Advice for a Newbie Please

ArCaned said:

Ok that's quite a lot of questions!

Are you growing outdoors again?


I haven't used autoflowering strains (dont see the point as I grow indoors) so am unable to comment on best strains.

As for the medium for a new grower any seedling/light soil mix will do.

You can use MG, there is a big thread debating the pros and cons but for budget grower yes it will work, though it is not optimal.

Generally if using a seedling mix you should start to add ferts once you're 1+ weeks into flowering, though this depends on veg time (longer veg time = earlier ferts)

Get the biggest pots you can fit in your grow area, more root space = more buds.

You should water when the top 2-3 inches of soil is dry, usually every 3~ days though again this varies with container and plant size (small plants drink less/big pots need less frequent watering).


PH is VERY IMPORTANT.

Though if you are growing in soil the chances of having PH issues are vastly reduced compared to hydro/dwc etc.

Most autoflowering plants are around 60days from seed to buds.


Plants are ready when the trichomes are mature (cloudy). There are several opinions on the exact ratio of cloudy/amber trichome for the best effect, but as a newbie you want 100% cloudy.


Hmm drying plants outdoors could be an issue, sorry can't comment there besides the usual : it's gootta be dry, dark and have good air flow.


Good luck with your grow from a fellow Brit,


Hope this helps!

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rapiidrick said:

Oh another question is it ok to start sowing outside straight away or do I need to give the plant time to establish inside first?

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Adjorr said:

most people will start there seedlings inside, this is mostly to prevent early death of the plants by predators or the enviroment and to ensure there plants are healthy and stong before entering the highly competative ecosystem that exists in the woods

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rapiidrick said:

Thanks for that Adjorr...When will I know when they are strong enough have they got to be a certain height?

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rapiidrick said:

Hi All...nice to be a member of this site. Although I have grown outside before it was to succesful. The plants grew tall and looked good but the seeds were old and did not have a very large yield. I am doing it properly this time and going to a shop to buy something of good quality. I am only going for the auto-flower varieties. Can anybody give me some advice on what to do. For example

Best variety to purchase: If this is your first time growing, get something easy to grow. Don't go looking for the dankest strain on the website because it might be pickier than more amateur friendly strains. I don't grow the super dankest og strains or what have you because I'm still learning a lot, so when I make mistakes I like for the plant to not be shocked too much. But, like many things with growing, there are factors here and only you can choose the best strain for you. Indoor or outdoor is a factor as is how good of a grower you are. Personally, I go with easy to grow strains and once I have more experience I'll tackle some of the harder strains.

Best fertilizer/plant food to use. Again, this one also depends. Some people say a DWC set up is best because that's what works best for them. What works best for me are compost teas, which I would highly recommend and here's why. They're organic, cheaper to make than buying chemical nutes, impossible to burn plants with teas, no need to flush, and my favorite part is the flavor. I used to use the Fox Farm nutes religiously and my results are alright. The results I get from using compost teas though just amazing. You pay $50 for the 3 piece set of Fox Farm, or you can spend that same amount setting up a compost brew station and then spend another 20-50 on the ingredients (which will make a LOT of batches). Recipe lists are below, but know this! Don't use 5TBS molasses like this guy says, or you won't get the needed fungi for your tea. Use 1-2tbs of molasses and you'll be good.

https://www.rollitup.org/organics/510995-organic-feeding-101-a-2.html#post7914959

What stage in growth to start using plant feed. Again, depends. Chemical nutes you have to wait a few weeks and give them 1/4 of the recommended dosage so you don't burn them. If you use compost tea though, you can use them on seedlings even because it doesn't burn the plants!

What sort of soil/Substrate do I use? As far as I am aware just a normal pot plant/tomato grow bag would be ok? Do not cheap out on soil, I thought it was ok at first and then I learned the hard way that it wasn't. Look into coco coir, it will only absorb what it's able to hold and will let the rest drip out (like a sponge). I buy Fox Farm's Ocean Forest and Happy Frog soils and the 5kg coco coir blocks. Expand the coco coir block and mix with 1/4 bag of each soils and you'll have a good mix.

How often to water and how much water to give it. Again, depends. If you use my mix just pick a time of day (11am for me, every day) and water all of your plants then. How much depends on the medium being used and of course the pot size and other factors.

Is the PH value really important or do you have to use PH altering chemicals? Other people who I know have grown successfully without all of this PH thing. Here's what PH levels do. You know how the plant needs proper NPK levels as well as other trace elements right? Well, let's take nitrogen for example. If the PH is too low or high in the soil, the roots won't be able to even use the nitrogen in the soil. Your PH needs to be at a certain level so that all the nutrients in the soil can be used without any interruptions. Just test the PH of your water and go from there. Some people don't need to alter their water at all, others need to add de-chlorinator (like me), and others add that as well as PH down or up. If you need cheap PH Down, just buy lemons or vinegar, don't buy that over priced chemical crap.

And how long from sowing until an auto-flowering plant will be ready for harvest and what signs are there that the plant is ready? No experience with auto flowers man, sorry.

How to flush out before harvesting? I believe it's 3-7 days before you plan on harvesting? I use compost teas though so I don't need to flush

How to dry bud out ready for smoking please note I am unable to keep anything indoors so a dark box maybe? If you have to do this discreetly you may want to look into doing something else with the money because this right here will effect your outcome more than ANYTHING I just talked about. I have a room specifically for drying the buds. I bought some insulation foam boards and make a little 4x4x8 room out of it. I connected my AC unit into the room via ducting and I threw a humidifier in there. If you don't dry the buds as the correct temps/humidity you'll end up with crap.If you can't have an environment to cure your weed that is ALWAYS 65-75 degrees and 45-55 RH then you're gonna have a lot of grass/hay flavored strains. There's no amount of money you can throw at the plants to change this one simple truth.

If you can think of anything else I have missed feel free to add suggestions. I'm in England by the way

Thanks

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