X Marks the Spot - XLR8's Big Bang Auto Hydro Grow 2011

[Jango]

Hey X! She's a beauty all right!! Sorry to hear about the upcoming surgery but you're going about it all wrong! Here's what you do. First pack yourself a bunch of snacks and treats like you are going camping, some smores, a few brews, of course a nice bag of green, and a sleeping bag. Let work know you're not gonna be in for awhile and then head on down to your grow room and camp out! Stay down there for a week or two and dont leave and your plants will magically heal you!! But seriously good luck with the surgery and everything is looking awesome man!

 

[Aaron Quix]

Quix for bumping the pictures to the next page, and for the kind words.

Actually, she hasn't been topped - topping isn't usually recommended on an auto because auto's are on a timer, so to speak. You can't drag out veg for recovery from topping, and wouldn't see much benefit topping an auto (that's what I'm told, anyway).

I'm learning a lot about the whole autoflower thing. Really seems like it's most important to just avoid anything more than LST, as stress will just limit yield in the end on an auto. There's no such thing as "days in flower" there's just "days". Think of an auto as in flower from day 1, and you don't usually top in flower - at least that's how I think of it (right or wrong). From what I can tell a lot of people frown on even pruning/trimming leaves so I'm just letting her rip ---- au naturale.

Yes - this bucket rocks. I'll definitely give you my 2 cents on it when you want it.

AHEM...yeah I mean, I knew that! Of course you dont top an auto....lol, see, I told you I didnt know much about them. Almost seems common sense now that you spelled it out...She just looks so symetrical, and I'm used to my NL, with their sub-marine colas. Is she very aromatic?

 

[Xlr8]

Hi xlr8.

I was reading back a bit and I missed your feeling bad completely. Sounds like your looking at it in a positive way. That auto you have would put any one in a good mood. It's a crazy feeling being so positive about a grow and facing surgery at the same time. I kinda have the same feeling. My grow is really making me happy and at the same time feeling terrible about my girl Jo.

You don't have to worry about the rest of your grow,. Your wife sounds so cool. She just takes over the hard part and does it all. That's just great.

I hope that the surgery helps you for real and makes life a bit easier on you.

I know that all the work you do on your set up really hurts you. I certainly can relate to that. Try to think of what's coming as a good thing and you will be better for it.

OMM. I sure hope Jo can find some relief. It sounds like she's had it pretty rough. Life always throws ya curveballs. Sometimes, I guess you just gotta roll with it. I was complaining one day about a string of bad luck and my wife said, "this is life - we just have to live it, not wait for it." Somehow that really made me change my way of looking at things. Well... most of the time.

I have to say, my perception of autos is pretty positive so far - but I know you had a much different experience with them. The plant I'm growing would be a perfect size for so many people I think. I think she's pretty much topped out at about 25-26" tall, about 32" wide/around. My wife and I envisioned a bunch of them as shrubs in front of our house.

 

[Xlr8]

Hey X! She's a beauty all right!! Sorry to hear about the upcoming surgery but you're going about it all wrong! Here's what you do. First pack yourself a bunch of snacks and treats like you are going camping, some smores, a few brews, of course a nice bag of green, and a sleeping bag. Let work know you're not gonna be in for awhile and then head on down to your grow room and camp out! Stay down there for a week or two and dont leave and your plants will magically heal you!! But seriously good luck with the surgery and everything is looking awesome man!

Jango. If I thought it would work I'd camp in the tent every night. Smores sound so good right now! Damn, I'm hungry... roasted marshmallows ....

 

[Xlr8]

AHEM...yeah I mean, I knew that! Of course you dont top an auto....lol, see, I told you I didnt know much about them. Almost seems common sense now that you spelled it out...She just looks so symetrical, and I'm used to my NL, with their sub-marine colas. Is she very aromatic?

Hi Quix -

I'm learning on the fly as far as autoflowers too - so we're in this together learning-wise.

I'm glad I did this little experiment, because I got to learn something new, dial-in my environment settings during the most difficult time of the year, break in the grow room and tent, etc. I had a pretty low expectation for yield, but it might not be bad if they keep swelling - it's crazy how I can see the difference day to day in bud mass.

She's not aromatic at all yet, but that might be due in part to my new fan/filter set-up which seems to be really working well.

 

[Xlr8]

This is a pretty cool video of a Big Bang (non auto) grow. Same genetics without the ruderalis in it.

Beautiful plant they grew - still a bush, and kind of looks like mine stature-wise (but on massive steroids!)

I think he says they got a pound out of it.

 

[Xlr8]

Grow Update - Big Bang Auto - Day 68 from seed, Day 33 since HPS switch. (18/6 light cycle start to finish)

Okay, a little news. For the heck of it, I bought a bag of that "Exhale" CO2 product (like OMM just purchased). I hung it in the tent just above the air intake and above plant height. Thought being as the CO2 falls it will be pulled across the plant when fans are on. I will probably start experimenting with timed shut-offs of the fan/filter exhaust to allow some CO2 build-up. If you look closely in the first picture, you can see the Exhale bag hanging there (just above the oscillating fan)...

I also finished putting together my (slightly customized) Flo N Gro hydro system last night, and tested it. Worked flawlessly after a couple minor tweaks and it should be ready to go now once I'm done growing the auto. Big relief to have that done, and I was excited that it all worked as intended.

Really pleased with how well the plant is doing. She's still not producing much odor (maybe the fan/filter is just working that good), but she is continuing to swell noticeably daily, and starting to get more and more frostiness on her buds and sugar leaves.

Happy 4th of July everyone!

 

[Aaron Quix]

Simply...Bad ass!! I love the way she grows man. I'm seeing a larger yield from your one auto than I'll probably get from my whole grow! I'm considering finding a strain I really like, like Jilly Bean, and just running one at a time like that....

 

[Aaron Quix]

Seedfinder says ~42 days from seed to finish though??...

 

[NorCaliwood]

You know one thing bout the auto flowering strains, they don't finish any faster than others. As far as indoors. And another thing that's nice about non auto's is you can call how much a plant ya want. But I see a major plus for peoples growing outside. Imagine planting in spring and finishing in July. Everyone else's plants still be vegging and here your finishing up. Great plants for people who have alot of nosy cops poking around in the woods. One thing most cops don't even start looking for outdoor grows till almost fall when plants are big and have that smell to them. One day I want to grow afew auto's for seed stock. I moved here from Mo. That's one of the hardest states are far as fines or jail time for growing in the USA. But it has a great summer for growing. I mean SUN. Something the PNW don't have.
Well Dude plant looks killer. Mine is putting along. It hasn't been getting as much sun as I hoped for, but It's started putting out some side branching. It won't comp yours but it should flip a oz min. Keepem Green

 

[Xlr8]

Simply...Bad ass!! I love the way she grows man. I'm seeing a larger yield from your one auto than I'll probably get from my whole grow! I'm considering finding a strain I really like, like Jilly Bean, and just running one at a time like that....

It's kinda fun growing just one plant, and it's been perfect for a summer project while I work on getting my new grow room and tent environment tweaked. I LOVE Jilly Bean, but I think I've mentioned that... You know, with limited space one plant and a scrog screen like Marley did is the perfect way to go, imho.

Seedfinder says ~42 days from seed to finish though??...

It should have read ~42 days flowering time, they have it correctly listed in one area as ~6 weeks flowering time, and they have it as seedling to harvest ~42 days in another. It should be ~42 days flowering.

Having said that, I don't think I'm only 9 days from harvesting. Not at all. I feel like I've got a lot more than that, but I also seem to have a pretty sativa leaning pheno - so not sure if that makes a difference or not.

Things move at a little different pace with an auto, and since this is my first I'm a bit out of my comfort zone when it comes to how close to finish I might be...

 

[OldMedMan]

Miss Bush looks great xlr8

Looks like a bit more time to harvest to me......But how long?

Cool on the Exhale.

 

[Xlr8]

You know one thing bout the auto flowering strains, they don't finish any faster than others. As far as indoors. And another thing that's nice about non auto's is you can call how much a plant ya want. But I see a major plus for peoples growing outside. Imagine planting in spring and finishing in July. Everyone else's plants still be vegging and here your finishing up. Great plants for people who have alot of nosy cops poking around in the woods. One thing most cops don't even start looking for outdoor grows till almost fall when plants are big and have that smell to them. One day I want to grow afew auto's for seed stock. I moved here from Mo. That's one of the hardest states are far as fines or jail time for growing in the USA. But it has a great summer for growing. I mean SUN. Something the PNW don't have.
Well Dude plant looks killer. Mine is putting along. It hasn't been getting as much sun as I hoped for, but It's started putting out some side branching. It won't comp yours but it should flip a oz min. Keepem Green

Hey Wood! Yeah, I like your idea as far as at being a good outdoor plant. I'd like to do a stealthy outdoor plant at some point, and an auto does seem perfect for that sort of thing. I think you're on to something with having them harvested before leo even thinks to look for them.

I want to do a stealthy outdoor thing someday, and I'm thinking an auto would be the perfect way to go.

My BBA was pretty slow to get going in veg (though I had some pretty low humidity issues which didn't help), but she took off once she started flowering. I think yours will be just fine - you have a great green thumb and some amazing looking plants. Your plant is definitely in good hands.

I lived in the PNW for several years, and sunshine can get hard to come by there thats for sure. I miss it there, though. I'd love to go back someday.

Have a great 4th!

 

[Xlr8]

Miss Bush looks great xlr8

Looks like a bit more time to harvest to me......But how long?

Cool on the Exhale.

I sure wish I knew how long on the harvest time. I feel clueless, but it should start to look ready first, and it doesn't look that close to me yet.

What the heck on the exhale - cheap enough to experiment with. Does yours look "sweaty" inside?

 

[naphtali5725]

damn XL, that's a sweet looking babe you got there. please try and wait until the buds are completely mature before you harvest, when the trichomes are at the proper colour, so we can see what the potential is for the beautiful plant you have grown.

Since you have done sooo well on your auto,
I have the following beans now
Green House Seeds Green-O-Matic Feminized
World of Seeds Afghan Kush Ryder Autoflowering Feminized

I'm hoping these autos produce well, if anyone has any experience with them, any info would be appreciated.
great job man keep up the great work!

Happy 4th to all!!!

 

[OldMedMan]

I sure wish I knew how long on the harvest time. I feel clueless, but it should start to look ready first, and it doesn't look that close to me yet.

What the heck on the exhale - cheap enough to experiment with. Does yours look "sweaty" inside?

Yep, soon get the old microscope out and check her for real, to me the only real way to check.

No, Buddy mine looked dry. Since I'm in the jump now, I can't tell if it's helping.....but they sure are green. Happy 4th.

 

[Xlr8]

damn XL, that's a sweet looking babe you got there. please try and wait until the buds are completely mature before you harvest, when the trichomes are at the proper colour, so we can see what the potential is for the beautiful plant you have grown.

Since you have done sooo well on your auto,
I have the following beans now
Green House Seeds Green-O-Matic Feminized
World of Seeds Afghan Kush Ryder Autoflowering Feminized

I'm hoping these autos produce well, if anyone has any experience with them, any info would be appreciated.
great job man keep up the great work!

Happy 4th to all!!!

Cool - nice seed purchase!

I was going to grow an Afghan Kush Ryder along with this plant, but I lost it as a seedling when it pushed itself back out of the rapid rooter plug (I forgot to loosen the plug up first). Green-O-Matic sounds interesting for sure. Thanks for the kind words. Oh and you inspired me to recap a couple of thoughts about growing an auto so far...

Have a great 4th!

with the beans!

 

[Xlr8]

Couple of things I've learned/picked-up as far as growing an auto-flower - by no means gospel, just what I've discerned so far:

Because they are on a set schedule, and can't be vegged indefinitely prior to flowering, topping doesn't seem wise. Any benefits from topping would be outweighed by losing time from the clock as the plant recovers.

I'm still not sure how much pruning is appropriate, but I believe large scale pruning would also potentially limit yield due to set schedule and recovery time needed. I'd love someone with more auto experience to weigh-in on that one.

I kept light 18 hours as that's what the breeder recommended, but they do better with 18-20 hours of light during flowering vs. 12 with a standard seed. I switched to HPS light as soon as I saw flowering start and kept the HPS on the same 18/6 schedule I had it on with the MH lamp. I've heard 20/4 recommended by a number of growers for auto-flowers. Again, since there is a limited amount of time for development, maximizing the time you have (in this case with more light) is the way to go.

A scrog (screen of green) seems like it would work good with an auto - or LST training.

Like Norcaliwood suggested, would be great for a quick outdoor that can be harvested by end of July.

 

[Jango]

Hey X! Lookin great buddy! Its good for me that your doing an auto and doing all the work to find out what works best for them so that way when i start mine i dont have to figure it all out lol. Sounds like your at about the same schedule as me for harvest, just a couple more weeks, which seem to be the longest! That was a cool video of the big bang but i found myself watching in horror at how roughly they were handling her! Hahaha im sure the plants can handle it no problem but i treat mine like they're made of glass and those guys were assaulting that poor girl!

 

[RVgrower]

Hey xlr8, on this video on the "Big Bang"...did I hear them say it had the genetics of a Skunk crossed w/ a Northern Lights??? Because that's the 1 I am still growing, it's on day 28 of flowering, & certainly doesn't look that big! Just wondering....hey I harvested all the bag seed plants last week, (6 of them) and did the stem cuts today and jarred the lot of it, got 60 grams right no at start of cure, so we will see, but I know I got a couple )'s outta them anyways, I just pray that it is good enough after the cure.....Now I am "curing it" apparently.....Any tips are appreciated, believe me, I won't get mad...I love hearing others' ideas! I hope you've been well, and I hope you continue to be well also...

This is a pretty cool video of a Big Bang (non auto) grow. Same genetics without the ruderalis in it.

Beautiful plant they grew - still a bush, and kind of looks like mine stature-wise (but on massive steroids!)

I think he says they got a pound out of it.

YouTube - ‪Green House Seed Co Big Bang Grow with Italian Subtitles‬‏