New Grower How to grow autoflowers from start to finish ?

[redevil]

Depends on you soil, a light mix i would go 2 weeks then formulex, though ionic say you can use it earlier - i did not buy my nutes till some time into my grow then i used formulex, mainly as a foliar feed, then at 4 weeks i would go soil nutes 1/4 strength and still foliar feed with formulex and slowly increase dosage. For a full soil ( not really recommended for young seedlings) you would have to lower your nuts and/or delay them more, but as i have not grown in full soil i cannot be of much help there.

none of these suggestions are written in stone, each plant/strain is different. A good rule of thumb is to start out with no nutes then very gradually introduce them a deficiency can be easlily rectified, an overdose can be more damaging and once the harm is don you cannot resurrect damaged areas, you can only do an emergency flush and hope to save the main body

 

[The Squid]

Yes, depends on your medium. I use Promix BX. It's a light mix for seedlings, but is great for an entire grow. I t has some starter nutes and I generally feed around day 11. It will let you know easily if it wants some food as long as your Ph is on point. I found that if I wait 2 solid weeks, then my fan leaves will ever so slightly lighten up to a pale green, but no damage otherwise. Most of my experience is with Onyx, which is a fairly big eater. Some strains are different.

These same rules apply in a similar Light mix. Hope this helps.

 

[redevil]

For a full soil ( not really recommended for young seedlings) you would have to lower your nuts

May not help the grow but you will sing the blues far better.

 

[g.ward1]

for the first grow and to gain experience could i just introduce nutrients at 2 weeks solid but untill then just feed ph balanced water ?

 

[redevil]

Feed just water then add the nutes at low concentrations and build up, try start at 1/8 dose then 1/4 then /1/2 Most people say not to use full strength. The rule of thumb is go to 1/2 strength then only add more if plant shows signs of deficiency. trying to boost growth by forcing nutrients is likely to lead to a nute overdose. if the plants are happy with less than full dose do not be tempted to up dosage to boost yield, you will more likely cause more harm than good.

Autoflowers seem more sensitive to nute strength than regular photoperiods

 

[g.ward1]

would it be easier to grow using hydroponics or not ?

 

[The Squid]

Although I have seen several successes, I wouldn't recommend Hydro for a new grower. Soil is more forgiving IMO. I'm not a hydro guy personally though.

 

[Vedder6.0]

i dont think theres a right or wrong method to grow in, IMO...
i think it all depends on the growers experience growing. hydro soil outdoors are all great methods but for new growers it first comes down to cost.
cfls are great to start out on.. training wheels . once you understand how the plant grows and what leaves to chop and how to get more light in then a lot of people upgrade to hps and led so theyre not shelling out a ton of money and their plants end up not doing so well.
but also no matter what you grow in you always have to watch your PH coz you dont want any lockouts or anything
even though its a plant.... its a very special plant and its one of those plants you gotta treat right

 

[Mr Piggy]

would it be easier to grow using hydroponics or not ?

No, Not for a beginner.