Nice looking plant, don't grow autos myself. Plenty of tops, you should get a nice harvest.Hello all!
Quick question...
I have an Early Miss “Auto”from CKS Or so i thought anyways. It has been 66days and still in veg. I am going to switch over the lights soon but I’m concerned about the size now as I didn’t expect to be vegging a plant for this long before a flip... my question is has anyone used topping just before the light change as a method of stretch reduction? And will it cause any problems to top multiple tips before switching to 12/12
Here is a picture of her she was thirsty here so mind the droop
Texas is the worst state to live in, pertaining to growing marijuana !! it's been like that, all my life, (76 years) and I wonder why people stay there ? All my Xs live in Texas !!
I would never use native soil in an indoor grow! Organic compost and inputs to a peat or coco base with plenty of perlite and vermiculite, along with ph adjustment with dolomitic lime and /or other nutrients admendments is good. The better diversified the compost pile the better the quality of the fertilizer and the healthier and happier the beneficial organisms may be! Oak leaves, untreated grass trimmings(without seed heads preferable), garden trimmings, barn/coop litter, even fairly fresh animal manure is great! Don't forget kitchen waste! Just leave out citrus, onions and garlic, as well as any dairy, meat or fish! Dried fish meal ,crab shell meal, alfalfa meal,bone meal and etc may be added, but is better used at the time of mixing the potting mix and planting. Ashes may be added to the compost pile sparingly. A compost pile is best built at least three feet cubic in size. Layering different materials will be mixed when you frequently turn over and mix the pile. If well built and sourced,as well as worked frequently(turning), it will develop high temps and destroy the viability of most weed seeds and insect eggs! It is hard to be old or lazy and have a good compost system! I inoculate my pile with rhizoctonia (oakleaf sponge containing it may be found often in well drained piles of oakleaves in woodlands- it is a very light, mostly decomposed sandwich of leaf and fungal fruiting bodies/hairs all in a mass) and or add it to my potting mix. If using coco base, be sure to use calmag sprays! Using native soil/dirt is likely to have problems. Remember diversify when composting! Composting any single source is not as good in many ways to the life sustaining benefits of good well worked compost! You also can make compost tea and use it to feed and water plants occasionally.
Fungus gnats are more of a problem with grows that are watered too much or with methods that keep the pots and media constantly moist/wet. The Bt , and preventing by covering the pots and/or soil surface is a good idea with those methods. Diatomaceous Earth, nylon panty hoses or other methods to exclude insects is advisable. I have used soap,neem oil and pyrethrin cocktails to knock down thrips, lace bugs, gnats and a few other things,including spider mites,sometimes adding rosemary extract or oil. Prevention is the best thing ,if possible. Additions of poorly composted materials and worm compost is often a source of infestations. Only well composted or cooked compost is safe, most likely! Sanitation ,cleaning and humidity control and more cleaning is the cure.In a similar position to yourself. Am well into flowering on the current grow, and starting to see a few tiny flies on the yellow stick trap. From my GH experience, yup, these little black flies are "fungus gnats". Am using Neem as a soil drench every couple of feeds which seems to keep the buggers under control. These guys have a grub stage in the soil, and, if you have lots, they will eat out the roots. But...you need to have lots for them to be a problem. Best control method for these gnats is Vectobac...a BT prep that is completely human safe and applied a few times as a soil drench.
I think i may have a few more gnats this grow as the soil mix is heavier and more damp than i really like.
But, this is where i am at the moment and all good.
Don't worry about photo periods with auto plants! You never have to switch to 12/12 lighting! Most growers just continue on or go about 18 to 20 hours light to finish with autos. The flowering is automatic,Due to the Ruderalis genes, and will begin at the time that the plants genes makes for it to happen!
You do not have to have control of light intrusions, therefor you don't need a special tent or room,necessarily! Topping auto plants best to be done before they show signs of flowering/sex traits! On many autos this can be as soon as three weeks after the seedling emerges from the soil in your pot! Later topping can reduce the vigor and yield of autos (smaller buds,etc.). I sometimes can get only one topping before the changes or no more than two times topping! Autos,in general, are pre-determined to bloom fast, and any thing that slows them down once the race to mate has begun can not be made up later! LST can be employed to good effect, just be warned about pruning tops as long into a grow as you might with photo period plants!Easy growing, less work,decent fast harvest! That's what autos are all about!
Sorry, Mootah, this was meant for Dutchman' in response to his autos,Early Miss grow and his question about lighting times for autos!
