Kratky Method Experiment On Autoflower Cannabis

CMac420

Active Member
Hey guys I'm starting my Secondish grow and it is kind of an experiment. I have been reading up on the Kratky method, and on paper, I believe it will be effective at growing fast finishing autoflower cannabis strains.
Just to catch anybody up who hasn't seen my first grow. I'm a young guy (late 20s) from the states, spent 8 years in the army reserves, Experimented with cannabis in college, but because of my job choice, cannabis was not really an option afterwards. Now that I am out of the service I'm off the booze, and am finding that not only is cannabis more relaxing and fun to me, but I am finding it cures or at least helps a lot of my issues and I am much healthier both physically and mentally. All that being said, I love my cannabis and would like a way to cut costs, increase variety and pick my own strains. Which brings us here lol.
I have a 300w full spectrum LED and two 200w CFLs in a 2.5x3 closet space. I have fitted a fan in the ceiling for ventilation into the attic and have a fan blowing across the tops of plants. The closet is in my living space and temps will range anywhere from 65-75 degrees. I have never tested the PH of water or runoff and use simple garden soil mix and different formulas of an organic fertilizer brand called Jobes. I never ran into any PH problems in my first grow which is currently almost at week 7, and 2-3 weks from harvest. Heres a few pics of my current setup, as well as my Kratky Experiment.
In this picture below you will see a basic sketch of the kratky method. The seeds have already been germed and were put into the "jars" (for lack of a better term). but have not sprouted as of yet. I have added a cotton wick to draw moisture to the seeds until the roots gain some length, and have spray painted my mason jars to keep out light.
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I didn't see much on this type of grow online, for cannabis, so I figured Id give it a shot. On paper it sounds great. It is supposed to be great for short lived plants 45-60 days. My thinking is quick autoflower strains, such as bubblicious, will just about make this window and hopefully benefit from the quicker nutrient intake of a hydro system, but in a very easy and inexpensive way. I picture a huge pool of giant auto cannabis plants lol
Finally here are some pics of my grow room :cheertwo:
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Thanks for the concern, but, it won't really make much of an impact. It's root space won't even be the size of a golf ball by the time I harvest my cannabis from the 5 gal pot. Also that plant is doing much better than anything else I have ever grown, pic is at 4 weeks. The cannabis will be out of the pot before that habanero plant is big enough to take up any space. At 5 weeks old now it's the size of a lighter. Also that picture has nothing to do with this grow besides showing my setup.
 
Hey good question Fuzz, I should have explained what I did. I actually covered the seed with VERY little soil in an attempt to prevent my seedling from burning. This was kind of last minute after it seemed like the seed was getting baked in the cotton the first day under the light. I think it could be avoided by using a different grow medium in the net cup like coco or perilite. I chose cotton, but that may not be ideal. Hope that clears things up. Feel free to throw out suggestions, I plan on testing the method then I will focus on improving the details next time. But for now I hope these guys poke up their heads for tomorrow
 
I have never seen someone try to root seeds in mostly cotton before. I'm going to be honest here, I don't think you're going to see a lot of success with this setup. However, I always support people trying new things because there is always something to be learned, and sometimes things work better than expected and advance the field of study. If this doesn't work out, I suggest you look into Hempy buckets. The premise is very similar to what you're using here and you can absolutely have success with them.

Fingers crossed for some amazing plants though! :goodluck:
 
Hey good question Fuzz, I should have explained what I did. I actually covered the seed with VERY little soil in an attempt to prevent my seedling from burning. This was kind of last minute after it seemed like the seed was getting baked in the cotton the first day under the light. I think it could be avoided by using a different grow medium in the net cup like coco or perilite. I chose cotton, but that may not be ideal. Hope that clears things up. Feel free to throw out suggestions, I plan on testing the method then I will focus on improving the details next time. But for now I hope these guys poke up their heads for tomorrow
Doubt the cotton is a good choice and I would love to see kratky used on mj . I think you will have to top up a little eventually when it flips to Change the nutes to bloom. But will be interesting. Subbed up.

"carpe diem"
 
Hey everyone sad to say that my operation is currently shut down lol. Don't want to get into specifics, but someone who lived with me got very angry for unrelated reasons and left, and decided to take out some of that aggression on my plants for some reason, drying what I can but they were mostly immature. Focusing on finding a roommate then I will be back take care all

Side note: the seeds did spout before they were knocked over and flooded . They didn't look great tho. I think they need to be shouted and get some root length before entering a system like this maybe......I will have to attempt this experiment down the road a bit.
 
Hope all is well in your world.

Thanks for sharing this grow with us.

We are sorry for your loss.

I’m moving this to Completed Journals now.

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Sending you lots of love and positive energy.

:Namaste:
 
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