GJ: Big Bang & OG Kush Auto's

[AGuy]

Posted my grow in the AutoFlower sub, but doesn't seem to get as many eyeballs as this sub, so I'll post here too. (And from now on)

I am a beginning farmer. Have been learning and getting the hang of things since Sept. Nearly killed my first plant with a transplant gone awry. My 2nd was much better, but still never seemed quite right.

This is Grow #3.

Big Bang Auto: 2 Plants
OG Kush Auto: 2 Plants

Medium: Ocean Forest Base (3/4) with Happy Frog top. (1/4)
Container: 5 Gallon Fabric Pots
Lighting: LED: 267W (+/-10W. 257Watts Min/277Watts Max. Actual Ratings): 2 Separate Panels, side by side. MEIZHI Brand Lights. UV:365nm specific 2W/Single Diode bulb.

Plants sit on "Deck-Protek" pads which are placed in a Oatey washing machine liner pan. Water plants, runoff collects in pan, shop vac water out of pan. Simple enough.

I had some problems early on in this Grow and with Grow #2. Appears as though I was burning the hell out of my plants by PHing my water. I was having to use A LOT of PH down, 15 drops/16oz to get balanced water.

My soil should be balancing the PH naturally. With my adding PH down chem, not wonder grow #2 never seemed to be quite right, size wise, taste wise, everything wise.

I have cut out all PH down chemicals, water sits out for 12 to 24 hours prior and the burning tips and progressing burning leafs have stopped

I have been playing around with light schedules. Mostly 20/4 and 18/6. Decided to go to 16/8 2 days ago and plants really seem to like the 16/8 more than the 18/6 or 20/4.

Big Bang Auto's
-Advertised 42 Day Flower time
-Big Bang 1/Left has been in flower for 4 days.
-Big Bang 2/Right has just begun to flower today, see the very first pistil popping out.

OG Kush Auto's
-OGK 2/Right Sprouted, 1st leaf set clearly visible.
-OGK 1/Left still working on sprouting.

Lighting Set-Up

2/12

Inside @ Lights out. 2/17

Big Bang (#1/Left) First Pistil/Begin Flower. 2/18

 

[AGuy]

Big Bang 1 & 2. 2/20

The difference in 2 days is very noticeable after going to 16/8.

OG Kush 1 & 2. 2/20

 

[Lesso]

Good luck guy. Why not run 24hr light?

 

[AGuy]

Good luck guy. Why not run 24hr light?

I prefer to roll with a dark period. Since I'm still a bit of newb at all this, I have toyed with 18/6 and 20/4. Read a post on another MB, fella said he'd be doing Auto's for a long time and he did 16/8. Tried it out. Gonna stay on the 16/8 as the plants REALLY seem to like it. The BBs did start to flower, but I mean these BBs have really flourished at 16/8. Keep with it, see how the starting OGKs like it.

I do like the 16/8 schedule. It simply makes more sense to me. Outside plants don't get 18/20/24 hours of light.

The dark period does have to be an important cycle. I mean, longer dark starts flowering in Photoperiod plants and then photoperiod plants spend 12 hours in the dark during flowering, they have to be doing something when the lights go out.

 

[Kraven]

I know two growers that are well versed in autos and both run 20/4 and start transition nutes at week 2 and full flower nutes by week 3. I prefer photo's myself but have ran a few autos and 20/4 worked the best. Green mojo and good luck. Peace

 

[AGuy]

I know two growers that are well versed in autos and both run 20/4 and start transition nutes at week 2 and full flower nutes by week 3. I prefer photo's myself but have ran a few autos and 20/4 worked the best. Green mojo and good luck. Peace

Thanks for looking! I went with Auto's cause as a newb, I was and still am concerned about being able to guarantee 12 hours of total dark. Plus I'm impulsive as hell and the autos let me do that, feel like starting 2 just cause, I can and don't have to worry about light.

My growing is personal, so I don't need massive yields. If I can get 3 oz per plant, that would suit me just fine. I think my biggest problem is I just need to get a rotation built up and going.

I am excited for this grow.

I have found that I enjoy gardening in general, in a world where time goes faster every day, this has been something that has really put the brakes on that feeling.

 

[Dan789]

AGuy, seems like your off to a great start. Make sure that your PH meter is calibrated, I found mine was way off, kept thinking everything was good, but later checked it, it was off. Now I check tap water every so often, or a bottled water just to make sure everything's in sync, as that shouldn't fluctuate. Good luck.

 

[AGuy]

Make that 3 OG Kush. Had another that had been trying to germ when I posted about the other 2. Wasn't sure#3 was gonna make it. Seemed like the seed shell got stuck, but alas, she sprouted, without the casing.

Gonna be a bit crowded for a little while.

Big Bang 1 has been shooting out pistils for a week.

Big Bang 2 popped out a full pistil finally, should be taking off now.

 

[AGuy]

Full up with 5. Not again though. 3 or 4 max. I got impatient, the Big Bangs taking forever. Last (back right) OGK shot a root out the side of the pellet, so into a fabric container it went.

OGK's coming up nice. Have had zero PH Down chemicals. See how it goes 86ing that stuff, the Big Bangs have really done well since I 86'd it outta their waterings.

Their obviously pretty short, which I expect. I bury the stem dang near up to where the 1st leaves sprouted. Should I be doing this? Watering is a slight PITA, lots of plant/leafs in the way. Strain info says only a 2 to 3 foot plant height. Feel sorta dumb with these little guys and then seeing everyone else's big ol' plant. Idk. Just let it grow I suppose is the best answer.

Also, I use plant wire tires to pull the lower branches up. Anchor them around the main stem. A good bit of finessing and fussing around and such, should I maybe try one of them string screens at some point?

I have pruned 0 leaves from either plant. Felt like I pruned to much on my last attempt (Girl Scout Cookies). Anyone's advice on pruning would be appreciated. How much is to much pruning I guess is my main concern.

 

[AGuy]

 

[grass hopper]

would normally take the bottom half off. gonna be a ton of popcorn there anyway. but as they r gonna stay soo short, i dunno.. i would still only keep most of your larger branches that can get mostly full light and trim off leaves, nodes that r gonna be weak or die anyway. trash or cloning branches..

 

[Kraven]

When you get away from these auto's and want to learn I will be more than happy to pass on what little knowledge I have accumulated over the years...but running autos is not teaching you anything and your gonna end up with sub par smoke, it may be better than regs but not what it should be when home grown. Not disrespecting you dude fosure, just saying if you want to learn how to grow serious dank from world class growers you are at the right place. Auto's are a gimmick for people who don't know how to properly grow. It is purposely bred with ruderalis and that waters the genetic's down quite a bit.

Here's the +/- of breeding in ruderalis.


"Cannabis ruderalis rarely grows over two feet in height, and matures in approximately seven weeks. The plants have a "thin, slightly fibrous stem" with little branching. Foliage is open with large leaves. Cannabis ruderalis will produce flowers based on its age, rather than light cycle, unlike flowering in C. sativa and C. indica varieties. This kind of flowering is also known as "autoflowering". It has less THC in its resin compared to other Cannabis species. However, it is often high in cannabidiol (CBD)."

 

[AGuy]

would normally take the bottom half off. gonna be a ton of popcorn there anyway. but as they r gonna stay soo short, i dunno.. i would still only keep most of your larger branches that can get mostly full light and trim off leaves, nodes that r gonna be weak or die anyway. trash or cloning branches..

From my researching, there is very minimal training I can do with the autoflower plants because they are on a clock. What I have done is...I take all the branches that I can, use plant wire tie, bend the branches up and tie the tie to hold it up. Get those lower branches up as high and as close to the light as I possibly can.

I did do some pruning today. About 12 leaves all together from both plants. Some of the worst looking and worst burnt from my earlier PH issues.

Also tied up a lot of those lower branches to get them up and closer to the light.

 

[AGuy]

When you get away from these auto's and want to learn I will be more than happy to pass on what little knowledge I have accumulated over the years...but running autos is not teaching you anything and your gonna end up with sub par smoke, it may be better than regs but not what it should be when home grown. Not disrespecting you dude fosure, just saying if you want to learn how to grow serious dank from world class growers you are at the right place. Auto's are a gimmick for people who don't know how to properly grow. It is purposely bred with ruderalis and that waters the genetic's down quite a bit.

Here's the +/- of breeding in ruderalis.


"Cannabis ruderalis rarely grows over two feet in height, and matures in approximately seven weeks. The plants have a "thin, slightly fibrous stem" with little branching. Foliage is open with large leaves. Cannabis ruderalis will produce flowers based on its age, rather than light cycle, unlike flowering in C. sativa and C. indica varieties. This kind of flowering is also known as "autoflowering". It has less THC in its resin compared to other Cannabis species. However, it is often high in cannabidiol (CBD)."

No offense at all. I'm always the odd one out of the bunch, always. Please do check out my GJ though, auto's, photo's, we're all still growing! I know I always do the oddball crap, but I like to perfect my oddball crap so it turns out well, its like a challenge. At some point, I do think I will probably switch to photoperiod plants.

The auto's have been a good way to learn what I'm doing without getting epic fails and frustrating results. A lot of my research had said that the ruderalis are a decently hearty plant that can put up with some abuse. I can sure attest to that at this point, they take some abuse and still grow, my results have been poor, but I don't wonder if my results would have been poorer and more frustrating trying to start with photo's. So now when I go to grow a photo (I have 5 Purple Paralysis seeds), I can get better results.

I was honestly just a bit concerned about being able to provide complete 12 hours of dark too, so that played a part in my decision. "Revegging" is a scary term to a growing newb.

 

[Kraven]

Yes and please don't take my comments as offensive. Growing is like building a house, you need a good foundation. What your doing now is watering, that is a crucial skill but if you plan to grow and this is your hobby then you will need to get the right tools at some point. Start with the proper area to meet the plants needs. A 3x3x7 tent is less than 150 and it is the basis of your grow, you need a grow "space". Seems you have lighting covered and medium too. You say you have 5 good beans, and tbh if they are regs you will be lucky if three are female...and then you start and take pictures and ask questions and learn. That is the only way to really get a feel for it, and you may decide that hey a few autos is all I really want to fool with and thats ok, I'm just trying to prepare you for your results. I'm an OK grower and after running three different auto strains I just could not get them to perform like a photo. The results were always sub par and it cost a lot of money on nutes and lights and A/C to get two fluffy ounces that were mediocre smoke. Green mojo. Peace

 

[grass hopper]

i thought the autos were catching on? also the thc ratings were up and over 20% now on more than a few auto strains. greenhouses and autos seems would go nicely together. i have only grown a few auto freebees, and was not impressed like u kraven..

 

[AGuy]

Uh, so I have a problem.

Both Big Bangs have shot roots OUT of the fabric pot. White root tips sticking out the sides. The bigger of the 2 is worse. Their in 5 gallon pots, full. Burying the stem so much is coming back to haunt me? They seem to look like good roots, if there is any upside.

Only solution I can think of is get 7 or 10 gallon pots and put em in there. Can I put a container inside another container? Like, get a 10 gallon, put dirt in it, put the whole 5 gallon container in and bury it? I hung a couple clean, fresh from the bag shop towels to keep the light off em.

 

[Lesso]

Thats supposed to happen on fabric pots. They air prune the roots and are supposed to keep the plants from becoming root bound. If you tansplant those autos at this point you will stunt them and seriously hurt your yield. Dont re plant them. They look good.

 

[AGuy]

Thats supposed to happen on fabric pots. They air prune the roots and are supposed to keep the plants from becoming root bound. If you tansplant those autos at this point you will stunt them and seriously hurt your yield. Dont re plant them. They look good.

Thank you for the reply so quick!!!!! So just let em pop out the side like that? It won't hurt or kill my plants if they continue to do so?

I wouldn't replant, instead put the whole dang thing in a bigger container and fill empty space with dirt. A fabric pot within a fabric pot, good or bad idea?

Sorry for the questions....hopefully ya get it.

Further intergoogling on my behalf has confirmed your directive. I will also try and throw a few more dek-proteks down too, just in case.

 

[Lesso]

Yup. Just let them pop out of the sides and they will airprune all on thier own. You really dont need a bigger pot for those. I have grown healthy plants that are at least 3x as big in 3 gal pots. Fabric Pot within a pot is is ok if you had an emergency but it would hold a lot of extra moisture in the fabric. But no, it wont hurt them at all to let the roots pop out. It can be really healthy for them.