My first experience. AUTOs+Grow box+CFLs... need some experts tips

Hello everyone! this is my first post so i'm gonna also introduce myself. I'm Alex from Italy! already visited RollitUp quite few times and decided to register finally ^^.
I apologize early for some mistake with my english, as you may imagine it's not my mother language, but i'll try to do my best.
but the very reason i'm bothering you guys today is beacuse after many years of enjoing our well loved cannabis I decided, after a couple of bad experiences (and bad smokes ) to start growing my own babies! After long long reads on the forums, on the books, magazines etc. I made a little setup for what I think it's gonna be a good equipment for my purposes. But as you may know.... with no previous experience... i'm not really know what i'm talking about! ahahaha
But let's start!!

I decided to grow indoor, in a growbox. I dedicated something like 1 square meter (3x3square ft) for 6 autoflowering plants (seeds bought from Sensi Seed, 3x Super Skunk Automatic from sensi, 3x Northern Light Automatic from white label). Decided for these two strains cause they are ones of my favourites.

Here is the equimpment i'm thinking to use:
->Grow Box: SilverBox V3 120cmx60cmx150cm (47,2x23,6x59 inches)
->Lighting: 10 CFLs (5x 40W 2700K + 5x 40w 6500K) all spirals
->Pots: 3 gallons each
->Soil: BioBizz Light Mix
->Nutrients: General Hydroponics kit of FloraGro, FloraMicro, FloraBloom + PH Tests + kit PH up/down

I'm thinking about adding 1 or 2 more CFLs but with more watts and dual spectrum (2700k+6500k), so i can keep these two big ones on top, and the small ones closer to the plants (maybe even on the sides of the grow box or even under, near the pots, pointing upwards using deflectors).

For air circulation i decided to put one extraction fan on the top of the grow box and 2 intake ones at the bottom.
Temperature and humidity I think will not be a problem (It's a very small room with the same temp as the rest of the house, 70F, but I will monitor them during the grow and correct if it's necessary).

So please, if someone have corrections, tips/tricks...please write me somthing. I'm currently working in Africa, so i'm stil in the "design phase". Every work will start when i'll be back one in one or two weeks

thanks for the patience!

Welcome to RIU. You have done a good job researching and planning for your grow IMO.

I will just comment on the soil for now. I would add perlite to your soil to help with drainage and aeration. Also add dolomite lime, it will help buffer the PH and add calcium and magnesium. Get the powdered dolomite lime not pellets.

Good choices on strains too, those are easier to grow than most. +rep for doing your research.

Cascadian said:

I will just comment on the soil for now. I would add perlite to your soil to help with drainage and aeration. Also add dolomite lime, it will help buffer the PH and add calcium and magnesium. Get the powdered dolomite lime not pellets.

Click to expand...

Thanks you for the +rep very appreciated.
So perlite, good!.... heard about it but forgot to include in my list ahahaha . One question, it's better to mix it up with the soil in the pots, or just do a layer above it (about 1 inch)?
And about the dolomite lime, is a very useful info, cause never heard about it. I imagine i have to mix the powder with the soil. Do one round of dolomite lime last for one enitre lifespan of the plant? or I have to add more than once?...and if you can tell me (generally speking of course) how much dolomite lime in powder is needed for a 3 gallon pot of soil.

Thank you again!

EDIT: oh and I was thinking about drilling some holes in the pots to have something like Air-pots, do you think it's a good idea?

Both the perlite and dolomite lime need to mixed into the soil well/thoroughly. I would make between 15% - 20% of the soil mix perlite, some people use 30%. It may be harder to find in Italy, maybe a very large garden center.

Dolomite lime should be added at about 1Tbs/gallon of soil.

Drilling holes in the pots is a great idea IMO, just don't make them so large that soil falls out easily. The biggest complaint with airpots is how messy they can be.

I think your tent will get a bit crowded with 6 plants. I have not grown autos but from what I have read if they are a fast maturing variety you might be ok in that space.

ok, many thanks for the numbers very useful!!!

For the space issue, according to Sensi, the Super Skunk has a flowering period of 60 - 65 days, and the Northern lights even shorter 45 - 50 days.

You probably already know but when looking at autos it is the "seed to harvest" times that are most important but not all companies list them.

I found a Sensi Northern Lights Auto Grow Journal on another site, looks like it took 94 days seed to harvest. The final plant heights look manageable for your tent though.
This was an aeroponic grow.

Final Results:
**************************************************************************************

Start And End Date:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Germination Date: Nov 1, 2011
Harvest Date: Feb 3, 2012
Harvested On Day: 96

Growth Stage Lengths:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Germination:Nov 1, 2011 - Nov 14, 2011 ( 2 Weeks )
Vegitation: Nov 15, 2011 - Dec 12, 2011 ( 4 Weeks )
Flowering: Dec 13, 2011 - Feb 3, 2012 ( ~8 Weeks )

Problems Encountered During Grow:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heat: None
Humidity: None
Mold/Fungus: None
Pests: None
Equipment: None

Auto-Flowering Rate:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
100% All 4 AutoFlowered Between Day 42-45 From When I Put Them In The Paper Towel.

Plant Heights:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plant #1: 32"
Plant #2: 30"
Plant #3: 19"
Plant #4: 15"

Yields:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plant #1: 32g
Plant #2: 29g
Plant #3: 10g
Plant #4: 2g

Total Yield: 73g

ohhh very nice infos!!! unfortunatley, as you said, Sensi give very few informations about that so just wrote what i got, thanks again!
Regarding that aeroponic grow, do you have any idea of why the plant #4 resulted in so low yeld? i know it's difficult to say... just your opinion is good to me ^^... Already read that journal and seems that the guy didn't encounter any problems, so I can't figure myself why that plant "failed" comparing the other three. I'm asking just beacuse I don't want to do the same mistakes. eheheh

and a couple of more questions about my project, Distilled water is good to use to watering or it's better tap water (wich i would let set overnight)?. I was thinking about going with distilled since i found a local store where the price of 5-10lt tanks is very cheap.
About the dolomite lime I found something on internet... but I was wondering... dolomite lime (especially in powder) is widely used in building, and i don't think it's gonna be a problem finding that kind one in my area, IF it's still good for the purpose, or there is a specific dolomite lime for farming?

thanks for the patience answering all my questions!

I believe calcitic lime is construction lime. Typical analysis of calcitic/ag lime is 32% Ca and maybe 1% Mg while dolomite lime is roughly 22% Ca and 11% Mg. If you are using a high Mg fertilizer you should be ok but I would strongly recommend that you buy lime that is labeled "dolomite". You could also add epsom salt/magnesium sulfate to your mix if you cannot find dolomite lime. Anything labeled "dolomite" will be good.

I would use distilled or filtered tap water (I use britta filtered tap). The calcium in tap water typically has larger molecules that are not easily utilized by the plant. Just make sure you have some calcium and magnesium supplementation in the soil (best option) or in the fertilizer and you should be ok.

What the aeroponic grow tells me is that sensi's genetics have a lot of variation/different phenotypes. It appears that it is not a very stable strain. You could luck out and get some nice plants, or could end up with some bad phenos. It is also possible that the one plant did not receive as much or as intense lighting but I think that is less likely, seems like that grower had the environment pretty dialed in.

I am not telling you to choose a different strain of Auto as I have not grown one yet, but I did just place an order for some for a possible outdoor grow this summer. From what I have read Dinafem has some quality genetics in the Auto area. I ordered the Critical Plus 2, Amnesia Haze (larger plant with longer flowering time), and the Haze 2. I have also read good things about the Dinafem White Widow Auto. Just throwing it out there for consideration. Maybe get the Super Skunk Auto and choose a more stable option for the second strain.

Maybe someone else could chime in with a recommendation for you. Or if you post a question about it on the "Auto" board you will get some other quality opinions. Be sure to give the details of your grow setup again if you do.

Ok, I hope to be luck this time and to have some good phenos. For the second round I was thinking about some regular strains but for now i want to concentrate on these autos ^^
And speaking about fertilizers...since i'll use the general hydroponics kit of nutrients, do you know if it's possible to add some specific additive during the flowering to maximise the production and the size of the buds? (something that will not interfere or damage the plants if use in combination with the GH kit I mean). Already took a look around but as you may imagine... every producer claim his product to be the best! :/

My advice would be to stick with the GH line for your first grow. Most of what is sold as bud boosters is snake oil IMO... Some of the "bud boosters" are nothing more than marked up Black Strap Molasses. If you have a quality fertilizer and follow the instructions you will get great results. Keep it simple for the first grow IMO.

One thing to consider/research in the future is using more organic additives directly in the soil. You will then only need to supplement with a small amount of bloom nutes in flower. I am biased though, I like to lean toward the organic methods.

What I do is use what is called "supersoil". I add blood meal, bone meal, dolomite lime, epsom salt, kelp meal, azomite, and worm castings to my base soil. Typically all I need to do is water during veg, then when I hit flower I add some molasses (only beneficial when using organic amendments in the soil), and I use GH Flora Nova from time to time. Not completely organic due to the Flora Nova but the synthetic/chemical nutes are available to the plant faster and I don't need to use much to give them a boost during flower.

Ok! good to know about the organics additives. Gonna be prepared for the second grow after this! Now I think i'm good to go for this round of autos. Many thanks again
Now it's only matter to get back home from Africa ahahaha

That is very interesting.
I have not seen one NL Auto by Sensi Seeds grow. Can you share Cascadian?

My 2 (also Sensi) NL auto have sprouted on Jan. 7. It's also my first grow.
My experience so far is they are very bushy and compact, with lot of side branches.
One already has about 15 future bud sites. I also spray a branch with colloidal silver, as to get some pollen for another plant.

I have a journal, but since editing posts is not allowed after 5 days, it's a mess. I plan on redoing it, when I am further into the grow.

Have you started germinating yet?
I found they are fast and easy to germinate. I had some temperature fluctuations in this stage with one seed, and it turned out a hobo.
It has disfigured leafs with white stains, and no symmetry whatsoever, but it is fast growing and vigorous.

Start it soon! We could compare. My aim is about 1 ounce total for 2 plants. That would do for me.

Agreed add ample perlite. 10 CFL' s won't flower 6 plants well. I like to have 200-300 actual watts watts of CFL per plant.

Smokenpassout said:

Agreed add ample perlite. 10 CFL' s won't flower 6 plants well. I like to have 200-300 actual watts watts of CFL per plant.

Click to expand...

Than HID lamp would be more effective, cost wise. But if money isn't a concern, I'd go with tubes because they look cool lol

The NL auto grow info was from another site, just posted it to help out. I dont have NL auto bought some other autos but won't be germing those for about 2 weeks. Good luck on your grow.

Thanks Cascadian!
I understood it wasn't your grow, and wanted to see the thread. Can you perhaps send the link in pm?

6 plants in that space will get very crowded in my opinion, unless you use small pots to stop them growing to big. I would grow less plants and use big pots. Also use a hps light instead of cfl they give off such better light and as your using autos they have a short life span so you need to make the most of the time you have Everything else sounds great though.