Light Spectrum - RED I'm in the black hole of AutoFlowering hell WEEK 25!!!!!

[javabob]

Yes, you saw correctly! More on this after my question.
I am still waiting for my flowers to brown up. I have the lights (LED's) on a 12/12 schedule. Also, I have 2 37w Red LED Cans in addition. Last night I left the REDs on thinking that MAYBE it would be helpful it the girls got 24 hours of RED spectrum.
What are the opinions of RED on flowers?

Now at the point of redundancy, check some of my earlier posts to understand my dilemma and to learn what not to do....
From the wrong soil to a constant battle with pH and, as my grandmother used to say, "my eyes were bigger than my stomach.", with major crowdedness.
After doing an "it's about as good as it's going to get" harvest of my (1) AK-47 & (1) GG my other girls, (2) Granddaddy Purple and (1) Amnesia seemed happier and thrived a bit more.
Upon examination after harvest, the root systems were very small and that's one reason they struggled so much.

They are doing better than I expected since I really didn't know what to expect if anything since I should have been able to do two grows at this point.
This was my 1st grow in 25 years and I was completely new to grow tents and auto-flowering fems.
I am also giving them daily doses of Co2 from baking soda & vinegar.
Much has been learned from the experience.

BTW, the AK & GG are curing in Mason jars, early tasting has been very nice even if the bud was light and thin.
So again read my past posts for the equipment used.

RED Spectrum anyone???

[JohnEmad]

Hi Javabob,
You are like me. I have tried many different things while growing. Some things help and some don't but hey. That's how we learn.
This article on far red light may help. I am sure there is much more on the subject but this should help.
https://www.growweedeasy.com/phytoch...ation-cannabis

[dilvish]

All things aside...I don't know anyone who has taken 25 weeks to grow an auto....in your case the plants are taking forever because frankly your lights are shit...no simple way to put it.

Full spectrum light is likely more important than any other factor when it comes to cannabis. The leaves are solar panels and if they can't get enough "juice" the plant suffers overall.

Additionally autos will grow using 12/12 but it's not necessary or recommended. You can leave the lights on 24/0 for auto's

At the very least invest in a decent light. That will solve half your problems.

[gbauto]

All things aside...I don't know anyone who has taken 25 weeks to grow an auto....in your case the plants are taking forever because frankly your lights are shit...no simple way to put it.

Full spectrum light is likely more important than any other factor when it comes to cannabis. The leaves are solar panels and if they can't get enough "juice" the plant suffers overall.

Additionally autos will grow using 12/12 but it's not necessary or recommended. You can leave the lights on 24/0 for auto's

At the very least invest in a decent light. That will solve half your problems.

Agreed.

Having a fixture that is capable of generating sufficient amounts of photons of PAR to grow your plants is THE most important part of an indoor grow,
Most of the plants I grow will occupy a 2x2 footprint, and with top-tier diodes, it will need approximately 100-120 watts of power to generate enough light for flowering.
Although you didn't mention what you're using for your main lighting, I'd suspect it uses older 'blurple' monochromatic diodes that are about 1/2 as efficient at generating photons of PAR compared to top-tier diodes used in better fixtures.
If they are older tech fixtures, I would double the power density to 200-250 watts(actual power consumed) per plant.

[javabob]

#dilvish, #gbauto
I want to thank you both for stepping up, finally #dilvish someone who doesn't give me some soft petaled reply. Straight to it...I've been asking this question for months but you pretty much laid it out!

Yes, of course, no one has ever taken this long to mature an autofem....it had to be me.
The setup if you missed the earlier posts is attached below

So the light board bought on Amazon is a brand new Abriselux A1000 LED dimmable w/High PPFD 100 watt. I added the two cans with red LED 37w.

What kind of LED boards and how much wattage is decent for my 24x48x72 tent. I'm needing to keep my expenses to a minimum, hence the reason for the "reasonably" priced board. With help to get a second and do a daisy chain for 200watts? I know more is better but it was a ground-up expense when I started this and even though I did my due diligence I still made some doozies of mistakes at the University of Flowers.
Any and all information is appreciated.
Just left the ladies and even though we are struggling we are slowly browning and getting prettier every day.

Since we are in unchartered waters here I have watered approximately every 5 to 7 days.
PH is around 6, I am still sweetening with Molasses, using CalMag, Bloom & Beastie Buds in some sort of rotation. I don't know if I should continue with the CalMag and I may be finished with the molasses.
It is all a day-to-day thought process.....well, time to water using CalMag [maybe for the last time] & Beastie Buds. Using a blast of CO2 daily from baking soda & white vinegar.

Inputs are always welcome .
Thanks,JB

[PRIMO]

If they were mine I'd give em a good flush,last gal. with 1/2 str. flower nutes, go 24-7 and lower the lights. Forget the red and co2. Oh, and back off the coffee, you're overthinking things Bob

[dilvish]

again lights are probably the most important item for growing for cannabis. There are hundreds to choose from but don't cheap out because that's the problem you face now. You can get a decent Full spectrum LED for about $250 USD. I recommend models that are UL certified by ViparSpectra.

Amazon sells a huge amount of absolute crap. Most of these marketplace sellers don't give two shits about their product as long as it sells and Amazon doesn't require them to adhere to their strict guidelines when it comes to electrical safety. Doesn't matter how many good reviews the product gets either because those ratings are majorly skewed in the sellers favor.

Again, Auto's can grow on a 12/12 cycle but it's generally not recommended. In your case I would have just left the lights on 24/0 because of how crappy they are. You should do that now....

Since we don't know what medium you are using (soil or coir) that is also likely a big issue. Stick to regular NPK nutrients, forget the other shit and if it's soil, ditch the calmag altogether.

Water them when the first 2 inches deep of soil/coir feel dry and hope they can mature enough to render a decent bud or two.