Hey Buddy's BlackJack Auto Soil Grow Journal 2012

[Hey Buddy]

thought it was us Scots that were the tight 1's lol.I'd give them a week on 18/4 and c how they fair then maybe think about bringing it down to 18/6 for the final week or 2

Looking Good Buddy..

I've had mine on about 20/4 since they were planted (nearly 3 weeks), but they don't look quite as big as yours did (1st post)..

Could be the soil, could be the lights, could be the variety... but your lighting isn't doing them any harm that's for sure! and the extra hours could be giving them a boost, after all its photosynthesis that feeds the plant. I'm pretty sure that's why Autos have comparable yields in 2/3 the time of normal 12/12 flowering.

Really need some comparison yields.... but I agree paying the bills is a real bind...

Might play it by ear guys and judge it from day to day. They drooped last night so I reluctantly fed them and left the light on and this morning they are nice and vibrant again so happy days. In regards to size Redleb, mine started to get noticeably bigger each day so maybe you'll see a spurt soon. Maybe it is down to the bat guano I put into the soil or maybe because I was spraying them with soda water each day? Who knows? Next grow im doing it with different soil but still using bat guano and soda water....

 

[pac-mon]

hay buddy don't know if you ordered a cfl yet but this post has a lot of info on it

CFL Light Tutorial

 

[Hey Buddy]

hay buddy don't know if you ordered a cfl yet but this post has a lot of info on it

CFL Light Tutorial

I've just been shopping around. So they are saying 8 x 26W cfl's are the best route? After reading that, what do you think is the best setup for the first 3/4 weeks of a plants life?

 

[Hey Buddy]

Hey Buddy, I've got 2 x Blackstar 180w... 1 x Veg & 1 x Flower. I bought them to match the area I was growing in (30x20 inch) - but have since bought a 4X4 tent so would now prefer 240w ... the good thing is that can always add more.

I'm in England and I think the duty was about 10%.. not a lot of choice when its already paid for..

Be aware they do take a bit of getting used to though! The Veg LED is really good & easy, but I have had trouble with the Flower LED a couple of weeks into 12/12.. that's why I'm on to Autos for a while.

I get the idea they are really efficient, but need some technique to get the best out of them.. I've yet to sort the system properly..

They do say plants can cope with the cold so long as their roots are warm..

Just a quick question on this topic RedLeb! If Im using autos do I need a veg/clone LED or just the flowering one?

 

[pac-mon]

ye it sounds like more smaller bulbs r better than 1 big 1 plus youd b able to spread the light more evenly over all plants.

 

[Warspawn]

Nice grow so far for first time. Keep it up. If you haven't figured out why the red stems yet it is actually from a nitrogen deficiency and I think you are over watering with the foliage every day. Also, do you spray with the light on? If you do, Is it burning them at all? My brother did this under an HPS 1000w and it made them droop. Droopy wrinkly leaves. It made it look saggy. I warned him though.lol From your picks I can't tell, but it doesn't seem to be burning them and you seem to be spraying under the leaves. Maybe that's why it's not having as much as an affect burning them. Also, CO2 is denser then air so I think it would be more effective on top of leaves. You could probably get the same effect, if not better even, by hanging the soda water over the plants in a container filled near to top. It would also prevent minerals building up on the leaves from it. Doesn't sound easy or safe though. I recommend for next time to get a natural CO2 micro brewing thing. They cost like 100$, last for like 2-3 months, and you just replace the bag inside for another 30$. A lot easier to hang. Works well in small areas like this. I'll be watching.

 

[Hey Buddy]

Nice grow so far for first time. Keep it up. If you haven't figured out why the red stems yet it is actually from a nitrogen deficiency and I think you are over watering with the foliage every day. Also, do you spray with the light on? If you do, Is it burning them at all? My brother did this under an HPS 1000w and it made them droop. Droopy wrinkly leaves. It made it look saggy. I warned him though.lol From your picks I can't tell, but it doesn't seem to be burning them and you seem to be spraying under the leaves. Maybe that's why it's not having as much as an affect burning them. Also, CO2 is denser then air so I think it would be more effective on top of leaves. You could probably get the same effect, if not better even, by hanging the soda water over the plants in a container filled near to top. It would also prevent minerals building up on the leaves from it. Doesn't sound easy or safe though. I recommend for next time to get a natural CO2 micro brewing thing. They cost like 100$, last for like 2-3 months, and you just replace the bag inside for another 30$. A lot easier to hang. Works well in small areas like this. I'll be watching.

Cool man , thanks for the heads up. Ive cut down on the foliage spray to a couple of times a week and only underneath the leaves-I only spray the tops when the lights have been off and just coming on....I was over watering them tho! but I think I have it sussed now apart from the red stems-If its an N defecincy Ill feed them some BioGrow on Thursday or Friday which has an NPK of 8/2/6. Hopefully that will balance em out. I would like to try the CO2 micro brewing thing as Its best to use every technique that works for them. Thanks for the info and for the support!

 

[RedLeb]

Just a quick question on this topic RedLeb! If Im using autos do I need a veg/clone LED or just the flowering one?

Not sure Buddy... I'm using Veg at the moment, but only because the Flower is being used on 12 hrs... If you are thinking of buying 2 then I would definitely get one of each.... Mix and match.. I have had a bit of trouble in flower after a couple of weeks on 12 hrs..

The Blackstar Flower LED is very, very red and a bit weird to look at... but its specially designed for what the plants need. Lots of people think they are really efficient (too efficient!).. I was told that they seem to encourage more trichromes if not size of bud.. so maybe better quality, instead of quantity... One of each might be the answer.. That's what I'm doing now..

Trichromes after 5 weeks 12 hrs:-

By the way these Autos are really cool... one of mine has started budding already at 25 days under Veg LED..

Also if you need to try extra Co2 - a bucket of water, bag of sugar, and some wine yeast will give you a couple of weeks dose..

 

[Warspawn]

Honestly it looks like your ladies are doing fine. A little discoloration in stems at this point is normal and good. Flushing the nitrogen is how you get the pretty colors in your bud. As well as temperature drops. You really don't want it in your final product. Gives it this nasty chlorophyll taste and harsh smoke. How far are they into flowering?

 

[Hey Buddy]

Not sure Buddy... I'm using Veg at the moment, but only because the Flower is being used on 12 hrs... If you are thinking of buying 2 then I would definitely get one of each.... Mix and match.. I have had a bit of trouble in flower after a couple of weeks on 12 hrs..

The Blackstar Flower LED is very, very red and a bit weird to look at... but its specially designed for what the plants need. Lots of people think they are really efficient (too efficient!).. I was told that they seem to encourage more trichromes if not size of bud.. so maybe better quality, instead of quantity... One of each might be the answer.. That's what I'm doing now..

Trichromes after 5 weeks 12 hrs:-

By the way these Autos are really cool... one of mine has started budding already at 25 days under Veg LED..

Also if you need to try extra Co2 - a bucket of water, bag of sugar, and some wine yeast will give you a couple of weeks dose..

Man those plants look real good!!Yeah I was reading that their LEDs induce flowering at an early stage. Probably have to buy sun glasses to deal with the red light. I am gonna buy two but the first one in 2 weeks to go with the big bud autos Im getting and the other 4 weeks after that so....are you saying put 2 LED's in one tent or have one for the seedling stage in one tent and one in a separate tent for flowering?

The other thing about Co2 is do I spray the fizzy water on the flowers or do I let it evaporate into the tent by leaving the bucket uncovered?? Once again those plants look real good-

 

[pac-mon]

..

Trichromes after 5 weeks 12 hrs:-

nice looking bud that purple is awesome

 

[Hey Buddy]

Honestly it looks like your ladies are doing fine. A little discoloration in stems at this point is normal and good. Flushing the nitrogen is how you get the pretty colors in your bud. As well as temperature drops. You really don't want it in your final product. Gives it this nasty chlorophyll taste and harsh smoke. How far are they into flowering?

Cool I get ya. As far as flowering goes I changed them from MH to HPS 15 days ago as they were starting to show tiny flowers so I guess I should be taking more notes as its my first grow, I'm not entirely sure when the flowering stage starts with Autos- Im also starting to think that mine may be a few days ahead of when I started counting! I could be on day 40 from when they were planted!

What do you think?

 

[Warspawn]

Cool I get ya. As far as flowering goes I changed them from MH to HPS 15 days ago as they were starting to show tiny flowers so I guess I should be taking more notes as its my first grow, I'm not entirely sure when the flowering stage starts with Autos- Im also starting to think that mine may be a few days ahead of when I started counting! I could be on day 40 from when they were planted!

What do you think?

From your last pic it looked like they were doing just fine and didn't need any nitrogen. They seem to be in a little over a week to two into flowering so you should be just fine. They seemed to just be finishing up their stretching phase and bud sites. They look great. You know how long they will flower for? That's important so you have a guideline for when to start flushing. Doh not sure why I didn't notice earlier, but don't foliage spray during flowering. lol ruins bud.

 

[RedLeb]

Man those plants look real good!!Yeah I was reading that their LEDs induce flowering at an early stage. Probably have to buy sun glasses to deal with the red light. I am gonna buy two but the first one in 2 weeks to go with the big bud autos Im getting and the other 4 weeks after that so....are you saying put 2 LED's in one tent or have one for the seedling stage in one tent and one in a separate tent for flowering?

The other thing about Co2 is do I spray the fizzy water on the flowers or do I let it evaporate into the tent by leaving the bucket uncovered?? Once again those plants look real good-

Thanks for the comments guys - the buds a bit smaller than I would have liked, but next time...

I would use the Veg LED first 4 weeks, maybe, then both later.. lots of people use both from the start, its all a bit new technology, & I'm still playing.

If you add the yeast to sugar water it will ferment and create Co2 and alcohol - from 1kg of sugar you get about 1/3 kg Co2 & 1/3 kg alcohol.. sounds like the perfect system...!

 

[Hey Buddy]

Thanks for the comments guys - the buds a bit smaller than I would have liked, but next time...

I would use the Veg LED first 4 weeks, maybe, then both later.. lots of people use both from the start, its all a bit new technology, & I'm still playing.

If you add the yeast to sugar water it will ferment and create Co2 and alcohol - from 1kg of sugar you get about 1/3 kg Co2 & 1/3 kg alcohol.. sounds like the perfect system...!

Nice one RedLeb- Yeah its good to keep a positive outlook. At first I was hoping to get 4 Oz from the whole lot as I didnt want to get let down on the yield so if I get more it'll be a bonus. I'm hoping to double my yields on each grow (within reason) so I cant wait to see what we are coming out with in 6 months time-

So how do I supply the Co2 to the plants RedLeb?? Apologies Im still on about it- Im just trying to push the envelope as much as I can first time so I can afford the LED set up!!!

 

[RedLeb]

Nice one RedLeb- Yeah its good to keep a positive outlook. At first I was hoping to get 4 Oz from the whole lot as I didnt want to get let down on the yield so if I get more it'll be a bonus. I'm hoping to double my yields on each grow (within reason) so I cant wait to see what we are coming out with in 6 months time-

So how do I supply the Co2 to the plants RedLeb?? Apologies Im still on about it- Im just trying to push the envelope as much as I can first time so I can afford the LED set up!!!

Just leave the bucket in with the plants and the Co2 from the fermentation will enrich the air (watch the bubbles) ... The plants only use Co2 while the light is on and fermentation works continuously, so 24 hrs light is ideal....

 

[Hey Buddy]

Just leave the bucket in with the plants and the Co2 from the fermentation will enrich the air (watch the bubbles) ... The plants only use Co2 while the light is on and fermentation works continuously, so 24 hrs light is ideal....

Nice one! Will let y'all know how they get on!

 

[Hey Buddy]

Day 40 and they are touching 32 inches tall...think I've got the hang of it (fingers crossed) Im watering them just before they start to droop every 3 days.I also added some bio-grow to their feed today to hopefully get rid of the dreaded red stem. New memory card on its way so these should be the last of the crappy pictures..really have to get nice close ups from here on in!

 

[RedLeb]

They look pretty impressive Buddy, if mine end up like that Ill be pleased..

 

[Hey Buddy]

They look pretty impressive Buddy, if mine end up like that Ill be pleased..

Thanks dude- I guess its 3 weeks to go so Im gonna push em as far as I can. Lots of phosphorous ! Im reading Fishbone is very high in P so Im gonna hit the fishman at tesco and see what he has. BioBloom has only 2.0/6.0/3.5 ratio so if the bat guano is still releasing that might help too.

Any suggestions on how to get the most out of them at this point?

Im using a bottle of CO2 in the base of the tent but I read that Co2 is heavier than air so it'll fall to the ground! So much conflicting info out there!!