Autopot for Blue Amnesia XXL in coir

alung Sprouted in Fertiss plugs, 3 days from planting to breaking the surface. New to auto's and indoor growing (not legal in my backwater). Had a few tries with some bag seed to get used to coir/tents etc and the common thread in it all was me loving my girls too much. As a chronic overfeeder I'm trying out the Autopot system to remove myself from the equation as much as possible. Can't stop looking at them every half hour though In a 2x2x6 tent with Autopot setup (not used for first 3 weeks, top watering) and a 300w LED, carbon+fan unit for air exchange

alung Oh my... so, I reconstituted my coir brick with tap water at what I thought was pH 5.8. They just looked wrong, stunted and unhappy. So I decided to invest in a bluelab Ph pen as clearly the $20 one was telling fibs. and how! pH was 7.8, poor wee things flushed and adjusted, fingers crossed...

alung no week 3 pics cos i didn't think they'd pull through. But we're away again and only time will tell what impact it has on yield. As they now look established I've stopped top watering and turned the tap on for the Autopot system

alung aaaand we're back (phew). Two different phenotypes maybe? Time to crank the lights! Have replaced the 300w with a 5x300w cob unit (CRX Sunny brand) for 1500w (275w draw at the wall). Full spectrum with IR and UV - here is the link if you're interested https://tinyurl.com/ya6vh6y4 Seems like a beast m/ A week of autopot feeding and Second Lady was showing some tip burn. Adjusted down to 160ppm I'm guessing these girls will run to a deadline as per Dinafem's info...

alung They seem happy wee lasses now. Tip burn on the Second Lady appears to have halted, but now the First Lady looks hungry (purple stems)... First pistils showing on 33rd day from seed.

alung First top up of the autopot tank, meaning they drank 10l in 9 days. My newbi-ness may be the cause, but they don't seem to have progressed as much as i thought they would and the taco leaves on First Lady are driving me crazy... I can't find any mites, the pH and ppm and temps all seem fine. It has been unseasonably low RH around here, but still within 'normal' range. Trying to keep the VPD in the right place and hoping all will be well as we're now half way to D-Day

alung Wow, they have kicked it up a gear Second Lady is sprinting away and now 25 cm taller than last week. First lady is biding her time and bulking up first. Still some six inches shorter than her tent-mate... Whatever issues there were are long gone it seems. I take heart in the fact that First Lady is now throwing out nine-fingered leaves. That seems very healthy. In terms of the timeline, they appear to have delayed by ~1 week due to earlier mismanagement

alung more robust growth with 2nd Lady being tied back to keep her off the light. Getting pretty crowded and am considering a bit of defoliation. Added PK 13/14 to mix, 'cos why not? Happy to say only good problems (too tall! too bushy! hmmm when to stop feeding?). Time to sit back and watch my ladies fatten up (fingers etc crossed)

alung The ladies are thiiirsty this week. Buds are bulking up nicely :) 10l top-ups on monday and friday busy week with some thinning out to improve light penetration as well as upping the calmag due to the return of the dreaded brown spot (tip of the hat to @Teetee for their informative diary). changed main fan to a quieter EC model (6" hyperfan from Phresh) and emptied my reservoir as i'd notice either sediment or algae in the bottom. Added an extra 2 l pH'ed water yesterday as 2nd Lady might have hinted at tip burn (she is a far more fussy eater than 1st Lady) My only problem now is that the two plants are developing at different rates. Would welcome any advice on how to finish the feeding autos ~2 weeks apart (please and thank you)

alung Struggling with keeping the climate in the tent right with high RH being a problem. The dehumidifier is great, but heats the room too much. Have moved the tent to a larger room and will see how the girls respond. Last week of feeding, even though 1st Lady looks like she could run longer. The only downside of my autopot system is that both plants run off the same reservoir. The tank was topped up with pH'd water with what was left in there, the resulting mix is just under 150ppm. Next refill will be plain water pH'd to ~6.5. First brown pistils are appearing and fan leaves are changing colour, so the timing seems about right. note on the different pheno's - 1st Lady has quite yellow pistils and a cheesy smell with rounded buds all the way down the stem while 2nd Lady is more true to type, fruity berry smells and gaining a blueish tint with conical upper buds. Due to local laws they were purchased anonymously from a seed bank (Attitude, FTW) and there is every chance i got two different auto's altogether (they came stealth post in a hand labelled baggy)

alung On the home stretch now with the checkered flag in sight 😋. ~50% cloudy trichomes and maybe 30% brown pistils. Gaining weight nicely, these are some dense buds. Early testing of popcorn tells me we're on to a winner here 😎 Quite clear now that the 'wrong' seed got sent. The two ladies are very different in shape and smell, but does help explain why i was struggling to feed them both from the same reservoir. Where 1st Lady was still hungry (purple stems) 2nd Lady was showing tip burn. 2nd Lady also showing signs of foxtailing. and now I'm on flush cycle and the res won't stay stable. Ph in at 6.4, overnight this raises to ~7. pH down to 6.4. Rinse and repeat. Let's hear it for the learning curve 😐... Moving the tent has paid off and despite particularly damp weather have managed to get the RH down into the 40's without the dehumidifier raising temps above 26. Surfing the vpd curve all the way home (fingers crossed). Came across an unusual leaf on 2nd Lady so whipped it off just in case. Wish i'd done my research first as flowers growing on a fan leaf are a rare and beautiful gift

alung 1st Lady has ripened beautifully, so time to whip the tops off... Exposing all the lower branches so they get their time in the sun. As at 9/11 it is 82 days from seed, but my bad early on stunted them by a week, so i'm gonna say 75 days actual maturation. Still believe this was the 'wrong' seed, shame as she's a ripper and i'd happily grow it again 😏 2nd Lady (who totally looks like a BA XXL) still going, up to another week for her, i think EDIT... 11/11 and the loupe shows ~80% cloudy on the main cola with some ambers showing up too. On balance what is left in the tent is ready enough so it's 48 hours dark and then chop time 😈

alung Things that could've gone better... having the same seeds would've helped. The true BA XXL fed lighter, grew taller than the other and took longer to finish. Managing the micro-climate of a small tent is annoyingly fiddly. I chopped too early, but there were reasons... Lesson here is not to complain about maintenance issues on your rental til you're finished growing... Overall a fun grow and my best yet. Thanks to all who chipped in with tips and positivity, sweet to have you around!