New Grower new to autos and looking for some advice!

[macjobby]

howdy to all,
ive been growing regular indica/sativa cannabis for about six years now,but due to moving house and having space restrictions.ive decided to give autos a bash.im hoping to do a stagger the plants in half and harvest approx every 4 weeks
it would be mucho appreciated if some of you experts could give me your opinion on what you would do with my space and equipment

im going to be growing in biobizz almix and i have the full biobizz nutrients range.

2 600w hps lights with adjust a wings and heat deflectors

1 x 150w cfl and propagator for

200cm linear light mover which can take 2 lights

ruck 6" fan with carbon filter for extraction

ruck 4" fan(been sittin for a while)

50 x 4.5l and 6.5l square pots (15x15cm and 20x20cm)

plenty of mylar and adf lying about

dimensions of the cupboard are 80cm wide 200cm long and 180cm tall

i have access to both the loft and underfloor as its a bungalow for intake/extraction.

i have just bought 30 quick one seeds from royal seeds to get me started

my questions are-
how many plants and what size of pot would be best?

what is the best temp for auto?

how many lights,should i use light mover?

feeding routine for the plants?

again,thanks for taking the time to read this and help me. cheers:clap:

 

[desertnance]

I'm surprised no one has answered you! To start with, XCELLENT hardware. Pots....I'm using tiered pots....1 gallon atop azalea pots (1.25 gal). Some I've seen use 3-5 gallon pots. Your choice, depending on the size of your area. Sounds like your pots are quite enough, you got the soil mix. I personally start either in the soil or sm. plastic cups filled w/ seed started, then transplant 10th day after sprouting. You'll find yor groove. I use 1/2 strength or less for nutrient feeding, alternating w/ Super Thrive, then rain/snow water on third feeding....schedule seems to work well for me. Others ill guide you, chiming in. Make sure water is pH balanced. Autos like heat....anywhere from 70-85F great....under 60F, they conserve energy. Any more than 90F, they are fried.

To me, your 600w will be awesome, depending how much space, how many plants you are growing! 1200 mega sun blaze. I do t5's in cabinet or 350w. in 3'x3'x 6' space. Both thriving. Like to keep electric bill to minimum. Cool thing is you can set at 20/4 or 18/6 light hrs, no need to change to 12/12. Add 10-12 days to the package requirements for maturity. If it says 60.....think 72 days. Still great turn around time!! You can plant 1/3 to 1/2 your seeds, in a month plant more for perennial harvest. Get some REG seeds (AF) for breeding male to add to your mix.

You're going to have fun w/ these autos!!!

What made you decide on Quick One?

http://en.seedfinder.eu/strain-info/Quick_One/Royal_Queen_Seeds/

 

[macjobby]

thanks desertance for your reply.i decided on the quick one because of turnaround time,quantity and potency.ive read some good reviews of the strain,recommended by many people for its great results.lets hope it goes good for me!

 

[Trifid]

Welcome to the new growers forum mac.. setup sounds superb mate.. 1000w per square meter is preferable so for a grow space like you have described your HPS rig will more than suffice. Are they ballasted? Do they have ample air flow? Perhaps a few of the moderators can provide you with some input with this.. I'm using a wardrobe space 50 x 100 x 200 and can accommodate a maximum of 6 full size short-stocky plants (<20'' tall, 20'' wide) in 10ltr square containers. I'm using varieties such as Blue Himalayan and Bluematic from Royal Queen. The quick one should not exceed 20'' in height in most cases. I'm not sure this is everybody's take on this but i tend to maintain an optimal temp in the range 75-85F and humidity of 40% reducing the humidity as they go to maturity.

Are you measuring EC and pH meters are invaluable..

 

[desertnance]

See macjobby-
Trifid has similar dimensions as you were indicating and great sound bytes to add. 6-8 max are good for your area.....keep a grow journal and smoke report on it!! Have a feeling you'll do fine, just fine!!!! ;o)

 

[Joe Dirt]

Before I say anything else... when growing indoors, under artificial light, you must monitor you pH. If the pH is off, you'll have problems from the very start... I didn't believe it because I had grown successfully outdoors without really even knowing what pH is. I stunted my plants early and I got some beautiful buds:

View attachment 48844

I had eight of these... same size... all because I didn't pay attention to my pH at the start of my grow.

my questions are-
how many plants and what size of pot would be best?

Your bigger pots would be best, IMO. From what I can tell when I convert cm to inches, you should have enough room for a dozen plants, without being cramped. You could possibly stuff as many as 20, if you really wanted.

what is the best temp for auto?

Somewhere in the range of 25-27c. (I have grown in 30-31c with no ill affects, so long as I kept an oscillating fan blowing between the light and the tops of the plants)

how many lights,should i use light mover?

If you are going to keep the grow at 12 plants or less, one 600w should do the trick. I'm figuring a 3 pot deep by 4 pot wide grow. That should keep you well within the productive footprint of a 600w HID. Plus, having two 600w HID's in that small area is going to be really tough on the temps.

feeding routine for the plants?

Follow the schedule on your nutes, except start at 1/4 strength and increase, every other watering, and see how your plants respond.

One thing I would add... The soil mix you're using is very hot... too hot for seedlings. It would be good to use some sort of "fert free" seedling mix and then transplant or tier into your final mix when the plant shows sex.

 

[macjobby]

a big thank you to everyone for their input,i will be keeping a journal when things get going in about 3 weeks

 

[riz]

12 plants in 6 litre airpots under the two 600's would fill your canopy with most auto strains, not sure about. the one you have though. Airpots give ye bigger healthier plants for less compost.

harvest every 4 weeks only works if you go for a 12 week grow broken down into 3 lots. 8 weeks will disappoint with auto's. Most will be smokable at 8 weeks but that means stopping feeding at 6/7 weeks so your yield will be down, with lights like that you can go for big yielder strains but they take longer. 12 weeks tops, feed up until week 8 or 9 then harvest when the trichs are to yer liking.

if your going perpetual, think about getting feminised seeds as crap male/female ratios mean you go without smoke if your smoking as much as your harvesting. not to mention the amount you save on soil-nutes etc.

feeding, pretty much the same as photo strains but start of with lighter doses as auto's are generally smaller plants so need less.

temps, 10c - 30-c. anything in between is acceptable, same as yer photo strains.