Ready to plant seeds, last minute advice...

[DoobyDude]

I'm 99% ready to start my grow (at last!) but just have a few last minute questions before I actually start the ball rolling.

I'll be growing 2 auto's (out of Joint Dr Lowryder #2, Buddha Seeds White Dwarf or Lowlife Auto AK47)
Does it matter which 2 I pick, or any recommendations?

I did a dry run last night with the lights and fans on for 3hrs and my temp/humidity meter showed a high of 29.5c / 31% Humidity, and a low of 25.6c / 30% Humidity, which I'm guessing is from lights/fans off -> lights/fans on.
Are these temps OK?

I'm going to be planting the seeds into the pots they will stay in, using a soil and perlite mix.
Is perlite recommended for auto's or will just soil be OK?

I have a couple of 25cm pots, and one which is 39cm - should I do them both in the 25cm ones or try one in the much larger pot?
I'm not sure if this will mean one grows bigger than the other, but if so it will cause problems as I am only using a single 250w Red CFL so different heights will give me problems with burning one and being OK for the other.

Lastly, how do you water the seed?
I know stick it 1-2cm under the soil and leave in the growdrobe til they pop, but do I water them when I plant them or do it in just the soil/perlite?

What temps should it be in their when I plant the seeds?
Do the fans need to be on before the seeds pop their heads, or do I not turn anything on til they have popped, then have fans on 24/7 and the lights on 18/6?

Also, time for the super-noob question!
I assume the pots need holes in the bottom for drainage, and thus placed in a tray to catch any excess water running out of the soil?
Should water be left in this "catch tray" or should any water in there be emptied?
..or am I talking bollocks haha!? :)

Thanks for any info, and I'll be posting a diary soon once I have planted my babies! :)

[SinisterSativa]

Hey buddy, bigger tallest pots possible, or use 2l Pop Bottles see here: https://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?38574-Devon-Maid-auto-2L-pop-bottles-24hr-cfl

Also don't leave in 'catch trays', i pour excess back into pot. don't overwater, wait until bottom fan leaves start to droop.

[theoleek]

[QUOTE=DoobyDude;1068702851
Lastly, how do you water the seed?
I know stick it 1-2cm under the soil and leave in the growdrobe til they pop, but do I water them when I plant them or do it in just the soil/perlite?

What temps should it be in their when I plant the seeds?
Do the fans need to be on before the seeds pop their heads, or do I not turn anything on til they have popped, then have fans on 24/7 and the lights on 18/6?

Also, time for the super-noob question!
I assume the pots need holes in the bottom for drainage, and thus placed in a tray to catch any excess water running out of the soil?
Should water be left in this "catch tray" or should any water in there be emptied?
..or am I talking bollocks haha!? :)

Thanks for any info, and I'll be posting a diary soon once I have planted my babies! :)[/QUOTE]

Im a hydro grower personally but here you go,

1. Water with a spray bottle to create a fine mist so not to damage seed. Make sure the water temp is not to low as will damage seed, make sure you dont over water, make sure you use plain water at first, maybe a cpl drops of nutes (extreally weak solution)

2. Temp wise, about 28c i think. When i plant mine, fans are on 24/7, lights on 18/6 from the get go

3. Yes, pots need drain holes which they should already have, yes use a tray, yes, i would empty it to make sure the roots arent drowing in water. While still a seedling, there shouldnt be much run off if any at all.

Just my 2 cents

[DoobyDude]

Thanks fore the replies guys, but both contradicting each other lol!

If I don't use a catch tray, the water will run out into the bottom of the wardrobe...which can't be good?

I have a spray bottle, but I'm not sure how damp to make the soil for when I plant it..?
Do I plant it, then spray until topsoil is moist, or spray it so it's moist before I plant the seed?
Or do I make the entire pot of soil moist?

The 2 smaller pots I have don't have drainholes so I will have to drill some, the bigger pot does already.
Here is a quick photo of the pots so you can see the sizes of the pots:
43368
The bottle is a bit bent, but it was salvaged from the bin to give scale.

As I say I am only using 1 250w CFL so if the plants grow different heights then I might have problems with burning / light not close enough cos of the varying heights.
This might not be an issue with autos tho, not sure?

Thanks!

[SinisterSativa]

Sorry i ment, dont leave the water in the trays, due to stagnant water :)

[theoleek]

Have the catch tray there, dont leave it full of water.

Make sure you have a spare CFL bulb if possible, just in case (see my 'I hate CFLs' thread in general discusion)

Plant in dry soil (makes it easier) then spray the soil with ure spray bottle. I think that you sould be able to put your finger about 1 cm into the soil and still feel dampness.

Like i said at the start tho, in a hydro guy so might be best to use the search tool and read up on soil grows

[DoobyDude]

Yeah I am reading my tits off on here, lots of great information but I didn't find much specific to my final questions.
I just don't want to feck it up right at the start :)

Any preference on the pots in the pic?

Cheers lads!

[theoleek]

From what i remember and from seeing other soil grows in my area, start off small, work you way up in pot size as the plant gets bigger

P.s Follow my sig link to have a look at my current diary, might help you out abit.

[DoobyDude]

From what I've read so far with autos it's best to start off in the same pot from seed to harvest

Will have a read of your diary now, cheers for the info mate.

[DoobyDude]

I can't seem to edit my last post so had to reply with a new message.

Spent most of tonight checking temps with different things on/off, can anyone tell me if these are OK for an auto, as most of the info I have read on here has different temp / RH for veg / flower, and people post different ideal temp ranges and RH, but nothing I could find specifically for Autoflowering plants.

Lights ON, Extractor ON, Intake ON, Desk Fan ON : 29.5c
Lights OFF, Extractor ON, Intake ON, Desk Fan ON : 22.8c
Lights OFF, Exractor OFF, Intake ON, Desk Fan OFF : 21.1c

Humidity for all the above setups stays between 30%-33%.

Are these temps / RH within normal rages for autos?
If so, is it preferable with lights OFF to have the Extractor and the Intake on, or just the Intake giving a slightly lower temp as I would think air would escape passively through the venting
of the Extraction anyway? (and it would eliminate a little noise for a few hours!)

Still not planted the seeds, decided to do these temp / RH tests first so I know where I stand.

Cheers guys.

[KushMcNuggets]

i'm not 100% sure about auto's but i know regular cannabis varieties usually thrive in conditions with 40%-55% humidity.

so you may also want to have that in mind just in case you see that they seem stunted in any way, shape, or form.
i'm sure you've also read this a good number of times too, but once autos are stunt'd there is no full recover for them.
all i can say is do what you think is best, roll with it, and post results.

goodluck though bro

-KushMcNuggets

[DoobyDude]

Thanks for the reply mate, appreciated, I'm still sat here reading trying to find info to put my mind at rest haha!

Do you know what temp/humidity it should be when I am germing the seeds in soil?

Also, this is a proper noob question, but when you germ with ie. paper towel, you then pot the seed with the tap-roop going the right way.
When you plant the seed in soil, does it need to be a certain way, or how does it know which way to grow?

[KushMcNuggets]

generally from personal experience i tend to drop seeds in room temp water until they sink. (to see if they have a fully developed embryo)
from there i usually germ w/paper towel method.

as for a certain way, you want the tap root placed in the soil, some say to bury the entire sebang 1-2cm below surface of soil.
personally i just dampen soil, rapid rooter, or whatnot. then get a clean nail (just not rusty) to poke a hole in surface, after place the taproot down in soil, with the seed just resting on the surface of soil.

make sure you have some sort of insulation between the bottom of the containers and the ground tho, because i kno that you want to maintain a certain temp for the roots to thrive, and with a towel or something of the sort between floor and container it helps to not absorb the cold from floor and make your medium that temp.

sorry if my way of explaining is all over the place.. im kinda medicated atm haha. butr i'm going to b str8 up, i kno a bit, but im not the biggest buff in the game. but always down 2 throw my 2 cents into the ring.

hope it helpd

-KushMcNuggets

(P.S. also gather up a good amount of reading material, always remember that knowledge is power.. 2 personal favorites are "Marijuana Horticulutre the in/outdoor Medical Grower's Bible, By: Jorge Cervantes. very very very useful book, they call it the bible for a reason lol. and i almost like it a little more because its moreso for my generation and seems to touch on all the same points if not in a little more depth. but the book is "Ed Rosenthal's Marijuana Growers Handbook 'Official Course Book of Oaksterdam University'")

[KushMcNuggets]

sorry forgot to answer in lasy post, but best temp range for germination is same as grow temp, 70-80 degrees F (21-26 C)

[DoobyDude]

Thanks for takin the time to reply mate, I've been waiting/hoping for replies since last night (as I'm anxious to plant these babies) but didn't wanna spam/bump my own thread.

My temps seem OK then, but gonna have to pull the humidity up with a wet towel or open tubs of water til it hits about 50%.

I think I'm gonna germ using the paper towel method now, as I can't find any info on if you have to plant the seed a certain way when germing in soil, and don't wanna fook em up :)
Like I said when you germ in paper you plant taproot down, but when you put a seed in soil, how does it know which way to grow - no idea haha!

Just gonna pop em in some water now, and when they sink they are goin in a chinese takeaway tub on top of the boiler til I see there tails. (fingers crossed!)

I might try the 3rd seed (that I wasn't gonna use) straight in the soil, but I need to know which way to face it when I plant it.

Thanks for your time mate, appreciated!