Worried for my first DWC auto-flower!

[Barnacle Pete]

Howdy, y'all! I'm growing a Lithium OG Kush auto-flower in a 5 gallon DWC using General Hydroponics Flora Trio synthetic nutrients and RO water. The relative temperature of the grow room is 70 degrees Fahrenheit with %60 relative humidity. The water temperature of the reservoir is roughly 65 degrees Fahrenheit.

This is my first auto-flower grow, and according to the strain characteristics, I should be harvesting next week, but this plant is nowhere close to that. Have I stunted her growth, or am I worrying too much?

She is 45 days old.

 

[.Smoke]

Actually, looks pretty nice being an auto.
Good size and healthy.
Nicely done.

 

[Barnacle Pete]

Actually, looks pretty nice being an auto.
Good size and healthy.
Nicely done.

Thanks, man! Legitimately a huge relief to hear that.

 

[.Smoke]

You are correct though.
I'd say she's about 1.5-2wks in flower, so you've got 6-8 wks left IMO.

Don't ever trust breeders times.
I always add at least 2+ weeks to photo period plants from what the breeder states. Usually more...
Found the same for autos.

 

[Thundercat]

I generally suggest people ignore breeders times as well, they are only meant to be loose guidelines in the best of cases and they can be very in accurate. I especially don’t pay attention to “seed to harvest” times. There are too many variables in a grow room that can effect how long a plant takes to grow to be trying to focus on “seed to harvest” time.

All in all your plant looks pretty good. Seems healthy and looks like it’s flowering well at this point.

 

[ҖҗlegilizeitҗҖ]

Any note to when it started preflower? Or actually jump into flower?

 

[Barnacle Pete]

Any note to when it started preflower? Or actually jump into flower?

It started flowering on the 5th of this month, which also had me worried because that seemed like a late start for flowering. But as was pointed out, breeder timelines seem to be a poor metric for judging plant growth. I'm still fairly new at this, so that was much needed info.

 

[Barnacle Pete]

You are correct though.
I'd say she's about 1.5-2wks in flower, so you've got 6-8 wks left IMO.

Don't ever trust breeders times.
I always add at least 2+ weeks to photo period plants from what the breeder states. Usually more...
Found the same for autos.

Very good to know! This is only my third grow, so I'm still learning a lot.

 

[BallsackSal]

I grow auto flowers in DWC with the same nutes and I have never harvested anywhere close to as fast as the breeders have said.
Your plants look GREAT!!! I'm no expert but I think you have nothing to worry a probably a pretty nice harvest to look forward to.

 

[Barnacle Pete]

I grow auto flowers in DWC with the same nutes and I have never harvested anywhere close to as fast as the breeders have said.
Your plants look GREAT!!! I'm no expert but I think you have nothing to worry a probably a pretty nice harvest to look forward to.

Thanks, man! Sure is a relief to have a forum like this. Y'all are lifesavers.

 

[Larry3215]

Your babies look good to me.

The only thing I see from your notes is a low room temp and slightly low water temp.

Low temps will slow growth. The plus side to low room temps when doing DWC is it helps keep water temps down.

The root/water temps are slightly low, but the plus for that is greatly reduced chance of root rot or other bacterial infection.

I switched to only growing autos a couple of years ago and have not looked back. Smaller plants generally, but faster harvests - depending on the strain - makes for more grams harvested per day of growing - which is the only thing that counts as far as Im concerned.

 

[Barnacle Pete]

Your babies look good to me.

The only thing I see from your notes is a low room temp and slightly low water temp.

Low temps will slow growth. The plus side to low room temps when doing DWC is it helps keep water temps down.

The root/water temps are slightly low, but the plus for that is greatly reduced chance of root rot or other bacterial infection.

I switched to only growing autos a couple of years ago and have not looked back. Smaller plants generally, but faster harvests - depending on the strain - makes for more grams harvested per day of growing - which is the only thing that counts as far as Im concerned.

I think I may start going the same route until I have more room to play with. I've never had a plant that's as vibrant as this per the amount of work required. I'm very excited.

And I appreciate your observations! What air and water temperature do you find is optimal?

 

[Larry3215]

Water temps need to be kept around 70 F max to keep bacterial growth down. From what I have read, things start to slow down growth wise at around 60-65 F, so you are a hair low but still ok I think as far as water temps.

Room temps are a subject thats open to debate, but generally mid 70's is what I have always read is the low end. Most people seem to think upper 70's to right around 80 F +- a bit is ideal, but some like to run in the mid to upper 80's or even low 90's for faster growth - especially if using Co2.

Low room temps slow growth, but hi temps mean more water loss from transpiration, so its a balancing act - as always.

 

[BallsackSal]

Water temps need to be kept around 70 F max to keep bacterial growth down. From what I have read, things start to slow down growth wise at around 60-65 F, so you are a hair low but still ok I think as far as water temps.

Room temps are a subject thats open to debate, but generally mid 70's is what I have always read is the low end. Most people seem to think upper 70's to right around 80 F +- a bit is ideal, but some like to run in the mid to upper 80's or even low 90's for faster growth - especially if using Co2.

Low room temps slow growth, but hi temps mean more water loss from transpiration, so its a balancing act - as always.

Just from my little bit of experience, but adding Hydroguard or some other product like it, can buy you a little cushion if you can't keep your reservoir below 70F. Still not ideal as it will hold less dissolved oxygen but root rot issues are less likely.

 

[Slyclyde1991]

Man they look fine. Autoflower harvesting times are never what the seed manufacturer tries to say they are. The closest I ever got to their timeline was 3 weeks over, the longest 9 weeks. I'd say on average about 4-6 weeks past their 'harvest time'

 

[Slyclyde1991]

Only thing I will say to look out for with autos is literally AUTO flowering lol. So because they're genetically engineered to go through their life cycle in a certain time, if you push too far past that, they will pollinate themselves. That's why most growers say they arent worth it, especially because they arent really any faster and if so just barely and still have lower yields

 

[BallsackSal]

Only thing I will say to look out for with autos is literally AUTO flowering lol. So because they're genetically engineered to go through their life cycle in a certain time, if you push too far past that, they will pollinate themselves. That's why most growers say they arent worth it, especially because they arent really any faster and if so just barely and still have lower yields

I have not had any hermit issues but when they are taking close to 4 months I think why not just grow a photo

 

[HydroBum]

I decided to try some autos for the first time. My plant is tiny compared to a regular strain and has already started to flower. The only true benefit I see is light management and you can start a new grow without having to wait for the current one to end. I am not sure I will be saving any time with an auto when it comes to harvest quickness. Nothing in hydro is foolproof but not worrying about light cycles makes it one step easier. Time will tell if this path was worth walking on.