Oct 2022 - Auto Grow - 4 Different Strains - AutoPots - Coco

[Buds Buddy]

Week 1 - Day 1 - Trouble in River City

Starting Week 1 (Veg) and I've hit my first issue.

I suspect these pictures show excessive protons - excessive light.

This morning, I realized my timer wasn't turning off. It is now, but I think 24 hours of 250 PPFD for 7 straight days was more than the Purple Lemonade can take.

I don't think it is an over watering thing, I have been paying attention this grow.

My plants are sitting on tiny saucers and I put water in the saucer and when the plant sucks it up, I put a little more in. If that water is not taken up, I pour it out so that it doesn't sit in a small puddle of water.

This makes me think my accidental 24-hour lighting was more than the plants could handle. I have corrected this and they are now on an 18/6 light schedule.

Are you using Coco in your SIP Bucket ? I kind of hope so. You'll be the first one I've seen doing a SIP with Coco & I'm sure wanting to see how that goes. I've been thinking about doing a Coco grow with the SIP's, but I have a ton of FFOF so it's hard not to use what you already have instead of buying something else & not knowing how it will turn out. I'm pulling about a pound per plant with a 5 week Veg now & one plant I was lucky enough to pull a little over 20 oz. Makes me wonder about what a Coco grow would do.
If you are doing the SIP in Coco, please join the SIP Club thread to add a new twist to things. This would be real interesting to a lot of us. Thanks !

 

[Buds Buddy]

@Azimuth , @ReservoirDog , @LKABudMan , @el gringuito , @Emilya Green , @Krissi Carbone , check out this thread. Some of the guys & gals doing SIP's. I'm sure they'll be interested.

 

[Azimuth]

@Azimuth , @ReservoirDog , @LKABudMan , @el gringuito , @Emilya Green , @Krissi Carbone , check out this thread. Some of the guys & gals doing SIP's. I'm sure they'll be interested.

Thanks, for the tag, @Buds Buddy .

Nice setup @ExNavyInSTL . As Buds suggested, do join us over in #SIP Club. You can post your SIP pics over there as well and join the discussion.

 

[Azimuth]

SIP buckets have become all the rage here on 420 lately. I find it interesting that you're new here and are also using them.

They simply grow better plants.  Every plant I've ever grown in these things has been happier, healthier and bigger than the non-SIP counterparts. Perfect watering evey time which eliminates a watering problem which sets back most growers at least once in the grow and for many its a constant thing. Also I'm convinced it's the air direct to the root zone that really is the true secret to these things, so I'm interested in following the mod OP did to his other non -SIP ( ) pots.

 

[Azimuth]

@Azimuth , @ReservoirDog , @LKABudMan , @el gringuito , @Emilya Green , @Krissi Carbone , check out this thread. Some of the guys & gals doing SIP's. I'm sure they'll be interested.

I'll tag @farside05 as well.

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Week 1 - Day 2: Data

The seedlings are maintaining, while working on their second set of True Leaves.

Knows Candy #2 is still locked in a stunted phase.

I think I have stopped the light damage to both Purple Lemonades. One extra observation, both of the PLs have much skinnier stems than the others. I hope this doesn't mean these tend to be a little more sensitive to adversity.

I put my main grow tent Govee environment monitor in the seedling tent to ensure I am keeping the seedling in their ideal enveronment (or close anyway).

Daily Avg. Temp: 80.2ºF
Daily Avg. RH%: 75.8
Rounded: 80/76
VPD: 0.85 (this calculation is from the Govee app)

I plugged these numbers into the Pulse VPD Calculator on Setting #1 (Clone setting - should be similar for Seedlings) ti see if my Govee app is accurate. Thankfully it is, although I am likely to still use Pulse calculator because has 3 settings: Clone, Veg & Flower. The separate settings shift as the growth stage changes.

 

[ReservoirDog]

Photos of Part of my Setup:

Very nice to make your acquaintance, I'm ReservoirDog, a professional civilian sailor, volunteer coast guard (our coastal S&R is set up like the Brit's Volunteer Lifeboat crews, pro CG trained, but volunteers) and living west coast of Canada. What a great start. Really appreciate the record and documentation effort here - present and future growers are in your debt. Looking forward to checking out such a well-doc'd Autopot grow using the air injection tech, and looking forward to your anecdotes on those. I've read a previous journal of yours, btw, are you the fellow who was using clay pebbles in the bottom and had a salt-line (fertilizer retention) take place? I seem to remember some wonderfully illustrative photos of the phenomenon but can't be sure it was yourself. Can you comment on your choice of grow media, and if I do have the right person, re: salt line, how have you managed this problem in the past or, if not grown since then, what changes introduced in his setup to address the issue? I grow DIY SIPs, also use a 5-12-26 pt. A. 15-0-0 pt B and Magnesium Sulphate pt C . I also add Fulvic but also mix kelp and small amount worm castings into my grow matrix, which is ProMix (peat/perlite). Do you bottom water your seedlings while they're still in the terra cotta pots? I wish you and yours, including your autos, the very best.

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Bakatcha ReservoirDog:

I'm not the person you mention (regarding pebbles). In fact, two grows back I chose to put the coco straight in the fabric pots without any aeration buffer at the bottom. The grow was just fine.

As for my grow media, I am team CocoCoir all the way. I put 60% cc and 20% Vermiculite and 20% Perlite. Although, I would be fine with 60%cc/40% being perlite only.

Towards the end of my last grow I noticed that Jack's had up'd their 3-2-1 recipe from 3.6 (a),2.4(b) & 1.2 Epsom.

Now it's 3.79 (a), 2.52 (b) and 0.99 Epsom -- per the current nutrition chart.

Having said that, I just noticed on a page before their feed chart that they have a graphic the disputes the Nutrition Chart. This graphic shows: 3.7 grams Part A; 2.5grams Part B; 1.1 grams of Epsom salts. At first I thought it was a round the numbers thing, but Part is 3.79, so rounding to 3.7 would be wrong, Part B makes sense at 2.2 to 2, and the Epsom salt is an entirely different number outside of the rounding of numbers. Nonetheless, I'll stick with the official Nutrition Schedule.

I'll include the conflicting graphics below.

Last year I built about 10 of DIY SIP buckets, but changed over to "GroBuckets" because I only had to use one bucket. My previous SIPs were made from 2 buckets and a 3 or 3.5 inch net pot in the bottom. I am only using 1 GroBucket in my tent this grow. The other four are fabric pots sitting in the AutoPot system.

This is the first time I have bottom fed my seedlings in terra cotta pots and the first time I have watered from the bottom. I had to make a change because I seem to over water seedlings from the top. This new way forces some much needed discipline.

Thanks again for stopping by.

Very nice to make your acquaintance, I'm ReservoirDog, a professional civilian sailor, volunteer coast guard (our coastal S&R is set up like the Brit's Volunteer Lifeboat crews, pro CG trained, but volunteers) and living west coast of Canada. What a great start. Really appreciate the record and documentation effort here - present and future growers are in your debt. Looking forward to checking out such a well-doc'd Autopot grow using the air injection tech, and looking forward to your anecdotes on those. I've read a previous journal of yours, btw, are you the fellow who was using clay pebbles in the bottom and had a salt-line (fertilizer retention) take place? I seem to remember some wonderfully illustrative photos of the phenomenon but can't be sure it was yourself. Can you comment on your choice of grow media, and if I do have the right person, re: salt line, how have you managed this problem in the past or, if not grown since then, what changes introduced in his setup to address the issue? I grow DIY SIPs, also use a 5-12-26 pt. A. 15-0-0 pt B and Magnesium Sulphate pt C . I also add Fulvic but also mix kelp and small amount worm castings into my grow matrix, which is ProMix (peat/perlite). Do you bottom water your seedlings while they're still in the terra cotta pots? I wish you and yours, including your autos, the very best.

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Week 2 - Day 9 Since Germ:

The runt is still a runt. I'm still giving it a "mother's" love, even though its chances of getting culled are growing.

The others are spindly with stems that mimic a flamingo standing one leg, The rapid vertical growth seems to have stopped.

To help control unwanted (for the time) stretching I raised the light's juice to a (still) low DLI of 20. They had previously been running at what I thought was 12 DLI, but then realized my timer was running at 24 hours on. All fixed now.

Their sleep period is from 1000 - 1600, so they have all night make some progress.

I made the mistake of going to Grow Diaries website and checked out about 20 other grows of the same the Purple Lemonades and that was a little bit disappointing. Either most people lie in the beginning or mine are growing slower. There were a few with similar sizes, so I am not worried. Still, some of these people showed two sets of filled-out true leaves.

Has anyone else ever looked at other grows and wondered how so many people could have so much growth through Weeks 1 and 2?

Anyway, enough whining. Let's look at some pictures.

 

[Azimuth]

Last year I built about 10 of DIY SIP buckets, but changed over to "GroBuckets" because I only had to use one bucket. My previous SIPs were made from 2 buckets and a 3 or 3.5 inch net pot in the bottom.

You can easily diy a SIP in a single bucket.

I've built two styles, one which is the net pot design you mention. I built a false floor by trimming out a bucket cover and making a hole for the connector pot. Same reservoir size but a bit less grow mix than the two bucket version but seems not all that important.

But the far easier way is:

2 Gallon/8L or 5 Gallon/20L Buckets
Same basic design as the 1L version, just larger containers. I get my buckets from Lowes in the States because they are a deep, dark blue which helps shade the roots from light better than lighter or white colored ones.

For the container that creates the void I've used food grade plastic food containers like salad bowls or food storage containers as well as pasta strainers. Same rules here, try to find a container where the upper rim is slightly smaller than the lower width of your bucket.

I do use fill tubes for these so first I make a larger hole in the bottom of the inner container (which will be on top when we flip it to install it) that is slightly larger than my fill tube. I use the white PVC plumbing pipe (1/2"/12mm) and make my hole with a 7/8"/22mm hole saw which is the outer diameter of the pipe.

I actually make two holes, one each on opposite sides of this inner container. Then I use two fill tubes with the idea that there will be a better chance at air flow with this set-up than there would be with a single entry to a cave-like void you'd get with a single fill tube. No science to back this, I just feel like it is a better design.

I also like to have my fill tube stop just after entering the void to ensure air flow even when the reservoir is full so I cut off a small stub piece from the fill tube and attach it back with a coupler which holds it up when installed since the coupler is a larger diameter than the pipe and won't fit through my hole. ResDog has his fill tubes bottom out in the reservoir but makes holes all along its length to accomplish the same thing.

Then I make my overflow hole in the outer bucket making sure it is at leat 1"/25mm below the top of my void container for the air gap, and then make a bunch of small holes in the inner container to try to maximize air and water flow from this inner cup into the surrounding soil. I also make holes on the bottom (what will be the top) of the inner cup to get air to the roots once planted.

Then fill the pot with your soil mix and be sure to pack the soil around the inner cup firmly to help with the wicking process, but fill the rest of the container with soil firmed like you would for a normal pot.

I use a funnel I cut from the top of a water bottle to make pouring water into the fill tube a bit easier. I use a plumbing fitting (called a bushing) to attach a 1" coupling to the 1/2"pipe and the neck of the bottle slides into it nicely. I'm right handed so I like to position the fill tube just to the right of my overflow hole. This makes it easier to watch for run-off as I'm filling the reservoir than it would if it were on the opposite side of the bucket

 

[Azimuth]

That post is excerpted from This one   that details the prior 1L size which gives more detail on the two containers used in the build.

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Week 1 - Day 10 (for most):

Gave a bit of light nutrients this AM. Any excess liquid was poured into the top soil. We are only talking about drops of excess.

This evening, I'll put my seedling mix in the saucers. This is RO water, liquid Orca mycorrhizae, beneficial bacteria (Prime Supreme), Mr. Fulvic, and mono-silicic acid.

My average temp was 81ºF over the last 24 hours. I will bring that back into the upper 70s, starting today. I think 77º should be okay.

VPD is running just right. However, I think the following combination of temps and RH% may be more appropriate until Monday, when I switch over to Veg numbers.

Finish out Clone/Seedling Phase at 80º/80%

Veg (estimated) Target VPD 75º / 66%.

The runt looks green and problem free, but doesn't grow. I'm keeping it alive, out of curiosity. Plus, if any of the other dampens out, I'd still bring it to the good tent on the SIP bucket, so it would be the least disruptive in the tent.

Darkness begins at 1000 am and runs to 1600.

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Day 10 - Continued:

These graphics show a spike in temps during the night. These seedlings respiring can't be the cause.

VPD is fine at this combination. Although, as I said earlier, I am going adjust this to another proper VPD at lower temps (75º).

 

[Azimuth]

Week 1 - Day 10 (for most):

Man, how many days in your weeks?

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

I hear ya. I tried something different this time.

The first seven days I called Germ Week.

Week 1 of Veg was Day 8 (in my kooky brain). I know it is a little confusing. I'm trying settle on a style in which to display. I think the easiest is just to go with the "Day" number (from Germ).

However, a little kink in that comes next week. That's when all the plants will take the "day" number of the oldest from germination.

In other words, next Monday they all become Day 15.

Since these are AutoFlowers, I'll stop referring to Veg or Flower. It will just be "Day whatever."

I'll still take my environmental cues from the plants. Meaning, when flowers begin to emerge, I'll treat the temps and RH (VPD) for the life stage appropriately.

But, yes, you caught in the middle of deciding how to handle the date nomenclatures.

Man, how many days in your weeks?

 

[Azimuth]

I hear ya. I tried something different this time.

The first seven days I called Germ Week.

Week 1 of Veg was Day 8 (in my kooky brain). I know it is a little confusing. I'm trying settle on a style in which to display. I think the easiest is just to go with the "Day" number (from Germ).

However, a little kink in that comes next week. That's when all the plants will take the "day" number of the oldest from germination.

In other words, next Monday they all become Day 15.

Since these are AutoFlowers, I'll stop referring to Veg or Flower. It will just be "Day whatever."

I'll still take my environmental cues from the plants. Meaning, when flowers begin to emerge, I'll treat the temps and RH (VPD) for the life stage appropriately.

But, yes, you caught in the middle of deciding how to handle the date nomenclatures.

Ha! Just giving you the business. I figured you had your method.

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Day 10 - Evening Photos


I realized I have been flip-flopping my dates on some of the plants that came after the main group. For example, today is Day 10 for the oldest plants:


Main Group Germinated: 10/24/22 (Day 10)
Knows Candy #1 - 10/25/22 (Day 9)
Knows Candy #2 (runt) - 10/27/22 (Day 7) - Slow to No Grow
Gorilla Glue - 10/28/22 (Day 6) - Fast Grower

---

Day # changes next Monday:

To make matters for labeling, etc., all plants will be called Day 15 this coming Monday (11/07/22). After a few weeks, the few days that separate them will be insignificant.

---

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Day 11 - Minor Issues (I Hope):

This morning, Purple Lemonade #2 fell over when I moved the pot.
I propped it up. I hope it is not dampening off.

I think the Runt (KC #2) actually grew a little overnight.

VPD: I'm mostly dialed in. Just a block, or so, off from "Perfect".

New Temp Average: 82ºF ( I want it lower).
Turned on 4" exhaust fan to remove some of the hotter air

New VPD Goal: 77ºF / 68%

 

[HashGirl]

I made the mistake of going to Grow Diaries website and checked out about 20 other grows of the same the Purple Lemonades and that was a little bit disappointing. Either most people lie in the beginning or mine are growing slower. There were a few with similar sizes, so I am not worried. Still, some of these people showed two sets of filled-out true leaves.

@Grand Daddy Black and @BooWho2 have grown Purple Lemonade successfully. Perhaps they can provide feedback to you on yours.

 

[ReservoirDog]

Great entry StL-Sailor, love the images, nice graphical treatment and the colour choices, well, I def. support those.

I remember when I started paying attention to the 420 media world again, sometime 2019 - early 2020 maybe, and there were indications in a number of Jack's grower videos, posts, that there'd recently been a recognition by "Jack's" that an increase in potassium over their initial recomendations was beneficial.

This, it seemed to me reading posts already about a year old at the time, had been pushed by users who had been spreading a 421 memnonic and then either an independent study or some in-house science was undertaken than confirmed the benefit and could find no harm. It sounded also like there was some public discussion about the benefit of either changing the formula or the mixing reccomendations and it appears the mixing changes won out, which was for the best I would think.

I really don't know all what went down there other than it seemed to result in a bump up of the desirable K%, and that it was relatively recent. Perhaps this accounts for the conflicting information still out there.

I'd say "good luck, Knows Candy" but my sense is your runt may have already been culled. My attitude is that it's a big commitment we make, and there's no point getting sentimental about week's old plants. Cest la vie.