The Garden of Weeden

[BigDaddyDrew]

My first grow diary; online no less…

so I’m running a 4x8 tent and have a goal of a harvest every couple weeks more or less. I plan on doing this with autoflowers, and think I just need to start seeds every couple of weeks and see how it goes.

So I started 5 skywalkerOG autos in my garage sept 20th… Over the next serveral days I did the research and ordered up my kit, from pots, to tent, to lights, fan --soil the whole shebang… I blew about a grand on everything- including the seeds.

so heres what I got

20 pots ( 10each0 3 gal square, 3 gal airpot style)
soil-- more on that later

5 skwalker og autoflowers seeds
16 blackjack autoflower seeds
4 bluberry autoflower seeds

4x8 tent (hydrocrush)
6 in vent fan kit from vivosun w controller
circ fan- also from vivosun

phlizon 450w quantum board led
200 w viper spectra light also quantum board
both lights are dimable and work with the controller.

4lbs tomatone ferilizer
8 lbs flowergirl fertilizer
cal mag, epsom salts, baking soda.
2 cheapo ph multi testers
1 pair snips.

All this came together and got set up in my basement within a few days of the seeds comming up…
It’s in NJ, so we get the full effects of all 4 seasons…

[Crafty_Flame]

Sounds good! Keep us posted. Autoflowers are a great no fuss grow

[lefthandseeds]

[Gpaw]

Nice big tent!

One document I’d suggest having a look at is BOG’s ‘Bonanza of Green’
He details his perpetual harvest system and best of all it’s a free PDF download.

Cheers
G

[BigDaddyDrew]

thanks I’m going to check it out!

[BigDaddyDrew]

My most advanced girls…

Still trying to solve this yellowing issue

[JustANobody]

You’ve made some changes and if they work out you probably won’t notice much change for about a week.

[BigDaddyDrew]

Ahhh… man… I’ve made so many changes over the last week I’ll never know for sure what worked and what didn’t… The temps could be it-- but I’m also thinking I may have some low PH issues, I’ve dosed some pots with baking soda water, and top dressed some lime-- not seeing anything different in those pots after about a week-- but everything seems to be improving, ever so slightly, but improving… Another interesting thing Im not seeing is any sign that I’m getting close to flower- or even preflower-- so I’m wondering just how stunted my crop is?! Dunno if that a good thing or a bad thing in the auto’s-- But my best plants are raising up cola’s pretty qwik the last few days- so I think at least im growing again… I checked out you grow-- amazing! hope I can get to half of that!

[JustANobody]

So typically in organic soil you don’t really need to adjust ph and can end up chasing your tail when you just “throw stuff at the wall to see what sticks”. I don’t grow autos really but I would assume they are extremely stunted and delayed. I think photoperiod is better for beginners because you can control when the plant flowers. If these were photos you could get them healthy and then flip to flower, but my best guess is they will probably start to flower immediately once they improve their health and it will result in a lower yield. The good news is you should learn a lot if you can turn them around and next round should be smoother.

[BigDaddyDrew]

I’m starting to agree with you more and more… I ran a temp probe into the shadows down beneath my pots, I did it yesterday-- and this afternoon I got a temp alarm- it hit 60 degrees… the thermometer I put on the floor in the middle of the basement has been a steady 64. but that first inch of the floor may have it’s own little micro climate right there… … I was worried about things getting too hot-- never really thought that the 60’s might be too cold… We’re in that in between weather where the furnace only comes on sporadically, so I may need to think about how to add a little steady heat going forward…
I have all the gear I could need for that, humidifiers, dehumidifyers, small heaters etc… back from when my kids were small(er). I’m hoping that once the heat starts running regularly a new warmer ambient may emerge… otherwise I guess a small heater goes into the tent-- but hard to imagine how that won’t overheat the space. How do you do it in winter?

[JustANobody]

I use a 2x2 heat mat in my Veg tent, and I keep the heat on like 60 in the basement and put the air intakes where the hot air blows out. Does a pretty good job. Wood stove is our main heat source but we have an oil burner to help with the extremities and basement. Some people use an oil filled heater in their tents. My flower light keeps it atleast mid 70s lights on which is nice. Where are you exhausting your air?

[BigDaddyDrew]

I was splitting a few logs today-just a fireplace in this house, but I spent many winters feeding a woodstove .

Heated floor-- heat mat-- great idea… I’ve been looking into optimal root temps-- and I believe you were/are spot on with whats wrong with my grow. Im getting info that suggests roots should be in the 70’s 70-74 being ideal… Im pretty far out of that range…
I have a 6 inch carbon filter in the tent (smell is an issue) and just exhaust into the basement outside the tent…I am hoping that that will keep doing the job of odor control all the way through… My house is a split level so its kinda a shallow basement, and the door to get down there is in near my front door- don’t really want to smell any weed by the front door…

[JustANobody]

If possible I’d really try to vent outside. Grows just seem to run better that way.

[BigDaddyDrew]

Wow- that one is a doozy. I can do it- but I think it would be crazy to run a 6 inch vent to the outside from the basement of my house-- just pump heated air outside in winter??? If I could pump it into my garage? I’d feel better about it…but thats alot of work…so. we may have to see how this goes first…

[BigDaddyDrew]

The improvement seems real…growth is better than ever right now… I see a big difference in the pots that were hit with a spoon full of lime… My temps are way up to a happy root temp of 73…hope things stay this way…

[BigDaddyDrew]

So things have moved right into flower with the big girls…hit them with some bud and bloom…tried a bit to let in more light and hoping for the best…

I have 4 backjack autoflower seeds left— 12 plants growing…anyone want to trade ? Think I could use some variety.

[Going2fast]

Looks like they are trying to recover but once an auto is stunted it will never fully recover. I agree that you should have gone with photos for your first try as they are much more forgiving.
You say your growing on a basement floor in winter? Go to your local hardware store and get a 4x8 piese of 2" rigid foam insulation and put your tent on top of it. A heating mat is a great idea to get those temps up. You want 70 to 80 constantly.
You never mentioned your soil type but 3 gallons isn’t enough to buffer water for long. You need to keep your ph between 6 and 7. I would recommend adding dolomite lime to the bottom 2/3 of the soil in the container at about 2 tablespoons per gallon. Don’t add anything to the top third. Seedlings don’t need much their first few weeks. I would also add a tablespoon per gallon of generic 10 10 10 garden fertilizer to the bottom two thirds. This should get you into flower without anything more than Ph balanced water.
I’m a fan of wetting the entire planter a day before planting the seed and do not water for at least two weeks. This forces the roots to fill out the planter.
You are on your way. I’d be happy to send you some auto seeds just not blue cakes. She’s very limited supply and I’m looking for more experienced growers to run her. Pm me your deets.

[BigDaddyDrew]

Thanks for the advice- Ther’s just so much to learn here!

… I’m off the floor, up about 6 inches- and I do have some insulation under the tent, I’m considering moving higher, and maybe adding heat undeneath… for now I’ve taken steps to stabilize temps, mostly some heat outside the tent-- so the intakes grab warmer dry air. I’ve also set the probe at plant level now ( actually top of the soil height) My temps are 68-77…avg 74.5 now.

My soil- I thought I wrote it up somewhere–its a rich live soil, light, drains well yet stays moist for a bit… I think it’s working – my younger plants and seedlings seem to be thriving… Thanks for the lime dosage, I was looking for something like that , I amended about 8-10 pots worth with 1 cup of lime- (16 TBS I think) so I think the ratio is about the same ( but that is throughout the pot).( not dolomitic)

I’ve been top dressing tomato- tone once a week (1tbs per pot) after 3 weeks, and switch to flower girl around week 6? (when I see preflower)… I have soil for another 4-6 pots- and would like to plant them in about 2 weeks-- new seedlings comming up now-- I’m trying to keep this going as a small scale perpetual- say 4-5 plants every 2 weeks or so. I only have the one tent ( and a dry tent) for now- so working out the bugs with autos and what I got is my plan… If you can help with any seeds that would be awesome!

[Estacionsj]

What generic 10 10 10 garden fertilizer do u use, great tips…
Just bookmarked it so when i grow my 30:1 autos

[Going2fast]

Stuff doesn’t have a name. White bag with green lettering. 20 bucks for s 50 lbs bag at home Depot.