First try at Auto's, looking for advice.

[Chowder]

Hi, been awhile since my last post, hope all is well. Trying my second indoor grow, this time, autos in soil. Last grow was DWC, great success, thanks to this amazing site, and the people who share their experiences and knowledge. Many thanks! Started 5 auto purple kush, from truenorthseeds, breeder is Canuck seeds, which I had left over from last year so I was a little skeptical when I put them in water. They all popped, but since I've transferred to rooter, only 2, plus a half, lol, sprouted. Buts it's early.
Im looking at previous posts for advise, but would love any tips.
currently, they are in a plastic dome under t-5, about 8" away from top of plastic.
im using two 600w HPS, planning on 18/6, for electric costs, but would love input on this!
My grow room is getting put back together as my girls begin to rise. Once again, this site and posts by fellow grows helped educate me on my setup.
ill post some pics once things get going. Cheers!

[oldjarhead100]

keep them optimal right out of the gate . what I mean is keep root zone warm ,use water around 70 degrees f to water with
I have found that if you give them perfect conditions from seed on then they grow much better of course most dont grow in cellar

[Chowder]

Great tip, thanks. I've seen a couple of your posts and journals. Great job! I'm not growing in my basement, I'm on a slab, lol. But I've got an outbuilding which was once a sauna, so it's well insulated. I'll post pics. 🍻

[ZigZag]

Welcome back. You'll find all kinds of advice about light cycles for autos. I think that the best light cycle is determined by the intensity and productivity of your lights as well as the medium, temperature, humidity and how moist the medium is. For my setup I've found that I've gotten faster and more prolific growth with a light cycle of 20 on 4 off. If I go 24 on then I often get "tired" plants that need some rest too recoup. When I give them that 4 hrs of darkness they do much better. Once they get some large fan leaves they'll start drooping a bit after 20hrs of light but if I let them rest for 4 hrs they are back up and perky by morning. If I don't they will stay droopy. My feeling is that the lights are strong enough that they cause the plants to draw as much water as they can into the leaves, which are at this point as wide as the plants are tall so once this happens then they benefit from a dark period where photosynthesis stops giving them time to readjust to the temp/ humidity and water content of the medium....but thats not based on any science I know of, just my experience. And that's limited to a coco mix not soil. Will be good to follow your grow_cheers!

[Chowder]

Hey, thought I'd post a couple pics of the two girls who sprouted and where I've started them. The grow cabinet is for starting both marijuana and veggies as evident in the pics. There's lettuce and Swiss chard neighbouring my two auto purple Kush. I've got a sativa mix of autos arriving soon, which I'm planning on throwing into the mix as well. My actual grow area is an out building. I'll post pics when setup again. Currently in the process of getting it ready.

[Dutchman1]

Love it ! Veggies and cannabis side by side......just as it should be.

[ZigZag]

Does the cabinet just use window light? I never considered starting with that but I could_ I have large south facing windows...that way I could get some babies started while the big girls continued to finish_ long as I got the timing right!. Hope your sativa's arrive soon!

[Chowder]

No, there's actually a 4 bulb, t-5, 6400k bulb on them. It's two separate levels. I've got it next to my window and open on the back in order to keep fresh air and temperature control. My greenhouse is next to my woodstove in living room so it gets hot. Plus I've got little busy kids who would tear the plants apart, hence the doors!

[Chowder]

Just took a Lux reading, approx 30k. Temp is 25C, humidity 34% but I mist them often.

[ZigZag]

OK, I get it. Yeah the doors to keep the kids out are a must have...curiosity is a great motivator but at that age you have to keep some things out of reach! I'm anxious to find a new grow space or build one.
Big enough to be able to keep six plants 3' apart and have enough room to walk around 360 degrees to work on them. Maybe someday. The autos should work well for you. They are really tolerant. I just did an experiment with training two autos a few grows back_ I FIM'ed one of them and just used LST on the other. The FIM'ed plant produced really well but it went three weeks longer than "advertised". I expected it would be behind and it was, but it produced 3x as much. And it didn't start to flower until long after it was suppose to do. Instead of starting to flower before it had time to grow much. The FIMing just set the clock back so to speak. Might not always work like that though....lots of folks just stick to LST, pruning, defoliating and other less intrusive methods. After FIMing that one plant I just used LST afterwards. Happy growing!

[Dutchman1]

Im gonna try fiming on 4 of the same autos this summer to see what results I can get.

[ZigZag]

Here's a photo of the two plants_ same strain, same time, same place, same everything_ except the training.It can make a huge difference.

[oldjarhead100]

hey zigzag I get a difference like that in Auto plants all the time one will be normal and the one next to it a dwarf

[D.A.A.S.69]

I hear you OJH, alot of them are stunted from the start, bad seeds.

[ZigZag]

I'm in a grow right now from seed and its happening again so I guess its not abnormal. These are photoperiod plants but almost same thing, except this time they both got exactly the same training as well as all else. Both toped once and then LST. One is displaying its sativa heritage and the other its indica.
These are the CBD-OG Kush.Have to use a riser to get the small ones canopy even with the rest.

[Chowder]

Didn't have much luck germinating the auto purple Kush, only one girl decided to come to the party. Oh well, the seeds were last years but was hoping for at least 2. Anyway, just put 1 auto cheese, 2 auto amnesia, 1 auto quarter pounder, 2 AK48 auto in jiffy pellets earlier today. Just used warm water for jiffy pellets and put them up in the warm cupboard under plastic dome till they sprout. Sound right?

[Chowder]

Here's a pic of lone girl. Still on water only.

[SheikYerbouti]

Just started some auto’s myself. 3 Fast Eddy seeds from RQS, has an equal ratio of thc to cbd. All seeds popped quickly, one refused to give up its cover and in the process got a little gangly. Plan to transplant in final container next week. Going lite on notes so far, as I’ve read auto’s don’t like too many. Interested to seehow other growers treated theirs differently from photo period plant. Any links appreciated!

[ZigZag]

I'm really liking the 1/1 plants I've grown and have two more strains going right now. Started them all from seed and they are first generation so I'll just have to wait and see hoe that works out_ strain guide say its 1/1 but that different phenotypes could produce 1/1 but maybe more or less at either end as well.
6 weeks to go before I find out! The strains now growing are CBD OG Kush and Cookie Wreck. Cheers.

[OzBud]

I have a grow journal for a 20Oz Auto Afghan Kush Ryder grow which has quite a bit of detail. I fed my plants 75% strength nutes (full General Hydroponics flora tri + all supplements/additives) for most of the grow. I'm feeding my current grow even more early on than I did last time.

https://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum/growing-community/completed-marijuana-grow-journals/71948-ozbud-2nd-grow-600w-hps-in-coco-auto-afghan-kush-ryder-by-world-of-seeds-20-oz

[THComa]

I've been growing autos in soil under LED 18/6 and have had great results.
Recently I built a small sprout box with a couple fluorescent lights for a couple reasons.
One the powerful LED light I think might be a little too strong for newborns because I lost a few babies and haven't had any problems since I built the baby box.
Two I can speed out my cycles by starting them in the baby box while some are coming to the finish line in the main room cutting 3-6 weeks off my cycles.
I love em

[ZigZag]

I had kinda the same issue with using my powerful led's with seedlings_ they got stunted, when I figured what was causing it_ by trial and error_ I raised the lights to over 48" and things got going well again. Bit I'm thinking same thing for nest time_ first week anyway. good idea.

[Chowder]

Just wanted to post some pics of my grow room. It's a small insulated building, but just running extension cords for power till spring. I divided the room into two rooms. The first room is as soon as you go in the door, and it's my utility room. Exhaust fans for my HPS lights inside, 600w each. I can pull or push air over the lights to keep heat off plants and help regulate grow area temp better. I have another fan which blows in fresh air from this utility room into my grow room. Inside grow room, I have an exhaust fan, 400 CFM, on a dial to keep regular flow of fresh air. Also is pic of soil I'll be using, along with perlite.
Ill update when I move plants here. Cheers!

[Dutchman1]

Just a thought.......Unless your stealth growing you may want to open up the roof with a couple of skylights on each side. It would save a bundle on electricity. And depending on where you are even a couple of skylights would be difficult to see through from a plane or helicopter above.

[Potted]

Around here the man is using choppers and drones looking for sheds with no snow on the roof just like the one pictured,

[Chowder]

Hi potted, my shed has an insulated ceiling so the snow stays on my roof! Which I'm very thankful for, lol. But thanks for the tip cause I'm sure not all outbuildings are the same. I also many planes flying over top, there's a military base near by so we see them often.

[Chowder]

Update, not having much luck sprouting auto's. Only have two plants going after trying to germinate 2 sets of auto seeds, so I've started a few photo fem seeds. Three strains, CBDurban, Blueberry, and Cinderella 99, 3 seeds each. Will add them into the post in time.
Snowstorm here today so, waiting another day till I take the larger of the two plants into my growhouse. That's the auto purple Kush. Smaller plant is an auto amnesia.
cheers and happy growing!

[ZigZag]

Dutchman1 is right_ I am jealous! So much so that I just might have to build one this summer. Looks like it gets cold and snowy where you are so I'm wondering how warm I can keep it in the winter. What kind of heat source to use.natural gas or electric? It gets cold and snowy here too but it only gets below 20 for maybe 3-4 weeks_ mostly its between 20-35 between November and March. Have you set up a way to block light completely from the window(s) and door or are you going to hang a tent inside? It looks like you've taped off a window and maybe a door....that for better insulation or to block light?
Your babies look happy and healthy so I'd probably keep them indoors as long as they do. Looks like they are getting enough light at the moment.
But heck, if you can keep the temp in the "yellow cottage" above 72 then why not see how they like their new home. Once they get larger having the temp go down to 68 at night should be fine.
Hope you have more luck with the next batch of seeds. Happens to most sooner or later....