You don’t need a meter you will learn where the plants are happy with your light. The chart and phone should get you close and then you can play with it watching the plants reaction. Because not every plant is going to want the same amount of light. I switch out lights every few months and it is hard to get them all figured out and by the time I do I switch again 
it would be nice to just stick a meter in and adjust it
Looking very good and beautiful
Good morning all. I have what appears to be trichomes crystallizing. At least that’s what I hope for! Please take a look and let me know if more information is needed. She’s been trying in our furnace room for 6 days at around 50%humidity 71 F
1 Like
@Graysin I hope all is well. Do you grow autos? I’m curious as I’m not having much success with 3 white willows I’ve got going all in hydro. 1 is drying and I’d be lucky if I can get an oz. The second you already know about the one that will not bud. The 3rd is now flowering and appears like the 2nd that won’t bud.
1 Like
Sure do. Periodically.
An ounce out of an auto isn’t unusual- I had to seriously dial in my parameters and get “ideal” conditions (consistently okay and uniformly about the same is what I mean by ideal here) with autos. Once I did, I’ve been able to more consistently net around 2.5-3 ounces. Genetics play a role, but environment plays the biggest role. If all three are behaving the same, it’s time to reevaluate the grow environment and see what’s potentially lacking, needs recalibrating, or may have fallen by the wayside in the wake of an emergency triage situation.
I highlighted those three because all three of those scenarios derail my own grows more often than they should.
While the autos are vegging/growing, I try to do:
- minimal fussing over the root zone (not lifting them up out of the net pot unless absolutely necessary)
- maintain water temp between 65-68°F
- have excessive airstones bubbling (I have 2 x 8 outlet air pumps plus an additional commercial air pump with a manifold for 6 additional outlets that feed my 2-3 plant system. Excessive.)
- maintain consistent pH range (I allow to drift between 5.6 and 6.0 before adjusting)
- maintain healthy nutrient paramenteis (500-800ppms of nutrient for veg, 800-1200 for flower, depending on what she tells you as she grows)
- maintain proper DLI (lower for veg, around 15-35, scaling up as needed to slow stretch or tighten node spacing) on all areas of the canopy, not just one or two spots. If only the “hotspot” can get the appropriate DLI, it’s time to look at new or more lights.
- verify no light leaks into the grow space during lights out. Holes or things you forgot to close can go unnoticed for weeks if you don’t ever stand in there when the lights are off (ask me how I know
) - lastly, ambient temperature and humidity. It’s best if you can keep the temperature below 80F and the RH above 30% - for veg, 70-75°F and 50-70% RH is great. In veg is where most of the autoflower growth really happens, so I’ll stress the importance there. In flower, it’s important to dial the humidity down to 50% and gradually decrease as the buds get fatter to avoid rot.
All makes sense. I did mention light leaks which is still an issue with the way the ebb and flow tubing is situated. Once I figure out the light leak we’ll see if that resolves the issue at hand. Thanks @Graysin
1 Like
Yeah - light leaks shouldn’t matter for a true autoflower. I feel like in the recent past I’ve seen an influx of autoflowers that become light sensitive and go back into veg, though. Not sure if they’re all ILGM genetics or not - but if so, it might be like the Purple Hulk mystery from late last year. @ThermoNukePanda what was Purple Hulk really supposed to be when they had that mix up? Bruce Banner?
2 Likes
Yes however with the autos in my tent they’re in pre-flower after just a couple weeks. No real veg time so less of a haul. I can tell already that I prefer photos.
1 Like
Same here. Photos are my preference, but I like runnin autos just so I have something that isn’t waiting around for me to decide it’s ready. 
We have a new baby girl white willow auto. My very first haul came
in just under a pound. In an ebb and flow system w/coco coir. How’s she looking so far?
2 Likes
the ‘set up’. I hope it produces like what I’ve seen from you guys. I wanna be like you when I grow up!
3 Likes
I’m thinking of putting the reservoir also inside the tent to prevent light leaks. Anyone with a similar setup? How’s it going?
2 Likes
Best weed I’ve ever puffed! 
I’m really curious as to the impact of a proper cure.
1 Like
Growing white willow and Bruce banner both from ilgm. I just received seeds and dropped 1 from seedsman (purple ghost candy) today. We’ll see how it goes.
2 Likes
You’ll see the difference if you do it right. I used jars and hygrometers last time. Using grove bags this time and so much easier with great results. Zero burping required. Just needs to be dried properly before going into the bag. Slower the better. Keep temp in the lower 70s, humidity mid 60s or at least between 50 and 70, and also very important to have some gentle air flow/exchange to help prevent mold. I threw in air exchange because I used my tent to hang dry. More open spaces its less of an issue.
The problem with putting the reservoir inside the tent is it significantly raised the humidty which could be an issue in late flower.
But that is only secondary to the water heating up to tent temp and thats the main reason people don’t.