Why so small?? MobyDickXXL....

[Caleb Calebson]

Must be the lighting because it fooled me. On the second photo down, on the right hand side of the pot on the surface of the soil, it looks a white layer. Is that salt buildup or mould or just my eyes playing tricks on me?

Thats diamotacious earth

 

[Caleb Calebson]

It looks like you have a lock-out beginning and it may be related to how you have your pots set-up. I see no tray to catch run-off and then move it to waste. What that means is every bit of salt added to the pot is still in there. Look at all of the salt on the floor! The roots at the bottom of the pot are in an anaerobic condition - Air cannot get to them and they have to absorb all of the waste water back into the pot. This is a recipe for root rot. This also leads you to under water the pots because you don't want the mess. If you just watered around the seedling as it grew you may have stunted the root growth because roots will not grow into dry soil. Small roots = small plant. The tap root can grow 9 inches in three days and the laterals are not far behind.

Get plant stands and drip trays. When you lift the pots up if it smells sour you need to get and use some Botanicare HydroGuard ASAP.

What you need to learn about watering will come with practice. Here are the basic rules: Never let the soil dry out. Soil and or coco can become hydrophobic if allowed to dry. This means it repels water. This in turn will create dry pockets in the soil and roots there will die. If your soil - coco have accidentally dried out use a surfactant to help re-wet it. I like yucca powder. Don't let soil remain soggy by watering too much too often. Root rot, damping off, molds, fungus gnats and other problems start in soggy soil. When you do water water the entire pot. How to learn when to water starts before you plant the seed. Fill your container with fresh soil/coco and weigh it (heft it) this is the lightest weight and consider it a dry pot. Now slowly water until the soil/coco will no longer absorb the water and run-off begins; weigh the pot (heft it) this is the maximum water, the wettest the pot can get. The difference between wettest and driest is the maximum water weight, for ease of explanation lets just say the water weighs 20 pounds. When the pot loses 10 pounds (half of the water weight) it is time to water again. There is an art to watering.

Ya these do need some trays below. But my watering is pretty on point. I wait until its about 50% dry which is about every two days, then I water until there's a tiny amount of runoff. Good info though much appreciated. Autos are so sensitive!

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

Ya these do need some trays below. But my watering is pretty on point. I wait until its about 50% dry which is about every two days, then I water until there's a tiny amount of runoff. Good info though much appreciated. Autos are so sensitive!

No, autos are not sensitive any more than photos - they just do everything faster. They need less nutrients because they are generally smaller other then that they are just the same.

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

I grew a Moby Dick CBD some years back.

 

[Cliffbuds]

Thats diamotacious earth

How much water does it take to get runoff in 3 gallon pots?

 

[Caleb Calebson]

How much water does it take to get runoff in 3 gallon pots?

I usually use 1 gallon total. It fits about right in exactly 3x 3gallon pots

 

[Cliffbuds]

I usually use 1 gallon total. It fits about right in exactly 3x 3gallon pots

Sounds like underwatering to me. When I grew in soil, I always used 6.5 litre pots (1.5 gallons). I always followed a strict wet dry cycle and when I did water them they’d get 2 litres each. 1 gallon of water between 3 x 3 gallon pots is only 1.26 litres of water for 11 litres of soil. I’d give them double or triple that amount easily for a good soak with plenty of run off and leave them to get dry. As the plant grows and fattens the days between watering decrease.

 

[Proph]

Autos don't have recovery times.. Those plants have been topped several times which promotes lateral growth.. My advice? Don't compare your grows to other people's. You'll drive yourself insane. There are way too many variables at play. Just because the plants are short/ squat doesn't mean they wont yield well. Those plants are fine. Want taller plants? Don't train/top them.. Raise the light as far as possible to encourage them to stretch while they veg... Most people keep their lights inches away from their autos, which promotes smaller plants. If you look at the branches on those plants they are pretty thick.. That's because those branches are preparing to support some heavy buds.

 

[Caleb Calebson]

Autos don't have recovery times.. Those plants have been topped several times which promotes lateral growth.. My advice? Don't compare your grows to other people's. You'll drive yourself insane. There are way too many variables at play. Just because the plants are short/ squat doesn't mean they wont yield well. Those plants are fine. Want taller plants? Don't train/top them.. Raise the light as far as possible to encourage them to stretch while they veg... Most people keep their lights inches away from their autos, which promotes smaller plants. If you look at the branches on those plants they are pretty thick.. That's because those branches are preparing to support some heavy buds.

Good info. I only tied down, didn't top. But I have kept the light semi close. Maybe like 18 inches away. I hope you're right about the yield! Would be pretty stoked to snag half a pound somehow lol

 

[Caleb Calebson]

Sounds like underwatering to me. When I grew in soil, I always used 6.5 litre pots (1.5 gallons). I always followed a strict wet dry cycle and when I did water them they’d get 2 litres each. 1 gallon of water between 3 x 3 gallon pots is only 1.26 litres of water for 11 litres of soil. I’d give them double or triple that amount easily for a good soak with plenty of run off and leave them to get dry. As the plant grows and fattens the days between watering decrease.

I will try that and increase my water