New Grower It's beginning to get exciting

[smithers]

It wouldn't surprise me if this first grow fails. Already at this early stage there's so many things i'd do differently; a bigger tent for starters with perhaps LED lighting instead of HPS, as i've read they've advanced considerably in recent years.

My un-educated guess would be that she looks a bit over watered. It just looks limp, unlike last night when i took the photos above. I'm watering her once a day at the mo with 300ml; enough to keep the soil moist. But another rookie mistake could be that i've pre-mixed my water and nutes in a 10 litre container as it was easier to measure out the correct ratio, and as a result it's now two weeks old. I also haven't paid any attention to PH levels.

Clearly much more to this and lots still to learn.

 

[9bear]

Hey Smithers
Like you I'm an novice grower so I offer advise with tongue in cheek . I would back off on the watering to every other day and see what happens . I also hate mixing nutes as I'm no mathematician and am vulnerable to making mistakes but have decided to mix only what I need for a couple of days . I currently have 10 autos going second week so I make enough for watering every other day give or take a day .It makes for more work measuring but I'm comfortable with this but it's going to take a couple of weeks to see results .
Yes there is a lot to learn but man is it fascinating.

 

[londonpeach]

Hey smithers,
All very good advice that you're getting from the members above! :clap:

Regarding the leaves - (thanks to TaNg now I know!) your plant is exhibiting something called variegation - it's not a deficiency, just means this is how the leaves will grow, with slight pattern of lighter/darker green on them - as far as I know it does not affect the plant's health in any way, she might just look different that's all. Also I've seen a couple of Auto Ultimates do this before so it's definitely a genetic trait. No need to worry!

If your plant looks sagging and droopy I would definitely back off on the watering a tad and see if that helps. Might be helpful though to know your temperatures and humidity as well, do you have one of those thermometers with hygrometer inside? (sorry if this has been covered I can't find it). A good rule to see if it's over/under watering is to judge the plant - if the leaves are thin looking, wilting and drooping from the stem the plant needs more water, if the leaves on the other hand are firm to touch, and curling down with the stem being firm as well, it means they are overwatered. Both conditions easily fixed!

Be careful about leaving nutrients mixed up for too long - chemical fertilisers (A+B etc) can keep for some time but if you're adding anything else (root stimulators, enzymes, carbs) it can get spoiled pretty fast (happened to me) and the pH might drift and of course it will affect the plant, so well spotted.

Regarding LST there is lots of journals here on how to do it - you might also check out THIS website - not only for LST but all general info regarding growing (hope it's ok I put this link in here) - there are many techniques explained there and you can take your pick (lst and scrog are recommended for autos, topping, fimming and supercropping not so much).

But most importantly, I think you should give yourself more credit - there is nothing so far in the grow that would warrant the suspicion that it might fail. Yes the tent is small, but many of us grow in small tents and still get decent harvests, it just means you get to be a bit more creative. When the circumstances are different you might want to upgrade to a bigger one. HPS/LED are both viable options, I wouldn't ditch it at all, as long as you can keep your temperatures in the acceptable range (as in not overheat) it should give you plenty of happy buds. Again, later on you might want to upgrade to LED but people have been growing with HPS for decades and it's a good light! So chin up and let that Auto Ultimate show you why it's named like this :karma Cloud:

 

[Eyes on Fire]

nice looking plants man.Ive been trimming leaves for years n years and almost never manipulate my plants at all.especially with tlo/organic grows,the plant exhibits even less stresses or slowing of the growth when trimming even full leaves.but yeah the discoloration isnt a real trouble and is quite common.if it gets worse or they change color in the scarring ask away.but imho with a small tent it would be way easier to use a T5 HO in that space with possibly better results especially since HID lights even at low Wattage can really throw off some heat in a smaller space.

and if you fed her recently and shes still dropping after a full cycle of lights or a darkness/sleep period try fluffing the soil really well in increasing the air flow over the pot slightly for a few hours.or near it anyways.hope thats helpful bud.be good:Sharing One:

 

[smithers]

Cheers for the reply and encouragement londonpeach! Yes, I've found everyone on here very helpful and knowledgeable. I've definitely done the right thing by joining the forum and I look forward to hopefully sharing my success with everyone and helping others as well as seeking help myself.

The colouration of the leaves is no longer a concern as I've seen it on other grows, including the same strain grown by TaNg.

Up until this morning, my plant has seemed happy with rapid growth over the past week. Maybe I'm worrying over nothing. Let's see what a day under the light does. If it's perked up, I will as you say back off on the watering. I tend to water it when the soil looks and feels dry on the surface, but of course that may not necessarily be the case below.

In terms of temperatures, the tent is in my spare room, which generally hovers around 20C. I have the door closed with the window slightly open to give ventilation. If i'm out all day, the temperature rises slightly. l have two additional 4" fans inside tent. When i walk in the room the temperature is usually what i would call cosy. The exhaust air from the tent feels slightly warm and muggy on the back of my hand. I don't have any kind of thermometer in the room.

I should have taken a picture this morning really but the mornings are always a rush. The leaves definitely don't give the appearance of wilting or thinning. If anything i'd say the latter symptoms apply, although there's no curling in the leaves. They seem well formed. Everything looks like my latest pics above except for the general limp appearance. If it still looks the same when i get home this evening (or worse) i'll get some pics, but I'm hoping it'll have perked up.

Finally, for my nutes, i do add an enzyme additive. 1 drop of this stuff treats 4.5 liters so i added 2 when i mixed up with 10 liters of water. Will mix some fresh nutes tonight.

Thanks again everyone for all the help, advice and encouragement. Will update this thread regularly as the adventure continues to unfold.

 

[smithers]

Oh, just another observation i've made...

Since the plant's growth really started taking off about a week ago, the main stem has obvioysly thickened considerably, but at the same time, it started leaning and growing out the soil at an angle. Further up it's obviously righted itself as plants do. It's almost like it's self LST'ing! lol! It's odd that it would do that when, as a seedling in the first days, it grew straight as an arrow. It may or may not be related to the limp look this morning.

 

[smithers]

Well she's looking a bit perkier after a day in the artificial sun It's been 24 hours since I last watered it. The surface of the soil is mostly dry to the touch. Maybe it was a little overwatered.

Anyway judge for yourselves...

 

[smithers]

Day 17

These pics were taken in the dark with a flash, as I've read numerous times on here that it better captures the true condition of the plant/leaves etc. Quite interesting. There's a rogue yellowish leaf poking out the base. The rest seem ok in terms of colour, but they appear quite thick and waxy looking with a few displaying slight upward curls at the edges. Also, you'll notice from the 4th picture that it looks like I haven't planted it centrally in the pot, but that's where the stem has been progressively growing at more of an angle the past week or so. It's at about 45 degrees now where it comes out the soil...weird! It's also beginning to give off a mild scent.

Any expert opinions? I'm not too worried to be honest as it's all part of the learning curve.

 

[smithers]

Day 20 and looking a bedraggled mess it has to be said. There seems to be no upward growth at all. I can only assume that in trying to correct itself and compensate for growing out the soil at an angle, it seems to be getting itself into a knot. Below the main canopy is a complete mess. Based on what I've seen from others' grows of the same strain, by this stage, the nodes should be much further apart and the plant standing tall with plenty of space in between.



I'm going to give it until the end of the week and see how it goes.

 

[Cannabinoid Connoisseur]

When it starts preflowering the growth will explode. Just be patient