Northern Lights Auto

This is my first time with an auto. Chose NL because of the UK climate. Interesting to see the pace at which this little fella grows. He’s almost the same size as my photoperiod plant which is 18 days older. I have named him Nigel and he is currently 4 days old.

Really impressed with the pace of this guy. The leaves are few but large in comparison to my photo period. I’m starting use my aquarium water to feed as I’ve heard it’s a sure fire way to not over feed. This is my first grow so I don’t want to fall into that trap. I planted this into Tesco all purpose compost which I thought initially was rubbish but as it’s not that dense I think it’s a better choice than the quality composts. Hopefully the sun actually makes an appearance this week so we can see some real progress.

Really terrible week. Storm knocked the pot over and the roots were pretty damaged. Still struggling to recoup. Obviously gutted as this is an auto. As soon as I planted this seed the weather has turned awful. Let’s see what the future holds.

Finally had some nice weather. Still recovering a little from being scattered across the garden. Although lots of new leaves are starting to burst out. Day 22 and it looks like it’s starting to flower? This is my first auto And my question is... surely not? I was expecting a 12 week life span relative to the other diaries. If it is starting to flower, does that mean I should expect a low yield or will it explode into life? Time will tell.

Just feeding this plant with water from my aquarium and the occasional coffee grinds. Seems to growing well so I’m not overly concerned about deficiencies yet although this may change during flowering. Growth has been really good this week. I’m not sure whether it’s been the great weather or simply it’s age. Still not flowering. Overall good week.

A week of glorious sunshine. I have been moving this guy around the garden to try and get maximum direct light but now I’m going to keep him inside a pvc greenhouse. I was concerned that the greenhouse would restrict the light it received but due to a new reduced degree of privacy I have no choice. Furthermore plants seem to thrive in there anyway. Not a lot of stretching going on. Lots of potential new bud sites but very compact. This is restricting the light they receive. I’m hoping a degree of stretching this week will improve the matter.

So this little fella is acting up. He simply is not stretching. This is almost definitely my fault. He got scorched before I realised what was happening. Furthermore I feel like I should have certainly invested in some decent nutes and soil. I feel very cowboy about this grow. The shame... He has thrown out lots of new leaves however and if he does stretch then he will be decent. It’s the start of week 7 however. My other plants from the same date are double the size. Opinions on this would be very welcome. Thanks in advance.

So this little butternut is still vegging along. I am expecting that it will begin to flower this week. Still very short. New growth but still no stretch. Hopefully this week she will give it some beans. Feeding aquarium run off and coffee grinds. For the flowering stage I have made a banana tea. Quite the cocktail of ingredients, molasses, banana peel, Epsom salt, coffee grinds and egg shells. I removed the two large fan leaves to give the new shoots access to sunlight.

So.... Still in the veg period. Weather has not been great either. Greenhouse has protected it from the worst of the weather but you can tell that the plant is gagging for some sunlight. Same seed, same environment, same treatment. Other plant is fully into the flowering stage. This brings me back to last weeks statement. Hopefully this week it will go into flower....

Finally we have pistols galore. Also the plant is now stretching although I’m still concerned about the number of bud sites that won’t receive a decent degree of sunlight. This week has been a mix of weather but pretty decent towards getting end. Still not increasing the watering regime as it does take quite long to properly dry out. I made mistakes with this grow, excess heat, under feeding and a underprepared soil medium. It still looks like it’s making a comeback so I really can’t complain about it’s hardy genes. I had no idea that auto’s will take longer in an outside setting. You live and you learn.

Not much to report here. Buds are there, now just waiting for them to fatten up. This guy has been through the wars so I’m really interested to see how much weight it puts on. Also window cleaner came early yesterday and must have got a good look at the plants. Now it’s twitchy bum time for a couple of days. Hopefully my front door doesn’t get smashed in.

So this little honey is still coming along. Buds are starting to put on weight. Still looks like it will have another four weeks before it gets the chop. Same seed, same treatment plant next to it is coming along a lot faster.

Buds have come along nicely. Not anywhere near as nicely as it’s neighbouring plants. Lovely smell of lemon and pine though. Will be giving it the chop very soon as we have lots of rain en route. I’ve learnt a lot through this grow which I will summarise in the harvest section. Won’t be a great yield but it genuinely smells gorgeous so I’m not too concerned. This fella has always been small, not much has changed.

Should have prepared the soil better. Should have controlled the temperature better, both cold nights and hot days. Should have fed them actual nutrients. Should have watered them more regularly. Should have left one longer before chopping it. Should have kept on top of pests better. Should have potted them in larger containers. Despite all of this I’m still looking at an average of an ounce per plant. Really cannot complain. Choose NL because of its hardy genes and hardy they were.