An experienced grower facing my first auto's season; Sprout, no problem, pops up out of soil, then stalls & dies. Never gets to true leaves, it just stalls and dies. Two suppliers. Seedlings placed in Mondi propagator on a seedling heat mat in mix of
Foxfarm/Bu's Blend and perlite 33% each left in a shady spot till true leaves appear then progressively more direct sun. Under the misted dome at night, opened for breeze during day. Works fine for my photo period plants. Best auto was 16" tall at harvest BFD! What can be shocking them to death? (So. Cal.) so temps should be fine, especially with the heat mat keeping soil temp up at night. Checked and adjusted several times a day for moisture/temp/exposure. Two of twenty made it to harvest and then hardly worth it. Does that putting seed directly into final container at sprout really work? I'm afraid I'm shocking them at transplant. These seem SO finicky and weak. I think combo of weak seeds and something else???? Never wasted so much time growing before for such a little result. Only done to help bolster a season delayed by weak poor photo period seeds of which only one in ten made it to harvest (though it's a beauty). Any ideas what I'm doing wrong? Does the outdoor sprout really work?? I typically get better than 85% from seed to harvest on my photo's. What is shocking these to death or are they just bad weak seeds?
Hey Gdub
Don't give up on the auto's just yet..
As a Canadian (Alberta), I have had to look at alternatives to squeeze out a decent harvest due to our limited growing season, and thus have been breeding some myself..Buying a few high end feminized Super-Auto's Gg4 (Expert seeds) and Tangiematic (Fast Buds)..Then crossing them with some higher end photoperiod regular seeds for a couple generations to nail down that small percentage of Auto offspring in the F2's to continue the line of Autoflowers which are now regular seeds instead of feminized.
You can produce decent herb from Auto's..It just depends on your expectations...Auto can produce the same quality of herb as a photoperiod, but will generally fall short on volume..That said, you still can squawk out 3-4 ozs/ plant quite easily depending on where you live...and 20%+ THC. You need sunlight hours (key), nutrients, genetics, proper maintainence and a little luck..but for many of us here in Canada with a shorter grow season..It's a combination that works..You just need a few more plants
You've given us a quick n' dirty of your grow...I'm guessing your medium was too wet and fungus got them..just a guess..3 things I would point out. First, light...To start with you should be on a 20-4 light cycle..at a
Minimum..remember autos have Ruderalis in them and do not follow the same cycle as photo's..some people even suggest keeping Auto's on 24 hr straight light for the first month as that is exactly the way autos are intended to grow...Hard and Fast! Get that structure built.. (Mine are generally around a meter tall) Second, keeping that grow dome on can often provide too much humidity; giving fungus the opportunity to silently choke off the plant..I tend to err, keeping the soil drier.Third..Do not transplant your autos..If you do, it's a crap shoot, some will be slightly stunted some won't..they are finicky..Keeping in mind they will be spitting out flowers in 30-45 days so every day of vegetation counts. ( I use 2-5 gal pots..if you bury pots in garden when you take outside be sure to drill additional holes in side that will be below soil surface) Third, soil, when I plant I will sometimes use two different types of soils..in a two gallon pail..I'll fill it with a decent nutrient rich soil..In the center, where I plant the seed, I will use a basic soil and add a little perlite to make sure it has proper aeration while the seed germinates..Too much humidity in any seedling can rot out..
Otherwise, pretty much the same ball game as photos..You can do a little selective defoliation just before it starts to flower..but after that, be very selective when removing leaves..one or two here or there.
Best of luck...
Toad
