Can any autoflower expert help me out here?

7munkee · Aug 26, 2024

I have grown several autos successfully but when I did grow them (years ago) I put the seeds straight into 5-gallon pots. But in the last few years I have graduated to Earthboxes (SIPs) and am using living soil. I just finished up a grow of Girl Crush and Alien Glue photos so I reamended my boxes and applied bokashi to accelerate the breakdown of the new amendments. That was two weeks ago. THIS is what the boxes currently look like:

You can see the whole surface has fungus covering it. There is no excess heat coming from it typically associated with composting matter.

My Question is, is it safe to plant seedlings now or should I wait for a week? I know autos trigger into flowering stage when the tap root reaches the bottom of the pot, and I'm not sure how long that would take in a solo cup. One broke surface yesterday and the other today. The solo cups have straight HP Pro mix in them:

These autos were a giveaway from the YouTube channel Green Magic Garden with Rob 'Ribby" Couling from Canada. They are called Immortal from Aeque Genetics. I recommend his channel if any are interested. He is hilarious and a great grower.

Also one other unrelated question if anyone can help... I am revegging one of my Girl Crush photos that I already harvested. I know it takes a long time and I was wondering where the new growth will come from. I left quite a bit on to start the process:

Did I take enough off the plant? Too much? Should I remove ALL the flower?

I will not even consider switching to 12/12 until the Autos are done so time is no issue.

I will be handy all day so any replies will be seen very quickly.

Thanks in advance for any answers.

Beazy · Aug 26, 2024

Can’t help with the boxes but on the re veg plant Your new growth will come from the buds you left on the plant ( you’re gonna have a TON of new growth once she starts) I usually only leave about 4 bud sites for a re veg but I don’t have much space. Do you plan on flowering the re veg plant again or just taking cuts from her ?

7munkee · Aug 26, 2024

Beazy said:
Can’t help with the boxes but on the re veg plant Your new growth will come from the buds you left on the plant ( you’re gonna have a TON of new growth once she starts) I usually only leave about 4 bud sites for a re veg but I don’t have much space. Do you plan on flowering the re veg plant again or just taking cuts from her ?

Both actually. It is smooth smoke, nice and potent, and I love the taste. I plan on taking half a dozen cuts and then flowering it after the autos are done.

Beazy · Aug 26, 2024

You’ll have PLENTY of branches for that

Phyto · Aug 26, 2024

You'll have at least a week or two in the solo cup before you have a good root structure for transplanting, my best guess is that the fungus won't hurt a thing and is probably beneficial, but I might till it in before transplanting. The fungus seem to be breaking down the dead leaves on top of the media.

Galgrows · Aug 26, 2024

What he said

7munkee · Aug 26, 2024

Phyto said:
You'll have at least a week or two in the solo cup before you have a good root structure for transplanting, my best guess is that the fungus won't hurt a thing and is probably beneficial, but I might till it in before transplanting. The fungus seem to be breaking down the dead leaves on top of the media.

Yes, I use the bokashi between each grow and feed ALL the leaves from the plant back to the soil for the next run. A lot of folks say not to do this but I have done it for 6 straight grows (same untilled soil) with zero ill effects. They way I see it it's only extra nitrogen and carbon and that never hurts.

I have transplanted many photos into soil much like this, but never autos. These will be my first autos in Earthboxes with living soil and I heard they are really finicky. I'm only growing them because they were a prize from a drawing on a YouTube channel.

Phyto · Aug 26, 2024

7munkee said:
Yes, I use the bokashi between each grow and feed ALL the leaves from the plant back to the soil for the next run. A lot of folks say not to do this but I have done it for 6 straight grows (same untilled soil) with zero ill effects. They way I see it it's only extra nitrogen and carbon and that never hurts.

I have transplanted many photos into soil much like this, but never autos. These will be my first autos in Earthboxes with living soil and I heard they are really finicky. I'm only growing them because they were a prize from a drawing on a YouTube channel.

In an organic grow that is a good way to do it. For the most part, in my experience, there's not a lot of difference between autos and photos, as far as nutes, soil, growing technque. The big difference is in the first couple weeks, if you stall an auto (usually by overwatering or overfeeding), there's no recovery time. If you F-up a photo, since you contol when it flowers, there is time to correct problems. Autos can yield very well, I average about 3-6 oz/plant. They respond well to topping (ONCE) and LST.

7munkee · Aug 26, 2024

Phyto said:
In an organic grow that is a good way to do it. For the most part, in my experience, there's not a lot of difference between autos and photos, as far as nutes, soil, growing technque. The big difference is in the first couple weeks, if you stall an auto (usually by overwatering or overfeeding), there's no recovery time. If you F-up a photo, since you contol when it flowers, there is time to correct problems. Autos can yield very well, I average about 3-6 oz/plant. They respond well to topping (ONCE) and LST.

I HAVE grown autos before...several years ago and I got some stellar results. One Durban Poison auto gave me 7 ounces. But like I said, I always planted the seeds directly in a 5-gallon pot. This time I was afraid to because I am using SIPS with living soil and the mold scared me off from direct sowing. So I started in the solo cups.

Perhaps I can cut the bottom off of the solo cups and plop them directly into the soil, cup and all. That way the seedling will be ostracized from the mold. When it gets a bit more established, I can remove the cup.

Anyone every try something like this?

Phyto · Aug 26, 2024

7munkee said:
I HAVE grown autos before...several years ago and I got some stellar results. One Durban Poison auto gave me 7 ounces. But like I said, I always planted the seeds directly in a 5-gallon pot. This time I was afraid to because I am using SIPS with living soil and the mold scared me off from direct sowing. So I started in the solo cups.

Perhaps I can cut the bottom off of the solo cups and plop them directly into the soil, cup and all. That way the seedling will be ostracized from the mold. When it gets a bit more established, I can remove the cup.

Anyone every try something like this?

All mold is a fungi, but not all fungi are molds. What I see is more akin to a mycellium or mycorrhiza, like a mushroom grows from. Mycellium is normally a sign of a good, rich, bioactive soil. Like I said, mix it into the soil (truly it's already there) it shouldn't affect live plants.

7munkee · Aug 27, 2024

Phyto said:
All mold is a fungi, but not all fungi are molds. What I see is more akin to a mycellium or mycorrhiza, like a mushroom grows from. Mycellium is normally a sign of a good, rich, bioactive soil. Like I said, mix it into the soil (truly it's already there) it shouldn't affect live plants.

Indeed, mycelium. I'm a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to mycelium.

I even have saome canned for later

Can any autoflower expert help me out here?

Can any autoflower expert help me out here?

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