Mephisto Genetics Samsquanch x FS in 10 gal SWP

[MIAutomatic]

I don't believe she says that.

I didn’t say she did, you took my comment completely out of context. What she said was something to the effect of plants need a rest period like humans. Even if I am wrong about autos benefiting from a dark period, which I have already acknowledged is entirely possible. I think this is a bad way to break into the discussion since plants are very much not like humans and I don’t think the comparison is very relevant.

I guess this post is one tracking on the light cycle discussion now.

 

[CannabisMingus]

I didn’t say she did, you took my comment completely out of context. What she said was something to the effect of plants need a rest period like humans. Even if I am wrong about autos benefiting from a dark period, which I have already acknowledged is entirely possible. I think this is a bad way to break into the discussion since plants are very much not like humans and I don’t think the comparison is very relevant.

I guess this post is one tracking on the light cycle discussion now.

Whatever man - I was responding to what you specifically said. I'm out - good luck on your grow.

 

[MIAutomatic]

Whatever man - I was responding to what you specifically said. I'm out - good luck on your grow.

I didn’t mean to offend, but the comment you quoted was from the end of my post when I was not even talking about the video anymore. I quoted her at the beginning of that post.

We have shared many positive exchanges on this forum, I hope we can repair this hiccup in our otherwise friendly virtual pot growing relationship.

I just want to get this post off of this light cycle debate.

 

[Need4Weed]

Is the app you are using Photone? I am using it and find it very useful and pretty accurate. My light configuration is very common so it’s easy to find par data online, and the numbers in the app line right up with my expectations based on the available data.

Actually, I'm sure what it's called. The wording on my app just says "PPFD Meter." It does allow you to use an external bluetooth sensor for better accuracy.

 

[MIAutomatic]

Here she is at day 31:

I noticed she was slowing down a little about the time I put up the last picture at day 25. I took her off the reservoir and checked runoff which was at a shockingly low EC level of 0.3. That combined with the slow growth tells me that the Grow Dots can’t keep up with the needs of this plant.

I watered through some Canna Coco a & b with calmag and a little Canna Boost and Rhizo at 1.1 EC and filled the reservoir with the same solution. That was done on day 26 and she has been super happy and resumed vigorous growth. She is drinking about a gallon a day right now, I have been refilling the reservoir about every 3 days with the same nutrient mix. I checked runoff EC (.9) and PH (6.0) again today and both were looking good. I’ll keep up with this current nutrient mix until stretch is done and then add Canna PK to bring it up to EC of 1.3.

I was expecting to need to supplement the Grow Dots at some point, but I thought I would get further into the cycle before it was necessary. I used the recommended dose for autoflowers, but I think I would use a full dose of 15 grams per gallon instead of the 10/g per gallon I used if I use them again.

Overall doing beautifully I think.

 

[HotCheetos]

Its looking great! In the larger containers, the autoflowers do get very large, eat a lot of nutrients and behave more like photoperiod plants in what they eat and how long they take it seems. Thanks for that information that the Grow Dots in a large sub-irrigation set up like this, a wicking tub, large original EarthBox, could be jumped up to the "heavy feeding photoperiod" recommendation to accomodate such a large plant. If a plant goes in a 10 gallon SIP it could get to be a real beast like this one and it needs more food! Keep feeding that beast!

 

[MIAutomatic]

Day 38 update:

Into full flower mode now, the stretch seems to be done and flowers are now beginning to gain mass. She is only about 18 inches tall but about 2.5ft x 3ft wide. I never let her grow vertically much, just kept tying the branches down and doing regular leaf plucking to try and keep the canopy more open. Now that the stretch is done I will do one round of heavier defoliation to get some more of the lower bud sites exposed.

I was having a hard time getting the reservoir dialed in so I just pulled her off the reservoir and I am going to treat it like a drain to waste coco grow. I knew using coco in an SIP would present some challenges getting the calmag dialed in and dealing with the high CEC of coco coir. My hope was that I could take her off the reservoir about once a week to fertigate and that would be good enough to keep things in range. The plant stayed healthy, but growth would slow down a little after 24-36 of being back on the reservoir. The ph of the runoff was creeping up while the EC was dropping. I have used SIP before, but it was with super soil. I knew there would be additional challenges with coco, but I have always wanted to try it because I like the idea of an SIP and I prefer coco to peat or soil based mediums. The Grow Dots probably made it harder to get it dialed in since I am not sure how much calmag or NPK they are releasing.

I am keeping my watering solution at 1.0 EC for now. The same mix seemed a little hot when it was in the planter reservoir, but it seems just right for drain to waste.

I am planning on keeping it off the reservoir for the rest of this grow, the plant is so huge and beautiful I don’t want to screw it up. If anyone has experience growing in coco with SIP maybe you can share some tips with me.

 

[MIAutomatic]

Its looking great! In the larger containers, the autoflowers do get very large, eat a lot of nutrients and behave more like photoperiod plants in what they eat and how long they take it seems. Thanks for that information that the Grow Dots in a large sub-irrigation set up like this, a wicking tub, large original EarthBox, could be jumped up to the "heavy feeding photoperiod" recommendation to accomodate such a large plant. If a plant goes in a 10 gallon SIP it could get to be a real beast like this one and it needs more food! Keep feeding that beast!

Thanks for the comments!

She is eating more than I expected, pretty much eating and drinking like a big photo period plant. I am going to try another cycle with grow dots soon and I will use a full strength dose next time. I am planning on three Mephisto 3Bears OG in 5 gallon pots with coco.

I am still sort of new to autos, and I did play it safe after my first auto grow, which I totally overfeed. The next two cycles I backed off the nutrients and got beautiful but small plants. Now I have a better method for the first month and they are going into flower a similar size to most of the photo plants I have grown. I just harvested three Double grape and the largest plant yielded a little over 6 oz!

I think you are right on that a healthy auto in a big pot can take feeding at about the same level as most photo period plants, and produce a comparable yield as well.

 

[Suki]

I was less than impressed with the grow dots personally. Too much n going into flower, and the pk didn't kick in nearly soon enough. I ended up having to supplement as well.

 

[MIAutomatic]

I was less than impressed with the grow dots personally. Too much n going into flower, and the pk didn't kick in nearly soon enough. I ended up having to supplement as well.

Thanks for sharing your experience with the grow dots, I am making those same observations. Maybe I won’t use them on my 3BOG run, stick with the devil I know and ditch the dots.