Live Stoners Cali OF's First Post, First Time Autoflower Grow - Micro with Minimum Inputs

[caliOF]

I'm just finishing up my first indoor grow since 1987. I'll take them down this week. These were three clones I took from my outdoor plant (first ever outdoor). I set up a 2x2x4 tent in my garage. Viparspectra P1500. Knock-off Infinity-style fan and carbon filter outside the tent to maximize what space I have. Everything on the cheap, but well-researched that equipment won't be the weak link. Due to heat in summer, I can only grow from October to May (NorCal in the hot, hot Valley). I knew I could do three clones in the tent. Pretty easy to trigger flower as soon they reached a healthy vegetative state some time after transplanting (i.e. plants thriving, lots of growth), so my limited space wasn't that much of a problem. My son asked me if I wanted a Grease Monkey clone, so said why not? Vegged it only two weeks in starter box I put together, then made room in the tent. It was a bit overcrowded, but not a huge problem. Trained best branches into gaps in canopy, lollipopped, and SCROGged to an even canopy in the stretch. This first indoor grow made me happy. Quality looks pretty good; I know the smoke is good (outdoor was carefully cured and ready to smoke earlier this month!). Indoor looks even better, so no complaints. Made mistakes, tried to learned from them. Temp and RH are within reason, but not optimized. I was gone a week and used Blumats to keep them going and the plants looked happy when I returned. Not seeking perfect, but ego is a little bit involved (you know, normal kudos from friends for growing good weed), and I love the problem-solving.
Now I want to try autoflowers as they should fit my given parameters very well. At this point I'm not looking to maximize yield necessarily. I don't need more cannabis. Basically, I'm giving away all of the outdoor yield, keeping some of the indoor for personal (about half of this I smoke in a year). I want good clean smoke, and to feel good about every input, so I'm now hooked on growing. I have learned so much growing this awesome plant that my vegetable garden is benefiting, too!

So in about two weeks I start my autoflower journey. Frankly, I've heard autoflowers are finicky, especially if you mess up early. Over-water gets mentioned over and over, but so does having soil too rich early. I will be running Mandalorian ALF#5 mostly because of AFN. It sounds stable and user-friendly, but I don't want to f-up! I plan on using NFTG#4 as my medium, since that's what I used for my first grow, and I'm happy with the results, but with perhaps small input tweaks (nute regimen, light intensity, air flow, etc.). For the clones, I amended the soil using 1/2 cup per gallon Blu's Blend compost, 1 tablespoons per gallon of Recycl-sil, and Dr Earth at 2 tablespoons per gallon using their Veg and Bloom at 1:1. For first three weeks, I just watered. I top-dressed with 1:2 Dr Earth Veg and Bloom starting at first week of light change. By week four of flower it was just Bloom. I also watered with ReCharge once per week. Water was pH'd to 6.5. I will be checking soil pH this time around, and perhaps add Dolomite Lime to balance. I was also wondering about adding a bit of coco and more perlite to mixture. The clones are in 2 gal fabric pots, and I will wash the bags and reuse for the autoflowers.

Is this a good enough initial plan for my grow? I don't want to reinvent the wheel, but I will willingly tweak the above to better fit growing autos. My beginner premise is "what is the least I need to do to allow a healthy outcome?". I hope to add other inputs later, when I have something to compare results to. Is this a decent plan? What would you change?
I do have some initial planning questions. I plan on popping 4 seeds (est. 98% chance of at least 1 female!) Assuming 50% female,
1) Can I fit two fully grown ALF#5 plants in my small space (how much LST can they accept)?
2) Are the 2 gal pots OK for ALF#5 given my limited space (i.e. will they grow too big)? I read that they are 2-3 feet tall in 1 gallon pots.
3) If height is an issue, should I plan on super-cropping and will they handle that?
4) In the off chance I get 1 male and 3 females, would it be possible to create seeds in my separate grow box, which only has a 20 watt full-spectrum LED? I don't need 100s of seeds, but 20 or 30 would be pretty damn cool!
I really appreciate all the knowledge I've gained from creeping around here for a few months! Thanks AFN!

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

@caliOFWelcome to AFN. I live in central California In the San Joaquin Valley so I understand heat.

My average need is about 4ft² per plant so you may need a shoehorn for two. I usually top autos at the fourth node but in your vertically challenged space you might want to do that above the third node. It is best to start seeds right in the pot they will grow in not because the plants are finicky they are just doing things faster on their time-clock. You do not want to get in the way of that. They generally are happy with about 50% to 70% strength nutrients compared to Photos. Your base soil should be good longer before adding your supplements and be careful not to add top dressings and recharge at the same time.

You want seeds you need proper Light at least 35 DLI. Polen can travel miles to fertilize a girl so keep that in mind.

Nectar’s most popular blend. A general potting mix designed for indoor and outdoor use. Suitable for multiple feedings per week. Mixed in small batches. Contains no bark or fillers. Coir fiber is rinsed on-site with Oregon rainwater and buffered with limestone to reduce salts. After blending and bagging, soil sits unwrapped and covered for up to 30 days to activate, compost and then go dormant, to avoid HOT soil. Ingredients: Sphagnum peat moss, perlite, coir fiber, pumice, mycorrhizal fungi, yucca meal, kelp meal, bone meal, diatomaceous earth, clay, basalt, oyster shell (for pH adjustment), humus and lime (for pH adjustment).

You will not need to add more lime.

 

[caliOF]

Super helpful. Thank you!