New Grower TLO on auto, tiny bush.

[Jonobo]

Hi there auto growers.

This is my first grow with organic living soil ( purchased ). I am not going to lie, I was expecting some different results than my previous grows!! ... yet still end up with very short, incredibly bushy plants which made me reconsider my growing approach and seek opinions form the fellow growers out there.

My first grow was with a MarsHydro300 in coco with Cana coco A & B and have moved to Kingled1200 growing in living organic soil. I also had a couple of outdoor grows.... still very small plants.

I am definitely getting a much healthier plant with the soil however... still very small and incredibly bushy grow.

The plants look perfectly healthy, never had an apparent issues, leaves have always looked beautiful, roots are growing through the pot and are looking nice and heathy.

Here is the break down for this grow:

- 10L fabric pots
- Organic living soil with perlite added to it.
- KingLed1200: 90cm from canopy ( I tried 1.2m for a week to promote stretch ... nothing happened )
- Light schedule 18/6
- Dechlorinated water ( I bubble it over night before giving it to the plant )
- Day Temp: 26c - Night Temp: 21c
- 50 - 65% Air Humidity

Thank you in advance for you guys opinions and help! Looking forward to a next, better looking grow.

Soil:


Amnesia Haze: Day 32


Northen Light: Day 32

 

[pugfarmer]

Plants look healthy!! From what ive seen it seems like leds seem to keep the plants on the more compact size or could be a phenotype of the strain.

 

[Arthur]

With autos, the first 3 weeks are critical to a good sized plant. Your temps are low for led, I'm closer to 26 lights out and 29 lights on. Drop the temps a few degrees and growth slows right up for the little ones.

 

[bad dragon bzzz]

plants are a good green and healthy looking.soil looks very stoney though.when i started growing my plants were real small/short to,i dont know what i fixed,as im not doing anything different now.i think i just needed a bit of practice,as i dont have a green thumb.when/how often /and how much to water can take a while to figure out.
good luck n keep er lit

 

[Jonobo]

or could be a phenotype of the strain.

Same issue with 5 different strains the problem is definitely me ahah!

With autos, the first 3 weeks are critical to a good sized plant. Your temps are low for led, I'm closer to 26 lights out and 29 lights on.

I keep reading that autos are not that picky about a few degrees up or down... :/ would it have such a big impact on size? between what we can find online and irl .... I guess there is a gap.

plants are a good green and healthy looking.soil looks very stoney though.when i started growing my plants were real small/short to,i dont know what i fixed,as im not doing anything different now.i think i just needed a bit of practice,as i dont have a green thumb.when/how often /and how much to water can take a while to figure out.
good lu

I agree with the soil, big chunks of biochar and other minerals. I guess it adds aeration ahah! it's the only Organic living soil I found in my area unfortunately ...
My watering is not quite on point yet, I have never grown with OLS I think I may have overwatered them a bit at the start not realising how much more soil retains water compared to coco. I have learnt a lot since and was hopping that by fixing this issue it would make a noticeable difference.

@archie gemmill do you mind me asking how much bigger did you plant get with experience? always nice to have some solid examples from experiences!

Thanks a lot for your input guys I really appreciated it!

 

[Arthur]

Same issue with 5 different strains the problem is definitely me ahah!


I keep reading that autos are not that picky about a few degrees up or down... :/ would it have such a big impact on size? between what we can find online and irl .... I guess there is a gap.



I agree with the soil, big chunks of biochar and other minerals. I guess it adds aeration ahah! it's the only Organic living soil I found in my area unfortunately ...
My watering is not quite on point yet, I have never grown with OLS I think I may have overwatered them a bit at the start not realising how much more soil retains water compared to coco. I have learnt a lot since and was hopping that by fixing this issue it would make a noticeable difference.

@archie gemmill do you mind me asking how much bigger did you plant get with experience? always nice to have some solid examples from experiences!

Thanks a lot for your input guys I really appreciated it!

You wouldn't think a few degrees would make such a difference, but having the leaf temps optimal and the rH in the zone made all the difference for me. I ran HPS for years, so temps in the 80s make me nervous. But when I brought the temps up, it made a drastic change.

I started 4 indoor and 1 outdoor 3 weeks ago, inside, all is in the VPD range and all are around 4" and working on their 3rd set of leaves, outside we are 2 inches tall and just barely through the first set.
Now I get grumpy when temps drop under 80.

 

[bad dragon bzzz]

first 4 grows went overwatered/underwatered/overfed/underfed.them 4 grows didnt need the scales out,it was measured as a few joints.almost a year of growing for 10 joints.
as i live in a dark damp cold place.i made my soil mix a bit lighter(perlite)swapped to 6L airpots from 9 or 11L standard pots.saw a small improvement over next 4 grows,maybe 1-2oz a plant :smoking:fast foward 2 years,and with not much changes i can get 110g out of a 6L airpot/70g from a 3L airpot/tried a 1L airpot and got an oz from it :smoking: i still dont have a green thumb,just a bit of practice
how much when how to water isnt listed in any books,or have charts...pots size v water quanties etc.so its pretty much by feel or repetition.or if ya lucky that green thumb will show just keep at it,like learning to ride a bike,some day it will just click and your elbows and knees will heal up

 

[Jonobo]

@Arthur day temp has been raised to 29c and night 25c! Now gotta get the humidity back on track ahah! looking forward to see improvements! Thank you for the tips.

@archie gemmill very impressive commitment there, many would have given up after getting such small yield. Very inspiring to a beginner . Your first experiences sound very similar to mine and I would assume most noob growers. Add to that the use and trial of regular soil, coco, OLS and even mixing them because... why not experimenting!might get lucky... turns out ... learn the right way first and then maybe play with the big kids ahah.

 

[bad dragon bzzz]

Just pig headed,i was either gonna buy weed or grow weed,not both.......so i done without for a long time.

 

[Jonobo]

I got so caught up with the new thread I just realised I didn't ask my main question!

( even though the very good looking plant ) Do you think the "strength" of the living soil ( as well as the poor watering habits ) will have an impact on the growth? The soil company claims that the soil is perfectly "cooked/matured", seedling are safe to be grown straight in. As much as I want to trust them, for what I've learnt, Autoflowers don't need a rich medium.

Thoughts? If so, I was contemplating doing a 50/50 living soil / coco next round ( will that idea trigger some animosity among the growers out there?? ahah )