Spring's 2nd auto Grow under CFL's. Auto Bomb and Big Bang Auto

[spring2012]

Hey guys! X thanks for the kind words. It sucks but I have come to near terms with the situation. Like I have a choice! Ismokes that Vid was crazy! I need a safety net!!! 3 plant back up...Hozona thanks man! I was lucky to have come across it.

I finally harvested the rest of my two girls buds.. Ill have pics and a final report in a few days. I just had some 4 day dried bud from the Big Bang and it is nice. I swear it smells like musky cinnamon and tastes way better than when it was quick dried.. A little speedy for me but I can deal with it. Makes me a bit Jumpy around sober folk. I still feel the buds are drying to fast but I want to be sure this time. last grow I screwed up with 3 of the 4 autos. Dried them too fast and put em in jars to fast. It appears as if I will end up over the 1 oz mark for each plant. Maybe 40 to 50 grams each. Ill know when I get a total dry weight.

My tent looks empty. I'm so happy too get a chance for a good cleaning. I threw in what I have going for my next grow. Looks like Ill do the Think Diff auto, Auto Mazar, Kandy Kush fem reg, Royal Queen Critical fem reg, and 4 sleestack X regs. I still have another Think Diff auto seed, and The Church Fem reg. Depends on what happens with the sleestacks. If I get any fems then I will have to re-arrange my grow a bit. No big deal. I have contingency plans. I'm not sure how long I'm going to veg the regs. Maybe a month? I really hope to take some clones and maybe pollinate a few branches from my Sleestacks. May get 1 male may get 4!!!

As soon as I get the final report done on this journal I will start a new one for the next grow.

 

[Green Knight]

Mate, I'm so sorry, that properly sucks. It's wrong on so many levels

 

[iSmokes]

You have some very exciting plans spring! I can't wait till this takes off..

Where are you planning to flower the regs?

 

[spring2012]

Thanks GK!! ISmokes... Not 100% sure. probably in my garage. I'm building a small space under my garden work bench 4x2x4. Probably not enough room to grow them with the other 3! Could that be done?

 

[iSmokes]

You'll be a better judge on that spring. My guess is it will be too crowded tho .. Give the regs time to veg, defoliate, top, lst, have fun with them! My regs have been vegging for 2 months, so many potential cuts available !!! I noticed they'll handle anything as long as you give them time to recover.

 

[spring2012]

Maybe I'll do that. I'll need to start another auto to keep my bong filled. I can clearly see the need for a separate veg area. I will def top at least one of the regs. I feel a little more comfortable with it now. I have been practicing on my pepper plants. Seems to be the same deal. I just get nervous about cutting the main top!

 

[CISCOKID]

DON'T BE SKERD! THEY CAN HANDLE IT AND SOME...

 

[CISCOKID]

Bro, I'm sorry...I just re-read the last post and I don't think topping an auto is a good idea..but veggies from experience can take it and some. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[spring2012]

No problem...I'm a little off right now myself! I meant the regs not the autos. I have had great experiences with 6 autos but I am anxious to tryout regs. Thanks for the catch.

 

[CISCOKID]

Cool bro...

I've learned to top my girls at the 3rd node for super squat and multi cola production...credit is due to NorCaliwood and others here. You can apply the FIM or str8 topping. Also do LST method as it grows new nodes to get maximum light usage.

 

[iSmokes]

Autos will get along with your regs as long as you're in veg. That's my situation right now
I'm currently waiting till my last auto finishes (in 2 weeks tops), then everything in the tent will be regs. I'll take cuts and start a journal as soon as this auto purple cheese finishes . She's looking very sexy too, I'm very excited about chopping, looks like dense nugs

 

[spring2012]

Cool bro...

I've learned to top my girls at the 3rd node for super squat and multi cola production...credit is due to NorCaliwood and others here. You can apply the FIM or str8 topping. Also do LST method as it grows new nodes to get maximum light usage.

Thanks for the advice. 3rd node...So that would be real early...like at 2 or 3 weeks? I did some lst with these two girls I just harvested. Worked well for me but I'm gonna use something diff than pipe cleaners next time. The FIM thing is a bit unusual to me. I need to give it a try with one of these regs. So let me get this straight.. when that 3rd node makes its appearance I just cut the whole damn thing off?

 

[spring2012]

Autos will get along with your regs as long as you're in veg. That's my situation right now
I'm currently waiting till my last auto finishes (in 2 weeks tops), then everything in the tent will be regs. I'll take cuts and start a journal as soon as this auto purple cheese finishes . She's looking very sexy too, I'm very excited about chopping, looks like dense nugs

Now that makes sense to my twisted head...I will def start one more auto and veg the regs till the autos are done. Gives me time to veg the regs and experiment. Just gotta have bud coming in. I really need to go with an HPS/MH. That would cure any space issues for me. Using my current fixtures I have to LST to get my CFLs in close. Basically the CFLs take up space like a plant.

 

[iSmokes]

Yeh man, I know what you mean about the lights! It's been so much easier since I've had 1 bulb in the tent , all my cfl fixtures are still running tho different projects !! Nothing went to waste lol
I have 4 over a 40 site cloner, and another 4 over 1 plant in a 1x1x3 flowering. I actually started taking cuts today for the grow. I can't wait for the auto to finish, I really want to see a 2L army in the tent

Man I wish the $$ tags on advanced led's weren't so high. I really want to downsize and an HID in a 2x2 will be horrible. A 300W led is $800 tho .. I noticed there's other LED brands with the same 3w lights and 1chip:1led (which is the recipe for success with led's I guess?) and they're a little cheaper. Advanced has so many good reviews it's tempting.
If you're sticking with the 2x4 then an HID will make you a much happier gardener, guaranteed lol!!
Temps will drop for sure, one light to handle, and much more intense lumens.

 

[iSmokes]

By the way, on topping, I usually wait till the 6th node appears. Not that the 3rd is wrong, I'm just sharing what I do. I wait till the 6th grows, then I cut at the 3rd. This is usually.. hmm.. beginning of week 3? yeh, and then LST will make a very bushy plant. Around 2 weeks after topping, you'll usually have 2 good tops + 2 equally sized (slightly bigger) side branches. I nail the whole thing down (lst) like a big + sign. One branch tied down to each side of the pot. A couple of days later, the tops will have recovered from the lst and turned their leaves up. I keep the lst and I top each end of the + sign. Every end will grow new tops and side branches along the "+" shape. You'll also have many little branches grow to be big tops in the middle of + sign because of all that light hitting. I did this same thing and it gave me plants with at least 12 tops in around 6 weeks. Add 2 more weeks of veg and that will give an awesome 2 month vegged reg.
Also, since they're not autos, it's a lot more convenient to start in small pots. I heard with smarpots you can just place the small one in a bigger one and add dirt? Haven't tried it, but I sure will. Good luck man

 

[Xlr8]

Now that makes sense to my twisted head...I will def start one more auto and veg the regs till the autos are done. Gives me time to veg the regs and experiment. Just gotta have bud coming in. I really need to go with an HPS/MH. That would cure any space issues for me. Using my current fixtures I have to LST to get my CFLs in close. Basically the CFLs take up space like a plant.

Similar to iSmokes, I wait until there are around 7 nodes, than top above the second or third true node. Top above the second properly, you should end up with 4 "tops". Above the third, 6 tops, etc. Not with autos - just regular strains. Great for indoor growing and canopy management.

I like to top above the second node, then use LST to bend the 4 tops "down", which forces side-branching behavior on the 4 main stems, creating a nice bush with many tops at a similar height in relation to the light.

 

[spring2012]

Really great advice to all. So far I get topping from your posts. I have watched vids on it but still need to be sure. This may seem real stupid but let see if I understand this: For sake of discussion lets say we have a 6 node plant. I want to top at the 3rd node. Does this result in losing the top 3 nodes?

 

[Xlr8]

Yup! You just cut the whole top right off the plant, above whichever node you choose. The side branches that are left, will be the new "tops" for the plant.

Here's a post I did on topping a while back, that might help - this is specific to a technique referred to as "Uncle Ben's Topping", but it's really just topping at a certain level, at a certain time. This is pretty much how I top my plants still:

Uncle Ben's Topping (UBT) - A technique popularized by a grower who goes by "Uncle Ben".

From Uncle Ben:

Selecting the point for topping to get 4 main colas -

To get 4 main colas, let your seedling or cutting (clone) grow to about 5-6 nodes and pinch out (cut) the stem just above the 2nd true node. The node where the cotyledons attach doesn't count. The result will be a redistribution of the auxins and other hormones that normally collect in the tissue of the terminal leader's tip.

These ho moans will be redistributed to dormant buds that reside in the nodal axis where the leaf petiole attaches to the "trunk", below the cut. The new foliar output response will be quick (within 24 hrs or so) if you have a healthy growing seedling and will be your future main colas - 4 instead of the usual 1:

The photo below is NOT from Uncle Ben or part of his tutorial -- it's my "Lucy" seedling from my previous grow, soon after it was topped with this method:
Xlr8's "Lucy", after UBT (Uncle Ben's Topping):

Xlr8's "Skywalker" after UBT:

"Lucy" at about 3-4 weeks bloom, I think? Notice the multiple tops/colas (this one was actually UBT'd and topped once more - there were about 8 colas/tops:

"Skywalker" also about 3-4 weeks bloom - there were a total of (4) tops like thsese (2):

 

[Hozona]

Lucy looks like the sour diesel I have going... after the third node was established I cut her little head off!

 

[CISCOKID]

Great to see Xlr8 and others are around to help you out bro

Practice all these tech's and you'll get to see what works for you better. HPS/MH is much better for all around growth because cfl's have such a short penetrating power. I always had Cfl burns on my leaves cause I keep them right on top.