First Grow (Autoflower): Green-O-Matic (CFL)

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Ganji The Great

Member
Hello Rollitup community.
Thanks to all the threads I have been lurking in, i have finally gathered the courage to start a grow. I ordered 5 Green-O-Matic fems, and i will be growing 3. I am currently on day 6. I am using 4 23w daylight cfls until they get a little bigger, which is when i will purchase a small hps light, hopefully 150w. I am using a shitty soil with Miracle grow nutes. If any one has any requests for specifications on my grow box i will be happy to share. I am growing in my nightstand until i move my growbox from my friends house to my room.
I will be updating every few days, and dont expect this thread to die, i will be persistent in keeping up with it. If any advice can be shared that would be great. My ladies are on 20/4 btw.:eyesmoke:
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G

Ganji The Great

Member
Hopefully The guys here are better than the grasscity forum chumps. I cant even post a damn thread on that site. Anyways. happy toking and keep up with my grow if u know whats good for yah!
 
M

MuhatmaGANJI

Member
YES FINALLY SOMEONE GROWS THE GREEN O MATIC. First post ive made, but damn ive been looking to buy these seeds and there hasnt been enough grows to help me decide. Ill be pulling up a chair.

ps. GANJI is my name biatch, jks.
 
G

Ganji The Great

Member
Scratch that hps, im doing soft white cfls for flowering, yehh, and i planted 2 in my backyard garden. I will show pictures of them when they harvest.
So now its 3 plants under cfls for the whole grow, and 2 outside.
 
G

Ganji The Great

Member
hey does anyone know when i should transplants these to 1 gal pots, i have no clue. Any help would be appreciated, they are 7 days old.
 
G

Ganji The Great

Member
truepunk87 said:
id say around 2-3 weeks. when they start getting rootbound
Click to expand...

Thanks man, i was about to transplant but now ill wait another week. Another question for anyone who can help- When should i start giving this autoflower bloom nutes, and how much of the recommended dosage should i give them?:neutral:
 
G

Ganji The Great

Member
Oh and this reminds me, here are some new pics, this is day 8. They have definetly fattened up in the last couple days, im pretty happy. I am also gunna purchase an hps but im not sure whether to get a 150w or 250w. After this grow im gunna do a steady 1 month harvest, with 2 constantly in the flower room and one in veg. Its to wordy to explain, but point is ill have a continual 1 plant harvest every month. I was wondering what hps i should get if there are only gunna be 2 plants in the flower room at all times, scrog style (after im done with these autoflowers im gunna grow some nice indicas).

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G

Ganji The Great

Member
Sorry for the shitty laptop cam guys, im gunna have a better camera eventually, but for closeups its not that bad.
Anyone who has absolutely any advice for me regarding my HPS predicament or bloom nutes, please reply and help me out. It would be greatly appreciated.
 
dazed97232

dazed97232

New Member
Hey there. I'm growing autos right now (I have a grow journal on here as well) and at three weeks they were already 6-7 inches tall. Now at 26 days they are between 9-10 inches so I wouldn't wait more than 2 weeks to transplant or they will definitely be root bound. Also, since autos have such a short life cycle they don't have much time to recover from transplant shock.

I started mine under a 150 watt HPS after germinating in paper towels. I planted directly into a 1-gallon container, which is a little small but I want to see how big they will get in that size container. My next time around I am going to use 2-gallon grow bags so I'll be able to compare size/yield.

As far as your lighting goes, I've never been a big fan of CFLs. They don't produce enough lumens. Sure, you can grow weed under them - lots of people have and some swear by them - but in my opinion a 150 watt HPS will do much better. I bought one on eBay for $88 shipped. Like I said before, my plants are almost 10 inches at 26 days under the 150 watt HPS. In fact it works so well I just purchased another one. Electricity costs are minimal with a 150 watt as well - something like $12 - $15 a month under a 20-4 regiment.

Definitely take it easy with nutes, especially if you are using soil that has time-release nutrients already. I didn't use any nutes the first 2 weeks and then started using a 1/2 strength solution of Advance Nutrients Sensi Grow A & B. Eventually I stepped it up to a 2/3 strength solution which is where I am at now on day 26. More nutes doesn't equate to bigger, faster growth.

I may be a noob myself, but I do know there are ways to screw up even a simple grow: Don't overwater, don't let temps get over 85 degrees, and make sure you have good air circulation. Ideal temp range is from 72 to 76 with humidity between 60-70% during veg, and 40-60% during flowering.

Best of luck to you!
 
G

Ganji The Great

Member
dazed97232 said:
Hey there. I'm growing autos right now (I have a grow journal on here as well) and at three weeks they were already 6-7 inches tall. Now at 26 days they are between 9-10 inches so I wouldn't wait more than 2 weeks to transplant or they will definitely be root bound. Also, since autos have such a short life cycle they don't have much time to recover from transplant shock.

I started mine under a 150 watt HPS after germinating in paper towels. I planted directly into a 1-gallon container, which is a little small but I want to see how big they will get in that size container. My next time around I am going to use 2-gallon grow bags so I'll be able to compare size/yield.

As far as your lighting goes, I've never been a big fan of CFLs. They don't produce enough lumens. Sure, you can grow weed under them - lots of people have and some swear by them - but in my opinion a 150 watt HPS will do much better. I bought one on eBay for $88 shipped. Like I said before, my plants are almost 10 inches at 26 days under the 150 watt HPS. In fact it works so well I just purchased another one. Electricity costs are minimal with a 150 watt as well - something like $12 - $15 a month under a 20-4 regiment.

Definitely take it easy with nutes, especially if you are using soil that has time-release nutrients already. I didn't use any nutes the first 2 weeks and then started using a 1/2 strength solution of Advance Nutrients Sensi Grow A & B. Eventually I stepped it up to a 2/3 strength solution which is where I am at now on day 26. More nutes doesn't equate to bigger, faster growth.

I may be a noob myself, but I do know there are ways to screw up even a simple grow: Don't overwater, don't let temps get over 85 degrees, and make sure you have good air circulation. Ideal temp range is from 72 to 76 with humidity between 60-70% during veg, and 40-60% during flowering.

Best of luck to you!
Click to expand...
Yah ill transplant them in a week, and how many plants do u have under the 150w, after this auto grow im going to make a regimen that will allow for a constant 1 month harvest. Would that light be enough to flower 2 scrog indicas under it. If not im gunna have to get the 250w hps.
Your advice it greatly appreciated.
 
dazed97232

dazed97232

New Member
Ganji The Great said:
Yah ill transplant them in a week, and how many plants do u have under the 150w, after this auto grow im going to make a regimen that will allow for a constant 1 month harvest. Would that light be enough to flower 2 scrog indicas under it. If not im gunna have to get the 250w hps.
Your advice it greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Right now I have 3 autos under my 150 watt HPS, but I plan to add another 5 autos next week which is why I ordered another 150 watt HPS. A 150 watt HPS should be enough to illuminate roughly 3 sq ft, 175 watt can do 4 sq ft, and a 250 watt can do 9 sq ft. If you only want to get one light and want to keep a relatively small grow op, I would go with a 250 watt with a switchable ballast so you can use both HPS and Metal Halide bulbs. You can find a light like that for $152.99 at growwurks.com or a 400 watt light with a switchable ballast for 160.99. Just remember that bigger lights are going to use considerably more electricity and generate a lot more heat.

I had only planned on using one 150 watt HPS but then decided I wanted to grow more than 3 plants so I ordered a second one. If I had it to do over I probably would go with the 250 watt HPS with switchable ballast - it costs less than two 150 watt HPS lights.

Anyway, in my opinion there is absolutely nothing wrong with a single 150 watt HPS. Many will disagree, but to each their own.
 
G

Ganji The Great

Member
dazed97232 said:
Right now I have 3 autos under my 150 watt HPS, but I plan to add another 5 autos next week which is why I ordered another 150 watt HPS. A 150 watt HPS should be enough to illuminate roughly 3 sq ft, 175 watt can do 4 sq ft, and a 250 watt can do 9 sq ft. If you only want to get one light and want to keep a relatively small grow op, I would go with a 250 watt with a switchable ballast so you can use both HPS and Metal Halide bulbs. You can find a light like that for $152.99 at growwurks.com or a 400 watt light with a switchable ballast for 160.99. Just remember that bigger lights are going to use considerably more electricity and generate a lot more heat.

I had only planned on using one 150 watt HPS but then decided I wanted to grow more than 3 plants so I ordered a second one. If I had it to do over I probably would go with the 250 watt HPS with switchable ballast - it costs less than two 150 watt HPS lights.

Anyway, in my opinion there is absolutely nothing wrong with a single 150 watt HPS. Many will disagree, but to each their own.
Click to expand...
Yah there are no 175w on ebay dammit, that would have been perfect. Ill prolly go witht he 250w. but if u know any good shops with 175w that would ship to canada, that would be awesome.
Your really helpin me out btw, didnt expect someone to stay with my grow and actually reply within a short amount of time.
 
G

Ganji The Great

Member
I have another question, what size pot should i transplant these babies into, i was thinking 1 gallon since they will only get to be 12-16 inches high
 
dazed97232

dazed97232

New Member
I know a lot of people will disagree with me on this point, but in my opinion a 1-gallon container is sufficient for autos due to the fact that they don't get very big. Then again, a 2-gallon container would probably allow for more substantial root growth and thus a bigger plant although I don't think you need to go bigger than that with autos. Like I said in an earlier post, I'm going to put my next autos into 2-gallon grow bags so I'll be able to see firsthand the difference in size.

As far as lighting goes, it probably is a good idea to go with the 250 watt. It's sort of a nice compromise between a 150 watt and a bigger 400 watt. If you can, try to get one with a switchable ballast that will allow you to use a MH bulb as well as an HPS bulb.

Again, I'm a noobie myself so take my advice with a grain of salt! I enjoy helping people though and I'm still learning myself which is why I like this forum. To be honest, I'm not coming up with a lot of this advice on my own - I have a great book called "Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible" by Jorge Cervantes. It is a great reference $20 at Amazon.
 
G

Ganji The Great

Member
dazed97232 said:
I know a lot of people will disagree with me on this point, but in my opinion a 1-gallon container is sufficient for autos due to the fact that they don't get very big. Then again, a 2-gallon container would probably allow for more substantial root growth and thus a bigger plant although I don't think you need to go bigger than that with autos. Like I said in an earlier post, I'm going to put my next autos into 2-gallon grow bags so I'll be able to see firsthand the difference in size.

As far as lighting goes, it probably is a good idea to go with the 250 watt. It's sort of a nice compromise between a 150 watt and a bigger 400 watt. If you can, try to get one with a switchable ballast that will allow you to use a MH bulb as well as an HPS bulb.

Again, I'm a noobie myself so take my advice with a grain of salt! I enjoy helping people though and I'm still learning myself which is why I like this forum. To be honest, I'm not coming up with a lot of this advice on my own - I have a great book called "Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible" by Jorge Cervantes. It is a great reference $20 at Amazon.
Click to expand...
Yah im going to get a 250w hps, but ill veg with cfls because it will be easier to position them around a plantt. Please post the link to your grow i would really like to follow it.
 
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