Starting new grow. Need advice

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magoebel

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Pretty soon…in the next couple of weeks I plan to start a new grow with two autos of different strains. I want to get this right as I’ve never grown autoflowers before.

My instinct is to germinate in distilled water and ph it to 5.5-6 (thoughts?)

Once they sprout, I plan on dropping them in coco coir cubes (Root Riot) and I’ll put them in a humidity dome till ready to plant in soil.

I have been using 5 gallon canvas bags. Should I stay with this or is there a better pot? I also use FoxFarm Ocean Forest soil. I would like suggestions on a feeding schedule. I plan to use organic fertilizer (Dr. Earths) a feeding schedule for autos is probably very different than photos.

Please help 😀😀
Thanks in advance.
 
Hey Mag... be glad to offer some guidance. And your so right about Auto being such a different animal.

Are these feminized seeds? Why even use the RR plugs, I really only use them for cuttings.

Foxfarm soil is way hot, usually stunts autos if used straight and especially if you feed ANYTHING on top of it.
Find something to mix 50/50 to cut it down a bit. I actually prefer their Strawberry Fields over the FFOF.
but if you already have the soil, cut it with a 5kg brick of coco by Cocotek.

Dr Earth's after week 1 and your good to go. Feed weekly at full strength, then water allowing the plant to use up
what foods you did add.
schedule is close, you just switch to flower when plant tells ya to is all.. let's get the ball a rolling, be starting my
next grow very soon also.. Auto Blueberry.

luck
 
Hello Magoebel when you say you use a Cavas bag does it drain good or does it whole water. Cavas to me means waterproof. Look into felt pots or air pots. Have fun with the Auto's.

I just assumed he meant Felt Pots, perfect.

If it was me though, I'd start them all in 1gal pots to control moisture a bit better early on.. the myth of NOT transplanting autos is wrong. and I start them in plastic pots, NOT FELT. this allows the larger roots to get established 1st giving the plant a big stem and foothold.

Soon as they show sex, 14 - 21 days, the later the better for plant size..

And when you up pot to the 5gal pot Mag.. this is when you can use the FFOF straight up in the bottom half of
the pot. As the plant matures the hot foods avail in this potting mix will feed her thru flowering... autos love this
routine and blow up when up potted..
 
He may well mean Canvas bags
Some do try and use them thinking they do drain water
But very very slowly and then retain the moisture in the canvas
Not good the rots never get to dry out
 
One of our sponsors AC Infinity carry the felt bags. He has round and square. I'm thinking about getting some for my veggies and weed for next yr. Very affordable price.
Has them from 1 to 25 gallon. Really nice bags. Even has holes on the lip to tie off too.
https://www.acinfinity.com/fabric-pots/
 
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Pretty soon…in the next couple of weeks I plan to start a new grow with two autos of different strains. I want to get this right as I’ve never grown autoflowers before.

My instinct is to germinate in distilled water and ph it to 5.5-6 (thoughts?)

Once they sprout, I plan on dropping them in coco coir cubes (Root Riot) and I’ll put them in a humidity dome till ready to plant in soil.

I have been using 5 gallon canvas bags. Should I stay with this or is there a better pot? I also use FoxFarm Ocean Forest soil. I would like suggestions on a feeding schedule. I plan to use organic fertilizer (Dr. Earths) a feeding schedule for autos is probably very different than photos.

Please help 😀😀
Thanks in advance.
What kind of seeds are you working with? Indoors 5 gallon felt pots are good. You might have an extra step in there using the coco coir cubes and then putting in soil. Some autos bloom earlier than others.
 
I think that you can get starters better than coco coir and skip the germinating in water thing. Some seeds will not instantly germinate overnight and if kept for much longer submerged will drown. Also I really dislike the idea of tampering with the little seedlings as soon as they pop. Better to pop them in starters and let them do their thing IMO
 
I just assumed he meant Felt Pots, perfect.

If it was me though, I'd start them all in 1gal pots to control moisture a bit better early on.. the myth of NOT transplanting autos is wrong. and I start them in plastic pots, NOT FELT. this allows the larger roots to get established 1st giving the plant a big stem and foothold.

Soon as they show sex, 14 - 21 days, the later the better for plant size..

And when you up pot to the 5gal pot Mag.. this is when you can use the FFOF straight up in the bottom half of
the pot. As the plant matures the hot foods avail in this potting mix will feed her thru flowering... autos love this
routine and blow up when up potted..
So no other nutes, that would be sweet.

Bubba
 
Hey Mag... be glad to offer some guidance. And your so right about Auto being such a different animal.

Are these feminized seeds? Why even use the RR plugs, I really only use them for cuttings.

Foxfarm soil is way hot, usually stunts autos if used straight and especially if you feed ANYTHING on top of it.
Find something to mix 50/50 to cut it down a bit. I actually prefer their Strawberry Fields over the FFOF.
but if you already have the soil, cut it with a 5kg brick of coco by Cocotek.

Dr Earth's after week 1 and your good to go. Feed weekly at full strength, then water allowing the plant to use up
what foods you did add.
schedule is close, you just switch to flower when plant tells ya to is all.. let's get the ball a rolling, be starting my
next grow very soon also.. Auto Blueberry.

luck
Guidance from you guys will be awesome. Thank you much. I'm finishing up on a grow and am taking this time to line up my ducks for two autoflower seeds. They were sent to me as a gift. I do believe they are feminized. The two strains are Strawberry Cheesecake and Kush (That's what was written on the bags they came in :))

After going through all the replies on what kind of bag I'm using, I'd like to make myself more clear that I have been using grow bags.

What you said about FFOF is spot on. It's a hot soil and now I know what that means from the last experience I had. <insert facepalm>

About the Coco cubes...when I was shopping at my local grow shop during my early days of starting to grow, this stoner kid talked me into buying a bag of Root Riot. My first grow in the tent I have, the photoperiod seeds I had loved them. So, I thought I'd run it by you guys before I try them again on autos.

Thank you for the suggestion on Strawberry Fields. I am thinking of switching over now. Do I still add perlite? When you say wait a week to add Dr. Earth, is this a week after I see sprout and then every week at 4 tablespoons a feed? Also, how early should I start adding Cal-Mag? Do I start with a full tsp per gallon of water or is it better to cut that in half and gradually increase?

When I first put up my grow tent I tried growing 6 plants at a time. I'm now going to try 2 at a time with the next grow and master getting bigger yields. A pound a plant would be wonderful, but I'd even settle for a 1/3 or 1/2 as I get better at this.
 
I just assumed he meant Felt Pots, perfect.

If it was me though, I'd start them all in 1gal pots to control moisture a bit better early on.. the myth of NOT transplanting autos is wrong. and I start them in plastic pots, NOT FELT. this allows the larger roots to get established 1st giving the plant a big stem and foothold.

Soon as they show sex, 14 - 21 days, the later the better for plant size..

And when you up pot to the 5gal pot Mag.. this is when you can use the FFOF straight up in the bottom half of
the pot. As the plant matures the hot foods avail in this potting mix will feed her thru flowering... autos love this
routine and blow up when up potted..
If I decide to buy some Strawberry Fields, would you still recommend growing in 1 gallon pot first and transplant to FFOF? If I keep using FFOF, I won't need to do any feeding, correct?
 
If I decide to buy some Strawberry Fields, would you still recommend growing in 1 gallon pot first and transplant to FFOF? If I keep using FFOF, I won't need to do any feeding, correct?

Use the Strawberry Fields to start them in, when you up pot you should then be safe to use the FFOF ok..

Yes on the pots.. if you start with felt, the roots just don't seem to get a chance to build up real nice helping to
establish the plants foot hold. the key though is being able to control moisture better then starting in a 5gal
pot. this gets the larger roots going..

A day or so after they show sex, up pot.. see growth changes in days.

Trust me, been there, done that, this is true and tested over and over.. works great. I start mine in 1gal pots
made for Orchids
WTR 1.jpg


The ones in the rear are 3wks old, just showed sex and will be up potted soon to 2.2 gal oxy pots and 1 going
into a 3gal felt pot like the one front left, Zkittlez.
Small tent 1 mo old.jpg


Same plants later in flowere
Zkittlez, Shire S, Gelato fat in middle.jpg
 
Hey Mag... be glad to offer some guidance. And your so right about Auto being such a different animal.

Are these feminized seeds? Why even use the RR plugs, I really only use them for cuttings.

Foxfarm soil is way hot, usually stunts autos if used straight and especially if you feed ANYTHING on top of it.
Find something to mix 50/50 to cut it down a bit. I actually prefer their Strawberry Fields over the FFOF.
but if you already have the soil, cut it with a 5kg brick of coco by Cocotek.

Dr Earth's after week 1 and your good to go. Feed weekly at full strength, then water allowing the plant to use up
what foods you did add.
schedule is close, you just switch to flower when plant tells ya to is all.. let's get the ball a rolling, be starting my
next grow very soon also.. Auto Blueberry.

luck


When I started, I ignored many warnings that Fox Farm Ocean causes problems, long story short the soil roasted (burned) my plant its entire life. I moved to Fox Farm Happy for my second grow using the same seeds and lights and everything is healthy. I'd stay away from Ocean Forest if I was you, especially if your on the east coast. I've heard many say the quality of the FF Ocean is really hit and miss here....Maybe the west coast gets something better, who knows

Last thought, I wandered into at least 5 different nurseries here in Virginia and all of the people I spoke with tried to lean me away from ocean forest. I should have listened.
 
I use Ocean Forest but i never put seedlings directly into that soil. I start them in biodegradable jiffy pots and put the jiffy pots directly into the Ocean Forest. By the time the seedlings grow thru the jiffy pots they are ready to feed on the soil.
 
I use Ocean Forest but i never put seedlings directly into that soil. I start them in biodegradable jiffy pots and put the jiffy pots directly into the Ocean Forest. By the time the seedlings grow thru the jiffy pots they are ready to feed on the soil.


I'm telling you they are selling bad batches of this soil on the east coast, be careful. When watered, it STINKS too.... something ain't right.

Yep, I heard not to start seedlings in Ocean Forest.. It didn't matter for me, the soil tortured my plant all the way into flower. I started the first seedling (top pictures, the roasty plant) in Happy Frog and moved into Ocean forest after 6 nodes and one topping.. (I use jiffy pots as well to start my seeds)


Fox Farm Ocean Forest (East coast).... Nirvana NL Fem SF-1000 Lights, Fox Farm trio nutrients. PH 6.2 ish

12_5 5 weeks.JPG


12_28.JPG



Fox Farm Happy Frog: Nirvana NL, FF Trio, SF-1000 light PH 6.2 ish

2_25.JPG


3_3.JPG
 
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You did a great job bro... first time. Nice. how you like that Happy Frog soil? I'm using their Bushdoctor Coco Loco

Been running Autos off and on for years and I love them.. have a few of my own creation if your interested in trying a few pm me ok..
 
You did a great job bro... first time. Nice. how you like that Happy Frog soil? I'm using their Bushdoctor Coco Loco

Been running Autos off and on for years and I love them.. have a few of my own creation if your interested in trying a few pm me ok..


I'm loving the happy frog soil, my plant seems much happier than last run. I'll have to look into the Bushdoctor Coco loco. Fox farms has so many choices!

Here is another soil I'm considering trying Stonington Blend Grower's Mix - Coast of Maine Organic Products
 

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