Auto Flower Perpetual Redundancy Part 3

Week 6 Update Pretty basic week buds are becoming a bit more complex in structure. I saw a lower leaf going yellow telling me these girls are getting hungry. Increased the nutrients for 2 feedings this week but found my runoff at the end of the week was running a bit low at 700ppm to 800ppm with a ph of 6.2. These plants are very thirsty and hungry compared to other strains I've grown. Lastly drizzled the tops of the pots with LABS ( Lactic Acid Bacterial Serum) and Organic Blackstrap molasses mixture diluted into water. I feel this has improved my grows by feeding the microbes in my soil and enhanced the terpene production in the final stages of bloom. Not to mention it seems to help bring out some great coloration during flush. Definitely try it out see if you have similar results. Humidity is bouncing between 50% to 55% between waterings feedings. TIP OF THE WEEK DIGITAL MOISTURE METER The following is my personal opinion and experience on watering my auto flower plants. Every grower has different ways to properly water their grows try a few out and see what works best for you based on your watering style and technique. Any one who has followed any of my diaries knows that I am a self-admitted over waterer. It’s the hardest habit to break. There really needs to be a 12-step program for overwaters! We all are guilty of doing it but few of us actually admit to it. The reality of this bad habit is that it is the leading cause of nutrient deficiency issues in your grow. The scenario is you wake up lift your pots to guestimate the weight of your pots to see if they feel light enough that they need to be watered. While this works fairly well for 2 to 4 pots try doing this with 16 or more pots and keeping track of each one. Definitely don’t wake and bake until after you’ve finished the work on your plants. So, what usually winds up happening is because you’re going to work and won’t be home for the next 10 to 12 hours and you’re afraid they may dry out too much you decide to water them anyways regardless just to get them done. Now you’ve set yourself up for an overwatering/nutrient deficiency issue. Hence the most valuable tool in my arsenal beside my trusty turkey baster is a Digital Moisture Meter. I know it sounds almost childish that I have to use a moisture meter to get my watering routine done properly. Surprisingly it works well and what’s really nice is I can tell what the moisture levels are at different depths of the pot. This is extremely important with growing auto flower seedlings and young plants in their oversized final pots. Even though they are in their final pot you always need to understand water flows downhill. (Did I really need to put that in?) During the first 2 weeks of your plants life remembering to water them sparingly as if they were growing in a 16-ounce solo cup until the root system is large enough in a few weeks can be challenging. Every time you water it filters down to the middle and lower parts of the pots which in turn can become over saturated with water and also nutrients that are in the substrate. Once the roots reach this over saturated substrate it can cause root growth, nutrient absorption, root disease and oxygen issues for your root system. The oxygen is important not only for your root system but also the beneficial bacteria and microbes living in your substrate. Root burn can also occur since nutrients from the upper parts of the pot have filtered down and concentrated in the middle and lowest parts of the pot. Once the young delicate roots hit the lower parts of the pot bam you’ve got root burn. This happens with a nutrient rich substrate and why you should not add nutrients until the root system is mature enough to handle the additional nutrients. So basically, using a moisture meter will give you a clear picture of what’s going on inside your pots at different depths. 0.0 is bone dry and 9.9 is saturated. I use 3.1-gallon pots and always premoisten my hybrid soil potting mixture before potting. I add only enough water to hold the mixture together but not enough that you can squeeze water out of it. It should be loose and a bit fluffy. If your substrate is like muck or muddy you have a poor substrate mixture. It should always be light, airy and drain freely. When watering use Biorhizotonic and Mammoth P to encourage root growth/development/feeding try to keep it organic if possible to aid the colony growth of beneficial microbes in your substrate during the first 4 to 5 weeks. Adding additional beneficial microbes to your substrate mixture like Azos (Azospirillum brasilense) a nitrogen fixing bacteria which will help with early top growth and Mykos (Rhizophagus intraradices) a type of mycorrhizae will help kick root development into overdrive. Day Zero - Plant your seeds after a nice tail has emerged. Use a pencil to lightly poke a small hole to allow the tail to easily fit in and the shell of the seed should be just below the substrates surface. Lightly sprinkle extra fine substrate mixture on the shell about an 1/8 inch is all you need. Use an eye dropper and add several drops of water exactly where the seed is located and cover with clear plastic solo cups with hole in them to allow good air circulation and avoid a damping off issue with the seedlings. Do not add too much water which will cause the seed to sink too deep into the substrate. Week 1- Day 1 is when the first set of true serrated leaves emerge from the cotyledon. Remove the humidity domes keep tent humidity levels high 65 to 70 %. Use a minimal amount water about 3 inches in diameter around the seedling as if they are in ½ a solo cup watering only as needed typically every 4th or 5th day. Try using a turkey baster when watering. Week 2- I find that allowing the top couple of inches of my pots to go dry 0.0 before watering an area around 6 inches in diameter works well. Use the moisture meter to see the moisture level about 6 inches deep it should be about 5.0 to 6.0. At 8 inches it should be around 7.0 to 8.0. Allow the tops to get dry again before the next watering. At the end of week 2 lightly water the entire top 2 inches of the pots with a turkey baster maybe 6 to 8 basters full. Typically, about every 4th day. keep humidity levels at 60 to 65% in your tent. Week 3 - The first roots hit the bottom of the pot. Once again let the top 2 inches of the pots dry out then water only the top 2 inches with 6 to 8 basters full of water only as needed. At this point the excess water in the deepest parts of the pots are finally being utilized. If you check the moisture levels in the deepest parts of the pot it will be 8.0 to 8.5. If it’s 9.0 or 9.9 do not add any more water until it drops lower. The roots will grow deeper in the pots going for the water. Maintain humidity in your tent at 55% to 60%. Week 4 - Signs of numerous roots are seen coming out of the pots drain holes. Once again only water once the top 2 inches of the pot are very dry. Moisture levels in the deepest parts of the pot will be 6.5 to 7.5 before watering. If the moisture level in the deepest parts of the pot are 6.0 or less the root system is large enough to handle 1 quart or 1 liter of water. Keeping the humidity in the 55% range would be ideal. End of week 4 beginning of week 5 top 2 inches is dry 0.0, moisture level at 4 inches deep is 3.5 to 4.5, deepest parts of the pot is 5.0 to 6.5. You can now water to the point of complete run off. The root system is large enough to handle larger amounts of water and allow you to test the 1st run off ph and ppm to determine when you need to start adding nutrients into your watering routine. Try lowering your humidity to 50% to 55% to increase transpiration causing the plant to feed more preparing for the stretch and start the preflowering stage. Week 5 to harvest simply use the moisture meter at full depth to determine if or when they need to be watered. When the readings are 5.0 or less water them. If they’re at 6.0 or higher let them dry out a bit more. I typically feed to the point of slight run off to avoid wasting nutrients. Then use water with a small amount of cal /mag in between feedings or if my ppm’s are running high. The last feeding of the week will be to the point of 10% to 20% run off check my run off ph and ppm’s. I keep this cycle up until 10 to 14 days before harvest when my flush begins. Week 5 to week 8 start of week 9 using 50% humidity works well to encourage more feeding during key bud development stages. End of week 9 to 11 keep humidity as low as possible 35% to 45% if possible to promote terpene, resin, more trichome development, prevent rot and mildew issues. I also like to use a bit of drought stress during the final weeks before harvest waiting until the pots are dryer than usual before the next watering using smaller amounts of 1/2 gallon every few days. Using this technique helps keep the humidity from bouncing up and down from larger waterings and triggers a self preservation trait enhancing resin and terpene production. In conclusion with a little bit of practice and patience using a digital moisture meter can help you develop a better watering technique to help improve your grow. P.S. I’ll never tell anyone you’re using one too!