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I received this seed via oregoneliteseeds.com. I started with a 2 Gal plastic pot filled with Black Gold "Natural potting mix plus fertilizer". Soil prep of Jobes 2-5-3 (3 tbsp), Down to Earth ingredients: 2oz of 0-11-0 Seabird Guano, 2 oz of 0-0-22 Langbeinite, and almost an ounce of (no brand) 4-22-0 Fish Bone Meal from Oregon Constant Gardener. The goal of this test grow was to prove if auto-flower can replace or has a place next to photoperiod plants. Jeff Lowenfels recently suggested that auto flower will become the new plant that everyone can grow on their deck. I wanted to only use items that anyone should be able to purchase and not spend $50 on nutrients. The soil medium should be able to be reused and the plant should grow efficiently spending less than $10 after the initial grow (my opinion). I usually grow in my own custom mix but I decided to buy a normal 2 gal plastic pot and fertilizers from bi-mart (enhanced with other organics - yes I did cheat a little). I am not going to supplement with artificial lighting (led shop light off/on when I move inside at night). I only receive maybe 6-8 hours of really good deck sunlight (edited- I actually looked on my deck). This seed was placed in a pod, then in the 2 gal prepared soil on 6/6/2019. It germinated on 6/10/2019.
Having a good time growing this auto-flowering variety. This picture was taken previous to this journal entry and I just noticed today that the first set of real leaves are beginning to emerge (I think). As always, I welcome comments on this one and my other grows that I have a partner helping with. One problem I am having in my environment is soil drainage. I am not watering every day- maybe every other day - but it isn't completely dried out. So I will be adding some lava rock and removing some of the sphagnum (sp?) moss.
Thank you for checking out my Big Devil Xl Auto-flower diary. I am still chasing the sun around my deck and front yard (on purpose, no extra light). I am happy with her rate of growth so far. I have noticed that I need to use a higher draining soil because I am not watering very often and the soil remains wet. I know you aren't supposed to transplant auto's, but should I in this case? I am thinking I need to go up to a 75% drainage and 25% sphagnum moss (its 50/50 now).
The height is just an estimate because I have added top drainage to the top of last weeks soil.
So I think it is great to share the good and the bad so we learn. I have trouble sticking to the most basic rules. Trivia time! What colors are bad for the garden? People in wet climates really need to pay attention to this. So on my deck there was a red bucket of water (rain bucket). Next to it was a purple/blue ceramic planter with a plant that I was trying to nurse back.
Anyways, this week I added some nutrient (2 oz dry). A couple days later I noticed some signs of burning.
I have been chasing the sun on the deck like I said I intended to do from the start.
Trivia Answer: Red and blue are bad. Someone please comment with a source, but I remember these were not good colors somewhere!
So this week (late) some gnats started chewing on my plant. Remember the drainage issue? Also important in wetter climates or places that don't get a lot of sun.
Hopefully she will bounce back and I will keep you updated. Thank goodness the outdoor custom strains are doing great and I will catch everyone up later this week (by Sunday). Happy 4th!
I appreciate the follows. It's been a rough couple weeks for me- my CRPS condition flared up. Ouch! So my thoughts weren't running right (pain) and I forgot to mix an essential oil mix with water before applying to the grow pot to deter bugs. This is the last pic before she died on 7/9/2019. Stuff happens when your disabled, just gotta forget about it and smoke on! I'll start another one with over 50% perlite so the pot will drain faster. Thoughts?
Hello grower.
If you want a nice yield you should at least take pots double the size you have now.. I give some additional lighting as well, the more light autos get the more they give me :)
Good luck with your grow buddy. 👍
@CoastGrower, yea - I know right? My buddy is also partially as well so we are always looking for labor reduction and figuring out how much we need to grow for medicine, etc. and the easiest way to do it :). I set her out as soon as it gets above 50 so I would say she is getting 8-9 hours of light - some of it is partially shaded- just what I have to work with- chasing the sun around on my deck :) I figure this may be too minimal but still interested to see how many grams come out at the end. I really appreciate your input :)
@Stannabis, The pots are big enough to grow :) bigger pots just mean bigger yields. I’m partly disabled (sounds strange) so I don’t want massive plants :).
How many hours of direct sunlight does the plant get?
@CoastGrower, Thank you for your suggestion. Please continue to follow my grow and give more suggestions. I agree with everything you said. My goal of this grow is to establish if the auto plant can be grown with minimal nutrients and minimal lighting (using only the sun). I am a disabled grower and have been using photo period plants prior to this. I am hoping to replace most of my photo period plants with auto flowers to ease the work load and use the photo period plants for breeding projects only. I never thought moving plants and transplanting would be so difficult, hoping to not have to do that with the auto flowers :)
@Sweet_Seeds, Thanks a lot! So the plant did end up dying. I am gonna pop another seed but have a substrate that is a little over 50 % perlite since the sun isn't out as often. I appreciate a rep commenting!
Stan
Stannabis
