First ever grow. Promix HP THC bomb auto 600w hps.

[Discretepete2676]

I'm using promix HP. Not sure the exact ingredients of the mix but it's working good so far, all I have prepared my soil with is RO water and 1/4 tbs. Clonex Per liter of water I put into the soil. That's as far is I've got lol. This is my first grow ever.

 

[A4]

No possibility of deficiencies this early my friend. Still way too early for that. If you have any deficiencies it will be during heavy growth when the plant is gaining a few inches a day or when she transitions into flower. Those are the most nutrient intense parts of the grow.

So, what is the small spot you are asking. If I had to guess I would say the leaf got a drop of clonex on it or it may have got in the soil and picked up a little bit of burn. You won't see it but when the lights go out in your tent the plant will relax, the leaves will droop and the lower ones have a tendency of drooping on the soil. When the lights come back on the leaves will perk back up and start stretching for the light. If you put a camera in their that can record at zero lux it is amazing to watch in stop motion over a 24 hour period. The plant is truly alive and moves a lot more throughout the day and night than one would think.

@Dirt Weed Pete is doing a hyrbid organic grow. Promix, which is an inert medium with no nutrients in it except for a little liming agent to keep the pH up and for nutrients he is using Fox Farms bottled organic nutrients. I consider it hybrid because the soil isn't living. Some people will consider that organic gardening and by OMRI listing it is but a true organic grow is using living soil in my humble opinion. That is debatable among organic growers but that is just my opinion.

Promix is a composition of peat, vermiculite and perlite. In the last few months they have begun adding coco as an additive and cut back on the amount of peat. The reason being, peat is a product from Canada that can't be farmed and is strip mined for lack of a better word, and isn't sustainable. The way they harvest it is doing a pretty substantial harm to the environment so they are trying to move away from using so much peat and move to a more sustainable product such as coco husks which are much more earth friendly. I think, originally when they started they didn't consider it so damaging because the demand wasn't there for product but since legalization and availability of quality seed from the UK, demand has sky rocketed and they have reconsidered their practices. I for one am thankful to see companies take a more ethical approach and reconsider unsustainable practices. Very much unlike what the majority of companies do in the States.

 

[Discretepete2676]

I'll most likely b sticking with my soil for awhile till I get things down. Sounds like it was a great choice.... A4 were u able to read the post about how I'm planning my light schedule and if so I was wondering what your thoughts are on that..... Running 24/0 right now at 250w. Switch to 400 w at about the two week mark and stay at 24/0 and then at week three around flowering time, hopefully, I will switch to 600w and an 18/6 schedule for lighting till I harvest ( aside from my two day dark period im going to give it before I cut it down).

 

[A4]

I'll most likely b sticking with my soil for awhile till I get things down. Sounds like it was a great choice.... A4 were u able to read the post about how I'm planning my light schedule and if so I was wondering what your thoughts are on that..... Running 24/0 right now at 250w. Switch to 400 w at about the two week mark and stay at 24/0 and then at week three around flowering time, hopefully, I will switch to 600w and an 18/6 schedule for lighting till I harvest ( aside from my two day dark period im going to give it before I cut it down).

Yeah, I have read through the entire thread and really it is up to you buddy. I see people use all kinds of lighting schedules on here and really I haven't seen a gigantic improvement from one to the other. I would assume that a 24/0 would yield a little better than 18/6 but I haven't seen anyone do a quantified study on it and give any significant data either way. I myself have used 24/0, 20/4, 18/6 and even 12/12 when I have run autos with my photos a few times. Even at 12/12 I still had very respectable yields, if memory serves me correctly, somewhere around 150 grams per plant at 12/12. So, I think it is really just up to the grower to determine what suits his/her style the best. Generally I am pretty happy if I can harvest over 3 ounces per plant on autos.

 

[Discretepete2676]

Well I'll give this way a try and see how she does than. 3 ounces a plant is an amazing yield!!!! I was hoping for two per plant but expecting one for my first grow.... But that was before I found this community.... Now I see the sky is the limit!!!!.... I've been trying to study my nutrient line of the main trio and realized the best thing for me to do is write a general schedule for myself as I go and use it as a simple guideline... My second watering will b with clonex some time in next few days probably.... That will get me to the two week mark and then I'm lost whether I should start feeding my nutrient line or wait till flowing which is what I believe you recommended A4 but I couldn't find the thread.... I'm going to tweak the nutrient schedule they have online to accommodate for 1/4-1/2 doses and tune in what to use and when.... Since they veg while they are flowering kinda would u recommend using the whole trio or just big bloom and tiger bloom? Since they are still vertically growing I would logically use the whole trio and just adjust from one to the other properly as the online schedule reflects?....

 

[A4]

You could probably start using the nutrients this week considering you are already seeing your first set of true leaves. Generally you would want to begin feeding at your first set at about 1/4 recommended dosage. I will add a caveat. If you don't feel comfortable feeding them this early then wait. That is fine too. You aren't going to kill them by slightly underfeeding them.

On the question about the trio, that is an excellent question by the way and one most new growers don't make until half way through their grow. Because we don't have a traditional Veg and Bloom cycle like photoperdiods, the typical scenario everyone that grows autos with is: You use your Veg bottles as prescribed on the manufacturer's feeding schedule until you see vertical growth stop. Once vertical growth stops you will switch to your Bloom bottles.

I will give you some reasoning, instead of just telling you what you should do. Hopefully that enables you to make a more informed decision of when is best for you to determine to change formulas. Because while most everyone sticks to this rule, there are always exceptions and personal preference. The reason behind this is, you want to get as much vertical growth out of the plants as possible before starting with Bloom nutrients. If you switch too early then you are effectively removing the majority of your Nitrogen from the regimen and will not only retard any vertical growth that may be left in them but also root growth. So long as your plant is growing up, your roots are growing down and out. The larger the root ball you can develop, the more flowers the plant will produce. So, while autos are somewhat conditioned to flower without a light change you do have some control over their flowering by nutrient regimen. They will still begin to flower but they won't put all of their energy into flowering so long as you are feeding high levels of N. They will continue to try and grow vertically. Just as photoperiods, even when we switch the light to 12/12 we still feed N for the following two weeks because of that stretch early in flowering.

 

[Discretepete2676]

That is literally the best answer I could ask for. Thank you so much once again!!!! My brother who grows photos said the same about starting this week if I wanted lightly. I like to cross reference everything before I make a decision. That also makes my next grow easier because I know each strain varies, now I can accommodate for each strain more properly by how easy u made that to understand. It's fairly logical honestly.... Just very reassuring to hear from you lol. With autos one set schedule won't work as easily with each strain so understanding this way made it much easier. I'm glad i came across this site very often in my research and joined. this is better than facebook any day. Now in my bored moments I learn and read on here instead of scrolling through facebook!!!! Everyone here seems much nicer and closer than my friends on there haha.... How do I give you (A4) reputation points or a good word to the AFN board or something? Lol..... And my wife would like me to grow something very pretty and purple for her.... Something with a high rate of coloring upon growth as opposed to exposure to cooler night temperatures? I'd really like to have something nice for her on my second grow which will b done curing about the time our child is born and she can smoke again.... I was looking at bloody skunk from sweet seeds.... Have you every got to grow her?

 

[Discretepete2676]

Yeah, I have read through the entire thread and really it is up to you buddy. I see people use all kinds of lighting schedules on here and really I haven't seen a gigantic improvement from one to the other. I would assume that a 24/0 would yield a little better than 18/6 but I haven't seen anyone do a quantified study on it and give any significant data either way. I myself have used 24/0, 20/4, 18/6 and even 12/12 when I have run autos with my photos a few times. Even at 12/12 I still had very respectable yields, if memory serves me correctly, somewhere around 150 grams per plant at 12/12. So, I think it is really just up to the grower to determine what suits his/her style the best. Generally I am pretty happy if I can harvest over 3 ounces per plant on autos.

You could probably start using the nutrients this week considering you are already seeing your first set of true leaves. Generally you would want to begin feeding at your first set at about 1/4 recommended dosage. I will add a caveat. If you don't feel comfortable feeding them this early then wait. That is fine too. You aren't going to kill them by slightly underfeeding them.

On the question about the trio, that is an excellent question by the way and one most new growers don't make until half way through their grow. Because we don't have a traditional Veg and Bloom cycle like photoperdiods, the typical scenario everyone that grows autos with is: You use your Veg bottles as prescribed on the manufacturer's feeding schedule until you see vertical growth stop. Once vertical growth stops you will switch to your Bloom bottles.

I will give you some reasoning, instead of just telling you what you should do. Hopefully that enables you to make a more informed decision of when is best for you to determine to change formulas. Because while most everyone sticks to this rule, there are always exceptions and personal preference. The reason behind this is, you want to get as much vertical growth out of the plants as possible before starting with Bloom nutrients. If you switch too early then you are effectively removing the majority of your Nitrogen from the regimen and will not only retard any vertical growth that may be left in them but also root growth. So long as your plant is growing up, your roots are growing down and out. The larger the root ball you can develop, the more flowers the plant will produce. So, while autos are somewhat conditioned to flower without a light change you do have some control over their flowering by nutrient regimen. They will still begin to flower but they won't put all of their energy into flowering so long as you are feeding high levels of N. They will continue to try and grow vertically. Just as photoperiods, even when we switch the light to 12/12 we still feed N for the following two weeks because of that stretch early in flowering.

. Forgot to ask about calimag? Is that used during all feedings or only during a deficiency issue?

 

[Discretepete2676]

And I have unsoftened, landlords cheap and doesn't buy softener, tap water.... Is that better than RO water? It smells kinda like sulfur and tastes like shit to b honest lol, but doesn't that contain large amounts of calcium and magnesium? I know it leaves deposits in the bottom of my humidifier. My RO water is free as well cuz I spent so much money at my grow shop I can get ten gallons for free at a time . Easy access to both.... Which is better?

 

[A4]

Phew, one at a time.

1) The Sweet Seeds, I haven't grown much so I would defer to my good buddy @Waira who has a lot of experience with them. I have never really grown plants for the colors like a lot of people do. I tend to lean more towards effects when I look for strains. I think that probably has a lot to do with my age and when I originally started growing years ago, purple varieties were well known to be more of a novelty than anything. The potency wasn't there for any of them so we all tended to stay away from them. Now, I am breeding a purple variety as we speak but I wasn't breeding for color either, it just happened to come through. The potency on it though, it is definitely there.

2) The Cal/Mag, it shouldn't really be needed if your schedule is OK with one caveat. Some strains are a little more needy when it comes to Ca so it is always good to have around. As a rule, I never use Calcium in the soil, only as a foliar. The reason being, calcium is an immobile nutrient meaning it isn't transported very easily through the plant. So, if I need a Cal/Mag supplement I generally use it to spray on the leaves. It is much faster acting that way.

3) Your water. Water is a big part of my regimen for me and I am a firm believer is rain water. I have rain buckets outside and collect rain water for all of my grows. Not because I am cheap but because I truly believe rain water is the absolute best product you can use for your plants. It is slightly acidic, which I like. It is absolutely void of any chemicals/additives you may get in your tap. Finally, I believe it is structured properly for plant intake. If you google "Structured Water" you will see what I mean. Some consider it snake oil and it may well be but I believe anything natural is good for my plants and rain water is about as natural as you can get. If I weren't using rain water, my second option would be RO. After RO I would select distilled water. Those are absolutely the only three water types I would consider using in my plants. Tap water, never, I won't even drink tap water. Too much chemicals and buffers that completely jack up the pH. Even for human health, I believe tap water is horrible.