GreeeeNs Auto AK Grow

[GreeeeN GRassss]

Hey everyone,

First auto grow, but i have been growing photos for a few years now.

A little about my set up,

1.2mx1,2mx2m tent,

4" extraction fan with air cooled hood,

200watt CFL veg room,

600 watt HPS flowering room,

12" circulating desk top fan,

I use 50/50 coco perlite mix in 7L air pots,

my temps range from 27degrees C to as low as 15C when lights are off.

Humidity ranges from high of 70 to a low of 40 depending when extraction fan comes on.

I usually use the full canna range but at the moment i only have the A+B i will have to purchase the rest before these get going.

At the moment im germinating 5 AK and one blueberry, i got them from a non reputable company and im hoping that this wont be my first mistake. One bean popped so i transplanted it straight into the final pot. I did read here in this forum that transplanting shocks the autos so im trying to avoid this.

Upon researching AF here im thinking of running 18/6 light shedule, with my high temps im trying to avoid any stress.

another problem im having is a fungus gnat infestation, my last few grows have had this problem so i took all my equipment down a few weeks ago so im hoping the dry conditions will kill any remaining gnats. i am going to get gnat control solution this weekend to hopefully kill them for good.

I will post pictures when things start to get going,

what do you guys think about my set up. Should i be using bigger pots or would watering every day with the coco be ok in the 7L pots?im hoping to get 1oz per plant how achievable is this?

Living in a hard water area and EC is .8 from the tap not ideal but i do mix bottle water with it and it takes it down to .6EC

thanks in advance

 

[aridbud]

another problem im having is a fungus gnat infestation, my last few grows have had this problem so i took all my equipment down a few weeks ago so im hoping the dry conditions will kill any remaining gnats. i am going to get gnat control solution this weekend to hopefully kill them for good.


To rid gnats (usually from overly moist soil or cheap soil....Hyponix is notorious for gnats!)....get a small water bottle and poke holes in it towards the top...you can keep the water cap on or off...pour some apple cider vinegar and a little liquid dish soap in it. Gnats will be attracted o the sweet smell....the dish detergent traps them. You can do the water bottle or small bowls....I've used flan bowls...works like a charm.

Adding a layer of sand at the top also keeps buggers at bay.

Too, I've found best light regimen 18/6.

Pots are large enough. I've transplanted at times when starting in smaller containers...it does stunt their growth a little.....but if handled gently. ....no problems.

Had a repeat customer (dickcorn) use grow bags...roots were getting too bound up....suggested he cut around the bottom of grow bag and place a larger pot bag under it. His harvest of 20Gauge was phenomenal!!

Enjoy your growing experience!! Autos....love em!!! ;o)

 

[GreeeeN GRassss]

Thanks for stopping by Aridbud,

Thats a really simple method to get the gnats under control thanks for the tip. im going to go right now and do it.

Out of the 6 seeds i have germinated 4 popped and they are in the 7L pots and they all have come up pretty fast

i also have 3 other photo plants going from Th Seeds, critical hog, and two of the Hog. i hope these are female because the Hog is one of my favorite strains. i ran into some serious problems with ph meters and feeding them with a ph of 1.2 twice. yes i was careless but with a good flush there coming back to life with healthy new growth. ill get pictures up soon.

 

[KiefChief]

Good luck with the grow! I'm starting my first grow with a single auto flower (biodiesel mass) hopefully some time this week, so I'll be staying tuned here to see how you get on.
Happy growing,

 

[GreeeeN GRassss]

thanks KiefChief,

its exciting to be starting off your first grow good luck hope it works out for you. need any help there is some great people here.

 

[GreeeeN GRassss]

should the autos be under a HPS or are they like normal seedlings and a 200 watt CFL would do up until there ready for HPS ?

 

[aridbud]

You can keep them under HPS 18/6. Or....you can keep them 18/6 with your cfl. That's the beauty of autos.Which ever has the most lumens (not wattage) works best.

 

[KiefChief]

should the autos be under a HPS or are they like normal seedlings and a 200 watt CFL would do up until there ready for HPS ?

From what managed to figure out you still want the blue spectrum for veg and switch to red for when it starts flowering. (Which I assume is what the HPS is?) keep under 24/0 or 20/4 if your concerned about your electric bill
Hope this helps!

Chief

 

[GreeeeN GRassss]

ye that is what is was thinking, yes running a 600watt hps is expensive.

at the moment im putting my tent back up and sterilizing everything. surprising how dirty everything gets.

cheers kiefchief

 

[GreeeeN GRassss]

...........................

 

[aridbud]

From what managed to figure out you still want the blue spectrum for veg and switch to red for when it starts flowering. (Which I assume is what the HPS is?) keep under 24/0 or 20/4 if your concerned about your electric bill
Hope this helps!

Chief

With autoflowers, the blue/red spectrum isn't as important as photoperiod.

I've grown some under HID MH and others HPS....couldn't really see significant difference. With the ruderalis trait...."it" (the plant) knows there's just a short span to grow flower. With more lumens (light intensity)....more potential yield. It doesn't make them grow faster. They are already on 'borrowed' time, hence the reason "seed to harvest" in 60-80 days....anywhere in between. Super autos take a bit longer.

Have done comparisons with 24/0 and 18/6....18/6 ran best....allowed time for plant to rest, recuperate, absorb essential nutrients, and charge in again, full tilt.

 

[GreeeeN GRassss]

thanks aridbud, ye maybe ill put my hood up tomoro and get the 600watt kicking. i may also purchase a dual spec bulb this weekend, i usually use them only the store had none in stock last time i was there.

ye i am going to stick to the 18/6 schedule, my temps can run high and its coming into spring summer here so temps will be high come the end of the cycle 27C. the 6 hour break may help with heat stress issues.

 

[aridbud]

I think it's wise....18/6. You don't specifically need a dual spec bulb.

DEFINITELY with 27c (81F)....your autos need a rest....with heat/light, they cannot effectively absorb and recharge, thus the 6 hr. reprieve....it's a good thing. Really......

 

[KiefChief]

Interesting.... my auto is germing now, I was going to run mine 24/0 but I think I'll probably give her at least a 4hr a day rest thanks to that info thanks airbud!
Sorry to hijack the thread Greeeen but a quick question (or two) to airbud...
Would you recommend LST with an auto? I've heard mixed opinions. And would you go with max lighting from seed or ease her into it?

 

[GreeeeN GRassss]

hijack away Kiefchief all the information is relevant and i always LST my normal plants. id also like to know the pros and cons of LSTing autos.

 

[GreeeeN GRassss]

some crap pitures to give you an idea of my set up, my hood and 600watt should be installed by the end of the day.

 

[aridbud]

Interesting.... my auto is germing now, I was going to run mine 24/0 but I think I'll probably give her at least a 4hr a day rest thanks to that info thanks airbud!
Sorry to hijack the thread Greeeen but a quick question (or two) to airbud...
Would you recommend LST with an auto? I've heard mixed opinions. And would you go with max lighting from seed or ease her into it?

Sure you can LST!! I use cotton string (so it doesn't cut into stems)....tie slip knot...loop through and gently pull down string, careful not to break stems. It's disheartening when that happens.

Instead of tying...I use duct tape to the container. Once stem is comfy with angle, with bringing her down....you can pull stem down more, then re-tape. Works like a charm....easy, too!

 

[aridbud]

And yes, KiefChief, as many light lumens without burning the plant is great. Keep light adequate distance so it doesn't fry the cola....did that a few times w/ photoperiods way back when.

If all else is good...soil, watering... max light will improve your yield.

dickcorn showed his harvest pics on Private Breeders page of afterthought autos. 20Gauge. If I'm not mistaken, he uses 1000w. Click on the hypertext url at bottom of my signature page to see where to navigate.

Our pics are from outdoors....and using smaller containers to show minimal harvest. Look @ what dc did- amazing!

 

[KiefChief]

hijack away Kiefchief all the information is relevant and i always LST my normal plants

Thanks dude! Im new here so still not too sure on the etiquette

some crap pitures to give you an idea of my set up, my hood and 600watt should be installed by the end of the day.

That's nice! What are the "spiky" pots? Is that some kind of new fangled technology?? And the orange liquid? Haven't seen either before!

Sure you can LST!! I use cotton string (so it doesn't cut into stems)....tie slip knot...loop through and gently pull down string, careful not to break stems. It's disheartening when that happens

That's great to hear thanks! I'm working with quite a limited space and LST is going to come in very handy I think...

Checked my seed this morning and it's finally popped! Exciting times!
How are yours coming along Greeeen? Any signs yet?
On a side note how do I "find a post helpful" do I need more posts or am I missing something obvious?

 

[GreeeeN GRassss]

ask any questions here and ill be more then help you if i can,

these are the new air pots on the market, there ment to produce better root growth due to air pruning, air pruning is a technique that when the roots come into contact with air they stop growing and it sends a signal back to the plant to sent more roots down. like other subjects with growing cannabis its still been debated.

i have fungus gnats flying around and aridbud told me to use apple cider vineger with some washing liquid, this attracts them and kills them which is working nicely.

i always use shoe laces to Low Stress Train my plants, they never eat into anything they come into contact with. cheap easy solution.

i have three that are up around 2" but the other seeds are either popping then when i plant them they die or there not popping at all. they are from some random company so what can i expect. the three that are up i wish they would grow faster lol. 7 weeks left so they say but i know thats not to accurate.

you need a minimum of 50 posts to use most of the extra features or either pay and become a memebr.

exciting times ahead KiefChief