Grow time: can I make it in ~3 months? Auto or photo?

[LeBarra]

Ehi everyone.

At the beginning of July I will move to a new apartment where I can finally start growing my own MJ. Very excited!
I posted here before asking for recommendations, and I think I will grow 2 or 3 plants, with a 400w (or 600w, haven't made up my mind yet) HPS in a 120x120x200cm tent (around 11ft²), coco or soil.

My concern is that my job requires frequent travels, so I will for sure be abroad for at least a month from mid-August to mid-September - could actually be 45 days - and then around two weeks for Christmas.

My dilemma is: can I make it for my first grow this year? Since I reckon starting in July and leaving the girls alone for more than a month is out of the question, my only choice is to begin mid-September.
Do you think I can make it? Is ~100 days (including harvesting, drying, curing...basically every step before you can leave them alone in the jar) enough time?
Please consider that this is my first grow, and as such I'm not presumptuous enough to think I won't encounter any problems.
Also, to make things worse, when I can I almost only vape sativa dominant strains - I'm all for the energetic/psychoactive/creative effects and I tend to get very sleepy with weed, but I'm also prone to anxiety so a pure sativa is a no no - that I think in general require a longer flowering period.

Am I condemned to choose autos, at least for this first time? I did some research on the topic, and I think that for the square footage, the number of plants and the light I'm buying, the best way to proceed would be to vegetate some photos as long as possible, with some supercrop/top/lollipopping to make the most out of them...of course something I can't do with the time constraint I have, at least this first grow.
Any of you found themselves in a similar situation? What strains would work best in your opinion (I've been looking at Green crack, Kryptonite, Sour diesel, Jack Herer)? I'm in northern Europe, if that's useful info.

Sorry for the wall of text, it would just suck so hard to ruin months of work because I have to leave at the wrong time!

Peace guys!
TIA

 

[troutman]

Give it as shot. Try autos this time around.

You have nothing to lose and lots to gain.

They'll be should be in late flowering no matter what happens by harvest time.

 

[RockinRobot]

Just run 12/12 from seed with a 10 week or shorter strain

 

[LeBarra]

Give it as shot. Try autos this time around.

You have nothing to lose and lots to gain.

They'll be should be in late flowering no matter what happens by harvest time.

Cheers mate, any strain you would recommend?

Just run 12/12 from seed with a 10 week or shorter strain

You mean 12/12 the whole time? that would certainly be great for my electricity bill!

 

[RockinRobot]

Cheers mate, any strain you would recommend?



You mean 12/12 the whole time? that would certainly be great for my electricity bill!

Yes. Do a search here on 12/12 from seed. I've done it a couple times when I needed weed fast

 

[majorana]

I'd go with a fast autoflower (rated at 7-8 weeks sprout to harvest). Considerations: between starting the seed and sprouting it can take up to a week. Then it can take a week longer than rated to flower fully and properly. Then between drying and curing you've got two more weeks going. So in total, besides the growing/flowering, you have 3-4 weeks or so, before and after. It's much better to err on the safe side rather than have to rush things in the end. Proper drying and curing is just as important as the grow itself.

As for the rest, you can probably do 1-2 more plants in that space, especially with autoflowers who tend to be smaller. Coco worked great for me. 600W if you can cool it (or push even more with LEDs.) And since this is a first grow I'd repeat the lessons I've learned on my first grows (just finished those myself): 1) be sure to have proper air treatment (i.e., carbon scrubber/filter) if you have anybody around. The smell of even a single plant can't be hidden with an Ona-type gel. 2) Figure out how to automate watering. Hand watering is a fun hobby, but consumes not little time and requires constant presence (during late flower, with coco, also several times a day).

 

[LeBarra]

I'd go with a fast autoflower (rated at 7-8 weeks sprout to harvest). Considerations: between starting the seed and sprouting it can take up to a week. Then it can take a week longer than rated to flower fully and properly. Then between drying and curing you've got two more weeks going. So in total, besides the growing/flowering, you have 3-4 weeks or so, before and after. It's much better to err on the safe side rather than have to rush things in the end. Proper drying and curing is just as important as the grow itself.

Yes, you nailed it. Those are my concerns as well, and growing with the constant fear of being late would not be pleasant at all, and I'm doing it for the experience more than anything.
I've also been reading about autos and it seems that in the last years a lot of progress has been made; I think I'll end up ordering some seeds from Mephisto genetics, everyone swears by them.

As for the rest, you can probably do 1-2 more plants in that space, especially with autoflowers who tend to be smaller. Coco worked great for me. 600W if you can cool it (or push even more with LEDs.) And since this is a first grow I'd repeat the lessons I've learned on my first grows (just finished those myself): 1) be sure to have proper air treatment (i.e., carbon scrubber/filter) if you have anybody around. The smell of even a single plant can't be hidden with an Ona-type gel. 2) Figure out how to automate watering. Hand watering is a fun hobby, but consumes not little time and requires constant presence (during late flower, with coco, also several times a day).

I know I could do more than 3 plants, not sure I want to tho... For legal reasons (decriminalised up to 4, no one cares though tbh), but mostly because I don't really consume that much weed. But I guess we'll see if I get carried away when ordering the seeds (very likely ).

About your first remark, my setting would be a tent, in a dedicated room, with a window next to it, which I guess is great for cooling down, if needed - not sure I'll have that problem in winter, possibly the opposite - and for smell.

About 2): interesting. I thought automated system were only for hydro...I remember seeing someone with a plastic cone that you stick in the soil and provides water for around a week, but he wasn't really pleased with it. What do you use?

Thank you for your input. Much appreciated, I can't wait to start!

 

[rolandomota]

Try some auto malawi from ace seeds. They have it at their website. 3 months from seed Some plants will take longer though 4 months from seed but with a higher electric bill if you grow with 16 or 18 hours of light the whole grow. You will get less weed if you flower autos with 12 hours. You can also veg for a month at 18 of light or 16 and flower for two months on 12 or 11 hours of light for non autos. Then a week or so of drying and in to jars. If its 12 on 12 off the whole time the light bill will be cheaper but the plants may be way to small to have enough until the next harvest so veg at 16 or 18 on for a month then flower at 12 or 11 and make sure its a 8 to ten week plant for flowering a week or two early harvest will give you less sleepy weed.

 

[aridbud]

Am I condemned to choose autos, at least for this first time? Why are you talking like autos are poison? They're great to grow if you choose wisely. Good luck!

 

[LeBarra]

Try some auto malawi from ace seeds. They have it at their website.

Do you mean this cross between Auto Malawy and Northern Lights? It's the only one I could find.

Am I condemned to choose autos, at least for this first time? Why are you talking like autos are poison? They're great to grow if you choose wisely. Good luck!

Now that I did some more research, you're totally right, my bad.
I see there has been a lot of progress in the field of autos recently, and I'm fairly excited to try some of them out.

 

[majorana]

I've only every grown autos, so I can't make any comparisons.

The first time I ever grew I yielded 40g from a single autoflower, which made me happy enough. The second time there were two plants, giving about 60g each (though half had to be thrown away, because I did a shit job at drying.) Third grow, recently concluded, there were already 5 plants at 80g each. More importantly: the quality is better too. What I'm trying to get at is the besides the genetics there's also the grower's experience. So yes, autos. They might yield less (up to 50% less) than strains without the ruderalis genetics but as long as you're not aiming to maximize the net weight does that really matter?

As for where to source the seeds from, that depends on where you're at. Just keep in mind that when it says it says seed-to-harvest is at 8-12 weeks it will probably be more towards the 12.

 

[LeBarra]

So yes, autos. They might yield less (up to 50% less) than strains without the ruderalis genetics but as long as you're not aiming to maximize the net weight does that really matter?

Totally right.

As for where to source the seeds from, that depends on where you're at. Just keep in mind that when it says it says seed-to-harvest is at 8-12 weeks it will probably be more towards the 12.

I'm from Northern Europe so that should not be a problem; I'm actually travelling to Amsterdam in a couple of weeks so I might go visit a seedbank and buy them in person

Cheers!

 

[LeBarra]

Hijacking my own thread (sorry for the double post).

I have a couple of questions regarding the setup I'm about to buy, can you please point me in the right direction? This is what I thought:

• Tent: Secret Jardin HydroShoot 120x120x200 (100€)
• Lights: Hacienda 600w Digital Electronic and Dimmable Ballast; one 600w MH bulb; one 600w HPS bulb; cooltube reflector [this is one of my concerns. Do I really need to pay a lot more for an air-cooled "square" reflector, or would a simple cooltube like the one linked work? I don't think heat will be a big concern since I'm in Northern Europe and I will grow 3/4 plants next to a window that I can always open. I'm thinking actually that cold could be an issue, I'm planning on leaving the windows always a bit opened for the air duct to come out (a whole in the wall is not an option). If so, is a "regular" reflector better than the cooltube? Also, does the MH need to be 600w or should/can I go for less?] (180€)
• Extraction: 420m³/h PrimaKlima Ø125mm (110€)
• Soil: Biobizz lightmix + Biobizz allmix + perlite (35€)
• Nutrients: Biobizz trypack indoor + calmag (20€)
• Pots: 26L smartpots (x4) (15€)

Then of course a lot of other stuff (more nutes, timers, saucers, hanging system for light and filter, ph meter, thermometer/hydrometer, ph up/down, clip fans, loupe, etc.).
What do you think? Do I forget anything?

Cheers!

 

[majorana]

Looks like you've got it covered. I'd just repeat my recommendation to automate the watering in one way or another, even with soil. You might also consider an ion/ozone generator as a second layer of odor-removal.

 

[LeBarra]

Ehi @majorana, cheers.

What do you think about my concern regarding the lights? Would you go for the air-cooled reflector?

I was already considering the ion/ozone generator, but do you think it's really necessary with max 4 plants and the air duct of the exhausting system going straight out of the window?

 

[majorana]

Re: Lights - I don't know what to tell you from experience. I've only ever grown with LED, which requires no heat extraction. It so happens that in the winter I had to put in more power than I planned (i.e., more lights) just to make sure the temperature stays at 25-26°C.

Re: Smell - even a single plant can make a serious stink. Are there any neighbors who would be able to smell it outside of the window? Mind you, ozone isn't good for your health (especially if you have any lung conditions), but since carbon filters only take care of 98-99% of the smell that still leaves you with 1-2% that might or might not need to be taken care of based on the specifics of your location. Perhaps a jar of ONA gel would be enough for you, but I'd still keep an ion/ozone generator in my Amazon Prime shopping cart.