AK-47 Gold Arabesque

June 12 Felt a bit anxious to update, as the grow has been having some complications. However, teaching myself to learn to accept error and being okay with mistakes is part of the reason I got into this . Wrote this update while quite cheesed btw, so apologies for sentence structure. Reflection/Things I will do differently next time. 1.) Train completely differently.. My lawd. You'll see what I mean by my photos at the bottom. I started by following guides and examples. These are EXAMPLES (Not my plants) I was aiming to follow, in order of growth: Instead, I was very overzealous (First time excitement) and ended up keeping the plants very low constantly to try and achieve the most "even" canopy Ending up with a plant very low and close to the grow medium, little to no stretch. An extreme version of this: In hindsight this has made watering a nightmare, as its difficult to get the water under the canopy without it touching the leaves. Have had many leaves get nute burn on them via being touched by the feed. This makes diagnosing possible nutrient issues more difficult, as it could be either from feed touching the leaf, or something else. 2.) Use gardening rubber soft ties for LST. Every guide does this, everyone uses it. So why didn't I? Idk. I used galvanized steel binding wire from a hardware store, which I snipped and bent to create little tie downs I push into the soil. If they get wet, I'm not sure if they will oxidize/corrode and this leeches into soil or onto plants. 3.) Water More.. As you can see at the top of this diary, my setup actually came with a big black catching tray for all the runoff. I thought to myself "How tf am I going to take out all the pots, carry this thing outside and empty it. That's dumb". So I watered less, to avoid all this crazy runoff, aiming to get little to no runoff, as I thought that made sense. Then I saw @The Grass Baas mentioned vacuuming the runoff in his set-up where he uses the same runoff catcher. I literally have a workshop vac that can vacuum liquid. I'm dumb. As of now I have put the big runoff tray back in my tent, and watered properly. Then, I simply vacuum all the runoff. Thank you @The Grass Baas, you helped me there tremendously. I feel that this lack of proper watering is what has caused my younger plants to be so small in Week 5. (You'll see what I mean) 4.) Measure my EC/PPM , I didn't realize it was important. I don't have a pen, so as of now I haven't done this once in my first grow. tsk tsk.. 5.) pH check my runoff, I couldn't do this as I didn't have any runoff to pH >.< But as per point 3, that will now change. Will start to check. 6.) Feed based on the bottle instructions, Instead of just reading the bottles, and halving the amount per litre for my autos, I followed a US YouTuber's feed guide. Using a gallon measurement and converting everything back and forth is an absolute ball-ache. Been way easier working with litres instead. If any of you read through these reflections, I would love your feedback and input! Moving onto the actual update (no judge plz ty) Plant #1 - Critical Auto - 45 Days Old Plant #2 - Critical Auto - 45 Days Old Plant #3 - Fruit Salad Auto - 36 Days Old (Regular, idk if female, see this thread) Plant #4 - Amnesia Haze Auto - 36 Days Old (Also check this weird ass leaf. Never seen a leaf split like that at the bottom.) Plant #5 - Critical Auto - 36 Days Old Plant #6 - Amnesia Haze Auto - 36 Days Old (Probably the best of all the younger ones) Honestly I am enjoying the whole process, even though it was waaaaay more complicated that I expected xD But that is what makes it exciting and fun Special shoutout to @Ill_Evan for being a certified ganja guide and taking the time to answer my constant questions through Steam. Legend, thank you! Even if my yields are sub-par, I've never grown indoor and will be happy that I managed without a complete disaster. If you made your way to the bottom of the thread, congrats! And thank you!

Hello Ganja Gurus Thank you for taking your time to read this! One of my auto fems didn't pop, so in order to replace it I managed to get my hands on a sick little bean (Bay Seeds Vostok and Fastbuds Pineapple Express ) made by our very own @Pants Tis indeed a regular seed, and as a newbie for the life of me I can't figure out whether its shown its sex or not. It is Day 36 (Week 5) and all my other plants the same age have shown pistils. This one doesn't scream male or female to me. No pistils, but no little balls starting anywhere. Late bloomer? Any help would be appreciated!

Wanted to ask, what week are the plants at here? As it is your first picture of the new grow, I'm not sure of the age. Seems you already defoliated the whole lower part? Is that something you can get away with doing early during veg for photoperiods? I assume the plant didn't stretch that high without any lower leaves or offshoots Could be wrong through. Thanks in advance!

I've been keen to start growing my own tomatoes, and was looking into these as tomato plants require a constant moisture level. Definitely bookmarking this for next cash injection What did you use them for, and how was your personal experience?

Blowing my perception of what I thought I understood about weed Sativa/Indica only indicates grow style and nothing else? Sativa = daytime smoke, energy, head high etc, Indica = nighttime smoke, sleepiness? That's all nonsense and marketing? I was aware that the different tastes, smells and effects come from different terpenes. If what you're saying is true, then my little bit of knowledge I do have has been flipped xD That an "Indica Dominant" strain can give just as much of a "Sativa" feeling when harvest early. Other snippets I've read is that more amber trichomes = more Indica, and the inverse also being true for Sativa. I guess the only true source of information will ever be to grow the stuff yourself, and test and learn lmao. Thank you for the insight

DIY builds are always the coolest to look at, as well as greenhouses in general. I can imagine its such a nice environment to walk into and keep busy, away from everything else. Much respect Hoping to do my own greenhouse in the future. This is quite a long grow diary, so I couldn't find the info, but do you put any nutrients into your drip feed setup you have here? Would you say mulch is worth it in an indoor environment, to retain moisture? Or not really necessary? Looking forward to further updates!

June 5 Tent is starting to have that flowering smell. Two oldest (38 days old, [5 Weeks 3 Days]) are now in full pre-flower. Plenty of pistils and some frostiness starting to develop on the leaves.

Small world that I somehow end up with seeds you made I stay Cape Town side, so could be through a mutual friend depending on where you're based. The Fruit Salad is definitely looking strong

May 29 The two Criticals were becoming bushy, and responded well to their LST. Adjusted the tie-downs today, 4 days after the initial training. Incorporated more tie-downs for each bud site, to ensure maximum light coverage and penetration. Fan leaves were tucked instead of pruned, as I am told is policy with autos, as they don't respond well to stress. They look a little mangled now but will be way happier in a day or two Before and After

Introduction I decided to keep a grow diary as way to track my progress, and of course gain knowledge and insight from all you experienced bois who will hopefully be checking out the progress. I figured I would put everything I have so far in one initial post, and then keep updating as I go along. Setup Tent: Infinity 1.2 x 1.2 x 2m Grow Tent Lights: Green Houston 250W Quantum Board (Dimmable) x 2 Fans: RAM Inline and Outline Fan, with Carbon Filter. Pots: Garden HighPro Larger Propots - 20lt x 6 Growing Medium: Freedom Farms Coco-Perlite Growing Medium 70/30 Humidity: Mini 850ml Dehumidifier for Home Environment Monitor: Standard DIGITAL HYGROMETER Nutrients: Terra Aquatica GHE FloraMicro, GHE FloraBloom, Terra Aquatica CalMag Genetics Simba Seeds Critical Auto Fem x 3 Simba Seeds Amnesia Haze Auto Fem x 3 Decided to make the commitment into a hobby I’ve always wanted to do. Found a guy on Gumtree selling a whole setup that had been used once, before he upgraded. For R7200, figured it was a good deal. Decided to go with Autos, due to loadshedding, and leave the lights on 24/7. Ordered 6 seeds in total (Two separate orders) for 6 pots. Also got a Seedling Heat Mat, figuring if I’m spending money on seeds I may as well make sure they pop. April 25, - April 28, Of the first Critical Auto Fems, one misgermed as can be seen in the top right: Was yellowed, and didn’t rise through the soil like the others after being planted. Contacted the supplier and got a refund. 2 x Critical planted on 28 April 2023. May 1 My two Critical seedlings, still in the square plastic pots from the original setup, before I decided to swap over to Fabric Pots. May 5,- May 7 Ordered my next seeds, the Amnesia Haze. This time I also decided to germinate an auto seed a friend gave me (“Fruit Salad” – Strawberry Vostok x Pineapple Express.), just in case. Lo and behold, one Amnesia Haze didn’t pop at all, so I also got a refund for that one. 2 x Amnesia Haze and 1 x “Fruit Salad” planted 7 May 2023. May 14 Progress photo, had swapped to fabric pots by this point. May 22 Slight Magnesium Deficiency May 24 Looking better after increasing CalMag slightly. Pistils also showing on Criticals. As they are at the start of pre-flower I added my CO2 Bag into the tent. May 25 Started low stress training the Criticals. The other 4 are still too small to train. May 28 Criticals are responding well to LST. Other 4 catching up nicely.

I did mix in some other coco peat that came in a block, as well as perlite I bought separately (Was just short of growing medium for all the pots.) I doubt that was buffered, so it more than likely contributed. I go by gallon measurements instead of normal people measurements, as I'm following a US based guide. Currently its 3ml Cal Mag, 3ml Micro and 6ml Bloom per gallon (3.75litres). For my next grow however I think I'll follow the per litre instructions on the bottles (Whilst halving the recommending manufacturer values, as I'm told that is what one does for autos as they require less nutes)

Thanks for all the feedback! After increasing my Cal Mag slightly, the newer fan leaves don't seem to be having the same discoloration. I also kept my pH closer to 6.0/6.1 , rather than 5.5-5.8. Also see some little pistils coming along on the biggest girl.

As I mentioned in the original post, on the product detail page for the Terra Aquatica Calcium Magnesium Supplement it says "When growing in Coconut Coir, using prepared soil or soilless mixes, or expanding compressed coco, use 1 to 1.5 ml per liter to wet (to saturation) the media, and then add to nutrient solution at the same rate for the first two weeks. Continuous use may be helpful for fast growing annuals." I did not do this , and SeedToStoned didn't mention this either, and he didn't encounter any issues. I feel this is more likely the root cause of my older girls having this discoloration on the bigger fan leaves. All my other seedlings are still fine, as these two were at that age. I am considering preemptively increasing the Cal Mag in the feed of my other seedlings to address the issue before it starts. However, I don't want to overdo it if they are looking healthy now, and there is no guarantee these will encounter the same issue, as they are different strains. Will just monitor them all day by day, and see how the new leaves turn out. I didn't realize that old leaves will never return to normal if they discolor So thank you for that!

Thank you for the response! To answer your questions, I run 24/7 due to load shedding, all in all it ends up more of a 18/6 cycle with all the times the power is off. I do pH test as the last step, after I do all my nutrients. Typo sorry . pH is always in the range of 5.5 - 6.0. For feeding, I usually feed every 3 or so days, which is how long it takes for the medium to become what I consider dry enough to water again. I will do what you suggested and leave the solution over night to see if the pH changes. Photo is how the biggest culprit is looking today.

Hello all, I am a first time indoor grower and poster from Cape Town, and am three weeks into my first grow. The two oldest of my plants (Critical Auto) just hit 21 days of age and are starting to exhibit some light discoloration between the veins. According to my research this is an early sign of Magnesium deficiency? I would appreciate any opinion or advice. As this is my first grow, I am following along with a YouTube channel (SeedToStoned), as a basic guide on how to feed autos, as formulating my own mix amounts and schedule was a bit overwhelming. This is the guide I am following. The man uses gallon measurements, but I just converted them. Water is always pH balanced between 5.5 - 6.0 Week 1 - Just pH balanced water, plants were happy Week 2 - Terra Aquatica Cal Mag 2 ml/gallon, Terra Aquatica Micro 2ml/gallon, Terra Aquatica Bloom 4ml/gallon. Week 3 - Same as above, but 3:3:6 After more research today I realized I never buffered my medium with Cal Mag. None of the YouTube videos I watched or reading I did mentioned it apparently. I feel that this could be the issue? (Idk if mister YouTube man buffered his medium, but his plants are fine). I also didn't realize ppm/EC was a factor I was supposed to monitor? So I'm going to get a ppm/EC pen as well. For now, I just mixed 3ml Cal Mag into 3.75 litres of pH balanced water (no other nutes) and gave the two plants a heavy watering. I'm not sure if this is enough, or if I am stressing too much in the first place? Should I buffer my medium now with a water and Cal Mag soil drench, and do the same to the other seedlings? (15 days old) In your opinion, is it a bad idea to follow a YouTube feed guide, and should rather go by the measurements on the side of the nutrient bottles? More info below: Seeds Simba Seeds Critical Auto Fem x 2 (One misgermed, got a refund) Simba Seeds Amnesia Haze Auto Fem x 3 "Fruit Salad" seed from my friend x 1 (To replace the misgerm and cause why not) Gear Light: Green Houston 250W Quantum Board (Dimmable) x 2 Airflow: Standard RAM Inline Fan and RAM Outline Fan with Carbon Filter. (Will add oscillating fan once plants get bigger.) Pots: Garden HighPro Larger Propots - 20lt x 6 Medium: Freedom Farms Coco-Perlite Growing Medium 70/30 Environment Light Cycle: 24 Hours, at 30% strength Week 1-2, 40% strength start of week 3 (built up in slow increments) Temperature: 22-24°C Relative Humidity: 50-55% (Airflow is doing a decent job, I turn on a small dehumidifier if it gets too high).