Let's see if I still got it! First auto grow

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Miracle grow performance organics with about 30% seed starter soil. Using 3 gallon fabric pots. Critical x GG#4 Autoflower. from Homegrown cannabis company. 2'×4' x6' tent. 260 watts from the wall triple chip led. 4" exhaust and 6"clip on fan for circulation. Plants are healthy and growing wonderfully but I have had a gnat problem already. It has been about 6 years since I have grown but I grew hydro(drip, DWC ) for about 10 years with decent results.

Day 18

Pics from yesterday afternoon. They are still growing beautifully. They are growing really fast now and are all 3 showing pistils already. They smell lovely already also!
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:smoking:

Day 19

I gave them a gallon(6.5 phed) between the 3 and applied the second and last dose of nematodes. Got everything ready for a compost tea when the time is right

Day 21

Still looking beautiful. I will top dress tomorrow. I will mix 1 tablespoon of dr earth's 2-2-2, 1 tablespoon of 3-9-4 and 1 tablespoon of worm castings, then apply 1 tablespoon per pot. I put 1/4" of dry seedstarter soil on top yesterday. Hoping it would dry the pot enough to feed today. Didnt work, So I will wait.

Day 23

I top dressed yesterday. Keeping my light at 24" with only the veg switch on(140watts from the wall). I will turn the bloom switch on around day 28. (Total of 260 watts)Move it to 32" and let them grow into it till 24" and raise it from there to maintain 24" from the top of the canopy. They have really been putting on size the last few days

Day 24

Did a little lst on the tallest girl to level the top of the canopy. She is really growing strong. I definitely have at least two different pheno types. I'm thinking all three are different but I will know for sure in a few more weeks
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Day 25

Gonna call the biggest one p1 middle p2 smallest p3. So , p1 was looking a little light green so I gave her a tablespoon of worm castings and 1 tablespoon of 3-9-4. She already looks better today. Glad I caught it early. I gave p2 worm castings also and will top dress them all more today or tomorrow before there next watering. So Im thinking with me adding 30% soil with no nutrients that I should have given them a full feeding at 3 weeks. I'm thinking 1 tablespoon of worm castings(calcium, microbe food, and nitrogen) and 1 tablespoon of dr earth mix 50%2-2-2/50%3-9-4 per gallon of soil. These pics were yesterday during lights off on day 25 . (Why they look droopy)

Day 27

Lsted the other 2 today. 2x4 is getting crowded. I will probably let them do there thing now besides leaf tucking here and there. I turned the bloom switch on and raised my light to 30" and I top dressed 2 tablespoons of 3-9-4 yesterday. I will add nutrients the next few waterings till I'm at 2 tablespoons 2-2-2 and 4 tablespoons 3-9-4 per 3 gallon pot. I want to watch them as I feed them so I can dial them in.

Day 32

P1 had a calcium def. Around Day 28. I gave her worm castings and molasses and she has got better and exploded with new growth. They are all flowering . The tallest is 18". I Isted her again day 30 to attempt to level the canopy. She is still 3" taller than the other 2

Day 34

Did a little defoliation because they were getting crowded. Was also able to expose bud sites and create better air circulation. Only at 4 tablespoons of top dressing per 3 gallon pot. Light at 26". Thinking about buying a marshydro 600 to thrown in there also.( add 100w from the wall to make 360w total) . I also want my light closer but I dont want to sacrifice the spead of light to the plants on the ends. my light is Chinese made but they used bridgelux chips and quality parts. It is very powerful but I think I need better light distribution over the whole canopy

Day 38

I added the marshydro ts600 to the tent. P1 has stopped stretching. The other 2 seem to be about 2 days behind her. Humidity was reading a little high. I had to raise the hydrometer up because in was sitting on a leaf making it read a little higher than it actually was.(the other 2 hydrometer were reading alot lower)
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It It has been between 40-60%. They are all doing well and healthy
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Day 42

They are doing great
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. Had a magnesium def. Start 2 days ago so I gave half teaspoon of bs molasses and 1 teaspoon of Epsom salt in a gallon split between the 3. they have all been given different amounts of top dressing because how different they all are. I really am loving how fast these autos grow
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Comments

zippercatchesskin
Ive never had a prob w gnats until a couple month ago. Actually last year i had a bunch flyin around my tent but they were diffrent cause theyd just fly under the lights, back an forth so was easy to get rid of them with a flyswatter in a couple o weeks. this yr they were the bad kind that like the soil and lay eggs all the way to bottom of pot. So for the live ones neem works and so does dish soap and baking soda in spray bottle. I even tried filling the top 1-2" of pot with sand w silica in it. Suppost to keep any gnats /baby/larva from crawling up through. Sand cuts them up so suffocates them. Well that seemed to be suffocating my roots too, just didnt know and still had gnats. Finally i mixed 1 part 3% hydrogen peroxide to 3 parts water. That worked right away but had already lost 8 out of 10 pinapple haze autos. The plants loved that dose of peroxide so much that ive used it (but less) a few times just for the hell of it. Its a super boost of oxygen right to the roots.
 
benawhil
Thanks for the info. At least you didnt loss them all. Have you ever used nematodes? They seem to be the best option for all soil pest. I got the kind that has three different types. But I read that it will take a week or 2 after first application to see any affect. With them at least a week from getting here, I will be waiting 2-3 weeks. I will probably go get peroxide in the morning
 
zippercatchesskin
Just make sure u look up the proper ratio though. I think i used 20-30% peroxide to water. Im soo glad i dont have to deal w gnats since then. There the worst cause there doin most damage under ur soil. I had a lump in my stomach every day i searched thru my soil and found gnats. My plants were 3-4 wks old but were only 2" tall Was so excited to try my own compost but forgot to disinfect it. I germinated then planted seeds into 3 gal pots. Took about a week and iarvae turned into gnats. I tried everything next 2-3 wks till someone told me about peroxide. So i had 4 babies left when i did that and all 4 were fine after peroxide. but 2 didnt grow anymore so i got rid of them. Being so small they didnt have the root structure to withstand much, then being autos they dont grow long so when something stunts them they dont hv time to outgrow. Before and after.
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benawhil
My girls are growing well still and the nematodes will be here Thursday so I'm not tripping. I only seen a few this morning and I squashed them little bastards. Lol. Plus I just got sour diesel auto and amnesia haze auto beans in the mail. I dont want to waste any seeds but I really want to start these new beans. And I wont start them with the gnats, so going to wait till after these finish or if these start slowing down, I will put them outside, clean my tent and reset . Going to use coco and perlite next round.
 
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zippercatchesskin
I can see why u dont wanna waste them but thats excactly what i did. i put the lemon haze and that pinapple outside and figured id just let mother nature take care of em, cleaned the tent and planted more. I put em in the middle of a flower garden that got full sun and seemed like the sun perked em up. Eventually they started growing just ended up shorties. Lemon was 11' and pinapple 15". Live and learn. Happy growing friend.
 
benawhil
Day 12. Hoping for the best. Thanks for the info
 

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M
Looking good to me... In my experience, a good organic run is low touch. Just add water and let them breath; then repeat. Maybe some mycos, tea and a top dressing here and there.

Never seen gnats do anything to a healthy plant, and those look to be showing daily growth which is a good sign.

Good call on the todes, by the way. Will probably be looking at them for the next batch of Ssoil. Hopefully they won't be needed this time around.

Are you supplementing with anything else?
 
benawhil
Day 13. Nematodes applied. I will start top dressing when and if they start showing hunger signs. Just 6.8 phed tap water since germination. Ppm is110 from the faucet where I live. They are definitely showing good growth daily. Thanks for the feedback bro
 

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benawhil
I have my led at 28" with only the veg switch on. Was thinking of turning the bloom switch on and raising it up to 32" then start dropping it a couple inches a day till I'm at 24". What do you think? or should I wait another week or so?
 

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ItSbeenawhile said:
I have my led at 28" with only the veg switch on. Was thinking of turning the bloom switch on and raising it up to 32" then start dropping it a couple inches a day till I'm at 24". What do you think? or should I wait another week or so?
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I would if I thought they looked hardy enough... I like mine to feel the heat!

They don't seem crowded at all; and so, I don't see why you wouldn't push them.

If it doesn't affect the temp too much for your todes, you should be fine.. so I vote go for it.
 
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benawhil
Marola said:
I would if I thought the looked hardy enough
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Well this girl probably needs at least a few more days with that being said. Thanks for the advice. Well appreciated. There are only 3 in my 2×4 . Going to drown a amnesia haze auto and/or sour diesel auto also. Just haven't because of the knats
 

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benawhil
2 weeks young!! I put the smallest one in the middle to hopefully to encourage better growth. Not sure why she is so far behind her sisters but they are all showing daily growth
 

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benawhil
Day 15. It has been storming off and on the last few days, so the humidity has been all over the place. I'm going to top dress tomorrow . They look like they will be hungry soon
 

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benawhil
Day 16
I have increased watering amounts because the nematodes need consistent moisture and the girls are starting to drink more. Been 3 days since I applied the nematodes and seems like the gnats are practically gone already! Seen 2 today.Weird. of course I squashed the bastards! haven't decided on how much to top dress with yet but I will use 3-9-4 dr earth. I will at least apply 1 tablespoon per pot to make sure there are microbes in my soil next watering. Probably will need watering again tomorrow. They are looking really happy and healthy.
 

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M
A tablespoon evenly worked into the soil should be a good application. I would keep it at that and definitely wouldn't go past half the recommended application (1 tablespoon per 6" pot/ 2 qts), so keep to 1.5 tablespoons tops, to be safe.

I personally love Dr. Earth's Flower Girl + their other dry amendments. I have never had an issue; but I have seen people cook their autos and deal with some serious stunting & burns because of a heavy application.

They also suggest using it for tea.... i haven't tried it yet, but will give it a go this time around.

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Oh yeah! Worm castings. At day 16 they are not yet budding and will still need the extra nitrogen during the next 3-4 weeks. Working a half a cup of castings or so into your top dress will not only drive the microbes crazy (in a good way) but it will help maintain adequate amounts of nitrogen available to the girls during the budding phase.
 
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benawhil
marola said:
Worm castings. At day 16 they are not yet budding and will still need the extra nitrogen during the next 3-4 weeks.
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Worm castings is definitly better for this stage of growth. I'm still getting acquainted with organic dry amendments. Ive used sensi a + b, fox farms, and general hydroponics fertilizers in my hydro grows and they all worked roughly the same. After some research I decided to wait another week or 2 to top dress with 3-9-4 bloom. Miracle gro performance organics does have slow release nitrogen but I did mix in 30% seeds starter soil( only lime added, no fertilizer). Im assuming this knocks the ratio down by 30%.
 
M
ItSbeenawhile said:
Worm castings is definitly better for this stage of growth. I'm still getting acquainted with organic dry amendments. Ive used sensi a + b, fox farms, and general hydroponics fertilizers in my hydro grows and they all worked roughly the same. After some research I decided to wait another week or 2 to top dress with 3-9-4 bloom. Miracle gro performance organics does have slow release nitrogen but I did mix in 30% seeds starter soil( only lime added, no fertilizer). Im assuming this knocks the ratio down by 30%.
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I wouldn't put off the top dressing too long, though.

I'd actually brew some tea with both (and very little molasses) and work the left over mulch into the soil around day 21.

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NOTE I tend to do just 2 gallons at a time and only pour 1/3 to half a cup of the juice just around the rootzone per application. I work out my own ratios depending on the stage. I also use Pure Gold and Home Grown from Dr Earth as well.

From what I've gathered - because they bypass the vegetative state, keeping a higher P content available will improve overall flower development and ripening times. Remember Performance Organics is almost all nitrogen, which is cool if you're working with photos and looking for vegetative growth.

Just like in hydro, you still want a good N content for now to promote overall development, but too much and autos fail to show their full potential...

Check out a few of Mr. Canucks grows, he's got some great experiments; and makes a couple of the mistakes you probably would make yourself if you hadn't watched his stuff ;)

Send the ladies my best; & stay blessed!
 
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