Hey everyone! This is my very first grow-and boy has it been a ride. A little info before i get in to it
(Shaneequah, White Widow Auto, 5/15/2018)
Deets
Name: Shaneequah
Strain: White Widow Auto from ILGM.com
Grow Medium: FoxFarms Ocean Forrest + ~20% added perlite
Nute Schedule: ~1/2 FoxFarms Soil, using basics (Big Bloom, Grow Big, Tiger Bloom, Kangaroots, Sledgehammer)
Added Bennies: AZOS, Great White
Pot Size: 1gal
Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor -
tent
Circulation: 3 x 6" 2 speed clip on fans
Humidity Control: controller attached to a cool mist humidifier (my daughters lovely green froggy humidifier from when she was a baby
)
Heat: Has not really come to this yet-but I have 2 small bathroom heaters that can be used along with my seed starter temperature controller-but this has not been an issue.
A little intro
So before i go in to detail i will say that the original intention/inspiration for growing was 1st and foremost because rec weed is expensive and quality around me has taken a turn. Also, i had intended to build/use (and DID build/use for a very short while) a small stealth grow box out of an Original Bradley Smoker (pics upon request). I quickly realized that conditions change too much within a ~2.5sq/ft area to be usable. Also... no idea how to get humidity/heat AND lights/fans in that small of an area. Then i had this face-palm moment as i looked at amazon at grow tents... super cheap ugh-so that is when i purchased my tent. Note that this basically means Shaneequah, for about 2 weeks (seedling) was sitting in horribly maintained conditions, under an 80 watt(advertised) LED grow light, that was leaning toward being too cold-not too hot.
The Grow
Week 1 (VEG) (3/19 - 3/25)
As you can see i was finishing up my build as i germinated and started her-but really it was just the carbon filter needed to be created.
Germinated using the paper towel method, then planted ~1/4" from the surface and lightly covered with soil. I chose to wrap with cling wrap to boost the humidity-as i was still having issues controlling it.
Week 2 (VEG) (3/26 - 4/1)
She is growing-but slowly, although i don't know it at this time haha. Not much happening here with the exception of getting my grow tent... finally.
Week 3 (VEG) (4/2 - 4/8)
Still slowly growing. This week the weather finally started looking like spring/summer and I could definitely tell there was gonna be heat issues in this master closet. No flow, and I switched out the 4" extractor for a 6". This thing is still running 4" ducting, sucking out of tent, through carbon filter-but unfortunately the nearest window is a LONG LONG way away... this was just horrible. Daytime temps during this week were seeing low 80's
Week 4 (VEG) (4/9 - 4/15)
Another normal week.
Week 5 (VEG) (4/16 - 4/22)
Another normal week.
Week 6 (VEG) (4/23 - 4/29)
Coming along nicely. At this point I received a recommendation about LST and FIMing. While looking at the plant i really only saw one thing, at that time,-one fan leaf that could be pulled in a specific direction that would twist the main stem down and out of the way. This opened up a LOT of light to the rest of the plant.
I FIM'ed-or attempted anyway, and appears to have worked. I am curious when this should be done, and how many times could this be done on an autoflower compared to a standard photoperiod plant?
Week 7 (VEG) (4/30 - 5/6)
Since the FIM seemed to go as planned I thought the only thing that really could benefit would be evening out the light distribution. I think i actually waited TOO long, now that i've read/asked a bit more, I realized it after she took a really nasty bend when i did more LST. However, she didn't really slow at all-so hopefully it wasn't too stressful on her.
I'm concerned about lighting and flowering-i'm sitting at 24" distance between plant/light and that seems to be the sweet spot-but that doesn't leave any more room for growth... kind of wondering if i overshot the lights, or if this tent just isn't, still, going to work.
Week 8 (VEG) (5/7 - 5/13)
Still putting on some height and started flowering-I'm not considering this a flowering week, however, i'll stick with the same nutes this week.
Also, moved the tent to my new office-which has a window ~5' away from the closet the tent is within. This will help out a LOT on temps i think.
Week 9 (FLOWER) (5/14 - 5/20) (current week)
This week is exciting-i bought a standing AC unit, piped to my new office window along with the extraction fans ducting. This AC unit has no issues keeping the room at a nice 72 which keeps the tent at ~77-79F. I've decided to place my 6" extraction fan on my light timer, that way it pops on when the heavy lights come on, and stays off until then. My 4", next to the window, is an always on and keeps up with the lights off-hours no problem. My AC unit is left on the COOL setting with a setting of 72 and just keeps the room nice regardless of if the lights/fans/etc. going.
I'm hoping i get some height and buds start to fatten-they look like little popcorn buds (even at the top) right now
5/18/2018 - Going to be keeping an eye on watering today as she is looking a bit yellow on her first node of leaves
Also, i'm attempting to see if i can up my c02 a bit by adding a jug with a baking-soda/yeast/sugar/water mixture. I have a couple arduino sensor kits laying around that i'm doing to be fiddling with today to see if i can get some c02 readings and automated environment readings.
5/20/2018 - I was definitely feeling the pressure when i saw the leaves start yellowing
Yesterdays watering seemed to be what she needed-it doesn't appear that there was any change-that is GOOD i assume! In a matter of a day it went from a light green to a yellow-so not seeing any extra yellow today was pretty refreshing. I'm going to be a lot more careful now that i have a better understanding of my measurements and what is actually expected. Pics have been updated-tomorrow starts week 10 yay!
Looking great, I have auto white widow from the same company. I am at 4 weeks & flowers are starting. Personally I never clip autos, I go the direction of more plants. I just started buying seeds, a tad pricey. I'm an old head used to growing free bagseeds. IL♥GM is the tits. Only good things to say bout that company. But flowering @ 4 weeks really surprised me. I do big bloom in veg, Tiger after they start their flower & a new one I am going to try is Koolbloom BYGH in the last few weeks before harvest. It is a 2-45-28 nitrogen, phosphate, potash. New one for me, but recommended to thicken & tighten buds. If anyone has used this Koolbloom before, please let me know your experience. Keep it up Mike, for a 1rst grow, you look like you have a green thumb. Seems like you are trying too many techniques on autos. They grow by time. If. You want to play around with fiming, topping, super cropping, lst, try on a photo plant. That way you are not going against the clock. My last super , I had over 20 tops. Anytime you do any of those things, it can stress the plant. I took the lazy way w/ autos this time, just feed & water...lol. Hope it all turns out well 4 ya. ✌
Thanks, and I hope everyone enjoys reading!
Mike
she is looking good today-the rapid yellowing/browning appears to have slowed/stopped. She was definitely thirsty so i just kept on my normal measurements, this time not expecting the ppm/ec to match a specific number-although i DID double check that my final pH was in a soil range and not a hydro range. I'll be keeping a better eye on that number as a base instead of this other that i was chasing.
