Winging It In Winter By The Window: Soil Auto Grow

[Carmen Ray]

Ive found it happens a lot less if I time the last watering before the uppot around 24 hrs before it goes up. Slides out, straight into a mirrored hole on next pot. Saves a " watering in" post pot placement.

Thank you DV. Do you water the dry soil before the up-pot, or is your plant going into a dry container?

If they are wet, and staying wet, which is common in winter, pot tip. I have an L shaped cut piece of white plumbers pipe (PVC I know it as) 100mm diameter, place it under bottom of pot, and just leave pot on an angle for cpl hours.

I've lifted the bag on top of a roll of duct tape to aerate the underside. I'm glad you suggested that because I was thinking that was an option and wondering about it.

if its mope from uppot and watering its not uncommon. Well not in my grows. I wouldnt be too concerned unless it goes on for more than 36 to 48 hours.

It could be it has been about 48 hours, so hopefully she starts to improve.

Yellow banded rust coloured spots, Calcium def. Classic sign. Be it a tomato, canna, or zucchini etc, shows up in the same coloured pattern.

LOS is great, but not infallible. Given its shown up this early I think its unlikely to resolve itself. Easily turned around.

Should anyone disagree on diagnosis feel free to correct me.

Oh dear, how do I turn this around?

Any how Ill leave it be from there, winter autos accounts for exactly zero of my first hand experience. Thats the whole reason I subbed in to begin with haha.

Well I hope like crazy I can get these plants back on track. Admittedly our winters are relatively mild. We range between upper single digits and into the twenties C. We haven't gone down to single digits yet.

Great idea!!

Fabulous!

I am wondering if I should keep the Lavender Best in a 4L bag until harvest, with no training at all, and crack another seed. I'm running out of time to make mistakes. I have to finish my growing and have it cured and jarred by Nov, when I will have disapproving guests. I won't have another opportunity to grow again until after May next year, as I have disapproving guests in March and April. My weed supply is going to dry up in a couple of months. I need this auto growing to work lol.

Thank you all for troubleshooting with me!

 

[Jon]

Thank you DV. Do you water the dry soil before the up-pot, or is your plant going into a dry container?

I've lifted the bag on top of a roll of duct tape to aerate the underside. I'm glad you suggested that because I was thinking that was an option and wondering about it.

It could be it has been about 48 hours, so hopefully she starts to improve.

Oh dear, how do I turn this around?

Well I hope like crazy I can get these plants back on track. Admittedly our winters are relatively mild. We range between upper single digits and into the twenties C. We haven't gone down to single digits yet.

Fabulous!

I am wondering if I should keep the Lavender Best in a 4L bag until harvest, with no training at all, and crack another seed. I'm running out of time to make mistakes. I have to finish my growing and have it cured and jarred by Nov, when I will have disapproving guests. I won't have another opportunity to grow again until after May next year, as I have disapproving guests in March and April. My weed supply is going to dry up in a couple of months. I need this auto growing to work lol.

Thank you all for troubleshooting with me!

@Carmen Ray, not saying pull the plug on this, but if you have the soil and seeds to begin another auto, and you have a deadline as you mentioned, this is a no brainer. Yes, start one now in a Dixie cup! You'll be able to take everything you've been learning here and get a fresh start, and I bet you do tons better with it. Only takes a few days to get up and running.......my two cents!

 

[Carmen Ray]

When you water, you temporarily displace the air pockets in the medium with low oxygen water so the plant isn't getting oxygen. With strong roots it will absorb some of that water quite quickly pulling down oxygen for the next cycle.

However, if you don't have strong roots the plant can languish a bit. If you can let it dry out it will build stronger roots and be better for the next cycle and get strong with each subsequent one. BUT, if you don't let it dry out, the roots will be weak and spindly and you run the risk of root rot.

So, I would suggest, as hard as it is going to be, that you let that soil dry out. Some breeze over the plant can help, like with a small fan, but you're not trying for wind, just enough to ruffle the leaves a little.

It may take a week or more to fully drain the water and if it does you can  lightly spritz the soil surface with a mister every 3-4 days, but no more good waterings until the cup is dry.

Deficiencies like you are beginning to show can be caused by root damage. The nutrients are there, but the roots can't get them because they're having problems.

So, it will be hard but let them dry out. Your soil has enough nutrients in it that it will recover once the roots do.

Thank you Azi, sorry I got distracted and didn't respond to this. I hear you and I know this to be true. I wish I knew which side I erred on initially ... to dry / too wet. I have a light fan over them constantly and today is quite a hot day so I have the door open, but usually they are sealed off in here to keep the warmth in. I've used the room heater once to raise the temps inside.

@Carmen Ray, not saying pull the plug on this, but if you have the soil and seeds to begin another auto, and you have a deadline as you mentioned, this is a no brainer. Yes, start one now in a Dixie cup! You'll be able to take everything you've been learning here and get a fresh start, and I bet you do tons better with it. Only takes a few days to get up and running.......my two cents!

Thank you Jon. I'll mull it over for a bit and make a decision soon.

 

[Azimuth]

I've lifted the bag on top of a roll of duct tape to aerate the underside.

And just to be clear, I think DV8 is suggesting temporarily tilting the bag to help drain the excess water, and is a technique I agree with. (Not just lifting the entire pot above the ground to get air circulation under it wihich is also a good idea)

"@Carmen Ray, not saying pull the plug on this, but if you have the soil and seeds to begin another auto, and you have a deadline as you mentioned, this is a no brainer. Yes, start one now in a Dixie cup! You'll be able to take everything you've been learning here and get a fresh start, and I bet you do tons better with it. Only takes a few days to get up and running.......my two cents!"

^^^^ This. Do it!

 

[Carmen Ray]

to help drain the excess water

There is no run-off at this stage at all. The bag is just slightly damp to the touch underneath, which is why I raised the whole thing. I misunderstood but it is drying off underneath now. When I stuck the skewer in it came out with damp soil on the lower 2 or so inches, so I must assume that the soil is still wet through. I have to get a battery for my scale and then I will compare a dry full bag to this one weight wise and use that as my guide.

"@Carmen Ray, not saying pull the plug on this, but if you have the soil and seeds to begin another auto, and you have a deadline as you mentioned, this is a no brainer. Yes, start one now in a Dixie cup! You'll be able to take everything you've been learning here and get a fresh start, and I bet you do tons better with it. Only takes a few days to get up and running.......my two cents!"

^^^^ This. Do it!

I'm concerned that I still do not know how to do things correctly and I don't want to rush into another seedling before I understand what I did wrong with these two. I want to wait another few days with this seedling and see where I am first.
Thank you for the encouragement Azi!

 

[BooWho2]

Hi Carmen. So sorry the babies are continuing to struggle. It sounds like you are doing everything you can to help them. I’m curious how many hours of darkness they are getting on a daily basis? Sending positive thoughts to you and them!

 

[Jon]

Hey @Carmen Ray, the Strawberry Banana seed I plunked in the dirt hasn't popped and I'm abandoning it. Which means I'll drop another seed into a shot glass of water right now and sprout it. Once it's ready to hit my starter pot (I use one that's solid but nothing more than a glorified Dixie cup), if you like, I will display for you each and every watering I give the seedling until it's up and solid. I will gladly take pictures of exactly what I do in terms of watering and tag you on each picture, with dates and all that. Would that help? I'm not saying I'm the be all end all of getting sprouts up, but my track record is pretty solid. I've never displayed the exact watering step by step for like 18 days in a row, but I will. Maybe someone else who is having a hard time with early watering will benefit from it too. It's the very early watering part, the getting them off the ground, that you seem to be having the hardest time with, and I get that completely, it's tricky till you figure it out. Okay? I'll drop the seed now and begin when it hits the dirt.

 

[Carmen Ray]

Hi Carmen. So sorry the babies are continuing to struggle. It sounds like you are doing everything you can to help them. I’m curious how many hours of darkness they are getting on a daily basis? Sending positive thoughts to you and them!

Thank you Boo. I'm giving them light 24 / 7. The only time they go dark is when we have electricity outages. There've been about three in the life of Caramel King and one in the life of Lavender Best. The outages last 2.5 hours at a time. Thank you for the positive thoughts

Hey @Carmen Ray, the Strawberry Banana seed I plunked in the dirt hasn't popped and I'm abandoning it. Which means I'll drop another seed into a shot glass of water right now and sprout it. Once it's ready to hit my starter pot (I use one that's solid but nothing more than a glorified Dixie cup), if you like, I will display for you each and every watering I give the seedling until it's up and solid. I will gladly take pictures of exactly what I do in terms of watering and tag you on each picture, with dates and all that. Would that help? I'm not saying I'm the be all end all of getting sprouts up, but my track record is pretty solid. I've never displayed the exact watering step by step for like 18 days in a row, but I will. Maybe someone else who is having a hard time with early watering will benefit from it too. It's the very early watering part, the getting them off the ground, that you seem to be having the hardest time with, and I get that completely, it's tricky till you figure it out. Okay? I'll drop the seed now and begin when it hits the dirt.

Thank you for the kind offer Jon. What medium will you grow in, and is it an autoflower? From my experience of growing in coco-perlite is that it drains faster and dries faster than soil. This is the first time I am having watering issues since my first attempt at window weed 3 years ago and the first time I am having difficulty starting plants off. It is also the first time I am growing autos.... and the first time under a light. A lot is new. I think a journal of that nature will be very helpful indeed but will it be relevant to a soil grow?

 

[Jon]

Thank you Boo. I'm giving them light 24 / 7. The only time they go dark is when we have electricity outages. There've been about three in the life of Caramel King and one in the life of Lavender Best. The outages last 2.5 hours at a time. Thank you for the positive thoughts

Thank you for the kind offer Jon. What medium will you grow in, and is it an autoflower? From my experience of growing in coco-perlite is that it drains faster and dries faster than soil. This is the first time I am having watering issues since my first attempt at window weed 3 years ago and the first time I am having difficulty starting plants off. It is also the first time I am growing autos.... and the first time under a light. A lot is new. I think a journal of that nature will be very helpful indeed but will it be relevant to a soil grow?

@Carmen Ray:

No I'll do it the way you are on purpose, that was already the plan. Can't grow in coco in the used furniture rig, any plant would outgrow it in three weeks in coco. It's exactly this in terms of the already prepped pot, which is smaller than a gallon, closer to a half gallon (pictured):

- FF Ocean Forest/FF Happy Frog/perlite #3 at 40/40/20%
- GeoFlora Veg nutes, about 2 tbsp.
- Bokashi, about 4 tbsp.
- Frass, about 4 tbsp.
- DYNOMYCO, about 1/4 of a packet
- Great White, just a generous sprinkling mixed in with the everything

That's all you need to start. All of that is thoroughly mixed together. I start with it mixed like that. When I up pot I layer it a la @Bill284, but for the Dixies or starter pots I like to mix it all together. Just a Jon thing, but it's also easier than "layering" a Dixie cup, which makes me feel silly. Lol.

I activate the pot with water/FF Microbe Brew/Blue Planet Easy Weed Seaweed Supplement/FF Kelp Me Kelp You. I do this about four or five days before the sprout hits the dirt in a perfect world. To activate I just soak it without any runoff. By the time the seed is ready for it, it's plenty dryish. I keep it outside so the microbes stay nice and warm in the sun, and water it lightly if it dries out all the way until the seed hits.

That's exactly the prep, and pretty much mirrors your situation. Oh yeah, and YES, it's an auto. We'll try the Pluto Runtz from Ethos. It's a pre release, a cross between Pluto OG x Runtz. That's about all there is about it.

Cool? Am I close enough to make it pretty relevant to what you have going on?

 

[Jon]

Sorry @Carmen Ray, forgot the pot pics. Here you go.

 

[Azimuth]

Can't grow in coco in the used furniture rig, any plant would outgrow it in three weeks in coco.

Welcome to my world.

 

[Carmen Ray]

@Carmen Ray:

No I'll do it the way you are on purpose, that was already the plan. Can't grow in coco in the used furniture rig, any plant would outgrow it in three weeks in coco. It's exactly this in terms of the already prepped pot, which is smaller than a gallon, closer to a half gallon (pictured):

- FF Ocean Forest/FF Happy Frog/perlite #3 at 40/40/20%
- GeoFlora Veg nutes, about 2 tbsp.
- Bokashi, about 4 tbsp.
- Frass, about 4 tbsp.
- DYNOMYCO, about 1/4 of a packet
- Great White, just a generous sprinkling mixed in with the everything

That's all you need to start. All of that is thoroughly mixed together. I start with it mixed like that. When I up pot I layer it a la @Bill284, but for the Dixies or starter pots I like to mix it all together. Just a Jon thing, but it's also easier than "layering" a Dixie cup, which makes me feel silly. Lol.

I activate the pot with water/FF Microbe Brew/Blue Planet Easy Weed Seaweed Supplement/FF Kelp Me Kelp You. I do this about four or five days before the sprout hits the dirt in a perfect world. To activate I just soak it without any runoff. By the time the seed is ready for it, it's plenty dryish. I keep it outside so the microbes stay nice and warm in the sun, and water it lightly if it dries out all the way until the seed hits.

That's exactly the prep, and pretty much mirrors your situation. Oh yeah, and YES, it's an auto. We'll try the Pluto Runtz from Ethos. It's a pre release, a cross between Pluto OG x Runtz. That's about all there is about it.

Cool? Am I close enough to make it pretty relevant to what you have going on?

Thank you very much Jon. I will follow along and watch how you do it. It would be great to see how much water you add to the soil, and when. I have a cup wet from yesterday because I was using that to weigh against my seedling's cup. I wet it to run-off though. I will put it under the light and weigh it over the next few days to see how quickly it dries off. What size will you up-pot to?
Ethos strains are awesome. I grew an Inzane In The Membrane last year, but that was a clone I revegged. It is one of the best and most distinctive strains I have smoked / vaped.

 

[Jon]

Thank you very much Jon. I will follow along and watch how you do it. It would be great to see how much water you add to the soil, and when. I have a cup wet from yesterday because I was using that to weigh against my seedling's cup. I wet it to run-off though. I will put it under the light and weigh it over the next few days to see how quickly it dries off. What size will you up-pot to?
Ethos strains are awesome. I grew an Inzane In The Membrane last year, but that was a clone I revegged. It is one of the best and most distinctive strains I have smoked / vaped.

No sweat Carmen. One of our differences in watering is, you won't see me get the entire pot wet for a couple weeks. Why wet the very outside when there's no roots there and they're still too far away to be affected by it? I water where the plant actually is. I project where the roots are. That's easy enough, they usually basically mirror the above ground part. Until I have a few sets of regular leaves, I won't water to run off nor will I feed. Just water, and you will likely be surprised at how little. They won't get fed anything until day 13 above ground, when they'll get a Geo veg feeding, then every 13 days in veg it'll get repeated (I shave one day off the Geo feed schedule every feed, ie 13 instead of 14 days between feedings). By about two sets of leaves it's time to water the whole medium when I water, and then I begin the real wet dry cycle that will remain that way for almost the entirety of veg. We'll up pot her when she's ready, but that won't be til around day 18-21. She'll almost undoubtedly get topped and training begun before I up pot. When it's time, she'll go in a 5. I prefer a 7, but in the furniture rig a five is about max. The Zkittlez is in a 3. (ugh....3s....what a waste of time).

That's the basic plan, sound comparable to your deal, or close enough to be relevant? I think it will have a little value to you, least I hope.

 

[Carmen Ray]

No sweat Carmen. One of our differences in watering is, you won't see me get the entire pot wet for a couple weeks. Why wet the very outside when there's no roots there and they're still too far away to be affected by it? I water where the plant actually is. I project where the roots are. That's easy enough, they usually basically mirror the above ground part. Until I have a few sets of regular leaves, I won't water to run off nor will I feed. Just water, and you will likely be surprised at how little. They won't get fed anything until day 13 above ground, when they'll get a Geo veg feeding, then every 13 days in veg it'll get repeated (I shave one day off the Geo feed schedule every feed, ie 13 instead of 14 days between feedings). By about two sets of leaves it's time to water the whole medium when I water, and then I begin the real wet dry cycle that will remain that way for almost the entirety of veg. We'll up pot her when she's ready, but that won't be til around day 18-21. She'll almost undoubtedly get topped and training begun before I up pot. When it's time, she'll go in a 5. I prefer a 7, but in the furniture rig a five is about max. The Zkittlez is in a 3. (ugh....3s....what a waste of time).

That's the basic plan, sound comparable to your deal, or close enough to be relevant? I think it will have a little value to you, least I hope.

Thank you Jon. I have not got the entire pot wet until now, which is 3.5 weeks above ground after up-potting to the final 20 L pot. I have watered as per your description from the beginning, and my concern is that I may have allowed the solo cup and big pot to become too dry in my efforts not to over-water. Yesterday was the first time I wet my bigger girl's pot to run-off. As I say, I look forward to watching how you do things. It will be comparable and relevant yes. I am sure you will help many people with an instruction manual if it has photographs and concise descriptions. I didn't have any of these issues with photoperiod plants, so it is quite upsetting for me to see these plants so unhappy. And I have had three dud seeds so far too. I have never before had difficulty sprouting I am still holding out for a recovery.

 

[BooWho2]

I'm giving them light 24 / 7.

I generally give them light 24/7 until they sprout. After that 18/6 until harvest. Do you think that they may be getting too much light? I’ve read here several times that roots grow during the dark period. Just a thought.

 

[Carmen Ray]

Sorry @Jon I am a little on edge. My son is leaving town tomorrow and I am utterly gutted. Then I look at my plants and their appearance mirrors my mood. I have to take a step back and wait a bit. I feel grateful for every bit of advice and encouragement that is offered here. I will definitely follow your journal and watch your technique, thank you. Sorry I am not being happy and excited about the idea of doing a grow at the same time. I really do appreciate the opportunity. I need to figure out what I have done wrong before I make another plant. I'm rambling and I don't know what to say. I can be unintentionally blunt or rude I have been told. Sorry.

 

[HashGirl]

Sorry @Jon I am a little on edge. My son is leaving town tomorrow and I am utterly gutted. Then I look at my plants and their appearance mirrors my mood. I have to take a step back and wait a bit. I feel grateful for every bit of advice and encouragement that is offered here. I will definitely follow your journal and watch your technique, thank you. Sorry I am not being happy and excited about the idea of doing a grow at the same time. I really do appreciate the opportunity. I need to figure out what I have done wrong before I make another plant. I'm rambling and I don't know what to say. I can be unintentionally blunt or rude I have been told. Sorry.

 

[Carmen Ray]

I generally give them light 24/7 until they sprout. After that 18/6 until harvest. Do you think that they may be getting too much light? I’ve read here several times that roots grow during the dark period. Just a thought.

Thank you Boo. I am getting my nickers in a twist atm. I'm pretty sure it was @InTheShed who said to go 24 / 7 if my electric bill could handle it. I have faith in Shed to nth when it comes to his weed growing suggestions and now I am torn because you and he have a different view about the hours of light (God I hope I am remembering correctly Shed... my memory is not what it used to be).

 

[Trala]

Sorry @Jon I am a little on edge. My son is leaving town tomorrow and I am utterly gutted. Then I look at my plants and their appearance mirrors my mood. I have to take a step back and wait a bit. I feel grateful for every bit of advice and encouragement that is offered here. I will definitely follow your journal and watch your technique, thank you. Sorry I am not being happy and excited about the idea of doing a grow at the same time. I really do appreciate the opportunity. I need to figure out what I have done wrong before I make another plant. I'm rambling and I don't know what to say. I can be unintentionally blunt or rude I have been told. Sorry.

Carmen my advice, not that you asked lol, is in relation to your son.

When my son was 21 he planned to move out. I helped him save for a bond and started collecting household bits and pieces.

When the time came I was devastated. My son is my truest purest love. He has been with me since I was 17. And for a good while he was my only reason for living, literally. I really struggled to comprehend how my life would continue without him in it every morning to greet me.

For a week I cried in waking. I was broken hearted. Then I started to realise, there was no empty milk containers left carelessly in the fridge, my loose change jar still had money in it, there was still food in my pantry, my laundry no longer overflowed, in essence he’d been ruining my life! Money sucking food munching dirty laundry machine he is lol.

Grieve what was, but I’m here on the other side. I can tell you, I started to live for me. For my happiness. I started studying nursing, I focused on improving my fitness, I cooked healthier meals and I enjoyed the extra money. In fact within two years of him moving out I was able to save $30k, and put a super small deposit down on my first ever house.

It’s your time Carmen. We are birds, our babies always need to leave our nests. Our role is to build them up, for a life that will at times knock them down. This isn’t the end. This is a new beginning.

My baby boy is 32 this year, and he now has a woman and two baby birds of his own. This new grandmother stage of my life is turning out to be my favourite stage.

Sending you a big hug!

 

[BooWho2]

Thank you Boo. I am getting my nickers in a twist atm. I'm pretty sure it was @InTheShed who said to go 24 / 7 if my electric bill could handle it. I have faith in Shed to nth when it comes to his weed growing suggestions and now I am torn because you and he have a different view about the hours of light (God I hope I am remembering correctly Shed... my memory is not what it used to be).

I agree with faith in @InTheShed so you do what he said! I'm sorry you are stressing. Deep breath. Things will work out.