Novice Autos

[Darclinc]

Hi All,

Here's the start of my grow diary. As mentioned in this thread, I have no experience whatsoever, so any advice or observations along the way will be greatly appreciated. 

So far all 4 of my Nirvana seeds have germinated successfully. 2/4 (Northern Lights and Blue Cheese) are ahead of the others with their tap roots at about 1-2cm, so they went into the pots today. The other two (Blue Mystic and Blueberry Kush) will most likely be planted tomorrow as their tap roots are only just coming out. Each of the pots contain Orgasoilux and some mycorrhizal fungus and have been sitting, watered, for about a week now. I only sprayed the top of the soil lightly with some water after planting and enclosed each in a little 4 litre greenhouse. They will stay in here until they get too big.

Here they are, Northern Lights and Blue Cheese, each planted in their 10l forever homes:

Here's hoping it all turns out ok ...

D

Edited July 1, 2022 by Darclinc

[SkunkPharm]

Lekker. Wish I had this advise when I started

[Ill_Evan]

Looking good!

[Darclinc]

Hello All,

Hmmmmm .. off to a rocky-ish start.

The Northern Lights, which germinated first, seems to be fading and I don't think he's going to make it. He was first out of germination and first out of the soil but has yet to lift his head up. The inside of his baby greenhouse and top soil is very, very dry, so I gave him literally one extremely tiny spray of water in case it might be that. As far as I'm aware there's literally nothing else I can do, so let's see what happens.

The Blue Mystic which was planted a day after the NL is doing the best and is looking fine and happy.

The Blue Cheese, which was planted first with the NL, is also happy-ish, but showing a little bit of yellow colourating on that very first round-ish leaf. Guess it must be a case of the soil being too nutrient rich for him? Not much I can do about it now, we'll just have to ride it out and hope he comes right.

The Blueberry Kush, which is a very late starter and was last out of germination, is out above the ground but has yet to shed his little pod helmet. It was also the biggest seed of the lot, for what it's worth.

Here's hoping at least 3/4 make it though these first rounds, because frankly, at this point I don't think the Northern Lights is going to survive. Pity, I thought he was going to be one of the best for this climate.

On a side, note, does anyone in Cape Town sell single seeds? Nirvana only sells in packs of 4, and I don't really want to buy that many. In case 1 or two don't make it I'd like to plant again as soon as humanly possible as this is not only an experiment in the weather/outdoor situation but also with how the different strains perform against one another. And, how well I can get them to grow using the exact same methodology. I would like to take the 1-2 best performers out of this lot and put them in subsequent lots going forward. Potentially anyway.

@DamDaveI seem to remember you mentioning some kind of 'lucky packet'? 

D

Edited July 1, 2022 by Darclinc

[Prom]

11 hours ago, Darclinc said:

a side, note, does anyone in Cape Town sell single seeds? Nirvana only sells in packs of 4, and I don't really want to buy that many. In case 1 or two don't make it I'd like to plant again as soon as humanly possible as this is not only an experiment in the weather/outdoor situation but also with how the different strains perform against one another. And, how well I can get them to grow using the exact same methodology. I would like to take the 1-2 best performers out of this lot and put them in subsequent lots going forward. Potentially anyway.

You don't get much information from just one seed of a strain. Except the strain is mega stable and has no pheno swings inside you get a very limited view of the strain. And to Nirvana, if you buy a pack of.. isn't it usually 5?.. you get one free seed (they usually offer feminized freebees, you say in the offer to please send you a auto freebee and they will change) and any seed not sprouting, you contact Jenna and she will replace it. Service at Nirvana SA is second to none.

[Darclinc]

11 hours ago, Prom said:

You don't get much information from just one seed of a strain.

This is very true, but I had to start somewhere. I have 4 pots and would rather have 4 varieties than the same ones, regardless of which ones make it. Granted this poses some risks, but I cannot really afford to buy that many seeds either as I have no other equipment. This is literally the first foray into this kind of thing, so I thought it best to try 4 variants, learn something, and go from there. Perhaps in the future I will do a large batch of seedlings and only use the best/strongest ones.

11 hours ago, Prom said:

And to Nirvana, if you buy a pack of.. isn't it usually 5?.. you get one free seed (they usually offer feminized freebees, you say in the offer to please send you a auto freebee and they will change) and any seed not sprouting, you contact Jenna and she will replace it. Service at Nirvana SA is second to none.

No, I bought from their 'pick a mix' single seeds selection. But, in order to buy singles like this you need to buy a minimum of 4. Guess I should've clarified that.

Edited July 2, 2022 by Darclinc

[Darclinc]

So he didn't make it. But a friend gave me another NL seed, hopefully this one will fair better.

Please join me in honouring his memory:

[Naughty.Psychonaut]

what's good brother, hope you are well

aaah faq man, sad sight to see. the auto thing still has me scratching my head, but OK... it's almost as if my suspicion was warrented, but hey what do I know about growing weed?

what you are doing there is trying your luck. and there is nothing wrong with that, we all start there. 

here's some food for thought, if you pop 100 seeds in 100% perfect conditions you still gona have a few that don't pop... 

how do you know that one single seed you popped was meant to carry you through? maybe it was just the weak one. PLUS conditions aren't favourable. PLUS it's an auto seed.... so many things against you, I would scratch this up as a school fee and start planning new.

if you growing bunch of different phenos (each seed within one specific strain is a different pheno from the seed next to it in the very same strain) and one dies or doesn't pop you really can't say it's directly linked to anything specific. maybe it was just a weak pheno.

to test conditions you really need to have at least more than one of the exact same thing, and cross reference for end result as "control". multiple clones of one pheno, one grown in good conditions so when you harvest you can see if your run was successful or not.

sometimes the best of strains can be grown in unfavourable conditions making that strains taste and smoke like ditch weed, I call that a failure.

at our rookie learning level we should just be focused on growing a plant, which anyone can do. for the most part weed grows everywhere. you don't need to be a wizard or a "grower" just to grow a plant.

here's two options that'll make you good as gold. you don't have to take or even like my advice at all, but I am still gona give it for good measure. 

1. Get feminised photoperiod seeds. Get multiple seeds of 1 strain. not singles. pop them all at once. as they are photoperiods you don't need to pop them in the final pot, so it's easier to keep temps above 25°C till they standing. keep them inside for the heat, they obviously don't need to be outside to pop, infact the cold can and will stunt them while they're babies. once they're up you take them outside, but keep them protected with something keeping them upright and shielded from winds and animals and shit. 

OR. 

2. Talk to some of us about clones, we got tons of reputed strains going around here, most of them grown out for you to cross reference the end result, you literally don't have to spend any money PLUS you don't have to pop any seeds... now does that not sound magical? I think I have offered before, if not I am now. 

 

 

[West Coast Vaper]

I'm finding out the hard way about growing autoflower during winter. I was expecting a tough ride but WOW man the last time I experienced a rough ride was a crash landing in a C130 back in the parabat days.
My outdoor during the day and under lights during the night are also battling.

Sent from my S40 using Tapatalk

[West Coast Vaper]

Hello All,
Hmmmmm .. off to a rocky-ish start.
The Northern Lights, which germinated first, seems to be fading and I don't think he's going to make it. He was first out of germination and first out of the soil but has yet to lift his head up. The inside of his baby greenhouse and top soil is very, very dry, so I gave him literally one extremely tiny spray of water in case it might be that. As far as I'm aware there's literally nothing else I can do, so let's see what happens.
The Blue Mystic which was planted a day after the NL is doing the best and is looking fine and happy.
The Blue Cheese, which was planted first with the NL, is also happy-ish, but showing a little bit of yellow colourating on that very first round-ish leaf. Guess it must be a case of the soil being too nutrient rich for him? Not much I can do about it now, we'll just have to ride it out and hope he comes right.
The Blueberry Kush, which is a very late starter and was last out of germination, is out above the ground but has yet to shed his little pod helmet. It was also the biggest seed of the lot, for what it's worth.
Here's hoping at least 3/4 make it though these first rounds, because frankly, at this point I don't think the Northern Lights is going to survive. Pity, I thought he was going to be one of the best for this climate.
On a side, note, does anyone in Cape Town sell single seeds? Nirvana only sells in packs of 4, and I don't really want to buy that many. In case 1 or two don't make it I'd like to plant again as soon as humanly possible as this is not only an experiment in the weather/outdoor situation but also with how the different strains perform against one another. And, how well I can get them to grow using the exact same methodology. I would like to take the 1-2 best performers out of this lot and put them in subsequent lots going forward. Potentially anyway.
@DamDaveI seem to remember you mentioning some kind of 'lucky packet'? 
D

Short notice but my wife is heading into town tomorrow (Sunday). Milnerton market area.
I can send some autoflower seeds if you need.
Or we can arrange something over the next week or two.

Sent from my S40 using Tapatalk

[Darclinc]

On 7/2/2022 at 9:50 AM, Naughty.Psychonaut said:

aaah faq man, sad sight to see. the auto thing still has me scratching my head, but OK... it's almost as if my suspicion was warrented, but hey what do I know about growing weed?

what you are doing there is trying your luck. and there is nothing wrong with that, we all start there. 

Exactly. I'm looking at it as a fun thing to do, just to grow something. I actually don't smoke enough to warrant growing one plant, let alone 4. But hey, like you said, we have to start somewhere.

On 7/2/2022 at 9:50 AM, Naughty.Psychonaut said:

how do you know that one single seed you popped was meant to carry you through? maybe it was just the weak one. PLUS conditions aren't favourable. PLUS it's an auto seed.... so many things against you, I would scratch this up as a school fee and start planning new.

Indeed. Northern Lights 2.0 is almost ready to go into the pot. I'm just going to put it down to rookie mistakes. All things considered I am glad it happened only 4 days in, as opposed to 4 weeks in.

On 7/2/2022 at 9:50 AM, Naughty.Psychonaut said:

if you growing bunch of different phenos (each seed within one specific strain is a different pheno from the seed next to it in the very same strain) and one dies or doesn't pop you really can't say it's directly linked to anything specific. maybe it was just a weak pheno.

This is exactly why I chose to plant the Northern Lights again. I figured it might just have potentially been user error or a weak plant and not necessarily the strain itself.

On 7/2/2022 at 9:50 AM, Naughty.Psychonaut said:

at our rookie learning level we should just be focused on growing a plant, which anyone can do. for the most part weed grows everywhere. you don't need to be a wizard or a "grower" just to grow a plant.

Yup, this is pretty much how I see it. The other three are doing well, thankfully.

On 7/2/2022 at 9:50 AM, Naughty.Psychonaut said:

Talk to some of us about clones, we got tons of reputed strains going around here, most of them grown out for you to cross reference the end result, you literally don't have to spend any money PLUS you don't have to pop any seeds... now does that not sound magical? I think I have offered before, if not I am now. 

Thanks for the offer, I will definitely take you up on it in the future.

D

[Darclinc]

On 7/2/2022 at 4:33 PM, DamDave said:

My outdoor during the day and under lights during the night are also battling.

Mine get moved three times a day, following the sun and go indoors at night. But no lights though since I don't own any. Yet.

On 7/2/2022 at 4:36 PM, DamDave said:

Short notice but my wife is heading into town tomorrow (Sunday). Milnerton market area.

Awww shucks, it's a pity I'm only seeing this now, I live in that general area so it would've worked out well. Thanks for the offer, it is appreciated.

On 7/2/2022 at 4:36 PM, DamDave said:

Or we can arrange something over the next week or two.

Well, I have four pots and four plants on the go at the moment, so let's see how they get on first. But I will definitely get in touch should they also die.

Edited July 4, 2022 by Darclinc

[Darclinc]

Hello All,

So pretty much a month has passed and 2/5 are still alive, albeit very small. They became severely stunted and showed little to no movement for about a week, maybe more. Not sure by what, my ineptness most likely.

But, both are still going which is something, I guess:

The Blueberry Kush was slumped over and nearly died one day, not sure what happened. I propped him up (and continue to do so), he's still alive and showing some new growth despite having a bit of a kink in his stem. One of his leaves, the one on the bottom left was also chowed by something.

The Blue Mystic has generally looked very happy and healthy, but is also going slowly. Really hoping this one pulls through.

So yeah, not much to celebrate unfortunately, but I'm going to care for and nurture them as best I can until they either deliver me some delicious buds or die. Whichever comes first!

Any thoughts welcome!

D 

Edited July 28, 2022 by Darclinc

[SkunkPharm]

Just let it grow. Water only when dry. Really dry

[Khakibos]

@Darclinc Maybe save the autos for the beginning of summer next season. I would say if you plan on growing in winter next season maybe start some photoperiod plants towards the end of autumn - they should stay on the smaller side depending what you decide to go for 

[Darclinc]

5 hours ago, SkunkPharm said:

Just let it grow. Water only when dry. Really dry

This is pretty much what I've been doing. I think they've only been watered 3-4 times, many of which were just with spray bottle.

[Darclinc]

4 hours ago, Khakibos said:

@Darclinc Maybe save the autos for the beginning of summer next season. I would say if you plan on growing in winter next season maybe start some photoperiod plants towards the end of autumn - they should stay on the smaller side depending what you decide to go for 

Thanks, yes this is the plan, kind of.

I am also investigating the possibility of getting a small tent and setting it up in my pool shed. Well, once I have a nice new pool shed, that is. As nice of an idea as outdoor exclusive growing is, I'm not sure it's going to work for me, long term. I need something that's out of the way.

I still need to pick everyone here's brains about it, but it will be at least 2.5m x 4m and should have plenty enough space to accomodate a tent and other equipment. Still thinking about it...

[Khakibos]

23 hours ago, Darclinc said:

I still need to pick everyone here's brains about it, but it will be at least 2.5m x 4m and should have plenty enough space to accomodate a tent and other equipment. Still thinking about it...

[Darclinc]

Hmmmm .. despite being only knee high to a grasshoppper, it appears as if the Blue Mystic is starting to flower. What the actual fuck.

Anyway, I guess I will enjoy at least one tasty popcorn bud!

 

[Naughty.Psychonaut]

15 minutes ago, Darclinc said:

 What the actual fuck.

cz it's the wrong time of the year brother

[MrE]

5 hours ago, Darclinc said:

Hmmmm .. despite being only knee high to a grasshoppper, it appears as if the Blue Mystic is starting to flower. What the actual fuck.

Anyway, I guess I will enjoy at least one tasty popcorn bud

You can always start over dude. I actively mess up all the time, this one's not even really on you! Luckily a new start is only a pop of a seed away. Could even source a clone!

[SkunkPharm]

They still stretch quiet a bit after the start flowering

[West Coast Vaper]

17 hours ago, Darclinc said:

Hmmmm .. despite being only knee high to a grasshoppper, it appears as if the Blue Mystic is starting to flower. What the actual fuck.

Anyway, I guess I will enjoy at least one tasty popcorn bud!

 

It's all a learning curve. Patience waiting for the correct time to plant outdoors is the name of the game.

I make the mistake every year but then I'm an addict and impatient.

[Darclinc]

On 8/5/2022 at 8:03 PM, SkunkPharm said:

They still stretch quiet a bit after the start flowering

I hope so, it would be great if we can get something out of it. Probably not a bad time to start giving it some flowering nutes next time I water?

[Darclinc]

On 8/5/2022 at 1:26 PM, Naughty.Psychonaut said:

cz it's the wrong time of the year brother

Yes, yes. I know.