Auto white widow grow in a 64 oz DUBLE GULP

Based on previous experience with auto strains, I have come to a few conclusions and now I'm going to move onto what I believe is an ideal grow scenario for them.

Seed: Ruderalis Auto. White Widow cross.

Germination: plate/paper towel method

Pot size: Double Gulp 64 OZ from 711. This should provide 1 oz if I achieve the rate of 1 oz /gal. The reason for picking this cup is because the auto strains don't like their tap root to be restricted so the plant could grow up to about 2 feet while being restricted only to the sides, which should be OK. Drilled about 20 small holes on the bottom and cut in 3 1 inch slices on the sides at the bottom for drainage. Also taped it with silver duct tape on the sides. The slightly translucent bottom will be of benefit to look for the tap root.

Soil: Ocean Forest Light Warrior with 25 % Perlite. Mixed it using the bag method where I used 16 oz party cups to fill a trash bag with 3 cups of light warrior and one of Perlite. While light warrior is light, it is intended for smaller containers and the height of the big gulp might not provide enough drainage. Therefore I went for the extra Perlite to be on the safe side. I'd rather have to water often than kill the plant.

Light: To start with I'm going to use one 25W CFL at 6500K and one 30 W full spectrum at 5000K. They will hang about a foot above the container and will have a mylar cone to reflect the spill going up. Going for a 24/0 cycle this time. Once in flowering, at a month from seed, I will add a 60W CFL at 2700K.

Watering:
- Initial: 16 oz of RO water (7PPM) at 7.0 Ph. Watered very slowly, the run-off is 5.9 in light warrior, and 165 ppm
- afterwards, 16 oz of water for every nute feed.

Nutes (doses per gallon):
- First week, none in light warrior.
- Day 5 - 1/4 strength of big bloom = 2 tsp. and 1/2 strength of Cal Mag = 1/2 tsp
- Day 10 - 1/2 strength of big bloom = 3 tsp. and 1/2 strength of Cal Mag = 1/2 tsp
- Day 15 - 3/4 strength of big bloom = 4 tsp, 1/4 strength of bio thrive (similar to big grow) = 1/2 tsp, and 1/2 strength Cal Mag = 1/2 tsp
- Day 20 - 3/4 strength of big bloom = 4 tsp, 1/2 strength of bio thrive = 1 tsp, and 1/2 strength of Cal Mag = 1/2 tsp
- Day 25 - 3/4 strength of big bloom = 4 tsp, 3/4 strength of bio thrive = 1 1/2 tsp, and 3/4 strength of Cal Mag = 3/4 tsp
- Day 30 - FLOWERING START - Flush with 2 tsp of sledge hammer flush and 1/4 strength of big bloom = 1 tsp for a gallon of water, and feed 3/4 strength big bloom and ~1/4 strength of tiger bloom = 1 tsp
- Day 35 - 3/4 strength of big bloom = 4 tsp, 1/2 strength of Cal Mag, 1/2 strength of tiger bloom = 1 1/2 tsp
- Day 40 - 3/4 strength of big bloom = 4 tsp, 1/2 strength of Cal Mag, 3/4 strength of tiger bloom = 2 tsp
- Day 45 - 3/4 strength of big bloom = 4 tsp, 1/2 strength of Cal Mag, almost full strength of tiger bloom 2 1/2
- Day 50 - Flush with 2 tsp of hammer flush and 1/2 strength of big bloom, no more Cal Mag
- Day 55 - Plain RO water
- Day 60 - If ready for harvest, harvest, if not, plain RO water.

Environment: 65-75 F, ~ 30% RH

UPDATE: seed took a little longer to germinate in the paper towel but now it's out and it already broke ground out of the soil. The 50 watt of vegging CFL light is on. The Double Gulp was a little dry before planting the germinated seed so I watered it with another 8 oz of 7.0 RO water 3 hours before planting.

Plant is doing good. Second set of true leafs is coming in. Soil is still slightly moist but almost in the dry zone (using a moisture meter) so it should be ready to be watered and fed (day 5) tomorrow.

Here is the updated feeding schedule with a slight change and ml conversions as this tsp measurement stuff is total non-sense.

Nutes (doses per 500 ml (16 oz) of water):
- First week, none in light warrior.
- Day 5 - 1/4 strength of big bloom = 2.5 ml, 1 drop of superthrive, and 1/2 strength of Cal Mag = 0.5 ml
- Day 10 - 1/2 strength of big bloom = 3.75 ml, 1 drop of superthrive, and 1/2 strength of Cal Mag = 0.5 ml
- Day 15 - 3/4 strength of big bloom = 5 ml, 1 drop of superthrive, 1/4 strength of bio thrive (similar to big grow) = 1/2 tsp, and 1/2 strength Cal Mag = 0.5 ml
- Day 20 - 3/4 strength of big bloom = 5 ml, 1 drop of superthrive, 1/2 strength of bio thrive = 1 tsp, and 1/2 strength of Cal Mag = 0.5 ml
- Day 25 - 3/4 strength of big bloom = 5 ml, 1 drop of superthrive, 3/4 strength of bio thrive = 1 1/2 tsp, and 3/4 strength of Cal Mag = 0.75 ml
- Day 30 - FLOWERING START - Flush with 2.5 ml of sledge hammer flush and 1/4 strength of big bloom = 5 ml in a gallon of water; and feed 3/4 strength big bloom = 5 ml, 1 drop of superthrive, and ~1/4 strength of tiger bloom = 1.25 ml
- Day 35 - 3/4 strength of big bloom = 5 ml, 1 drop of superthrive, 1/2 strength of Cal Mag = 0.5 ml, 1/2 strength of tiger bloom = 1.75 ml
- Day 40 - 3/4 strength of big bloom = 5 ml, 1 drop of superthrive, 1/2 strength of Cal Mag = 0.5 ml, 3/4 strength of tiger bloom = 2.5 ml
- Day 45 - 3/4 strength of big bloom = 5 ml, 1 drop of superthrive, 1/2 strength of Cal Mag = 0.5 ml, almost full strength of tiger bloom 3 ml
- Day 50 - Flush with 2.5 ml of sledge hammer flush and 1/4 strength of big bloom = 5 ml in a gallon of water, no more Cal Mag, no more super thrive, no additional feeding
- Day 55 - Plain RO water
- Day 60 - If ready for harvest, harvest, if not, plain RO water.

Day 5 watering/light feeding (see planned schedule above). Pot took about 400 ml of water. Watered very slowly PPM of water was 250, and pH 6.9. Run-off PPM was 650 and pH was 5.6.
Is the run-off difference normal?

Also, built mylar-lined aluminum reflectors for the CFL bulbs. Almost double the light compared to the bare bulbs.

Waited until day 13 because the soil kept reading moist. I should have put a layer of hydroton or lava rocks at the bottom.

Added 4ml of big bloom, 1 drop superthrive, .5ml calmag, and 1 ml of bio thrive. ppm was reading 550, adjusted ph to 6.5 to 16 oz of RO water. Only used about 10 oz of that as I started getting run-off.

Ph and soil contents seem to have stabilized more as run-off was ph 6.2 and PPM was 850.

One problem I encountered was that the perlite on the soil started getting some green algae, which appears to be common with wet perlite. Removed half inch layer of the soil and replaced it with new light warrior. If it re-appears I'll cover the soil with a mylar sheet around the stem as algae needs light.

Plant is less than 2 inches tall and roots are 9 inches (you can see them running down the side).

Going pretty good. Soil took about 6 days to dry now rather than 7. More growth (7 sets of leafs), more roots, no problems. White widow seems to smell even without flowering so an air cleaner and an odor absorber are necessary.

Added 5 ml big bloom, 5 ml bio thrive, 2 drops of superthrive, 0.5 ml calmag to 16 oz of RO water.

Read 1200 PPM going in, run off 1500 PPM. Ph 6.2 going in, 5.4 run-off. Only took about 13 oz of water before run-off.

5 ml Big bloom, 7.5 ml bio thrive, 2 drops super thrive, 0.75 ml cal mag.
PPM in 1500, out (run-off) 1800 (a little high but it seems like it's able to handle it so far)
pH in 6.5, out 6.0. Used all 16 oz as it was pretty dry now after 5 days.

Switched to full organics so I replaced tiger bloom with biothrive bloom and using molasses, and silica blast to raise ph.

Day 30 - flush, and feed:
0.5 calmag
2ml molasses
1/4 strength biothrive bloom ~1 ml
4ml silica blast (to raise ph)
6.7 in
780 in


5.9 out
420 out


Day 35
2 ml biothrive bloom
0.5 calmag
4 ml molasses
2 drops superthrive
5 ml big bloom
6ml silica blast to raise ph


6.3 in
1000 in


5.7 out
1200 out

Seems like it gets dry at 2-3 days now because of the light warrior so I water it with RO, and calmag in between feedings.

Day 40
2.5 ml biothrive bloom
0.25 calmag
some molasses
5 ml big bloom
8ml silica blast to raise ph


6.4 in
1400 in


6.3 out
1800 out

Need Help! Comments please.


Day 53. Discovered the big problem of using light warrior for the grow after I got back from my week+ vacation. The plant is dry and it seems like it's dead but I'm not sure. I watered/fed it 2 days ago when I got back but it doesn't seem to be making a comeback.Does it look dead? Any chance it will stay alive? Should I harvest it and hope to get at least a little out of it or let it go longer? Attachment 283226

Anyone have any tips on what I should do at this point?

Ok, the plant dried and died. I think overall I was doing the right thing but if you plan on leaving it for an extended period of time, either use some self-watering mechanism and maybe try happy frog from the beginning. I have no seeds left so I'm going to quit for now. Hopefully it won't kill the seedling as ocean forest does. Good luck to you, it was a fun experiment for me.