Munki's "Al Naturale" Autoflower Outdoor Escursion - 2011

Cute little girl you have there Munki! I thought autos grew a little bigger than that...but what would I know, I have never grown one. I hope those thrips don't give you too much more of problem so she can produce some killer smoke for you.

Looking great! :high-five:
 
Munki said:
She is doing well so far. She has thrips now ... don't think I can really cure that. Fortunately, they can't do too much damage in the next 4 weeks I figure and that is when she is slated for harvest.
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It's a crapshoot - some actually feed on mites and other harmful insects; but many more feed on pollen (ok, that's not a bad thing) and the chloroplasts of the plant. Some actually pollinate plants through their actions.

But many carry plant diseases, some of which can act rather quickly. According to the Wikipedia article on thrips, they are known to carry over 20 viruses that infect plants.

If you had more time, I'd suggest that you plant at least one Mexican marigold in the same pot (up-potting if you felt it to be necessary). Might still help, I don't know. I believe that pymethrin(sp?) is effective, but do not know how quickly the MMs release it into the soil.

Contact Sierra Natural Science and Liquid Ladybug (both are site sponsors) to ask if their products are useful against thrips.

Perhaps some yellow/blue/white sticky-traps on the soil's surface? I don't know whether or not they go to ground in order to lay eggs (I suspect not but am unsure).

There are a few predators, but I don't know how helpful they would be in an open environment (since it is quite likely that they'd find all the thrips they wanted to eat nearby).

Some insecticides are especially helpful, but I have not looked into the impact on people consuming crops that have been so treated.

Maybe the addition of a silica product such as General Hydroponics' Rare Earth to your soil would help?

I always considered thrips to be potentially devastating. Hopefully, they will only be an annoyance to your plant.
 
ConqueringLOJ said:
Cute little girl you have there Munki! I thought autos grew a little bigger than that...but what would I know, I have never grown one. I hope those thrips don't give you too much more of problem so she can produce some killer smoke for you.

Looking great! :high-five:
Click to expand...

Size can be strain dependent but I bet the biggest variable is how much light is given to the plant. Indoor grows can supply these autoflowers with 20 hours per day throughout the entire lifespan of the plant. If I had done that, I'm sure she would be bigger. Just would have cost more to grow her and I wanted to have a no frills kind of grow this time around.

jwb87 said:
Wow, I hope my Autos come out looking half as good as yours :adore:
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Thanks jwb87! You should have longer summer days in your locale over mine, so you should be able to get some nice plants if you grow at the right time of the year (maybe plant around June 1st). June is just too cloudy in my area so I have to wait until summer actually kicks in and by then, the days are already getting shorter.

:goodluck: with your grows!
 
TorturedSoul said:
It's a crapshoot - some actually feed on mites and other harmful insects; but many more feed on pollen (ok, that's not a bad thing) and the chloroplasts of the plant. Some actually pollinate plants through their actions.

But many carry plant diseases, some of which can act rather quickly. According to the Wikipedia article on thrips, they are known to carry over 20 viruses that infect plants.

If you had more time, I'd suggest that you plant at least one Mexican marigold in the same pot (up-potting if you felt it to be necessary). Might still help, I don't know. I believe that pymethrin(sp?) is effective, but do not know how quickly the MMs release it into the soil.

Contact Sierra Natural Science and Liquid Ladybug (both are site sponsors) to ask if their products are useful against thrips.

Perhaps some yellow/blue/white sticky-traps on the soil's surface? I don't know whether or not they go to ground in order to lay eggs (I suspect not but am unsure).

There are a few predators, but I don't know how helpful they would be in an open environment (since it is quite likely that they'd find all the thrips they wanted to eat nearby).

Some insecticides are especially helpful, but I have not looked into the impact on people consuming crops that have been so treated.

Maybe the addition of a silica product such as General Hydroponics' Rare Earth to your soil would help?

I always considered thrips to be potentially devastating. Hopefully, they will only be an annoyance to your plant.
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Good info TS. I had thrips on my first two indoor grows. Probably had a negative impact on overall mass, but the product was still very good. Don't really want to mess around with purchasing and applying chems right now. May do a soap treatment, but I'm willing to just see what happens naturally. Not really depending on getting product from this grow.

I'd take thrips any day over PM (or any mold)!
 
Day 38, afternoon. Buds are filling along the center stem. Appears she is naturally forming a lollipop of sorts. Leaves are noticeably greener lately; I'll attribute that to the added nutrients and worm castings.

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Munki said:
Thanks jwb87! You should have longer summer days in your locale over mine, so you should be able to get some nice plants if you grow at the right time of the year (maybe plant around June 1st). June is just too cloudy in my area so I have to wait until summer actually kicks in and by then, the days are already getting shorter.

:goodluck: with your grows!
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Thanks for the positive input man!

I have 4 AF's going in a indoor closet, wouldnt mind someone of your caliber monitoring my journal! :;):
 
Munki said:
Size can be strain dependent but I bet the biggest variable is how much light is given to the plant. Indoor grows can supply these autoflowers with 20 hours per day throughout the entire lifespan of the plant. If I had done that, I'm sure she would be bigger. Just would have cost more to grow her and I wanted to have a no frills kind of grow this time around.
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It appears that container size (and possibly depth) has an impact. Don't know, personally.
 
And interesting side by side would be a standard two-gallon pot versus the same volume Air Pot. I'm betting root structure has quite a bit of bearing...the Air Pots do seem to improve things in that department.

Great job so far Munki, I'm proud to be watching your girl grow up!

:Namaste::popcorn:
 
And interesting side by side would be a standard two-gallon pot versus the same volume Air Pot. I'm betting root structure has quite a bit of bearing...the Air Pots do seem to improve things in that department.
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I'd like to see a comp with coir in a $.50 2gal pot versus anything else in an Air Pot :)
 
I'd like to see a comparison with any 2-gallon pot and a 20-gallon one.
 
I'd like to see a comparison with any 2-gallon pot and a 20-gallon one.
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Ok, but how about planting in a 8.13 X 10 to 12th cubic mile planter with a google watt light? They don't fit in my 1 meter tent, but eight 2gal potted plants do and thrive with 400 watts.
 
Biggest thing I've ever planted in was 2.598758992e+11 cubic miles (Terra, lol). And the light wasn't a googol(10e100)-watt, it was only 3.846×10e26 watts (Sol). And it was in an open fixture - no reflector. But I guess that's a good thing, it's hot enough this time of year;).

BtW, what size is your tent?
 
Yes TS, my numbers were off by a few orders of magnitude but you got my point? Indoor or out, container or plot. Apples compare to oranges only vaguely.

Size matters in most things, and bigger often isn't better. Quality v quantity substrate, for instance. IMO coco coir is superior to all media except water, which presents other problems. It's also cheaper than anything else at the garden shop.

Munki, your point on sunlight duration is significant for cannabis ruderalis. Matsu valley farmers can grow monsters because of this, and ruderalis originated at a high latitude location. Duration is easily controlled in a tent, but north country summer days are far from So Cal.
 
Propa Gator said:
Yes TS, my numbers were off by a few orders of magnitude but you got my point? Indoor or out, container or plot. Apples compare to oranges only vaguely.

Size matters in most things, and bigger often isn't better. Quality v quantity substrate, for instance. IMO coco coir is superior to all media except water, which presents other problems. It's also cheaper than anything else at the garden shop.

Munki, your point on sunlight duration is significant for cannabis ruderalis. Matsu valley farmers can grow monsters because of this, and ruderalis originated at a high latitude location. Duration is easily controlled in a tent, but north country summer days are far from So Cal.
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PG, you never fail to bring something to the table that adds to my mental gustatorial delight. :Namaste:
 
Propa Gator said:
Yes TS, my numbers were off by a few orders of magnitude but you got my point? Indoor or out, container or plot. Apples compare to oranges only vaguely.

Size matters in most things, and bigger often isn't better. Quality v quantity substrate, for instance. IMO coco coir is superior to all media except water, which presents other problems. It's also cheaper than anything else at the garden shop.

Munki, your point on sunlight duration is significant for cannabis ruderalis. Matsu valley farmers can grow monsters because of this, and ruderalis originated at a high latitude location. Duration is easily controlled in a tent, but north country summer days are far from So Cal.
Click to expand...

Makes sense from so called Russian Dirt Weed. Long summer days for sure. Could augment the light cycle by bringing the plants into a lit tent for some extra bulk. I'll take whats given naturally this go round and use her as a benchmark of any future grows of the type.
 
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