Greetings everyone! So I purchased two 3 packs of autoflower seeds from the local seed bank( Northern Lights and Chembomb). Both popped in a few days. Two days ago I planted both seeds in 7 gallon grow bags with foxfarms potting soil. Now just waiting for these beauties to break soil. I set up a shaded area on the side of my house. I’m hoping the blazing Arizona sun won’t totally destroy them. I plan on watering around 5am to avoid heat I also set up a small fan inside the shaded area.
Be sure to get them as much direct sunlight as possible. You may have to experiment a bit to challenge what they can tolerate. Reason: plants that get more light will be far more productive.
Be sure to have wet/dry cycles when in soil. Let your soil dry out between waterings. It is important for good root health. The dry period allows them to uptake oxygen, which is needed by roots.
Thank you for this advice @MidwestGuy should I start putting the pots in direct sun for a few hours at a time so they can acclimate to this environment and gradually increase direct sun as the temp goes down? I’ll be sure to let the soil dry between waterings. Thanks for this as well.
Hey @AZDude420 . im in northern az, my climate may not be the same, but i can try to help out. Id keep them totally protected till they break ground. Full shade.
@W.B.elpaso thank you for this advice just checked on them and both sprouts broke soil and are reaching for the sun. I’m in the casa grande area and it’s about 110 outside. The sprouts have been in direct sunlight for about an hour. Should I let them soak up the sun all day or put them back under the shade after a few hours? Will this hot of direct sun damage them?
Welcome to the forum @AZDude420 I am in the Prescott area
You want to shade those grow bags somehow. Dark grow bag in the sun will get hot. The plants can handle the heat better than the roots. What % is the shade material you’re using? 30% would be my recommendation. Id also wet down the grow area real good every morning and if I was home I’d do it again mid day. When the heat is real high they need higher humidity. Wetting down the grow area will raise the humidity as it evaporates. Not much but it helps.
My apologies for the late response @W.B.elpaso , I didn’t know there’s a limit to replies as a new member. Anyways, thank you very much for the advice. The shaded area gets about 6 hours of direct light a day. I’ll be sure to only give them indirect sun while they’re growing. Nice, Prescott was on my list when first moving out here but I regrettably chose one of the hottest cities in the state and not the good hot😆
Hello @plumbdand. Thank you for the great advice. The shaded cloth I believe is 40 or 50 percent, is that too much shade for the plants? I’ll be sure to water that area down as much as possible during the day for humidity great tips much appreciated
Awesome, thank you @plumbdand I’ll get a 30 percent shade cloth this week. I mistakingly put them in direct sun yesterday for about an hour. One sprout was stretching up towards the sun but the other sprout looked like it was trying to hide back into the soil for coolness so I put them back under shade and they’re both back to looking good. Just took this picture of them under the shade. I can already see the 2nd set of leaves growing
