First Auto Setup (advice needed)

StayHungry

StayHungry

Member
Good afternoon everyone!

I'm currently in the process of setting up a 4'x 2'x 6' tent with some Mephisto genetics using 5 gallon smart pots filled with Pro-Mix CC mixed with down to earth 4-4-4 which leads to some questions.

Will a 5 gallon pot be overkill?
How many plants will i be able to get away with? I plan on LSTing them and only using plants to are supposed to stay under 60"

For light I currently have a 8 bulb 2' T5 for veg but planning on Mars Hydro TSL-2000 (I realize most dont approve of this brand but looks good from the reviews ie Migrow

Will this light be enough for flower or are there better options out there in the world?


The pic is from a week ago (yes I realize transplanting isn't supposed to be done with autos...next time)
 

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olegren

olegren

Well-Known Member
StayHungry said:
Good afternoon everyone!

I'm currently in the process of setting up a 4'x 2'x 6' tent with some Mephisto genetics using 5 gallon smart pots filled with Pro-Mix CC mixed with down to earth 4-4-4 which leads to some questions.

Will a 5 gallon pot be overkill?
How many plants will i be able to get away with? I plan on LSTing them and only using plants to are supposed to stay under 60"

For light I currently have a 8 bulb 2' T5 for veg but planning on Mars Hydro TSL-2000 (I realize most dont approve of this brand but looks good from the reviews ie Migrow

Will this light be enough for flower or are there better options out there in the world?


The pic is from a week ago (yes I realize transplanting isn't supposed to be done with autos...next time)
Click to expand...
Hi, there. Welcome to the site. I'm also just starting out, so take what I'm sharing with a grain of salt. I asked a lot of these questions early on, so I'm hoping to save you a bit of time.

Mephisto's guide actually points out that they transplant theirs all the time. Done properly, this shouldn't create a problem for you.

On pot size, their guide also talks a fair bit about this. I think you'll have a hard time fitting 7 (going by your photo, it looks like you have 7 plants) 5 gallon planters into a 2x4 footprint - especially if you're going to LST. There's just not going to be a ton of space for them to sprawl out.

I have no experience with that particular light. Their site claims a 300W actual draw which seems as though it should be plenty sufficient for a 2x4 footprint. You'll always find people saying there's bigger and better (because there is), but I don't see anything about this that should force you to go and spend more money on something different.
 
MATTYMATT726

MATTYMATT726

Well-Known Member
StayHungry said:
Good afternoon everyone!

I'm currently in the process of setting up a 4'x 2'x 6' tent with some Mephisto genetics using 5 gallon smart pots filled with Pro-Mix CC mixed with down to earth 4-4-4 which leads to some questions.

Will a 5 gallon pot be overkill?
How many plants will i be able to get away with? I plan on LSTing them and only using plants to are supposed to stay under 60"

For light I currently have a 8 bulb 2' T5 for veg but planning on Mars Hydro TSL-2000 (I realize most dont approve of this brand but looks good from the reviews ie Migrow

Will this light be enough for flower or are there better options out there in the world?


The pic is from a week ago (yes I realize transplanting isn't supposed to be done with autos...next time)
Click to expand...
Depends what strains. 7 Sour Cracks or 24 Carats? Maybe. 7 SODK or Ripley's OG? Not a chance. Strans help with what size pots you should use and # under the lights and space.
 
StayHungry

StayHungry

Member
There are 4 3 Bears OG and 3 Samsquach OG but what I’m thinking is if the plant #s are to much I’ll buy another setup not trying to be a prick just being honest
 
wil2279

wil2279

Well-Known Member
I am growing in a 2x4 also... It's my first grow indoors with autos... From what I can see... 2-3 plants is probably going to be your max unless like MattyMatt mentioned... There are some strains that stay super small. The strains you are running I think you would do better with a 4x4 or 2 of the 2x4 tents.

As far as your light choice. The Mars Hydro talk 2000 should be awesome in a 2x4. St SP 250 should work also. If you opt for the larger setup then 2 tsl2000's would work great in there. They will be enough for you to flower. I don't have much experience indoor growing yet but I have seen guys get 1/2 lb from 3 autos running 200 watts of LED.
 
MATTYMATT726

MATTYMATT726

Well-Known Member
Those 2 3 Bear and Samsquash get medium to big. Id say 3 max but maybe squeezing in a 4th if they are smaller or really trained. I am just nitpicking here, but i don't like those 2 together XD they both are OG strong. Like having Ripley's and AvT. AvT has Ripley's as a dad so not much variety. When they got SODK, Hubbabubbasmelloscope or Haze and Double Grape you should grow a fruit basket XD even Fantasmo for that Ghost Train Haze lemon. I'm done, seriously id start 3 and when they are 35-40 days, just start a 4th to be safe.
 
wil2279

wil2279

Well-Known Member
MATTYMATT726 said:
Those 2 3 Bear and Samsquash get medium to big. Id say 3 max but maybe squeezing in a 4th if they are smaller or really trained. I am just nitpicking here, but i don't like those 2 together XD they both are OG strong. Like having Ripley's and AvT. AvT has Ripley's as a dad so not much variety. When they got SODK, Hubbabubbasmelloscope or Haze and Double Grape you should grow a fruit basket XD even Fantasmo for that Ghost Train Haze lemon. I'm done, seriously id start 3 and when they are 35-40 days, just start a 4th to be safe.
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Kinda sucks... Mephisto is pretty much wiped out of everything right now. Hopefully they will have stuff back in stock soon.
 
StayHungry

StayHungry

Member
MATTYMATT726 said:
Those 2 3 Bear and Samsquash get medium to big. Id say 3 max but maybe squeezing in a 4th if they are smaller or really trained. I am just nitpicking here, but i don't like those 2 together XD they both are OG strong. Like having Ripley's and AvT. AvT has Ripley's as a dad so not much variety. When they got SODK, Hubbabubbasmelloscope or Haze and Double Grape you should grow a fruit basket XD even Fantasmo for that Ghost Train Haze lemon. I'm done, seriously id start 3 and when they are 35-40 days, just start a 4th to be safe.
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Now you have me interested...what don’t you like about the OG part of this linage?

I was thinking I could start them all in the same tent then once the grow a little I’ll separate them into 2 different tents. 3 and 4 it is.

For the first tent I was planning on getting a Mars Hydro TSL 2000 but now the HLG 260W XL QB V2 RSPEC or their 360w kit. Anyone have any other input on these lights?
 
Just Be

Just Be

Well-Known Member
It's "bad" in that it'll require more soil, water, nutrients and space but then again it's all up to you. Search 'autoflower 5 or 3 gallon pots?' and then decide.
 
StayHungry

StayHungry

Member
Just Be said:
It's "bad" in that it'll require more soil, water, nutrients and space but then again it's all up to you. Search 'autoflower 5 or 3 gallon pots?' and then decide.
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I have no problem with more of all that’s stated above as long as I noticed a difference in yield to justify it.

MATTYMATT726 said:
Same as photos imo. No bigger than 2-3 gal for coco and 5 gal for soil. 1/2 gal of coco will still grow monsters with 2-3 feedings a day.
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MattyMatt do you still feel like this holds true? I realize this post was from last year so maybe you feel different now

I’m seeing a lot of post (some older posts) that claim at least 20% difference between 3 vs 5 gallon fabric pots in controlled environment with the same pheno
 
MATTYMATT726

MATTYMATT726

Well-Known Member
StayHungry said:
I have no problem with more of all that’s stated above as long as I noticed a difference in yield to justify it.



MattyMatt do you still feel like this holds true? I realize this post was from last year so maybe you feel different now

I’m seeing a lot of post (some older posts) that claim at least 20% difference between 3 vs 5 gallon fabric pots in controlled environment with the same pheno
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In my opinion yeah. But you have to realize there are different sized autos. A strain that is said to be 55cm is a small plant. In soil 3 gal is plenty. Than there might be a bigger auto that gets 120cm. That's a big plant so 5 gal would be fully justifiable. More than 5 gal of soil even on these big autos(sometimes called "super" or "xxl") seems to be over the top.
 
JoeBlow5823

JoeBlow5823

Well-Known Member
Just Be said:
A five gallon pot for an auto is going to be overkill. 3 gallon is recommended for autos.
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last year I grew in 3 gallon fabric pots. This year I used 5 gallon. A couple strains stayed about the same size as last year but most of them got significantly larger. Plus watering every 4 days instead of every 2-3 is much nicer for me.
 
Sofa King Smoooth

Sofa King Smoooth

Well-Known Member
Have used #2,#3,#5, and #7 for autos. #3 and #5 seem to be about right in my experience. Prefer the #5 personally due to the extra insurance in case an emergency comes up and unable to feed/water everyday or every other day.

As a side note, keeping every leaf in place and healthy also helps as an emergency buffer for missing feed/water days. The plant will feed off of the leaves. A few dead/yellowing leaves beats a dead plant.

My personal experience for what it is worth.
 
GBAUTO

GBAUTO

Well-Known Member
I've only played with auto's on a couple of closet grows in DWC buckets. It's a 2.5'x2'x5' cubicle running my 300 watt Vesta strip retro-fitted blurple panel. A pair of plants will completely fill that space, so I'd be hesitant to run more than 3 in your space unless you're sure the genetics stay compact.
 
JoeBlow5823

JoeBlow5823

Well-Known Member
Sofa King Smoooth said:
Have used #2,#3,#5, and #7 for autos. #3 and #5 seem to be about right in my experience. Prefer the #5 personally due to the extra insurance in case an emergency comes up and unable to feed/water everyday or every other day.

As a side note, keeping every leaf in place and healthy also helps as an emergency buffer for missing feed/water days. The plant will feed off of the leaves. A few dead/yellowing leaves beats a dead plant.

My personal experience for what it is worth.
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I also find the 5's to be much more forgiving. Plus only watering every 3-4 days vs every 2-3 days makes the cost of the extra dirt worth it on its own.
 
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