Autoflower retake

@ChiefGrowAutoflowers, thanks bro! 1 day later and She's already broken the surface! Crazy fast never had a seed pop the surface so early. Normally wait around 2-3 days after planting

@ChiefGrowAutoflowers, Happy Growing=)

@CRiSPrGrow, Yeah I noticed he went AWOL, hope he's okay.

@BudsZA, as a baseline I would consider the 85W 6400K 4750 lumen flash CFL here : https://hydroponic.co.za/hydroponics/fluorescent-cfl-6400k/. That is R260 and fits a standard E27 fitting. Now for seedlings only you could possibly go smaller. Maybe something like this: https://lightingwarehouse.co.za/shop/globe/157318/. What you want to look out for is the spectrum (6400K is good for veg, 2700K is good for bloom), and the intensity which is a function of the lumens output of the bulb, the angle and the distance to the plant. With CFLs you can and should go as close as possible without burning the plant (5-20cm). To test if it's hot it should be comfortable if you hold your hand above the plant for 30secs. This is a useful guide: https://www.growweedeasy.com/how-far-grow-lights For the 32W light above they don't specify lumens, but lets estimate it to be about 1800 lumen (that's what i could lookup for other 32W 6400K cfls). If I use a calculator at: https://ledstuff.co.nz/calculators and input 90degrees angle, 1800 lumens and 15 cm distance , then that estimates 43000 lux which is in the range (15K to 70K lux). Another thing to watch for is if the seedlings stretch too much then that is an indication that it is not getting intense enough light. In that case you want to decrease the distance or increase the intensity of the bulb. In my case I went big on intensity and a rig that allowed my to control the distance. Note - please don't take my word for it, i would recommend that you supplement this info with your own research / input from real pros on this site.

@smurgrow, can you recommend a CFL just for the first 2 weeks? Something I can use when it's just a seedling. This way it doesn't stunt when it's so small and it doesn't break the bank. I get about 8 hours direct sun a day but have to move it around

@BudsZA, I went a bit overboard and now use 3×140W cfls + 85W cfl for 9plants. I started with the 85W then added the rest when we discovered that plants from same batch of seeds grown under led were developing about 50% faster. In my initial grow I had no lights and comparing to a seed now growing from same strain with boost at night from the lights I see 2x improvement in rate of development. My issue is that it is hard in my yard to get more than 6hours direct sun without moving plants 3times per day. If you're growing photoperiods outside i dont think this makes such a big difference, but with autos the lifecycle is so short (vegging only 4weeks) that its a huge impact. For smaller number of plants a single 140W cfl with reflector should be enough.

@BudsZA, Thanks for the reply dude, I wanted to correct some typing mistakes and found another bug...(can't edit the post you replied to). While I know purpling is sometimes/somewhat related to genetics (I have a few random purple stem plants), it also means the plant is likely more sensitive to phosphor deficiencies, as in, they tend to use more of it (or don't use it as well), or something related to phosphor uptake. Could possibly be anthocyanin related too (it often determines colour in some kinds of plants). Still though, if the plant looks healthy (and yours do), no real problems. But sudden changes are often a sign of stress. If the leaves look really crap though, remove them. Also, check your leaves (undersides usually) now and then for caterpillar eggs and stuff. Best of luck bro.

@@Ssomeguy, thanks man. I won't damage anymore leaves from now on. The purple is genetics from fast buds. LSD-25 has awesome colors. Happy growing✌️

@BudsZA, Well this has *roughly* been consistent with all my plants so far, basically when pistils noticeably stop being generated and your plant is really slowing down on bulking (either volume or mass) it's probably just about harvest time (like maybe within a week). But do check if it suddenly generates a bunch of new stuff, coz my plants have been doing that at times, though yours is autoflower so it's probably like "planned obsolescence" relative to regular plants. And yeah, my plants have not been growing "typically", so I can't really say if that would apply elsewhere.

@BudsZA, Well, in total, for equipment, expendables, consumables, random stuff, nutrients, vermicompost, diatomaceous earth, basalt, bonemeal, some potting soil, pots, etc. Probably just over R2k for everything so far, much of that I wouldn't (have to) buy again. Currently 130-ish plants, most still seedlings, except the autos (27 of them), they're fairly large by now and then from the initial 36 plants (from start october) 21/24 females harvested and busy revegging, either in soil or 20l pots. I mainly use clay and compost for soil, use random mulch/debris in the garden and add some of the stuff listed there where I think it's necessary. Occasionally I'll add loads of stuff like mulberry leaves or char or whatever as filler (assuming it has a purpose at least). You take some super dense clay, add some basalt, compost/compost tea, some fresh acidic/sugar stuff,. depending on the clay, some other minerals...the soil you have a few months later is pretty awesome. I also noticed it seems to be a good idea to recycle some of the soil with marijuana roots (where possible), even if it's just a little to like jumpstart microbial activity. My males died (either killed them or they just died), and I reused some of that soil (which was super nice after the plant grew in it) and I think the microbes/root remnants in that soil has really helped these autos, I haven't fed them anything (except some flower tea, for terps mainly). Even watering is very low (like not even 100ml per plant per day).

@@Ssomeguy, hectic bro. Thats a lot of plants. What do u use for soil? Cant be cheap

@BudsZA, Yeah luckily I've had very little budrot even on my worst plants, with caterpillar damage etc. Percentage wise it's negligible, but one or two of my plants had really bad mildew recently (which also allows shit like budrot, other than being KAK by itself). I really appreciate the rain, but not without sunshine and nice temperatures. Cold and humid without rain or sunshine is the worst.

@@Ssomeguy,damn dude this rain isn't doing us growers any good. I'm so happy the sun is finally out and the forecast looks somewhat clear for the next week or so at least for me. I had 2 girls that got hammered by rain but they turned out alright. Good luck with the dreaded bud rot

@BudsZA, Yeah, north GT. I really need some good conditions too, since my (remaining) 4 best/largest flowering plants aren't ready but in mid-late flowering. Check this shit (sunday/monday morning, I don't even remember, it's been raining since saturday, and the predictions a few days before said it'd be dry from friday, throughout the week): https://growdiaries.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/static/post/photo/19262/998113_continuation-of-first-growcustomsativa-dominant-hybrids.jpg https://growdiaries.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/static/post/photo/19262/998114_continuation-of-first-growcustomsativa-dominant-hybrids.jpg https://growdiaries.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/static/post/photo/19262/998116_continuation-of-first-growcustomsativa-dominant-hybrids.jpg https://growdiaries.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/static/post/photo/19262/998109_continuation-of-first-growcustomsativa-dominant-hybrids.jpg https://growdiaries.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/static/post/photo/19262/998110_continuation-of-first-growcustomsativa-dominant-hybrids.jpg https://growdiaries.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/static/post/photo/19262/998117_continuation-of-first-growcustomsativa-dominant-hybrids.jpg

@BudsZA, i'm not from south, but i'm from the west of the continent, still a grow bro through haha

@CRiSPrGrow, things are going well I built my plant a roof for my plant with knipol which is made by knittex. Material made for agriculture. Nice to see locals on here! Lekker growing

@The_Projexx, thanks! i think I will start a light dose of feed soon. Along with some kelp extract

@hellomynameis, sounds like a good idea. I have some clear material that i will use to make a roof kind of thing