A customer has a question and I hope we can get some opinions on it, thanks.
"I ordered 3 Nothern Lights autoflowering seeds and out of the 3, 2 germinated and grew. I followed every tip, suggestion and everything to grow these plants. In the beginning they both were beautiful. They were grown in soil, organic with worm casings mixed with potting soil with vermiculite. 24/0 led lights, grown in the same size pots. Identical growing conditions. One plant grew to a maximum height of 10 inches and the buds were tiny, no bigger than a dime. I got 1/4 oz off of this plant. It’s fair, not what I expected at all. The description of this plant is that it was to be 24-30 inches tall, and be a medium yield plant. Not the case.
As far as the second plant, it has not flowered at all. There are pistils all over it, the leaves look more like sativa than indica, and it is almost 18 inches tall. Someone mentioned that it might not be an auto but a photo and once I could change the lights to 12/12 for 2 weeks. so far nothing"
Answer these simple questions the best you can.
If you do not know, or do not use something; Just say so = NA
Strain; Type, Bag seed, or NA
Soil in pots, Hydroponic, or Coco?
System type?
PH of runoff or solution in reservoir?
What is strength of nutrient mix? EC, or TDS
Indoor or Outdoor
Light system, size?
Temps; Day, Night
Humidity; Day, Night
Ventilation system; Yes, No, Size
AC, Humidifier, De-humidifier,
Co2; Yes, No
Add anything else you feel would help us give you a most informed answer. Feel free to elaborate, but short, to the point questions and facts will help us help you smile
Strain type: Northern Lights Autoflower
Soil in pots
don’t know about system type…they were under led lights from the time they germinated
PH was fine, no more than 6.5
Nutrients only added when flowering started, used 1/4 strength stated on package
Indoor
Led lights, not sure of wattage, eventually added small 60w CFL for more light. Grow area small, 2’x3’x3’ and could be expanded up higher if needed.
Temps: day 75-80 degrees F. Night 70-75 degrees F.
Humidity: varied from 60%-80%
Ventilation: nothing fancy, just a ceiling fan running 24 hrs per day and a small fan circulating air around plants.
No a/c, humidifier or dehumidifier
CO2, yes, yeast + water in a jug (primitive but effective from everything I’ve read and heard)
This was my first grow, the space was small, surrounded by reflective material, lights were kept at 24/0 the entire grow. Plants seemed to grow at about the same rate for the first 3 weeks then the one I call the bonsai plant stopped growing, and the other kept on getting taller. The smaller plant had the indica type leaves, the taller plant looked more like sativa. Both plants got their pistils about the same time, the bonsai plant took off flowering and I started adding bloom nutrients to both when I watered. Bonsai plant was harvested when trichomes started to turn amber, Tall plant is still in limbo, has pistils but no formation of buds at all. I’m continuing with the 12/12 light schedule to see if anything happens but feel like I’m wasting my time.
It’s possible they aren’t getting the light (or dark) they needed to grow very big. With unknown lighting system it’s hard to say if that’s the case. I wouldn’t personally put any plant on a 24/0 cycle for long. Plants use the darkness as a sort of “sleep” period. Roots tend to strengthen and prosper during this dark period so it’s possible that was the issue. A 21/3 or 18/6 would be best for an auto and you can keep that cycle their whole life. I did mine on a 18/6. I suspect it had to do with insufficient lighting.
Then why does the grow bible say that autoflowers can and will do well under 24/0 light? The bible said that with autoflowering plants they don’t go by light cycles. When I did turn them to 18/6 they acted as if they wanted to die so I put them back on 24/0. My question is why did one turn out dwarfed and the other normal size under the EXACT conditions? And I understand phenotypes, that one could look more like indica and the other like sativa, but why are both not autoflower? One flowered right on time even though it was small and the other hasn’t flowered yet. It just doesn’t make sense, Seems like someone was high when they packaged my seeds. It’s okay, I won’t ever use your seedbank again. No need to respond any further, I’m done with this conversation and your company and lame excuses…
Lol well if you’re going to act like a child then so be it. It’s not ILGM’s fault this didn’t work out. Basic understanding of plant physiology (and anything else for that matter) will tell you NOT all seeds have identical genetics. Sometimes seeds are just bad and they will ALWAYS be different from the next and last. There’s hundreds of people who can vouch for the quality of these seeds including myself. Good luck with your bag seeds
First of all this was answered completely wrong and went about wrong second of all its not his company or seed bank nor is he a staff member lol…
Likely one of the seeds were runts every so often people do get runts in their seed packs (those are typically the slower growing plants). I usually grow my autos on 14/10 and light cycles are personal choice…one thing that was mentioned that was correct is that plants do need to sleep to be able to use stored energy the harness during the day, the more sleep they get the better the root production and growth rate will be…how im not saying thats what you need to do, but generally applying plants with a descent amount of sleep helps them respond better than plants with no sleep.
Likely some thing is keeping her from flower maybe slight stress of some sort, and if she isn’t getting stressed it may be a possibility that she is a photoperiod which does happen sometimes as well.
I doubt some one was high when packaging your seeds, its likely they could have been mixed up or a mix pack by accident thousands of orders are shipped out a day so its very easy to mix then when trying to keep up with all orders being processed and shipped.
Last of all im sorry to hear about your inconvenience and do you have any pictures @bluescanoes
I posted pics several weeks ago and got no satisfactory answers or suggestions. I was under the impression that there would be lots of support and I got none, so bet it. It is what it is and I can’t change it now. I have switched the last plant to a 12/12 light schedule to see if anything happens.
I just offered to help have any pictures or not…
At this point sorry you’ve had a bad experience but if,you dont want the help,when you have some one willing to give you the proper help one last piece of advise to soak in just cause they aren’t doing anything on 12/12 yet doesn’t mean nothing is gunna happen over all want my opinion your being to impatient…if nothing is happening yet than very likely if they are photoperiod plants they are not sexually mature yet and if they are one more tip of advise…be patient because it doesn’t happen right away it can take any where from 1-4 weeks to officially start the flowering cycle depends on strain and age (strain was already obviously stated and was supposed to be a northern lights auto).
Ps one more thing at this point keep one more thing in mind you cant say your not getting any help as my last post and this one have great advise. And another thing our seeds our great 97% satisfaction with ilgm overall from total customer ratings so I doubt its the seeds as well
Even though the grow bible states aoutos can do well under 24/0, it does not say that is the optimum light photo period. PLants need rest.
I noticed you said you mixed potting soil with perlite into soil mix. What fertilizer was available in the potting mix? If soil was too hot, roots could have been damaged and that is your answer. Soil that is too hot will stifle the growth of a young plant. Especially an auto.
hope this helps, lw
p.s. Sorry about lateness of post. My email servers have been down since 1st of month. Catching up. Peace
The plants were planted together and in the same soil. One did fine, other than being dwarfed, and the other did fine, except for not flowering. They were beautiful, full leaved plants.Once I harvested the smaller plant I adjusted the lights so the taller, non-flowering plant wouldn’t be burnt anymore from being too close to the lights. I changed the lighting to 12/12. The plant is dead 3 weeks after changing to 12/12 schedule. They never liked going to 12/12, or even 18/6, every time I would try they would act like they were dying. Someone on here said give it 4 weeks, be patient, not to expect anything overnight. I didn’t because I am not that kind of person. I have the patience of Job. But the plant is not going to do anything else, it’s DOA, dead, kaput, kicked the bucket, cannot be resuscitated. I did not ignore the plant, I watered/fertilized right on schedule but still it gasped its last breath about 5 days ago. I did not fertilize at all until it was time to start flowering, and then I used a bloom/bud fertilizer with the NPK specifications stated in the Grow Bible. I have two clones taken from the non-productive plant and am still waiting to see if they are going to root. Another forum said that autos take longer to root than photoperiod plants. I’m very disappointed that all my hard work didn’t pay off, but,what I managed to harvest is okay, and I have learned a lot so I will take that knowledge forward into my next grow. The next grow I will make my own soil and fertilized throughout the entire grow. Thanks for your input.
you people are waaaayyy too literal for me. By watering them right on schedule I meant that I watered the plant when it was dry at least to the first knuckle of my finger. Like you know, when it needed to be watered. Stop criticizing me, I did what I was instructed to do by the Grow Bible, I did what I knew to do by being a gardener for over 40 years and I got a bum plant. Period. It was the plant not me. It was the seeds not me. I got screwed by only getting one plant that produced flowers out of three. I start over and I hope that the next seeds will be of better quality because they are coming from another seedbank. And I know it’s not your seedbank, but boy you all can surely give your opinion now, when I no longer need it. But you couldn’t give me a word when I asked for it, weeks and weeks ago. Thanks for nothing.
You being a gardener know as well as I do that plants are living things and it’s possible that they are picking up on your negativity… which in no way would reflect on anybody’s opinion or them trying to help you out… hopefully you get things squared away fellow cultivator and good luck on your future projects…
I agree , sometimes it’s the genetics…
I have found a forum with very knowledgeable people who respond almost immediately depending on what part of the world they are in. It’s in depth and very informative. Not at all like the forum here. I won’t be back, it’s a waste of time and energy.
peachfuzz, I only got negative toward this forum after the lack of response and support. I was happy as a lark when I planted the seeds, as I watched them grow and then asked for help and got no response, nothing. So I won’t be back. I don’t need to be talked down to. I’m too old and been through too much to have total strangers try to drag me down. Hope you all have happy, healthy, productive crops.
