Hello everyone. So my second ever grow is on the cards and I realised that I bought the wrong seeds as I wanted autoflower but bought fast photoperiod! Darn me!
Got Northern Lights and Red Mandarine F1 Fast and will be tring to grow 2x of each in my tent which is 80x80x120 (cm) with a Viparspectra P1000 (100w) light and 4x Mars Hydro VG80s in the corners of the tent and a Black Orchid 187 m³/h (100mm) extraction fan.
My previous grow was great with just the Vipar on two plants but this time im trying the fast varieties because I might not be able to tend the plants during the summer and temps are a issue (too high) later in the year.
Im looking for insights into lighting schedules for these fast flower/harvest varieties as well as advice on feeding. I was planning on following Nebula’s guides and halving my ferts mixes for autos but seeing as these are photoperiod Im now guesssing that I can feed full strength as per normal.
So questions:
full power ferts, good or not with fast growers?
with the light at the top and the four lights in each corner, should I still trim lower down as they grow as I will have light feeding those leaves?
Im going to do a wild grow and not top as this is my first foray into fast plants, any advice if this is the wrong way?
initial ideas on lighting schedule 18/6 or 20/4 for 4/5 weeks then swap to 12/12 for last 3 weeks? ( i know i have two different strains but I will just bite the bullet and reduce my yield if need be as I would have to havest same time)
Note: I will not be buying more gear at the moment, so any advice relating to that is moot… maybe next year.
Not to worry, photos are easier to control the size of to get the most out of your space.
Yes the Nebula guide looks pretty good. The recommended CalMag looks pretty high, I’d probably half that to 1/2tsp/gal unless I saw deficiency. Are you in soil or coco?
How long are the Mars VG80s? I would leave more of the lower bud sites but defoliate quite heavy so the side lights don’t get smothered and can penetrate the canopy.
Going with mostly side lighting like you are means you do want taller plants, so lollipopping the bottom few branches off each will encourage vertical growth. You can stunt the main cola with LST and leaf stripping to allow the side branches to keep up for a more even canopy without topping.
You can veg 20/4 or 18/6 but to induce flowering in photoperiods you need to drop to 12/12 for the whole flowering period.
Okay good, a watering or two during stretch with CalMag could be good as that’s when they use most.
I’d probably try mounting them diagonally on the walls rather then vertically, on the poles, could get better light spread.
LST (Low Stress Training) is just bending branches to shape the plant, you can do with any plants in veg and flower. If you bend over the Apical meristem (main cola top) below the side branches every day it reroutes growth hormone to the branches as it thinks they are the plant top now and allows the side branches to keep up and make a more even canopy.
I’ve never grown “fast” flowering photos (Photo x Auto), so not sure how long they actually take. No real benefit to vegging 20/4 unless you have low power lighting. I do for the first week of seedlings to help keep them shorter, they can stretch looking for light while it’s off.
I tried, tent is just too small to do this the right way. I moved the lights up and tied them as high as I could on the beams, hope this will be enough - my last grow was 2 plants on just the 100W and they were amazing.
U could just start on 12/12 also if wanted but thats a preference thing but I agree with lst and maybe just leaf tucking….super cropping works good if done correctly too…as far as feed idk as I do autos n feed like photos for most part. Hope this helps alil for ya.
