AK47 Auto's ½ way there, but kinda small.

AK47 Auto's _ day 37! (½ way there.)
This is my third ak47-af grow. The first 2 grows with these seeds went fantastic and without a hitch.
They grew to about 12 to 18 inches tall in MG with no added nutes, only tap water. I had less lighting at the time, but no real stretching because of it tho. Yeild was good, and after a 2 week cure the taste was excellent!

I have two ak47' auto's growing right now, but this grow has been somewhat puzzling.
I know AF's are a smallish kinda plant, but it seems to me that on the last grow they were bigger by this time. The only difference from the last 2 grows is that I'm using more light, and the addition of the molasses.
They are at day 37 right now, and are only 4½ inches tall! I still have about 35 more day's to go, and I'm hoping they will atleast double in size.
They are full bodied, nodes are close, flowering from top to bottom, and the cola's are getting thick. They look like little bonzai's!
The seeds were over a year old, but I don't know if that has anything to do with anything or not. (kinda doubt it.)

This grow I decided on using molasses. I use one dollup per gallon and alternate between clear water and the molasses everytime I water.
I noticed one plant turning a light green, and read that with the molasses causing more bud growth, it can also deplete the nitrogen levels.
So for that one plant I added 2 drops of Schultz's 10-15-10 to one quart water and I am now seeing a slight improvement in the color.

Here's my troubleshooting form;
What is your experience level?
4th grow, (3rd w/ auto's)
Your Equipment:
.1) Type and wattage of lights.
Two 65/300w cfl's and five 27/100w cfl's
.2) Distance from tops?
2 inches
.3) Reflector type?
homemade batwings
.4) Is there a consistent fresh air supply?
Yes
.5) Do you have an exhaust fan and a circulation fan?
Yes
.6) What are the bulb wattages, kelvin ratings, and schedule?
16,100 Lumens,_ 1100w, _20 hours on, 4 hours off.

Your medium:
.7) Specific brand and type of soil,
MG (6 month)
.8 Size of container.
1 gal.
.9) Did you use peat pucks (or similar) to root clones or germinate seedlings?
No. Used the old trusty paper towel method.

Your nutrients and water:
10) Source of water? (tap, bottled or filtered) What's it's ph before adjusting?
Tap _7.0ph
11) Method of checking water ph. (ph pen, test strips, aquarium test kit...)
Test strip
12) Method of adjusting water ph. (phosphoric acid, white vinegar, hydrated lime, PH Up...)
Lemon juice (to ph down.)
13) Specific brand and N-P-K ratio for each bottle. List dosages (quantity per gallon) and current feeding schedule.
On one plant that was yellowing I increased the N w/ Schultz 10-15-10. (Two drops in one quart.)
14) How often are you watering between feedings, and how much per watering?
Watering when dry. No feedings.
15) Any additives or tea's? (Superthrive, CalMag, molasses, Mother's Earth...)
Molasses, every other watering.
16) Are your ph levels stable, or do they fluctuate?
Stable
17) What is your ingoing water's ph? ...your runoff ph
6.2 ingoing, 6.8 outgoing.
18 Do you foliar feed? If so, with what, how often, and at what time do you spray?
No.

Your growroom:
19) Indoors or outdoors?
Indoors.
20) What size of closet, room or hut?
26" wide X 15" deep X 60" tall.
21) What are the temps and humidity levels while lights are on? ...With lights off?
78 to 82f lights on. 65f lights off. RH 20%
22) Have you seen signs of insects in the growroom?
One ladybug, but the little bitch died.

Your strain:
23) What strain are you growing? (Indica dominate or Sativa dom?)
AK47 Autoflowering Lowryder Sativa dominate.
24) From seeds or clones?
Seeds.
25) Is this an autoflower strain?
Yes


I want to continue growing autoflowering AK47's because I really like growing this strain, and I want to hopefully master this particular type of grow. I notice that there seems to be some really good AF people here.
A lot of other sites are lacking in the AF dept, and I would like to add the knowledge I've gained in the past and the future to help others as well.
Any advise or suggestions are highly appreciated.

What's your lighting cycle, also 20% humidity is pretty low.

I run 20/4 lights seedling to harvest. No problems with light leaks or timing malfunctions.
The last 2 grows were low RH too, but on this grow I recently inquired about it being low, but was told not to worry about it.

I've read on the sites that auto's like a 18/6 schedule. Plants tend to stretch more in the dark, the lighting cycle could be the reason for the shortness in the plant.

Now, I've never grown an auto flower before, but I would stick to a 18/6 till the plant stops stretching before it puts it's buds on, and once it stopped stretching and using it's power to flower I would run 20/4.

t0rn said:

I've read on the sites that auto's like a 18/6 schedule. Plants tend to stretch more in the dark, the lighting cycle could be the reason for the shortness in the plant.

Now, I've never grown an auto flower before, but I would stick to a 18/6 till the plant stops stretching before it puts it's buds on, and once it stopped stretching and using it's power to flower I would run 20/4.

Click to expand...

Makes sense to me. Even though Lowryder seeds recommends the 20/4 lighting schedule from seedling to harvest, I shouldn't start it until about the second week which is when they usually start flowering.

To Stoner.Barbie; Your reply kinda confirms what tOrn is saying in that I should manipulate the stretch a bit. Thanx.
I wouldn't think that 65f wasn't too awful low of a temp. But you think maybe I need to keep it warmer when lights off?

Having grow autos for 3 years of many different strains, sometimes you'll have a runt for no obvious reason. I will have to say, I had more runts with MG than I do now but I also had some good looking autos come out of MG....can you be SURE you didn't water at a critical time which may have cause the stunting?
Even stunted your ak47 will give you some bud....probably of the same potency of your others......
Autos are my personal mainstay simply because we like to watch the quick growth and fill our med drawer with multiple choices....just keep doing what you're doing....you'll still have a runt of two from time to time.....