Pot size/amount of plants and basic growing plan review please?

[Weffalo]

Hi people!

Really happy I've found this forum, I'd seen it before but struggled to remember the name and luckily I've just bookmarked it! Incredible resource which I will be using daily for the next few months and beyond!

I'm starting my first grow this week, just waiting on stuff to arrive. I have a fairly solid idea of everything I need and what to do but I'd just like to clarify whether I've got the right idea at least concerning plant pot size and amount of plants.

I'm going to be using the Mars TSL2000 complete kit with the 2 foot x 4 foot grow tent, my plan is too do three plants all of the same strain too start with and I've ordered a pack of FastBudz West Coast OG auto. For the size of the tent I'm planning to use 3x 7 Gallon fabric pots, I've read a lot of conflicting info regarding the best size for autos, do you think this would be suitable or I should go for smaller pots/more plants, smaller pots, same amount of plants? Or does it not really matter?

I'm planning to use BioBizz light soil and use the General Hydroponics Grow 3 part nutes, I aim to follow this feed chart.

One question I have is should I add perlite and/or worm casings to this soil or just use the soil and fert? I don't wanna mess up the recommend levels but I read both these things can help with making the soil/nutes more accessible for the roots?

I'm planing to do 16/8 but I'm not sure whether having the lights on 20/4 or 24/0 would be better for autos? Would it increase yield?

I read up on the watering guide, really useful info,so I plan to use a nursery pot then move it up to a 1gal pot then my final 7gal (or whatever would be recommended) to ensure proper root ball development.

I also read that when using synthetic fert you should flush 3x,does this still apply for autos? On the feed chart I only seen 1week of flush, do I just ensure 20% runoff every watering? Fert only every other watering? Any advice would be fantastic, as not everything I read would apply to autos in soil.

Does my general plan sound okay? Does anyone have any immediate issues with the soil, nutes, seeds or pots that I should know before I get started? I would appreciate any input lol.

The plan is to use autos for the first grow or two and potentially progress to photo once I've got the basics down. I'm obviously a bit anxious about getting it right but you can't find out until you try and I've been on the fence about growing my own medicine for far too long now!

Sorry for what I assume is a fairly common question, I'll be delighted to share my progress once I've got everything set up and hopefully in the future I can be a productive member of the forum!

Thanks for reading.

 

[Azimuth]

Greetings, @Weffalo . And welcome the forums!

The plan is to use autos for the first grow or two and potentially progress to photo once I've got the basics down.

I know autos are marketed as a good "intro to growing" plant, but I think you have to be a good grower to grow them well. They don't flower in response to light but rather on their own schedule and any little setback will permanently stunt them, so most auto growers end up with small plants and therefore small harvests.

The most common issue new growers face is either under or overwatering. More and more of us are growing with SIPs (sub irrigated planters) which completely eliminates watering as an issue, and it grows bigger and healthier plants for less effort. I'd encourage you to come check out #SIP Club. Even if it's too late to change your pot plans for this grow, it will be well worth your consideration for future ones.

Sorry for what I assume is a fairly common question, I'll be delighted to share my progress once I've got everything set up and hopefully in the future I can be a productive member of the forum! Thanks for reading.

No problem there. There are lots of very knowledgeable and helpful growers that frequent this forum, so ask away, and do start a thread for the grow. You will attract lots of help if you need/want it.

 

[Weffalo]

Thank you very much @Azimuth, I will certainly read up on how SIP works and to be honest, it may be worth implementing as I haven't yet started the grow. The size on those grows is insane and combine that with the fact it's less hassle and chance of ruining the plant and it seems a no-brainer.

My only issue is the availability of items in the UK, unfortunately those Earthboxes seem to be unavailable and I'd much prefer a pre-made solution to a DIY one at least for now. Do you think something like https://www.patchplants.com/gb/en/pots/reservoir-pot-391/?variant=2151 this would work or is it missing anything important?

I understand completely about the autoflowers, i am planning to skip topping/lst because of the fact it's on such a deadline and mistakes can be costly. I'll definitely consider photos for the next grow but I do now have a few good auto seeds I need to use.

I'll definitely post once I'm set up, appreciate the reply mate!

 

[Azimuth]

Those pots will probably work fine assuming they also have the air gap built in which I can't tell from the pics. @Krissi Carbone uses something similar but she waters from the top so you'd still have to learn proper watering, at least until the plants are big enough to drain the water daily.

 

[Weffalo]

Ok thanks mate, I do think it has a gap but it's probably too expensive for something that isn't perfect for use. I'll look into the DIY suggestions too from the other post and hopefully I'll find something that works either for this grow or the next.

 

[Azimuth]

They're really easy to build, at least the way I do them. On page two of the thread I linked to I describe how to build the ones I have from Solo Cups, 1L, 2-5 Gallon buckets and up to 17 gallon tubs.

You really just need to find the right containers and that isn't all that hard and have some way to make holes. I use a small hole saw for the fill tubes holes and a soldering iron for the overflow hole and the lots of small vent holes in the inner container but a small drill bit would work just as well for the smaller holes.

For my 2 gallon bucket build I think I spent a grand total of $10-12 US. The bucket was $6, the container I used for the dome was maybe $2 and the plumbing pipe and fittings for the fill tubes were another $2-4. You can buy a commercial insert for a 5 gallon bucket for $15 plus whatever a bucket would cost you if you can't find one hanging around.

 

[Weffalo]

Ok that definitely gives me confidence, really appreciate you taking the time to give me advice thank you @Azimuth !

Definitely doesn't seem too difficult, I will be sure to post pictures/get more advice in the thread once I've got something together <3

 

[Bill284]

Hi people!

Really happy I've found this forum, I'd seen it before but struggled to remember the name and luckily I've just bookmarked it! Incredible resource which I will be using daily for the next few months and beyond!

I'm starting my first grow this week, just waiting on stuff to arrive. I have a fairly solid idea of everything I need and what to do but I'd just like to clarify whether I've got the right idea at least concerning plant pot size and amount of plants.

I'm going to be using the Mars TSL2000 complete kit with the 2 foot x 4 foot grow tent, my plan is too do three plants all of the same strain too start with and I've ordered a pack of FastBudz West Coast OG auto. For the size of the tent I'm planning to use 3x 7 Gallon fabric pots, I've read a lot of conflicting info regarding the best size for autos, do you think this would be suitable or I should go for smaller pots/more plants, smaller pots, same amount of plants? Or does it not really matter?

I'm planning to use BioBizz light soil and use the General Hydroponics Grow 3 part nutes, I aim to follow this feed chart.

One question I have is should I add perlite and/or worm casings to this soil or just use the soil and fert? I don't wanna mess up the recommend levels but I read both these things can help with making the soil/nutes more accessible for the roots?

I'm planing to do 16/8 but I'm not sure whether having the lights on 20/4 or 24/0 would be better for autos? Would it increase yield?

I read up on the watering guide, really useful info,so I plan to use a nursery pot then move it up to a 1gal pot then my final 7gal (or whatever would be recommended) to ensure proper root ball development.

I also read that when using synthetic fert you should flush 3x,does this still apply for autos? On the feed chart I only seen 1week of flush, do I just ensure 20% runoff every watering? Fert only every other watering? Any advice would be fantastic, as not everything I read would apply to autos in soil.

Does my general plan sound okay? Does anyone have any immediate issues with the soil, nutes, seeds or pots that I should know before I get started? I would appreciate any input lol.

The plan is to use autos for the first grow or two and potentially progress to photo once I've got the basics down. I'm obviously a bit anxious about getting it right but you can't find out until you try and I've been on the fence about growing my own medicine for far too long now!

Sorry for what I assume is a fairly common question, I'll be delighted to share my progress once I've got everything set up and hopefully in the future I can be a productive member of the forum!

Thanks for reading.

Welcome to 420Magazine my friend.
7 gals are great I love them.
But may be a bit large for your tent.
5's might fit better.
Also I a have a method for filling bags you will find invaluable.
It's 8n my Heavens Shores thread.
Have a look.
If you need help with anything let me know.
Take care.




Stay safe
Bill284

 

[Azimuth]

Welcome to 420Magazine my friend.
7 gals are great I love them.
But may be a bit large for your tent.
5's might fit better.
Also I a have a method for filling bags you will find invaluable.
It's 8n my Heavens Shores thread.
Have a look.
If you need help with anything let me know.
Take care.




Stay safe
Bill284

Yep, Bill's method is a great one as well. Same basic idea of getting air to the roots. He does it with extra perlite layers and then adds lots of great amendments to the soil.

Lot's of ways to grow this plant. You won't go wrong with either! But I wouldn't use his soil structure if you go with the SIP since it doesn't wick the moisture up as well. His is much better if you are a top waterer since you can't overwater.

Different strokes and all that.

Hi Bill,

 

[Weffalo]

Welcome to 420Magazine my friend.
7 gals are great I love them.
But may be a bit large for your tent.
5's might fit better.
Also I a have a method for filling bags you will find invaluable.
It's 8n my Heavens Shores thread.
Have a look.
If you need help with anything let me know.
Take care.




Stay safe
Bill284

Hi Bill, thank you very much

I've perused your Heavens Shores thread but I will definitely dedicated more time too it when I can, in just the two threads linked to me here there's a crazy amount of useful info to absorb, this place is an amazing resource!

I actually got some 5gals with the kit I ordered so I will stick with those if it seems the sevens will be a squeeze! By filling bags you mean the way you fill the fabric pots right? Sorry I'm not sure so wanted to double check

@Azimuth Thanks again, appreciate the clarification that I can't be mixing these two methods. With everything already purchased and here today I might be tempted to use Bills method for filling this first time and work on building the perfect self (edit.. sub!) irrigation pots ready for my second attempt. I've both been told here and also read online that overwatering is the most common issue when it comes to autos or even new growers in general so a technique to avoid overwatering sounds like something worth learning too!

 

[Bill284]

Hi Bill, thank you very much

I've perused your Heavens Shores thread but I will definitely dedicated more time too it when I can, in just the two threads linked to me here there's a crazy amount of useful info to absorb, this place is an amazing resource!

I actually got some 5gals with the kit I ordered so I will stick with those if it seems the sevens will be a squeeze! By filling bags you mean the way you fill the fabric pots right? Sorry I'm not sure so wanted to double check

@Azimuth Thanks again, appreciate the clarification that I can't be mixing these two methods. With everything already purchased and here today I might be tempted to use Bills method for filling this first time and work on building the perfect self (edit.. sub!) irrigation pots ready for my second attempt. I've both been told here and also read online that overwatering is the most common issue when it comes to autos or even new growers in general so a technique to avoid overwatering sounds like something worth learning too!

Yes what you put in the soil or coco before.
Then exactly how to put the ingredients in what order and amounts.
All in pictures everything labeled in pictorials.
Solo cup to 50 gallon bag.
Everything in between all in labeled pics. EASY.
Roots are your most important part. Imo.
Give them the start and home they need.
It's very very easy.
I'm always here for questions.




Stay safe
Bill284

 

[SmokingWings]

Does my general plan sound okay? Does anyone have any immediate issues with the soil, nutes, seeds or pots that I should know before I get started? I would appreciate any input lol.

Good job on the research. It is surprising how many people think it is as easy as looking at a seed and everything will just fall together.

Excellent points have come up so far. I have to go along with @Bill284 when he mentions that using three 7 gallon pots might end up taking too much room.

A common recommendation is to figure on 4 square feet per plant. If the tent is 2 ft X 4 ft that is 8 square so 2 plants will have plenty of room but 3 might start to cramp them together.

If your plants grow large enough the branches and leaves will be spreading out past the edge of the pots. They get tangled up with each other and that can make it harder to turn them around or work on any plant maintenance that might be needed.

Something that has not been mentioned yet involves how high the tent is. Got to keep in mind up much room from floor to ceiling. Measure the pots and subtract from the height of the tent. Measure how much space from the lights to the tent ceiling and subtract. Figure out the space between the lights and the top of the plant canopy and subtract. Once done subtracting the answer will give an idea of how high the plants can grow including the stretch during the early part of flowering.

 

[CaptainLucky]

Hi people!

Really happy I've found this forum, I'd seen it before but struggled to remember the name and luckily I've just bookmarked it! Incredible resource which I will be using daily for the next few months and beyond!

I'm starting my first grow this week, just waiting on stuff to arrive. I have a fairly solid idea of everything I need and what to do but I'd just like to clarify whether I've got the right idea at least concerning plant pot size and amount of plants.

I'm going to be using the Mars TSL2000 complete kit with the 2 foot x 4 foot grow tent, my plan is too do three plants all of the same strain too start with and I've ordered a pack of FastBudz West Coast OG auto. For the size of the tent I'm planning to use 3x 7 Gallon fabric pots, I've read a lot of conflicting info regarding the best size for autos, do you think this would be suitable or I should go for smaller pots/more plants, smaller pots, same amount of plants? Or does it not really matter?

I'm planning to use BioBizz light soil and use the General Hydroponics Grow 3 part nutes, I aim to follow this feed chart.

One question I have is should I add perlite and/or worm casings to this soil or just use the soil and fert? I don't wanna mess up the recommend levels but I read both these things can help with making the soil/nutes more accessible for the roots?

I'm planing to do 16/8 but I'm not sure whether having the lights on 20/4 or 24/0 would be better for autos? Would it increase yield?

I read up on the watering guide, really useful info,so I plan to use a nursery pot then move it up to a 1gal pot then my final 7gal (or whatever would be recommended) to ensure proper root ball development.

I also read that when using synthetic fert you should flush 3x,does this still apply for autos? On the feed chart I only seen 1week of flush, do I just ensure 20% runoff every watering? Fert only every other watering? Any advice would be fantastic, as not everything I read would apply to autos in soil.

Does my general plan sound okay? Does anyone have any immediate issues with the soil, nutes, seeds or pots that I should know before I get started? I would appreciate any input lol.

The plan is to use autos for the first grow or two and potentially progress to photo once I've got the basics down. I'm obviously a bit anxious about getting it right but you can't find out until you try and I've been on the fence about growing my own medicine for far too long now!

Sorry for what I assume is a fairly common question, I'll be delighted to share my progress once I've got everything set up and hopefully in the future I can be a productive member of the forum!

Thanks for reading.

Welcome to the @420 Magazine family. The best advice I can give you is to read everything you can from @Emilia thread on watering and auto’s. CL

 

[Weffalo]

Thanks a lot for the replies people! Really appreciate any input, my seeds have arrived and suffice to say I'm very excited, I am someone who smokes a lot of high quality buds so I don't doubt my first crop won't be reaching the standards I would like but I know everyone's gotta start somewhere!

@SmokingWings Thanks mate! So the full kit I'm using is this one: Mars Hydro TSL2000 LED Grow Light+2'x4'(60x120cm) Indoor Complete Grow Tent Kits

The tent looks to be 120cm tall and the strain I'm growing can be 70-100cm tall so hopefully I don't run into any issues, I know with photos you can do a lot more training of the plant to make it grow more outwards but as I'm not going to be touching the autos I don't know?

@CaptainLucky Thank you very much, glad to be here! I have read a lot of that thread already but I'll be reviisting before every watering I'm sure lol..

@Bill284 So based on what I've read from your thread I've made a few more purchases, some of the Dnyomyco, some Frass and some superthrive. I see your using airpots but would it be fine using the fabric pots I have? I'm guessing the airpots may just do the same job slightly better?

I have perlite, soil, dynomyco, frass, superthrive and GH Flora 3part nutrients. bokashi is a compost you make yourself or? I can't seem to find anything like that for sale here in the UK so could I get away with not using that?

The only frass I can seem to find is "Ecothrive Charge" which seems to be more than just Frass but it's got plenty of stellar reviews recommending it!

Just wanted to make sure I have everything I will need before I get started, your grow diary is.. comphrehensive to say the least but it will take me some time to make my way through it lol.

 

[Roy Growin]

Welcome to 420 @Weffalo [or should I just say 'Hello mate...' lol]

I've had problems with lite mix/BB in flower so generally stick to coco, but I did try a new UK product from Westland last time round; New Horizon enriched coco blend is very good - no issues with pH, watering or feeding [£8/50L]

Ecothrive is the frass I have used with garden centre myco - good stuff but keep it away from the top of the soil or it will go mouldy and become a fungus gnat farm, esp with BB

I pinch autos out once at node 3-4 and usually end up with 8 good colas, aim for about 4oz per plant in 3-5L pots
I can run max 8 plants per run in a 3' x 3' tent, though I did do a run of two seeds per 3L pot once to use up spare seeds and grew 16 single cola plants - huge yield for the same leccy

Bokashi is best suited for outdoor/greenhouse grows - I tried it, then chucked it away

Look forward to seeing your setup in a grow journal

 

[Weffalo]

Welcome to 420 @Weffalo [or should I just say 'Hello mate...' lol]

I've had problems with lite mix/BB in flower so generally stick to coco, but I did try a new UK product from Westland last time round; New Horizon enriched coco blend is very good - no issues with pH, watering or feeding [£8/50L]

Ecothrive is the frass I have used with garden centre myco - good stuff but keep it away from the top of the soil or it will go mouldy and become a fungus gnat farm, esp with BB

I pinch autos out once at node 3-4 and usually end up with 8 good colas, aim for about 4oz per plant in 3-5L pots
I can run max 8 plants per run in a 3' x 3' tent, though I did do a run of two seeds per 3L pot once to use up spare seeds and grew 16 single cola plants - huge yield for the same leccy

Bokashi is best suited for outdoor/greenhouse grows - I tried it, then chucked it away

Look forward to seeing your setup in a grow journal

Hey mate

Really happy to see your reply @Roy Growin , thank you very much. It's invaluable to have all this input but especially so from someone who is also bound by the UK's restrictions lol.

So regarding the BioBizz, what problems did you have? I chose that because it's supposedly low-nutrients so I felt it would be good when I am using a 3part fert so as not to overdo it, I heard with autos less is more especially. I unfortunately have 100L of the BioBizz so I'm just wondering if I can get away with using it or it's a waste of time and I should just give it to somebody with a garden lol?

Appreciate the info on the Bokashi and Echothrive, I plan to just mix in 1L per 50L at the start so it should be dispersed enough not to cause the issue with mould I think? I won't put any as topfeed but I didn't plan to do any top feeding just watering following the feed schedule.

Could you please expand on pinching out? If I could get anywhere near 4oz per plant that would be incredible, really useful to have something to aim towards thanks

So I was planning to use much bigger pots than you are, if I used the 5 gals I have it would be 3 plants and potentially still a squeeze from what I've been told, would you recommend using the smaller pots for the autos or should I just go bigger and hopefully aim for bigger yields?

I'll definitely be posting a grow journal, lights and stuff should be here this week and I'll be posting pics of my initial setup right away! Very excited.

Edit: Regarding the coco vs soil, I opted for soil first as I was under the impression I'd maybe have less ph issues and won't need to manually adjust nutrient/ph levels as much, so in theory should have an easier time for my first grow? Not sure if that's all accurate.

 

[Roy Growin]

BB is good for starters, but totally runs out of energy by early flower, you'll need some PK/Micros in which case you may as well be in coco, but if that's what you got, use it because it can produce great product
Don't mix frass/myco through the soil, just the bottom 1/3 or so
I use smaller pots than most, always have - much to the disdain of some growers, but these plants will grow in a crack in the pavement, they don't need mollycoddling
If you put 1-2" of perlite in the bottom of the pot, you can leave water in the tray like a SIP
As for pinching out, it's simply the very tiny tip after node three, but be very careful NOT to FIM

Pinched out at node 3-4

 

[SmokingWings]

The tent looks to be 120cm tall...

The picture makes the tent look like it could be 170 to 180 cm tall so you should be OK as far as how much spacing from floor to ceiling.

 

[Weffalo]

The picture makes the tent look like it could be 170 to 180 cm tall so you should be OK as far as how much spacing from floor to ceiling.

Yeah it's 177m tall actually I'm just dumb thanks

 

[Weffalo]

BB is good for starters, but totally runs out of energy by early flower, you'll need some PK/Micros in which case you may as well be in coco, but if that's what you got, use it because it can produce great product
Don't mix frass/myco through the soil, just the bottom 1/3 or so
I use smaller pots than most, always have - much to the disdain of some growers, but these plants will grow in a crack in the pavement, they don't need mollycoddling
If you put 1-2" of perlite in the bottom of the pot, you can leave water in the tray like a SIP
As for pinching out, it's simply the very tiny tip after node three, but be very careful NOT to FIM

Pinched out at node 3-4

Ahh by pinch you mean cut right? This is topping? Sorry I'm not familiar with all the terminology so only going from what I've heard lol. Upon googling FIM means not entirely cutting it all and leaving 25% which will grow?

Regarding leaving water in the tray, should i be watering to 20% runoff? Wouldn't it be bad for water/runoff to be mixing? Or if you did it this way would you just make sure to water less from the top?

I'm just very conscious about flushing properly if possible as nothing worse than badly flushed weed!