Golfers 2nd NL auto in soil w/LED

golfer420 · Aug 9, 2015

:ciao:Second attempt at growing NL auto. First attempt was 2 plants in very small containers that grew all the way to some decent popcorn bud. Gets me buzzed. Germinated another seed from the bunch and here are some pictures at day 24.

She's in 3gal fabric pot inside a 30x18x30 tent (I know - small) with two fans blowing on her and a 6" 240cfm exhaust up high. I have a 300w Mars Hydro LED (old style). Lights are on 18/6. Temps have been on the high side at times but she seems to have recovered from the mid-90 days we had a couple weeks ago. Averaging between 75-85 with rh around 50. I use some light doses of growbig and bigbloom corrected for ph every few waterings.

She's much shorter, tighter, and bushier than the first two I grew (they were under CFL's the first 28 days). I had put the light up a bit higher hoping she might stretch a bit more. I snipped a few fan leaves last week that were blocking some potential bud areas and two days ago tied the cola down to get it to grow more horizontal.

So far it's coming along well. Thanks for stopping by :ciao:

golfer420 · Aug 9, 2015

pics to follow...didn't read up on how to load pictures

golfer420 · Aug 9, 2015

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zem · Aug 9, 2015

hi golfer, good to see your grow, the setup sounds good, might require a different feeding, the plant looks a bit shrivelled, might be overfeeding or ph, i am not a soil expert, i would say they need a flush with ph corrected water

golfer420 · Aug 9, 2015

Thanks, Zem. I'm thinking its due to the heat. I really haven't been feeding much (only 2 times and less than half strength) and all water that goes in is ph'd around 6.5.

The last plants I flushed a couple times over their 80+ days. I will definitely test the run off next weekend when I'll likely flush.

The Hemp Goddess · Aug 10, 2015

It looks like a pH issue to me, too. I get temps into the mid 80s all the time when outside temps get into triple digits. What kind of soil are they in? What are you feeding them? And why only 1/2 dose twice? Plants do need to be fed or they will not thrive.

Your LED should be kept about 18"-2' away from the top so they get the correct spectrum mix. You may also find that short bushy plants do not do as well with LEDs as taller stretchier plants.

golfer420 · Aug 10, 2015

Thanks for the feedback, Goddess. I planted in regular potting soil, might have been a brand from Miracle Grow or something similar. I mixed in about 30% perlite. I had read that in most potting soil they don't need to be fed the first couple of weeks. I've also been very conservative in feeding, not wanting to over do it. The temps internally were at times over 90 during the heat wave. I was getting much more leaf curling then and it looks like it has improved. That was why I was thinking it was heat related.

I basically took a 500ml Poland spring water bottle, put in 3ml of fox farms Big Bloom and 1ml of the Grow Big. I then adjusted for ph. I fed them on day 15, day 19, and day 24. There was watering in between.

Thank you for the input on the height of the light. I will raise it a bit more. Unfortunately I don't have much room with only 30" in the grow tent.

The Hemp Goddess · Aug 11, 2015

We have had triple digit temps here often this summer and my vegging space has climbed up to 90 too. I personally do not believe it is the heat. I believe that it is your medium and maybe a pH issue.

The soil you start with is critical and you really should not just pick up any old thing you can find....this is the home for the roots. Not all "potting soil" comes with nutrients in it. The only pre-nuted soil that experienced growers use is organic type soils with organic things added that feed the soil, which in turn feeds the plant. Besides MG being part of that huge evil Monsanto, pre-nuted MG does not have the correct nutrients in the correct proportions for cannabis.

I also worry that using LED with only 30" height is also going to give you problems, too. Is there any chance you can get something taller? I have a tent that is 72" that I decided was not tall enough to use LEDs and get good results.

golfer420 · Aug 11, 2015

Goddess - thank you so much for your response and interest. I read through your cool tube and scrog journals and was very impressed with your skills. I'm honored to receive your advice.

I will flush this weekend and adjust for ph.

You are correct and I did not put enough thought into the soil. I'll search and look for better options that are geared towards cannabis. Fox Farms makes a couple that I can find locally. I've avoided hydro because I fear the complications, precision, etc.

I agree with your concern on space. I wish I had more space, especially vertically. My better half would rather we had nothing in the garage so I've got to make do with what I've got.

I do think the LST on the cola is working out well. I have a nice even canopy right now. Pistils will be visible any day now. I'm happy about how good it looks compared to my first grow. Much shorter and tighter.

I raised the light today. It's about 8" from the tops. I am always tempted to trim more of the fan leaves to give the bud sites better light but because she's an auto, I've been hesitant.

Thanks again!

The Hemp Goddess · Aug 12, 2015

Your LST looks great. I was never very good at it. However, I have been told that shorter and bushier does not work as well with LED. I told DGF that I never thought I would be encouraging my plants to stretch, but that seems to be what works best with LEDs. Most of us using them are still in the learning and experimenting stages though. I will be interested to see how you do with only 30" and LED.

Do not flush unless you have a problem.

Do not cut the fan leaves. Bud sites do not need light--the fan leaves do. The majority of photosynthesis takes place in the fan leaves. It is counter-productive to cut them off. Also, you want to keep autos as happy and stress free as possible.

golfer420 · Aug 13, 2015

It's week 4 and the first signs of pistils are there.

I undid the LST I had on the main cola. You can see it's rebounded a little. I figured since she is beginning the flowering stage, I didn't want to add any more stress. I haven't clipped any leaves in the last 5 days and I will only be clipping those that are shriveled, yellow or falling off.

I raised the LED higher. I can go about 3 inches higher and that's the limit. I'm happy at the way she has a fairly even canopy. Growth from the nodes underneath seems to do pretty well too. It's still very compact but I can see the bud sites starting to push up. Considering my tight growing quarters, she looks better than my last grow.

I fed her today with a 1/2 gallon of water with grow big, big bloom, and tiger bloom that was ph balanced. I put about 1/2 tsp less than the recommended amount. I poured it under the leaves until I got run off. I tested the run off and the ph looked pretty good about 6.5

Overall it's looking pretty good.

Here are some pictures!

The Hemp Goddess · Aug 13, 2015

She looks very happy!

golfer420 · Aug 16, 2015

She's gone on a growth spurt since the feeding a couple days ago. Filled out quite a bit. Some good stretching going on and its allowing light to the growth underneath. You can hardly see the black edge of the pot any longer!

It's been very hot out and temps inside have been around 90. I think that's the reason for some of the curling along the edges. I tested the ph the other day from the run off and it seemed to be in the 6.5 range (maybe slightly less).

There are some close ups here and I noticed very little yellow on the tips. Is that something to be concerned with? I was thinking maybe there was a bit too much nutes. I'll keep my eyes out for further changes.

I'm pulling some of the side nodes down slightly to promote more outward growth. The main cola is not quite the center of attention like it was, so there is somewhat of an even canopy. It's definitely continuing to sprout upwards but hopefully the side notes continue to grow as well.

To give a comparison to my last grow, I've got a picture of both at the same age of 31 days. This plant has much more growth going and a fairly even canopy compared to the other two.

zem · Aug 16, 2015

plants lookin good, i have seen temps above 90 with no issues, i suspect the curling up is an early sign of Mg deficiency. While learning about deficiencies many years back, some statements stuck, and that was one of them, it went like "notice how the leaves are curling up around the edges as if the are praying, they are praying for Mg!"

golfer420 · Aug 20, 2015

Week 5

So far so good. Starting to stretch a bit more. I'm able to get inside the nodes and pull some of the dead leaves out. I continue to use some LST on the outer branches to keep her spread out a little. She's got a much more of an even canopy than the first two plants from my first grow. I hope that helps the bud development of the side colas.

I fed her today and added some cal/mag. We'll see how that helps. I took a picture of where the very tips of a handful of leaves near the buds that seem to twist. Not sure what that is a symptom of.

Took her outside for a few minutes to take a few photos. First time she's been outside.

Thanks for stopping by!

golfer420 · Aug 22, 2015

I could use some feedback. I fed her on 8/20. 1/2 gallon of water with 1.5 tsp of big bloom and 1 tsp of tiger bloom. 3ml of CalMag. PH adjusted to about 6.5.

Today she looked very wilty to me. Most of the leaves coming off the bud sites were drooping down. Seemed dry so I thought I would flush her. (FYI - the other day was the 4 feeding I've given her. Only fed on alternative waterings

I have run 4 gallons of water that was PH adj to about 7 (kinda greenish yellow). All of the run off looks like the photo. Very low around 5.

Should I continue running ph'd water through her until the run off gets more yellow/green? Should I have the ph going in be a little higher (to offset the low soil reading)?

Thanks!

zem · Aug 23, 2015

dolomite lime is used to neutralize the soil

golfer420 · Aug 23, 2015

Thanks for the lime suggestion, Zem.

In addition to my flushing yesterday, I went and got some lime (dolomite). Sprinkled about a cup on to the top of the soil and proceeded to flush another 4 gallons through her.

She looked better this morning, with the leaves showing signs of lifting. I took a picture of how I've been flushing and measuring the PH. I've been pouring the water through her to get run off on the cover she's sitting on.

Looks like the PH is yellow to green, so it's moving up past 6, much better than the orange it was yesterday. She's completely soaked through so no more watering for at least a couple of days.

Took some close up pics of the bud sites. I'm concerned because it looks very similar to my last grow where all I got was popcorn buds. Maybe its the light and its not far enough away for the spectrums to mix.

Getting a little better each time. Jealous of some of these other grows I've seen with CFL's and small spaces.

Thanks for stopping by!

zem · Aug 23, 2015

golfer420 said:
Thanks for the lime suggestion, Zem.

In addition to my flushing yesterday, I went and got some lime (dolomite). Sprinkled about a cup on to the top of the soil and proceeded to flush another 4 gallons through her.

She looked better this morning, with the leaves showing signs of lifting. I took a picture of how I've been flushing and measuring the PH. I've been pouring the water through her to get run off on the cover she's sitting on.

Looks like the PH is yellow to green, so it's moving up past 6, much better than the orange it was yesterday. She's completely soaked through so no more watering for at least a couple of days.

Took some close up pics of the bud sites. I'm concerned because it looks very similar to my last grow where all I got was popcorn buds. Maybe its the light and its not far enough away for the spectrums to mix.

Getting a little better each time. Jealous of some of these other grows I've seen with CFL's and small spaces.

Thanks for stopping by!

golfer you are welcome. how nice to know that i was able to help your plants

that is why we are here and i am always happy when it works

golfer420 · Aug 24, 2015

She's looking very droopy today but I have to think it's because of over-watering. I've put about 8 gallons of water through her the past two days. At least I hope that is the reason for her droopiness. No water for a couple of days and hopefully she rebounds. I'm concerned about stressing her at this point in the game because I'm afraid she won't recover to make some nice buds.

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