Problems growing AK420 Auto

[MikeB1]

Complete beginner growing cannabis. Bought 3 seeds of Seedstockers AK420 Auto from a local reseller. Planted them and all seemed relatively well (2 out of 3 germinated) but after some weeks the seedlings started showing brownish spots on their leaves.

I'm growing in regular potting soil for outdoor plants (an inexpensive bag of 50L bought in my local supermarket, it says it's for growing plants outside, tomatoes etc.). I've been keeping the pots (plastic with drainage holes in the bottom) outside during the day on my balcony where they catch about 7 hours of direct sunlight. Then during the nights when it's colder I move them inside where it's around 23 C / 73 F.

Apart from the brown spots on the leaves I feel conflicted about what is better in my scenario, do I keep moving the plants outside during the day and bring them in for the nights and maybe risk stressing the plants too much due to the constant changes in environments, or is it better to just keep them outside all the time, even though the nights here can get pretty cold? These days the temp during the night gets as low as 11 degrees C / 52 F.

Another downside of moving the plants inside every evening is that they then receive less light. The first light of the day starts between 4 and 5 AM. When I sleep it's dark in the house as I draw down the window blinds. I get up around 9 so if I would leave my plants outside all the time that would mean an additional 4 to 5 hours of light each day.

The days get dark at around 10PM. So it's 13 hours of light versus 17 - 18 hours of light.

Any thoughts?

 

[Listersmeghead]

Hiya Mike.
Yeah 11° at night is a little on the cold side...I'd carry on bringing them in at night unless it gets alot warmer.
Cheap supermarket soil can give good results but can be strong for a seedling.
A little tip for next time if you use again. Add some perlite for better drainage.

Most importantly.. let your soil dry completely before the next water. They don't like to much water at this early stage.

 

[Listersmeghead]

Oh regarding light hours..
With those night time temps it's best to bring them in, so unless you can supplement with indoor grow light the light hours are what they are.
I used to grow on my balcony in summer and similar to you they only got about 7 hours direct light. I got great results if the weather was good.

Is it better for them to get more light? Yes.
Will they still give you a decent result with less light?
Yes.
That's the beauty of autos, perfect for your situation.

 

[Bill284]

Complete beginner growing cannabis. Bought 3 seeds of Seedstockers AK420 Auto from a local reseller. Planted them and all seemed relatively well (2 out of 3 germinated) but after some weeks the seedlings started showing brownish spots on their leaves.

I'm growing in regular potting soil for outdoor plants (an inexpensive bag of 50L bought in my local supermarket, it says it's for growing plants outside, tomatoes etc.). I've been keeping the pots (plastic with drainage holes in the bottom) outside during the day on my balcony where they catch about 7 hours of direct sunlight. Then during the nights when it's colder I move them inside where it's around 23 C / 73 F.

Apart from the brown spots on the leaves I feel conflicted about what is better in my scenario, do I keep moving the plants outside during the day and bring them in for the nights and maybe risk stressing the plants too much due to the constant changes in environments, or is it better to just keep them outside all the time, even though the nights here can get pretty cold? These days the temp during the night gets as low as 11 degrees C / 52 F.

Another downside of moving the plants inside every evening is that they then receive less light. The first light of the day starts between 4 and 5 AM. When I sleep it's dark in the house as I draw down the window blinds. I get up around 9 so if I would leave my plants outside all the time that would mean an additional 4 to 5 hours of light each day.

The days get dark at around 10PM. So it's 13 hours of light versus 17 - 18 hours of light.

Any thoughts?

Hey Mike hope you are well my friend.
You can keep babies under 24 hr light if you have a little t5 fluorescent bulb.
Keep them warm above 22c.
And your going to need nutrients.
Check our Sponsors. Sponsors | 420 MAGAZINE ®

Here is a link on watering

The Proper Way To Water A Seedling In A Large Final Container

In the beginning, you may even want to start your seed directly in the final container, simply by putting it one inch deep, pointy end down. It is surprising to some how often this works, even though mother nature does it all the time. If you go this route, lightly mist the area around the...

www.420magazine.com

Stay safe
Bill284

 

[MikeB1]

Great stuff! Very useful. Thanks, guys!

I have a question about growing seedlings directly in soil but under a dome to keep temps and humidity high - how long do you keep the dome and when is it time to expose the plant to the outside elements?

I'm talking about a small dome, not a big green house. Something like this:

 

[Listersmeghead]

Great stuff! Very useful. Thanks, guys!

I have a question about growing seedlings directly in soil but under a dome to keep temps and humidity high - how long do you keep the dome and when is it time to expose the plant to the outside elements?

I'm talking about a small dome, not a big green house. Something like this:

I take my dome off as soon as I have leaves..but that's in a tent or sun room.

In the past I've put a clear solo cup upturned on top to make a dome but it had holes in it so the plant could breath.
Don't use a dome that doesn't allow any air.

 

[Phytoplankton]

Tricks are for kids, domes are for clones, domes on seedlings tend tend to encourage "damping off", and unless you have severe RH issues they're not necessary. It really looks like your soil is too wet, the brown leaf tips can be from too much water. Let the pots dry out more before watering, the roots are drowning. Kind of a toss-up on whether to move them daily, the extra light will encourage growth, but the cool night temps will slow it down some.

 

[MikeB1]

Thank you, Listersmeghead (great name! I love RD ) and Phytoplankton

Yeah I'm trying to keep these seedlings now dry until they really need water. Checking the soil every day but it's going slow, especially the one in the bigger pot, it still feels heavy every day.

My question about the dome is for my next grow attempt with a new set of seeds. My plan is to keep them inside behind the window sill until maybe a few weeks later when they've had a chance for their root system to establish until I move them outside during the daytime. The current seedlings I've had outside since day 1, completely exposed to the elements, even before they germinated, that was probably not the best thing to do.

Okay so with the next ones I'll germinate them inside into a solo cup and/or in a peat starter pellet. I'll keep them under a dome and in the dark until they sprout, then I'll move them (with the dome) to the window sill. I think if I don't still use the dome for a while, they will get too cold or too dry. The air in the house can easily drop below 20C when we have the windows open, and the RH inside is usually around 20%.

Thoughts, anyone?

 

[Sueet]

My thought is that you don't need the dome for seedlings, they have roots to get their water so you don't have to protect them from water loss as much as you do with a clone.

Putting a seedling in a dome is risky, it can cause damping off (which basically cuts the plant off right at the soil level).

(if they get 'too dry' that is when it is time to water)

 

[MikeB1]

Thanks for the response, Sueet. I'll definitely keep that in mind.


I also have a question regarding seedlings and temperature. If I put freshly sprouted seedlings inside the house on the window sill it can sometimes get up to 36C / 97F right in front of the window when there is direct sunlight and the windows are closed. On particularly hot and cloudless days this could last the entire afternoon.

Would this be too much for such young plants to handle and would I be better off drawing the curtains but then they barely receive any light?

Furthermore, I've been hearing that if you bury the stem of a new seedling further into the ground (or rather, create a little hill by adding more soil on top) it then encourages additional root growths at the base of the stem. Does anyone have experience with this practice and would it be useful?

 

[Roy Growin]

Hello - shade your seedlings with a piece of white paper or cheesecloth/net curtain on the window, helps to stop them growing sideways too
Yes, burying 1" of stem is commonplace, roots will indeed sprout from the stem
However, If I bury the stem I water mostly from the bottom to avoid the stem staying damp and the risk of rot

 

[Bill284]

Thanks for the response, Sueet. I'll definitely keep that in mind.


I also have a question regarding seedlings and temperature. If I put freshly sprouted seedlings inside the house on the window sill it can sometimes get up to 36C / 97F right in front of the window when there is direct sunlight and the windows are closed. On particularly hot and cloudless days this could last the entire afternoon.

Would this be too much for such young plants to handle and would I be better off drawing the curtains but then they barely receive any light?

Furthermore, I've been hearing that if you bury the stem of a new seedling further into the ground (or rather, create a little hill by adding more soil on top) it then encourages additional root growths at the base of the stem. Does anyone have experience with this practice and would it be useful?

Hey @MikeB1 hope you are well my friend.
I fried my 2 beautiful Chronic Thunder in the window.
We got 1 weekend of warm weather in the spring.
31 c outside, my girls roots fried and both died.
I was heartbroken.
Be careful, if you close the curtains it's a sauna.
Even with a piece of cardboard blocking the sun a bit from them.
Too hot for small girls.


Stay safe
Bill284

 

[Jaz]

If I put freshly sprouted seedlings inside the house on the window sill it can sometimes get up to 36C / 97F right in front of the window when there is direct sunlight

A big no-no, keep them in the dark at room temp, once I put them on top of the fridge and the heat from the radiator evaporated the water in the saucer so keep them away from anything that could dehydrate them. I often put a saucer upside down on top of the saucer to slow down evaporation. Also place the seed on the incline of the saucer, up from the bottom where it's very wet, the tissue will wick moisture up to the seed.

First 14 hours (or so) put the the seed in a cup of water, after a few hours you should be able to bob it down and it will sink to the bottom. After the 14 hours is up, then transfer it to saucer on top of a wet tissue and fold one leaf of the tissue over it to cover it.

j

 

[cbdhemp808]

Hi Mike and welcome to the forum!

This little sprout is looking great! My technique is to sprout in 2" square nursery pots, and let them grow for about 5 days until they are about 3" tall or so. Then I transplant into 1 gal black nursery pots, burying the stem so that only about 1" is showing above the soil. The plants stay in the 1 gal pots until they are ready to be transplanted to the final pot, which is 15 gal fabric pot (smart pot) or 5/6 gal black plastic pot.

In your case, I recommend keeping them indoors until they get more established... maybe about 9" tall. You can keep them under an inexpensive LED grow light, such as a SANSI full-spectrum, 24w, 1830 lumen. Keep the light(s) on from early morning until evening.

Once they have grown to around 9", you could start keeping them outdoors in the full sun, but make sure: a) they are covered from the rain, and b) they are protected from the sun (at low angles) by wrapping the pots in something reflective like white plastic from a feed bag, or reflective plastic bubble material. It helps to also use coco coir as a mulch layer (1-1.5") to protect the soil from the sun's heat and to help retain moisture. If you water properly and allow wet/dry cycle, and don't let the little plants get stressed from too much heat and not enough water, they should do just fine. You should be able to leave them out at night. Misting them with pure water in the early morning will help.

Ideally they should be in a greenhouse, where they can get direct sun for most of the day, but I understand you are putting them on your balcony, and so you're not getting all the sun that's available during the day. Cannabis plants thrive in direct sunlight. One thing you may consider is some supplemental lighting – i.e. one or more grow light bulbs (24 or 36w) – to come on automatically in the early morning, and at the end of the day. These wouldn't be legit photosynthetic lights (i.e. bright enough to mimic the sun), but will help nonetheless.

The other option would be to do an indoor grow.

happy growing!

 

[MikeB1]

Is 20% relative humidity a problem for growing seedlings? That's what my thermometer says is the humidity inside my house.

Hello - shade your seedlings with a piece of white paper or cheesecloth/net curtain on the window, helps to stop them growing sideways too
Yes, burying 1" of stem is commonplace, roots will indeed sprout from the stem
However, If I bury the stem I water mostly from the bottom to avoid the stem staying damp and the risk of rot

Good tips, thanks. I used a piece of white cardboard. Temps during the hottest part of the day are now 28C / 82F or lower

 

[MikeB1]

@Jaz: A bit of a miscommunication there I guess, I wasn't referring to germinating seeds. But thanks for the feedback nonetheless.

Hey @MikeB1 hope you are well my friend.
I fried my 2 beautiful Chronic Thunder in the window.
We got 1 weekend of warm weather in the spring.
31 c outside, my girls roots fried and both died.
I was heartbroken.
Be careful, if you close the curtains it's a sauna.
Even with a piece of cardboard blocking the sun a bit from them.
Too hot for small girls.


Stay safe
Bill284

Hey there Bill284

Ouch, that sounds rough. Thanks, I'll make sure to be very careful with my young plants!

 

[MikeB1]

Hi Mike and welcome to the forum!

This little sprout is looking great! My technique is to sprout in 2" square nursery pots, and let them grow for about 5 days until they are about 3" tall or so. Then I transplant into 1 gal black nursery pots, burying the stem so that only about 1" is showing above the soil. The plants stay in the 1 gal pots until they are ready to be transplanted to the final pot, which is 15 gal fabric pot (smart pot) or 5/6 gal black plastic pot.

In your case, I recommend keeping them indoors until they get more established... maybe about 9" tall. You can keep them under an inexpensive LED grow light, such as a SANSI full-spectrum, 24w, 1830 lumen. Keep the light(s) on from early morning until evening.

Once they have grown to around 9", you could start keeping them outdoors in the full sun, but make sure: a) they are covered from the rain, and b) they are protected from the sun (at low angles) by wrapping the pots in something reflective like white plastic from a feed bag, or reflective plastic bubble material. It helps to also use coco coir as a mulch layer (1-1.5") to protect the soil from the sun's heat and to help retain moisture. If you water properly and allow wet/dry cycle, and don't let the little plants get stressed from too much heat and not enough water, they should do just fine. You should be able to leave them out at night. Misting them with pure water in the early morning will help.

Ideally they should be in a greenhouse, where they can get direct sun for most of the day, but I understand you are putting them on your balcony, and so you're not getting all the sun that's available during the day. Cannabis plants thrive in direct sunlight. One thing you may consider is some supplemental lighting – i.e. one or more grow light bulbs (24 or 36w) – to come on automatically in the early morning, and at the end of the day. These wouldn't be legit photosynthetic lights (i.e. bright enough to mimic the sun), but will help nonetheless.

The other option would be to do an indoor grow.

happy growing!

Thanks for the welcome, cbdhemp808

Lots of great points there, much appreciated

Okay so no putting the plants outside in direct sunlight until they are 9" tall. And protect the pot from heat by surrounding it with reflective material. Will definitely keep that in mind!

I don't know if it would be easy to get coco coir here, but my local hardware store does sell perlite, would that be a good option to cover the top of the soil with it to protect the soil from the sun's heat?

 

[Roy Growin]

Thanks for the welcome, cbdhemp808

Lots of great points there, much appreciated

Okay so no putting the plants outside in direct sunlight until they are 9" tall. And protect the pot from heat by surrounding it with reflective material. Will definitely keep that in mind!

I don't know if it would be easy to get coco coir here, but my local hardware store does sell perlite, would that be a good option to cover the top of the soil with it to protect the soil from the sun's heat?

Mulch would probably be better, perlite is too airy and will dry in minutes

 

[cbdhemp808]

Yeah, I don't think perlite would make a good mulch layer.

Local hardware stores, garden supply, or grow shops sometimes carry coconut coir. You can also type coconut coir blocks into Google, or Amazon, and see what turns up for online ordering. Keep in mind that one block expands about 6-8x the volume when you add water to it. Coir is also a great addition to a custom soil mixture.

If you can't find coir, you could use whatever mulch is available in bags. Dry grass clippings would work, or even hay. Just be sure you are not introducing bugs, or green material that will start to decompose, which might bring in fungus, etc.

 

[Jaz]

Okay so no putting the plants outside in direct sunlight until they are 9" tall. And protect the pot from heat by surrounding it with reflective material. Will definitely keep that in mind!

I don't know if it would be easy to get coco coir here, but my local hardware store does sell perlite, would that be a good option to cover the top of the soil with it to protect the soil from the sun's heat?

I'm not so sure about that. Seedlings I've had love direct sunlight.

I guess check with your plant, if it starts to stretch more that what's usual, increase the light.

protect the pot from heat by surrounding it with reflective material.

The root zone should be 18-25C, you need a certain amount of warmth for microbial activity.

j