Northern Lights - au naturel

[welshweed]

Here's Norma, my Northern Lights auto lady on day 39 and doing fine!
I decided to try a "natural" grow for her - outdoors and in soil (see below). Also no training, no topping/FIMing and so far no nutes.
Anybody like to predict her resultant height and shape if I continue with this strategy?
Also, with regard to nutes, would she benefit from some high N feed at this stage?

 

[Farmbuck]

I had several NL autos and I feed them nitro in moderation. My girls were harvested around day 87 but it was indoor.

 

[SoOrbudgal]

I'd give her some N fluids. I also use worm casings top dressing water that in for my outdoor. Worm casings is what i use in my soil mix along with guano it's amounts are approx. to 1cup ea. per 5gal and 2cups ea for 10gal. mixed into a light fluffy soil. This i find feeds my plants for a good month or so, if i see a tad of yellowing on leaf i'll feed them some liquid N teas. I don't skimp on good healthy MJ plants that are going to fill my pantry. But if you don't use as much ( we do ) for experiment you could just play with it what your doing. Growers preferance :smile:

 

[welshweed]

Thanks for the advice. I'll feed some N fluid as suggested, and think about getting some worm castings. I'll probably do some molasses as well.

 

[dilvish]

As long as they get plenty of direct sunshine (unless it gets above 28C on a regular basis)...Northern lights loves light, more than many other strains. Some Nitrogen would help her too...they tend to like it in the early growth stages. Just make sure you don't use too much and make sure you check the PH levels.

Ultimately the plant will grow just fine outdoors with just water but then it's the final yield that is important. Adding nutrients essentially ensures you get a good yield and not just a big green plant...buds are the most important part.

 

[welshweed]

I'll bear that in mind, dilvish. Cheers.

 

[welshweed]

Day 40 and she's looking good. Decided on a FIM a couple of days ago which is doing the trick.
However, last night one of the lower leaves got nibbled by some unknown predator. Is there something I can spray her with to prevent further damage - preferably from natural compounds?

 

[Catfish22]

There are animal deterrents that you can get for yard shrubs and flower beds. I don't know if they are suitable or not.

 

[welshweed]

Thought I'd post an update on Norma at nine weeks, 22 ins high, and looking pretty happy in the wilderness!
We're in the middle of a heatwave here in the UK, with temps in excess of 30 degrees. Is that good or bad?
How long till harvest would you say - about a month maybe?

 

[welshweed]

Thanks BU2B. If she's happy, I'm happy.

 

[SoOrbudgal]

Looks great autos can take it at your plants age is fine in sunshine. Just watch for bugs now they somehow are attracted to resin smells more when blooming. Young autos may not handle too much heat early on, yours won't mind.

 

[welshweed]

Here she is - a few minutes before the "chop". 79 days old and 2 ft tall with lots of amber trychs.
I think the phrase is "small but perfectly formed", Judging from my previous (first) grow I'll be lucky to get half an ounce from her - unless those buds have magically acquired a specific gravity of a heavy metal!(It beats me how some of you outdoor growers on the forum manage to cultivate those triffid-esque babies!:nah
But no complaints. I think it's a case of quality rather than quantity, and in pure economic terms, we're talking of a ROI of about 1000% (Just ten quid for the seed and no further expense), just left to grow au naturel.
She's been hanging for a couple of days now and the aroma is sublime.

When I've done a quality assurance test - I'll report back...