Tugafox 1st Indoor Grow - Soiless Mix- Money Maker - Grow Journal 2014

[Tugafox]

Hi to all,
The girls are doing fine, they´re fattening.
I haven´t updated my journal anymore because I came across the info in the Forums that I should not have a grow journal if I´m using LEDs from non sponsors.
I have sent 2 PM´s to staff about this issue because I def. don´t want to be banned or act against the rules.
If I had known this before, I wouldn´t have started this journal. My sincere apologies.

The first PM was sent in 25th April. The second was sent in 30th April to a different staff member. Until today, I had no answer.

I´m still waiting/hoping for an answer from staff and will not make anymore updates but will continue to follow other journals and chime in whenever I can.

All the best,

 

[Calyx Hunter]

Umm I'm not an expert on Member Guidelines and all that crap but I'm pretty sure it is ok for you to have a journal and post pics with any kind of light source or manufacturer you want.

What is not allowed is posting links to outside websites that are not sponsors

You can post pictures with the other LED manufacturers name or whatever in the picture just not post links to outside websites. If they only allowed pictures of equipment from their sponsors there would not be that many pictures on this site. This site is about spreading cannabis awareness. It'd be pretty lame if that awareness were limited only to sponsors.

 

[Tugafox]

Hi Calyx Hunter,
Welcome and Thank You for sharing your thoughts on this. I read the FAQ/Rules for journals and understood it this way but I can be wrong. That´s why I sent PMs with the same question to 2 different staff members so they would clarify this to me but, so far, no answers.
In any case, I didn´t show the LED I´m using in any pictures, nor did I mentioned the brand or linked or had intention to do it. You can only see I´m using LEDs by the colour of some pics.
I´m here to learn and for the love of growing but I understand this is also a website supported by sponsors.
Agree with you on the last part.
Anyway, I´ll wait for instructions from staff on how to proceed. I think it´s more correct from me to do so.
Will visit you journal right away & sorry I only answered now - I was totally absorbed reading a journal of autos which is of my interest as I´m running some myself.
Happy Growing!

 

[Calyx Hunter]

You sound like an honorable person Tugafox and I respect that.

I've scoured for journals on Auto strains too. Those genetics are very interesting. I will be trying an Ultraviolet Auto seed from Samsara Seeds very soon which I got free from Bonzaseeds.com. I think Autos lend perfectly to outdoor grows. Since the photoperiod dosn't matter with them, why not put them under the best light we can't control.

 

[Tugafox]

Thank you, respect & growers love back to you sir.

I also find autos very interesting. I just checked Ultraviolet Auto, didn´t know it before and it sounds very good! Sweet and fruity, crossed with Lavander, high yielder & strong lasting effect seems like a good combination for my preferences. It might have a strong smell too cause of it´s Skunk heritage.
I have a "Quick One" and a "WW" (both fem) from Royal Queen Seeds, the first one is already flowering and it´s turning out a very robust and easy to grow plant. I´m growing both autos with sun and cfls. Can´t beat good old sun!
For my next run on autos I´d like to try a Blueberry and Cream Caramel but i will surely get them bigger pots than I used this time

 

[Calyx Hunter]

How big are the pots you are going to?

I'm undecided on pot size for the auto. I was thinking about using a 7 gallon Smart Pot.

 

[Tugafox]

Hi CH,
I´m growing the Quick One Auto near my windowsill (during the day, at night she joins the other girls in the tent for some hours) so the space I have in width for sunning is very limited. Because of this, I had to put her in a 11 liters pot (nearly 3 usa gallons).

From what I´ve read from more experienced growers and from what I´ve already seen in my short experience with autos, they tend to send their taproot further down than regular strains. So, imo, when growing autos we should consider using a pot as heigh as we can. This is also strain dependent, some autos grow bigger and taller than others.

I think that with a 7 gallon Smart Pot you will do well.

For autos, I´m also following the advices:

~ Avoid transplanting - plant in definitive pots
~ Feed less than regular strains - I started feeding after 20 days
~ Avoid any type of stress - no LST, Topping, FIM & no defoliating

In my next grow with autos, and with the conditions I have, I will bet in one plant only in a much bigger pot. Bigger pots= bigger plants = bigger buds ~ So true! even for autos.


Hope it helps,

 

[Tugafox]

Here´s some pics and info of the Quick One Auto from Royal Queen Seeds that I´m growing:

~ Strain: Quick One Autoflowering - Williams Wonder X N. Lights X Ruderalis
~ Sativa 10%, Indica 60%, Rud. 30%, 8/9 weeks
~ Hit dirt: 27 March 2014
~ 11 liters pot
~ Medium: A homemade mix of Composana universal, coco fibers, Peat (turf), Woodchips and Humus
~ Nuts: Biobizz after day 20 ~ 1/4 strengh of veg a few times, switched to 1/4 strengh bloom nuts after seeing sex.
~ Lights: Windowsill Sun & CFLs
~ No pests
~ Ph of water: 6.6 - water when needed after checking pot weight and "stick the finger" technique. She´s currently drinking 1.5 liters of water
~ Showed sex: 1 May
~ Tied to 2 bambu sticks for support

April 25th:

Today, May 14th:

Top view:

I love how this girl prays for the light, really impressive. I have to keep turning her pot so she doesn´t bend.
I measured her today: 60 cm.
I picked this plant as an experiment to learn more about autos.
The seedbank info says it produces one main cola but my plant has a few visible bud sites already. I think she might take longer than 8/9 weeks to finish.

 

[Calyx Hunter]

Good info! I will plant the auto directly into the 7 gallon pot. I was thinking of vegging it under the T5 for a weeks to get established iside then put it outside after a few nodes of growth. I was thinking a little LST could work out if side branches get bundled.

 

[Tugafox]

Good plan, go for it CH!

I´m going the "no-stress at all" route because autos have such a short life time, it makes sense that any stress may delay growth and affect yield. They don´t have time to recoup as non-autos.
The only disadvantage I see in planting in bigger pots is the possibility of overwatering so I´ve been extra careful with that. You can laugh but I started watering Quick One with only 40 ml of water and raised quantity as it grew.
Outdoors grows tend to be better in quality and yield but are less easy to control. For ex. the bugs factor is heavy, even in greenhouses. I don´t know what type of conditions you have outdoors but it´s always good to be prepared.

I can now continue Money Maker grow journal, had an answer from staff, Yay!

 

[Tugafox]

It´s been a while since my last update but I will now proceed with Money Maker Journal.
Thank You very much Cannafan for your very fast response and clarification of my questions.

So, I´ll start by a quick sum of what happened in the past weeks.

1 - I went heavy on defoliating and stripped the girls to improve airflow and light penetration to bud sites. They survived

2 - I switched to bloom nuts Biobizz Bloom + Topmax. First, 1/4 strengh, currently 1/2 strengh.
They showed some nut burn in leaf tips, I backed off a bit.

3 - I had a secret ally combating the flying insects/gnats that I only noticed while cleaning the tent: The CFLs!
I found a bunch of fried bugs inside the sidelighting lamps, LOL. They were attracted to the light and ended up being fried by the lamp´s heat. I still see 1 or 2 flying around once in a while but nothing as before. I also found one spider inside the tent, the kind of spider with long thin legs - Probably, she had good intentions but I kicked her out.

4 - I now have a small bucket with water inside the tent to help with RH, it dropped in the past days as temps go up. Temps have been around 27.5/28ºC with lights on and 23/25ºC with lights off. Today temps went down a bit. TG! It was getting too hot too fast, yesterday it was 30ºC outside at 6.00 pm.

5 - I bought one 12 inch fan, 3 velocities, that I´ve been using as intake. Now that temps are rising due to summer arriving here, a second fan really makes a difference in airflow inside the tent.
Thank you BAR for the idea.

So, i guess that wraps it. Today it´s day 41 since I flipped the lights. I took some pictures this morning before lights went out:

Under the skirts

This is MMC, the smalest of the 3:

This is MMB, the second bigest pot & sister:

I´m kinda happy with this first indoor grow. Buds aren´t that big but they sure are frosty!
They only had 4 weeks of veg, it would have been a good idea to veg them more time.
The girls smell is awesome, I love it! Sweet, with a flowery tone and a bit earthy.
Imo, this strain is good for training - it recoups fast.

 

[B A R]

Looking Good up in here Fox. I have a proven home remedy for gnats that I used on 3 separate occasions & all 3 times the gnats were evicted from my grow and didn't return. It's cheap & easy to mix.

 

[Tugafox]

Hi BAR, thanks!
Ahhh...just a few little buds but they sure look nice on pics
I still have to catch & dissect one of this bugs alive (and not crushed or fried) to check if they´re really gnats, hehehe

Will check your link right away!

 

[Beleaf]

Looking Good up in here Fox. I have a proven home remedy for gnats that I used on 3 separate occasions & all 3 times the gnats were evicted from my grow and didn't return. It's cheap & easy to mix.

Thank you

 

[Calyx Hunter]

Super frosty! I'll take quality over quantity every time.

 

[Calyx Hunter]

Two quick fungus gnat remedies

1. Let your soil dry out more
2. Food grade diatomaceous earth sprinkled over the top of the soil

Use nontoxic sticky traps 24/7 even if there are no bugs

 

[B A R]

Why spend money when you don't have to?

 

[Tugafox]

Good night CH,

Quality over quantity indeed!
When I have quality, I don´t need as much quantity.
Less is more.


Thanks for sharing the gnat remedies. I´m doing nr. 1 - it helps but it doesn´t eradicate them. nr. 2 I´ve read about it but don´t know where to buy it here, I´ve looked around but no luck, so far. The sticky traps are great, another item on my "to buy" list.

BAR´s suggestion is so K.I.S.S.!
I will try it but I will only spray the medium, not the leafs or buds.

 

[B A R]

I won't lie to you. I've only had to use it in the Veg stage of my grows. Wouldn't want to damage your buds but in veg you spray the whole plant & soil.

 

[Tugafox]

Exactly BAR!

I have, at least, 2 bottles of Hydrogen peroxide at home. Will try in the morning before the lights go out and will surely let you know how it worked for me.

It´s about time I share that little thing called reps with ya!
Second great help you gave me for my grow.