First time autoflower grow...

[Davey Jones]

Yep, I have two 150 watt HPS lamps. Used both of them from seedling actually. Just put them really high above the plants when they were little. In the beginning I just used one and then at about 2 or 3 weeks I added a second light. Light penetration is not very deep with 150 watt lamps, but I essentially have one over each plant. They really don't get too hot so I'm able to keep them pretty close. I'd say they are about 6-8 inches above the plants right now. Looking forward to harvest as this is my first grow and I'm really not sure what to expect. Anything above 2 ounces and I'd be ecstatic as that would pay for my lights, seeds, ferts, etc. I'm not selling any, but I'm just thinking in terms of what I would have spent. Plus it's turned into sort of a hobby for me!

 

[Davey Jones]

Just order some Humboldt Nutrients Big Up Powder. Anyone ever used this? Looks similar to AN Overdrive or FF Cha Ching. Says you only need 2 applications - one with 3 weeks to go and another with 2 weeks to go. Well, we'll see what happens. I definitely want some fat, dense buds!

 

[Codyandnoah]

Question for you Davey. I bought the nirvana northern lights autoflower seeds back at the begininning of June and mine are just about 4 feet tall now , they seemed to start flowering at week 4, like yours, under 20/4 lighting but they still just never took off flowering, so I just put the plants into a 12/12 photoperiod today hoping that these plants will FINALLY flower. Can you please tell me if your NL autoflower ever started to show actual bud after you switched your lights to the 12/12?
Thanks!

 

[Davey Jones]

Question for you Davey. I bought the nirvana northern lights autoflower seeds back at the begininning of June and mine are just about 4 feet tall now , they seemed to start flowering at week 4, like yours, under 20/4 lighting but they still just never took off flowering, so I just put the plants into a 12/12 photoperiod today hoping that these plants will FINALLY flower. Can you please tell me if your NL autoflower ever started to show actual bud after you switched your lights to the 12/12?
Thanks!

In short, yes! The auto seeds I got from Attitude were mislabeled. They were free so no big deal, but I was under the assumption they were autos. However, after a while I became discouraged and started thinking they weren't really autos and I flipped the lights to 12-12 around week 6 of veg. Sure enough, within a week they started budding and within 10 days or so I had noticeable bud growth. If yours are 4 feet tall and aren't producing serious buds then maybe they aren't autos either. I would bet you'll be seeing buds soon.

 

[Codyandnoah]

Thanks for your response Davey. I will have to let you know in the next week or so how I made out with them. I'm really bummed too because they should be done right now! ARGH! I'm going to try and take a bunch of clones too just in case she does start to flower nicely. Again thanks!

 

[vairocks]

nice grow man...loved those buds ! keep up d gud wrk...sure de wil be worth to sooth ur smoking pleasures n aftereffects.... keep posting...

 

[Davey Jones]

nice grow man...loved those buds ! keep up d gud wrk...sure de wil be worth to sooth ur smoking pleasures n aftereffects.... keep posting...

Thanks man. I'll definitely post to the very end. I always see these grow journals that just stop and I'm like what the hell?! I'm curious as to what my yield is going to be and I think other people like to know that kind of stuff too.

 

[Davey Jones]

Decided to do a little housekeeping last night. Cleared out the closet and wiped the tarp down, got rid of dead leaves, raised the lights a few inches, etc. Gave me a chance to get a good look at the Bubblicious which is behind the Jock Horror and thus pretty hard to inspect up close. Some nice juicy buds on her. Now that we are approaching 6 weeks, I expect the buds will start putting on weight.

All along I've been feeding them Humboldt Ginormous and Honey Hydro Carbs along with the Dutch Master One flowering formula and they seem happy. Beginning Sept. 7 I'll give both plants their first application of Humboldt Big Up powder (0-33-23). You use it once with 3 weeks to go, and then twice as much as the first time with 2 weeks to go and then that's it. No Ginormous at the same time though - that would be overkill big time!

After that, I'll be examining the trichomes up close very carefully because harvest time will be drawing near. Tentatively, I'm expecting to harvest sometime around Sept. 28. My understanding is that peak harvest window is open around 5-7 days so that gives me some time to examine the buds and gauge the best harvest time. I prefer a "couch-lock" stone so I'll be looking for about 15 percent amber triches.

Anyway, here are a few pix of day 40 of flowering.

 

[zorr]

Wurd!! so nice... hey can you get some pics of witch is which....maybe I did not see it though

 

[Davey Jones]

Wurd!! so nice... hey can you get some pics of witch is which....maybe I did not see it though

Yeah, I'll put some more pix up Tuesday which will be 6 weeks exactly of flowering. Most of those last ones are the Bubblelicious since that was the first chance I had to get up close to it. I'll mark the pix next time.

 

[Davey Jones]

Things seem to be going fine. Buds are getting fatter and frostier every day, but there are still quite a few white pistils and for the most part the triches are still clear under the 30x microscope. I suspect I have another 4 weeks to go. One week from today I will give them both their first application of the Humboldt Big Up powder.

From what I understand, the first 4 or 5 weeks the buds tend to grow quickly, then the next 5-6 weeks they pack on weight so I don't want to rush it. I know a lot of novice growers cheat themselves by harvesting early so I want to make sure my buds are truly ready before I harvest.

I had to tie a few of the branches up due to the fact that the buds on them are getting kind of heavy. You can see the strings all over in one of the photos! Not a bad thing I guess. I labeled the pix this time so you can see which ones are the Jock Horror and which are the Bubblicious.

For those who have been following this grow journal or have read back through it, you'll know that a few weeks back I dropped a 150 watt HPS light on to my Jock Horror. Damn, was I pissed. I lost the main cola and about 6-7 lateral branches so the yield on her will probably be less than half what it should be. Dammit!!! Anyway, we live and we learn! Won't be making that mistake again.

 

[low305]

lookin very good man what are you expecting to yield? and i cant wait to see what that big up powder dose for them.

 

[Davey Jones]

Thanks man. I'm looking forward to seeing how they react to the Big Up as well. The yield? Honestly I have no idea as this is my first go at it. I know I won't have as much as I would have had I not dropped the HPS light on the Jock Horror! As long as it's taking I would love to get 3-4oz, but I'd be happy with just 2oz as long as it is dank! I always set my goals low so that way if I exceed them I'm happy! I'll post my dry yield results here after harvest, dry, and cure.

 

[low305]

yea i would have been crying i think if i dropped the hps on a plant lol and yea thats a good way of seeing it aim low and be surprised/happy. and love the pics keep em cummin they look good enough to somke.. well nearly

 

[autoflowa]

wow looks great for day 42 man nice and chunky im on day 42 with my red dwarf auto its way behine compared to yours lol check it out its in my sig.. im growin wit cfls tho

 

[Davey Jones]

wow looks great for day 42 man nice and chunky im on day 42 with my red dwarf auto its way behine compared to yours lol check it out its in my sig.. im growin wit cfls tho

Your grow is looking good. Don't worry, those buds will fill out in the next few weeks!

 

[Davey Jones]

Well, this Tuesday will be week 7 of flowering and week 13 overall so I'm getting pretty excited. Haven't smoked since my Amsterdam trip in March. Of course I smoked enough in those 2 weeks to last a year, but I still miss it! Actually I did mail home about 15 grams but that only lasted a week! Not paying $250-300 an oz anymore though. Screw that!

In anticipation of my upcoming harvest (a bit over 3 weeks away) I bought a dozen 1-quart glass canning jars for my cure and today I'll probably buy a nice new bong.

Not sure how long I should cure for? I'm thinking hang dry for a week and then jar cure for a week, maybe two. What do you guys think?

 

[zorr]

On the same plan as you, I harvested my BigBud today hanging.. 5-7 days then into jars. Lookforward to your harvest =)

 

[zorr]

I may have asked you this, if I did sorry.. being auto's how did you treat them with nutes? veg to flowering I have read you have to be carful how much is given.. I have a new grow in sig that im excited about..

 

[Davey Jones]

I may have asked you this, if I did sorry.. being auto's how did you treat them with nutes? veg to flowering I have read you have to be carful how much is given.. I have a new grow in sig that im excited about..

Well, this journal is a little misleading! When I planted these seeds I was under the assumption they were autos, but after 6 weeks of veg I had no buds. Turns out the seeds were mislabeled and they were regular photo-period seeds. I didn't want to start a new journal though so I've just been running with this journal. For what it's worth, when I thought they were autos I still used grow nutes (Advanced Nutrients Sensi Grow A&B), but started off with 1/4 strength, then 1/2, then full. I don't know if you really need to use grow nutes though. You could probably just go with a bloom formula from the beginning or use a product like Humboldt Oneness which you can use from beginning to end.