Something's Not Right With My Auto's. Ideas? I'm a Novice!

[automanLST]

I germinated, and planted all 4 of these autos into red cups on April 28th, let's just say May 1st. I went straight from the red cups to the 5 gallons, since they say autos don't have a long enough veg time to make up for the shock from multiple transplants.

I am a novice. I'm trying to figure out where I am in the process. The strains are purple punch and orange sherbet. They're all in fabric 5 gallon pots.

The plants seem extremely small to me. I got the purple punch from fast buds

I started out using a mH light; at first I had it at 200 W, on the low setting for ballast for the first week or two while they were seedlings. Then I went up to 400 W mH up until about a month ago, when I switched to Viparspectra 900 (the square one) in veg mode. Light height with the mH was consistently in the 20 inches to 30 inches range (I played around with it). For the Viparspectra, I've been at 32 inches, which I believe is the manufacturer's recommended height for a 4x4 tent, which is what I'm using.

I been feeding them once or twice a week and watering them only when the soil was dry. I was kinda off on the ph on the waterings for the first few weeks, due to issues with my first 2 ph meters. By mistake, I've been adding black strap molasses to every watering; then I reviewed my notes, only to see I was only supposed to use the molasses with every other watering.

I've been keeping my Relative Humidity between 50 and 65, sometimes 70. Temp has been consistently between 68 and 75 degrees fahrenheit, usually closer to 70 degrees.

But since then, my waterings and feedings have been in the 6.0 - 6.5 range. A few of the plants got burned once in early veg, before I learned about PPM's.

The soil on these is fox farm ocean forest mixed with worm castings. I didn't know about worm castings when I started, but added it to the soil surrounding the roots.

I use fox farm nutrients; only Grow Big so far, the one for vegging. The last few weeks I took my ppm's on feedings up to about 800 or so, from mid to late May, the ppm's were in the 200 - 400 range. On feeding days, I've been including cal mag at the recommended dosage on the bottle.

I'm a little overwhelmed by what's going on, so I may not be asking the right questions.

Here are, however, my concerns/questions (pictures of all 4 attached):

1. Why is Purple Punch 1 (aka PP1) showing what I believe to be signs of blooming, while PP2 and the orange sherbets (OS1 and OS2) appear to still be in veg?

2. Is this whole crop a throwaway, or is there hope?

3. They say purple punch auto's flower in 50-60 days. In a few days it'll be 2 months for these. So since PP1 appears to be the only one flowering, how should I approach PP1 and the rest, from a nutrient and lighting perspective? Per this page on growdiaries, purple punch auto should be budding at the 60 day mark, which I'm approaching rapidly.

4. For the orange sherbet, how should I adjust what I'm doing? Per this grow diary online of another grower, I should have been flowering a few weeks ago on OS1 and OS2.

Any help you can provide is appreciated. I would be crushed if I eff'd this whole thing up, but that's the only way you learn they say.

 

[VincenzioVonHook]

That's insane. This is a autoflower at like day 25 in a 2.3x2.3 and a 2 gallon pot. I don't know what you did but it certainly didn't work.

You have to get that first few weeks down pat with autos, or this is the outcome. Any stunting over the first few weeks and you may as well bin them.

 

[FirstCavApache64]

Sometimes honestly is the best policy whether it's the easiest thing to do or not. In this very rare case, I would start over with a new crop unfortunately. These plants are not going to really produce a whole lot for you and spending a lot of time and effort trying to make them doesn't make sense to me. Fox Farms Ocean Forrest has a lot of nutrients in it already and is considered to be hot for some seedlings so it really doesn't need any fertilizer for quite awhile, especially with autos. You can plant in it and let them just get properly ph adjusted water for the first month usually. @Budzbuddha a member here has a great thread on using it for autos and not even needing fertilizer at all. Hopefully he'll chime in with some help as I use Roots Organic and don't have anywhere near the experience level he does with it. However, let's fix a couple in things before you pop new seeds. Don't use molasses every other feed. It's not necessary and will eventually cause issues in lockout at that level I'm betting. If you want to use it, use it once a week at most and 1 tbls per gallon at most. It's only to feed the micro organisms in your soil for organics and I only use it several times a grow. The ppms necessary for most autos are fairly low. They are usually fairly light feeders so always start low and gradually increase. 800 ppms for an auto is what I'd feed a fully blooming plant in very good health just to give you an idea, and in my mind that would be hot. Every strain is different and some like more than others but as a general rule, they are light feeders. As far as watering in fabric pots, they should be getting good and soaked until they are really heavy with some runoff or slight dripping from the bottom and if you're using salt based nutes you should be watering them until runoff again the next time they feel light when you pick them up again. When you soak them, pick the pot up and just feel how heavy it is. In a few days, lift it and feel again. You'll feel a huge difference in the weight. Eventually, through practice you'll get to where you can tell they need water from the weight difference. I also think you'd benefit from an increase in your temps but I don't think that's the big issue. The over feeding and ph problems are what really caused the biggest issues I think and starting fresh unfortunately is your best plan. If you do decide to start over. I'd go with Happy Frog soil for the seeds and transplant at around 2 weeks into a 3 or 5 gallon pot of the Ocean Forrest. Happy Frog is much gentler than Ocean Forrest and in my opinion a better seed starter blend. I've grown plenty of seeds in Ocean Forrest back when I used Fox Farms but I preferred the Happy Frog personally. Sorry to recommend trashing them, but to finish it out with a harvest that won't satisfy you seems counter productive. It makes more sense to start a new crop and get them going right. We can help you from the start this time and hopefully grow some nice plants.

 

[Oldguyrealy]

Sprout your seed and go to final Pot.

I use 3 gallon fiber Pots.

 

[Bullmark]

Something went terribly wrong along the way and without seeing each step and stage it’s impossible to nail down the issue(s).
Honestly I would start over….and rarely is that the case.
Some genetics are extremely, and I mean really extremely, finicky and stress phobic. I halfway know what I’m doing and just had a strain that just wouldn’t take any level of stress….they were a waste of time in any environment other than perfect….meaning perfect for their particular preferences.
I’ll try to help you if you like. I know how it feels.
First of all, your choice of Ocean Forest is fine and adding EWC is a good move. I would also add in some extra perlite and don’t be shy with the perlite.
You must get the seedling stage right first and foremost. Start in a solo cup or other small container. I’ve had good results starting in Ocean Forest but some have said it burned their seedlings. I have a bag of Happy Frog that I’ve recently used for seedlings and they’ve done fine.
Seedlings don’t need a lot of water so err on the side of less water. I only water around the edge of the cup and allow the roots to reach for the moisture. Usually after they’ve sprouted, a couple shot glasses of water every other day is fine. And no nutes..
Once they’ve grown a couple sets of leaves you can think about transplanting. With this method and at your level of experience, I would strongly recommend smaller final pots. No larger than 3gal.
At this stage you can totally ruin your grow with your watering practices. I’m betting this is where things went south on your current run.
You have a tiny seedling w/ tiny roots in a huge sea of soil. If you flood the entire pot you’ve literally drowned your plant. That’s why I say go smaller….I’ve seen several ounces yielded from 1 gal pots.
The trick is to only water what the plant and its roots can handle. Once the plant is growing steadily, only then do you water the entire pot and allow the proper wet/dry cycle. It’s so easy to overwater in a larger pot.
Ocean Forest has tons of nutrients that can and will sustain the plant for a solid month. Considering the plant will be around 2 weeks old when you move into the final container (of fresh Ocean Forest), you shouldn’t have to give ANY nutes until after your auto starts flowering….usually day 30-35.
Between the amendments in the soil and your added EWC the plant needs nothing for a while.
The only thing I give along the way is liquid silica every other watering, cal mag if needed and some sort of microbial catalyst….ReCharge, fish sh!t, stump tea, mycos , are a few.
Around day 25 from transplant you should start giving nutrients. This is where things get complicated for most. It doesn’t have to be that way. I will top dress w/ more Ocean Forest + EWC. Believe it or not that is plenty to sustain the plant. If going this route I would top dress every 2-3 weeks until the plant is finished.
Ive done this and seen it work.
If you want to hedge your bet, you can also top dress with a good organic dry fertilizer, like Dr Earth or Gaia Green. Fox Farms also has their own line of dry ferts that work well.
The organic dry ferts slowly release, are less likely to burn your plants and are dick simple. Most lines have a veg option and flower option. The Gaia Green (which I use and love) has a 4-4-4 for veg and 2-8-4 for flower. If your first top dress is right at the pre flower transition give half and half. After that only give the flower version or 2-8-4.
Then simply give water that’s been ph’ed to 6.3-6.8.
There is an entire thread on this site dedicated to growing in Ocean Forest and keeping it simple. Look it up and read through it. It will make life much simpler and will help you understand the process.
Good luck and I’m glad to answer any questions or help along the way.

 

[twentyeight.threefive]

Whatever happened to people using paragraphs to separate their thoughts and make posts actually readable.

 

[FirstCavApache64]

Whatever happened to people using paragraphs to separate their thoughts and make posts actually readable.

I'm usually pretty baked when I'm on here and writing stream of consciousness as I think about shit. Sometimes, I go back and correct it for proper grammar as I do understand it's use. Other times I just don't give a damn. I tend to think offering helpful advice is more important than sentence structure and phraseology though. Ask long as it's readable. Just my .02 cents

 

[Fozzyb18]

Fascinating, it’s trying to flower but has no growth. Looks like you tried to train it as well. How about this…cut the best parts off and clone them, use Fox Farm OF nothing else but water, forget training. The auto clone won’t produce a massive yield but you get a second chance at the grow. Lots of theories on auto cloning but I definitely have done it, just not at 8 weeks…lol. Looks like a great/lucky germination 4/4.

 

[Week4@inCharge]

That's insane. This is a autoflower at like day 25 in a 2.3x2.3 and a 2 gallon pot. I don't know what you did but it certainly didn't work.
View attachment 5155586
You have to get that first few weeks down pat with autos, or this is the outcome. Any stunting over the first few weeks and you may as well bin them.

Mine are half that at thirty days.. dam.. Please tell, whats your lighting schedule like and whats your DLI? I think mine are over fertilized too. Good to know these guys are light feeders, thanks.

 

[VincenzioVonHook]

Mine are half that at thirty days.. dam.. Please tell, whats your lighting schedule like and whats your DLI? I think mine are over fertilized too. Good to know these guys are light feeders, thanks.

Dli was around 35 (500umol/s over 20 hours) for first week and then upped to 50 (700/20h). Running a 240w quantum board about 18-20" away at full pelt . if you get the environment and medium down pat you can get some killers with three or four weeks veg, but that time is critical. Well aerated medium and good watering habits are crucial.

These autos were in 2 gallon pots at day 31 and then day 45. There is hope.

 

[Week4@inCharge]

Dli was around 35 (500umol/s over 20 hours) for first week and then upped to 50 (700/20h). Running a 240w quantum board about 18-20" away at full pelt . if you get the environment and medium down pat you can get some killers with three or four weeks veg, but that time is critical. Well aerated medium and good watering habits are crucial.

These autos were in 2 gallon pots at day 31 and then day 45. There is hope.
View attachment 5156173

There is hope indeed..thanks!