First time growing autoflowers

So I haven't grown cannabis in about 15 years. I cropped a few plants in a closet as a youngster, and even though I was terrible at it, I loved doing it. Now, cut to 2024 and cannabis was just legalized where I live, so I'm having another try at it with a bit better setup than before. Weird start. Trial and error, a few drowned beans, a few weird accidents, but here we are. Sprout dates are scattered across a 10 day period. For the sake of simplicity, everything is going by Moonshine Cookies (MC, henceforth) since it was the first to break dirt, on 1/1/2024 (happy new year!). This one is in a 3gallon fabric pot. Seed was planted directly in the dirt. 4-assed Monkey #1 sprouted the next day. This is the other one in a fabric 3gallon pot. Seed was planted directly in the dirt. Afghan Kush (AK) is in the black plastic pot, and sprouted 1/8. I've drilled some holes in the side and bottom for air and drainage, but yeah I'm aware it's way less than ideal. Seed was germinated in a coco coir plug, and then transplanted to its pot when the tap root started poking out of the plug. I tried to unwrap the fabric from the plug, and half the plug fell away exposing the seedling. So I gently placed it in the dirt and hoped for the best. Its cotyledons were very yellow on day 1 compared to all the others, but it greened up after a day or two. 4-assed Monkey #2 was an experiment. I thought it was dead, as I had already given up on it (9 days after planting it) and used that dirt to re-pot a houseplant. Well, sometime around Jan 5 or 6, I found a weed sprout (of a rather pricey bean, no less) growing literally up against the side of the pot of my houseplant. A few days later, I transplanted it into a protein powder tub and put it in the tent. This plant is my "solo cup-ish" experiment.

Still trying to figure out how to water these things. It has been stressful... feels like they've always had either too much or too little, never just the right amount. Some weird discolorations on the leaves, but these are early leaves so I'm not too worried about it. Also, the 4-assed monkey is showing 2-fingered leaves.

Starting to see some action now. Decided to experiment with some forms of training. MC (moonshine cookies) got topped on day 19. 4am (the big one) got bent over and tied down on her day 19 as well. 4am2, the one in the protein powder tub, started showing pistils at day 18. I'm assuming this is due to a combination of stressors -- weird accidental birth, early transplant, awful container.

This week I acquired a second, smaller tent (30"x18"x36"). I'm going to use it for vegging smaller plants for now, and eventually it will be a place for a mother and clones when I start my photo run in the spring. In there from left to right we have: plushberry auto (blimburn, 2 bucks from nasc), royal jack auto (rqs), and strawberry banana (white label, photo). Big change for the girls in the main tent: I upgraded them to a Viparspectra XS1500 (the original, not the "pro") and put the SF-1000 in the small tent. Played around with some LST and a bit of leaf tucking. These girls are staying very squat. Is that an LED thing? This is my first time with them. I also think the light might be kind of too intense for them—all the new leaf blades are extremely skinny and lime green? Little 4am2 got a bit of calmag because of some weird spotting i saw on a leaf, but could also be bugs. I've got some neem oil on the way just in case. However, I realize now that the calmag I have has a lot of nitrogen in it, which 4am2 *definitely* did not need. Her tips are a bit burnt now, in addition to her deep green coloring. Will give her nothing but water for a week. For the rest, mostly just pH'd water, though some of them got one 1/4 dose of Foxfarm Big Bloom (which i'm not sure they needed...). They don't seem to be hurting for nitrogen, that's for sure—I think this is a Happy Frog thing? Or it could be that I gave them some of this CalMag stuff early on when I didn't need to, and they've been working through that N toxicity for a week or two. Just guessing here.

Looks like these girls are getting ready to bloom. I committed a cardinal sin or something. I transplanted 4AM2 (I'm gonna call her "2AM") and AK from their plastic pots into 2gallon fabric pots. the 2AM needed it, as her "pot" was probably a 0.75gallon protein powder tub with some holes poked in it. the AK didn't really need a new pot but I figured I'd go ahead and see what happens. now they're all in fabric pots together—MC and 4AM in 3gallon, AK and 2AM in 2gallon. The tallest, 4AM, has stretched quite a bit in the past few days but is still only 12 inches. MC is only 8 inches, wondering what kind of stretch she'll get. Regardless, these plants seem very small. I know 4am2 was messed up and flowered early, but even the bigger plants still seem tiny despite how healthy they appear in photos. They're actually quite dark when not under the grow light, which combined with the clawing suggests they got too much nitrogen at some point. With how small they are, I'm not really expecting big yields or giant buds. At the start of the week, they got their first taste of Tiger Bloom. I'm not following the Foxfarm schedule or anything, but I went for a very weak dose (i used 2ml, bottle says use 10-15). Their tips burnt ever so slightly from that, which is actually kind of good—it helps me know that I'm at least in the ballpark of what they can handle. Today (Feb 4), which is day 35 for MC, they all got their first dose of Real Growers Recharge. I've never used this stuff before, but kept reading good things. Felt and looked like i was serving them instant coffee. I have been worried that maybe the light is too close/too much. According to Photone they're at about 30 DLI, maybe a bit higher. I tried bumping that number up but I was getting some yellow tips at the very top so I dialed it back. I'm just going to let it ride for now, light at 75% @ 18 inches. Aside: one gripe about the XS1500 is that the dimming is stepped at 25-50-75-100%, as opposed to the SF1000 where the dimming is a smooth sweep. I tried some more LST but I was afraid to damage the plant further (I already broke one branch off) and the stems are getting too thick to really manipulate. Leaf tucking has been a chore, so I went ahead and did some defoliation of the three (not the AK). I took 2-5 leaves from each plant, over the course of a couple days, and feel pretty good about it. Lots of bud sites are exposed now, especially on the squat little Moonshine Cookies shrub. She'll probably get another haircut this week after she stretches a bit. (idk if this is any indication of anything, but when i rub the stems of the leaves i cut and smell them, they do each have a distinct smell. the MC has a sort of chocolatey gasoline thing going on, the AK is more of an earthy mint thing, and the 4AM is more like sugar or persimmon). Added a 120mm intake fan (basically like a computer case fan) at one of those vents down by the plants, just to get some extra airflow in there because the girls are so short and bushy. Tent #2 is 18"x30"x36", with a SF-1000 light. It has six plants in it; clockwise from top left: RQS Orion F1, RQS North Thunderfuck (photo), Blimburn Plushberry Auto, RQS Royal Jack Auto, Mephisto Zinfandel (i'm probably most excited for this one), and NASC Strawberry Banana (photo). The big plants are in week 4 (all three have been topped around day 18-22, and the seedlings are on day 4. I may have gotten a bit over-zealous. Ultimately I'd like to have a perpetual auto harvest going, so that when I chop a plant from the bigger tent, I replace it with one from the little tent, and then plant a new seed. I've got a whole bunch of Mephisto and RQS to get through before i'll allow myself to buy any more seeds.

Mid-week update, more to come later. I tried bottom watering for the first time. It didn't really work as well on the bigger girls (probably root issues from early watering problems, might also explain why they are so small), whereas the younger girls loved it and slurped up every last drop in about a minute. I suspect multiple factors: - different, smaller pots (2 gallon) - looser soil mix (more perlite, added coco) - recently re-potted, has only been saturated once - big girls were started directly in 3gal, and i haven't learned how to water them yet Regardless, they look pretty alright to me 24 hrs later (first pic). Tried setting the light to 100% for a bit (roughly 700 ppfd), and I think I might have fried the tops. So it's back to 75% at about 18", about 450-500 ppfd (30-ish DLI). I might try bumping it up again later, but they seem happier with less light for the time being. I'm waiting on the big girls to dry out so I can maybe hit them with some more Tiger Bloom. The big girls got a weak (1/5) dose of Big Bloom on Wednesday, but I'm not sure I'd even count that as feeding given how weak it is. I think it's just EWC and guano, no salts. I haven't really been feeding these girls much of anything at all... too gun-shy because I gave them a bit too much N early on, and because Tiger Bloom feels a bit intense. Hardly any smell yet from the 4AM—literally no smell at all from 2AM (not even a plant smell), and the big 4AM has a very faint sort of melon. Kind of an earthy minty pine smell from the AK when I'm touching her, but not strong at all. But oh boy, I was doing some LST on the Moonshine Cookies and it is definitely starting to throw off a sort of chocolate and gas. Thursday: 2AM and AK got bottom-fed the strongest ferts I've mixed yet. 2AM blew up and showed a bit of sugar a day later, but also got a bit burnt. I think AK took it fine, kinda hard to tell but she's really starting to flower now. She's kind of lanky so I'm not envisioning fat buds or massive yields from her... but so far she is still kicking despite my mishandling of her since birth. Sunday: Recharge day for everyone. Everyone got Big&Tiger Bloom at some point this week as well. Stronger feeding this week, but they seem to be okay with it. I got more Nitrogen clawing from it though (?), and just a slight bit of tip burn. Experimenting with bottom watering via wicking rope... so far so good? No loud odors yet, but definitely a distinctly "young cannabis" smell when I open the tent. The 4 Assed Monkeys still have absolutely no smell whatsoever even if I touch buds, stems, or the frosted leaves. Did a bit of gentle pruning on each, mostly just targeted the big leaves that I found myself constantly tucking, and one or two lame lower branches from the 4AM. She's looking like she might need more defoliation, but I'm going to wait and see how much more she stretches first. I love the way she looks and grows though. This week, AK (despite being the youngest) went from shortest to tallest, her main cola at 15 inches. She's kinda spindly, but her issues are all completely my fault: sloppy transplant, light stress, nute burn, weird watering, all the typical newbie shit. She's still green and kicking though. Light is at 100% now, and they aren't complaining about it anymore. MC and AK still get droopy an hour before lights out, but the 4AMs just can't seem to get enough!

Tent upgrade! The ladies moved into a luxurious 2x4x6 (ACI Cloudlab 642). I've got both lights in there now (XS-1500 and SF-1000). They've been joined by a few undocumented cousins, who are about ten days younger: Plushberry (Blimburn) and Royal Jack (RQS). These were cheap seeds I started "just in case" when I was anxious that I had drowned my original babies. Gosh it's crowded in there, even with how small they are. Note to self: do not try to grow several unfamiliar strains at once! I am my own worst enemy so far for this grow. DLI ranges about 35-40 across the canopy. Might try to push that a bit closer to 45 next week. Happy Frog: This stuff is weird, has made me second-guess my feeding the entire time. I think i screwed up by not using any Grow Big at all until week 6/7, and my plants are suffering as a result. I think now I have some ratios off, and maybe some pH inconsistency, and it's causing some lockouts or something. I think for my younger plants I will start to introduce weak nutes earlier on, and then scale up toward full dose as needed. MC has some shit going on.... seeing some yellow patches with rusty brown spots in them, and the tips starting to curl upward on lower/middle leaves. I figured it was either P, K, or Mg I really hope it's not pests of some sort... will continue to keep an eye on it and check with loupe. In the meantime, she got fed first. Lots of little bud sites closely packed together; no resin yet, and not really any smell to the buds besides a subtle floral hint. 2AM is getting frosty. Who would have thought this little accident would end up as my best-looking plant. When touched, she has a smell that is remarkably like the generic "fruity" flavor (e.g. Fruity Pebbles, Froot Loops). 4AM is just chugging along like a champ. I really like this plant; she's probably my favorite. Just takes everything in stride (mostly—she's clawing a bit after this recent feeding). Starting to put out some frost as well... she has a hint of that "fruity" smell like the 2AM, but the more prominent aroma is more of a chemical "floor cleaner" type of thing. I am super excited for this! AK is filling out, but still looking kinda sad. Clawing from recent feeding... She's the tallest now at 17 inches, with 4AM close behind at 16. Has a very interesting earthy, almost mint-like smell when rubbed. RJ (Royal Jack) might have some pH issues? She suddenly got all very lime green. I think being in a 1gallon pot is messing her up, which has me concerned for the two babies I've got in 1gallons in the other tent. I don't think 1gallon is the way, at least for soil. Oh well, still gonna see what happens! (UPDATE: I transplanted her into a 2 gallon ... probably too late and will undoubtedly fuck her up, but her roots were growing out of the bottom of the pot. It then immediately occurred to me that I didn't need to cut away her existing fabric pot; i probably could have just placed it inside a bigger one and let the roots grow through. I'm making note of how to handle this better next time, for my Zinfandel and Orion which are currently at week 3 in the same style of 1gallon pot. While working with her, she gave off a smell that was almost like green apple.) PB (Plushberry) is just a little ball of shrub. I tried to LST her a little bit but there's really no room in the tent to spread her out, so I'm just gonna let her do her own thing. She was a very slow starter (and was in the same sized plastic tub that 2AM was in), and I almost culled her a while back but now I'm glad I didn't. She was a 2 dollar seed so I haven't given her much attention, but ironically I think that has worked out in her favor. There's a lesson here... I'm trying out bottom-feeding this week. I was kind of amazed how well it works! However, this brought the RH up over 60%. I also think maybe I used too much wick (or too thick) for a few of them, because the soil got drenched quickly. Humidity is definitely going to be a problem in a tent this crowded. Bit of pruning here and there, but I'm mostly just letting them ride now because I've already been stressing them with bad feed/water/vpd/light stuff. Been lazy with the pH due to increased watering demands, and it's starting to show. I also still don't know how to feed these plants. I've got a lot to learn. Life is a series of experiments.

I fried my plants with Tiger Bloom and bottom watering. User error, too many experiments at once, too many different strains. Long story short, I hit PB hard with Tiger as a test and she took it really well, so I hit MC with that same strength. MC got fried, major acid soil zone (remember that sonic the hedgehog level?) and locked out calcium and magnesium, so I culled her after a week of struggling. As a result, I finally started measuring and trying to understand PPM/EC. End of week, I've flushed everyone with: 20ml Big Bloom, 0.5ml CalMag+, total ~400ppm, pH 6.8, plus Recharge. Going to GENTLY reintroduce bloom nutrients and fix my watering game. Top watering only for now, til I have enough runoff to measure. 2AM and RJ latest watering: 400/6.8 in, 1000/6.3 out. MC was hit hardest by my mistakes and has been culled. I needed the room, and really, this is why I initially planted extras. I learned some lessons. AK putting out some resin, looking very stretchy (and hungry). Very interesting smell, almost like loam and mint, like the kind of aftershave in a country club locker room in in the rural midwest. Tallest of the lot at 23 inches. She got hit pretty hard with some calcium deficiency which I assume is from the acid tiger salt bath causing lockout... she definitely has plenty of calcium in there that she just isn't using. RJ has been taking her time recovering from the very late transplant, but she's finally kicking into flower. She seems to be recovering from whatever was making her lime green, and I'm nervous to see how much more she is going to stretch. I trimmed quite a bit of lower stuff. PB was the first to get the strong Tiger Bloom mix, and she took it like a champ—her blooms formed practically overnight and she didn't show much (if any) burn. So that gave me the confidence to hit the other girls with the strong mix. Big mistake... I fried pretty much everyone else except for RJ. I trimmed some lower stuff. She's competing with RJ for second-tallest in the tent. 4AM is bushy but I want to get through this nutrient/pH stress before I take too many leaves. Touching gives some fruity glue that I'm really excited for. Square fabric pots are bad and dumb. 2AM got the fry of the tiger as well, but I think I'm working through it with the gentle flushing. She's definitely looking like the first to be chopped, but I don't know how much longer. Three weeks? (other tent) : RQS Orion F1 and Mephisto Zinfandel are cruising along in week 4 with no training besides leaf tucking in the other tent. Also at week 1, I've got Fastbuds Grapefruit, Mephisto (Mango Smile x 4AM), and RQS Epsilon F1. The Grapefruit will stay in solo cup, the Mango gets 2gallon, and who knows about the epsilon.

I'm trying light food with almost every watering. They almost always get at least a little bit of Big Bloom, and they get Recharge as often as not. Basically, my water comes out of the tap at 170ppm, and I add Big Bloom until it's about 250-300ppm, and then use that as a base to add whatever I think the plants might need. The volume of liquid is basically thus: an X-gallon pot gets X liters of water/feed every time. 4AM: She's really starting to fatten up and smell a bit louder. There is now a sort of slightly chemical funk competing with the tropical fruitiness. She's losing a lot of green but I think I'm going to let her ride without any more heavy feedings... I feel like this is actually a real "2 more weeks and some calmag" deal. 2AM: This little runt is sticky and smells of sugary, vaguely-tropical mixed fruit. I'd be surprised to get more than a half ounce off of her, but that's entirely my fault. She's showing some cal/mag deficiency (among others) this past week or two as well. AK: This is the loudest smelling plant so far, very earthy and hashy. She has some serious nutrient problems... I think I worked out the pH stuff but now she's just starving. I'm getting nervous about the calcium situation and potential bud rot. I watered in some dolomite lime but it's probably too late for that to help. PB: She's finally starting to fill out those bare, skinny legs of hers. She'll be a clusterfuck in a few weeks, with how shrubby she has been. Still very dark green, and I'm just feeding her bloom food in modest amounts until I notice something's up. RJ: This girl is finally starting to take off. She's been real slow, but that's my fault—three transplants and a topping will do that. She's now the tallest girl in the tent at 25 inches, and looks like she might still have a bit of stretch left. (bonus girls: RQS Orion and Mephisto Zinfandel, both chugging along in 1 gallon of soil each, with no topping/LST. currently in week 5. The Zinfandel when rubbed gives off a smell that is almost like pipe tobacco and wet mulch)