First Auto Grow

This is the Dinafem Sour Diesel Auto. She's the first one to really take hold. There are 3 other strains and I'll add pics once they are ~2in tall. Edit: Forgot to mention soil is FFOF that I let sit for 2-3 months prior to use with added kelp meal, neem & karanja cake, and Mykos (mycorrhizal innoculant).

Dinafem Sour Diesel Auto. She Is having some serious issues. I added some cal mag at the suggestion of some users on another forum. I thought it was light burn, but the other two in the tent don't have the same issue. The T.H. Seeds Northern Hog is doing quite well and isn't having any of the problems that the Dinafem Sour Diesel is experiencing. She is only about 2" in height. BlimBurn AK Auto is also thriving. 2" tall and growing well. Some slight discoloration in the leaves, but overall, nothing to be concerned about. Barneys Farm Pineapple Express Auto. She is FINALLY showing some improvement. She was germinated the same day as the AK and Northern Hog, but after she broke the surface she stalled until just 2 days ago. I replanted her with the slightly altered soil (Added Kelp meal, Neem & Karanja cake to the soil and Mykos mycorrhizal innoculant applied to the roots) and now she seems to be revitalized. As always, feel free to comment or message with any suggestions or questions you may have as this is my first Autoflowering grow. Thanks again for checking in.

Wow! What a week! A lot has happened and they are really starting to thrive. All of the ladies have been moved to 5 Gal Smart Pots. I'm not sure if I'll use this large of a pot with autos in the future, but they were a gift from a friend so I am extremely grateful. When taking their photos today I noticed that all of the Smart Pots have very moist bottoms. I was wondering if this is an accurate (or at least useful) indicator of the soil being over-watered? I also use the finger test in the top inch of soil, but I have only ever used plastic containers for previous grows so I am unfamiliar with the drainage rates of these fabric pots. All I am giving them is water because their soil is primarily FF OF (with Neem & Karanja cake, Kelp meal, and perlite added). I haven't decided if I will add nutes in the future, but I am open to input. Dinafem Sour Diesel Auto - This lady has been through a lot this week. After flushing her out last Sunday and transplanting her into her final container, she has started to recover quite nicely. There are still some signs of over-watering on her new(er) growth, but I expect this is due to flushing the soil. She has received very little water this week (

First off, this week was very quiet, but the ladies just keep on trucking. Colder temperatures have moved in (Surprise, it's October!), and they are certainly showing it. Seeing as how my grow space is in a less-than-climate-controlled area, I am having to improvise by turning down the exhaust fan and allowing the lights to be closer to the plants in order to even maintain the temps I have now. I will definitely be installing a sealed oil radiator-style heater with a thermostat to help keep them warmer than they are now. I am very thankful for the ruderalis genetics when dealing with temps like this (61-71F). I only watered twice this week, 1 gal each time, split between all the ladies, straight ph'ed H2O. They are holding moisture well, so I have just been conservative in order to avoid issues with wet roots and not having the higher temperatures I would need to dry out the soil. Now on to the ladies: Dinafem Sour Diesel Auto - She is really starting to show her flowers. She has more bud sites than I expected, so hopefully they bulk up over the coming weeks. Not sure what to expect because this is my first Auto grow. She is right at 12" in height. T.H. Seeds Auto Northern Hog - This lady has been really impressing me this week! She has crazy tight internodes and has more bud sites than I thought possible with a plant this small. She is only showing her pre-flowers at this point, but when she starts really flowering, she should be quite astounding. I have seen her listed as a "high-yield auto", but I am still going to maintain a conservative attitude at this point. I believe her droopy leaves are being caused by the drop in temps since her color is still fantastic and the drooping is mainly focused in the upper growth. Those drooping leaves are also significantly more narrow than the leaflets in the lower growth. She is right with the Sour Diesel at 12" tall, but she is so much bushier thanks to what appears to be her Indica-dominant genetics BlimBurn AK Auto - She is starting to show her pre-flowers and they are a lot longer than the other strains' pre-flowers at this point. Color is excellent and she is very stocky. I am going to have to start tucking leaves on all of these ladies in order to expose more light to the bud sites as the buds start to form. I may even have to invest in some side-lighting as the time goes on. Not much activity to report with her, just letting her coast. She's pushed up to 8" tall and shows no signs of stopping and really no negative effects so far regarding the cooler temps. Barney's Farm Pineapple Express Auto - This girl is coming right along nicely. She's stretched up to 7" tall, so she is now on-par with the AK Auto. Great color and tight internodes make me think she's going to end up very healthy after all. The first pre-flowers are showing and I hope she continues her impressive recovery. As always, I am open to any comments or questions regarding this grow and I really look forward to sharing this experience with all of you. Until next time, Happy Growing!

Wow! These ladies are BOOMING! This week (sorry for the delay) was quite productive. Seeds were planted on Sept. 12th, so this makes it officially Day 41 from seed (Day 38 from germination). The weather has finally picked up a little bit allowing us a relief from Fake Fall #1. Still at least one more of those to go here in the Midwest. Anyways, on to the stars of this show: Dinafem Sour Diesel Auto - Measuring in this week at a respectable 14.5 inches, she has been focusing almost entirely on bud production as you can see. She is starting to smell more strongly and I can't wait to see what she does over the coming weeks. T.H. Seeds Auto Northern Hog (A.K.A. Miss Piggy) - What a gorgeous lady she is! She has exploded up to an incredible 19 inches! Her tips are the teeniest bit droopy due to a lack of water. She should have been watered yesterday, but I was still on my cold-weather watering schedule. She has a good number of bud sites and doesn't show any signs of slowing down yet. She has put on 6 inches in 7 days (10/14 measured 12", 10/21 measured 18", 10/23 measured 19") She has been my favorite so far, but I love them all. BlimBurn AK Auto - Nothing much to say about her yet. She started budding and is at 12 inches as of this posting (10/23). Good number of bud sites, but still looking for her to start her stretch. Barney's Farm Pineapple Express Auto - This is exciting! She has fully recovered and has started budding. She has even gained on her sister and measured in at 13 inches. Pretty simple week this week, but they are making progress which is always good. Until next time, Happy Growing!

These ladies are chugging right along! Vertical stretch has slowed significantly in the last week and bud formation is in full swing. All of the photos not shot under the grow light were from Sunday, Oct 28th. They are only being fed ph'd water currently, taking in approx. 1/2 gal each every 2-3 days. Considering adding either Bud Candy or Blackstrap Molasses to the water soon. Thoughts? Feel free to drop any comments or questions and until next time, Happy Growing!

These ladies are looking fantastic. They are starting to stop their upward growth and they are fully focused on bud production. Cold has finally set in here in The Midwest and due to dropping temperatures, a heater has been placed outside the tent to increase temps during this important time. Temps are mostly stable in the mid-seventies to low-eighties. During calibration the temps dropped down to the mid-sixties, but the ladies show no signs of impedance. Now on to the stars of the show: Dinafem Sour Diesel Auto - She is in total bud-mode. Her flowers sparkle in the light and I'm very very happy with how she is progressing. I'm looking forward to what she can do over the coming weeks. She is 16 inches tall. T.H. Seeds Auto Northern Hog - She is far and away the tallest lady in the tent. Measuring at 26 inches, she is 8 inches taller than her closest neighbor. Her main cola is filling in wonderfully and her lower buds are becoming more substantial. BlimBurn AK Auto - She is the second tallest at 18 inches. Good bud formation and main cola is stacked quite well. Barneys Farm Pineapple Express Auto - She catches quite a glimmer in the light like her sister. Tight, strong smelling buds are all over her and she shows her genetics well. Thanks for checking out the diary, and as always, Happy Growing!

Apparently I missed a week somewhere (Week 6, I believe), so this is Week 9. Technically speaking, the Dinafem Sour Diesel Auto and the T.H. Seeds Auto Northern Hog are 65 days and the BlimBurn AK Auto and the Barneys Farm Pineapple Express are 58 Days. They are just cruising along quite well. They have all upped their water intake over the last week, partially due to the addition of the heater outside the tent. At multiple occasions during this week I have seen it down as far as 15% RH, but it does seem to have stabilized around 25-30% with the *slightly* warmer weather this week. Well, on to the stars of this show! Dinafem Sour Diesel Auto - Her buds are really fattening up and they are just covered in trichomes, easily visible with the naked eye. She has stalled, as expected, at 16" tall, but the buds are definitely weighing down her branches. There has been some recent discoloration to some (random?) leaves which I believe to be due to a nitrogen deficiency. I'm not sure whether to make any adjustments at this point because she is so close to being finished. She is on day 65 and it is recommended to let her go until day 80 even though she could be harvested at day 70. I will rely on the trichomes for the final harvest date, but she does seem to be pretty in line with that estimate. The trichs are about 50/50 clear/cloudy with no amber. T.H. Seeds Auto Northern Hog - Wow. This is an Auto? Just wow. As you can see by the pictures, she has a MASSIVE cola (with respect to Autos, nothing compared to many photos, I know) and has finally started getting a visible sparkle from her trichs. This lady is the reason I will likely never do a split-strain grow in this tent without LOTS of training. I didn't want to stunt her with training because I wasn't as sure of her genetic stability to handle the stress. Clearly she could have taken it in stride and it would have helped the canopy stay more even. However, I don't think I'd have gotten such an impressive cola if I had broken her Apical Dominance. Her trichs are almost all clear so she will still be a while. Recommendations are to harvest her at 80 days also, but we will see. She is 26 inches tall so her stretch is definitely over, thankfully. BlimBurn AK Auto - She is 18 inches tall and has a fair number of buds all over her. They don't sparkle like the other three, but she is only on day 58. She should be 65-75 days when harvested, but I think she will end up on the longer end of that range. Her genetics aren't bad, but there are clearly better performing auto strains available. I like that her roots are so simple (lowrider x AK), but her performance clearly suffers without an extensive nutrient lineup to support her. All that being said, I have enjoyed the experience of watching her develop and I look forward to the finished product. Barneys Farm Pineapple Express Auto - This little lady has done very well for herself despite her difficult start. she is 18 inches tall and looks almost identical to the AK Auto. She has a much more even lower canopy than the AK Auto and her buds are much fatter and stickier. She is also on day 58 and most of what I've seen has said 58-65 for harvest. I'm not sure if I'll harvest her so soon. If I harvest all four on the same day (Dec 1st), the first two will be 78 days and the last two will be 71. This lines up quite well with the recommended 80 days for the first two and 65-75 for the AK Auto. The Pineapple Express Auto *technically* should be ready Nov 25th. Unfortunately, I don't have the space to pull each of them exactly when they are ready, but Dec 1st looks like a good day to harvest all of them. I'll keep you guys updated and again, I'm very sorry for missing week 6. Thanks for checking out my grow, and until next time, Happy Growing!

Wow. How time flies! These ladies are really starting to pack on the trichomes and prepare for their final days. Details of each as follows: T.H. Seeds Auto Northern Hog - This lady has been an absolute pleasure to watch from start to finish. Very healthy and impressive development. Today marks day 75 since this dear one was planted. She has stabilized at 26" and has a noticeable tilt due to the weight of her main cola. She has a distinct sparsity of trichomes, however her pistils are still quite pale so I think she still some time to go. Probably in the neighborhood of 2 weeks by my estimation. She has by far the most bud on her from any of my girls and I'm looking forward to seeing her final harvest. BlimBurn AK Auto - This little lady has blown up with trichomes over the last week. She has had some decent bud expansion and her pistils are starting to darken. While she has transitioned to having a higher percentage of cloudy trichomes, hardly any have changed to amber. This, in combination with her almost-fully extended pistils, advises me to continue her flowering cycle along with the Northern Hog. I doubt she will last as long as the Northern Hog, but we shall wait and see. She is on day 68 of her advised 75 day cycle, however, I will let her tell me when she is finished. Again, all I can say is: Wow, Wow, Wow! My expectations were not high when starting this Auto grow and it's definitely not over yet. My expectations have been surpassed time and time again by these girls and the growers I know didn't have a clue about the quality of the newer autoflowering genetics. Also, I'm sure anyone who has been following this can see that two of our star performers are missing from the lineup this evening. Never fear! They shall return soon! I have moved them to blackout conditions to await their cutting later this very evening. Once they are cut and trimmed I will go ahead and post initial harvest updates for each of them. Thanks for following and, until next time, Happy Growing!

This lady had quite a difficult start, but she finished out quite well, in my opinion. If you look back along my grow (or if you have been following the whole way through), you can see how she started out stunted, lagging behind all her siblings. As of my week 9 update, you can see how similar the AK Auto from BlimBurn and this Pineapple Express Auto from Barney's Farm developed. They are both approximately 18 inches tall and have a similar amount of bud on them. At this stage (the AK Auto still has some time yet to go), the Pineapple Express Auto buds definitely look much nicer. Her beautiful buds and delicious scent are a mega-win for me and I would happily grow her again to experiment with her more. She was the first girl to start having a noticeable smell, even though the Sour Diesel Auto from Dinafem had the first (and fattest) buds. I will post a wet weight here within the next few hours. Also to note, the wattage for the light as well as the area of the grow space were both shared equally between all four ladies in this grow.

Overall, this was a very smooth and enjoyable grow; though I've never had a bad time growing. 😄 She was the first to flower and had, by far, the most beautiful buds of any of the plants in this grow. I would have liked to see her get taller, but I am more than happy with all she has given me and has yet to give. I'll definitely be growing her again.

This week's progress report is quite minimal. Not much to report on these ladies. As you can see on both of them, there are plenty of white pistils still standing, so neither of them are ready, for sure. We will keep an eye on them and see what happens this week.

Will update further once drying is complete. EDIT: Drying has completed and curing has begun. Dry weight was right at 18g. Not terrible, not great. The AK Automatic was probably the easiest to trim, but all of the buds from this one and my Auto Northern Hog by T.H. Seeds are super crazy fluffy and not in the most desirable way. She never complained about her conditions and was more or less a set-it-and-forget-it.

Oh, how far we have come in such short time. Week Twelve! You may have noticed she lost about ten inches off the top. Well, she just wasn't ripening evenly and due to her dense foliage, there were plenty of bud sites that weren't getting the best of light. One thing led to another and next thing you know she's only 16 inches tall, but much happier now that she isn't crowded in there with her sisters. Basically just going to let her cruise until she decides she's ready. And before I forget, I added a sneak peek at my next grow cycle which will be coming up in the next week. Check back for more updates and a new diary sporting something special from Barney's Farm. Until next time, Happy Growing!

Top half was ready to go, harvested 12/9. Will update further with weights once dried. EDIT: Top half dried and in jars for curing. 22g harvested from her top (see photos). She was, by far, the leafiest gal in the bunch which made trimming her tedious. However, the fluffiness of her buds allowed for fairly easy access to the base of the leaf stem, so overall the trim wasn't terrible. The biggest point to make about this strain is the SWEETNESS. I've never smelled any strain that even came close to how sweet and piney this one is. EDIT2: Finally got around to cutting, trimming, and drying out the last half of the plant. I didn't take a wet weight just due to how awkward she was because I cut her down and dried her whole. I ended up with another 28g of dried flower for a total of 50g. Not shabby for such a relatively quick harvest.