New Grower Mr ZigZag’s first grow! Advice accepted!

[MrZigzag]

Background Info

• I have gardening experience but never have grown autoflowers.
• This grow will start out indoor (soil) but due to necessity will switch to outdoor around the 4-6 week mark.
• I have browsed this forum for a while and have gathered a lot of information, but I have huge gaps of knowledge which I hope y’all can help me with!

The plants

• #1 Dutch Passion Star Ryder
• #2 Nirvana Blue Mystic
• #3 Dinafem SourD

The soil & water
A mix of 20% Perlite, 30% Ocean Forest Potting Soil and 50% Happy Frog Potting Soil. #1 & #2 are in 2 gal pots and #3 is in a small peat pot. (I know this is not ideal and I will need to transplant soon, will have questions on that!)The water is filtered and I am PH balancing it to 6.5. I put a conservative amount of General Hydroponics RapidStart in there as well.

The lighting
For the indoor stage I am using the Hydrofarm Jumpstart 2’ T5 light stand which has the following specs: 24 Watt T5 bulb (2 feet). 2000 Lumen & 6400k. Currently I am keeping the lights on a 24/0 cycle. I’m currently keeping the lights about 5-6 inches away from the plants.

Current Status
This is Update #1 and as I write this, the seeds popped about 10 days ago. #1 (Star Ryder) is doing the best with 3 or 4 true leaves and #2 (Blue Mystic) and #3 (SourD) are far behind it.

I’ve attached the photos below. Again, the Star Ryder is the biggest, the SourD is in the small peat pot and the Blue Mystic is the smallest but in the 2gal pot. (Note that I raised the lights a bit to take the photo, usually it is much lower!)


High Priority Questions

• #1, the Star Ryder is the healthiest, but it looks like there is a bit of yellowness creeping into the leaves. Any steps I need to be taking?
• #2, the Blue Mystic is the weakest plant right now, don’t think there’s much I can do about it, right?
• #3 The SourD seems to be on the right track but is also in the small peat pot. I know that Autoflowers don’t like to be transplanted, is this going to be a problem down the road and if so, are there any steps I can take now?

Lower Priority Questions

• Given the specs of my lighting, at what point should I start thinking about moving these outside?
• I have a PH pen as well as PH Up/Down. Should I get a PH Soil tester also?

What else am I missing?

 

[armanidog]

If the leaves are getting a little yellow maybe feed them some nutrients if you have not done so yet. Half strength nutes to start.
You can bury a peat pot in a bigger pot. I usually wet the small peat pot and growing medium. Dig a hole in the big pot. and as you hold the small peat pot just over the hole carefully cut some slits in the sides and bottom of the small peat pot (a razor knife works well) and then bury it in the big pot.
Different strains seem to take off at different speeds. How tall does the Ryder finish at compared to the other two? I have a strain that will finish at around 24 inches and it is smaller at 20 days than the one that wil finish at 30-36 inches.

 

[MrZigzag]

Thanks for the response man!

So in terms of the yellowing leaves, I'm barely on week 2, I thought my mix of 20% Perlite, 30% OF Potting Soil and 50% HF Potting Soil would provide enough nutrients and that I should be careful of adding nutes so early. But maybe that's what you meant by 1/2 strength? Also I'm getting a Accurate pH 8 soil PH and moisture meter in a few days, so that should help take some of the guesswork out of my soil.

So your transplant method with the peat pot makes sense, I think my problem is that I have limited space in my grow box and so if I add a third 2 gal pot, then I have an issue with getting good lighting on all three plants. I will have to think about what to do. I may end up bringing the healthy one outside to the greenhouse earlier than I had thought in order to get it some sun and then bring it back in at night.

The Star Ryder was the fastest to germinate and generally seems very strong, but the Dutch Passion site says it grows to about 50 cm tall which is actually much shorter than what Dinafem says for the Sour Diesel (75-160cm) and the Blue Mystic specs don't give specific heights but they do say it is "short".

 

[Trapper]

I think with OF in there, if anything the soil is a tad hot. I usually run straight HF.

Whenever I run too hot my seedlings develop yellowing but it's usually the veins not the spaces between.

It also looks like one of your gals is just a mutant...which doesn't mean it's unhealthy...just can't
decide what it wants to become.

and hey....WELCOME to AFN!

 

[MrZigzag]

Thanks man!

Yeah, in terms of the 30% OF, I think I was supposed to put that on the bottom layer of the pot with the Happy Frog on top, but I ended up mixing them both together. So in your estimation it sounds like I shouldn't add nutes at this point because that could add to the burn right?

Any advice on watering at this point? Most of the advice I read says to be very careful of overwatering, I just don't want to be too careful!

 

[Werner Heisenburg]

I agree with trapper. I ran a few grows in OF and the strains did well, no feedings for a few weeks as the soil is hot enough. Again, might depend on the genetics of the beans also. Some like it hot where as others are a little more touchy.

 

[akreso]

Hey Mr. Zigzag, I am a noob at this too, but watching your grow. I am especially interested in that Star Ryder. Looks like your off and running with a little bit of trouble shooting already. Obviously there's a wealth of knowledge here and people are more than willing to support. Welcome to AFN and cheers to a great first grow!

 

[Werner Heisenburg]

Thanks man!

Yeah, in terms of the 30% OF, I think I was supposed to put that on the bottom layer of the pot with the Happy Frog on top, but I ended up mixing them both together. So in your estimation it sounds like I shouldn't add nutes at this point because that could add to the burn right?

Any advice on watering at this point? Most of the advice I read says to be very careful of overwatering, I just don't want to be too careful!

Careful with the watering as it will develop root rot.. Damp but not wet. I used a 10ml syringe to water around my seedlings when they were that size. Did not want to disturb the soil much. I think seeds are root crazy and are trying to put down a large tap root to pull in as much water and nutes. So, I don't baby the little beans to much. I like to harden them off a bit and they usually respond well.

 

[Trapper]

So as far as adding nutes, IMHO I would go to day 18 or 20 for you...I start a very light
feed at Day 14 or 15 but I am straight HF.

As to watering, it's tough to get the feel for early watering....

I do what's called "column feeding" where I water right at the base of the stalk of the
seedling and try to create a "column" of water going straight down to the bottom of
the pot. This encourages the tap root to find the bottom. This also helps with not getting
the soil too wet as the drier soil around the column leeches/wicks moisture away, keeping
it from remaining saturated/waterlogged.

A couple days before I plan on introducing nutrients for the first time, I begin to "ring feed" or
watering in a ring around the outer circumference of the pot. while backing off the
column feeding but not entirely...just less. And theoretically this entices the side roots
to head for the outer edges of the pot while saturating and releasing the nutes
precharged in the soil that haven't already been released.

Then the last thing I do before adding nutes for the first time, I give it the first full
pot soak, not to a ton of run-off. just a touch. That way I get a good before/after
on judging a light pot when it goes dry....then the first light feed with a full soak to
10-15% run-off.

That's what I do, but it IS hard to get the early watering down...you always want to
give it everything it wants and can use but not at the risk of going over that line.
For me anyway, it's just been one of those things you "dial in"

Cheers! Just my 2 cents...tons of ways different ways to succeed, I imagine.

 

[MrZigzag]

Thanks for the support y'all, Trapper the column watering idea is a great one, I'll use that.

I'm kicking myself a bit because I unexpectedly had to leave for a week and had to rely on someone else to do the early stages of the seedlings and I don't think they really paid attention.

In terms of the Star Ryder, although it's doing the best out of the 3, I'm a little worried something's up, one of the leaves is starting to curl upward slightly since I posted yesterday. I fear that the OF made the soil too hot.

Oh well, live and learn, next time I will use straight Happy Frog and make sure I am around for the first 10 days . . .