Newbie in VA-outdoor

[mjab702]

I'm in Virginia, USA and all seeds were supposed to be auto's.

Welcome neighbor...Virginia grower here too.

 

[98flowers]

Love that you’re honoring your mom… beautiful. I’m also in VA, growing my first set indoors & out. I’m excited to see your plants progress!

 

[Slammd420]

At least 3 or 4 more weeks...uggh

 

[Slammd420]

I was gonna ask about the new growth vs older leaves, so thanks for that.

Do you see those spots on any other plants (of any type)? I’m wondering if it’s a plant disease. Can you get a clear closeup photo of an affected leaf? I’m certainly no expert on the subject but others here may be.

Actually, yes! They're on my gourds and squash, too.

 

[Mothman]

Actually, yes! They're on my gourds and squash, too.

Interesting. Does it seem to be spreading or progressing on your weed plant? Or are they just there and no more since? The latter I hope.

 

[Slammd420]

**UPDATE**

These are the suckers all over my plants! I sprayed again with peppermint oil today but what else is safe to use during this end phase of flower? Do the plants seem to be suffering? Buds arent really fattening up...

Also, what are those fu$%@rs??

 

[Slammd420]

Also, I'm going to post pics of my nutrients once my couch lock fades...
Side note- these have been the frostiest and stickiest, most sweet and piney plant I've ever produced
#smellovision

 

[Slammd420]

I've been using Big Bud from Advanced Nutrients, CalMag, Signal terpene support, chicken manure, egg shells, coffee grounds and molasses. I stopped using the manure when I switched to flower. The plants are in a 5 gallon fabric grow bag. Captain Jack's Neem oil and peppermint oil was used for pest control however the ants still love to get stuck in the trichomes. Buds just won't fatten up and seem spaced out? Any ideas to ramp up bud density?

 

[Oldchucky]

Never know what you’re going to get with autos. Ants have been known to farm aphids. I doubt it but you never know. Hope that little bit of webbing blew in on the wind. Hang on for the rest of the ride!

 

[GoldenDragondnw]

That's such an awesome idea! Good luck to you much success.

 

[AlexGrowns]

Sorry to hear about your mother.

This may not be a popular opinion but if the plant is big enough, yours probably there now I don't worry about pests outside. Last year I had 4 plants nearing 8 feet tall and if you looked closely you could see every type of bug imaginable, but they didn't eat any of the bud or seem to bother anything... they were stolen in the end so human are the biggest pests sometimes lol

Perhaps I got lucky, I think pruning the lower leaves and keeping it pruned so lots of breeze can get through, seems like you already did that. Also mold would be a bigger concern once the buds get larger and keeping them from staying wet too long can help, keeping the grass lower leaves from touching ect.

They look great by the way, and I love your goal!!

Keep it up!

 

[Harpua88]

Can I ask where you are? I'm just kidding! ;)

Yeah occasional bugs here and there aren't necessarily a problem (except for the few culprits we know can cause damage). Maybe it's because I'm on my phone but other than the ant I can't really see any bugs.....a couple of mayflies maybe? But most bugs are harmless, they're just hanging out, hiding, looking for other bugs.......

They look healthy, and I know it's an auto, but do you have any outdoor lights going on at night? It just has that look of lots of leaves growing through the buds. I'm sure I'm wrong, just something I wanted to ask.

 

[AlexGrowns]

Can I ask where you are? I'm just kidding! ;)

Yeah occasional bugs here and there aren't necessarily a problem (except for the few culprits we know can cause damage). Maybe it's because I'm on my phone but other than the ant I can't really see any bugs.....a couple of mayflies maybe? But most bugs are harmless, they're just hanging out, hiding, looking for other bugs.......

They look healthy, and I know it's an auto, but do you have any outdoor lights going on at night? It just has that look of lots of leaves growing through the buds. I'm sure I'm wrong, just something I wanted to ask.

Maybe I forgot to say I usually only put them outside after they are 1.5 - 2 feet tall... in my regular garden the smaller plants seem to be more prone to pest damage.

 

[Harpua88]

Maybe I forgot to say I usually only put them outside after they are 1.5 - 2 feet tall... in my regular garden the smaller plants seem to be more prone to pest damage.

That's good. You're doing great. I mean the "stuck between veg and flower" thing that can happen when the dark cycle gets interrupted with light. It's far more of an issue with photoperiod plants and you get this thing where the plant will put out both flowers and leaves.......it will look "stuck" in this limbo. Maybe it's just the variety/genetics. You might have to trim a bit more after harvest, but your flowers look good, and over the next however many days through ripening you're gonna have a nice finish....

 

[Vanthcity]

Have you tried USA hebries for delivery to Virginia? How many days?

 

[Slammd420]

Have you tried USA hebries for delivery to Virginia? How many days?

I haven't! I will look into that! I'm at day 83 from seed, if that helps

 

[greengineer]

The best way to deal with fungus gnats in pots is to flood the pot with 1 part grocery store hydrogen peroxide and 4 parts water. This will destroy the gnat larva in the soil and give your plants a healthy dose of oxygen to the roots. The peroxide will foam up, and light soils may need a slow drench to keep from floating away. the gnats will be wiped out, but since you are outside they will come back. The gnats eat plant roots mainly, so they are very bad for your plants. The peroxide will increase available oxygen, and kill a variety of pathogens in the soil. It will not sterilize the soil at a 1:4 mix, so there isn't significant damage to your soil biome, but there is some. A day or three after the treatment either treat a second time (sometimes it takes two treatments) or if you think you are done, give your plants a top dressing of well digested compost to boost microbes.

 

[greengineer]

Any ideas to ramp up bud density?

First of all, you have beautiful plants, you should be proud.

Regarding the thin buds, I'm jumping to a conclusion based on 50% of your photos being in the shade. That suggests your plants are in a shady spot, they will do better in full sun. I see internodes a half inch apart that might be 1/10th of an inch if they were in full sun. The shorter your internodes are the denser the buds are. Some plants lean toward longer nodes, so it could be genetics, but I don't think that is it.

So I'm an indoor grower, because of the law and stuff... But when I started growing 40 eons ago, the most important lesson I learned was how light and heat affect my plants. You are outdoors, so lets skip past the temperature considerations. Low light may be causing your internodal distance to be too long, this means the stems are growing to gain height to try and reach the direct sun, which puts distance between the bud nodes making them appear thinner. The good news is excess internodal growth doesn't hurt your yield much, but the buds will appear less dense and the plants will grow taller. Where it may hurt you is energy put into growing stem takes away from bud growth and IF this is your actual problem it also means your plant will be smaller and thinner for lack of sun. But low light also slows the plant growth down, so a 10 week plant might want 15 weeks to finish... so you may get near full weight yield, but over a longer period of time... I suggested 50% more time, but that is a guess. When I had this problem it was much worse because I was indoors.

You are outdoors, but in your photos I see mostly shaded images, and one with a sunlit field in the background but your plants sitting in the shade. If you must plant by a house, plant on the south wall. It may be a photo early in the morning, or later in the evening, so I could be wrong... But your plants should be in the direct sun for the majority of the time the sun is up. Blue sky and shade will not grow anything but stem, buds only grow well in direct sun. The farther north you are, the more important it is to not waste time with the plants in the shade. The difference between shade and full sun is a lot more than your eyes perceive, because your eyes adjust. The shade is around 10% as strong as the sun, and it is below the threshold for what is needed, so it almost doesn't contribute to plant growth (except for robbing plant strength by growing stem). In the shade your plant wants to grow stem and not much more, in the sun it grows leaf and buds, and only enough stem to spread out in the sun..

I also grew food crops over the years, and shade areas are only good if you are trying to survive 112ºf with tender plants, so you protect them with reduced sun when the heat of the day is setting in trying to kill everything. But that is survival, not growth. To actually grow you need the direct sun all day, not just part of the day.

I use light meters to get my indoor light up to and even past the level of direct sun, and my autos see 24 hours a day of that direct+ sun. The plants are dense, you cannot see through any plants, they have short internodes, and very thick growth. Occupying the same volume of space, I wager my plants weigh 20 times more than yours do. They are small plants in general because they are autos, but in terms of plant mass my 2' tall plants are out producing my expectations.

If you wait for the shade to take pictures, and your plants see 13 or more hours of bright direct sun, then pay me no mind. BUT if your plants are under blue sky shade for 6 hours a day, they are being starved of their source of energy, and need more sun. In general most crops want flat earth, no trees or buildings, just sun up to sun down direct sun. You can give them less sun successfully, but you pay the price with long internodes.

It boils down to simple chemistry. Sunlight plus water and carbon dioxide produce ATP, which is the universal cellular source of energy. The more ATP you produce, the more energy to grow you have. The ATP is used to build every other molecule in your plant. The more ATP you have on hand, the less strain growth (stem) and the more vegetative growth (leaf/buds) you will see. Pot can consume more sun than the sun can provide, and it can consume more nutrients, more water, more co2 (and more oxygen, plants breath oxygen to consume and utilize the ATP, co2 is fuel for making ATP)