Winging It In Winter By The Window: Soil Auto Grow

[BooWho2]

I want to pinch those cheeks lolololol...

... ok so I am back and weighed the cups. The dry one weighed 167.7 g and the planted one 299.9 g. That's a big difference. I wonder what the puck, and plant weigh. If most of that additional weight is water then I will just check everyday until it weighs under 200g I guess. Would that be about right do you think? ::embarrassed face emoji::

Also, while I am thinking about it, I have been looking at a LOT of journals and have become a bit overwhelmed with new info and kind of confused. Would you up-pot your autos into 1 gal (4 L) bags before they went into their final homes, or go straight from solo cup to 20 Litres?

I have some 4 L bags prepared but am not sure if the autos have the time for more than one up-potting if topped and repotted at the early signs of flower? If I recall correctly, @BooWho2, you said they go from cup to final pot in your grows, is that right?
Please will any interested auto growers weigh in on this

Hey Carmen. You are correct, I transfer from solo cup to the final pot once they start to show flower (and top them at the same time).

 

[Jon]

You can do it with a scale or by feel. I think you should get used to it by feel so that you don't have start weighing big bags of wet soil!

What Jon said! The only reason to go to larger and larger pots is to make watering easier. The bigger the pot the more precise the watering until it fills that pot with roots. As long as you water correctly, moving to the final size will minimize stress on the plant.

That's four cents now!

Thanks Shed, and Carmen, not to mention that it would be next to impossible to fill three containers in the veg time available with an auto. In about a month they will be directing their energy to bud production, not root production as they are in veg. Thus, you want to max the available time. So what Shed said, to do it once and carefully water once you up pot to the final home (please say it's a five, at least, and not a three?) so that you build the roots out just like you would in a smaller container. If it helps, just draw a trough with your finger around the outermost circumference of the plants leaves. You'll have a moat around the plant with land inside. Now, when you water, water in the moat and OUT, NOT INSIDE the moat. Do that consistently. Keep widening your moat as the plants circumference grows, and you will have a lovely rootball. You got this!

 

[Carmen Ray]

don't up pot until you have a real rootball

Thank you Jon. Your plants are stunners and so your advice is appreciated every time. I take a lot on board.

You can do it with a scale or by feel. I think you should get used to it by feel so that you don't have start weighing big bags of wet soil!

Thank you Shed. I was interested to see the difference in numbers because the cup weighs so little. I will definitely have to get used to the feel of it, you're quite right.

As long as you water correctly, moving to the final size will minimize stress on the plant.

Hey Carmen. You are correct, I transfer from solo cup to the final pot once they start to show flower (and top them at the same time).

Ok that's good. I am going to take this approach methinks. Thanks!

it's a five,

Yes, I think 5 gal is close to 20 L, which is what I have prepared. I like your idea of drawing a moat.

 

[DV8]

Also, while I am thinking about it, I have been looking at a LOT of journals and have become a bit overwhelmed with new info and kind of confused.

Its a trap. Awesome resource here, great people, thousands of pages of dedicated grow material.

What youve done below is perfect, especially with the calibre of your audience, in asking 'What do you think ?'

Also, in doing so, others get to see the answer when they have the same or similar question.

Would you up-pot your autos into 1 gal (4 L) bags before they went into their final homes, or go straight from solo cup to 20 Litres?

Case in point I wanted to know myself. Glad you asked.

Still following along from the back row, something satisfying about watching along with someone who speaks in metric, and is a few weeks ahead. Im cheering your girls on. Well you too of course!

 

[Carcass]

I have some 4 L bags prepared but am not sure if the autos have the time for more than one up-potting

This probably doesn't matter, but I wanted to mention that up-potting from a 1 gallon fabric pot is something of a pain in the butt- I only did it once, with my GSC, but I won't be doing it again.
And my autos go from solo cup to their final home...if you did choose to go to a 1 gallon first, they'd only be in there for about a week, so it's not even worth doing- in my opinion...
just my 2 cents...

 

[Carmen Ray]

Its a trap. Awesome resource here, great people, thousands of pages of dedicated grow material.

What youve done below is perfect, especially with the calibre of your audience, in asking 'What do you think ?'

Also, in doing so, others get to see the answer when they have the same or similar question.

Case in point I wanted to know myself. Glad you asked.

Still following along from the back row, something satisfying about watching along with someone who speaks in metric, and is a few weeks ahead. Im cheering your girls on. Well you too of course!

Hey Deev, it is a warren lol. Nice to see you.
I feel that this platform (420 Mag), is brimming with some of the best minds and green fingers in the grow biz. I am very fortunate that I have met such a nice group of folks on this site, who are on top of their game, and are willing to pop in and join the conversation, answer questions, and cheer each other along, giving of their time and expertise.
Metric makes sense

 

[InTheShed]

Just saw a meme where someone looks at the camera and says, "Americans don't understand metric? I've got a 9mm and 6g of weed in my pocket!"

 

[Carmen Ray]

This probably doesn't matter, but I wanted to mention that up-potting from a 1 gallon fabric pot is something of a pain in the butt- I only did it once, with my GSC, but I won't be doing it again.
And my autos go from solo cup to their final home...if you did choose to go to a 1 gallon first, they'd only be in there for about a week, so it's not even worth doing- in my opinion...
just my 2 cents...

Thank you Carcass. Your opinion certainly does matter a great deal. I remember reading your comments about up-potting in your journal earlier. I noted that and I'm glad to have discovered there seems to be consensus about this. I can't remember where I saw someone up-potting more than once. I'm very glad not to have to do that.

 

[Skottelgoed Spons]

Hi Azi, I'm sorry I didn't respond properly earlier. You're right I was concerned that the roots may have been feeling a bit drowned from possible slight over-watering. The roots are growing in all directions now. It's great to see. Check them out in the pic. Are they happy looking roots?

I was thinking that growth would stall and she may droop if thirsty and that I could tell from her condition if she needed a drink. I don't remember the weight before the puck and then the water went in. My eye is not practiced enough to know if the soil has dried. Can you tell from the pic by any chance?

A breach birth and into icu, her cotys are starting to face the light now, so by all appearances this plant will continue to improve.... don't want to count my chickens before they hatch but it's looking good so far.

Oh yes!

Thanks BK I love to hear encouraging anecdotes about growing through adversity. This is what mine was doing, the root was almost poking through the peat when I spotted it, and the cotyledons were at a sideways angle. Interesting, the other one was born with it's seed still attached and that I removed with the tip of a barbeque stick. Last year a locust almost annihilated an older seedling that I'd already put in its hole in the ground, literally leaving a stalk with a tiny bit of leaf, and within a few months she gave me a beautiful crop.

Thank you for stopping by, folks


Now for some photos of the newborn and the infant.

Day 10 AG (above ground) - Caramel King
She's growing so she's eating. My guts tell me that I need to water and I know that is a terribly unreliable method of discerning facts lol... please look at the roots and the soil and tell me if you think there is still enough moisture in there, or whether I should syringe some more down the sides.

Day 2 AG - NBA Diesel (that's my guess but we will only know at the end)
So happy to see the cotys pulling themselves up and open towards the light.

Have a groovy day

She is saying hello to mama! Looking good carmen. Nice root formation in the solo cups. Going to be a good grow can see it already

 

[Jon]

Just saw a meme where someone looks at the camera and says, "Americans don't understand metric? I've got a 9mm and 6g of weed in my pocket!"

You're allowed to carry concealed weed there? What about semi-auto or fully-auto weed, is that legal there too? Lol!

 

[Jon]

Thank you Carcass. Your opinion certainly does matter a great deal. I remember reading your comments about up-potting in your journal earlier. I noted that and I'm glad to have discovered there seems to be consensus about this. I can't remember where I saw someone up-potting more than once. I'm very glad not to have to do that.

He's so right, that's why I use plastic for all my first containers. Try getting a plant out of a 3 that's fabric and into a 7. Damn near impossible.

 

[Jon]

This probably doesn't matter, but I wanted to mention that up-potting from a 1 gallon fabric pot is something of a pain in the butt- I only did it once, with my GSC, but I won't be doing it again.
And my autos go from solo cup to their final home...if you did choose to go to a 1 gallon first, they'd only be in there for about a week, so it's not even worth doing- in my opinion...
just my 2 cents...

Hey @Carcass, I figured out a good trick this grow about that. I had to uppot from 3 to 7 for two plants. All fabric pots. I never did it before. On the first one I struggled mightily and ended up cutting the pot away from the root ball, lol. But that cost me a pot. So on the second one, actually with @InTheShed's root pruning tutorial in mind, (this taught me the roots can get hammered and the plant will be fine) I took a long bread knife and ran it top to bottom in the 3, right along the edge of the pot on the inside, obviously, and simply cut all the little fibrous roots that are clinging to the fabric and trying to bust through and keeping the plant in the pot. Ran the knife blade right around the pot against the edge, flat to the side of the pot, and after that she popped out WAY easier. For what it's worth!

 

[Carmen Ray]

NBAD - Day 3 AG
Hi friends, I moved my new little sprout into a solo cup because the peat puck was not doing it any favors. The tap root was tiny and I don't know if it will grow out of its runtiness. I syringed water and myccoryzae into the bone dry soil around the outer periphery but also a tiny bit near the root, because the peat puck had fallen apart. This is the sprout that began it's life tap root up. In two days this is the growth.... not great but where there is life there is hope right.

This is 2 days ago

I took a long bread knife and ran it top to bottom in the 3, right along the edge of the pot on the inside, obviously, and simply cut all the little fibrous roots that are clinging to the fabric and trying to bust through and keeping the plant in the pot.

top tip! Thanks Jon

Thanks to those of you who are stopping by to advise and encourage!

 

[Jon]

NBAD - Day 3 AG
Hi friends, I moved my new little sprout into a solo cup because the peat puck was not doing it any favors. The tap root was tiny and I don't know if it will grow out of its runtiness. I syringed water and myccoryzae into the bone dry soil around the outer periphery but also a tiny bit near the root, because the peat puck had fallen apart. This is the sprout that began it's life tap root up. In two days this is the growth.... not great but where there is life there is hope right.

This is 2 days ago

top tip! Thanks Jon

Thanks to those of you who are stopping by to advise and encourage!

It does seem that peat puck to soil thing you did is causing some issues. Maybe next time it might be a good idea to try starting one in the soil/Dixie cup itself rather than a peat puck?

 

[Carmen Ray]

It does seem that peat puck to soil thing you did is causing some issues. Maybe next time it might be a good idea to try starting one in the soil/Dixie cup itself rather than a peat puck?

Thanks Jon. This is the first issue I have had with a seed in a peat puck though. I think they are usually very handy for starting seeds off. The issue was that this seed grew in the wrong direction. I wouldn't necessarily blame the peat puck though. I transferred it because the peat puck broke apart and exposed the tap root, but that was after I had fiddled with it, after the root had grown out the top and I had turned it back right side up

 

[Jon]

Thanks Jon. This is the first issue I have had with a seed in a peat puck though. I think they are usually very handy for starting seeds off. The issue was that this seed grew in the wrong direction. I wouldn't necessarily blame the peat puck though. I transferred it because the peat puck broke apart and exposed the tap root, but that was after I had fiddled with it, after the root had grown out the top and I had turned it back right side up

Cool. Well, just a thought. Another would be to bury the peat puck as your up potting to the Dixie cup.

 

[Carmen Ray]

Cool. Well, just a thought. Another would be to bury the peat puck as your up potting to the Dixie cup.

That's right. I usually do that. However, the seed germinated upside down and the peat puck fell apart, which is why it was not included in the transplant this time. The idea is to remove the fabric that surrounds the peat and up-pot to the cup once the taproot has gained some ground. This is to remove impediments to root growth. In this case things didn't go as planned and the peat puck was damaged trying to save the sprout from killing itself. It's still alive

 

[Jon]

That's right. I usually do that. However, the seed germinated upside down and the peat puck fell apart, which is why it was not included in the transplant this time. The idea is to remove the fabric that surrounds the peat and up-pot to the cup once the taproot has gained some ground. This is to remove impediments to root growth. In this case things didn't go as planned and the peat puck was damaged trying to save the sprout from killing itself. It's still alive

I gotcha. So odd that it grew upside down. Did you plant the sprout seed head down, stem up? Even then I would expect it to make a turn and come up normally. Very strange and a new one to me.

 

[Carmen Ray]

I gotcha. So odd that it grew upside down. Did you plant the sprout seed head down, stem up? Even then I would expect it to make a turn and come up normally. Very strange and a new one to me.

The tap root was poking out of the soil at the top by a couple of millimeters. I think it may have just died if I'd left it. because the taproot was exposed to light and air and the cotyledons were underground in a damp peat puck. We'll see what happens in the next day or two. If it doesn't recover I will go with different seed stock but I want to get two grows in before October. That is my goal and hope.

 

[InTheShed]

I lay my seeds on their sides in the peat because there is so much confusion about which way to plant it! I've never had a tap root go the wrong way.

I do put them down a bit farther than some folks though, but I'm not all that scientific about the depth.