1st time grower. Hi all

[JimH]

Just took these pictures a few minutes ago. My brother has been growing for a few years now and he has told me the same about the light pot method I don't go by that moisture meter I don't even know why I still have it in there to tell the truth. I have been waiting until the pot feels light so I have only watered it twice in the last week and both times were with a mister with about 6 ounces of water each time. I have been doing a lot of reading on all different aspects of growing trying to soak in as much knowledge as possible so I know that over watering is 1 of the most common mistakes for new growers so I have been very conscious of that.

[JimH]

Also I have been keeping the pH right around 6.5.
I am using a layered mix of fox farm Happy Frog on top and Ocean Forest on the bottom and I've been told with auto flowers I may not have to add any nutrients through out the plants life cycle but I wanted to be prepared if I do so I have gotten the fox farm nutes seen in this picture so now I'm reading about how and when and how much to use them but any help you guys could offer would be greatly appreciated

[Rootsruler]

So far they are looking good so tell your brother he's doing a good job!!

IME, prepared soils usually have a lifespan of around 5 - 6 weeks before you start seeing deficiencies. I would start supplementing your liquid fertilizers around end of week 4 at 1/4 strength then go half strength at week 6. I use GH FloraNova so I never have to go more than half strength. If your plant is good with 1/2 strength then go with it but if you feel your plant wants more then go full strength. I rarely go with manufacturers advice in terms of feed strength. I use PPM to measure how much nutrient I want in the water. I usually don't go over 1200 ppm in veg and 1000ppm in flower.

In my case, I use prepped soils but I use them as backup to my nutrition program so I start feeding within the first couple of weeks of veg. If the plant is wanting more than I am giving it at the time, the soil nutrition can make up whatever it's wanting at that stage that I'm not giving it. This keeps deficiencies to a minimum limiting the stresses on the plant and keeping it in growth mode rather than recovery mode.

For autos you really want to get everything spot on from the get go as the clock is ticking so you only have so much time to grow your plant as big as you can before it starts flowering. Any stress or shock will delay the growth and reduce the amount of dry weight at harvest. One of the tricks I use in early veg for photos is to let them go an extra day before watering so that the tap shoots out more roots looking for water but it can get a bit tricky if you leave them too long and they stunt. I don't really do this in later veg as by this time I should have a pretty extensive root network developed.

Early root development, IMO, is key to having the throughways for your nutrient to get to your flowers. Bigger roots, Bigger fruits. This is why you want to water the ENTIRE media not just around the root ball that is forming. When you water the entire media in the pot you'll notice that the soil around the root ball will dry out first due to the roots uptaking the easiest water it can find. When that dries out it shoots roots looking for more water. If you only water around the root ball the roots your tap shoots out won't find any water and will die off. Also, capillary action will spread out the water over your media and evaporate it faster meaning you need to water more frequently.

I always recommend newbs and even more experienced growers read this. It answered a lot of questions I've always had but could never really get a definitive answer to. I'm not the author.

(2) Watering cannabis explained by Aqua Man | Bud Builders - Making Friends, Growing Cannabis

You can use this as a guide to when and how much nutrient to apply. I would start applying cal/mag a couple of weeks sooner than the chart indicates.

[JimH]

Man I really appreciate you taking the time to pass on that knowledge I'm really glad I found this group you guys are awesome! I'm going to go read that right now so thanks again

[JimH]

Hey so I obviously want to get the most buds I can out this girl but I'm reading that I shouldn't top a auto flower but I should do some LST so what would be better for it to tie and stake or use the little plastic 90 degree bending things I keep seeing and when would be the best time to start?

[Rootsruler]

I don't grow autos much so I don't have a ton of experience with them but the few I have I have noticed they don't like to be messed with unlike photos where they like to be pushed. I think it really depends more on the cultivar you have but in general I would go with the LST over topping. Topping, in photos, breaks the apical dominance the plant is genetically predisposed to have. Topping will redistribute the energy it would have used to power the main stem growth out to the secondary branching giving you a bushier plant.



For Autos, any stress will slow down overall growth while it recovers from the stress so it depends on how long a veg period has been programmed into the breeding. If your auto has a longer veg period then topping is a good idea to grow more plant material/bud sites since the plant has longer to recover. If not then LST is probably the answer in place of topping. LST will even out the amount of light the bud sites are all getting rather than just the tops getting the most light and everything below getting less.

Most of the autos I've grown typically have a 4 - 5 week veg period before they start flowering.

You may want to look into doing a ScrOG. A ScrOG will spread out the branches to even out the light exposure similar to LST. I have a 2 x 2 ScrOG going. Check it out if you think this might be a good way to go.

2 x 2 Mystery ScrOG - GrowWeedEasy.com Cannabis Growing Forum

[Bluey]

Being your 1st grow I'd try and limit your work just to LST. You can top if you want but be warned....speak to experienced auto toppers first. I am not.

When you start is up to you but maybe somewhere around week 4 or 5 start pulling the branches out sideways so light gets to everything.

[JimH]

[Rootsruler]

Try not to get the leaves wet. Wet leaves promote powdery mildew. If you need to foliar spray them then that should be okay but keep them as dry as you can.

When I hand water I like to take a 2 liter soda bottle and poke holes in cap. Cheap watering can that is easy to maneuver around the pot and can direct the water under your leaves without making a mud hole.

[JimH]

Something else I did not know. Thanks!

[JimH]

It's gotten a little colder around here the past few days and nights and with my exhaust fan running constantly it's dropping my humidity down into the high 50s I don't have a humidifier and I tried putting a couple bowls of water in with the plant along with a damp sponge behind my fan and it's only getting me into the mid 60s so can I set my exhaust fan to go on and off every few hours or should I just break down and get a humidifier?

[JimH]

With the exhaust fan off it's a constant 78 to 80 percent

[Rootsruler]

Can you lower the speed of your fan? No need to use a humidifier if your ambient already has it. It's just a matter of controlling the air flow with your exhaust fan.

If not and you can cycle it on off to get within range I would do it that way first.

[JimH]

Unfortunately I cannot lower the speed but I just ordered a controller unit for it that will be here tomorrow I'm also adding the new spiderfarm sf1000 evo light today so we will see so how that changes things also

[JimH]

So I just installed the spider farmer sf1000 evo right now the light is on 80% and I'm getting a reading of about 52000 lux with the light 18 inches above the plant I'm reading not to exceed 60k during veg and 75k during flower so should I leave it at this height and power and see how the plant responds?

[Bluey]

No Jim. That light is only capable if about 16000 lux or lumen which I think is the same thing. You can't be getting 52000 from that light.

That is too bright.

You are not in veg yet, you are in seedling. A seedling needs no more than 300 to say a max of 350 PPFD. Download a phone app, calibrate to a known reading and use DLI or PPFD to measure the light. Nobody here uses lumen ir lux to measure light for plants. That's for humans

[Rootsruler]

This will get you close but heed Bluey advice and download a light meter app,

[JimH]

Don't know what any of this means but I have the light set at 18 inches and lowered it to 30% put in the size of my tent and distance light is from the plant I did what the app said to calibrate and this is what it it's saying

[JimH]

This picture was just taken and from what I'm reading it is in its beginning veg?

[Bluey]

Yes. So you would be at maybe 400PPFD light on that plant, just fine tune the light to what your plant shows it likes.

Pushing maximum light is difficult because you tend to run into nute problems that can be hard to manage so best not to push them too much until you get used to nute mixes and how your plants handle things.

Try the Photone or PPFD Meter apps. I know how those work.