New Grower First Grow: Pink Lady and Lowryder #2 with chronic ryders to come

[autobliterate]

My first grow is well underway and I would appreciate any advice or info anyone wants to pass on.

I am planting auto's staggered every couple of weeks to be able to have several harvests over the spring. All the plants are being grown according to the easy dirt guide stickied on this sub-forum. The first plant Boudicca is a Pink Lady auto that was a freebie from seedsman. She sprouted on 12/15/14 and so is 37 days old today. Anyone ever grown this before and know how long she should take? She is looking good though and just got her first dose of flowering nutes (Miracle Grow quick starter) on monday. She was started under 2 23w 6500k cfls and was moved underneath a Mars reflector 450w after about two weeks.




The second plant, Arwyn, is a Lowryder #2 that sprouted on 01/06/15 and so is 16 days old. She just got her first veg feed (Hydrolyzed fish) and has been growing fast since. She was sprouted under cfl but moved much sooner under the LED. I think it might have slowed her down a bit at first but not she seems to be taking off.





I also just sprouted two chronic ryders and had to do some excavation because i think i had burried them too deep. Regardless the sprouts are looking ok and should have some little cotyledons later today or tomorrow. I will update once they emerge fully. Temps have been under control peaking at 84 but mostly staying around 79 with lights on and 69-72 with lights off. Humidity has been holding around 45 lately.


Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Let me know what you think.

 

[woody]

looking good there mate, seems you have everything under control, haven't seen or read anything about those pink lady autos, keep us updated man and good luck

 

[illbethere]

Looks really really nice!

In my opinion the pink lady could do with some LST'ing but don't do anything you're not comfortable with and if you do do it slowly and with caution!

overall you've done a good job and welcome!

 

[autobliterate]

Looks really really nice!

In my opinion the pink lady could do with some LST'ing but don't do anything you're not comfortable with and if you do do it slowly and with caution!

overall you've done a good job and welcome!

Thanks for the encouragement. I was definitely thinking about starting some LST on Boudicca as she is growing a bit unevenly and could probably use some spreading out so the inner bud sites get some more light. I will rig up some wire this afternoon and get some of those branches spread. Before I do though, would you recommend also trying to bend the main cola over a bit? I know the idea is to increase the light to the budding sites but Im not sure what would be most beneficial.

 

[illbethere]

give me a sec I will draw what I think you could do and post it.

 

[illbethere]

the wire in the middle will prevent you from just snapping her in half while pulling her down all the way at the top.

Just be sure to be gentle.

 

[autobliterate]

Thanks for the drawing. Just for clarification I should use three wires and brace at the bottom and middle and then take the top as low as i feel safe? I definitely want to try to maximize yield and so will likely give this a go this afternoon.

The goal of this is to get as many budsites as I can around the same height correct?

 

[londonpeach]

Hey autobliterate and welcome to the forums! :tiphat: I am loving your profile pic, that is one badass looking cat! Is he/she yours?
Unfortunately I can't comment much on your grow schedule as I'm not familiar with soil/organics. You seem to be doing well and the plants certainly do not show any deficiencies.
Some very good pointers from illbethere regarding LST, bending the main stem would be a good idea of improving the structure of the plants and creating more budsites - be careful though and only bend her as far as she will GENTLY go. Especially in flower, applying too much pressure which might result in breaking or otherwise stressing the plant is a big no-no. I would advise against using raw wire as it can cut into the stem, rubber-coated wire or pipe cleaners are a better idea. Or you can just use a soft string to tie her down.

This website has a lot of good info regarding LST and other things - http://www.growweedeasy.com/training#bending

Good luck!

 

[illbethere]

Thanks for the drawing. Just for clarification I should use three wires and brace at the bottom and middle and then take the top as low as i feel safe? I definitely want to try to maximize yield and so will likely give this a go this afternoon.

The goal of this is to get as many budsites as I can around the same height correct?

yes the bottom wire is there so you won't pull out the plant from the soil and damage roots.
It has to be opposite of the way you are LSTing so she stays in place

What happens when you LST is that the top part from which it is growing is bend down towards the lower branches.
It has something to do with that if this is bend down that she will push up other branches to reach to the top.
Which will create multiple big cola's instead of just one massive main cola and increase yield.
it will also give it more light on the bottom part of the plant.
You could look up LST'ing for a more technical explanation.

Adding some side lights will also encourage side branches to develope better and result in a bigger harvest

 

[autobliterate]

I got her bent back a bit and some of the branches spread out. Will update later with photos. The Chronic Ryders are just shedding their seed casings i'll get some pics of them as well.