Morning Lemon AK-47 Collaboration

PHILINDICUS'S QUICK START GUIDE TO INDOOR AUTO FLOWER CANNABIS The following is a collaboration of some of the knowledge I have acquired through online research, following/talking to hundreds of fellow growers here on Grow Diaries as well as my own personal growing experiences and opinions. I have for some time wanted to share my experiences with growing feminized auto flower cannabis with other growers especially the newer folks who are either currently growing or are thinking about starting to grow. This will cover some fairly basic aspects that a grower needs to use to their advantage to get off to a quick start at cranking out some sweet sticky dank buds. It all starts with great cannabis genetics! There’s no way around this if you want a high-quality end product pay the price for high quality seeds from an establish breeder with an excellent reputation. These breeders spend years developing and testing strains for growers to enjoy. I recommend to the newest growers to read the first 6 weeks of the diary before starting to grow. This could save you some time, aggravation and money. The diary is based on an auto flower strain ready to be harvested in the 70 to 75-day range. Some information may be repeated during the weekly update portion of my diary. COLLABORATIVE WORKS BY WEEK Week 1 It’s a Dirty Business Week 2 Low Down on LED Lights Week 3 That’s My Biosphere Week 4 Stretching Things Out Week 5 Mid-Life Crisis Week 6 Feeling Chemically In-Balance Week 7 Pump Up My Buds Week 8 The Old 1-2 Terpene Punch Week 9 To Flush or Not to Flush Week 10 Harvest Recipe: Lemon AK Infused Krupnik (Honey Spiced Vodka) Week 11 Official Fast Buds Lemon AK Strain Review IT'S A DIRTY BUSINESS A Hybrid Soil Mixture for Auto Flower Cannabis Don’t have the time or want to have 20 bags/ boxes of ingredients to make that batch of super soil! Then take a short cut using commercially prepared soils and soil-less mixes to create your own basic grower customized hybrid soil mix. With the dizzying number of soil brands and mixtures available to growers how is one able to tell which one will be the best for their grow? Trial and error? Grower recommendations? Advertisement hype? Why not create your own using a few basic requirements based on your plant’s needs, what type of watering and feeding habits you decide to employ during your grow? The ideal mix for auto flower plants should not be overly rich, but be moisture retentive yet well-draining and airy to allow more oxygen to the root-zone. Naturally it needs to be of the proper ph. range for your roots to absorb nutrients efficiently and not completely breakdown during the course of your grow. Using a mixture of organic composted products with a soil-less peat and coco coir-based products in combination with added perlite/pumice for a faster draining mix will create an excellent home for not only the roots but also for beneficial bacteria and mycorrhizae you will be adding to bring your soil to life. I know what you’re saying to yourself why not just use straight organic or straight soil-less? The added organics will definitely add the essence of the materials used. This will add more flavor to your finished product not only is this truly Cannabis’s natural growing medium it will add some balance to your hybrid mixture. Yes, hydro/ coco coir grown weed will get you stoned but how much extra flavor does it really have compared to your soil grown weed? That’s purely a matter of opinion. Basically, we’re taking the best of both worlds. I’m using three popular brands located in my area. You can substitute brands with similar ingredients if these exact brands aren’t available in your area. For my organic “essence” mix I’m using Fox Farm Ocean Forest which has composted forest humus, sphagnum peat moss, earthworm castings, bat guano, kelp meal, fish emulsions, shrimp and crab meal, oyster shell, perlite. It’s considered by many to be a “hot mix” meaning it is capable of causing nutrient burn on seedlings and young plants if used as a standalone potting mix. For my soil-less components Canna Coco Coir which is an excellent ready to use well-draining product which has been properly washed and buffered. BioBizz Light which is fine peat-based mix with a light nutrient content. It can hold a lot of water and can be a bit on the mucky side when used alone in my opinion. Some already contain a bit of perlite but we will add some more for improving drainage based on our personal watering habits for the best results. They all claim to be optimized for ph. a claim which should always be questioned/tested. Since we’re creating a hybrid soil/soilless mixture 5.8 to 6.4 would work the best for nutrient absorption. Our bulk potting mix: 32% Fox Farm Ocean Forest, 32% Canna Coco Coir,32% BioBizz light and 4% Perlite. Seedling mix: 7-parts BioBizz light, 1-part coco coir,1-part perlite. If mixing several 3 to 4-gallon pots worth by hand, I find that using a large rectangular plastic mixing tub from the masonry section of your local home improvement store works well or even a children’s plastic pool will do. For you hard core growers with many pots a nice cement mixer will make faster work of the job. Once you’ve mixed up your batch do a percolator test. Use a plastic solo cup with a dozen holes poked in the bottom of the cup. Fill it ¾ full leaving room for you to add water. Test it to see how quickly the water drains through the mixture. Adjust the amount of coco coir and perlite if necessary, to increase the drainage rate to your personal taste. You should go by what type of waterer you are. If you are someone who tends to heavy handed with watering you will want a faster draining mix. If you believe you water fairly conservatively then use a modestly slower draining mix. Pot choices can also reflect your decision using standard pots will slow down moisture loss while using air pots and mesh type pots will allow your mixture to dry out more rapidly. Speaking of pots, auto flower plants can be grown successfully in pots of any size. Most breeders recommend 4 to 5-gallon pots for larger growing varieties. But 2-3-gallon pots can work well for smaller varieties or for growers wanting smaller more manageable plants or are limited in grow space. Keep in mind larger pots mean more soil, water, nutrients and expense. Once you’ve gotten what looks like your final mixture now you need to do a slurry test to give you an idea of the “approximate” ph. of your mixture to see where you stand. Use a 2:1 Distilled water to soil mixture. 250 ml of your soil and 500 ml of distilled water mix this together well in a glass or jar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB5HLqmJzVs Allow this to settle for about 15-30 minutes or until it separates into different layers. I like to use a turkey baster or syringe to remove enough of the liquid to use my electronic ph. meter on the sample rather than sticking it through the floating solids. Keep in mind bottled distilled water will have a ph. of 5.8 so use this as a guide. A ph. of 5.8 to 6.5 will work well for our purpose but if it’s too acidic (Below 5.8) I would add ½ to 1 tablespoon of pelletized lime per gallon of pot. Mix this into the upper ¾ of the soil for each pot individually to ensure the uniformity of the mixture rather than adding it haphazardly into a large volume of the mixture. This type of lime is slower acting and will begin to gradually increase the ph. of the soil as you water it. If during the course of your grow your runoff ph. is consistently low you can top dressing your pots with additional pelletized lime. Write down how much you are using and add this extra amount next time you mix up another batch. You won’t get to check the runoff until around the end of week 4 because this will be the first time you will be adding enough water to achieve runoff. This should give enough time for the lime to start dissolving and buffer the ph. of your soil mix. Now add some life to the mix by adding some beneficial nitrogen fixing bacteria and mycorrhizae fungi these will not only improve the soil but also help your plants grower a larger root system with a larger volume of ultra-fine feeder roots. These feeder roots are what absorbs the nutrients that these microbes have broken down for them. Microbes will help your plants root system fight off infections and undesirable pest infestations they will create a harmonic balance that will improve the overall health and harvest potential of your grow. Sprinkle the recommended amount into your hybrid soil mixture then add some to the water then slowly add this to your dry mixture a little at a time then mix this well. Be wise and use gloves and tools that you only use for your cannabis grows. Do not use tools that have been used in your outside garden to avoid cross contaminating your mixture with diseases. You only want to add enough moisture to hold it together when squeezed between your hand yet it will fall apart when you release and slightly touch it. You should not be able to squeeze more than a few drops of water out of it or its too wet. If it is too wet just add some more dry mix to even out the moisture. Once this consistency is obtained then add it loosely to your pots then lightly tap the sides or bottom of the pot to settle it in. Do not use your hands or fingers to push the soil down in the pot. We are looking for a nice light airy mixture that will be easy for the roots to quickly penetrate. I typically form a small well while filling the pots using the bottom half of a solo cup for the low nutrient “seedling mix” in the center. Be sure to use the beneficial microbe/fungi amended water the when you mix up your seedling mixture you do not need to add lime to this mixture the tap root will shoot through this in a short period of time. This way the seedling has a week or so to grow a decent root system before hitting the more nutrient dense surrounding mixture. I prefer this method over filling a pot with dry mix then watering it in which completely saturates the entire pot which could cause issues with the young roots sitting in overly wet soil until the root system can use the excess moisture. Lastly float your seeds in a clean/sterile shot glass of distilled or purified water do not touch them with your dirty hands or push them down. Next place this in a dark warm place and check on them in 24-36 hours. Once you see a tiny tail emerge from the seed move them over to a moist but not wet paper towel placed in a covered container back in the dark until the tail of the seed is about a ½ inch long. Then use a pencil or bamboo chop stick to make a shallow dimple in the soil deep enough for the seed and the” tail” which is technically known as a radicle which will become the tap root from which the feeder roots will grow. The shell or seed coat should be lightly covered with about a ¼ inch of the mixture. Then add a small amount of water with an eye dropper, syringe or turkey baster to slightly settle it in. Cover the area with a clear solo cup with five ½ holes in it to allow some air circulation until the seedling emerges. Once you can maintain a humidity level of at least 65% to 70% you can remove the humidity dome. Keep your light at a proper distance to avoid light stressing the seedling. Typically, 18 hours of light is recommended by most breeders but 20-24 hours can also be used. They do seem to appreciate having a short break from the lights. Slowly begin lowering your light a few inches at a time as growth begins progressing or if the seedlings seem to be over stretching for the light. Keep in mind over watering is the number one cause of issues with seedlings. Keep watering to a minimum by maintaining a higher humidity level 65%-70% until the seedling starts growing a more substantial root system. Day one is when the first set of true serrated leaves begin to emerge from the cotyledon. On day 10 you can start to give 1/8 to 1/4 strength nutrients. Remember the soil has some nutrients in it already. OFFICIAL SET UP Tent 2 ft X 4 ft X 5 ft (2) G8 Led grow lights 140 actual watts each (1) G8 Led bloom lights 245 actual watts each (1) G8 Led Red bloom booster 80 actual watts Hydrofarm PPF/PAR meter 3 Gallon Maxi pots (4) 1020 reinforced drainage trays (2) Exhale Co2 bags Autopilot Temperature/Humidity/Co2 monitor (2) 6 inch 2-speed circulation fans 4 inch 190 cfm variable speed exhaust fan with carbon filter H&M tds meter (0.5 ppm scale) Hanna ph meter Small cool mist ultrasonic humidifier Precision hand held watering device (Turkey baster) SOIL COMPONENTS Biobizz Light mix Canna Coco Coir mix Fox Farm Ocean Forest mix Perlite Azos nitrogen fixing bacteria Great White beneficial bacteria and mycorrhizae SEEDLING / VEG. NUTRIENTS Canna Bio Rhizotonic Canna Bio Vega BLOOM NUTRIENTS Advanced Nutrients Sensi Bloom A & B B-52 Big Bud Bud Candy Bud Factor X Canna PK 13/14 Canna Boost SUPPLEMENTS Advanced Nutrients Sensi Cal/Mag Cannazyme General Hydroponics Armor Si Organic Blackstrap Molasses Epsom Salt FLUSHING SOLUTION General Hydroponics Flora-kleen WEEK 1 UPDATE Floated seeds in sterilized shot glass with distilled water left in the dark. After 24 hours root tips emerged then transferred seeds to moist paper towel in covered container left in the dark. Planted seeds less than two days later in my loose pre-moistened seedling mix just slightly covering the seed then used 2 or 3 ml of R.O. water just enough to further moisten the surface without sinking the seed and mix down. Covered them with a clear solo cups with (5) 1/2 inch air circulation holes in them to keep humidity levels over 70% but under 90%. Seedlings broke the surface over the next 24 to 48 hours. Removed solo cups a few days later when first pair of serrated leaves emerged (This is my Day 1). Seedling mix of 7 parts Biobizz light, 1 part coco coir 1 part perlite, Azos and Great White moistened with R.O. water and 2 ml of Canna Bio Rhizotonic ph corrected to 6.2. Loosely filled in void left by the solo cup that was used to create a pocket in the potting mix (See photo). The potting mix consisted of 32% Biobizz light, 32% Coco Coir, 32% Fox Farm Ocean Forrest, 4% Perlite. Also added Azos (Azospirillum Brazilense) nitrogen fixing bacteria, Great White beneficial microbes and Mosquito Bits ( Bacillus Thuringiensis Israelensis) for natural fungus gnat control. Using R.O. water mixed with 2 ml per gallon of Canna Bio Rhizotonic ph corrected to 6.2 I moistened the soil mixture just enough to hold together when squeezed in my hand but easily fell apart creating a loose mix. Lastly added food grade diatomacous earth to a salt shaker container and lightly sprinkled over surface of soil to hinder any fungus gnats from wanting to explore my pots.