Auto Flower Recovery

[toking12am]

My plants are at 30 days old and have started to preflower. I am trying to get them healthy after getting root bound. The bottom leaves all started getting yellow. I Thought a nutrient problem at first, then I transplanted my pepper plant and saw how bad it was root bound. This caused me to transplant all my autos, however they are definitely stunted, some from beginning lst to early imo and some from the root boundness. I have transplanted which is a week or two late in my opinion. This is all definitely a learning curve for me and I probably should have started with fewer autos my first go around. To late for that, so I am trying to recover what I can. Any advice on what to do next? I think they will make it, just wont produce much im guessing.

 

[Snoopy808]

Could be the soil. If the pepper is control...it looks like it needs phos and calcium and magnesium. Well everything that cannabis likes. The stunted tops in the autos could be nutrient needs or the root bound and lst and in flower means its as big as its gonna get. Id give some dolomite lime and continue fertilizing them more frequently to get some bigger buds. And some peppers too.

 

[speedwell68]

I am new to Autos. I am on my 3rd run with them.

My first run was like yours I started them in a small pot and transplanted them after a couple of weeks. They stunted. You shouldn't really transplant Autos. Transplanting shocks a plant. With a photoperiod plant you can always catch up, an extra day or two of veg makes no difference. With an Auto you can't, you have 30 days of veg, so if you lose a few days you have lost 10% of your veg time.

So because I messed with them they stunted and I got poor results.

My next run was a great success. I mixed up some compost and well rotted manure with some Perlite in 1.5 imperial gallon pots and popped the seedlings straight in. They were then fed just tap water until they started showing pistils. Then they were fed on Tomorite tomato feed with a little added Epsom Salt until they looked like they were starting to ripen. I then reduced the concentration of the feed by 50% each week until they were done. I got 1.5oz of very nice weed from each plant, which isn't bad considering they were grown outdoors in a poly tunnel in Northern Europe.

My 3rd run of Autos have been done in the same pots, with the same medium and the same feeding regime, but this time I have employed LST. As soon as they hit 3 nodes I have been pinning them. This has made much stronger and bigger plants, with many more heads. I have vegged these outdoors and am going to finish them indoors under some COBs as the weather here has turned quickly.

My guess is that they have been shocked by the transplant and failed to recover quickly enough. Looking at the pepper plant I'd say that none of them are getting enough nutrients.

What medium are they in? What are you feeding them? What lights are you using?

 

[MickFoster]

Any advice on what to do next?

Relax and wait is all you can do at this point.

 

[toking12am]

I am new to Autos. I am on my 3rd run with them.

My first run was like yours I started them in a small pot and transplanted them after a couple of weeks. They stunted. You shouldn't really transplant Autos. Transplanting shocks a plant. With a photoperiod plant you can always catch up, an extra day or two of veg makes no difference. With an Auto you can't, you have 30 days of veg, so if you lose a few days you have lost 10% of your veg time.

So because I messed with them they stunted and I got poor results.

My next run was a great success. I mixed up some compost and well rotted manure with some Perlite in 1.5 imperial gallon pots and popped the seedlings straight in. They were then fed just tap water until they started showing pistils. Then they were fed on Tomorite tomato feed with a little added Epsom Salt until they looked like they were starting to ripen. I then reduced the concentration of the feed by 50% each week until they were done. I got 1.5oz of very nice weed from each plant, which isn't bad considering they were grown outdoors in a poly tunnel in Northern Europe.

My 3rd run of Autos have been done in the same pots, with the same medium and the same feeding regime, but this time I have employed LST. As soon as they hit 3 nodes I have been pinning them. This has made much stronger and bigger plants, with many more heads. I have vegged these outdoors and am going to finish them indoors under some COBs as the weather here has turned quickly.

My guess is that they have been shocked by the transplant and failed to recover quickly enough. Looking at the pepper plant I'd say that none of them are getting enough nutrients.

What medium are they in? What are you feeding them? What lights are you using?

They are all in a mix of fox farms happy frog and extra perlite. Iam using ff grow big, calmag, recharge and an occasional feeding of carboload. I top dressed a bit of dietamaceous earth for silica.

I am using a spiderfarmer sf450 at 24 inches.

I agree, I should have started them in the 3gal bags. Ill get it better next time.

 

[toking12am]

Thank you all for the replies. I will just have to get it better next round. Ill finish these girls and get what I get. Should be starting next round in a week or two.

 

[twentyeight.threefive]

I am new to Autos. I am on my 3rd run with them.

You shouldn't really transplant Autos. Transplanting shocks a plant.

PLEASE stop giving bad advice like this.

If you mangle your plants while transplanting them perhaps you shouldn't.

Done properly transplanting will give minimal stress to your autoflower. Same thing with LST.

OP neither being rootbound nor starting LST too early caused them to be that small. What size container were they in before?

 

[toking12am]

I started them all in 20z pots. Similar size to a solo cup, which I have seen some pretty nice grows from start to finish in those.

 

[speedwell68]

PLEASE stop giving bad advice like this.

If you mangle your plants while transplanting them perhaps you shouldn't.

Done properly transplanting will give minimal stress to your autoflower. Same thing with LST.

OP neither being rootbound nor starting LST too early caused them to be that small. What size container were they in before?

Fair enough. I will rephrase that. I have been advised, on these forums, that it is not the best idea to transplant Autos. I ignored that advice and I did not have the best results because of it, nothing was mangled. They were transplanted at week 3 of veg and they didn't progress much more. I can't put it down to anything else, because on my next run everything was identical apart from the transplant.

Personally I think LST, simply pinning them down as they grow is a brilliant method of growing.

 

[MickFoster]

Transplant slow down only happens when done improperly..........I never have slow downs.
Example: 2 weeks from sprout just before transplant.

3 weeks from sprout........one week after transplant.

 

[speedwell68]

Transplant slow down only happens when done improperly..........I never have slow downs.
Example: 2 weeks from sprout just before transplant.
View attachment 5018276
3 weeks from sprout........one week after transplant.
View attachment 5018277

Could you explain how it is done properly please.

 

[MickFoster]

Could you explain how it is done properly please.

Make an impression in the new pot exactly the size of the smaller pot.

Take the plant and soil out of the smaller pot.

And place it in the hole........simple and creates no stress to the plant.

 

[speedwell68]

Make an impression in the new pot exactly the size of the smaller pot.
View attachment 5018280
Take the plant and soil out of the smaller pot.
View attachment 5018281
And place it in the hole........simple and creates no stress to the plant.

So exactly like you transplant any plant.

 

[MickFoster]

So exactly like you transplant any plant.

Exactly.
If you had a slowdown after transplant........you did something wrong.

 

[speedwell68]

Exactly.
If you had a slowdown after transplant........you did something wrong.

Very probably. We all make mistakes. It won't be a bother in the future as TBH I don't really see the point of not starting Autos in the container they will finish in.

 

[twentyeight.threefive]

Very probably. We all make mistakes. It won't be a bother in the future as TBH I don't really see the point of not starting Autos in the container they will finish in.

Examples of transplanting autoflowers.

Up potting gives the plant the chance to grow a proper rootball filling the entire final container.

 

[toking12am]

Make an impression in the new pot exactly the size of the smaller pot.
View attachment 5018280
Take the plant and soil out of the smaller pot.
View attachment 5018281
And place it in the hole........simple and creates no stress to the plant.

This is exactly how I transplanted. I dont think that was my issue as it started before the transplant. I will have to just keep them as healthy as possibly untill harvest and do something different next time.

 

[Three Berries]

I think the containers look too dry just from the pic. May be the fabric pots, I have no experience with those.

 

[Oldreefer]

For years I've started all plants, autos and photos in 16 oz solo cups and transplanted into 3 ltr airpots just like an above example at about 2 weeks...no problem unless they all are doing it. Still burn any evidence.
There's other forums with more complete and 'non-exaggerated' info on autos.

 

[Frank Nitty]

If you handle the plants correctly you will have no problem transplanting them... Transplanted from coffee containers to autopots with no stunting... HANDLE WITH CARE!!!