Gardeners first Cannabis White Widow Auto

[canuck]

First time growing cannabis i’ve grown Vegetables and flower gardens for years, so with our legalisation this year i was very excited to try.

The Info:
-5 seeds
-2’x4’x5 Tent

• 2 x 900watt LED with veg/Bloom buttons
  -5 gallon buckets as pots with home made mixture
• 3 part compost, 3 part peat 1part vermiculite 1 part potting soil approx
• also 6" charcoal/carbon filter and inline fan
  26-Oct-2018 Receive seeds
  27-Oct-2018 Start Germination, wet paper towel on plate ( 5 seeds)
  30-Oct-2018 5th seed sprouts
  2-Nov-2018 seeds put in small “6pack” seed tray (still under florescent grow lights"
  6-Nov-2018 Four plants 2.5-3 inch tall with 2nd set “real Leave” One Noticeably behind, sprout leaves only
  14- Nov-2018 transplant all 5 plants to 1L pots
  ( somewhere here is when i finally got a tent, they all loved it)
  24-Nov-2018 Transplant Three Plants 5 gal buckets. Two plants adopted
  30-nov-2018 video clip shows the width of plants filling the buckets and pistils?/hairs forming
  6-dec-2018 added second 900 watt LED light

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07527ZVFG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

i have many questions ha ha, i am 6 weeks in soil right now and flowering pretty hard in last few days.

reading here briefly i see people discussing light schedule for autoflower. ( going 12/12) etc… am i missing something? do Autos not flower with time not light? i have been running 24/0 the entire time so far.

i added a few tablespoons of hen Manure and about 1/2" topping of Worm castings ( i will not use chemicals/fertilizers)

also i have read elsewhere that “they” say not to transplant autoflowers, i may of made a mistake then as i transplanted twice. started in seedling containers (like i would tomatoes/peppers), moved to about 750 ml containers for 3 weeks, then into their current 5 gal buckets,

so is my lights ok? i almost thought it was to much at first as i had a period with a tiny bit of tips yellowing onn fan leaves. but i have since used a light meter smartphone app (not sure how accurate it would be) and i was only getting around 7000 lux MAX in the tent. that is running both lights veg and bloom ON. the temp got hot hot in the top of the tent 41C. didn’t seem to cause any damage

one of my plants is much more advanced then the other plants ( i only have 3 in my tent) 2 were given a new home. the 2 plants are much much shorter in my tent but still starting buds ( maybe 5-7 days “behind” the third.

so have i messed up anywhere else? how much longer am i looking at until harvest? any idea of approx amount of water to be given? I am just using my hand to feel the top 1" of soil twice daily… was watering daily to start, then around every second day, and back to almost daily again since flower with the"touchy feely method"

any tips? hints? i have been learning on the fly. ( was soo excited when i got my seeds i had them germinating in 2 minutes… then tried to figure out how to grow them… Didnt even expect all 5 to sprout.

am i wrong? do people change light schedule for autos? this is first forum i have heard of this. why not grow photo then?

Appreciate any response, tips, tricks, criticisms, like i said, learning on the fly sooo… whats next? how do i harvest? lol?

very excited as IMO my plants are doing very well so far, but could they be even better? anyone else grow organic only? hen shit? worm castings? compost?

will add some pics soon. TIA, sorry, i ramble

[JoshawaM]

It’s ok there are a few ramblers here​:rofl:

[tanlover442]

Common to see a proud parent talking about the “kids”.

Yes, auto’s are time generated. Independent of light flowering phase. Prevailing thought is…24 hours will get a gain, but, add to costs. Some Only do 12/12. Others will do 18/6 then go to 12/12. It’s up to you.
Generally, it’s accepted that putting the auto seedling in final home is best. The short lifespan makes recovery difficult.
BTW…we can’t see anything in pics taken in burple light. White light is best.

[tanlover442]

Would suggest you keep it on a 12/12 schedule. Adjust the nutes to give more goodies needed for flowering. Also…hybrids are just that. Usually successful strains, but, very common to see variations. Someone posted a pic of his auto…that is 6 months+ old and 6’+ tall. So, unless you’ve got a clone or are familiar with that strain…might want to be “alert for vertical growth”.
Let a few get away from me and ended up the plants growing into the lights. Had to cut off the best …the growing top. This was before I learned about bending and LST.

[canuck]

Tried a few more pics with grow lights off. But basement lighting is bad

[HJL]

Looking great. Keep up the good work.

[canuck]

Thanks for the replies guys. Think I will drop my lights to 18/6 if for nothing else to give my lights a break. Should my exhaust still run 24?

Is it possible to tell an approximate time until harvest from the pics? According to seed supplier 8 week from budding. Do you consider budding from the first “hairs”??

Should I be concerned that my LUX seems very low according to my reading flowering cannabis wants 45000-90000 lux…

I’ve read also that height of plant can double during flowering… would this of happened already or am I in for a huge growth spurt?

[canuck]

Also any idea why the one plant is sooo much taller/more advanced than the middle one? Same soil, lights, watering… maybe just took some shock from my transplant (although I am very very gentle and experienced with transplanting) maybe the middle one just a freak?

[JoshawaM]

All plants same strain or not will always grow differently just like children no 2 will be alike

[canuck]

hey all, a liitle update. some pics from day 61. all three plants soo different. buds coning in nic, getting frosty

some close ups

[canuck]

also my soil PH is 6.9-7 should i be concerned? some reading ive done says i want it lower 6-6.5 but some reading says 6.5-7 for soil. what ph do you guys try to maintain?

[canuck]

moving to grow journal thread. White Widow Auto First time grow - #11 by Midwestnewbie