New Grower noob looking for strain specific advice :)

[dark angel fallen]

Hey guys, was wondering if anyone has any pointers on nutes and the best medium to use!
Will be starting 3 different strains shortly, ak49, amnesia haze and some jack herer all auto's.
Will probably be using either 700 or 900w full spectrum led with a few cfl's thrown in for supplementary light.
Would expanded clay pellets be good for these or will soil less mix be better. Also has anyone used co2 with autos with any level of success
Any advice would be appreciated
Cheers

 

[wwwillie]

Hey and Welcome!!
Some nice choices there. I don't know of anything specific to those but I am sure if someone here does they'll let us know. Is this your first go with autos?
Peace and happy growing!

 

[dark angel fallen]

nd Welcome!!
Some nice choices there. I don't know of anything specific to those but I am sure if someone here does they'll let us know. Is this your first go with autos?
Peace and happy growing!

Hi there willie
So glad theres a site dedicated to autos, yes its my first steps into the world of autoflowerers. Have spent months reading and digging for info until I decided to get my finger out and take the plunge lol,
Seem to be hearing a lot of good things about the expanded clay but cant help wondering if it may affect the overall taste in comparison to organic soil. Think im going to start 2 of each strain then another 2 after about 4 wks. Do you use led willie or mh/hps

 

[wwwillie]

Hey!
Yes this site is a great place to find out about autos. Very knowledgeable folks here from breeders, to medical, to just great folk with a ton of experience.
I use a mixture of LED, HPS, and CFLs. I have two tents on for veg and one for flower. So the veg tent has the LED I grow autos and veg photos in here if I have room. The flower tent has 600 watt HPS and I use CFL as supplemental and starting out seedlings. I plan on t5 for the clone and mother cabinet, but that's in the future. I have cheap Chinese LEDs 240 watt panels.
Don't know much about expanded clay, something to look into! I currently use soil HF and perlite. Not that I am any expert! One thing I would recommend is doing a journal. Helped me tremendously and folks were very helpful and encouraging.

 

[oldster]

Hi DAF, welcome to AFN. Can't really advise you on the clay pellets for MJ, I have used them in the past for orchids but unless you are going hydro, I don't thin they would provide enough moisture. I use a 50/50 mix of Pro-mix and perlite with a little gypsum added to start mine under T5s and then grow outside.

I have read a number of posts here about the need for more calcium and magnesium when growing under LEDs. If you will be using LED I would start a grow journal in the LED section so growers there can watch and give advise.

Good luck

 

[dark angel fallen]

hi there oldster
been away for a few days. i will definately be doing a journal of the grow. just trying to figure whether hydro or soiless is going to get the best results.
is there much difference between tents? can anyone reccomend some that are available in the uk

 

[Panic]

Welcome to AFN

Your in a good spot . I use Fox Farm Ocean Forest, with a buffer of topsoil (like a baseball size chunk center mass) so the seedling doesn't get burned. Adding perlite to Ocean forest is common. I have also heard good things about both Happy frog, and pro-mix.

But in all honesty if you have the room and want an adventure run a DWC (Deep water culture). I think most people later on try it out and they may never look back lol. I am Doing a OF grow right now but, I am about to do a DWC next. There are a ton of quality growers on this forum, but if you get a chance look up "Monster cropping RDWC" on youtube. Word of caution Auto's don't respond well to any technique that requires a recovery; as you are already on the clock with an auto. I recommend this just to open your horizon to other possibilities. Most of last months B.O.M, and all of this months B.O.M candidates grew in soil, so you can expect great results with either. Soil is a little more forgiving for a novice grower. Good Luck

 

[Duggy]

Hi Dark...Welcome to AFN...
Reading as many journals as you can will give you a good idea what style would suit you best regarding what you want to achieve result wise..All the methods mentioned are effective...you just need to determine which suits you and your available time, space and expense...:Sharing One:

 

[dark angel fallen]

Cheers guys , looks like iv got my nights entertainment sorted then spent most of the day with my head shoved in the latest jorge cerventas bible. Funnily enough panic iv been reading the DWC section this aft and really fancy the idea. Will have to have a look at exactly how much space I have to play with and get back to you
Gotta say I love the freindly atmosphere on here

 

[Trapper]

Welcome! I'll throw my 2 cents in....

Yes, these plants respond incredible well to supplemental CO2, especially when exhaust ventilation is sub-par.
I think my plants were WAY frostier as a result of supplemental CO2.

I grow in airpots, in Fox Farms Happy Frog with Perlite, Gardener's Lime and Great White Mycos....I run all Fox Farms nutes (synth)
My first grow was with a 135W UFO LED (90W actual draw) and it looks like my plant is going to yield over 2.5 ounces.

Just a personal opinion...While DWC provides superior density and growth rates...and are relatively fire and forget when dialed in...
Mistakes compound rapidly and IMHO, it's a "less forgiving" medium than soil for a newb auto grower. But plenty of things can go wrong
with any medium.

Airpots and good soil with a good LED is my suggestion.

Good Luck with the research!