Total Noob: 1st Grow, Train Wreck Autoflower

[Norris McSquirter]

if it's green leave it alone , if it yellows or signs of a problem then feed with nutes , let the plant talk to you and tell you it is starting to need something , if it isn't broke don't try to fix it , these are super resilient weeds, I am not sold on the idea of lst and heavy bending of auto plants , so I am curious to see what this does to your yield on a auto .

I think that your advice on letting the plant talk to you is probably good for LST too... small, short and squat maybe don't bother. bushier and more aggressive growth potentially worth it.

I have 2 GDP blast autos, one 4th wk bloom the other 4th wk veg I didn't check the label and assumed that they were fem and my original 3 became 1 so I popped in another 2 and got one girl.

Both are very similar in shape - squat and small but in my newb enthusiasm both got LST.

I am not sure if this will yield better or the same as if I just left it - some extra small colas vs smaller main one.
older plant @25 days

Older plant day 50

I also have two auto northern lights blue glue. These are taller and bushier and based on the response in growth once LSTed I am pretty sure that this was a good call, yield will tell of course.

Day 22 NLBG clear shot of bulldog clips and soft wire too

 

[FoNz]

I have a grow that started only a little before yours, also with autoflowers.
Pulling up a chair to your journal to watch you and your plants progress!

 

[cphil]

I have a grow that started only a little before yours, also with autoflowers.
Pulling up a chair to your journal to watch you and your plants progress!

Dang, yours look WAYYYY bigger than mine do haha. I haven't done a single thing to the plants besides water though yet

 

[FoNz]

The seeds hit soil on 2/10 so they are a good deal older as far as autos go, yours are doing well. Any newer pics?

 

[cphil]

@FoNz
----
Update with photos from this morning!
Sprouts broke the surface on February 17 ~~ 15 days ago.
Crazy how Plant 2 is so much smaller and lagging behind. How are they both looking??

 

[cphil]

I'm about 32" up with my light. Should this be lowered a little bit or is that fine for how the plants are looking at 15 days in?

Since they are pretty green, I guess no need for nutes?

 

[Emilya Green]

I would recommend no nutes until you get to around the 4th or 5th node. Your plants look nice and green so far and I see no "need" for nutes yet. Back off on the water a bit though, the puffy leaves look like the lower roots might be submerged. You really need to let those very bottom roots dry out between major waterings so that oxygen can get down there, or those roots will shut down. This is the biggest problem with starting off in a large container.
My recommendation for an auto in a huge sea of soil is to water once properly, completely soaking the container to runoff. Then, while using the lift method to determine when that water in the bottom is finally used up, every 3 days water with 1/3 of whatever it took to saturate the entire container, and just water around the outside edges of the container, trying hard to not get any down the center, although some will go that way no matter how hard you try. Your goal is to keep the top spreader roots happy and active by giving them a small amount of water every few days, keeping those roots seeking out the small amount of water you supply around the outside edges, while waiting for the deep feeder roots to use up the massive amount of water stored in the bottom. When the bottom roots get strong enough to dry the container out in 3 or 4 days, starting to sync up with what is happening up top, it is then time to start properly watering the entire container, establishing a strong wet dry cycle and maximizing root growth all through the container.

 

[cphil]

I would recommend no nutes until you get to around the 4th or 5th node. Your plants look nice and green so far and I see no "need" for nutes yet. Back off on the water a bit though, the puffy leaves look like the lower roots might be submerged. You really need to let those very bottom roots dry out between major waterings so that oxygen can get down there, or those roots will shut down. This is the biggest problem with starting off in a large container.
My recommendation for an auto in a huge sea of soil is to water once properly, completely soaking the container to runoff. Then, while using the lift method to determine when that water in the bottom is finally used up, every 3 days water with 1/3 of whatever it took to saturate the entire container, and just water around the outside edges of the container, trying hard to not get any down the center, although some will go that way no matter how hard you try. Your goal is to keep the top spreader roots happy and active by giving them a small amount of water every few days, keeping those roots seeking out the small amount of water you supply around the outside edges, while waiting for the deep feeder roots to use up the massive amount of water stored in the bottom. When the bottom roots get strong enough to dry the container out in 3 or 4 days, starting to sync up with what is happening up top, it is then time to start properly watering the entire container, establishing a strong wet dry cycle and maximizing root growth all through the container.

Amazing, thanks for the reply! Got it.

When watering, do you need to avoid getting the water on the actual leaves? I know when you start using nutes you need to avoid any contact on the leaves, but what about now just with water?

 

[Emilya Green]

Amazing, thanks for the reply! Got it.

When watering, do you need to avoid getting the water on the actual leaves? I know when you start using nutes you need to avoid any contact on the leaves, but what about now just with water?

it does rain on the leaves... and they don't melt or anything. I think you will be ok. Just dont leave big water droplets on the leaves under strong lights... they can act like little magnifying glasses and burn the leaves.

 

[FoNz]

They are looking great cphil!

For decisions on light height I find it good to let the plants tell you, your internodal space is still pretty tight so the plant isn't telling you it's reaching for more light. Right now they look happy and healthy.

The smaller plant could also prefer to grow a little differently than the other. Seeds from the same strain and parents can express different phenotypes. As long as you keep them clean and green you are good to go!

 

[cphil]

Appreciate the feedback everybody -- @FoNz @Emilya -- obviously just a little worried on my first grow, trying to figure out the best practices etc. but it really does look like im on the right track since they are growing every day and looking green.

I've watched a few videos on LSTing, and I feel like if I were to bend my plants now, the bottom leaves would just be banging into the soil.. is that normal when you LST?

 

[FoNz]

Appreciate the feedback everybody -- @FoNz @Emilya -- obviously just a little worried on my first grow, trying to figure out the best practices etc. but it really does look like im on the right track since they are growing every day and looking green.

I've watched a few videos on LSTing, and I feel like if I were to bend my plants now, the bottom leaves would just be banging into the soil.. is that normal when you LST?

It can happen if you start an early LST, some people would remove the lowest leaves if they aren't doing much for photosynthesis anyways.

Others would hold off on LST until they are taller and have 3-4 established internodes (spaces between nodes). In that case the plant can be bent without bending the base immediately (though the plant may bend it's own base anyways in the process of adjusting).

 

[bobrown14]

First grow I would watch and learn.

Ask yourself before you do anything at all:

"Why am I doing this?"

Hopefully you will have some sort of scientifically based answer.

 

[cphil]

We are on about Day 18 here... it's truly amazing watching them grow!! I refill the humidifier in the AM before goin about my day, and when I come back at night to refill again, it's like they grew another few inches haha. Super fun to watch.

I bent the main stem back a little bit for a picture. There are a lot of little leaves starting to form underneath. That is where LST would be beneficial to give them light, right? Otherwise, I assume they will just be covered and not do much for the plant?

 

[FoNz]

Hey cphil, hope things are going well. I had great results with minor LST to expose growth sites, I now have pretty wide canopies on all my autos from doing so. Some of the lateral branches will find their way to the light without training though. So it's really personal preference.

I personally did near daily microadjustments to the training to keep the stress low as possible who still strongly directing growth.

 

[cphil]

Hey everybody. I have my first "issue" or deficiency, hoping you can point me in the right direction on where to look to figure out what this means or let me know what's going on exactly. I see these yellow spots, but just on one leaf on one plant.

 

[FoNz]

Hey cphil, based on the necrotic spots being so uniform and along the edge of the leaf if reminds me most of early calcium deficiency.

That being said it could also be a fungal leaf spot, but I lean towards the first option due to the locations of the spots.

What are nutes looking like and pHs of feed?

 

[cphil]

Hey cphil, based on the necrotic spots being so uniform and along the edge of the leaf if reminds me most of early calcium deficiency.

That being said it could also be a fungal leaf spot, but I lean towards the first option due to the locations of the spots.

What are nutes looking like and pHs of feed?

I've only been watering every 3 days with like 6.3 ph water. I haven't started nutes yet. I was thinking about starting soon

 

[FoNz]

I would probably start adding a small amount of calmag in with your waterings, keeping the pH about the same or even a little lower. I usually only add 1-2mL for 2 gallons if any, but my water is already calcium rich. Based on your plants size I might also consider starting a light nutrient feeding. I prefer to start 1/4 or 1/2 strength and work up, as to not shock the plants.

 

[CanadaBlue]

@FoNz
----
Update with photos from this morning!
Sprouts broke the surface on February 17 ~~ 15 days ago.
Crazy how Plant 2 is so much smaller and lagging behind. How are they both looking??

Your plants are just a few days younger than mine but look very similar. Mine are on day 24, sprouted on Valentines day, also very short. I noticed that once my plants grew their first set of 5 fingered leaves the growth rate increased quite a bit. They haven't stretched much but the inner foliage and the fan leaves have a lot of growth. Patience is the hardest and most important part, but so far they look good to me!