magazine my friend.
One thing you didn't mention in your set up.
How is your fire suppression situation.
Smoke detectors, large fire extinguisher?
Check this thread.

Fire Safety: How do you prevent a disaster?

Hello everyone. Here is my question. How do you prevent a grow room fire? Do not let this happen to you. For those of you who don't know I had a horrendous fire in my grow room. For those that do know, Thank you for all your love and support. Everyone here has been a godsend of love and...

www.420magazine.com

Stay safe.
Bill

Excellent point @Bill284 thank you for re-bringing this to my attention, as always safety first.

All of the materials for my growing space are either rated flame retardant or resistant to high temperatures. Having done alot of the wiring myself modifying extention cables into the shed and using light fittings instead of LEDs and drivers, I had a trusted electrician friend pop round to make sure all my circuits were safe and wired correctly, not that I was unsure but its always best to get a second opinion.

I do plan on purchasing a large co2 extinguisher in the near future after reading some horrific stories, much like your own Bill. Ideally I would find a way to make it work automatically but for now, I'm relying on my home electrics to trip the circuit and I don't keep any flammable materials in/near the shed to fuel any potential fires as an extra precaution.

 

[Bill284]

Excellent point @Bill284 thank you for re-bringing this to my attention, as always safety first.

All of the materials for my growing space are either rated flame retardant or resistant to high temperatures. Having done alot of the wiring myself modifying extention cables into the shed and using light fittings instead of LEDs and drivers, I had a trusted electrician friend pop round to make sure all my circuits were safe and wired correctly, not that I was unsure but its always best to get a second opinion.

I do plan on purchasing a large co2 extinguisher in the near future after reading some horrific stories, much like your own Bill. Ideally I would find a way to make it work automatically but for now, I'm relying on my home electrics to trip the circuit and I don't keep any flammable materials in/near the shed to fuel any potential fires as an extra precaution.

Excellent as I'm sure you are loath to call the fire brigade.
Stay safe my friend.
Bill

 

[Spacebouquet]

5 weeks +4 days since germination.

 

[Backyardigan]

5 weeks +4 days since germination.

So that's what the inside of a ufo looks like, I always wondered... I want one haha! Always been a fan of crafty micro grow spaces :shaka:

 

[Spacebouquet]

So that's what the inside of a ufo looks like, I always wondered... I want one haha! Always been a fan of crafty micro grow spaces :shaka:

Haha thank you, I was rather proud when I completed the build. Now I've caught the bug, I'm going to insulate the full shed and start utilising the extra growing space

 

[Backyardigan]

Can I make a request? Please be just as crafty with your shed as you are with your dustbin! I can't wait to see the shed!

 

[Spacebouquet]

Can I make a request? Please be just as crafty with your shed as you are with your dustbin! I can't wait to see the shed!

"Crafty" should be my middle name. I often get the face palm expression off the Mrs when I tell her about my projects.

 

[Spacebouquet]

5 weeks + 6 days.

Performed some defoliation to the larger fan leaves that were blocking quite a bit of light to lower potential bud sites. I have also removed some lower fan leaves that were touching the medium.

I also performed some low stress training. Albeit she is only about 12" tall from the soil to canopy, I have used garden wire to push down branches into their own areas to catch light.

I have also added a 10w warm white led bulb as flowering is expected to occur in the next week or so. I would have added another 2 x 24w cfls if I had them as the lamp holder I'm using has 5 lamp holders in total.

I have been watering only when dry, approx 200ml is given and it seems to last 3 - 4 days before looking dry enough to water again.

I have been following a schedule from biobizz designed for using just coco. As they are organic nutes, I have not deviated from their schedule as it is "harder to burn plants". I am just paying attention to what the plant wants and will adjust up/down when signs show.

Todays mix was made up of
1L tap water (97 ppm) 6.9 ph
2ml bio grow
1ml bio bloom
1ml top max
1.5ml canna cal mag to aid recovery from defoliating.

Here she is; I've also had a fiddle with the cameras settings too to try and get some better quality images, even when it rains

 

[Bill284]

5 weeks + 6 days.

Performed some defoliation to the larger fan leaves that were blocking quite a bit of light to lower potential bud sites. I have also removed some lower fan leaves that were touching the medium.

I also performed some low stress training. Albeit she is only about 12" tall from the soil to canopy, I have used garden wire to push down branches into their own areas to catch light.

I have also added a 10w warm white led bulb as flowering is expected to occur in the next week or so. I would have added another 2 x 24w cfls if I had them as the lamp holder I'm using has 5 lamp holders in total.

I have been watering only when dry, approx 200ml is given and it seems to last 3 - 4 days before looking dry enough to water again.

I have been following a schedule from biobizz designed for using just coco. As they are organic nutes, I have not deviated from their schedule as it is "harder to burn plants". I am just paying attention to what the plant wants and will adjust up/down when signs show.

Todays mix was made up of
1L tap water (97 ppm) 6.9 ph
2ml bio grow
1ml bio bloom
1ml top max
1.5ml canna cal mag to aid recovery from defoliating.

Here she is; I've also had a fiddle with the cameras settings too to try and get some better quality images, even when it rains

Good afternoon @Spacebouquet hope you are well today.
I'm still loving the bin pretty cool.
I have a couple tips for you
Coco needs fed every day with nutrients.
For best results you should put calmag in your water first and wait a few minutes then micro,grow, Bloom nutrients in that order.
Calmag every feed.
Then set your ph to 5.8 this is important.
Should be fed until you get runoff.
Coco needs to be kept wet at all times.
Never let it dry out.
When it drys nutrients shoot right through it.
Did you put anything in your coco?

Stay safe
Bill

 

[Spacebouquet]

Good afternoon @Spacebouquet hope you are well today.
I'm still loving the bin pretty cool.
I have a couple tips for you
Coco needs fed every day with nutrients.
For best results you should put calmag in your water first and wait a few minutes then micro,grow, Bloom nutrients in that order.
Calmag every feed.
Then set your ph to 5.8 this is important.
Should be fed until you get runoff.
Coco needs to be kept wet at all times.
Never let it dry out.
When it drys nutrients shoot right through it.
Did you put anything in your coco?

Stay safe
Bill

Hi Bill,

Coco is still a very new substance to me. The blend I've got going at the moment is, coco + perlite 80/20% I then added 500ml of wormganix wormcastings.

I do worry Bill mainly because I've stunted a few plants previously due to over watering.. but that was in soil, it essentially just turned to mud/claylike. I do use my finger to test and there is always "some" moisture on my fingertip. How moist can I keep it without drowning her?

 

[Bill284]

Hi Bill,

Coco is still a very new substance to me. The blend I've got going at the moment is, coco + perlite 80/20% I then added 500ml of wormganix wormcastings.

I do worry Bill mainly because I've stunted a few plants previously due to over watering.. but that was in soil, it essentially just turned to mud/claylike. I do use my finger to test and there is always "some" moisture on my fingertip. How moist can I keep it without drowning her?

Good morning @Spacebouquet hope everything is good today.
You can not over water coco.
It's like growing in a big sponge it has to be wet to work.
So keep it wet all the time.
In flower people feed their coco 2 sometimes 3 times a day.
You have to use cal mag every feed as coco drains it from your girl.
It's actually beneficial for nutrient uptake and should always be added to your feed water first.
She needs fed every day no plain water ever.
And everything going into the pot must be set to 5.8ph just prior to going in.
Do you have a nutrient line and a schedule?
Do you have a ppm meter, generally coco is fed in ppm not ml/l ?
Hope I'm not overwhelming you.

Stay safe
Bill

 

[Spacebouquet]

Haha no no, I think I'm in the right ball park with what your saying.. I should probably write it down and stick it in the shed because I must be recording over my own thoughts whilst reading about others

Yes, I have a ppm and a ph pen. The nutes "biobizz" range I use with their coco schedule, nicely brings the ph into the 5.8 area, ppm always seems lower than expected though as I normally get readings of between 500 to 600ppm once fully mixed to 1L. Am I right in thinking this is a touch on the low side?

Thank you for your help so far Bill, I checked her again this morning and the coco felt a bit dry so I water-fed her until run off.

 

[Bill284]

Haha no no, I think I'm in the right ball park with what your saying.. I should probably write it down and stick it in the shed because I must be recording over my own thoughts whilst reading about others

Yes, I have a ppm and a ph pen. The nutes "biobizz" range I use with their coco schedule, nicely brings the ph into the 5.8 area, ppm always seems lower than expected though as I normally get readings of between 500 to 600ppm once fully mixed to 1L. Am I right in thinking this is a touch on the low side?

Thank you for your help so far Bill, I checked her again this morning and the coco felt a bit dry so I water-fed her until run off.

She is what a monthish or so old?
600 -1000 ish ppms depending on water quality.
If you mix full nutrients on your schedule what are the ppm's?
What is you plain water ppm before you start.
Are you using calmag?
It's a must in coco, has to be in your mix first.

Stay safe
Bill

 

[Spacebouquet]

She is what a monthish or so old?
600 -1000 ish ppms depending on water quality.
If you mix full nutrients on your schedule what are the ppm's?
What is you plain water ppm before you start.
Are you using calmag?
It's a must in coco, has to be in your mix first.

Stay safe
Bill

6 weeks old she is today.
Ppm from my tap water is 100ppm ±10 ppms
I then add 2ml/L of Cannas cal mag
And then add the biobizz nutes, the nute schedule is based in ml/L and doesn't seem to refer to ppm at all?

 

[Bill284]

6 weeks old she is today.
Ppm from my tap water is 100ppm ±10 ppms
I then add 2ml/L of Cannas cal mag
And then add the biobizz nutes, the nute schedule is based in ml/L and doesn't seem to refer to ppm at all?

Most schedules are in ml/l.
What you do is mix it as you are then measure the ppm.
If it's high add water if it low add nutrients.
100 ppm to start isn't terrible.
Add your nutrients then measure.
6 weeks should have lots of roots so aim for around 800-900 ppm.
See how that goes.

Stay safe
Bill

 

[Spacebouquet]

Thankyou very much for your help, as I've watered today, I shall try that tomorrow.

 

[Spacebouquet]

Most schedules are in ml/l.
What you do is mix it as you are then measure the ppm.
If it's high add water if it low add nutrients.
100 ppm to start isn't terrible.
Add your nutrients then measure.
6 weeks should have lots of roots so aim for around 800-900 ppm.
See how that goes.

Stay safe
Bill

Thankyou very much for your help, as I've watered today, I shall try that tomorrow.

 

[Spacebouquet]

7 weeks + 2
Here is a little time lapse gif I have put together, as you can see compared to my last picture, she is looking like she is on the mend.