Venumrbuds - Soil - Four Different Autos - 2016 - Mars Hydro - 272W

[venumrbuds]

Hi everyone,

I thought I would share with you my first grow in 12 years. The one grow i did previously was a cheap and nasty HID grow in my converted wardrobe with little to no experience and poor equipment; the grow suffered with temperature and humidity problems. I grew white widow and it was some nice bud despite the amateur set-up. Therefore, i am hoping with what i have to my disposal this time i can make some quality bud. I am keeping is simple to start with for the first grow and will likely experiment a bit more on subsequent grows.

I will be growing solely auto's because they do not stink as much and i need to be careful of odors. There is one Fast Buds Green Crack, a GHS Super Lemon Haze, a GHS Super Critical, and a Fast Buds Pineapple Express. For information regarding the stats of each strain, please see image below.

They are to be planted in a Light Bio Mix in 3 Gallon pots. They are currently germinating inside a propagator and they will be transferred once they are ready. I am using one 600 LED (It has a true draw power of 272 Watts). The tent is 80 cm x 80 cm x 160cm.

They are currently germinating inside Root Riot cubes and a propagator. They were planted in the cubes on the 21/09/2016. I cannot wait for the babies to sprout. I have no idea on what harvest i am going to get but i hope it is decent enough from four autos to get me through til the 2nd grow.

The temps inside the propagator are actually between 27 - 28 Celsius with a humidity between 70 - 80%. The photos are showing different stats because i was taking off the lid etc to take the photos. The second row of cubes are empty and i put them there to help keep humidity up. I think i am taking them out anyway because they are not needed.

Any comments or suggestions would be welcome. I look forward to sharing this journey with you all.

 

[BedroomFarmer]

Subbed.

 

[venumrbuds]

#Update One - Day Three

Everything is going well so far. It is their third day in the Root Riot cubes and they have broken the surface or are about to and start eating the light. Over the last 12-16 hours i have noticed massive changes. The pictures in this update have been taken over the last 16 hours. I have watered the four pots that they will be placed into with 2 liters of water each. I will transfer the cubes into the pots tomorrow giving the auto's their final resting place.

 

[venumrbuds]

#Update Two - Day Five

The Plants have now been transferred into their final pots. The main tap root had gone through the bottom of the Root Riot cubes on all seedlings and i could not wait any longer to transplant them. Especially since some of the first leaves were to curling under and showing signs of being under-watered. I watered the cubes around the sides and some on top but they seemed to evaporate quite quickly but there was a slightly positive response from them; this was enough for me to make the transplant.

I reorganized the entire grow space and i have managed to drop 2 degrees in temperature as a result. Therefore, they are currently sunbathing in a steady temperature of 24.5 Celsius. I have changed the humidifier to maintain the humidity at 55% down from 70%. The LED light is 23 inches above the top of the pots. Now it is just a matter of letting them do their thing over the next couple of days because there is nothing else for me to do. They have thus far been given a light cycle of 24 / 0.

Pre transplant into the final pots.

Super Critical - Auto

Green Crack - Auto

Super Lemon Haze - Auto

Pineapple Express - Auto

 

[venumrbuds]

#Update Three - Day Seven

Since the seedlings have been transferred to their final pots they have responded brilliantly. They are all growing bigger and the second set of leaves are on the way. I have literally done nothing with them other than have the dehumidifier keeping the humidity approx 65% and the temps are between 24 - 26 degrees Celsius.

I am going to continue to leave them on a 24 / 0 cycle during this early period. I may start to wean them off the light an hour per 24 hours until they are on a 18 / 6 cycle. Since flowers start showing around the third week, i may start the light reduction on the 15th day.

Super Critical - Auto



Green Crack - Auto



Super Lemon Haze - Auto



Pineapple Express - Auto

 

[Stinky Snid]

There's no need to reduce the light schedule, autos love to have lots of light. I keep mine at 19/5 throughout. If you reduce your light times you'll end up with wider node spacing and therefore lankier taller plants. Not all autos show flowers in the first 3 weeks, some go as long as 6 or 8 weeks in veg before switching. I advise you to keep notes of days, feedings and observations as to keep track. With four different autos you'll have four different feeding, flowering, harvest schedules, that's the main reason to keep things lit for a constant time.

Here's to the adventure glad you came to share it with us...

KiG cheers

Edit: if you need any help, you can find me at my perpetual journal. Link below..

 

[venumrbuds]

#Update Four - Day Nine

They are now appear to be gathering momentum and they are now much bigger. The temperature has been as high as 28 degrees Celsius which has not been ideal. I think the extraction fan on the carbon filter is not up to the job. It is definitely not as powerful as when i first got it and it is time to get a more powerful but silent one. I suppose i could keep it for a drying tent with some ducting and a carbon filter but we will see.

I created a spreadsheet for keeping track of days and nutrient cycles and key information when i first started. I am considering resetting my temp and humidity gauge daily to obtain a high and low temperature and use the two figures for a daily average. The pots they were transferred in were watered five days ago with 2 litres each. I am going to water again tonight with another 2 litres each concentrating the water around the edges of the pots. I don't think it is time for food yet and i plan to let them inform me when it is time for feeding. I want to really be careful with nutrients because i don't want to mess up my plants.

I definitely see your point Snidrajsed with regards to the light schedule, i plan to leave it 24 / 0 for the time being. I do not need tall plants because the height of the tent is 160cm and then we have the distance needed for the LED from the plants reducing the total height i have to work with.

Super Critical - Auto



Green Crack - Auto



Super Lemon Haze - Auto



Pineapple Express - Auto

 

[venumrbuds]

#Update Five - Day Eleven

I noticed the Green Crack leaves had started to droop after my last update. I gave them a quick spray of water to see how they would respond. When i checked back several hours later, the leaves had risen from their droop. This meant it was time to give them a water. I gave them 1.2 Litres of water each and carefully watered the outside edges of the pot and circled inwards. I concentrated the majority of the water on the outside because i want the roots to grow towards the water. Going off my spreadsheet, it took the Green Crack 4 days to start drooping from the 2 Litres of water i added to the pots the day before they were transferred. It will be interesting to see how long before they 'ask' to be watered again.

I have given the leaves two pumps of mist (water) in order to catch any dust that may be on the leaves; the first super critical photo was taken after this and a drop of water can still be seen on a leaf. I am really happy with how it is going so far and i have not had the temperature issues i had in the previous post. They have been around 25-26 degrees Celsius and the humidity has been 65% with a 24 / 0 light cycle. I am going to keep it in 24 / 0 now as i read (from a post on here called the Marijuana Grower's Handbook) that the light cycle diminishes a hormone named phytochrome in the plant that tells it to flower in photo versions or Marijuana. When this hormone is at a critical level the plant moves into flower. Now i am growing auto's and the plant does not need light manipulation for this hormone to bring on the flowering stage and therefore i am going to give it as much light as possible for photosynthesis; i want to achieve the best yield possible.

I have a magnifying glass with various levels of magnification up to 60x and i was playing around with it for these photos. I will get better at using it but a one of the photos have a 3x magnification for you to enjoy looking at; the final Super Lemon Haze.

Super Critical - Auto




Green Crack - Auto




Super Lemon Haze - Auto





Pineapple Express - Auto

 

[Habitual]

Nice set up you're off to a good start. What nutes do you plan to use?

 

[venumrbuds]

I have a product called Charge from Ecothrive that is a bio stimulant that can be added to the soil mix, watered in or via foliar feed. I didn't add it to the mix at the start because i want to be cautious that i don't overdo it as i am still learning. What i want the plants to do is tell me when they have used up the nutrients that is in the soil mix so that i can give them a light foliar feed and see how they respond over 24 - 48 hours. If there is a positive response then i plan to water it in at 1/8 strength and take it from there.

 

[venumrbuds]

#Update Five - Day Thirteen

I am blown away by the growth in the last two days. We are two weeks in tomorrow and i thought that i would take a some nice photos using the magnifying glass that i mentioned in my previous post. I am not doing much to them at all other than letting them grow. I have only given them 3.2 Litres of water each since they have been alive (not including the odd spray). When they are ready for the next drink, i am going to water them until i see a bit of run off. I will add a bio-stimulant called charge in a minuscule amount, probably 1/8 of the recommended dose to see if that has any and what effects. My future updates will come every four days until the harvest. It allows for a bit more growth in between updates.

Please let me know what you think of my grow thus far.



Super Critical - Auto




Green Crack - Auto





Super Lemon Haze - Auto






Pineapple Express - Auto

 

[venumrbuds]

#Update Five - Day Eighteen

I gave them 1/2 a gram of Charge per litre of water and i gave them 2 litres of water each on the 15th day and they have responded positively. The recommended dose for the bio-stimulant was 3-5 grams per litre of water. When they next need to have a drink i will give them 1 gram per litre and monitor the growth. As stated earlier, i will give them nutes when they start showing signs of nutrient deficiency. The aim for this grow is to keep it simple and learn all about the growth cycle without much tampering. Once i get experience i can really start trying to make a difference but one has to learn to walk before they can run.

Time appears to pass by quicker when i am not updating every 2 days so i will continue to update every 4 or 5 days.

Super Critical - Auto

Green Crack - Auto

Super Lemon Haze - Auto

Pineapple Express - Auto

 

[venumrbuds]

#Update Six - Day Twenty Six

I have topped all but the Super Lemon Haze and i have fed them twice since the last update. On day 20 i gave them 2 grams of charge in 2 litres of waters each. Today they have had 2 grams of charge with 1ml of cal-mag in 2 litres of water. I think they are doing quite well but if you zoom in to the leaves there looks like some sort of deficiency is going on, i think it is calcium and magnesium. There is some rusty type spots on the outside of some of the older leaves and some of the newer growth tips bend to the side. Also, some older leaf tips bend towards the ground. I am just going to see how they respond to the feeding today and i think they are being under watered as well. In the last eleven days they have only had 6 Liters of water with 5 grams of charge and 1ml of cal mag.

There are plenty of tops making their way to the light from the topped plants. it will be interesting to see how the Super Lemon Haze turns out in comparison. I have noticed the lower branches starting reaching to the light within 24 hours of topping them. There is a new LED that will draw 200 watts true that i am going to introduce to the tent. That way, 2 plants can have a light each. Currently, the way they are spaced in the light, the most intense part of the led is hitting empy space where the circular buckets meet, what a waste!! Therefore, i will have a total of 472 watts inside an area of seven square feet. They are starting to show little tips with a hair at the upper nodes now so i assume they are making their transition into flowering. Once i get the new light i will move the big leaves out of the way for the tops to get the light.


Super Critical - Auto




Green Crack - Auto





Super Lemon Haze - Auto







Pineapple Express - Auto

 

[Stinky Snid]

Keep those great updates coming, very enjoyable watching these ladies get bigger. I don't see the spots your talking about, can you get a better pic of the leaves in question...

KiG cheers

 

[venumrbuds]

Thank you Snidrajsed. I have put a selection of pictures i have just taken in situ. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[venumrbuds]

#Update Eight - Day Thirty

They appear to be doing great since i installed the additional LED light, within two hours the leaves were reaching for the lights. However, the additional light brings with it additional heat. My temps hit as high as 29 degrees Celsius but there is not much i can do. I have moved my fan to a new position and i am hoping that has an effect. Fortunately the temperature in the northern hemisphere is dropping but it is not happening quick enough. When it is particularly chilly outside the tent is only 25 degrees; the cold cannot come quick enough!

I am super happy with the way the grow is going and they are now showing flowers. I have not taken close up pictures because they will be bigger and worthy of showing in a future update. We now officially move towards the end game of these autoflowers. The odd defect is bound to appear and i was overthinking everything in the previous non-update post. There is nothing to be worried about

After reviewing my previous posts, i realise there were two update fives.

Super Critical - Auto

Green Crack - Auto

Super Lemon Haze - Auto

Pineapple Express - Auto

 

[BedroomFarmer]

Looking good!

 

[venumrbuds]

#Update Nine- Day Thirty Nine

I accidentally snapped the top of the Super Lemon Haze after the last update and all that happened was the bottom branches stretched to the top. I now have a more even canopy because of this. I have watered them three times since the last update and they have become very thirsty. It is looking like they want watering every two days now because the bottom leaves are droopy on the third day.

They also require more food, they were given 3 grams of Charge with 1 ml of CalMag on day 26. Some leaves are yellow at the bottom still but i noticed an improvement in the top growth. Before the feed i could see the new buds and leaves looking yellow and within 48 hours they went back to lovely and green. I am going to give them the same dose on the next watering.

The plants themselves have now moved into flowering. I am looking forward to them fattening up and getting ripe in the next few weeks. According to the strain info, the Super Critical should finish on day 49, that is 10 days away. I highly doubt it will be ready for then but i will keep a close eye on it, it is definitely the most advanced of the four. Hope you have enjoyed the update.

 

[venumrbuds]

#Update Ten - Day Forty Six

According to the information provided by the breeder, the super critical had a predicted harvest at day 49 which is 7 weeks. They are not all that frosty but the fan leaves have started yellowing and dying off which has had me overthinking everything and wondering if this is the beginning of something tragic! The reading i have done says everything is normal so i am not going to have a knee jerk reaction. I hope in the next week will be a really big week for the super critical because the branches have bud there, they just need to fatten up and get frosty.

I had an issue with some of the pictures deleting and i could not be bothered to take more. Therefore, there is no Super Lemon Haze photos. In the bottom picture, the closet right is the haze. It has grown to 10 inches below the light and the top buds are not looking great, almost like they have stunted growth. I have bent the branches and i may tie them in order to get them about 14' below the light. Either way it has a few more weeks yet.

Super Critical

Green Crack

Pineapple Express

 

[Fuzznutter]

Hi! Sorry I missed the first half of the grow, but I'm excited to see these ladies finish.