New Grower Second guerilla grow, this time hopefully successful. Need advice.

[guerilla_adam]

Hello everyone,
right now i'm in the process of planning this years grow. Last year i grew three auto moby dicks but with a very small yield (I mean 0.6g small). The plants got eaten by something about a week after i put them in the ground and only one of them survived (barely) yielding only those 0.6 grams (it was still fckng strong). I started them on a balcony and their stems were pretty weak (had to support them with sticks). Transplanted them about three weeks from germination.

This year I'm planning on growing these strains:
Og Kush auto (humboldt)
Sour diesel auto (dinafem)
and one not yet specified auto strain

I'm at latitude 49° and am planing on putting them out in late april or early may ( daylight hours should be around 13 in the begining of apri) the soil is generaly pretty good in my area, and i'll make my own potting soil adding composte and some perlite (or whatever you'll advise me, guys)

I got these questions:
Should I start them indoors with lights, on a window or outside from the begining without transplantation?
Are those strains capable of good yields outdoors in central europe?
Should i wait until summer for more direct sunlight?
Every advice you might have for me I will appreciate. I'm still a begginer.

If everything goes well, I'm thinking of starting a grow journal.

Thanks alot in advance!

 

[namvet25]

Welcome to AFN.If your planning on growing outside the best bet is to start them inside in a peat pot about three weeks before you plant them outside.Those strains should yield well if everything is done right.The main thing is they get lots of sun light and have good soil to grow in.You want to wait until the weather is warm and the sun is the strongest.With the correct watering and nutrients they should turn out fine.

 

[Chester]

Like Nam said starting them indoors is the way to go ... I like to use a 1 gal Root Pouch and leave the plant in it when I put it in the ground ... zero transplant shock ... I would start them 3-5 weeks early indoors to have the healthiest little bushes you can get ...

https://www.nirvanashop.com/en/cannabis-growth-solutions/853-root-pouch.html

 

[guerilla_adam]

Thanks for the advice!
Do you mean indoor under lights? (Maybe a dumb question, idk)
If i were to wait until the sun is the strongest, I would be waiting until late July. And the temperatures are around 100°F/40°C in that month usually. Isn't it too much? I was thinking of harvesting in the beginning of July (read somewhere it is good to let the plants finish when the sun is strongest)
Also, based on what you wrote, I'm thinking of buying a few cheaper seeds just to try it out in the spring and then in the summer I would plant those "better" plants (my budget is not that great so I don't want to screw it up)

 

[Chester]

When I grew outside I would wait til a couple weeks after the last frost to plant pouch and all in the ground ... I would start them indoors under good lights because I wanted them to be healthy little bushes when they got set out ... Plants can handle high temps outdoors w/ no problem as long as they can breathe ...

 

[guerilla_adam]

Do you think i should take the risk and grow those strains (end of April should be about three weeks after last frost here where I live) or should I first try to grow something cheap and learn from that? Maybe I should answer it myself but I think that your knowledge might save me some money and also some buds

 

[Chester]

The exact thing that I would do is place an order w/ Nirvana for:

1 pack of 1 gal root pouches ...

1 pack of Soil tabs ...

1 pack of Flower tabs ...

1 pack of auto Bubblelicious

1 pack of auto Northern lights ...

Shipping may be free ... these plants can take abuse and produce ... my preference is Bubblelicious ... plant seeds in the most mild non-prefertilized soil you can find 3-5 weeks before they are to go outside ... you want them to be bushes when their root pouch gets planted in the ground ... when I grew around 40* Lat I would place them outdoors the last week of May ... any earlier and you're probably wasting your time and money ...

 

[thetreeman]

Ive had the best luck planting seedlings or seed direct to the final location. dont try to hide them too much, autos are small enough that most people wont notice them, unless you put them in a really bad spot. Prep your soil about a month ahead of planting if you can, at least 2 weeks. I dont know what your growing season is like, but I wouldnt plant them any earlier than june 1st and Ive had good luck planting as late as july 1. Ive got a guerrilla thread from last year you might wanna check out.

 

[guerilla_adam]

Ive had the best luck planting seedlings or seed direct to the final location. dont try to hide them too much, autos are small enough that most people wont notice them, unless you put them in a really bad spot. Prep your soil about a month ahead of planting if you can, at least 2 weeks. I dont know what your growing season is like, but I wouldnt plant them any earlier than june 1st and Ive had good luck planting as late as july 1. Ive got a guerrilla thread from last year you might wanna check out.

I actually read your whole grow journal. And I was wondering how your plastic "cups" worked? I really do not want to start them indoor but it seems that it works for everyone else. How should i go about it if i am going to plant only 6-10 plants. Last year the few seedlings I have put outside got eaten by slugs and some by ants. Do your mini greenhouses protect from this sort of damage? I do not want to ignore everyone else's advice but I would really prefer starting them outside and it has worked out for you.

 

[thetreeman]

Cups worked well and I will definitely do it again. Plastic mats I put down didnt seem to make much difference and was a waste of time. Id wait to plant till your nights low temps are consistently in the mid 50's F, you need autos to take off immediately or they wont get to decent size. Photos you can plant early and it doesnt matter as much. I dont think starting indoors is necessarily bad, but for me it is more of a security risk and planting outside very small or direct from seed worked ok. I lost a few plants direct from seed, but most made it. I think the cups help quite a bit when it comes to limiting insects and small animals access to the young plants.