first grow sweet tooth auto with 250w cfl

[sweetteeth]

hi I will be doing my first grow in a few days and ive chosen sweet tooth auto fem seeds from barneys farm due to the height and yield of the plant and quality doesn't really have to be STINKING!! as its just for myself to smoke. I will be using a 250w cfl lamp and have 2 plants in 1 gallon pots. I know it says use 2 gallon pots but im planning 2 plants and thought id give the 1 gallons a go to see if it restricts the size a tad. my space is 1 foot depth, 2 feet wide and about 5 feet high. I plan to start these seeds under a blue spec 250w cfl then after 12 days put them under the red spec with 20/4 light ratio all the way. the room is fully reflective and has a 12" oscillating fan, also im using levingtons multi purpose compost with clay pebbles for drainage. do you think expecting 3oz is abit much? anybody that could help me plz reply. p.s im using plant magic grow and bloom and I will be starting them with root stim as ive heard it works wonders for autos

 

[Mr Jay]

I think expecting three is way too much if you're only using one gallon pots. Personally I'd use three gallon pots for them to even get close to that mark.

A few questions for you, do you have an extraction fan and a carbon filter? It's really important to be pulling fresh air into your grow space and not just be moving it around with a fan blowing over the grow. The carbon filter is hooked up to the extraction fan so it pulls all the air out of your grow space through it and eliminates the smell. This is a must for security reasons as all pot likes to advertise it's presence via stank.

Do you have a PH meter? Maintaining the proper soil and watering PH throughout your grow is super important, 6.3 - 6.5 in soil with 6.5 being the magic spot.

I can't say anything about the soil mix you're using as I've never seen it, but the interwebs are turning up bad reviews on it. Check and see if you can get something made custom for cannabis in your area (uk I assume?)

One last note, the sweet tooth auto has a rep for not autoing, so if after 30 days it doesn't start flowering just flip it to 12/12

 

[sweetteeth]

yes I have a 5inch fan and filter forgot to mention that and just a simple ph test kit but its something to get me started.. i chose that type of soil as somebody i know swears by it but obviously ppl have diff opinions. i haven't seen these bad reviews so maybe i will rethink my soil brand... is there any you would recommend? yeah i also seen all the reviews about barneys farm not AF but by then it was too late, my seeds were in transit. Again recommended by somebody for their height and yield... some say theyre potent little nugs, others say its a mediocre smoke. what do i believe? thank you for your reply and opinions

 

[Mr Jay]

I haven't grown it myself but all the reviews I saw said it was some great bud

I've seen great reviews for plagron bat mix soil, here's a link.

http://www.greenshorticulture.co.uk/categories/Organics/Growing-Media-&-Soil-Conditioners/Plagron-BatMix-50L/

It's a uk based company, and I've seen quite a few good auto grows in this. You might want to use a soil with less nutes in it for their seedling stage, autos like very low nutrient soil at first. Plagron makes some lighter mixes and you could use one of those. Some people like to put the nute heavy soil in the bottom half of the pot and the light stuff in the top half, that way the plant grows right into what it needs. I've heard good things about it's ph buffering abilities, which would be great for a beginner.

Just a note on feeding autos, start off feeding them 1/4 strength feedings as they are very sensitive to nutes. Don't feed them until they have two or three sets of true leaves, that's sets beyond the first seedling leaves.

Well, I just went and got very stoned so I'm going to stop while I'm making sense


Best of luck!

 

[sweetteeth]

ok thank you for all your help its been very useful for me. do you think i have the right size fan for the size of the box? so im looking for a light soil mix with low nute content for the first 2-3 weeks then an average contented soil for the rest of the grow. also people say cfl's are only good for tops not further down plants so would you recommend bending with a 75cm high auto so all the bud is at same height? will this make it grow better all the way down the plant as even the bottom branches would be within a few inches of the cfl that way? im glad you managed to get stoned. i refuse to buy bud round here, poor quality and lack of quantity. this is the very reason i decided to grow my own

 

[aridbud]

Right on Mr Jay- pH meter. I use mine religiously....nooo, not like that!! It's an essential tool several bypass.

And after buying bagged, I make my own soilless mix for outdoor growing. Happy Frog is great, but pricey. Too, peat is on the semi sorta endangered list (not yet, but takes a tremendous amount of time to reproduce or grow back, thus not sustainable)

8 coffee cans Vermiculite
1.25 cu. ft top soil,
6 coffee cans sand and
1.25 cu ft mushroom compost sifted....
Lastly, 1/3 bag 1.25 bag.....manure.

Mix well. There's variations....you'll get a "feel" or vision what looks good for it mixing mindlessly (after a toke!)

Cost is about 2/3's less.

INDOORS, I rely solely on HF.

 

[sweetteeth]

hi again my beans are now almost 2 weeks old and have 2-3 sets of true leaves and the same of side branches just starting to come out from the stem theyre only about 4-5" tall but really compact.....would I be silly to start flowering these now do you think or should I start the cycle? opinions please????
if started now how tall should they grow roughly?

 

[Mr Jay]

I'm not sure you understand how autos work. You don't flower them, they flower when they want. There is no light schedule switching like with photos. At a few weeks of age (2 1/2 - 4) autos flip themselves regardless of the light schedule. It's genetic.

 

[sweetteeth]

the reason I am asking is there is a lot of bad reviews saying that sweet tooth auto don't auto that's why im asking this question mr jay

 

[Mr Jay]

Well, why don't you wait and see if they are autos. Most of them have autoed, it's just the occasional one that doesn't. If they are autos then lowering the light schedule will not only do nothing at all to help them flower, it will reduce your yield. If your plant doesn't autoflower by a month of age, then flip the light schedule.

 

[sweetteeth]

ok thank you very much.. I was just looking for a time schedule as I don't want to "miss the boat" so to speak. anyway I think you get what I am saying, im just a beginner starting off and don't wanna mess it up lol. advice is always appreciated, they look pretty damn strong and healthy at this point I must say just don't wanna be waiting forever and have tall babies because they didn't autoflower. im sure you understand. thanks once again.

 

[sweetteeth]

theyre now 28 days old and 1 has signs of flower and the other 2 haven't, ive waited about 3 days now for the other 2 to follow but they haven't..... should I be flicking to 12/12 do you think? ive been giving all 3 quarter strength bloom since I seen 1st signs of flower on the 1st plant and presumed the other 2 would follow couple days later. opinions please? thanks

 

[Femora]

I would give them another 3-4 days before forcing flower.

If you turn your thoughts around;
The other 2 ladies will be finished a week later then the first one if you force 12/12 in 4 days.. But those 4 days dosnt really matter THAT much I figure.
Put this in the scale at one side... and the argument; more light = heavier yield in the at the other side.

Anyway; you will have the first lady done at time "x", and the others at x + a week or just x + 3 days.
I know what id go for but I have no idea if that suits you, or is possible with your circumstences.

Best of luck!
Keep us updated.


Edit; airexchange should be 2 times per minute.depending on how well you can control it.. It can be used to keep ambient temps.

If you find them growing tall, just tie them down.
Autos usually dont mind LST.
If you want I can upload a pic of a lst-auto I did in my first grow..
(Hmmm, you can maybe find one in my albums.. Im on a phone atm so surfing is a minor hell...)

 

[sweetteeth]

thanks femora I never thought of it like that lol

 

[Femora]

Hehe, glad I could contribute!
How are those other 2 working out, and what did you descide to do?

Stay safe, enjoy life!

 

[sweetteeth]

I left them on 18/6 and sure as hell the other 2 followed the day after I left my last post so I guess the longest 1 has been flowering for a week almost now and I see white hairs on the top and about 2-3 side branches at the moment, hopefully the other 2 will follow this and in a few more days all 3 will have all bud sites in flower.

 

[sweetteeth]

ive successfully harvested my plants and got about 2 1/2 oz off 3 beans but not sure on actual weight yet as its got another 4 days drying time so will upload final dry weight and nug shots after all is complete.

 

[sweetteeth]

total dry weight 79.6grams of dried bud. not bad for a 250w cfl and fiirst grow i think you'll all agree

 

[Born Loser]

Sounds good to me.

 

[sweetteeth]

so would you call this a "respectable result?"