Pablo's 2011 SoCal Balcony Grow

Just starting a new journal for this season. I mainly grow auto's, but I might do another regular plant this season.

FFOF soil in pots. Stale tap water.

Strains so far: Kannabia Mataro Blue, Short Stuff Onyx, Short Stuff Super Cali Haze. All autoflowering freebies from Attitude - never grew any of them before. The Mataro Blue and the Super Cali Haze seeds just popped and were put in the dirt today. Waiting for the Onyx to catch up.

I usually stagger my grows so it's sort of a perpetual garden.

This journal is open for comments. Cheers.

Thanks balconyfun!

I just did some reading on the Mataro Blue. It's not an autoflower. It's a photoperiod Indica. I'm going to cancel that grow. The Super Cali Haze is a "super" auto which is supposed to take about 4 months from seed to harvest. Not what I was expecting, but I'll keep it. The Onyx hasn't popped yet - maybe it's a dud. In the meantime, I'm going to start another auto seed, maybe 2. I wanted to harvest 2 or 3 auto plants come mid-June. We'll see.

The Onyx hasn't popped yet. Almost certain it's toast. In the meantime, I've got 2 Easyryder seeds germinating.

Crap, looks like we're getting rain most of the day tomorrow and then again on Friday. Not good timing. I may want to bring them inside when it's raining.

The Easyryders popped and were planted today. The S. Cali Haze sprouted thru the dirt today.

I had clones of that S. Cali haze last year. They took a looooong time to finish, but were great producers with an awesome buzz. I was gifted them by a friend and have never heard of anyone else growing it. Couldn't find any info available on it either (with the south cali precursor, I'm assuming it's not just haze). Let me know if you have info on it. Thanks. Peace man!

bushybush said:

I had clones of that S. Cali haze last year. They took a looooong time to finish, but were great producers with an awesome buzz. I was gifted them by a friend and have never heard of anyone else growing it. Couldn't find any info available on it either (with the south cali precursor, I'm assuming it's not just haze). Let me know if you have info on it. Thanks. Peace man!

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Hey man, from what I found it's a Super Auto, so it will take longer than the usual 10 - 11 weeks from seed to harvest. The longer life span must be why you were able to get a clone, which is usually not possible with an auto. Not what I wanted, but it was a free seed.

Both of the Easyryders sprouted - 2 and 3 days ago. The S. Cali Haze seems fine so far. This is the boring part of the grow.

What's up Pablo. I just moved to Huntington Beach and have been following your grow journal from last year. Great job man! I'm going to try to get into Autoflowers on my balcony as well, and wanted to ask you if ordering seeds online was the only way to go, or if I could get them locally at dispensary's. Also, from your experience what strains keep the smell to a minimum?
Thanks for any help, and good luck this year!

irie11b said:

What's up Pablo. I just moved to Huntington Beach and have been following your grow journal from last year. Great job man! I'm going to try to get into Autoflowers on my balcony as well, and wanted to ask you if ordering seeds online was the only way to go, or if I could get them locally at dispensary's. Also, from your experience what strains keep the smell to a minimum?
Thanks for any help, and good luck this year!

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Hi Irie, thanks for stopping by. If you want to grow Auto's, seeds are the only way to go. Because of their short life span, they are not possible to clone, and no dispensary would ever sell Auto clones.

I buy all my seeds from The Attitude Seed Bank.

Regarding the smell: Every plant, Auto or otherwise, will put out a good deal of odor. I've smelled my plants from below my balcony in the complex I live at, as has somebody else. But, it's never been a problem. I've also grown regular photoperiod plants during my last 2 seasons, (1 each season). Those smell a lot more than a couple of autoflowers. I think hunting around for an auto that doesn't smell much is a waste of time, and most likely an effort in futility. Just buy auto strains you think you will enjoy the most.

I suppose it could also depend on how many Autos you have in flower at any given time. You can stagger your grows to reduce the smell. Have a couple of plants in full on flower mode, while a couple more are just vegging. I tried to do that last season.

Best of luck!

I appreciate the tips Pablo. Since I am a legal patient I guess it really doesn't matter, but I just wanted to keep it discrete.
Cheers man and good luck this season!

Day 16 for the Super Cali Haze.
Day 11 for the 2 Easyryders.

Super Cali Haze is on the left.

Hey Pablo,
Thanks for reading my previous thread !!
I assume you grow AF's on a balcony outside. I am interested in doing an AF on my deck this spring. I live in the NE part of US, so I still need to wait. My only qustion is the amount of DIRECT sunlight...I think I get from noon to 4pm...thats four hours. I don't care much about yield, but I don't want to waste my time/effort for a miniscule amount.
Can you gice me a general opinion?

I have subbed to your interesting journal.

Peace

thegersman said:

Hey Pablo,
Thanks for reading my previous thread !!
I assume you grow AF's on a balcony outside. I am interested in doing an AF on my deck this spring. I live in the NE part of US, so I still need to wait. My only qustion is the amount of DIRECT sunlight...I think I get from noon to 4pm...thats four hours. I don't care much about yield, but I don't want to waste my time/effort for a miniscule amount.
Can you gice me a general opinion?

I have subbed to your interesting journal.



Peace

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Hey man, thanks for stopping by. To be honest - I don't know. As you know, there's many variables. It's a safe bet you will have smaller yields. In my opinion, it's worth it, for at least one round, to see what you can produce. It's not like it's a business, just a fun hobby and if it does good, cool, if not, still cool. It's fun. And they smell good.

If it turns out that it's not possible to grow under those conditions, and you document it for us, the community would benefit. Hopefully it will be a success. Best of luck!

pabloesqobar said:

Hey man, from what I found it's a Super Auto, so it will take longer than the usual 10 - 11 weeks from seed to harvest. The longer life span must be why you were able to get a clone, which is usually not possible with an auto. Not what I wanted, but it was a free seed.

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Cool, thanks Pablo. Super Auto?......Never heard of that....I am not that stoked/interested in autos......Maybe that's why....BUT, like I said, after the super long wait, the buzz and production was nice.....The clones were VERY finnicky too.....I thought I was gonna lose 3/4 of them.....but they all came around and surprised me. Good luck bro.....I'll be watching to see what happens! Peace. Bushman.

Thanks Pablo---I think I'll do a Barney's Flower Power!

Peace!

Pablo,

Have had a great time going through your threads. Anyhoo, after about 40 some pages on the '10 grow, I couldn't get a clear idea of what your average take on a AF plant was. My "friend" is doing Auto AK and La Diva. He's about a week ahead of your schedule.

Keep on keepin' on

K

koulajitong said:

Pablo,

Have had a great time going through your threads. Anyhoo, after about 40 some pages on the '10 grow, I couldn't get a clear idea of what your average take on a AF plant was. My "friend" is doing Auto AK and La Diva. He's about a week ahead of your schedule.

Keep on keepin' on

K

Click to expand...

Hah, hell I don't even have a clear idea on average yield. Different yields for different plants. The Top 69 was probably the biggest yielder (but the weakest/worst smoke). I don't use a scale. If I had to guess: Smallest plant was about a quarter ounce. Largest, about an ounce, maybe a bit more. Maybe 1/2 an ounce on average? We'll see how this "super" auto does, tho. Thanks for stopping by.

Day 23 for the Super Cali Haze (SCH).

Day 18 for the 2 Easyryders.

Easy to see that the Easyryders have quickly outgrown the more mature SCH. You can see the leaves are thinner on the SCH. It claims to be a true sativa auto. I watered today with a bit of Grow Big, less than 1/2 normal dosage. One of the bigger pots had recycled FFOF in it. Makes no sense to use that soil for a scant 80 days or so, and chuck it. Most folks use it for an entire photoperiod season, me included.

I'm debating whether to transplant the SCH into a 3 gallon pot, given that it can take 120 days to mature.

The rest of my balcony grow. Planted the flowers recently, and a rosemary bush. I might pick up another flower planter to hang on the railing. Hopefully it's not too much weight. The marigolds will fill that entire planter soon. And then the aphids will arrive.

Day 27 for the SCH. Day 22 for the Easyryders. First pistils appeared today on the Easyryders. Fed today with plain water.