[Author's Note, I started this journal on another site, and am recreating it here because I've just been checking in here so much reading all the good tips and info. I'm here to learn and help - any feedback along the way is appreciated. Many thanks!]
Hello Autoflowerers!
My goal to keep it simple, so I chose soil over coco, and am trying to source my supplies locally and at a reasonable cost (keep wife happy) ;-) ... May other goal is excellent results, and learning. (This has got to be the coolest science project, ever! )
This is my first journal... and first 'real' grow. This is actually my '2nd' grow attempt. However, the first was 30 years ago in a apartment bedroom closet with old-school CF's and it was fun but ended early when I had to move apts... I do remember core fundamentals such as sexing and light cycle, but technology/technique has leaped forward, and I was just a kid in college.
... I tossed aside and totally forgot a bag seed this summer, and it surprisingly from the edge of an old pot she grew into a flowering female just sitting on my deck. She is lankly, ingored 1st month+, my cat ate the bottom leaves, I fought off thrips when I finally started paying attention. Well, the top looks healthy, and suddenly I'm engrossed. I started planning and reading... I ordered 3 seeds from Herbies, and they arrived 11 days later, bonus seeds too. Not knowing much about different strains, I chose Jack Herer, as I know I like sativa's, I like the story behind Mr. Herer. I like the idea of a perpetual grow using autos.
Seeds Ordered:
3x Auto Jack Herer Feminized (AJ)
Freebies:
1x Auto Biodiesel Mass Feminized (BM)
2x Paradise DeLaHaze Feminized (PD)
2x Afghani Regular (AF)
My grow space is ~4'x3' with about 5' of height -- it is the nook behind the A/C unit in a closet in the garage, with a side hall. I've lined the area with aluminum foil for now, including a piece of cardboard for the 4th wall. I later read foil is not best (and I put the wrong side out, too! ... maybe I'll get a small can of flat white paint... but for now, af has got to reflect better than insulation).
A fan is set nearby to circulate the air. About a week ago, my 9-band LED grow lamp 300W (165W actual), arrived from from china. I have a 60W Phillips heat/infrared lamp about 18" off to the side. The space began accommodating my bag seed (BS) plant which had been flowering for over three weeks now, and I imagine it will keep flowering on 12/12 through the end of Sept. BS spent the first 6-8 weeks of her life on the deck mostly ignored, but getting about 6 hours of direct sun. She was finally fed, and I added potting soil added last week. If the days are sunny, I take the plant back out to the deck for direct sun as part of the 12 hours light. If I even get just a few grams from her, I'll be very happy.
Soil Prep
From Lowe's I picked up:
32 Qt. Miracle-Grow Organic Choice Potting Soil (0.10 - 0.05 - 0.05)
48 oz Miracle-Grow Quick Start (4-12-4)
8 Qt Miracle-Grow Perlite (0.07 - 0.07 - 0.07)
Alaska Fish Fertilizer (5-1-1)
10 Qt Jiffy Seed Starting Mix ("45-50% peat moss, 45-50% vermiculite, lime for ph balance.")
#5 Jiffy Pots
Coarse
Laying around the house I have some
E.B.Stone Organic Sure Start (4-6-2) -- (I'm concerned because it's over two years old, but I couldn't find starter nutes at the local shops.)
Better Grow Orchid Bloom Boost (11-35-15)
Black Molasses
I thoroughly mixed the dirt this way for each 4gal pot: (based on the sticky guide here):
3 gallons potting soil.
4 Tablespoons Organic Sure Start (for micros) -- a little less than what was on the package, as I plan to add more nutes once down the road.
4 Quarts Perlite
1 Quart coarse sand (1/2 small bag).
... and I threw in two large handfuls of the Jiffy Seed Starting Mix for good measure.
This is a little more soil than will fit into a 4 gallon.)
Initial COSTS (so far):
$70 for LED grow light
$50 for all the stuff from Lowe's
$10 two 12" pots from Walmart
$30 seeds
total: ~$160.
Here we go!
Day 0: I put two seeds into a wet paper towel, one was the Jack-Herer (JH), and other the freebie, the auto-Bio-diesel (BD). The BD seed was larger w/ visible 'tiger' brown/black, The JH seed almost 1/3 size smaller, more black looking.
Day 1: No tap root yet as of noon. I am going to go ahead and soak some seed starting mix in water overnight to make sure it holds water well. Still leaning how to prep the soil. I think the Jiffy #5's might be larger than needed for germination... still reading.
Day 2: Signs of life! The JH popped. I've read transplanting autos is often hard on the plant, so I'm going to put JH straight into my mix, in the 12" pot. Did that about noon. Later in the day, I can see the BD seed has split open, too! Though I can't see a tap root, I ended up potting her in the evening.
I took the 12" pots, drilled a bunch more drainage holes, thoroughly mixed my dirt and poured it all in.
I then took some of Seed Starting Mix I had placed to soak last night sprinkled around top, and into a little crater in the middle, put JH in, covered her with more of the starting mix, then added about 1/4" more soil on the top, and then watered well. I took a 6" screwdriver and poked several airation holes in the soil. No other nutrients to start, except for what is already in the soil (mostly from Organic Sure Start). I skipped the actual Jiffy pots.
I'm letting the seedlings just sit out on my deck for now until she show's. It's a sunny days, temps will reach 85F
The SB plant is enjoying an afternoon on the deck too, for the scrawny neglected lady she is, the top is looking good.
I've got to figure out how to switch to 18/6, and sill keep my BS baby flowering... Either a separate space, or take her out early each night. Autos apparenty don't do as well on 12/12.
Also, odor control. I'm going to start searching for something that will hopefully keep the whole closet room area clean since my plant is not 'contained'. .. and I need to get some CFLs for the seedlings.
... whoever thought a bucket of dirt could be so exciting!
pics:
Hello Autoflowerers!
My goal to keep it simple, so I chose soil over coco, and am trying to source my supplies locally and at a reasonable cost (keep wife happy) ;-) ... May other goal is excellent results, and learning. (This has got to be the coolest science project, ever! )
This is my first journal... and first 'real' grow. This is actually my '2nd' grow attempt. However, the first was 30 years ago in a apartment bedroom closet with old-school CF's and it was fun but ended early when I had to move apts... I do remember core fundamentals such as sexing and light cycle, but technology/technique has leaped forward, and I was just a kid in college.
... I tossed aside and totally forgot a bag seed this summer, and it surprisingly from the edge of an old pot she grew into a flowering female just sitting on my deck. She is lankly, ingored 1st month+, my cat ate the bottom leaves, I fought off thrips when I finally started paying attention. Well, the top looks healthy, and suddenly I'm engrossed. I started planning and reading... I ordered 3 seeds from Herbies, and they arrived 11 days later, bonus seeds too. Not knowing much about different strains, I chose Jack Herer, as I know I like sativa's, I like the story behind Mr. Herer. I like the idea of a perpetual grow using autos.
Seeds Ordered:
3x Auto Jack Herer Feminized (AJ)
Freebies:
1x Auto Biodiesel Mass Feminized (BM)
2x Paradise DeLaHaze Feminized (PD)
2x Afghani Regular (AF)
My grow space is ~4'x3' with about 5' of height -- it is the nook behind the A/C unit in a closet in the garage, with a side hall. I've lined the area with aluminum foil for now, including a piece of cardboard for the 4th wall. I later read foil is not best (and I put the wrong side out, too! ... maybe I'll get a small can of flat white paint... but for now, af has got to reflect better than insulation).
A fan is set nearby to circulate the air. About a week ago, my 9-band LED grow lamp 300W (165W actual), arrived from from china. I have a 60W Phillips heat/infrared lamp about 18" off to the side. The space began accommodating my bag seed (BS) plant which had been flowering for over three weeks now, and I imagine it will keep flowering on 12/12 through the end of Sept. BS spent the first 6-8 weeks of her life on the deck mostly ignored, but getting about 6 hours of direct sun. She was finally fed, and I added potting soil added last week. If the days are sunny, I take the plant back out to the deck for direct sun as part of the 12 hours light. If I even get just a few grams from her, I'll be very happy.
Soil Prep
From Lowe's I picked up:
32 Qt. Miracle-Grow Organic Choice Potting Soil (0.10 - 0.05 - 0.05)
48 oz Miracle-Grow Quick Start (4-12-4)
8 Qt Miracle-Grow Perlite (0.07 - 0.07 - 0.07)
Alaska Fish Fertilizer (5-1-1)
10 Qt Jiffy Seed Starting Mix ("45-50% peat moss, 45-50% vermiculite, lime for ph balance.")
#5 Jiffy Pots
Coarse
Laying around the house I have some
E.B.Stone Organic Sure Start (4-6-2) -- (I'm concerned because it's over two years old, but I couldn't find starter nutes at the local shops.)
Better Grow Orchid Bloom Boost (11-35-15)
Black Molasses
I thoroughly mixed the dirt this way for each 4gal pot: (based on the sticky guide here):
3 gallons potting soil.
4 Tablespoons Organic Sure Start (for micros) -- a little less than what was on the package, as I plan to add more nutes once down the road.
4 Quarts Perlite
1 Quart coarse sand (1/2 small bag).
... and I threw in two large handfuls of the Jiffy Seed Starting Mix for good measure.
This is a little more soil than will fit into a 4 gallon.)
Initial COSTS (so far):
$70 for LED grow light
$50 for all the stuff from Lowe's
$10 two 12" pots from Walmart
$30 seeds
total: ~$160.
Here we go!
Day 0: I put two seeds into a wet paper towel, one was the Jack-Herer (JH), and other the freebie, the auto-Bio-diesel (BD). The BD seed was larger w/ visible 'tiger' brown/black, The JH seed almost 1/3 size smaller, more black looking.
Day 1: No tap root yet as of noon. I am going to go ahead and soak some seed starting mix in water overnight to make sure it holds water well. Still leaning how to prep the soil. I think the Jiffy #5's might be larger than needed for germination... still reading.
Day 2: Signs of life! The JH popped. I've read transplanting autos is often hard on the plant, so I'm going to put JH straight into my mix, in the 12" pot. Did that about noon. Later in the day, I can see the BD seed has split open, too! Though I can't see a tap root, I ended up potting her in the evening.
I took the 12" pots, drilled a bunch more drainage holes, thoroughly mixed my dirt and poured it all in.
I then took some of Seed Starting Mix I had placed to soak last night sprinkled around top, and into a little crater in the middle, put JH in, covered her with more of the starting mix, then added about 1/4" more soil on the top, and then watered well. I took a 6" screwdriver and poked several airation holes in the soil. No other nutrients to start, except for what is already in the soil (mostly from Organic Sure Start). I skipped the actual Jiffy pots.
I'm letting the seedlings just sit out on my deck for now until she show's. It's a sunny days, temps will reach 85F
The SB plant is enjoying an afternoon on the deck too, for the scrawny neglected lady she is, the top is looking good.
I've got to figure out how to switch to 18/6, and sill keep my BS baby flowering... Either a separate space, or take her out early each night. Autos apparenty don't do as well on 12/12.
Also, odor control. I'm going to start searching for something that will hopefully keep the whole closet room area clean since my plant is not 'contained'. .. and I need to get some CFLs for the seedlings.
... whoever thought a bucket of dirt could be so exciting!
pics:
Last edited:
