Grow Mediums Blue AutoMazar hydro grow diary - planted 31-08-13

[SmokyD]

This is a grow diary for Blue AutoMazar (DP) I planted a couple of weeks ago. Sorry for not starting earlier I've been busy.

Summary:

Planted: 31-Aug-13
Lights: 110W CFL (2 weeks, 24/0) -> 600W HID (2 weeks, 20/4) -> 600W HPS (9? weeks, 20/4)
est. harvest date: 30-Nov-13
Area: A little more than 1 sq. m.
Top-feed hydro, 30 ltr tank feeding six plants
Canna nutrients as recommended for normal feeding (here)
Goal: 400g of grade B+ bud.

Seeds were soaked for 24 hours in tap water then placed directly into peat pellets in a mini- (2 ltr) DWC system, under 2x55 CFL tubes.



They sprouted in 4-5 days and once roots grew beyond the peat pellets they were transferred to a 10 ltr top feed system:



After 8 days I transferred them to a 30 ltr top feed system, their final home. They were transferred to a grow tent with a 600W HID lamp and given 20 hrs of light per day. Temperature is a fairly constant 21-25% and humidity is 55-65%. Here they are after 14 days:



the clay pebbles are kept constantly wet and water drips down into an aerated reservoir where the roots also dangle into. I am running an identical system with some OG Kush photoperiod for 6 weeks now and so far everything is working very well.

I am very impressed with the speed of growth, this is the first time I have had so many sets of leaves after 2 weeks

I will keep these plants under HID for another 2 weeks and then switch to HPS for flowering. Somehow I will have to try to get them and my other auto grow into the tent because my flowering room currrently has photoperiods.

I am also growing some Think Different plants alongside, I have 4 in the small container :



These were planted on 25-08-13 but I stunted their growth by putting the germinating seeds in paper towels and allowing them to get completely dry. I still planted them but 2 died, 5 others however amazingly survived and sprouted; then did nothing but feign death for 5-6 days before continuing growth. This is the reason they are smaller than the Blue AutoMazar. I am just grateful they pulled through as I was told by several knowledgeable people that seeds could not survive such an ordeal.

Finally, a further 2 Think Different are growing in a 150W micro-grow cabinet (10 ltr top-feed):



I will have to try and SCROG this grow and perhaps limit the growth by topping them soon. I am not expecting too much from this, it is more for experimental purposes.

Any questions or advice is gratefully received, thanks for reading! I'll post new pics once a week and report any interesting developments.

 

[SmokyD]

Leaves curling at edges any ideas?

Does anyone know what is causing this leaf-curling?:



All nutrient info is as on page 1. The 25 ltr tank was filled on 10-Sep-13 and has been topped up with 2 ltrs water,

pH: 5.6
EC 1.6
water temp: 21.4 C
room temp: 21.0 C
humidity: 45-65%

I have sprayed the leaves with Vita Race and switched on a humidifier which should take the humidity range back up to 65-75%. I also have the same problem on one of my TD plants.

I'm not too worried but would like to know what causes this, I couldn't find anything in my usual sources. Any help greatly appreciated.

 

[auto420grow2]

that looks like heat stress

 

[SmokyD]

thanks dude! I have a cooltube and the temperature below it is a pretty constant 23.5C so I didn't even consider it could be that.... I'l raise the light a little.

 

[SmokyD]

Day 18 - a few pics

I have transferred the 4 Think Different into a 25 ltr hydro container and put them under the HID lamp. It will soon be very crowded in there... if things are too crowded I will have to remove the Think Different, I don't have any other free rooms right now.

Think different are the 4 on the right, BAM on the left. In a few days I will start training the BAM outwards away from the container.

Would anybody suggest topping the BAMs to keep them short? Anybody done this with this strain?

 

[blue]

Hi Smoky

I'm subbed and looking forward to seeing how your BAMs do in DWC ^_^

As far as topping (or most other training other than LST), it is generally not recommended for autos. Any time that is used repairing is time that the auto can't use for growing (as they're on a life and death timer) Although there are some experienced growers here who sometimes try it "for fun"

Check out Hazy - he's done some fun training - super cropping and topping i think with dutch passion genetics.

Maybe with such solid genetics and DWC .. it might turn out okay - But personally i wouldn't try or recommend it unless it's on one plant out of many to see how well it compares!

I'll be watching though ^_^

All the best
Blue

 

[auto420grow2]

What blue said it's just not a very smart thing to do because of such a short veg time. Topping is supposed to increase yields in most cases but in your case it could do the complete opposite, so I recommend a Scrog or lots of lst if you want more tops.

 

[SmokyD]

Yer thanks guys. I'll check out some of Hazy's stuff. But in this case I have such a small tent and I can't move the plants into a larger room for at least another six weeks, so I thought I could top them to intentionally stress and reduce the vegging time thereby leaving me with small and short plants. There is plenty of room in there a a 6-plant SOG but not ten! Well I trust your judgement so I will SCROG them and see what happens. Looks like I will be forced to jettison the TD at some point though which will break my heart

In my cabinet grow I have already topped one of the Think Different plants, in that room I only have 40cm so I will need every technique I can to limit the height. I'll let you know what happens with that.

 

[auto420grow2]

If you're trying to stunt them than just transplant them into another container and that should keep them nice and squat but that could decrease your yield as well so just do what you think is best for your girls

 

[SmokyD]

Day 21

Some pics at week 3:



I read one of Hazy's info on supercropping (here)

I decided to top the BAMs and see how things turn out. I didn't top a few OG Kush plants on my current grow and I am having problems with the height now, plus I do not like the shape compared with the topped plants. I realise auto strains behave differently but still I cannot afford to have 1m plants so I thought the less risky option was to top. I have left the TD alone for now. Last time I grew them they only reached 60-70cm anyway.

The growth is good for 3 weeks but the stems are not as strong as I expected and I think this is due to a lack of light, the penetration is not that great and there are too many plants for the area, so some of the branches are stretching. The growth is also very messy and I'm not sure how to sort it out. I have tied down some of the branches at the sides to try and open up some space in the middle.

Here is the cabinet grow:


I topped the plant on the right but not the one on the left. I am also training the side branches here but not very successfully, it's trickier than I expected!

ph/EC/temp etc. all normal, I flushed and changed the solution today.