NorthernCosmos' First Indoor Soil Auto Grow: 2019

NorthernCosmos said:
Intuitively, I'd think that the plants benefit from a day/night cycle to perform its natural processes. Does anyone have experience with this?
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Cannabis plants don't need a dark cycle for vegetative growth, so rest easy! Unless you are seeing light stress or burn, all you have done is make them grow bigger faster. Many growers run autos at 24/0 to get the most out of them. Only downside is the electric bill!

I usually run my photos 24/0 as well until flip. Unless the bills get too high.
 
That's right CraZy, not a clue... It could have been going for weeks or months. I recall having looked at it sometimes, thinking "Shouldn't the lights be out - they'll surely switch off soon" :eye-roll: It worked in the beginning; i did check that, and then just assumed that the timer would do its job - in the back of my head the potential failure mode would be to not switch on... It's one of those mechanical timers with a dial.
Ok guys - I shall not stress out about it:meditate:

There are some pretty buds there, so the grow didn't crash and burn anyway :)
 
Yeah I was thinking the same about that timer, strange and this is CE approved? :laugh:

It could have been worse, you still will end up with weed in your hand and that's why you are growing for. That dam optimal version of growing is always lurking in the next grow... next time I will try this or that. Don't think too much about it and just let them do what they do best... grow. :)
 
CE approved Biltema brand 3 pack - I'm sure you know the type. I'm considering taking it back, not because of the cost, but because the thing may not be safe.

And yes, the next grow (which was started 20 minutes ago - pics below) will be a more relaxed affair, and probably even more educational.

Here's the current tent population, new Amnesia front left, new Widow rear right:

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20 minutes in and I'm more relaxed already!
 
NorthernCosmos said:
CE approved Biltema
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Ah, yeah they have their own CE stamp. The stuff works in similar way as that Norwegian turn light they got. :laughtwo:

Lots of stuff is great and I like they are expanding their business finally over our country. When I was a youngster, the best thing was going to knalleland and visit all those postorder buisnesses that fulfilled the hole countrys need of hobby stuff. Now we order stuff from China in almost the same time it took back then to order from Biltema or Hobbex. Crazy times...

NorthernCosmos said:
And yes, the next grow (which was started 20 minutes ago - pics below) will be a more relaxed affair, and probably even more eductational.
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Looks promising times ahead NC, with or without timer!

InTheShed said:
20 minutes in and I'm more relaxed already!
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I'm stressed out already how am I going to keep up everywhere I need an assistant soon.
 
I realize it looks a bit cramped in the pics, but the old Amnesia and Widow will move out in 5 days or thereabout, then the AK420 and BCN in the rear will get to grow and flower, the new Amnesia and Widow will eventually start growing, and in a months time I will sow two new seeds that will move in.

So with the triple overlapping grow, there will be room since there are only 2 "big" plants, 2 small plants, and 2 seedlings at any one time, with a rotation of two plants every month. At least that the plan.
 
NorthernCosmos said:
I'd think that the plants benefit from a day/night cycle to perform its natural processes. Does anyone have experience with this?
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I oftentimes see very rapid growth happen during the overnight hours and I believe that the plants can use a down time each day and that they don't lose a lick of growth by giving them that. That being said, I have done experiments with light periods and have found that I got better overall growth in bloom with 12 hours of light compared to 10 hours, indicating that more light provides the plants with more energy and more growth. With this experiment in mind I tend to run my seedlings and all the way up to the 3rd node in 24/0 or 20/4 schedules, but by the time I reach mid veg, I feel it is important to let them start adjusting to a daily light and dark schedule, or why else would they have a mode that they enter into where they droop and prepare for the night and then rise up again to meet the dawn? Some process is happening in this cycle that we still need to try to understand.
I would like to do an experiment with autos sometime to see just how much more growth (if any) is accomplished by running 24 hours of light compared to 20/4 or 18/5
 
Unfortunately you can't experiment with autos. Unless you cut two clones when they're young and root them with enough time left to veg and flower.

Only clones can serve for experiments.
 
CraZysWeeD said:
I'm stressed out already how am I going to keep up everywhere I need an assistant soon.
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I know the feeling. I'd like to read more journals and other threads, but there are only so many hours in a day... and only so many threads one can follow... Thus I have to limit myself, but I already know some of you a little bit and concentrate the reading and posting around that.

:green_heart:

InTheShed said:
I'm a little more stressed now just at the sound of that!
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Chill man... this will be fine :hippy:

Emilya said:
I oftentimes see very rapid growth happen during the overnight hours and I believe that the plants can use a down time each day and that they don't lose a lick of growth by giving them that.
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This is what I intuitively believe. My plants had effectively stopped growing, and I wonder if they haven't done a micro spurt of a cm or so the last day, with only one night in several weeks (don't have precise metrics though... - will be taking measurements these last few days). I'm stoked for the new grow with new and better conditions :)
 
@Emilya : Nothing defintitive and certainly not science, but the two grown up plants that had stagnated completely in 24/0 have indeed gained height after two 19/5 cycles (more than 1 cm). The BCN that was flat as a pancake at day 29 made a visible stretch and is showing markedly better new growth compared to the previous days - it has now thrown pistils. Even the tiny new Amnesia has gained more height in two days, at day 17 and 18, than in the previous week.

Thinking back (I need regression therapy... :p), I'm pretty sure the life of the grown ups was something like 19/5 for 2-4 weeks, then 24/0 for 6-8 weeks. The BCN and the tiny Amnesia has had their whole life in 24/0 except the two last 19/5 cycles. So, just an anecdote, but only 2 day/night cycles seem to have made a clear difference for these plants at these stages - without a control it could of course be a coincidence or a natural growth for the ages of them, just as I introduced a day/night cycle...

This is the BCN's growth of ca. 3cm in the last 16 hours, from day 30 to 31 (after 1 and 2 days with a 19/5 cycle), quite amazing compared to its lack of height gain so far:

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Yes, I also look forward to Emilya's authoritative comparison grow :thumb:

In the meantime, I'll be growing that new pair of Amnesia and Widow with some comparison value, and in the name of 'science' I may even make the next pair an AK420 and BCN Critical again as another comparison. These are of course serial comparisons as opposed to parallel ones. I'm digging this stuff now; turning downturns into upturns while observing and learning!
 
I had a three pack - one has run my chili light for 4 years without failure, then there's the one which failed for the MJ grow, and I put the third into service as a replacement, so I have automation going. Then there's another one that came with my Tent/Light bundle which I keep as a backup. Unsurprisingly, I no longer trust these things, so I'll be keeping my eye on them and test them once in a while.

BTW, as for automation, I'd like to get a "control central" to run lights, fans, humidity and heating/cooling at some point. A pipe dream for now, together with more tents, lights, fans... - but one day!
 
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