I had successful sprouting of 4 of 5 Sour Diesel auto grow from ILGM, which I began to germinate in late April. It took until about a month before they were proving viable. My daughter did “micro-touch” adjustment to remove the last two “helmet heads” which had not been pushed off by leave growth even after four days. So now, there is normal growth and shape but all four of these plants are still small for their calendar age. Will they catch up in time to mature by a normal age, or before their inherent genetic timer says quit? I am happy to learn, but I must admit these auto flower are harder to navigate than the Acapulco Golds which I purchased as Feminized from another source, also in April.
My son, on the other hand, is using hydroponics, and has one Sour Diesel auto-flower that is same size as my largest Acapulco Gold, both at approximately 1 month. So, I can hardly fault the quality of the seed. I transplanted mine, perhaps three times so far, into good quality potting soil (no brand noted, from Costco) and all are now in 3 gallon pots.
If anyone has any opinions, I’d appreciate. I’m thinking any future attempts with auto-flower seed should be only hydroponic, but I will update if the plants take off when I put them under their own light in a couple of days.
It is not recommended to transplant autos, as each time you do, it causes stress which stops/stunts growth for a while. And with the shorter life span of autos, any stress can cause your yields to suffer…
I always put mine straight into a 5 gal pot (I start in peat pellets) once they have broken soil…
Sometimes strange things happen. I grew some jack herer autos. They were all really slow out of the blocks. However, one ended up being the largest and heaviest auto I have grown. The other were outside grows and were destroyed be caterpillars.
Welcome to the forum. I use these to start in. That way there is no transplanting. You just drop the bag in the final container. With a small bag or cup. It makes it harder to over water. Or at least this is how I stopped over watering. I transplant autos. But 3 times is a lot. Chances are they may stay on the smaller side. Like @Covertgrower mentioned. With out pictures and the actual days above ground to go by. It makes it a little tough to figure out where you are. If you are using a pc. You can get a program called image resizer for free. It is easy to use also.
@mumicimo pics can help us to look, I’m in sour diesel autos and I can talk you the side of the plants don’t matters I have two sour diesel autos in week 7 one is like 2’ ft tall and the other is like 4’ft so side no matters in this stain
Thanks for the kind advice. They are doing well for Week 6 post germination, although they may be a week behind due to the slow start. After a few days of heat and humidity in their grow area (enclosure without temp or humidity control) I just noticed a couple rust spots, which I’ve pinched off. What worries me more is that one shows either residue from being spritzed with city water, or it may have powdery mildew. I may be working on another closet clean out to move them in where I can control temp/humidity more easily.
Wow! My autos are about a foot tall and the size of a large plate, but I’ve not trimmed at all, until today to remove a couple of spotted leaves. My son has done better with hydroponics on the same seed. So, I’m happy to leave them in the 3-gallen well-drained pots, but perhaps move them in to moderate the environment; temp and humidity. The grow light is LED full spectrum 1000w, but I would carry them into full sun, if it ever comes out again. We had one survive the summer last year outside, even a hurricane, but we did “splint” it.
Thanks for the advice. I do have 5-gallon bags and will try this next time. They did take hold nicely after the last transplant into the 3-gallon pots, but I don’t think they are stunted by the pots yet. I am using some nutriends, and letting them dry out before re-watering. I may need to water more. I have a fan on them now.
