New Grower My first grow, an autoflower story - Presenting Pakistan Ryder.

[Malevelo]

Good afternoon!

@912GreenSkell and @briman I went to see the grow shop man today and picked up some real nutrients after the advice you guys kindly gave, thank you for making sure that's covered now!

I checked Tangs feeding schedule as suggested as well, but unfortunately as I'm sure many brand new growers face, I can't really go and get all the suggestions first go round as they're proper expensive! (Those 5 cost €84, but he gave me them for €80 (and a dose cup and a couple of pipettes too!), and the whole list from the schedule would be €245 altogether!)
As you can see, I went with the basics for now, so that I can focus on my technique of the art of growing before pushing for the hugest harvest from the get go, although I did mention everything listed and he's also advised I should really go with the Big Bud and Overdrive for flowering so I might go back after payday for those xD

A few questions I had about them though, is regarding the Parts A from the Bloom and Grow

These are both 3-0-0, with the Bloom changing about 1/3rd of the Nitrogen from Nitrate to Urea, so I was wondering if there was any (none-pissy) alternative to Urea Nitrogen, or if it's really that important compared to the Nitrate Nitrogen the Grow feed is made up from? I know it might be a "who cares" kind of question, as if I'm mixing equal parts A and B, I may as well get them in pairs, but even if it's a tiny cost overall, the Grow A is €3 cheaper, or if there was an option for a larger bottle of Grow A, would that work?
I was also wondering about the Magne-Cal I have

This also has it's own 2.6-0.1-0.3 Fertilizers in it, and I don't want to be double guessing everything I'm told, but this is all taken into consideration with the schedule? It's not that I doubt anyones advice of course, it's just that I want to learn as much as I can about all this rather than blindly follow instructions so thank you again for all the support!

So I have these now, and I gave the little one the basic tomato feed yesterday, and she still seems really happy in there, although I did have a bit of a play in the tent earlier as it got up to 30C (86F), and the humidity had dropped to 50%ish so I hung a towel over the side of the pot and misted inside the tent with a water spray and lowered the fan over the towel and it's up to 60% humidity now

The soil still seems moist though, do you think she's big enough for another feed of the real stuff today, or should I maybe hold off feeding, or even watering to let here first real soaking from yesterday do it's thing?

Sorry for the grilling in this installment, and I'm sure I'll have a thousand more questions before this grow is through, so thank you again for any advice and suggestions you may have!

Catch you later! Peace out \o/

 

[G.Leave]

Hey...like yourself I didn't end up getting everything on tangs schedule as price is hefty on them advanced nutrients!! Smart move grabbing the basics, I bet you will be happy with the results, and any future buys will only reinforce your existing ferts. Once I fire up my setup in the fall I will be using Sensigrow+Bloom, Big Bud, Bud Candy, Nirvana, Cal/mag xtra, overdrive and carboload. Have a peek on ebay too as you can often buy small 250ml or 500ml of those certain nutes only used a week or two in the schedule like overdrive.
Cant help you on the sensi question, but the cal mags NPK should certainly be taken into account. One thing you might have noticed in tangs schedule is he does not use AN cal/mag but he uses another product.(its also something I need to sort out in my own schedule as I am using AN Cal/mag Xtra)
Its great that you are double guessing things you are told. That just means you are thinking of your guided path to success. Do as much alternative research as you can and draw your own conclusions. If you really want to learn the plant inside and out download the book "Growing Elite Marijuana". Though the book is not focused on autos at all, you will learn a tremendous amount about growing herb especially indoors.
I bet briman will have more insight into your specific questions.

 

[briman]

Here is a great way to save some money, but first, I will answer your questions...

Pippettes will be your friend. You won't need the measure cup unless you are mixing a bunch of nutes.
The plant doesn't care where it gets the Nitrogen. Urea isn't ideal, but most chemical nutrient lines use it.
By the time you need the cal/mag(week 3 or 4 to the end and flush with nothing) your plants will be big enough to handle the nutrient values in the cal/mag.
Pull the towel and quit misting. You can grow great canna at 40% humidity and will want it lower by week 6 ish to the end.
A note on watering, 2 methods that take all the guess work out of overwatering.
1-lift the pot. Yes, lift the pot after you have watered it. Note the weight and how heavy the pot feels. Wait a couple days and lift the pot again. A dry pot will be very lite in the hands, almost like lifting nothing at all. Note the weight.
2-push your index finger into the soil a little past the first knuckle. If your soil sticks to your finger, it's wet enough. If it doesn't stick, lift the pot and if it's lite, water it. Practice ×3!
Small plants don't need much water, maybe 50-100 ml. If she is moist, wait a day or two.
Don't worry about asking anything! I'm here to help and we will get you growing trees in no time! No such thing as over asking! If we get you up to speed, you get to help the new growers after you! Win-win for all involved! Don't hesitate to pm me either! We will get ya sorted man!

 

[briman]

Forgot, I'll tell you how to save some money, over those expensive AN additives when I get home to my computer!

 

[Malevelo]

Perfect, thank you! I made up 1 litre of feed but decided not to give her anything today and the towel was removed after about 2 hours when it hit 60%, and she's looking very happy

 

[briman]

OK, for some money saving advice...Carboload from Advanced Nurtients is a souped up bottle of carbohydrates. You can do the same thing with Blackstrap Molasses! Plants love carbs and it does 2 things for the plant and its soil.
it creates extra energy for the plant and it also creates food for the mycos and bacteria in your soil. If you arent sure what mycos and bacteria do for your soil, read this article...

http://mycorrhizae.com/

Bloom boosters, get one! Anything you can get from your grow store. Cheaper is good. Ask your grow store if they have any samples for you to try. If not just a small bottle will do. You can grow some good plants with out all this stuff, but to get one like this, you will want to up your game on the additives. Just because you went with Advanced Nutrients, doesnt mean you cant incorporate another brand of bloom booster, or something else. Here is what I am talking about....

Now click on the picture and it should blow up for you. Look at all the sugar on the leaves. That is what additives do for your buds. This plant is about 2 weeks out from being chopped down. In that 2 week time, the buds will be 2 times the size and rock hard, another thing that additives do for your plants. Not saying that you cant get these results from just the A&B grow and bloom, but you would need to have some pretty great genetics. From what I have seen around the site, Mephisto has some of the best genetics going right now!
I would really check with your grow store and tell them you are looking for a bloom booster and see about samples. Never hurts to ask. You have to sell the salesman on trying before buying. might end up with a goodie bag from the grow shop. If there are any grow expos in your area, that is a good place for samples too!

 

[The Elvis]

I use tangs feeding schedule and i cant live without bigbud ,overdrive, voodoo juice. and cal+mag botnicare..
plus the basic feeds A B

 

[Malevelo]

Thanks guys!

If you arent sure what mycos and bacteria do for your soil, read this article...

http://mycorrhizae.com/

This rings a bell yeah, pretty sure I read up on this a while back actually, and directly related to Mycos, I was meaning to ask you @briman, is your name anything to do with the Brix theory by any chance? It's fascinating stuff

So regarding the Blackstrap Molasses, I suppose this is what I'm looking for? http://www.meridianfoods.co.uk/Prod...-Sweeteners/Organic/Molasses-Pure-Blackstrap? and also I just read a few conflicting opinions suggesting between 1 teaspoon up to 3 tablespoons/gallon... I reckon the best bet would be to start low and see how it goes, as much like life most things in moderation won't do any harm xD And I can start with this straight away as it's replacing the Carboload which Tang has at every feed from day 15?

All the best!

 

[briman]

No, my name has nothing to do with the brix theory. Yes that molasses will work, but I would start 1 tablespoon per gallon and go with that ever feed in place of the carboload.

 

[G.Leave]

I actually thought that the 1l carboload was a reasonable cost($26) as was the 1l bud candy($32). The ones that hurt is Bud factor X and Voodoo juice.($70+)