WelderDan tries Autos

[WelderDan]

OK, I'll be honest, in the past I've been sceptical about autos. I looked down on them. Mostly because I heard bad things about potency.

But I've been paying attention to them because I see a lot of people growing nice plants and the reports of good quality.

So when I got the opportunity to do some testers for Afterthought Autos, I took the plunge.

So in this thread, I will document my experience with 2 strains, Magnum Opus (Big Bud x Ogre) and Tomsk Petrol (Tokarev x Russian Auto)

I only started two due to light limitations.

The setup: a small cheap 24 x32 x 72 tent. It came with a 300 watt UFO type light (I plan on updating that as soon as I can swing a Mars Hydro) and a filter kit with carbon filter and fan. I'll get around to pics of that eventually.

The medium: basic organic mix of peat, pearlite and mushroom compost that was amended with worm castings.

Nutrients are Blood meal, bone meal and potassium sulfate that I premixed with the medium and let it set for a couple of weeks.

Seeds were planted 11/14 directly in the pot that they will grow in.

I took a quick pic, but nothing to really show, the Magnum Opus has sprouted, but you gotta look real close. The Tokarev hasn't popped yet, if I see no action I'll put another in the medium.

Magnum Opus in the front



Weekly updates to follow. I'll eventually post picks of the entire setup, but I wanted to at least get pics from the time they sprout so I can document the grow from sprout to harvest.

Thanks for stopping by. Any thoughts, suggestions or criticisms are welcome.

 

[NeDank]

Nice start dude!

 

[Lester Beans]

You made the right choice on who's autos to start with! You will have potent bud once done. I found AfterThought autos the most potent plants of all autos I've tried.

Nice grow!

 

[AgentPothead]

I cannot add anything useful except that I also enjoyed the AfterThought autos I grew.

 

[Lester Beans]

How are the babies WelderDan?

 

[aridbud]

Right on, Lester and Agent- thanks for kudos.

Welder Dan...right choice!! If they turn out to be male (1 or both), plant again! Magnum Opus is a favorite of a USA seed bank owner- loves it!

 

[WelderDan]

An update will be posted tonight.

 

[WelderDan]

OK, last update was on 11/27, so it's been 6 days.

1st up is Magnum Opus, it's on it's 2nd set of leaves with almost no stretch



Next up is the Tokarev. It's one day behind in sprouting, but is essentially the same size.



Not a lot to show, I know, but once they develop a nice root system they will start shooting up. Nice and dark green right, looking healthy. More pics as they develop. This camera is not the greatist. It does have close up settings, but since there isn't much to show at the moment it will do. I'll post up better pics once they are bigger.

 

[ReikoX]

Love me some Afterthought Autos. Grew some Gas and Guns last year and they blew me away.

 

[aridbud]

Love me some Afterthought Autos. Grew some Gas and Guns last year and they blew me away.

Thanks, Reiko. Indeed, po-tent.

 

[AgentPothead]

I don't think I've ever seen a plant pop it's true leaves while still being so small! I guess I just don't give them enough light.

 

[WelderDan]

I don't think I've ever seen a plant pop it's true leaves while still being so small! I guess I just don't give them enough light.

This is my first go with an LED light. It's my understanding that plants under LED don't stretch as much. I can't say if it's the light or the genetics at this point. We're gonna find out!

 

[WelderDan]

Time for a weekly update. The last update was 11/23. As you can see, there has been some pretty impressive growth in the last week.

First up is the Magnum Opus



Next is the Tomsk Petrol (Tokarev)



Third is the backup plant I sprouted when I thought the Tokarev didn't sprout right away. Notice it is every bit as big, if not bigger than the Tokarev, even though it was planted 2 days later. I suspect this one is a male.



I can't get over how little stretch there is. If you look close at the Magnum Opus, you can clearly the first set of branches. And it is barely taller than it was last week, maybe a half inch, an inch at most. These are fat, healthy babies!


.

 

[aridbud]

Excellent start!

Excellent start!

Hey WD, they look happy! Grow them with no expectations....they'll show you what they are capable of in the bloom stage! In another week, you can start LST-ing.

I'm finding with MARS Hydro TS2000, my plants need more nutrient amendments than the plants under our other LED's.

 

[WelderDan]

Well, the Magnum Opus is a boy.



And so was the backup Tomsk Petrol



Look at the nice roots on that boy. He sure was a healthy fellow.



Yoink! Replaced with a new Magnum Opus



But there is good news. The first Tomsk Petrol is confirmed female.



I had a feeling the backup Tomsk Petrol was male just by the way it shot up so fast. I was surprised when I saw the Magnum Opus was male. I let it go a few days just so I could show how big and healthy it was, but I pulled it because I didn't want it busting a nut all over the tent. The backup Tomsk Petrol was placed outside. I will collect pollen from him to do a controlled pollination.

So far I'm impressed. These plants grow fast and strong. Hopefully the next Magnum Opus will be female because I really want to compare the two strains.

 

[bibi40]

Sorry about the male ( apart if you want to do some cross ) ,
but really good job about growing those autos ...


Well done Welter

 

[WelderDan]

Thanks Bibi! Males are just part of growing. The way I see it, I'll pollinate the female and have a bunch more seeds to grow and share. So far they are super easy. They seem to love my soil mix. If they continue to impress like they have so far, I just may be sold on autos and make them a permanent part of my garden.

 

[aridbud]

Yeah, yanking a male, it's part of the process with regular seeds. Replace it.

The root growth (I'm glad you showed that!) shows where autos are getting their growth during vegetative stage. Selecting a male for pollen and future dusting, that's what many of our customers like about our strains- making their own medicine.

I mentioned your post to a member this morning via PM....they've recently germinated SHIMMER, a Haze hybrid.

Seems like you have an exquisite environmental set up for success!! Grow on, WD!

 

[WelderDan]

OK time for another update

The Tomsk Petrol is growing nicely. It seems to love my soil mix. Next week I will give it a bit more P&K



And we have a new Magnum Opus that just broke ground.



It's kinda hard to see but it's there. There is also a backup in the red beer cup on the right side of the pic

The male Tomsk Petrol is chilling in the back yard. He's still a ways from letting pollen fly, but when I've got some pollen and the female has enough buddage I'll pollinate a bud or 2 for more seed.

 

[WelderDan]

Just for comparison

12/6



8 days later 12/14



These are vigorous plants

.