New Grower I have some questions about my first grow.

[Yog Sothoth]

Hello everyone, after a bit of delay I have my first grow in my own tent about to start and even have a 25 day old 2 fast 2 vast in a friends tent. My seeds are on the way, my lights are on the way, my organic soil is cooking, I'm just a-fucking-bout set. Here's a few stats so you have an idea what I'm working with

2'x4' tent 5' tall
fabric pots
2 400W Mars II LED lights for 50W/sqft
Fast Buds West Coast OG, Heavyweight Fast and Vast, and HW Massive Midget
Dr Earths organic soil amended with dried sea kelp, extra mycorrhyizae, and Dr Earths Soil Inoculant (ass tons of beneficial bacteria)
Feeding with aerated water using Advanced Nutes Grow Micro Bloom, Humbolts Own Golden Tree, mycorrhyizae, Norwegian kelp extract, and Epsom salt and then I plan on getting a silica based nutrient as well (any ideas?)

But I digress, I have 3 questions about my first grow.

Firstly, the soil. I was wondering whats the most perlite I can put into an organic soil and still have the plant thrive. I was thinking about doing 50/50 so that the soil is very airy and drains/dries quickly so that i can water more often. Would this be okay?

Secondly, height. My tent is only 5 feet tall, so I figure a foot clearance on the top and anywhere from 12-16 inches of soil on the bottom. With 3' of plant space I feel like maybe I need to stunt the plants in a controlled manner or something. Could I let the Fast and Vast for example, grow out until week 3 or 4 when it's secondary branches start to come in and then top the plant so that it would actually lose a few days worth of veg and save me those valuable few inches? I've heard not to top autos because it uses valuable time to regenerate, but if I need it to stay a little shorter would topping be a viable way to do that? I was also looking into scroging the plants to keep them a bit more manageable as well.

Lastly, pot size. I know autos are supposed to have a deeper pot for better roots. I was wondering what size pot I should get to grow 2 plants in a 2'x4' space. I was looking at the 5-10 gallon fabric pots which measure
5 Gallon - 12"x10.5"
7 Gallon - 14" x 10.5"
10 Gallon - 16" x 12.5"
Which would be best, I was thinking maybe the 7 gallon or 10. That way it has a bit more to grow into and could maybe give it the plants a little extra time to recoup from the topping if I did it.

Thank you for any help you can provide, all input it appreciated!

 

[briman]

Hello Yog,
3 gallon fabric pots for that size tent. Anything bigger and you will run out of room at the top of the tent.
perlite, 1 gallon of perlite to 3 gallons of soil is great.
DO NOT stunt your plants! No stunting or your yields will be small!
I put my led at 30 inches above canopy for veg and let the plants grow up to it. Led stacks the nodes real tight, like right on top of each other if you arent careful. I like to see about 2 inch spacing. Your leds are 5w diodes and will throw out the par and will grow some great plants, but there is a learning curve to them. Closer isnt better.
Cal/mag, you will need a great cal/mag supplement. Led sucks the cal/mag out of a plant very quickly, to the point of showing its symptoms, you could ruin your grow. 5ml. per gallon of feed/water is good to start with.
Hope this sheds a little light on your grow. If you need anything at all, shoot me a pm and I'll come and take a peek and give you a hand if ya need it. Karma to your new endeavor!

 

[Yog Sothoth]

I feel like stunting might have been a bit of a strong term, I was thinking maybe you could top the auto to give her a slight set back with her main cola that takes a few days to repair so she loses a few days worth of veg and her side branches also pop out and even the canopy up a bit.

If I used 3 gallon fabric pots, how many plants could fit in that 2'x4' tent size? I know it isnt quite that simple and theres quite a few variables but I was figuring 2 5 gallon pots would maybe 4 3g's work?

I've heard that about cal-mag. I also heard that the magnesium in epsom salt and calcium from the sea weed extract worked together to replace cal-mag. I was also thinking of adding in blackstrap molassess for extra cal-mag and sugars.

 

[briman]

6-8 plants, but I would start with 6. That way, you wont deprive any for light by overcrowding. You can use epsom salt and molasses together, but I would still have a bottle of cal/mag on hand. I have the same size tent and I cant see having the room with a 5 gallon pot.
Topping the autos can do what you are thinking, but most strains(there are a few exceptions) simply will cut down your yield at the end. There are several guys here that have tested this several grows and the consensus from all of them....diminished yields.

 

[Yog Sothoth]

6-8 plants, oh wow. If I'm dropping that many seeds at a time I'll need to learn how to get good auto gene seeds so that I dont have to spend large amounts of money on herbies all the time. That no clones thing seems kind of like a bitch.

What's a guesstimate on an average or the low side of yield per plant in those smaller buckets given they dont go all fucky mid grow?

I'll look into some additional cal-mag, thanks although wait, Dr earth soil has dolomite lime in it, will that be enough or still more you think since LED's cause such a deficiency

 

[AKsteel]

I feel like stunting might have been a bit of a strong term, I was thinking maybe you could top the auto to give her a slight set back with her main cola that takes a few days to repair so she loses a few days worth of veg and her side branches also pop out and even the canopy up a bit.

If I used 3 gallon fabric pots, how many plants could fit in that 2'x4' tent size? I know it isnt quite that simple and theres quite a few variables but I was figuring 2 5 gallon pots would maybe 4 3g's work?

I've heard that about cal-mag. I also heard that the magnesium in epsom salt and calcium from the sea weed extract worked together to replace cal-mag. I was also thinking of adding in blackstrap molassess for extra cal-mag and sugars.

I have the same size tent and with fans set up and a 4' scrubber system installed I have room for 3 plants in 3 gallon smart pots. Right now I have a 2 fast 2 vast and a Blackstone on day 46 and I have enough room for one more plant without crowding. If I wanted to suspend my fan to have more floor space I could possibly fit 6 plants in 2 gallon smart pots, or 4 plants in 3 gallon smart pots but it would be pretty crowded.
With my 2 fast 2 vast I still have enough head room for it to grow another 12". She is in a 3 gallon smart pot.
There has also been some success with Fimming Autos. I have fimmed one plant so far and it worked out pretty well. It was a Yoda's Dragons Breath and she still got 3' tall. If you want to see the grow I have it linked in my signature under "First Grow".
Also, listen to Briman. If it wasn't for his advice I would have never succeeded with my first grow. He is a wealth of information. Good Luck and congrats on your first grow

 

[briman]

dolomite lime keeps you ph up, in the sweet spot. there is water/feed ph AND the actual soil ph. Keeping your soil ph in line is just as important as your feed ph. There is a great tool to help with this. Its called an Accurate 8 soil probe. Dolomite lime has nothing to do with cal/mag. See, most soil out of the bag, has a ph of about 7. As you water, the ph drops and as the medium dries out, the ph starts to climb. I use pro-mix medium water/feed at 6.3ph and the soil probe says 6.3 as the pot dries out the ph range rises up to 6.7, bringing the plant through the ph sweet spot for the greatest nutrient uptake from the plant.
Yield, hard to say what you would yield. alot plays into it. temps, water/feed schedule, light height, strain. I dont want to tell you that you will get 2 ounces per plant, then if you come out at 1 ounce or a half ounce, you will be pissed at me. Alot of variables to consider, but with some good skills and reading up on some journals and asking for help, I cant see anything less than 1-2 ounces per plant in a 3 gallon container. Just because you can fit 8 pots in side the tent, doesn't mean you should.
No clone on autos is not a bitch, considering you go from dropping your seed to chopping you stuff in 70 or so days! A good photo run would take you to about 120 days. If you need help mate, there are plenty of people here, including myself, that will help you along the way, that want you to be successful! If you win, we all win. Your grow logs, help pave the way for new and long time growers, simply for the fact that a well documented grow log can make the difference to someone else AND provide you with a great reference to look back on for yourself, should you run into problems on your later grows! Just give me a shout if you need anything. I want you to be able to crank this out on a daily basis...These are getting ready for chop in a week...

 

[briman]

Here is the link for the soil probe. No indoor soil gardener should go without this great tool. It will help you figure out ANY problems with a grow. Most grow problems are due to ph, and it can happen real quick. 3 of the best things to have on hand are,
1) An Accurate soil probe
Amazon product ASIN B004PDNQOK2) a bottle of cal/mag. The best is Botanicare
Amazon product ASIN B004JKBMRW3) a small bag of dolomite lime. Your ph will drop off around week 5-6. Some times, more than others. I have only had 1 grow from start to finish, that I didnt have a ph swing, so staying on top of it is paramount for a successful grow.

 

[TEKGROW]

Wich soil probe .. i cant copy the sku on. The probe ..is it the 3 in one soil probe whats the price or link mi to it

 

[briman]

Control wizard accurate 8