New Grower +Speed Auto by Sweet Seeds (1st grow)

[OM2]

Hi all, i'll be starting a journal for my first grow, any advice and help from experienced growers is appreciated Hopefully with your guidance i can succeed to have a bountiful harvest! @hope2grow @Sawney_bean @Jerseyphresh1 @Suki813 @St. Tom @Sweet Seeds @Sweet Seeds Jay @Sweet Seeds Apolo
Seed is still germinating in a wet paper towel, i will probably plant it today because i think i'm starting to see a tiny root coming out. I will update later. For now the soil is being moistened in a 15 liter/4 gallon fabric pot.

I will write down my equipment and conditions in detail:

- Strain: +Speed Auto by Sweet Seeds

- Light: Migro Aray 2 +RED PRO

- Tent: 60x60x180cm

- Exhaust fan: Mars Hydro 6'' 350CFM

- Carbon Filter: Prima Klima 125mm 210CFM (a bit undersized filter for my fan, but i'm running the fan on lowest speed so i think it will be ok)

- Soil: Biobizz Light Mix, mixed with some Plant Magic Oldtimer Granules (Contains mycorrhizae, 20 strains of bacteria and bio-stimulants. Please tell me if i did the right thing before i plant the seed in the soil, hopefully it doesn't mess up the pH of the soil which is buffered at 6.5)

- Nutrients: complete line of nutes by Biobizz

- Additives and supplements that i may or may not use: Silic Boost by Atami, Living Organics by Green Buzz Liquids, Neem Oil, Biobizz Leaf Coat, Citric Acid

- Other equipment: 4 small USB fans, digital pH meter as well as pH drops and strips, hygrometer/thermometer, AC unit, dehumidifier, air purifier, automatic fire extinguisher

Conditions of the room:
- I don't exhaust the air from the tent outside, i'm recycling the air. The room is split into 2 parts, one part is my bedroom and the other part is my office/working area/gaming room. I spend a lot of time here so there should be plenty of additional CO2 from me And i open the windows here and there.

- Room temperature is 25C, humidity is 50%. I tested the setup for about 12 hours and the tent stays at 28C with the light on maximum wattage and exhaust fan on minimum speed.

- My tap water is pretty hard, the pH is 8-9 and i'm not sure about the TDS/PPM because i have a cheap meter without calibrating solution, but last time i measured the PPM was around 400. I wouldn't be surprised if the reading is true, since i often have limescale on my kitchen appliances, more than what is considered as usual.
I was going to use a bit of citric acid to lower the pH, but Biobizz nutrients lower the pH on their own so maybe i won't have to, and since it's soil with microbial life hopefully i won't have to bother with pH at all. Please advise should i pH the water or not, maybe just in the beginning without nutrients?

That's it for now, hopefully you get the idea of the exact grow conditions but let me know if any more info is needed. I'll post a picture of the setup as well.

P.S - Can i plug the light timer into a power strip with a surge protector? I'll post photos of the specs from the light driver, timer and power strip. Which timer would you use, the left or right? Both are mechanical. I'm really bad with electronics so it's better to ask. I don't know the specifications of my wall outlet either.

P.S #2 - The reason i use USB fans is because they are small and quiet. But please let me know if 4 x USB fans will be ok with this power strip. The power strip has 2 USB plugs, and i'm using a USB hub extender with 4 outlets on it, also the fans are connected with USB extension cables. If you don't think it's a good idea i might just connect some PC fans to adapters. I'll post a photo of the USB fan specs as well.

 

[OM2]

Seed planted, poured a half-cup of water, light is on 25% and 20cm high.
Temps are 25-26C, humidity is 50%
Hopefully the humidity will rise on its own later from the water in the soil, or i might place a wet towel in the tent.
Until the next update!

 

[Need4Weed]

Good luck with your 1st grow!

I'm not much for the techie side, but I have grown the + Speed Auto. I may have a journal somewhere, but it's been a good 3 years ago and I'm getting old and I don't have a good memory. I do remember that the reason I grew her was because she's crossed with Speed Devil #2, (a strain I remember well because it had the best body stone of anything I have grown). Excuse me for being blunt, (cough cough), but it was the best weed to use as a aphrodisiac that I've ever smoked! My former lady friend would get horny as hell, so it worked on women too! Sadly, the 1 plant I grew of the + Speed Auto didn't have the same effect. However, I do have a few seeds left in my fridge stash --- so if you happen to find a phenotype with the same effects, I might be persuaded to give her another try. So I'll just pull of a chair and follow along!

 

[OM2]

Lol thanks for the laugh, i'm glad you had a good time
I'll be happy with any successful harvest, but i would prefer a head high. I heard some phenos have a creative effect, don't know if it's true. What kind of effect did it had, the one you grew? And how long did it take to finish? My main reason for choosing this strain is speed.

Thanks for stopping by. I'm still waiting for it to sprout out of the soil, i'll post an update in the upcoming days.
And i'll try to find your journal as well.

 

[Need4Weed]

Lol thanks for the laugh, i'm glad you had a good time

Glad I could tickle your funny bone!

What kind of effect did it had, the one you grew?

It had a strong body effect centered around the groin! But it did spread all over, (went to the head too), and it lasted a good long time!

And how long did it take to finish? My main reason for choosing this strain is speed.

Both strains looked ready in 60 days. However, I'm a lover of the couch lock stone & I think I let mine go for 70-75 days.

I'm still waiting for it to sprout out of the soil,

Patience is key. It's also a good ideal to cover with a dome until germination. It provides vital humidity when the plant needs it the most! I use the lid from an Icee slush drink. I put clear tape over the hole & once she germinates, I remove the tape but still use the lid until the seedling outgrows it, (usually 5-7 days). Just my 2 cents.

 

[OM2]

Update, the plant is about 4-5 days old and this is how it looks like. Do you think it's ok? Is the brown stem normal?

It had a rough start, i dropped the germinated seed on the floor directly on the taproot. Then i planted the seed too deep and upside down. Then i tried to catch it with my tweezers but i lost it inside the soil, only dug it deeper.
It wasn't sprouting for few days, so i thought something was wrong and i got impatient. My curiosity got the better of me so dug it up to see what's going on. It already rooted so i placed it higher on the surface of the soil. It sprouted the next day but seemed to be wilting. I watered with some Biobizz Root Juice, Bio Heaven, Alg-A-Mic and Acti-Vera, and now it seems to be healthy. I'm happy it survived!

In the meantime i germinated another seed just in case i messed up the first one, so now i have another seedling in a small cup.
I feel sorry to throw it out so i'll probably transplant into a 4L/1gallon pot. For now it looks like i can fit another plant in a small pot, so i might have 3 plants in total, just in case. If i see them getting overcrowded i'll just throw the 2 small plants and keep the big one.

 

[Need4Weed]

Update, the plant is about 4-5 days old and this is how it looks like. Do you think it's ok? Is the brown stem normal?

It had a rough start, i dropped the germinated seed on the floor directly on the taproot. Then i planted the seed too deep and upside down. Then i tried to catch it with my tweezers but i lost it inside the soil, only dug it deeper.
It wasn't sprouting for few days, so i thought something was wrong and i got impatient. My curiosity got the better of me so dug it up to see what's going on. It already rooted so i placed it higher on the surface of the soil. It sprouted the next day but seemed to be wilting. I watered with some Biobizz Root Juice, Bio Heaven, Alg-A-Mic and Acti-Vera, and now it seems to be healthy. I'm happy it survived!

In the meantime i germinated another seed just in case i messed up the first one, so now i have another seedling in a small cup.
I feel sorry to throw it out so i'll probably transplant into a 4L/1gallon pot. For now it looks like i can fit another plant in a small pot, so i might have 3 plants in total, just in case. If i see them getting overcrowded i'll just throw the 2 small plants and keep the big one.

Looks fine to me, although it does look like it's stretching a bit. You might want to lower your light or maybe raise the plant. You can also download a PPFD Meter off your phone to measure the light intensity! Under normal home-scale operations, cannabis typically needs a PPFD of between 100 - 300 μmol/m2/s during the seedling, 400 - 600 μmol/m2/s during vegetation, and 800 - 1,000 μmol/m2/s during flowering. That's just general ideal and not specific for autoflowers. You just have to read your plants, but the PPFD app is a great place to start. It's not 100% accurate by no means, but close enough to be of use! I think it's basically a par meter that saves you the extra step of converting to PPFD which is the best way to measure grow lights. Just my 2 cents!

 

[OM2]

You're right, it stretched a bit more since i took the photo yesterday. I'm following the Migro recommendation for 25% power at 18cm from canopy.
Is it possible that the plant requires more light because of the increased CO2 from spending time in the room?
I'll increase to 30% tomorrow and see the reaction.
I did install the PPFD phone app, but it showed around 300 so i thought it's enough. I lowered the light, now it shows almost 400 PPFD, i'll see how it reacts until tomorrow.

 

[Need4Weed]

You're right, it stretched a bit more since i took the photo yesterday. I'm following the Migro recommendation for 25% power at 18cm from canopy.
Is it possible that the plant requires more light because of the increased CO2 from spending time in the room?
I'll increase to 30% tomorrow and see the reaction.
I did install the PPFD phone app, but it showed around 300 so i thought it's enough. I lowered the light, now it shows almost 400 PPFD, i'll see how it reacts until tomorrow.

i believe you'll be ok unless she gets top heavy and falls over. If she does, use something like a small twig with a tiny branch that u can trim up & use to prop it up. Have u been using a fan to gently give it a breeze? If not, it's more likely to fall over, but don't do it now if you haven't already without propping her up first! Just my 2 cents!

 

[OM2]

This how it looks currently, and i have a small fan making a gentle breeze. At least i think it's gentle, it doesn't blow her away but she does shake quite a bit lol, like those bobblehead figures for cars It's been under that breeze as soon as the first leaves showed up. I spin the pot around daily to allow breeze from all sides. Do you think i will need to prop it up?
Also i was thinking of starting with a small dose of silica to strengthen the stem, should i?