First Grow - Critical Mass X Northern Lights Auto

[jiujitsupigface]

Repost due to account issues:

 

So I've decided to take the plunge and grow my own. I grow a handful of veg in the garden anyway and only recently discovered that cannabis can be grown outdoors. I always assumed we had the wrong conditions.

I purchased 3 x auto Northern Lights seeds, but my supplier didn't have any stock, so instead, they sent 25 Critical Mass X Northern Lights Auto seeds! Not sure what I will do with the spares!

 

I'm currently germinating three of them via the wet paper towel method and will be planting them into some small starter pots while they develop further before planting them into their final pots (16L fabric pots). I will be using BioBizz All Mix soil, not sure if I should be adding anything to this?

Progress after 24 hours:

 

Two of the plants will be going outside in a poly greenhouse (for privacy reasons), and once they are more established, I will keep the door open and possibly add a vent to the top to combat humidity issues. The third plant will be a bit of an experiment and will be kept in my garage on a south-facing windowsill.
 

From my research, I believe I will need some nutrients from weeks 2-3 if anyone has any they would advise?

 

Does anyone have any tips on how to make the grow Mother-in-law proof?  She's likely to want to take a look.

 
I'll aim to post regular updates here if anyone wants to follow along. 

[mystic_roots]

So your mother in law is in on it too? Cool MIL if so!

 

Depends what you're growing in nutrient wise, I used to use the BioBizz range but then swapped to Intense Nutrients when they were a forum sponsor and I have to say their stuff seems quite good, very potent smell some of them, like worse than a babies nappy kinda stink.

 

Northern lights I found was a great as my first grow too, quite a hardy plant but you'll be wanting to buy some proper equipment when the bug bits  

[jiujitsupigface]

13 minutes ago, mystic_roots said:

So your mother in law is in on it too? Cool MIL if so!

 

Depends what you're growing in nutrient wise, I used to use the BioBizz range but then swapped to Intense Nutrients when they were a forum sponsor and I have to say their stuff seems quite good, very potent smell some of them, like worse than a babies nappy kinda stink.

 

Northern lights I found was a great as my first grow too, quite a hardy plant but you'll be wanting to buy some proper equipment when the bug bits  

I should have been clearer! The MIL will only want to take a look because she's nosy! Not because she's an advocate!

I've been playing with the idea of growing in the loft for around 8 years but the inconvenience of having to go up and down always put me off. That will probably change come winter though...

[CustardVape]

With All mix I dought you would need to start feeding for a few weeks, especially with autos.

I use clover compost and just feed them some seaweed every now and again until I start to see the early sign of flowering.

As for the nosey mother in law I've no idea 

Good luck...

[jiujitsupigface]

Small Update:

The beans have sprouted. One of them took around 24 hours longer to sprout, not sure if this is any indication of how well the plant will grow? All three are now potted up in some small pots in my conservatory before transferring to their 15l fabric pots outside.

[jiujitsupigface]

Day 9:

 

I've transferred the seed into their starter pots. two of the three seem to be flourishing, one is a little behind (this will be my windowsill grow) I've also got my poly greenhouse up and secured to the wall.

Typically, the little ones are sat in my conservatory with a bag over them to help keep the humidity high. Over the hot weekend however, I put them outside in the sun and brought them in overnight. Is this okay to do? I worry the conservatory will get too hot for them during the day. 

 

Side note: I found a few seeds in a bag of Skywalker I purchased recently, can I germinate these in the same way? 

[disco survivor]

I've been moving mine outside during the really hot part of the day. Luckily, I've got cucumbers growing in the same space and they give a very early warning sign if something isn't right (heat, watering, nutrients etc). Well before any other plant exhibits issues. Will be interesting to see if your plants over stretch seeking out the sun because of the dark green fabric?

[jiujitsupigface]

Day 16:

 

I've transferred the seedlings from their starter pots into their final pots. I'll name them no 1, no 2, and no 3.

For their first night outside, I added some chopped-up 2l water bottles to stop the slugs from getting to them. Stupidly, I left them covering the seedlings during the day and when I removed them, they were all shrivelled and I suspected the worst. Luckily, no 1 and no 2 seemed to bounce back and were sitting straight after 30 mins or so. No 3 sadly didn't make it! No 1 suffered more than no 2 but appears to be bouncing back now. No 2 is doing okay and appears to be growing by the hour.

Due to the lack of success with no 3, I soaked a 4th seed in a glass of water for 36 hours and then planted it directly into the pot. It is now starting to show its head.

 

I'm not sure how often I should be watering these as they are still very small. I've been using a spray bottle almost every day to keep them moist. 
 

 

No 1:
What started as the most successful plant is now in second place. Still showing some signs of being fried but some very small leaves have started to poke through

 

No 2:

Currently the most successful plant, leaves appear to be getting larger by the hour.

 

No 3:
RIP to the original seedling. She has now been replaced by a fresh seed. This one will be getting moved into my garage windowsill once it's larger. I plan on some LST with this one.

[blerie420]

Best of luck with this mate! Hope you get a good return or at least some experience 

 

Regarding the MiL is she likely to grass you up or talk your business? If so, you might be falling at the first hurdle. 

 

As for the loft, it is an arse ache, especially in this weather, but it is worth it definitely, even if only to fuck off away from everyone for an hour or two

 

[jiujitsupigface]

16 hours ago, blerie420 said:

Best of luck with this mate! Hope you get a good return or at least some experience 

 

Regarding the MiL is she likely to grass you up or talk your business? If so, you might be falling at the first hurdle. 

 

As for the loft, it is an arse ache, especially in this weather, but it is worth it definitely, even if only to fuck off away from everyone for an hour or two

 

Thanks mate. The MIL would be judgemental but unlikely to report or talk about it. She knows that I regularly take CBD so I plan on convincing her that I'm going to be making my own CBD oil.

The loft is too much of an inconvenience but my garage is looking more and more likely. I spend a couple of hours in there every night anyway.... 

[blerie420]

@jiujitsupigface yeah I hear ya, count the blessings I guess, a bit of nagging is better than your door coming off init!

 

I've yet to convince any of even my close family

 

[jiujitsupigface]

Day 20:

No 1 has now completely shrivelled up and I assume I've lost her. Do I plant another bean or not..... The wife is already on my case as she said I'm allowed to grow only 1 plant 

 

No 2 is business as usual, growing steadily and looks to be healthy.

 

No 3 has surprised me. This is the bean that I soaked for 36 hours and was planted last Saturday I believe, making it day 6 since planting. I had low hopes for this one but it seems to be thriving, it is almost as tall as No 2. Interesting to note that this was planted direct into Biobizz all mix, from what I read, the nutrient content could be too strong but it appears to love it!

 

 

I'm a little unsure of how much I should be watering. I'm not letting them dry out, I use a spray bottle focussed on the area, should I be watering more?

[Clubs]

44 minutes ago, jiujitsupigface said:

I use a spray bottle focussed on the area, should I be watering more?

The spray bottle isn't enough. It's the roots that are looking for water and they're not at the surface. Try watering (not too much) in a ring away from the seedling so the roots go looking for it rather than drowning in it. It's tricky in such a large pot but possible if you're careful. 

[jiujitsupigface]

1 hour ago, Clubs said:

The spray bottle isn't enough. It's the roots that are looking for water and they're not at the surface. Try watering (not too much) in a ring away from the seedling so the roots go looking for it rather than drowning in it. It's tricky in such a large pot but possible if you're careful. 

Thanks for the reply. I'll up the watering from today 

[jiujitsupigface]

Day 23: 

No 1 has officially died. RIP to this one. I won't be replacing it.

No 2 is growing like a weed! Thickening out now but I'm not sure if she's on track for 23 days old. Other diaries seem to show much more progression by this stage.

 

No 3 is stretching a lot. Looking very tall and skinny for only 9 days old (compared to its older sister)

All in all, they seem to be making some good progress. I was covering them with half a 2l bottle every night to try and prevent slugs but they have both outgrown the bottles now. I've made a copper ring for No 2 but No 3 I'm going to leave. I'm not sure if slugs can climb fabric pots?