New Grower New indoor grower

[az2000]

BACKGROUND: I'm a new grower. Used to smoke in the early '70s. (Re)Introduced by coworker. Now we're going to grow for fun. I've read a lot about growing. Ordered seeds (one of which is an autoflower purple). Ordered Hydrofarm T5HO lights (two 4'x4 bulb, one 4'x8, one 2'x4).

We're getting ready to start. Cutting PVC pipe to make stands for the lights. From what I've read on the net, we plan to:

GERM: Soak in distilled water for 12-24 hours, moving seeds to moist paper towel as they show tap root. (Any seeds that don't swell and produce tap root, prick with pin and let soak another 12 hours. Move to moist paper towel after 12 hours to continue trying to germinate.).

We plan to add 1/2 to 1 drop SuperThrive to quart of distilled germ water.

Soil: Mix Kellog Patio Plus potting mix to Pro-Mix HP (soiless), 50/50. Add per gallon:
- 1 cup of perlite (air/drainage).
- 1 Tbsp dolomite (ph stability).
- 1/2 tsp blood meal (compensate for Pro-Mix having no nutes)
- 1/2 tsp bone meal (ditto)

We like the idea of soiless, but aren't comfortable being responsible for supplying all nutes. So, starting with a mix, getting the benefits of the Kellog's nutes. Also, adding small amount of organic nute (blood and bone meal) to compensate for the 50% of Pro-Mix which has no nutes(?).

If anyone sees a problem with this, please comment.

Water: We intend to use tap water, but let it sit for 2-3 days before using, to let chlorine dissipate. We'll use distilled water for germ.

Seedling: After 3/4"-1" tap root in paper towel, plant seeds in dixie beer cup using soil above. Water with the Superthrive water made for germ. This water be used for 5-7 day of seedling growth.

Use 6400k T5 lights (2'x2 bulb). 18 hours on.

Veg: When plants are 6" tall or so, transplant to 1-gal containers. These should be good for a couple months? (Until plants show sex?). Transplant to 3-gal containers.

When transplanting, use (something? not sure yet, b1 supplement?) to reduce shock. I don't think I should use SuperThrive because it has Auxin hormone which is good for initial root growth, but not later in veg.

Since Kellog has nutes (and I added 1/2 tsp of blood & bone meal), I shouldn't need any nutes. Maybe 1-2 applications of AK fish. Maybe something else with 5-1-1 type emphasis on nitrogen. Maybe kelp extract mineral stuff?

Resist temptation to feed too much.

Flower: When plants seem fully developed (arbitrary decision?) switch to 12-hour light.

Replace half the T5 bulbs with 3000k warm white.

Feed with MorBloom (emphasis on phos and pot). Watch for phos/calcium lockout during flower. Be prepared to use epson salt.

Harvest: Watch trichomes for 50% brown. Cut cola, hang upside down in ventilated area. Dry for 2-3 weeks.

If I'm missing anything, or way off... please let me know.

I'm a little iffy about when to cut the lights and force flowering. Also, one seed is auto purple. Not sure how it's growing cycle will differ from the non-auto seeds.

Thanks. I'm going to try to do a video/photo journal too, to document exactly everything we do, identify mistakes, etc.

 

[dudeibeensmokin]

Awesome! Deff. sounds like you have done some reading! My biggest piece of advise would be take everything you read more or less as guidlines.. For example.. you mention 50% amber trich for harvest.. which is a good guideline.. but not something set in stone."some autos dont amber up at all ". strain to strain things vary.. sometimes even in the same strain it varys due to to different pheno types etc... Also when getting info from the net.. remember a lot of what you will read are opinions from growers.. some good ,some bad... Just like in real life.. People like to seem educated on a subject when in reality they like to mimic what they see and hear rather than coming to these conclusions on their own thru experience and trial and error. Keep on reading! I wish you best of Luck! Welcome to the site!

 

[CGR]

Yes it sounds like your planning for success my friend Cheers......:stylez rasta smoke:When you get a chance stop over to the intro section https://www.autoflower.org/f35/ and say hi to the other member i look forward to your journal my friend

 

[A4]

Welcome to AFN az2000, looks like you have done your homework and are going to have an awesome setup. A couple of things I noticed, your weary of going soilless, no need to worry. Promix is, in my opinon, the easiest media to work with. I am quite biased though. The other is, I noticed you are going to let your water set out for a few days, that is good!. Consider getting an airpump, hydrofarm makes some good ones or you can just go down to your local pet store and pick up one there along with some large air stones to keep your water full of oxygen. It really does make a difference. Lastly, consider getting a ph meter so you can keep an eye on the acidic/base balance of your soil. Cannabis plants like a slightly acidic soil and with you using promix/soil you will want to be in the 6.3-6.8 range, leaning more towards 6.8 at the end of the grow and 6.3 early on.

Hey, best of luck bro! From the looks of it you are ready for this and will do great. I can't wait to follow along. BTW, we do have a photosensitive section so please keep us posted in there. That is where most of my grows are as well.

 

[az2000]

your weary of going soilless, no need to worry. Promix is, in my opinon, the easiest media to work with. I am quite biased though.

As a newbie, the choice between potting soil and soiless is perplexing. I read enough to realize soiless sounds best. But, I also read enough to know newbies tend to over-fertilize, etc. I read about how read-mix potting soil can be hot and burn plants. Or, if it's not hot, it can suffer from deficiencies weeks into the grow. So, that doesn't sound good. But, the idea of being 100% responsible for delivering all nutes in a timely manner sounds like it's inviting that newbie tendency to overfeed.

So... I thought 50/50 soil and soiless might create a bit of buffer. Some ready-mix as a safety net. Some latitude to deliver nutes (for the 50% that's soiless).

For the first grow, I just want to get through it without making any big mistakes. Nothing fancy. For example, I'd like to prune/train for a fatter plant with more cola growth. But, I don't feel good doing that on the first grow. I just want to keep it simple. Learn without going too far out on the rope.

I'll definitely get the aireater stone/pump. That sounds like a great idea. We have 8+ PH water here. I've read I can add 1Tbsp white vinegar to 1 gallon water to lower the PH to about 7. (I should get a meter to know for sure.). Between that and aerating, hopefully the water won't be a problem.

I just began germinating tonight. 1/2 drop SuperThrive in 500ml water (half-quart, pint of water). Dropped the seeds in. After 20 minutes, still floating. Getting nervous. The water's about 82 (28c) degrees. Keeping the cup of water in the dark.

 

[blue]

It looks like A4 has given you some spledid advice already!
I second the PH meter - it;s one of those things that you will always use and will always need.

Transplanting autos is generally not recommended - they don't have the same timescale to recover as Photoperiods do, so anytime an Autoflower is dedicating to repairing is time that she wont be able to spend producing buds for you. The solutions are to either plant her in her final pot - or try the tier method which is very popular here.

Party cups! I'll see if i can dig you out a link!

Check out post 6 of this thread (it might be just right for you!)
https://www.autoflower.org/f44/fds-guide-hefty-autos-2884.html

Infact .. the whole thread is awesone - but post 6 is about Tier Transplanting

Hope this helps a little

All the best
Blue ^_^

 

[az2000]

Transplanting autos is generally not recommended - they don't have the same timescale to recover as Photoperiods do,

Since I'm new to this, I hadn't considered autos. One of the free seeds (included by Sea of Seads, seedbank) is an auto purple. So, soon I'll get experience with an auto. Questions:

1. Why do people choose autos instead of controlling veg/bloom through light duration?
2. What size container do you start an auto? 1 gal? Or, do you go seedling in party cup to 1 gal?

Day 2 of my photosensitive grow: After 12 hours in water a feminized Afghani showed root. She's on a paper towell now. Durban and Sleestack (both regular) are cracking. Satori (regular) isn't doing anything yet.

 

[az2000]

7 days

Just an update with photos showing my plants 7 days after I started germination. The largest plant's (Afghani) fan leaf is 3/4" across. This seed germinated first.

The slowest grower has pushed the seed 1" out of the soil and is slowly unfolding into round leaves.

I have two other seeds of unknown status:

1) A retarded seed grew upside down -- the tap root emerged from the soil. I gently dug it up and re-oriented it. It looks like it's just starting to lift the seed out of the soil about 1/8".

2) A seed barely germinated on the moist paper towel. There was a split and a bit of white visible. It took so long to get to that point, I thought I'd go ahead and put it in soil rather than leave it on a paper towel. I'm not sure anything will happen with that one. I'll water it for another 10 days before giving up.

So, out of 8 seeds (purchased from SeaOfSeeds) I have 6 confirmed growers. One (the retard) that's likely to grow. One that's unlikely.

Not bad for a first grow. The leaves look vibrant and deep green. It's exciting.

The photo shows my 2' x 4 bulb Hydrofarm T5 HO.