Waxwing Grows: Lemon Auto Organic

[WaxwingSlain]

Felicitations!

I’ve had a grow going for a little over a month and figured I’d make it public.

SEEDS: Lemon Auto from Seedsman, so far the best genetics I’ve worked with.

MEDIUM: Coco coir with perlite and a little bit of Mykos in 7-gallon grow bags. Three of five plants started in little plastic cups and were transplanted.

NUTES: Jacks 3-2-1, with some organic amendments.

LIGHTS: HLG Diablo 750 with UV bar. This is the first grow using either.

FANS: AC Infinity inline fan (output), a small oscillating fan, small clip-on fan, and bare-bones inline fan (input).

I’ve been growing for a few years, but am trying to step up my game; the previous grow I didn’t put my heart into it, and results were disappointing. With this new grow there are areas where I’m confident I’ve already made strides- the Diablo is a big step up from the HPS rig I ran previously, for instance, and embarrassingly this is the first time I bothered to calibrate my pH meter- but also some where I’m less confident, and there are a few things I definitely screwed up already. But each mistake makes me a better grower, and by sharing them maybe someone out there can dodge them.

Two weeks ago, I realized my main lighting timer was toggled to “ON” and not to “TIMER”, so for a while there these poor girls were getting it 24/7 from the Diablo (the UV bar was on a separate timer, fortunately). There was some damage that will haunt the whole grow, but they bounced back from it better than I expected of autoflowers; let it be a lesson to always check for silly little things like “is my timer set to timer?”, as it only takes one factor being wildly off for trouble to assert itself. Now that the plants are under reasonable lighting conditions, and pH is properly balanced, I expect it to be smooth sailing for a while, but I need to use this quiet time to sort some things out. For now the three biggest are:

1. Humidity has hovered around 70% for weeks now, even with a fairly nice dehumidifier running constantly as well as plenty of airflow to and from the tent. What can I do other than buy a second expensive dehumidifier? Early on, before I’d set up the new HLG lights, there were signs of some sort of microbial pest, and I suspect the high humidity was to blame; since putting up the UV bar there are no signs of pests, and in researching UV and plants before buying it, the alleged pest-deterrent effect was a big draw. Nice to see it seems to be doing as advertised, but still I’d hate for RH to still be so high come flower.

2. I didn’t expect all of them to make it, so I’m stuck with five plants in a 4’x4’ tent; right now it’s manageable but I could see it getting out of hand a few weeks down the line. It’s dismantled and in storage at the moment but I do have a 2’x2’ tent and sufficient lights and fans for it, so I could relocate one plant if need be; I’m also considering simply culling the two weakest plants to free space and other resources for three healthy gals.

3. Right now the grow bags are sitting on plastic trays (all but one- I only have four trays!) on the tent floor; I want to find a good way to elevate them so as to make runoff cleanup easier and to allow for extra airflow. I have some grates but they’re a little flimsy, and elevating them with proper sturdiness and positioning is something I need to sort out.

I’ll try to post updates every few days, even if it’s a routine watering. Until now I’ve grown acceptable reefer but nothing to be proud of; here’s hoping this is finally the batch that gets there!

[Crazy81]

I read some use milk crates but not sure if 7 gal bag would fit on it right something you could look in to

[Canitgrow420]

Can we see some pics of your ladies .

[WaxwingSlain]

[WaxwingSlain]

Watering day!

First gallon: Jack’s 3-2-1, 5.65 pH.

Second gallon: liquid fish product (NPK: 3, 3, 0.3), 6.55 pH. A little high- misjudged the amount of base to add- but it should be fine.

I’ve been using the General Hydroponics pH Up and Down; are they still the gold standard? I’d prefer an organic equivalent unless it’s much pricier or otherwise impractical.

[WaxwingSlain]

I’ve decided to give them names.
FUJITSUBO is the oldest- strong despite early setbacks, and despite some discoloration on older leaves, the new ones are many and healthy.

[WaxwingSlain]

UKIFUNE and MURASAKI are the youngest and and most promising. Both of them handled transplant without a hitch, and last week’s topping just as well; I know some people recommend against either of those for autoflowers, but I’ve had very few issues. I expect great things!

[WaxwingSlain]

Finally, AOI and KOKIDEN are the awkward middle children; they were hit hardest by the timer mishap, and will likely remain stunted, unfortunately. That being said, new growth looks just peachy, and trouble is only obvious on older leaves I can cull soon anyway, so if current trends continue they should be small but otherwise healthy plants.

[WaxwingSlain]

Yesterday’s feeding:

One gallon w/ 1/2tsp ReCharge- I’ve been giving them this dose once weekly as per the directions. Hard to say how happy it makes the plants, so far, amid so many other factors.

One gallon w/ Jack’s 3-2-1- namely, one tsp each of Jack’s Organic parts 1 and 2 plus half a tsp epsom salts.

One half-gallon w/ a tsp epsom salt, just for the extra magnesium.

[WaxwingSlain]

Fujitsbuo continues to grow like mad despite her early setbacks; I set up some wire for basic training two days ago, and already had to readjust it.

I went at her with some trimmers but only saw two ugly old leaves that needed to be cleared out.
At this rate I’ll soon have to start clearing out healthy leaves to avoid overgrowth. Earlier on, when I’d just picked up on the overlighting problem, she looked to me like she might have been stressed/tricked into an early flowering, but this is all normal for post-seedling veg phase growth, right?

Again, three of the plants are model autoflowers, and two are verdant but blatantly stunted. Don’t think there’s anything I can do to make them catch up; we’ll just have to wait and see if they’re worth keeping on board. I plan to both elevate the grow bags and, later on, throw on a SCROG net, by which time the position of the plants will be more or less permanent and it could become a nuisance if the girls are of dissimilar size.

All in all, growth is where I expected or beyond, and I’m a happy camper. It’s now a beautiful classic autumn here in New England, and it’s hard not to smile amid such loveliness.

[WaxwingSlain]

Two gallons 3-2-1, one gallon plain water. Everything continues as it has been.

[WaxwingSlain]

Murasaki and Ukifune got some light training:

[WaxwingSlain]

I was out for a few days and watered last night; this time it was two gallons 3-2-1, one gallon with Tribus and fish product, and a half gallon with epsom salts.

The two pack leaders continue to grow like mad:

But the others aren’t doing so hot. Fujitsubo is an odd case, as she’s kept growing and looks reasonably healthy, but my suspicions that she was traumatized into an early and unsatisfying flower are all but confirmed:

The other two look like much smaller and more stunted versions of the above, and it’s very likely I’ll just cull them rather than keep dumping resources into them. Ukifune and Murasaki are such beautiful, sturdy creatures that even if most of the grow is just them in the 16 sq ft tent I’m sure it will blow my last grow out of the water; still, I expected this to be smoother sailing. The early-flowering thing is particularly unfortunate given I’m trying to emphasize an organic and natural approach focused on a quality root system and microbiome, and these plants won’t have time to make the most of it… now that I think about it maybe playing the long game with microbes and Mykos and whatnot is a subpar strategy to pair with hydroponics and autoflowers, but what the hell.

[WaxwingSlain]

One other concern: I’ve tried to keep the probe of my new AC Infinity moist, but I seem to have done it too well, as some kind of gunk has built up:

What should I do about this? Running it under the tap didn’t make a difference, and the fact that I’m careful to use distilled (or at least “purified”, whatever that means) water hasn’t prevented it. I want to keep this meter in the best shape I can.

[WaxwingSlain]

Today’s watering: 1.5 gallons with Jack’s, one gallon with ReCharge. There was a little runoff so I didn’t finish the last gallon.

I have made the executive decision to cull the weak. Poor Aoi, poor Kokiden, you are simply liabilities. Look at these bodies- not where you want your girls to be after nearly two months of life. You won’t be seeing them again.

Fujitsubo though, she’s sticking around, in part because she’s simply bigger and stronger and in part just to see where her path goes. I’m ashamed to say most of last grow’s yield done already been smoked! I’ll have to cut back (a good idea regardless, it’s been a while since a proper break), but if Fujitsubo does in fact flower early with lesser yield, I can’t say I’d mind the trade-off.

As always, the other two are going strong:

So now the tent looks like this- a whole lot more pleasing to the eye.

[WaxwingSlain]

Did a normal watering yesterday, and continued it today with the final gallon because it was getting late yesterday. Nothing more to report for now.

[WaxwingSlain]

Watering day- first gallon 321, second gallon ReCharge, and then just the start of a third gallon of plain (pH-balanced) water before realizing two of the three grow bags were already slightly overflowing. I’ll deal with excess water in the morning; for now they can soak just a little. I’ll put four days instead of three between now and the next feed.

From a distance the three plants all look pretty different.

[WaxwingSlain]

I gave beautiful Ukifune a trim, and now she looks more like Murasaki.

[WaxwingSlain]

Three gallons of plain water; I hope to encourage the roots to spread out in search of the nutrients already in the medium. Also pruned some discolored leaves, though there weren’t many and their blemishes were minor.

Looks like spindly Murasaki is trying to catch up to the robust Ukifune!

[WaxwingSlain]

I realize this journal has been a little dull; here’s hoping things pick up as flowering approaches. Meanwhile I’ll try to slot in some more exciting photographs- here’s some burgeoning trichome activity on dainty Fujitsubo: