First grow: Autoflower Jack Herer x AK47

Nonagronomist

Well-Known Member
I LIVE IN A STATE that permits patients to grow their own medicine, so I decided to start a small outdoor grow.

I HAVE A SUNNY BACK YARD with reasonable privacy and a profusion of other plantings — so it's hard to spot the medicinal ones among the flowers, shrubs, vegetables, and weeds. I'm emphasizing autoflowering varieties for two reasons: 1) autos’ relatively dwarfish stature and 2) to avoid any flowering difficulties potentially caused by local light pollution (street lights).

I SOURCED MY SEEDS by mail (with fingers crossed), because autoflower seeds are not available locally. Seeds from Europe come in many varieties and in some pretty cool packaging.

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• Internationally sourced seeds

THIS IS MY FIRST GROW, and I’m keeping it very simple indeed. I'm growing outside (no lights, fans, or other gear); I'm using the finest virgin “supersoil”; I'm leaving high-end training to Horse, Dog, and Ganja whisperers; and I will do little to no nutrient additions, since the seed bank assures me that their seeds need almost no care. We'll see.

MY BABES ARE Jack Herer x AK47 x stabilized ruderalis from a seed bank I’m not promoting on this site, but would do business with again.

THEY TELL YOU NEVER TO TRANSPLANT Autoflowers, so I did anyway, because I didn’t want to stick my expensive seeds in the ground (pot) and just hope. I germed using traditional tiny little peat pots.

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• Peat-pot germination

When finally set out in the grow area, things were not entirely ducky. Jack #1 went into transplant shock: a state of suspended animation where the seedling did absolutely nothing except not die.

Happily, Jack #2 adapted to the outdoors and began steady if underwhelming growth.

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• Jack #2 at 4 weeks

HOWEVER, RIGHT AT 5 WEEKS, we have liftoff: the first observable pistils (see below). Immediately following this was our first and only feeding: a quarter dose of Earth Juice’s ‘Bloom’ application, to ensure both nutrient and beneficial microrganisms are available to do their thing.

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• Jack #2 — first pistils and sugar leaves

AND ONWARD, with budsites popping up all over Jack #2 in weeks 6 and 7.

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• Jack #2 secondary budsite

DELIGHTFULLY, JACK #2 DEVELOPS MANY, MANY TRICHOMES in weeks 8 and 9:

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• Both clear and cloudy trichomes on Jack #2

I CAN’T BE SURE WHETHER JACK #2 HAS SOME PURPLE IN ITS GENETICS or whether I’ve stressed the plant with overnight temperature drops or phosphorous deficiency or just strong sun, but the budsites are distinctly purple, including sugar leaves and stems. The plant is so darn healthy that I’m leaning toward this being a completely natural reaction, like tanning (and yes I know that tanning is actually terrible for your skin, etc., etc., but let’s not try to take the metaphor further than it really wants to go).

Meanwhile, the buds swell, filling in both horizontally and vertically.

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• Top of Jack #2's main cola

PATIENCE BE DAMNED — I'M GOING TO CHOP SOMETHING. Even though Jack #2's trichomes are still stubbornly clear or cloudy (no appreciable amber) I've given in to a "test" harvest of the main cola, where the Using absolutely top-flight equipment, the precious buds are individually coddled (hung up by their heels) toward the perfect pre-cure dryness.

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Bud Box 3000 (tm) high-tech drying system

This highlights the yield from this particular plant, which topped out at about 2’ tall, with one main cola (drying above) and approximately 12 satellite budsites that are (as of the writing of this message) still maturing in the grow area in my back yard. I’m guessing maybe 30 grams all in from this plant, which is not humongous, but my plan is to have one mature about every two weeks for the next several months, so over time my yield will be just fine. I’m also trying lots of different strains and will no doubt learn quite a lot from the process – I already have.

SO…ONLY ONE THING TO DO…sit back and wait for the buds to cure…and then the taste test.

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POSTSCRIPT:

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• Jack #2, looking a bit stark (Ned Stark, to be precise) after the beheading
 
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