Let's Try Again: BCN Critical XXL Auto, Indoors

GreyGodz

Active Member
Hello again people of
:420:

Time for some redemption, I haven’t had the best runs in the past atm I am regrettably, a seed killer... Out of about 8 seeds I’ve put effort into growing I have only had 1 plant reach full maturity at a reasonable size for a newbie (outdoors) and 1 very stunned plant which produced 1 bud (indoors), all the others have died by the grips of my inexperienced hands. My last attempt was about two years ago now so it’s time to learn from all the mistakes I’ve made in the past and redeem myself. I am of course expecting to run into some hurdles again this run as I test new equipment/feeding schedules/pest control etc and try conquer the issues I faced in the past. I hope I can help some other newbies learn from my mistakes and learn some more from you more experienced growers!

So quick back story without getting into too much detail, my Nan has recently retired and is in a bit of pain, my pop actually asked me for some seeds a couple of weeks ago for her while we were out for dinner and to my surprise she was all for it! Go Nan! She loves her garden so I cannot wait to see what she can do. Anyway I am hoping to gain enough knowledge to be confident in growing and grow something decent that I can give to her. I also find this extremely fun and exciting, nothing better than checking your pride and joy every day and seeing new growth!

BTW I am growing autoflowers, I plan on giving a photoperiod seed a crack one day but for now I’m attempting to master the autos.

Current Setup;
Tent - 90 x 50 x 160cm
Lights - Mars Hydro 300W ECO LED + 80W CFL - She’s directly under the LED and the CFL is to the side slightly angled towards her, I have ordered one of these to replace the CFL
PARFACTWORKS 500W LED Grow Light, COB & 10W Daylight Full Spectrum Including UV&IR for Indoor Gardens
Clip on fan for circulation and movement
Ventilation fan with carbon filter for smell/help with heat
Humidifier

120809431_791043711468575_3009275383272120802_n.jpg


Soil
Mix of Tomato/seedling mix, mushroom compost, perlite and coco (I cannot remember exactly how I mixed this I originally planned on throwing this outside and leaving it)

Pot
3 Gal plastic pot (Plan on buying some fabric pots for the next round)

Seed
BCN Critical XXL Auto by Seedstockers and a Sweet Seeds random auto pack seed germinating atm hopefully she comes through this grow journal will be focused on the BCN Critical for now.

Have a bit of catching up to do, I am not sure on the exact day she poked her head out of the ground as she was germed, planted and left while I was away for a week but we will say she’s on day 17 today. I took a photo every day starting on day 12 and took notes so i'll just fill you guys in up to today and then start giving updates every couple of days or if I run into some dramas etc.


Days 1-11

Not the fastest growth, probably due to her only getting 8 hours of direct sunlight a day. Only photo I have is this taken on day 7.

7 Days.jpg


Day 12

I thought screw this let's do it right, cracked open and blew the dust off the grow tent box. Lights set to 18/6 She has actually been growing quite quick in my eyes the last couple of days! Dealing with fungus gnats, it's nothing too crazy but not ideal, semi soaked the pot in a neem oil mix nothing too crazy as I don't want to drown the plant and the pot was still heavy from its initial water (this mistake I have made many times lol) plan on buying sticky traps for the adults sometime over the next couple of days. I need to work on the humidity in the tent as its sitting down at 15-20%. Heat fluxuates between 28-32 Hoping this isn't going to be an issue, thinking of buying an intake fan for fresh cool air, one thing at a time!

D12.JPG


Day 13

I didn't take notes this day unfortunately, I think I purchased some sticky traps this day, can see growth!

D13.JPG


Day 14

No notes again just happy with the growth I'm seeing.

D14.JPG


Day 15

Never mind I got sticky traps on this day! This photo was taken late in the day, shes slowly starting to blow up now you can definitely see it, EXCITING! Fungus gnats are slowly being eradicated I've been checking it regularly, rarely any walking around on the surface.

D15.JPG


Day 16

God damn Fungus gnats! The bastards have taken refuge in the drainage holes of the pot, still killing a couple every time I check her so put one of the sticky traps I had on the top of the pot down there hopefully this helps

D16.JPG


Day 17

First official feed/water. I am using the advanced nutrients line, testing at a 1/10-8 ratio this run not sure how hot my soil is at the moment and I have killed a few by overfeeding. As I am writing this I am second guessing myself, I hope I didn't make a mistake feeding them. This is what I gave them anyway

Per litre
0.5ml Tarantula
0.1ml Calmag
0.2ml Micro
0.2ml Grow

Ph'd to about 6.2 (drip test kit, would love to own a Ph pen one day)

I plan on going organic in the future found some nice dry amendments grow/flower mixes I want to try for now we will stick with the liquid nutes. Woops! I forgot to mix some neem into the water to help with those gnats, bit unsure on what to do I don't want to give her too much water as it takes awhile for this pot to dry out and I don't want to overfeed or wash out the nutes I just gave her. They're going to love this new moisture. I ended up mixing some neem oil up and spraying into the drainage holes, I won't forget to add the neem to the watering next time. Also I purchased a humidifier today, humidity is rising up to the 60s now while running on medium speed will stick with this for now or should I keep it on high and try and get into the 80s?

I lowered my light just before taking this picture as I thought it was a little high - it was at 25" or so. Noticed her looking sad when I went to water her due to the light being moved closer so I moved it back up to around 23-24".

D17.JPG


Thank you all for tuning in! I will try and keep this as updated as possible, any tips, tricks etc send them my way, if you have any suggestions for my tent/medium/equipment etc I would love to hear them! I am investing a little into this now and making a list of future purchases I will be making over time. Cheers!
 

I must admit I am guilty of this! This is the first proper attempt at using this LED so it'll be a learning curve, do you suggest I lower it gradually over the next couple of days? It's sitting at around 24" above atm, I did lower it down a few inches earlier today but I noticed her looking sad after I did that so moved it back up. Thanks for the reply :)
 
And there is absolutely no difference from auto seeds and photo seeds other than the light to flower thing other wise they are exactly the same to grow to many folks try to say they are different some way but they are not.

I’ve gathered with photos it’s easier to fix your mistakes without it effecting your harvest it’ll just take a little longer, I’m definitely keen on trying them one day soon just to see which I prefer but I do like the quick turnover you experienced auto growers are getting compared to the photos.


Thanks mate i’m going to lower that LED a couple more inches nothing too crazy now as I won’t be home for next 12 or so hours to move it in case I do put it too close, i’ll see how she is when I get home and go from there. I should have picked this up earlier tbh now that I look at it she’s leaning towards the CFL when the LED is right above her.
 
Hello again! Sorry for the late update it’s been a very busy week.

Since moving my lights closer thanks to the suggestion by @BeanTownFan420 she has grown a lot faster, I think I have found the sweet spot any closer and my leaves start to “pray”. Still not the growth I’ve seen by others but I am happy with it this time round.

I did take photos every day but i’ll only upload every couple of days from now on.

Day 19 - Compared to day 17 you can definitely see quite a bit of growth since moving my lights. I was a little worried due to the new growth being a lot lighter than the older growth but whatever the cause of that was seems to have fixed it’s self now.

5FAF4FE6-61AC-4587-876B-57DBD9A37BC6.jpeg


Day 22 - A fair amount of growth again! Every I check on here there seems to be a new set of leaves growing

E06688D6-E686-4AA1-B893-4439C69465D4.jpeg


Day 24 - I have started to do some very minor LST just so some of the bottom leaves get some light, nothing crazy. She is very bushy which I think is a good thing?

C2095335-E05A-46C8-AD26-BEA578DBFD49.jpeg
 
Also update on fungus gnats, I haven’t seen one for a couple of days! I haven’t had a hard look for them but I can clearly tell the population has been drastically effected by the neem oil thank god!

I also haven’t watered her again yet might give her a drink and feed in a couple of days there’s still a little bit of weight to my pot and my moisture meter is still saying wet/moist, see how I go!

What do you guys think does she look okay? Not expecting a massive yield but this is wicked for me!

That sweet seeds seed didn’t make it unfortunately, I am going to get another going sometime this week too.
 
Also update on fungus gnats, I haven’t seen one for a couple of days! I haven’t had a hard look for them but I can clearly tell the population has been drastically effected by the neem oil thank god!

I also haven’t watered her again yet might give her a drink and feed in a couple of days there’s still a little bit of weight to my pot and my moisture meter is still saying wet/moist, see how I go!

What do you guys think does she look okay? Not expecting a massive yield but this is wicked for me!

That sweet seeds seed didn’t make it unfortunately, I am going to get another going sometime this week too.
Im not the most experienced grower but one thing I can tell you for sure is throw out that moisture meter
 
Im not the most experienced grower but one thing I can tell you for sure is throw out that moisture meter

Hi thanks for the reply! I used to have a problem with overwatering and was suggested by someone on this forum to buy one. I don’t use the PH or light meter on it I only use it for a general guide for the moisture, that and weight of the pot. So far it’s been fairly helpful with me overwatering.
 
Hi thanks for the reply! I used to have a problem with overwatering and was suggested by someone on this forum to buy one. I don’t use the PH or light meter on it I only use it for a general guide for the moisture, that and weight of the pot. So far it’s been fairly helpful with me overwatering.
I found that thing sucks . I just go by weight of the pots .
 
I found that thing sucks . I just go by weight of the pots .

I’ve ended up dropping it from my setup, it was getting in the way of the LST I just attempted. I’m doing things better this time round the person who suggested I give it a try was helping me back when I’d water until run off way too often, I no longer water until run off and I can feel when she needs water (touch wood). It’s 100% in no way accurate but it did help me so for anyone struggling with overwatering I’d say give it a go but use it as a guide
 
It’s been a couple of days since the last update, not sure who’s following but she’s made great progress!

Day 25
Second feed for her, I boosted the nutes but I am still very weary of overfeeding so it was nothing crazy (Advanced nutrients).

1ml tarantula
0.2m calmag
0.4ml micro
0.3ml grow
0.1ml bloom

I also purchased and added some mycorrhiza, better late than never!

I fed her towards the end of her dark cycle and took the photo straight after apologies for her looking tired and the lighting.

67825909-7493-46C8-8FDE-C9FCDA36717F.jpeg


Day 26-27
PISTOLS! She’s started to show her sex and explode in growth, the stems almost doubled in width it seems (I think I say this every second update lol) Taking pictures from above won’t do anymore. Everything’s going surprisingly well. She’s not the biggest auto going around this forum I still have a lot of room to improve but in all honesty i’m surprised I’ve made it this far!

0C7B42DC-14EA-421C-A334-3C69D0645EF1.jpeg


1E9A63B2-D823-4F03-8764-2AE6DF1DC3C5.jpeg


Day 28
Light cycle changed to 20/4 see how she reacts to this!

Decided to give LST a proper go, I attempted to LST with the one other grow I’ve done which returned 1 nug so I think it’s safe to say this is my first attempt? I used what I had which was some twine, twist ties and a drill. She’s very bushy so my goal today was to try and spread the bud sites out a little more, expose as many leaves as I can and lower the main stem (I will tuck away the big fan leaves to expose more of the bud sites when she’s flowering too) I’ll hit the main stem again sometime either tomorrow or the next day. Any LST pros lurking around? Any criticism and tips? It’s not the prettiest LST but I am proud of it!

From my understanding I should have maybe started the training a little earlier but she is still in the vegging/pre flower stage so hopefully there’s enough time to get the canopy as even as possible, the way I have tied them they will have to be removed when she’s fully in flower does anybody know if after a week or two of being tied down will she retain that shape or try to return to the way she wants to grow? My plan is once she does start to all out flower instead of removing the ties I’ll just adjust them so they aren’t near any bud sites to be safe.

(You can see where the CFL is hitting her, she’s not pale/discolored!)
CDDD38F4-0BDC-4A25-8394-8DDE795744EC.jpeg


160C5D8B-968E-4CA4-960F-C087F2D73DC7.jpeg


20BF42EA-F8A3-4D76-A1F5-877C2401DC6A.jpeg


544ABBF9-E45C-4878-BC53-8AECB99ED71C.jpeg


THANKS FOR READING!
 
Ugh... thought I was in the clear

Upon closer inspection I think I may have signs of powdery mildew? I’ll get some close up pics tomorrow for now I’m airing the tent/room out. The humidity got really high the other day as I accidentally set my humidifier on high I think this is what’s caused it? I’m going to have to try remind myself to air the tent out every day or two as I don’t have an intake fan, hoping I can get away without one.

I read that neem oil can be used to control PM? I’m going to give her a spray when the next dark cycle starts if it works? Has anyone else had to deal with this? Bit hard without a photo it’s not out of control but it’s 100% not trichomes.

EDIT

Here are some close ups of the pics I took earlier, you can sort of see it

E048DB56-875E-46FD-9E4D-4C627D470520.png

4183C3CE-2236-464C-A70C-ED2960E238FA.png
 
Update on my problem, I posted in the frequently asked section it’s not PM by the looks of it thank god, I thought it may be my mycorrhiza inoculant from the last water being blown onto the leaves, then I noticed some small orange dots that look like they’ve eaten s hole in the leaves (only a couple) looks like I May have spider mites or some sort of pest, I’ve now sprayed her with neem oil will see how she goes she’s due for another feed soon so I’ll be feeding her and give her another spray with neem mc also here’s another update on the LST she’s looking great imo! Cannot wait to try this again I’ll start it earlier and see what kind of canopy I can create

Soaked another seed overnight (AK420 auto) and she’s already poked through the surface! Never had a seed take off like this for me! Hopefully it’s a good sign we shall see, I think I’m going to give up on trying to grow a sweet seeds auto mix seed, each time I have had issues and they seem to grow really slow so I’ve left her in the soil to see if any miracles happen otherwise I have Powerplant auto soaking now to replace it. Spewing about those sweet seeds was hoping to see some purple weed, one day!



Ah well,
 
Hello again people of
:420:

Time for some redemption, I haven’t had the best runs in the past atm I am regrettably, a seed killer... Out of about 8 seeds I’ve put effort into growing I have only had 1 plant reach full maturity at a reasonable size for a newbie (outdoors) and 1 very stunned plant which produced 1 bud (indoors), all the others have died by the grips of my inexperienced hands. My last attempt was about two years ago now so it’s time to learn from all the mistakes I’ve made in the past and redeem myself. I am of course expecting to run into some hurdles again this run as I test new equipment/feeding schedules/pest control etc and try conquer the issues I faced in the past. I hope I can help some other newbies learn from my mistakes and learn some more from you more experienced growers!

So quick back story without getting into too much detail, my Nan has recently retired and is in a bit of pain, my pop actually asked me for some seeds a couple of weeks ago for her while we were out for dinner and to my surprise she was all for it! Go Nan! She loves her garden so I cannot wait to see what she can do. Anyway I am hoping to gain enough knowledge to be confident in growing and grow something decent that I can give to her. I also find this extremely fun and exciting, nothing better than checking your pride and joy every day and seeing new growth!

BTW I am growing autoflowers, I plan on giving a photoperiod seed a crack one day but for now I’m attempting to master the autos.

Current Setup;
Tent - 90 x 50 x 160cm
Lights - Mars Hydro 300W ECO LED + 80W CFL - She’s directly under the LED and the CFL is to the side slightly angled towards her, I have ordered one of these to replace the CFL: PARFACTWORKS 500W LED Grow Light, COB & 10W Daylight Full Spectrum Including UV&IR for Indoor Gardens
Clip on fan for circulation and movement
Ventilation fan with carbon filter for smell/help with heat
Humidifier

120809431_791043711468575_3009275383272120802_n.jpg


Soil
Mix of Tomato/seedling mix, mushroom compost, perlite and coco (I cannot remember exactly how I mixed this I originally planned on throwing this outside and leaving it)

Pot
3 Gal plastic pot (Plan on buying some fabric pots for the next round)

Seed
BCN Critical XXL Auto by Seedstockers and a Sweet Seeds random auto pack seed germinating atm hopefully she comes through this grow journal will be focused on the BCN Critical for now.

Have a bit of catching up to do, I am not sure on the exact day she poked her head out of the ground as she was germed, planted and left while I was away for a week but we will say she’s on day 17 today. I took a photo every day starting on day 12 and took notes so i'll just fill you guys in up to today and then start giving updates every couple of days or if I run into some dramas etc.


Days 1-11

Not the fastest growth, probably due to her only getting 8 hours of direct sunlight a day. Only photo I have is this taken on day 7.

7 Days.jpg


Day 12

I thought screw this let's do it right, cracked open and blew the dust off the grow tent box. Lights set to 18/6 She has actually been growing quite quick in my eyes the last couple of days! Dealing with fungus gnats, it's nothing too crazy but not ideal, semi soaked the pot in a neem oil mix nothing too crazy as I don't want to drown the plant and the pot was still heavy from its initial water (this mistake I have made many times lol) plan on buying sticky traps for the adults sometime over the next couple of days. I need to work on the humidity in the tent as its sitting down at 15-20%. Heat fluxuates between 28-32 Hoping this isn't going to be an issue, thinking of buying an intake fan for fresh cool air, one thing at a time!

D12.JPG


Day 13

I didn't take notes this day unfortunately, I think I purchased some sticky traps this day, can see growth!

D13.JPG


Day 14

No notes again just happy with the growth I'm seeing.

D14.JPG


Day 15

Never mind I got sticky traps on this day! This photo was taken late in the day, shes slowly starting to blow up now you can definitely see it, EXCITING! Fungus gnats are slowly being eradicated I've been checking it regularly, rarely any walking around on the surface.

D15.JPG


Day 16

God damn Fungus gnats! The bastards have taken refuge in the drainage holes of the pot, still killing a couple every time I check her so put one of the sticky traps I had on the top of the pot down there hopefully this helps

D16.JPG


Day 17

First official feed/water. I am using the advanced nutrients line, testing at a 1/10-8 ratio this run not sure how hot my soil is at the moment and I have killed a few by overfeeding. As I am writing this I am second guessing myself, I hope I didn't make a mistake feeding them. This is what I gave them anyway

Per litre
0.5ml Tarantula
0.1ml Calmag
0.2ml Micro
0.2ml Grow

Ph'd to about 6.2 (drip test kit, would love to own a Ph pen one day)

I plan on going organic in the future found some nice dry amendments grow/flower mixes I want to try for now we will stick with the liquid nutes. Woops! I forgot to mix some neem into the water to help with those gnats, bit unsure on what to do I don't want to give her too much water as it takes awhile for this pot to dry out and I don't want to overfeed or wash out the nutes I just gave her. They're going to love this new moisture. I ended up mixing some neem oil up and spraying into the drainage holes, I won't forget to add the neem to the watering next time. Also I purchased a humidifier today, humidity is rising up to the 60s now while running on medium speed will stick with this for now or should I keep it on high and try and get into the 80s?

I lowered my light just before taking this picture as I thought it was a little high - it was at 25" or so. Noticed her looking sad when I went to water her due to the light being moved closer so I moved it back up to around 23-24".

D17.JPG


Thank you all for tuning in! I will try and keep this as updated as possible, any tips, tricks etc send them my way, if you have any suggestions for my tent/medium/equipment etc I would love to hear them! I am investing a little into this now and making a list of future purchases I will be making over time. Cheers!
Jees gnats allreaddy .... Lol be more carefull lol treat indoor like a myco experiment.
 
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