Hey guys, i hadnt planned on doing a grow journal for my first grow all on my own but its going so well and im defying several "rules of growing" with some fantastic results so i wanted to share my experiences.e
lets start with my background: Lived in Arizona for 15 years where my uncle was a huge grower so ive been around it for years and been through all the steps but always with someone there to guide me. Recently moved to the east coast where it is IMPOSSIBLE to find the west coast grade buds im used to so i decided to supply myself.
environment: 4x4x7 tent, 600w light (mh/hps), air is drawn in from outside through a pre filter, exhausts back outside on the opposite side of the building. the only issue ive had with my environment is since it is being drawn in from outside and im in a state where it rains atleast 1/3rd of the year, so humidity and sometimes temps are a little out of control. i run the lights at night and off during day, temps USUALLY stay within 70-85 but sadly sometimes we get a randomly cold day in the middle of summer and temps can drop to low 60's. same with uncommonly hot days it can get up to 100. currently the tent is setup in a non-insulated building which i believe is mostly to blame for the wide temp fluxations, i plan to build a smaller, insulated, shed in the near future with a window ac built into the wall to control temps but i did want to stress the temp flux's ive had so you really appreciate how well these girls have put up with it.
The girls: right now my tent is full with just 3 plants! 2 THC bomb Autos from bomb seeds and 1 F1FV blackjack from herbies. all these are in 5gal smart pots with 60/40 coco/perlite mix for medium. i always ph my water but i dont check ppm (mostly because my meter broke after 4 uses
) i feed every other day using fox farms, i use a 20gal soaking tub to water, and here's one of the "rules" ive been defying: i NEVER use more than 2tsp of a single nute per gallon of water. this is less than half the recommended dosage if one were to follow the fox farms chart, but my plants have THRIVED being fed like this, i can feed every night if i want to and still wouldn't overwater or nutrient burn the plants. since this is my first grow entirely on my own i decided to do a little experimenting: one of the autos i've let grow out completely natural, the other i've semi-lollipopped and defoliated- RULE BREAKER 
. i thought this would be a fun side by side seeing as so many people are 100% against making any cuts or alterations to autos other than mild LST, i even came across one person who was so adamant about this subject that he told a first time auto grower "if you cut the plant it will die or yield less than 10g, you CANNOT cut autos at all or they stunt and when an auto stunts it fucks up its whole life cycle you may as well throw it away and start over" i would like to take a moment to tell everyone THIS IS ENTIRELY BULLLLLLLSHIIIIIIIIIT!! the auto ive trimmed on is actually bigger and bulkier in buds than the natural grown one, now in my personal opinion based on the look of them, i would say theyll both harvest about the same amount dry weight but the trimmed one will be all nice big cola buds while the natural grown one will be 50% popcorn buds. i hope many of you fellow growers take the time to try autoflowers at least once and if you have the room i urge you to do 2 of them so you can side by side them for yourself, there has been some amazing advancements in the auto world. The autos are both almost exactly 4ft from dirt to top if i had to make an educated guess id say i have just about 4 weeks left till the autos are done, which would put them right at 14wks from seed to harvest (seeds were advertised 7-8wks seed to harvest but of course these figures are bogus, ive never seen any auto finish faster than 10wks). of course i never cut down until the plant tells me its ready though. and i will be updating here with new pics as they continue to thrive! here comes the photobomb!
had to remove some the pics because limit of 20 to post
lets start with my background: Lived in Arizona for 15 years where my uncle was a huge grower so ive been around it for years and been through all the steps but always with someone there to guide me. Recently moved to the east coast where it is IMPOSSIBLE to find the west coast grade buds im used to so i decided to supply myself.
environment: 4x4x7 tent, 600w light (mh/hps), air is drawn in from outside through a pre filter, exhausts back outside on the opposite side of the building. the only issue ive had with my environment is since it is being drawn in from outside and im in a state where it rains atleast 1/3rd of the year, so humidity and sometimes temps are a little out of control. i run the lights at night and off during day, temps USUALLY stay within 70-85 but sadly sometimes we get a randomly cold day in the middle of summer and temps can drop to low 60's. same with uncommonly hot days it can get up to 100. currently the tent is setup in a non-insulated building which i believe is mostly to blame for the wide temp fluxations, i plan to build a smaller, insulated, shed in the near future with a window ac built into the wall to control temps but i did want to stress the temp flux's ive had so you really appreciate how well these girls have put up with it.
The girls: right now my tent is full with just 3 plants! 2 THC bomb Autos from bomb seeds and 1 F1FV blackjack from herbies. all these are in 5gal smart pots with 60/40 coco/perlite mix for medium. i always ph my water but i dont check ppm (mostly because my meter broke after 4 uses
) i feed every other day using fox farms, i use a 20gal soaking tub to water, and here's one of the "rules" ive been defying: i NEVER use more than 2tsp of a single nute per gallon of water. this is less than half the recommended dosage if one were to follow the fox farms chart, but my plants have THRIVED being fed like this, i can feed every night if i want to and still wouldn't overwater or nutrient burn the plants. since this is my first grow entirely on my own i decided to do a little experimenting: one of the autos i've let grow out completely natural, the other i've semi-lollipopped and defoliated- RULE BREAKER . i thought this would be a fun side by side seeing as so many people are 100% against making any cuts or alterations to autos other than mild LST, i even came across one person who was so adamant about this subject that he told a first time auto grower "if you cut the plant it will die or yield less than 10g, you CANNOT cut autos at all or they stunt and when an auto stunts it fucks up its whole life cycle you may as well throw it away and start over" i would like to take a moment to tell everyone THIS IS ENTIRELY BULLLLLLLSHIIIIIIIIIT!! the auto ive trimmed on is actually bigger and bulkier in buds than the natural grown one, now in my personal opinion based on the look of them, i would say theyll both harvest about the same amount dry weight but the trimmed one will be all nice big cola buds while the natural grown one will be 50% popcorn buds. i hope many of you fellow growers take the time to try autoflowers at least once and if you have the room i urge you to do 2 of them so you can side by side them for yourself, there has been some amazing advancements in the auto world. The autos are both almost exactly 4ft from dirt to top if i had to make an educated guess id say i have just about 4 weeks left till the autos are done, which would put them right at 14wks from seed to harvest (seeds were advertised 7-8wks seed to harvest but of course these figures are bogus, ive never seen any auto finish faster than 10wks). of course i never cut down until the plant tells me its ready though. and i will be updating here with new pics as they continue to thrive! here comes the photobomb! 
had to remove some the pics because limit of 20 to post
should have nothing but colas on it when they're finished! first 2 pics are the natural grown, and second 2 are the trimmed plant.
