New Grower First Grow - 4 Different Auto Strains in Coco

[Mañ'O'Green]

Last week, I started incubating four different auto strains from Mephisto Genetics. I know that's a little silly, but that's what I did. I purchased three strains from them with roughly equivalent cycle times and expected size. I received some free seeds with my order and rather than having one duplicate pot, decided to germinate one of the free seeds (a strain with a shorter cycle, Sour Crack). That seed opened, but no tap root came out... I germinated another seed of the same kind right away just in case the first failed to become a seedling.

I'm calling the day all four original seeds opened Day 1. I planted all four original seeds on Day 2, plus the second Sour Crack seed which is sharing a pot with the problematic no-taproot seed of the same strain, for the time being. If one succeeds and the other fails, I will delicately transfer the winner to the middle of the pot and get rid of the abortion--currently they are about 6" apart in the same pot.

In summary, I have four 5 ga. fabric pots containing:

1. Forum Stomper (FoSt)
   
2. Fugue State (FuSt)
   
3. White Crack (WC)
   
4. 2x Sour Crack (SC)

These are currently in pure coco coir which was rinsed to 30 ppm, conditioned with 1/16 dose of FloraSeries G/M/B and 1 dose CaliMagic, with pH lowered to 5.5-6.0. They're in a 32x32" tent with a 600w (~270w actual) VIPARSPECTRA LED at 24" (veg lights only), 6" filter, and 6" inline fan soon to be on a variac. The filter is currently smothered with a towel to limit the fan's excessive temp and humidity pull. Temp and humidity are stable around 70% and 78 degrees for the seedling phase.

View attachment 933338

View attachment 933339

(I'm a little bit proud of this insulated MDF fan enclosure )

Tentative plan: Keep lights (20/4) about the same until vegetation really gets going, then turn on bloom light. Reduce humidity to the comfort zone between 40-60% around this time, and lower temps to 72-74f. Slowly close the gap until lights are at 18" during flowering stage. Nutrients will be mixed into solution by syringe from now on and I intend to taper up each feeding, except CalMag which will be kept stable at 1 tsp/5 mL. I won't be topping them no matter what I urge I get--remind me of this if I get crazy. No gambles on my maiden grow. I will be using LST, though, which seems to be particularly important given I am using four different strains and a LED--I obviously need to keep these plants bush-like with a level canopy across all four. Supercropping late in the grow is possible, but only if necessary to even out light coverage.

Day 0:

Incubation in wet paper towels at 80f.

Day 1:

All four seeds opened, though SC has no tap root.

Day 2:

Backup SC sprouted. Planted all five seeds.

Day 3:

WC is now showing. Watered with pH-adjusted water. I know, WTF? First mistake as they really didn't need it already. I haven't been getting enough sleep clearly.

Day 4 (today):

FoSt is now showing. I was a little concerned that WC hadn't grown noticeably to my eyes since it broke through yesterday morning, but I was probably being crazy, and @Mañ'O'Green says it looks fine. Moved lights to 24"--they had been at 40" all this time.

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(Note to self: Use better lighting for future pics.)

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This is WC, which is only a tiny bit bigger than FoSt. As I alluded to earlier, I posted in the Infirmary my concern about the color. I was afraid my watering on Day 3 had resulted in nitrogen deficiency already. Seems it's too early for such concerns, though, and hopefully I haven't stunted it. Just anxiety probably.

The next feeding, on Day 5 or Day 6, will be .5 mL (1/10 tsp) of each FloraSeries Trio solution (I'm calling them G/M/B). I'll keep CalMag stable at 1 tsp (5 mL). I intend to alternate between plain (pH-adjusted) water and nutrient water, unless people think I should instead feed every watering but with a lower concentration of nutrients. I'm still a bit conflicted about this, but erring on the side of caution for now.

That's it for now. I can post daily, but it likely won't be eventful. Digests every two days would probably be better and keep you all from tiring of my little grow, with exceptions when I have an acute concern.

Thanks to @Mañ'O'Green for encouraging me to start this journal and agreeing to follow along, and thanks to anyone else who may at some point chip in with support or advice.

Coco Coir is a form of hydroponic growing and you need nutrients in every watering called fertigation. It is the only source of nutrition for your plant since coco has zero.

subbed up.

 

[Death The Cultivator]

I'm running at 77-80f at 72-78% RH adhering to the VPD. Basically keeping everything in the orange range allows the stomata to stay open aiding in optimal growth.

What do you think about frequent misting the surface for the first week or ten days to keep the microclimate high in humidity? It'll be unnecessary when the roots are established, but I could see it being beneficial now...

I didn't mist because I felt my humidity was adequate based on that chart. My first grow I did mist frequently because I was running 85-90f and 16-35% RH lol
Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

[Exivious]

Coco Coir is a form of hydroponic growing and you need nutrients in every watering called fertigation. It is the only source of nutrition for your plant since coco has zero.

subbed up.

You know, I think I've been reading some really conservative coco guides... What you're saying has made sense to me from the first time I read about coco (I knew it was inert from using it as a mushroom-growing substrate), but I kept reading cautions that say plain watering is still required--perhaps not if I keep a close eye on ppm. The reason I signed up here and not at one of the other major forums is because I saw people here were more rooted in science than in tradition.

I'm running at 77-80f at 72-78% RH adhering to the VPD. Basically keeping everything in the orange range allows the stomata to stay open aiding in optimal growth.View attachment 933348

I didn't mist because I felt my humidity was adequate based on that chart. My first grow I did mist frequently because I was running 85-90f and 16-35% RH lol
Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

Got it. So you only back down (presumably into the white) to play it safe once mold becomes a possibility during flowering?

 

[Death The Cultivator]

You know, I think I've been reading some really conservative coco guides... What you're saying has made sense to me from the first time I read about coco (I knew it was inert from using it as a mushroom-growing substrate), but I kept reading cautions that say plain watering is still required--perhaps not if I keep a close eye on ppm. The reason I signed up here and not at one of the other major forums is because I saw people here were more rooted in science than in tradition.



Got it. So you only back down (presumably into the white) to play it safe once mold becomes a possibility during flowering?

Well mold is always in the air, that is why strong circulation is important, but if I remember correctly lowering the humidity and temps helps with flowering quality. Mold becomes an issue when you have wide humidity and temp swings. Besides staying the white range you still have adequate humidity not requiring more or less.

Some people flush with plain water but every watering should be with nutes. I'm watering six times a day @500 ppms with a 6.0 ph and no issues. Nutrients every time. Good luck.

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

Your going to get a lot of suggestions about how to feed your plants. IMHO it is best to use a vendors entire line ONLY. They spend millions of dollars developing nutrients to work together to achieve the best possible results. It is all about liebig's law of the minimum. When you understand this you will understand why you should not mix-n-match your own. The only exception to this rule is when you have deficiencies (it won't happen often if using nutrients correctly). There are a couple of additives I do like and use: Azos and Mykos are microzae and beneficial fungus, Botanicare HydroGuard protects roots in DWC and Mammoth P in all my grows. Other than this I use a vendors entire line only on their schedule for what I am doing. As to the strength, the vendors charts are a beginning point and for many strains or phenos it is too strong but not all strains or vendors. So I have a system where I start seeds at 1/4 strength for the first week then 50% for the next and I continue to increase by 10% each week until tip burn is observed then back off 10%. This gets you to where the plant likes it not just blindly following the chart. Learn about Liebig's Law. Here is a good chart to follow for humidity shoot for the gold:

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

I'm afraid I'm monetarily committed to the Flora Trio (plus Kool Bloom for later) this time around. I've already gone over budget. I will keep the ppm levels in mind, though, making sure runoff ppm isn't significantly higher.

Don't use runoff as an indicator for anything other than volume (ie. 10% runoff compared to fertigation volume applied) it is notoriously incorrect. Just know that the input is correct.

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

You know, I think I've been reading some really conservative coco guides... What you're saying has made sense to me from the first time I read about coco (I knew it was inert from using it as a mushroom-growing substrate), but I kept reading cautions that say plain watering is still required--perhaps not if I keep a close eye on ppm. The reason I signed up here and not at one of the other major forums is because I saw people here were more rooted in science than in tradition.



Got it. So you only back down (presumably into the white) to play it safe once mold becomes a possibility during flowering?

These humidity levels are still good for flowering. The problems come in controlling the temperature and humidity at night time during flowering. The humidity goes way up from the transpiration of the plant and the temperature goes down because the lights are off. This can lead to conditions that foster Bud Rot or other molds >60% humidity @ <68°F. Because of this most growers try to keep humidity less than 50% during late flower not taking any chances. Good air circulation (defoliation helps a lot in air circulation) is most important to prevent molds.

 

[Exivious]

I just read about Liebig's law. That should be helpful, as well as the chart both of you posted.

How well I can manage temp:RH during flowering may depend on the time of year. We'll see as this particular room had never even had electronics running in it till a few days ago--I'm not sure how cold it will get in the winter, but there are a number of variables I can control, and if necessary, I can even put a small space heater on a timer and run it in the room (not in the tent) during the lights-off period. But for this grow, it shouldn't be necessary as I hope to have a harvest in October.

I think I'll make up a tentative early schedule using GH's suggested schedule. I'll feed again in the morning, their first since being planted (into freshly fed coco).

 

[Death The Cultivator]

Look into inkbird humidity and temperature controllers.

I just read about Liebig's law. That should be helpful, as well as the chart both of you posted.

How well I can manage temp:RH during flowering may depend on the time of year. We'll see as this particular room had never even had electronics running in it till a few days ago--I'm not sure how cold it will get in the winter, but there are a number of variables I can control, and if necessary, I can even put a small space heater on a timer and run it in the room (not in the tent) during the lights-off period. But for this grow, it shouldn't be necessary as I hope to have a harvest in October.

I think I'll make up a tentative early schedule using GH's suggested schedule. I'll feed again in the morning, their first since being planted (into freshly fed coco).

Photosensitive Manifold Grow

Me vs. 00 Seeds' Autos 600w MH Drip Grow

 

[Exivious]

Day 4, evening addendum: I went ahead and fed the plants tonight now that I'm quite sure I didn't over-water yesterday after all. .5/.3/.3 M/G/F, 3 mL CalMag (with a full dose being 5 mL). This came out to 230 ppm. I'm about to collect run-off to measure volume (using my handy DIY run-off extraction tool, buy yours today! )

Now that I will be feeding more often than I'd initially planned, how should this affect my CalMag use? Should I be quarter or half-dosing CaliMagic now? I had previously planned to give a full dose every 3 or 4 days (in fact, when initializing the pots, I put in a full dose).

Is the important part how much CalMag is given over time (meaning I should divide that full dose out over two or three feedings), or is it mostly about plenty in each dose of food? I am thinking the latter due to the whole DTW concept.

I may be putting too much credence into some of the coco guides I've read elsewhere. They recommend lots of CalMag for coco--in fact, it's the only nutrient many people seem to recommend giving more of than the nute companies suggest. GH's recommended schedule says no CaliMagic until week 2, and then only 1.5 mL. Does something about coco coir mandate MORE CalMag than a traditional hydroponic setup? The comparisons I read are mostly between coco and soil as opposed to coco and traditional hydroponics.

In the gym, we have something called 'bro science'. It's basically bros spouting pseudo-scientific bullshit to look like a boss in front of novices and polite people, and I think every hobby has it some degree. I've read too many conflicting things over the past week and am trying to sort out the 'gro science' from the real thing.