My 1st Attempt At AutoFlowers!

Dr Pepper

Dr Pepper

Well-Known Member
:welcome: Greetings fellow 420 heads ! :welcome:

This is my 1st attempt at my very own baby garden of homegrown (indoor) AUTOFLOWERS ! YAY !

1st of all I would like to thank you all for taking the time to have a look at my journal. Feel free to sub and comment, any hints and tips you have to share will be much appreciated so please, don't be shy!

I began to wonder about the world of 420 many years ago but I am only an amateur grower myself so please bare in mind this is all HOME MADE and at pretty much minimal costs except for the much needed materials such as nutrients, seeds and much much TLC !!

But enough of the crap, lets get down to business!

CONDITIONS

*125w CFL veg light

*400w HPS flowering light

*Humidity and temperature are all under control (fan, extractor)

*PH stabilizers

*Space and height is not an issue (have plenty)

*Timer set at 24/0 (24h light 0h darkness) for sprouting period then switch to 18/6 for ENTIRE duration throughout veg and flowering period.

*Soil/Perlite medium at about 75/25 (Give or take)

*1 pint plastic cups for sprouting and partly vegetation. 15 litre pots (I've heard not to re pot auto strands but I needed to due to being much more convenient. But an early re pot shouldn't have any affect)

*I'm yet to buy nutrients but I shall be using a simple solution of Terra Grow and Terra Bloom (But I'm willing to hear anyone's opinion/recommendations)


4 days ago I began to germinate 1x AUTO AK47, 1x AUTO CRITICAL, 1x KANNABIA SPECIAL and 2x normal feminised strands BERRY DELIGHT (Northenlights x Blueberry).

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My method of doing so is simply using an empty (black) DVD or games case, numbered with white sticky tape so I remember which seed is which. I use household toilet/kitchen paper, fold into 4x4cm squares, then fold once more encasing the seed in the middle forming a triangle. And then just simply dampen with warmish tap water. (Do not completely soak the tissue, just ensure its damp/moist on each side). Then I close the case, wrap in a tea-towel and place above my gas boiler. The reason for this is that it's 100% pitch black and the heat from the boiler ensures the optimal germinating temperature. The tea-towel is just there so the case itself isn't in direct contact with the boiler so I'm not cooking the little buggers! This method has worked for me almost 100% of the time with a result of usually 10/10 seeds popped everytime! If you try this way of germinating please ensure to check on your babies a few times a day as the case can sweat if it gets too hot. They are simply left to germinate until the shoot is about 5mm long.

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They took about 36 hours to germinate with the acception of 1x Berry Delight taking about 24 hours longer, so shes behind just a tad, the pictures will show that!

So here we go.

This is progress so far, showing my homemade vegetation box, medium and a few other little goodies!

ENJOY !
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Timer was purchased from my local Argos store for just £4.99! It works on a weekly, daily or 2h basis but able to apply any light pattern that is necessary. 1 switch equals to 2h. So 12 switches per day. At the moment it's set up for 18/6. 3 switches up 9 switches down for each day.
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Day 4 from seed

AUTO AK 47
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AUTO CRITICAL
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KANNABIA SPECIAL (AUTO)
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BERRY DELIGHT x2 (Northern lights x Blueberry, NORMAL feminised)
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Little bugger slacked and fell behind!
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And that is all I have to show for now !

I apologise for the low quality pictures. Taken with an iPhone 5.

I will be here daily and continuously updating my journal.

Please comment and sub. I would love to hear your opinions and recommendations!

Any questions on how I made my box just give me a shout.

Many thanks and PLEASE ENJOY !

May you all have a very green day!

Yours,

Dr. Pepper
 
Re: My 1st attempt at Autoflowers !!

subd
 
Subbed
 
hope you dont plan on translating as autos dont like it.

Few suggestions.
Get those CLFs way closer. You need to have them as close as you can without burning the plant. You should be able to do 1-3 inches.
If you keep the seeds in the small cups they will be small. not over a foot tall.
 
hank123 said:
hope you dont plan on translating as autos dont like it.

Few suggestions.
Get those CLFs way closer. You need to have them as close as you can without burning the plant. You should be able to do 1-3 inches.
If you keep the seeds in the small cups they will be small. not over a foot tall.
Click to expand...

I was going to do it very soon actually, as soon as their root structure is strong enough. Keeping them in 1 pint cups wont give me the outcome I'm looking for. Whats the worst that can happen from an early re pot ?
 
sub'd

You will be fine as long as you know how to transplant and dont rip any roots. :thumb:
He is correct that you dont want to stunt them, but if you have transplanted before, you will be fine. :)
 
Hey buddy and happy joy joy! Nice one for getting up and running with your journal my friend. Ok firstly yes with auto's less stress = more yeild. To a point , mild lst is fine to open them up. Topping I have had mixed results with autos, some respond ok, others very badly.(strain dependant) .
Ive done super critical. Not yours. Just be aware in your grow area of different strain heights.
Give us a shout anytime! Best of dank dry frosty nugs to ya!
 
Oh couple of things spend another fiver and get a digi timer. I have had at least 4 of the ones you have fail. John Innes is cool I use his and westland stuff but no need for nutes for acouple of weeks. Dont over water, is a good tip with any MJ but especially autos. Great gruvy greenest buds!
 
Subbed... I guess it's a matter of personal taste. I had a digital timer first but I just couldn't get it to function properly. now I use a mechanical timer. "No problems"
 
Sub'd and learning :)

Couple of points though D.P 1) The foil your using for reflection is not a great idea mate as it reflects too much heat. Diamond Mylar is about £4 per meter for a 1.4m width. Good investment. :) 2) What Hank 123 said is true....get your CFLs in close :)
Are you going to use CFL lights throughout the grow? If you switch to HPS you'll need a more heavy duty (plug n grow type) timer to cope with inductive load from the ballast.
Great stuff so far though mate. Greenest of green goodness to you :)
 
Today's Update

Good evening 420 heads! ... I hope all is well and very green !

Literally just got in from work and I am bloody shattered !

Ok, I have taken in consideration about the distance between the lights and my babies. They are now all about 2 inches away and seem to be absolutely loving it!

Very happy today that the 2nd Berry Delight opened up just before I left for work and she seems to be thriving and very green! All others are well too :)

I'll be taking pictures every other day so the journal wont be spammed with pictures galore!

Transplanting ... I have always used 1 pint cups and moved them into 15 litre pots about 2-3 weeks into veg. I have never had a problem and only 1 had minor stunting (12-24 hours). But as I have never done it with AUTO strands before I will tell you how it all goes when the time comes.

Timer ... I have always used an analogue timer and had 1000w HPS going through it. It seemed to handle the power very well and I have never had an issue with analogue timers. Just like Reg said, it's a matter of personal taste and at a fiver, you can't really go wrong. This timer has lasted me 2 years and STILL running like it's brand new.

Foil/Growbox ... They will only be in these conditions for about another 8-12 days and I have a fan constantly flushing cold air through so the heat that's being generated from the CFL's isn't really much of a problem.

I will be using a 400w HPS when the AUTOS start to flower. The normal (Berry Delight) strands will be left in the box to veg for about 6-8 weeks so I am considering making a permanent box so buying the diamond mylar would be great, thanks OZ !

I am only watering once every other day if that. But I've started to notice vigorous growth so I'll be keeping a close eye on them.

Shopping ... I'll be going to buy my next medium, nutrients and maybe a few goodies this weekend. So if anyone has any recommendations please do share. I'm willing to try and test anything that's new to me.

I think I'll be using Plagron or Terra brand nutrients and just a simple solution of Grow and Bloom whenever they seem to need it. My last crop were greedy buggers and ate their way through about £50 worth of supplements! Which to this day I haven't had to buy any since my friend has been supplying me with pretty much everything I needed. Now that funds aren't an issue we were both happy to part ways and go Jason Derulo (S.O.L.O).

This is my 1st ever SOLO attempt at AUTO strands.

I was thinking about using CFL's the whole way but I have always used a 400-1000w HPS and to be honest I wouldn't want to try out a whole new light system now because I'll probably just noob out. All my HPS grows have been excellent! Sadly I don't have any pictures of my previous grows and for good reasons! But I do apologise, it would have been cool to make a journal on them too.

Anyway ... I'm guna go holla my friend around the corner, apparently he has some outstanding TrainWreck x Cheese which I actually haven't had all year! I'll see if I can snap a cheeky pic before it gets inhaled!

Great to see you all here and helping me along the way so MANY thanks to all of you.

Any questions please don't be shy.

Thanks again.

Yours,

Dr. Pepper :Love:
 
Very nice set up pal

you thought about getting space blankets, to replace your foil with made of mylar and cheep. Its thin but if you doing it on the cheep you can use white cardboard and glue stick the mylar to it. works wonders on a budget.

Big up on the seeds sprouting.

Best wishes.

Peace out
 
VictorVonDoom said:
Very nice set up pal

you thought about getting space blankets, to replace your foil with made of mylar and cheep. Its thin but if you doing it on the cheep you can use white cardboard and glue stick the mylar to it. works wonders on a budget.

Big up on the seeds sprouting.

Best wishes.

Peace out
Click to expand...


Thanks mate, much appreciated!

Yeh I was thinking along the lines of that seeing as I have a crap load of industrial strength cardboard boxes. My friend uses his old fish tank and that actually works really well!

Funds wont be an issue from now on since I recently started a well paid part time job so I'll even have more time to spend at home with the green little buggers! So I'll have a look at my local 420 store in the next couple of days and see what goodies he has.

Thankyou Jay223 I'm also subbed to you :)
 
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