Advanced Autoflower Training, tips, secrets

lilroach said:

I don't know if I should post this on the sick plants blog or here....so I'll pick here because my issues are auto-specific.

I am a noob with two successful photo-period grows under my belt. I really like the idea of autos and purchased 5 Cream of the Crop KO's ( https://www.cannabis-seeds-bank.co.uk/cream-of-the-crop-ko-crop-auto/prod_3694.html ) and got one auto AK47 as a freebie.

I germed and planted the 3 seeds in either a 5 gal bucket, or a 5 gal smart pot....starting with the AK47. It popped like normal, and grew to about 1.5" and stopped.


View attachment 2652145

Would you believe that this plant is 45 days old?

I figured that I did something wrong, or the seed was a dud, so I planted a COC KO and it too grew about 1.5" and stopped.

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This plant hasn't changed in weeks.

I'm using Humbolt's organic mix, have 'em under T5's 18/6, have watered only when needed, and not until this past week did I give them a light dose of nutes hoping that it would help....it didn't.

What am I doing wrong?

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SUP ROACH!!! Damn man!!!! Sorry to see you got some duds bro....

At Home Depot it's called Espinoza garden lime. It's the same as dolemite lime.

Jeffdogg said:

Indeed but look for Dolimite (im sure its the same as "garden lime" just never heard it called that just dolomite) lime:

In horticulture, dolomite and dolomitic limestone are added to soils and soilless potting mixes as a pH buffer and as a magnesium source. Home and container gardening are common examples of this use.

What it does is make your soil "neutral" (7.0 p.h.) Helps PH stability for sure, unless you use advanced nutrients then alot of their base products adjust the PH automatically for you No pens no fiss dont gotta spend time adjusting/calibrating/etc...

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im running recipe for success and never had any ph problems even in used soil mix

tekdc911 said:

im running recipe for success and never had any ph problems even in used soil mix

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Different strokes for different folks bud , Wont have to worry bout the PH if the water you use is good and close to the right ph. You using tap? RO? Have to adjust the ph or is it naturally in the correct range? (If so ill be soo jealous, mine is closer to

Posted this in a thread earlier, helps a little with ppl that have heat issues and not alot of money to correct it.

But if you take a bucket, fill it up with water. Then place a washrag/handtowl over the water and just let it sit on top soaking up the water. Have a fan blow over the top and it works like a poor man's air conditioner. Also if you feel like playing Mr.Wizard go get yourself some baking soda and vinegar (i'd recommend white distilled the regular smells nasty). Get yourself a good size bowl and put it in the middle of your plants (preferably right over the top of them just a tad) put a few tbls. of baking soda in the bowl and poor some vinegar in it. That produces Co2, if possible once an hour in those hot temps would really help them out.

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I say put it over the tops just a tad because Co2 is heavy and it will onto them. Plants breathe Co2, in higher temps plants have a harder time breathing which in turn hinders their growth. Co2 Supplementation makes it easier for your plants to breathe in those temps resulting in a better harvest. In a controlled environment where the temps are where they should be using Co2 increases the overall yield. The range of how much varies, some say its a 20% increase they have seen, some say 30%. I'd like to believe 20% if either are correct, but then again when your first starting its hard to tell because 9/10 times your yield is gonna improve from experience. But the logic makes sense and we all want bigger

Jeffdogg said:

Different strokes for different folks bud , Wont have to worry bout the PH if the water you use is good and close to the right ph. You using tap? RO? Have to adjust the ph or is it naturally in the correct range? (If so ill be soo jealous, mine is closer to

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im on well water and technically its a free flowing artesian we have a pump but if you open a line in front of the pump it comes out on its own The Wonders Of Nature

honestly never ph'd it had no reason to
landlord told me it was artesian and told me if i lost power it was free flowing
its nice to have seeing how we're so close to tornado alley

tekdc911 said:

im on well water and technically its a free flowing artesian we have a pump but if you open a line in front of the pump it comes out on its own The Wonders Of Nature

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Edit since you just answered lol:

Thats awesome never have to worry about ph. I dont have to using Advanced nutrients ph perfect items.

Read the bag when you buy lime there are two kinds of lime: dolomite lime that has cal and mag and then there is also hydrated lime which you do not want to use for cannabis.

lime is for concrete

tekdc911 said:

lime is for concrete

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i thought it was for mojitos

no the chocolate mint is for mojito's
i have one its amazing
you have me wondering what my ph is now >.<

chocolate mint

Ok gonna do this maybe once a week, quick summary of the weeks posts. Gonna do it every Friday and once a month I will gather all the collected summaries and post them at the end so the information never gets lost cause of all the pages that becomes of this thread.

Week 5/10~17/2013

Never Transplant!!! Start off in the harvesting pot 3Gallon+

You Could!! Cut off the bottom to a party cup, an when the roots come out the bottom just put the Cup in the bigger Pot.
20/4 hours is the best(Depending on Strain) If you really want to Find out what is best, Start with 24/7 then the next batch, use 20/4 and see how that goes...

Soil is more important then lighting.
Auto's have funny tap roots and until you grow one you probably wont understand. They have a tap like normal but its short and stubby usually grows to a 45 at one side. When you hear people say that they veg until the tap hits .... Well this statement is partially right but for the actual tap root to hit. Then you would have to have a shallow pot like 5 inches. Ruderalis has adapted to harsh conditions like permafrost layers that are very thin so to survive it evolved to grow multiple large sideways roots.Auto's growth will stop if over watered the easiest indoor mix i have found is a good organic indoor potting mix in ratio of 50/50 mixed with perlite. This promotes really good drainage which auto's love. try and steer clear of time released ferts to easy to burn your plants when using nutes.

For the feed/nutes even with 50% perlite a good soil will more then support a auto for 3-4 weeks. I have finished many nice plants with this mix only using water
best results were from using nutes 1/4 str at first then build up slowly.
I introduce veg nutes at show of preflower roughly 3-4 weeks. If your going to feed every watering then leave nutes at 1/4 str there is not much veg after this 2-3 weeks so these feeds need to be under max dose other wise a burn will greatly reduce yields at this point.
Preflower is not the sign to switch to bloom nutes unless you want a fast low yielding auto. If this is so then there is no need for veg nutes you want the N to diminish.
When the tell tale popcorns of hairs start to pop up over night. I use just water for 1-2 weeks depends on str of nutes i used in veg this just helps with nute build up and helps deter problems later on. Bloom nutes 1/4 str and build up
few auto's actually run for 8 weeks. i assume when i am growing a new strain 10 weeks have had them take aslong as 14.
I have topped and if its within the first couple sets of nodes then it actually helps i pull a 1/4 ounce more from my 1 oz strains
really it just relocates bud sites honestly extra weight is probably just stem weight but the scales dont lie.
Lst they love it absolutely love it SCROG remember this word if your on your first auto grow or a grow using led or cfl its a god send. For hid's this is the money maker in the right setup easily two to three times yield.
Auto's need no schedule when it comes to lighting common misconception is that a auto needs a dark period a true auto needs no such thing.They will run pedal to the metal start to finish under the right conditions. You may need a dark period for temps or your pocket book , If the breeder calls for a dark period its for the desired bud structure but commonly its the fact that they know that if you run 24/7 that the plant is no where near small or stealthy Dinafem white widow auto for example up until a year or so ago growers were advised to put it on 12/12 to bring out the best of this strain that was the claim anyway . But put them on 24 hrs and there 3' tall with a few weeks of veg left.


t-5 is enough to get decent yields
spectrum is personal preference nowadays the requirement of a MH to keep from hermi'n has been bred out most are stable enough to not have problems
personally i use blue spec but only at most 20-30 % is blue blue spec causes close nodes and shorter plants
i prefer a red spec on a auto i have found it makes them reach a bit more and in turn light is allowed to penetrate easier, which if you want a good yield is the key to bumper harvests on a auto ofcourse the more light the better but i have grown full term with 1 68 watt 2700k cfl a plant and got good yields its all about lst
and utilizing the light you have, being sure not to waste any

Dont use the finger method. You dont give them watering schedules, you schedule food but you water them when they need it not when a certain day of the week comes along or if the first few layers of soil is dry. When the pot is watered lift it up and see how heavy it is. Wait a few days till you see the leaves start to droop a little bit then lift the pot again and see how much lighter it got. IMHO thats a better standard for telling when your plant needs water instead of using the finger test. You keep too much water in your soil it hinders their growth.

research research research cant say it enough

research research research cant say it enough

research research research cant say it enough

Also to prevent that, some growers will use extra perlite or newpaper and use it as a bottom layer of the pot/bucket to cover the drain holes.

In horticulture, perlite can be used as a soil amendment or alone as a medium for hydroponics or for starting cuttings. When used as an amendment it has high permeability / low water retention and helps prevent soil compaction. ;P

Auto LST
http://www.autoflowering-cannabis.co....html#more-939

Tie down AF LST
http://www.autoflowering-cannabis.co...s-trainin.html

Mix one table spoon of garden lime per gallon of dirt. Never have a cal- mag deficencey and your soil oh will be stable.

Different strokes for different folks bud

Read the bag when you buy lime there are two kinds of lime: dolomite lime that has cal and mag and then there is also hydrated lime which you do not want to use for cannabis.

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There we have it, I did not put all in there its a lot of info lmao. Did good for the first week guys, another week or so of this and we can start strong arming them to sticky this!!!

just a taste of the skeletons im my closet
Himalaya Blue Diesel scrog cfl's and led grow

tekdc911 said:

View attachment 2661028View attachment 2661029 just a taste of the skeletons im my closet
Himalaya Blue Diesel scrog cfl's and led grow

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Very nice bud, good job!

The blue is from barneys? I wanted to get the auto sweet tooth but went with the xtreme

short stuff seeds is the HBD
right now i have
a amnesia auto from dinafem
3 afghan kush ryders from world of seeds
1 of the freebie seeds from herbies la frutta de venus from delicious i think
and another HBD seedling
2 in flower and 5 seedlings

sweet tooth from barneys is a all time fav its almost always in rotation

probably the strain i would suggest to any beginner grower
buy 3 of these plant all 3 at the same time
this will insure that if you get the real cabbage like pheno that youll know it and not have problems
its not common but not uncommon and have heard horror stories about it indoors gave one of these "cabbage" pheno's to a buddy a week ago was about 3 weeks old he said after he stuck it in the ground outside its grown almost a foot in a week that is nuts

I like to use Super Roots Air Pots 7.5L(2 gallon) with 60/40 Perlite/Coco.. This allows for the most beginner gardener to NOT over water.. We all now when we first start that's the hardest part is to not overwater.. But this also allows for great rapid growth in my experience.. Air pots also allow for you to grow more plants in the same area.. Say you have 3-4gal buckets, well there HUGE.. Air pots are 9x9" tiny compared to buckets.. This is because they DONT ever get root bound.. I would also advise to get Advanced Nutes PH perfect as well.. Then you have nothing to do but PPM.. And with feeding always UNDERFEED(compared to back label instructions) would be my suggestion, but there are a VERY few that will take full dose.. Veg nutes if used weeks 3-5, then flower nutes weeks 5-8.5 then water for 1.5 weeks= 10 weeks.. Week 5 half veg half bloom nutes.. KISS, not to many additives... Last but NOT least LEAVE them ALONE lol, don't be touching and sqeezing your nuggies every HR.. Its hard but really just water and feed and well watch thru your tent, lol.. You have a lot of Oils on your hands so you touching them and stuff can/maybe affect them.. GL everyone