Here it is, my first thread on the autoflower network!
I've been growing for quite a few years now but I'm still far from an expert. I have come a long way, however, with help from our organic grow friends over the pond, mostly in Pacific NW. I got into attempting "no-till" or as I prefer to call it, "living soil" in 2019 and haven't looked back. I've had ups and downs but it's still the best hobby ever. I do not sell my produce but simply enjoy being self-sufficient. Safe organic weed and no support for county lines gangs!
I'm currently at Day 15 of a 2 plant grow in my 2x4 tent. I'm growing Mephisto Mango Smile and a 3wok OG. This will be my 3rd run in 10-gallon bags with my living soil mix. I was given a TSL2000 by Mars Hydro a while back and it's a great fit in my 2x4. I run 24/0 lighting and a heat mat set to 24ºC for the whole run. I obsess over VPD and currently am running a constant 25ºC air temp and 65% humidity. 24 hour lighting helps me keep all this stable in a cold old southern UK winter. I've got an AC Infinity T6 Pro with the Pro 69 controller. This thing was a bit pricey but so very useful.
I've had an issue with soil gnats on this run after adding a load of pulverised leaf matter to aerate and add carbon to my mix. It was a mistake as I really should have composted it first as I think the gnats have thrived on this stuff rotting down. I use the tissue method for germination and lost 3 sprouts to the gnats! They massacred the tap root each time. To remedy this I let my bags dehydrate a bit and put them outside for 24 hours in sub-zero conditions to fuck with the gnats. I started my 4th attempt seeds in small pots and transplanted them on day 10. It seems that these gnats are only a problem for tiny seedlings and so far (5 days later), so good!
I tried the "bend and release" method last run and it was very successful so I'll try it again this run. (I grew some very very nice Tinto De Verano from Mephisto. A very good strain). Ideally, I'd do it today but I think the transplant may have slowed them slightly so maybe I'll do it tomorrow or the next day. They are just about showing me the roots are delivering for them, so I dropped the humidity from 70% to 65% today.
Well, that's a start. I'll add pix later and hopefully don't bore the shit out of everyone with my over-sharing lol.
PS: I'm always on the lookout for anyone else doing a similar style grow in the UK. All my info is from the USA (I've had great coaching on GrassCity forums from the Organic people), so it would be great to hear from UK people to get their take on inputs available here etc.
I've been growing for quite a few years now but I'm still far from an expert. I have come a long way, however, with help from our organic grow friends over the pond, mostly in Pacific NW. I got into attempting "no-till" or as I prefer to call it, "living soil" in 2019 and haven't looked back. I've had ups and downs but it's still the best hobby ever. I do not sell my produce but simply enjoy being self-sufficient. Safe organic weed and no support for county lines gangs!
I'm currently at Day 15 of a 2 plant grow in my 2x4 tent. I'm growing Mephisto Mango Smile and a 3wok OG. This will be my 3rd run in 10-gallon bags with my living soil mix. I was given a TSL2000 by Mars Hydro a while back and it's a great fit in my 2x4. I run 24/0 lighting and a heat mat set to 24ºC for the whole run. I obsess over VPD and currently am running a constant 25ºC air temp and 65% humidity. 24 hour lighting helps me keep all this stable in a cold old southern UK winter. I've got an AC Infinity T6 Pro with the Pro 69 controller. This thing was a bit pricey but so very useful.
I've had an issue with soil gnats on this run after adding a load of pulverised leaf matter to aerate and add carbon to my mix. It was a mistake as I really should have composted it first as I think the gnats have thrived on this stuff rotting down. I use the tissue method for germination and lost 3 sprouts to the gnats! They massacred the tap root each time. To remedy this I let my bags dehydrate a bit and put them outside for 24 hours in sub-zero conditions to fuck with the gnats. I started my 4th attempt seeds in small pots and transplanted them on day 10. It seems that these gnats are only a problem for tiny seedlings and so far (5 days later), so good!
I tried the "bend and release" method last run and it was very successful so I'll try it again this run. (I grew some very very nice Tinto De Verano from Mephisto. A very good strain). Ideally, I'd do it today but I think the transplant may have slowed them slightly so maybe I'll do it tomorrow or the next day. They are just about showing me the roots are delivering for them, so I dropped the humidity from 70% to 65% today.
Well, that's a start. I'll add pix later and hopefully don't bore the shit out of everyone with my over-sharing lol.
PS: I'm always on the lookout for anyone else doing a similar style grow in the UK. All my info is from the USA (I've had great coaching on GrassCity forums from the Organic people), so it would be great to hear from UK people to get their take on inputs available here etc.