Hawaiian Snow auto by Seed Supreme

[Sustenance.Farmer]

Hi everyone . This is my first grow documented here, and my first time growing an autoflowering strain.

This is what Seed Supreme says about the strain:

I chose it because I am huge fan of Hawaiian sativas and Haze variants. I've grown a few, so I'm not totally in the dark.
Interestingly, all the stuff listed above (except the ruderalis genes) sounds just like the photoperiod strains.

It seems to me that the only reason to choose autoflower genetics over photoperiod is to shorten the sprout-to-harvest time.
Due to their tendency to be giants, and their long bud cycle, but mostly their tendency to be giants, when we planted these strains indoors, we'd veg for 2 - 3 weeks, then start 12/12. Is the same thing going to happen here, without changing the light cycle?

2 days after planting the seeds...


7 days later...


Planted into 7 gal fabric containers...



Starting in 7 gal containers seems daunting.

 

[GNick55]

Hi everyone . This is my first grow documented here, and my first time growing an autoflowering strain.

This is what Seed Supreme says about the strain:
View attachment 2693796
I chose it because I am huge fan of Hawaiian sativas and Haze variants. I've grown a few, so I'm not totally in the dark.
Interestingly, all the stuff listed above (except the ruderalis genes) sounds just like the photoperiod strains.

It seems to me that the only reason to choose autoflower genetics over photoperiod is to shorten the sprout-to-harvest time.
Due to their tendency to be giants, and their long bud cycle, but mostly their tendency to be giants, when we planted these strains indoors, we'd veg for 2 - 3 weeks, then start 12/12. Is the same thing going to happen here, without changing the light cycle?

2 days after planting the seeds...
View attachment 2693797

7 days later...
View attachment 2693798 View attachment 2693799

Planted into 7 gal fabric containers...

View attachment 2693800 View attachment 2693801

Starting in 7 gal containers seems daunting.

a 7 gallon bag will take a gallon and a half to saturate fully,.
you water day with 1500ml at a time covering all the medium surface than wait a good 20 mins before doing the next 1500ml,. continue until finished giving a gallon and a half 6000ml,..

 

[SeedSupreme]

Looking forward to following along man! Good luck

Seed Supreme

 

[Galgrows]

You don't change the lights to 12/12 on auto flowers

 

[Sustenance.Farmer]

Thanks for the replies.

GNick55 - That's interesting, I've been using a gallon. Spreading the process out over 80 minutes seems like tedious loving care; I don't do tedious very well....
I prep a gallon, water slowly from the top until runoff collects in the drip pan, then I start slowly filling the drip pan. It usually takes about 5 min to empty the watering can, and another 15 minutes or so for all the water to be sucked into the root zone.

I'm more concerned about watering these tiny plants in huge pots. Since autoflower pot has a predetermined lifespan, I imagine a bout of overwatering could screw the pooch.

Calgrows - I know that autoflowering strains don't need short days to bud, these are under 18/6.....
When growing the photoperiod versions of these strains, I would veg for 2 weeks, then flip the light cycle. This helped manage height because they continue to grow well into the bud cycle.

I wonder if these are going to behave similarly (begin budding within 3 weeks), and maybe even yield more since there's 6 hours more light for energizing bud production.


Seed Supreme - thanks for the seeds! Fast discreet delivery, and reliably viable seeds....over and over again!

 

[Grownsince95]

I have a pack of these waiting in the queue! Excited to see how yours turn out!

 

[defective]

Curious to see how these turn out. Good luck!

 

[Sustenance.Farmer]

Weekly update....12 days after sprouting, 3rd node developed.

 

[Sustenance.Farmer]

Weekly update...20 days from sprout, end of second week in 7 gal containers.
Very short, sturdy plants, 5 nodes ~ 3 - 4" tall. Started LST today.

 

[Sustenance.Farmer]

Weekly update...27 days since sprouts emerged, ~ 3 weeks in 7 gal containers. Buds started developing ~ day 23.

As you can see, the plants are tiny.
Is this normal?
Is it something I'm doing wrong?

Some details:
48" x 48" x 80" tent with 6" 400 cfm exhaust fan/ C filter
6" oscillating fan
Spider Farmer G3000 array ~ 16" above plants, 18/6, ~ 35 DLI
7 gal fabric pots, FF Happy Frog soil
Water every 3 - 4 days, pH'd to ~ 6.5 before applying.
Botanicare grow 3-2-4, Botanicare bloom 1-4-5 at every watering
FF microbrew every 14ish days, and molasses in between.

Temp 76º - 82º, RH 40%s

 

[defective]

Weekly update...20 days from sprout, end of second week in 7 gal containers.
Very short, sturdy plants, 5 nodes ~ 3 - 4" tall. Started LST today.

View attachment 2696113
View attachment 2696116
View attachment 2696114
View attachment 2696115
View attachment 2696117

Weekly update...27 days since sprouts emerged, ~ 3 weeks in 7 gal containers. Buds started developing ~ day 23.

As you can see, the plants are tiny.
Is this normal?
Is it something I'm doing wrong?

Some details:
48" x 48" x 80" tent with 6" 400 cfm exhaust fan/ C filter
6" oscillating fan
Spider Farmer G3000 array ~ 16" above plants, 18/6, ~ 35 DLI
7 gal fabric pots, FF Happy Frog soil
Water every 3 - 4 days, pH'd to ~ 6.5 before applying.
Botanicare grow 3-2-4, Botanicare bloom 1-4-5 at every watering
FF microbrew every 14ish days, and molasses in between.

Temp 76º - 82º, RH 40%s

View attachment 2697317View attachment 2697318View attachment 2697319View attachment 2697320

In my limited experience growing autos, they all flowered right at about 3 weeks, and gave me between 20-30 grams…so, similar to yours… never grown them inside, and never will…for me, I see them being worthwhile for an early summer outdoor harvest, othwerwise, they are too finicky and sensitive, small, terps seem to be hit or miss…I’m sure there are others that have had better experiences….problem is they market them to beginners, as if they’re easier to grow…nothing hard about changing light schedule so why not just grow more forgiving, better yielding photos?

 

[22mucho]

Oui my friends! I was having the same issue, try transplant before the roots come out the bottom of the cork & put some coco around your insert site. I’ve bumped up my veg by 2 weeks this way. That happy frog be to hot sometimes it’ll shock your autos.

 

[Budtirement]

As you can see, the plants are tiny.
Is this normal?
Is it something I'm doing wrong?

Hey @Sustenance.Farmer, I don't think that's normal. I think you can get much bigger plants in your 7 gallon pots. I treat them as though if they get too much stress from anything they freak and go into flower. You started them in smaller containers and there's a pic with the tap root hanging in the breeze. That might be the reason they flowered small. Autoflower rootlets are very sensitive. I start seed in a shot glass of water. Make sure all the soil in the pot is wet on that same day. As soon as I see a tail, plant seed in the 7 gallon pot. Don't wait for tail to get long.
I like using 7 gallon pots. They provide plenty of room for roots to get a good sized plant but on watering day all the soil in the pot must get wet. Your not going to over water because excess will go thru. Then dry back. Early in veg dry back is 5 or 6 days depending on how fluffy your soil is. Later when they get big it might be 2 or 3 days. I use the same watering method suggested by @GNick55 above. I just harvested 2 Jack Herer autos in a 2x4x5 tent. Weighed 14 ounces of flower after 14 day dry. Posted pictures Sept 9th at Virginia Growers thread. Also, if I train them I let them get 8 or 10 inches tall first and I'm very gentle bending them. Treat them like a princess. Rock on!

 

[Sustenance.Farmer]

Thanks for all the replies.

Hey @Sustenance.Farmer, I don't think that's normal. I think you can get much bigger plants in your 7 gallon pots. I treat them as though if they get too much stress from anything they freak and go into flower. You started them in smaller containers and there's a pic with the tap root hanging in the breeze. That might be the reason they flowered small. Autoflower rootlets are very sensitive. I start seed in a shot glass of water. Make sure all the soil in the pot is wet on that same day. As soon as I see a tail, plant seed in the 7 gallon pot. Don't wait for tail to get long.
I like using 7 gallon pots. They provide plenty of room for roots to get a good sized plant but on watering day all the soil in the pot must get wet. Your not going to over water because excess will go thru. Then dry back. Early in veg dry back is 5 or 6 days depending on how fluffy your soil is. Later when they get big it might be 2 or 3 days. I use the same watering method suggested by @GNick55 above. I just harvested 2 Jack Herer autos in a 2x4x5 tent. Weighed 14 ounces of flower after 14 day dry. Posted pictures Sept 9th at Virginia Growers thread. Also, if I train them I let them get 8 or 10 inches tall first and I'm very gentle bending them. Treat them like a princess. Rock on!

This makes zero sense to me.
The taproot on the seedling was too long when I planted it?
Soak a 7 gallon container regardless of the actual size of the rootball, simply because it's an autoflowerer in a fabric pot??

If they weren't getting enough water, they would wilt.

Please help me understand.

In my limited experience growing autos, they all flowered right at about 3 weeks, and gave me between 20-30 grams…so, similar to yours… never grown them inside, and never will…for me, I see them being worthwhile for an early summer outdoor harvest, othwerwise, they are too finicky and sensitive, small, terps seem to be hit or miss…I’m sure there are others that have had better experiences….problem is they market them to beginners, as if they’re easier to grow…nothing hard about changing light schedule so why not just grow more forgiving, better yielding photos?

This makes a lot of sense to me.

 

[Budtirement]

The taproot on the seedling was too long when I planted it?

I'm talking about protecting the roots of the autoflower because of the picture you posted. You were holding the sprout that you had started in a smaller container. The roots had grown out of the bottom of the soil and were hanging in the air before you transplanted into the 7 gallon pot. I believe that the roots of autoflowers are very sensitive. As soon as autoflower roots hit air or the bottom of the pot then the plant responds by flowering. If that happens in the first week or 2 then you end up with a very small harvest. Many folks suggest to plant autoflowers in their forever pot and not try to use a starter pot and transplant them to avoid this specific problem.

Soak a 7 gallon container regardless of the actual size of the rootball, simply because it's an autoflowerer in a fabric pot??

Soak all the soil in the pot every time you water so that you know all your soil is moist and supporting the microbial life living in moist soil and so that when the roots grow down lower and lower they always grow into moist soil, never dry soil which will kill the root tips. After you water thoroughly and let any excess drain out then do a dry back period and don't water again until the next time you determine that she needs water. Do that regardless if you're growing an autoflower or a photoperiod plant. You must protect her rootball, which you cannot see, by simply watering all the soil in the pot. The type of pot is not an issue since you use a fabric pot.

If they weren't getting enough water, they would wilt.

It has been my experience that if I regularly water only enough to keep the top half of the soil in a pot moist then the plant will start off nicely but when it starts to grow bigger and the roots grow down into dry soil then the plant will respond by letting the bottom leaves yellow and die and it will push the water that it does get to the top of the plant to try and stay alive and develop flowers to pass on her genes. But with an autoflower there isn't time to fix a problem like this. Once she runs into trouble she starts to flower, times up and you get the small harvest.

I hope I have been clear. Did you look at the pictures of my grow. It's not the biggest out there but it's a 14 ounce harvest and the suggestions above are the way I get there. If it doesn't make sense to you then do your own thing. No worries. I'm just trying to help where I can.

 

[Galgrows]

Your tent is way tall enough to not even train autos you just need to raise that light. These are some of the autos I've grown and i no longer train them i just let them go. And i use 3gal fabric fit 4 in my 3x3 tent or i use my folgers pots and grow 6 or 7 at a time. Yes i drill holes in the plastic, FF happy frog with amendmints whe they need it. No space is wasted.

 

[Sustenance.Farmer]

As soon as autoflower roots hit air or the bottom of the pot then the plant responds by flowering. If that happens in the first week or 2 then you end up with a very small harvest. Many folks suggest to plant autoflowers in their forever pot and not try to use a starter pot and transplant them to avoid this specific problem.

I find that weird as hell, but autoflowers are a different breed, so I'll accept it without overthinking it.

Soak all the soil in the pot every time you water so that you know all your soil is moist and supporting the microbial life living in moist soil and so that when the roots grow down lower and lower they always grow into moist soil, never dry soil which will kill the root tips. After you water thoroughly and let any excess drain out then do a dry back period and don't water again until the next time you determine that she needs water. Do that regardless if you're growing an autoflower or a photoperiod plant. You must protect her rootball, which you cannot see, by simply watering all the soil in the pot. The type of pot is not an issue since you use a fabric pot.

Some of this makes sense to me, but what you describe happening when roots reach dry soil or air is exactly the reason fabric pots make such great containers - air pruning creates dense root networks and discourages root bind.

When I water, I ensure that there is water throughout the pot. There is runoff from the sides and the bottom.
Do they get 1.5 gal (6,000 ml)? No.
Is the soil saturated? No.
Does the moisture meter register solidly in the moist zone throughout the pot? Yes, it's almost on the wet side of the moist/wet interface in the lower couple inches.
Do the roots have moist medium to grow into? Yes.
Do the vast majority of microbes get moisture? Yes. Plus I inoculate the root zone a couple times a month and feed it with molasses in between.

I reapply water when the upper half of the pot is on the moist side of the moist/dry interface throughout, the wet-to-dry cycle is 3 - 4 days.

Since these plants are novelty items at this point, when it's time to water again, I think I'll give them the full 1.5 gal water @GNick55 recommends. My guess is it will take close to 2 weeks to dry out, and the roots will get waterlogged in the meantime.

...and I'll start 4 or 5 more of these in 3 gal fabric containers in the meantime as well. I don't think I like growing autoflowering pot, we'll see how the new ones go.

It has been my experience that if I regularly water only enough to keep the top half of the soil in a pot moist then the plant will start off nicely but when it starts to grow bigger and the roots grow down into dry soil then the plant will respond by letting the bottom leaves yellow and die and it will push the water that it does get to the top of the plant to try and stay alive and develop flowers to pass on her genes. But with an autoflower there isn't time to fix a problem like this. Once she runs into trouble she starts to flower, times up and you get the small harvest.

Good to know.

Did you look at the pictures of my grow.

I looked at pictures you've posted, but I'm not sure which is the 14 oz autoflower grow.

Thanks for your help.

...

My tent typically looks like this...

 

[Sustenance.Farmer]

Your tent is way tall enough to not even train autos you just need to raise that light. These are some of the autos I've grown and i no longer train them i just let them go. And i use 3gal fabric fit 4 in my 3x3 tent or i use my folgers pots and grow 6 or 7 at a time. Yes i drill holes in the plastic, FF happy frog with amendmints whe they need it. No space is wasted.

Thanks. Looks like yours have produced about an oz per 3 gal container. Is that a good wild-assed guess or just a wild-assed guess?

 

[Galgrows]

I get on average 2+oz any less i don't grow that strain again. I'm a photoperiod grower i just play around with autos when i'm stocked up and just wanting to grow something. I'm in a legal state so i grow indoor an outdoor year around. I'm on my last plant to harvest for outdoor and i did grow 2 autos outdoors also they did pretty darn good. Herbies Godzilla Cookies autos.

 

[Budtirement]

I looked at pictures you've posted, but I'm not sure which is the 14 oz autoflower grow.

So these are the 2 Jack Herer autos that just finished and the harvest hanging in the tent. These 2 plants together produced just shy of a pound of flower. Autos can get quite big. This is what I mean when I said I don't think your small plants are a normal autoflower grow. My best 2 reasons for why that might be are either the transplant at the beginning or a watering issue which is the most common cannabis growing issue, but hey I'm no scientist. I'm just looking at your pics and telling you what I see. I think your next grow will be much better.