1st grow - LEC 315, Coco, White Widow Autoflower

[guilty]

Hi all ---

This my first ever grow. Kind of using Nebula's grow as an outline (https://forum.growweedeasy.com/foru...ow-journal-w-coco-coir-8-autoflowering-plants)

I germinated seeds directly in Rapid Rooters on January 1st. January 6-7 they finally made their debut. I moved them to tent on January 8th.

I think I may have some light burn on one of them. I measured 24" from my tallest, but didn't think to compensate for one pot having more coco in it. It was probably about 23" from the light when I noticed. I will attach a picture. Others look good so far.

 

[Sparkee2017]

That LEC 315 is a bit much for the young ladies try CFL'S or T5s..

 

[Potted]

Yes floresents are best for seedlings kept close. Lol

 

[DingusKhan]

It will also reduce your power bill for a little while to use lower wattage lights. You can happily grow seedlings with "60" or "100" watt curly flourescents for a week or two before they can utilize the energy emitted by that LEC. Remember, all the light that hits the floor of your tent (instead of green leaves) is wasted energy.

Your beautiful, yet tiny, speck of a seedling can only utilize a small amount of light until it gets bigger. A couple of curly CFLs is plenty of light until your plant is about the size of your hand, which should take a week or two, if you don't stress your seedling. And not stressing seedlings is about half way there to a successful grow.

Great start!

 

[guilty]

OK, back again....

I suspect I'm overwatering. Just looking for some feedback. I had waited 4 days since last watering to dry out some and just watered again last night and see the leaves are curling down this morning.

 

[starramus]

Looks like you have a case of the "claw". Are you doing the first knuckle check before watering? https://www.growweedeasy.com/how-often-water-marijuana

You are starting out with a great light. Gonna get you beaucoup flower! NebulaHaze knows "*Keep LEC grow lights an extra 6-12″ (15-30cm) away for young plants,"

 

[D.A.A.S.69]

Yeah like DingusKhan said ,all you need are a couple of cfls, on your seedlings, the first week or two, seedlings don't need much light at all.
When I switch from cfls to my 315cmh, I start the 315 about 22-24 inches above the young plants, then when flowering, I keep it about 18inches away. You sure don't want to slow your autos down, if you can help it,
Good Luck
HappyGrowing

 

[gr00ve]

I just finished my first grow that started out under a 315 LEC in coco. My greatest lesson has been twofold. Patience is everything and less is more. With that said onto some practical advice

You have had your seedlings growing in their final pot? IMO this will slow down establishment of the root system. I don't think its a big deal, but as they are in a large pot, they will be more likely to dry out quickly and need watering more often. I was using half a litre of weak feed every 2-3 days. Little and often is best for now until your root system is better established.

I kept my light around 30" from the top of the plant during the seedling period, bringing it down to 24" when the 4th node started growing. During flower i reduced the height above the canopy to a final height of 16".

Keep in mind, the leaves you are worrying about now will be ones that you'll be cutting off during your upcoming trims so don't stress about it.

Your plants are looking good, you're doing well. Relax, but be aware that I harvested around 4 oz from my plant, so sharing that light among your 3 plants may not get you much more than that between them, but ymmv.

 

[guilty]

Thanks! I have definitely been watering too much in that case! I was looking at Nebula's journal and see the part now where she mentioned just watering a little around the seedling at first.

They are indeed in their final pots and I suspect another mistake I made was putting them into 5 gallon pots instead of 3 after reading up more on autoflowers.

 

[Canuck147]

I wouldn't worry too much about your one-leafer - that's how they grow - there won't be any branches coming off it.

If that were my plant - next time I would water around the edges of the pot, gots to make sure the plants know how big their home is - that being said i would also water till run-off.

Then you would have to wait at least a week for it to dry out. Let it dry out.
Good Luck!

 

[guilty]

Monday morning update:

Things are looking a bit better (I think.) I haven't watered them again yet -- trying to let them dry out first. #5 was late to germinate/sprout but I had put it in the tent anyway although it's lagging way behind the others.

 

[guilty]

Forgot to update last week!

This will be 'week 5' on the nutrient schedule. They just got plain PH'd water yesterday. Two of the plants have something going on with the tips -- I'm guessing its light burn since its only on two of them and not nutrient burn since two are fine. I've raised the light a little bit and will see.

 

[OzBud]

You said auto's yeah? If that was me even though they're more than 3 weeks old I'd still be repeating the week 3 schedule on my General Hydroponics feed chart until lots of 'budlets' have started appearing. Helps the plant keep growing nicely with a more vegetative nutrient ratio. If you're following the feed chart by age you've probably started on the week 5 early flower feed ratio when they're not yet flowering

 

[guilty]

Doh! Yes, autos. I’ve def been making some mistakes. Last week they received week 4 nutrients. Would it be OK to go back to week 3 this week or not a good idea now?

 

[OzBud]

yeah they will be fine. Keep giving them week 3 until the plant throws out little white hair budlets all over the place then got to week 4 transition

 

[DingusKhan]

They are very forgiving. Ozbud's right, they can benefit from the extra N that the veg mix provides while they are getting big. You'll sometimes see them have a growth spurt (flowering stretch) about the same time that the first baby pistils appear. That can be your cue to switch flavors.

 

[guilty]

Thanks guys!

 

[guilty]

I've gone back to the week 3 nutrient schedule this week and the plants are definitely filling out more. I have been manipulating them a little as well to try and keep them flat.

 

[Canuck147]

Really nice- great color.

 

[guilty]

I believe I've got some 'budlets' starting to appear on a few of them finally.