A Tale of Two Autos - Blueberry Auto Indoor Grow

Grow from Home Grow Journals
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Hello Grower’s Network!

This is going to be my first (of hopefully many) grow journal and it should be quite an interesting journey!

Why am I starting this now? Well I just started growing again after a 15-year break. Why 15 years? Life! It does sometimes get in the way, but I am happy to be back. I recently completed my first run, a mixture of photoperiod clones and autoflower seeds. With a yield of 24 oz from 10 plants, I was happy with both the quantity and quality!

I don’t know about you, but when I start a project or new journey, I like to research heavily before I begin. This is especially true for my new hobby. I spent hours researching soils, nutrients, lighting and temperature techniques and recommendations, and integrated as much as I could in my first grow back. Of all of the resources I found, it was the hobbyist grow journals that were the most helpful. Thus, it seemed only fitting that I start detailing my own grows, with the hopes to start some enlightening conversations, absorb knowledge from this well-established community, and hopefully help a new hobbyist grower find their stride growing one of nature’s greatest gifts.

A Tale of Two Autos

I recently planted two Blueberry Auto seeds from RQS (Royal Queen Seeds). They were similar in size during germination, and were planted in the same medium at the same time. After their first two weeks of growth, they are starting to show almost a 50% difference in size.

This presents me with a bit of an experimental opportunity, a self-assigned challenge that would give me a chance to try out some low-stress training (LST) that I played around with in my previous run.

Here is my challenge: Can I use various LST techniques to bring the smaller of the two autos to the same yield size as the larger?

Over the course of the grow, I will update this journal once a week with plant status, pictures, and general plans for the following week, with the latter being where I would love to foster some conversation! I would love to benefit from the wisdom and experience of this space! Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts on what you think you would do in my situation, and I will be sure to consider all suggestions throughout the grow!

Here are some initial specifications for seeds, soil, nutrients, and grow environment:

Seeds: Royal Blueberry Auto from Royal Queen Seeds

Soil: Paonia Soil Co.: The Bomb 50/50 Mix

Nutrients: Ventana Plant Science (VPS) + FlavUh + Stash Blend

Note on nutrients: The combination of these three nutrients yielded fantastic results for my first run. The VPS feeding chart easily walked me through each week of nutrients and adding Stash blend helped me with some easily noticed deficiencies during the first few weeks of flowering. Consistent feeding using these nutrients is absolutely recommended for plant health, yield, and flavor!

Grow Environment:

Light: AC Infinity IONBOARD S44 – LED Grow Light Board 400W

Tent: AC Infinity CLOUDLAB 642, Advance Grow Tent 4 x 2

Humidifier: AC infinity CLOUDFORGE T3

Ventilation and Circulation: AC Infinity CLOUDLINE T-Series Duct Fan 4 Inch, AC Infinity Duct Carbon Filter, Australian Charcoal, 4-Inch, AC Infinity CLOUDRAY A6, Gen 2 Grow Tent Clip Fan 6”

Pots: AC Infinity Heavy Duty Reusable Fabric Pots 3 Gallon

Blueberry Auto #1: The Control

This little lady will be untouched throughout her growing process. There will be no training, defoliation (outside of normal pruning dead/dying leaves). It will get the normal course of VPS and Stash Blend.

Blueberry Auto #2: The Challenge

#2 will undergo everything I can in terms of LST, defoliation, and any other techniques you all might recommend throughout the process. It will get the normal course of VPS and Stash Blend.

Week 2

Week 3

BB Auto #1 - Control

BB Auto #2 - LST

Removed some fan leaves and added 1 stake down under top 4 nodes.

My questions to the group for this week are:

  1. Have you ever seen two seeds grow so different from the onset of their seedling stage? If so, what do you think could be the cause? If you have had this experience before, what did you do/
  2. What LST techniques have you used in the past to try and increase yield in autoflowers? Any cool ideas could influence how Blueberry Auto #2 performs!

I look forward to sharing this journey with the Grower’s Network, and please share your ideas… not only for my benefit, but for the benefit of any new hobbyist looking to start their own journey!

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Hi @kevinstrombel , welcome to GN and what a wonderful introduction. You have a beautiful setup and great lineup of genetics and seem to be in the thick of things when it comes to growing.

Dont stress about the autos being different, its just a refelction of different phenotypes, however saying that the smaller of the two is looking stressed even though it looked very similar in size after transplanting.

LSTing is an essential skill that is developed over time with auto’s, so really after 15 years of being dormant and probably your first auto experience, dont stress too much, you about to learn alot, just like autos have come along way since first being introduced in the late 90s’.

Below are some recent journals and auto grows that may give you some insight to LSTing your plants.

Going to invite a couple of our moderators to your grow, @kevinstrombel is helping us grow GN and based in Colorado working for growershouse.com, lets welcome him aboard:

@PreyBird1 @Slym3r @happilyretired @nacho151

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Welcome to the forum!

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Yes, welcome. Unfortunately I have never had much luck with auto flowers. So I don’t know how much help I can be in this instance. I will follow along and help where I can.

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Welcome back! And welcome to the forum. I also like you stopped growing for a number of years. I got back into growing because my “guy” went to amsterdamn on vacation for 3 weeks and forgot to tell me! Man i was high and dry lol. well i wasnt high until i crossed state lines and brought back some weed. Thats when i vowed id never be without weed ever again. And i started growing again. And i kept telling my wife when i get a new place im growing again. She thought i was kidding around…nope. and once the plants started to smell at the new spot i had to move them indoors. Because Im in a no grow state, so its already pretty ballsy to even grow in this state to begin with let alone get on cannabis forums and talk about it.
But i love to grow cannabis and all kinds of plants.
I always try and help others and learn from them aswell. Thats what made me stay here for so many years. People here become just like family and i have met a few GN folks in person. @bullfrog420 is one of those special people. I flew up to Washington to meet that awesome man and his wife. Hell he came down from Tennessee to hang out with us/me. Growers network is a Great place to learn and help others learn. Its good for your “weed karma” to help other growers out.

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11/12

Both plants are on Week Three of Ventana Plant Science (VPS) + FlavUh + Stash Blend (1 tsp/gallon) with an average PH of 6.4. Each plant receives 1 L of water every two days.

Here is our weekly side by side comparison:

BB Auto #1 (Control)

Whew, she is looking healthy! Robust, shades of emerald and forest green, and even starting to flower a bit! At this point, I can really see why some types of LST, defoliation, and other manipulation of the plants could stagger otherwise healthy growth. I have quite the uphill to climb with BB Auto #2 and my self-imposed challenge. As a reminder, I will not be doing any training or defoliation (outside of typical pruning of dead or dying leaves) for my control.

BB Auto #2 - LST

She is looking quite different than Auto #1, but that’s the point! BB Auto #2 was half the size of our control on the onset of this experiment, and my goal is to use all of my training experience (which is still growing by the day) to see if I can match, or even exceed yield!

For this week of training, I started some defoliation and worked to stake down each individual limb in a specific direction to eventually maximize light access and space.

Here we can see the plant on November 8:

It did some wonderful growing, especially the main stem! One thing I learned at this stage which may benefit folks who plan on doing this type of training in the future… it might be wise to plant the seed a few inches off-center away from the direction that you expect to train your main step. As you can see in my 11/12 update, the main stem has already reached the pot’s edge, which may make it difficult to train moving forward.

Here is November 12:

As you can see, things are going well with training. I am trying to fill as much space as possible with purposeful training so that that plant will get as much light access as possible. I am removing any leaves that may cover nodes as well as stick too far down in the dirt. The main stem has already reached the edge of my pot, so I will start to work in some bamboo over the next week.

All in all, things are looking great! I find plant training very relaxing and exciting. How do you all feel about it? Do you have any tips and tricks that you might use that I should try and implement throughout this challenge?

I look forward to next Tuesday’s update!

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Thank you for the resources and the warm welcome, Chris! I will be sure to review some of these previous posts to benefit from the wisdom of this forum and I look forward to working with you all!

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Thank you!

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Both plants are on Week Five of Ventana Plant Science (VPS) + FlavUh + Stash Blend (1 tsp/gallon) with an average PH of 6.4. Each plant receives 1 L of water every two days.

If you have never used Ventana Plant Science, I highly recommend it for beginners and veterans alike. The system is easy to use and produces some strong and beautiful flowers. Their complete nutrient kit, as well as any Ventata Plant Science product, can be found at GrowersHouse, and be sure to use the code VPS25GN for 25% off ANY VPS products!

If you have any questions about VPS, don’t hesitate to reply on this thread!

Two weeks have passed since my last post (the dreaded day-care plague!) and my two Blueberry Auto plants are both looking healthy, but also couldt not be more different!

Blueberry Auto #1 (control) looks like a nice autoflower. White hairs have started poking out and our leaves are dark green and healthy. No real smell as of yet, but it is growing like a beautiful, untouched plant!

Here is a top-down from 11/20:

And a vertical from 11/26:

Blueberry Auto #2 is also looking great! Over the last two weeks, I have had 1 major defoliation, removing as many large green leaves as possible. This allowed full node exposure to light and also cleared out some room towards the base of the plant for easier watering. I also continue to train with plastic-covered gardening wire, hoping to achieve an individual SOG approach (Sea of Green).

Here is a top down from 11/20:

And another from 11/26 (with a bit of BB Auto 1 for reference):

Training is going very well, as there are 8 - 10 nodes with FULL light exposure. Additionally, there are several smaller nodes in the process of growing towards the center of the plant, one of the benefits of LST.

However, there is a very discernible difference in the current level of flower growth and budding. Blueberry Auto 1 has some solid flowering, especially for week 5 of a possible 10 to 12 week cycle. Blueberry Auto 2 is behind in flowering, no doubt due to the shock of LST. This is one of the side-effects of LST, and it is super interesting to see it side by side with an untouched plant:

The beauty of this process is that both plants are looking good for what they are! It is going to be very interesting to see what next week holds as the plants continue to grow their own way.

Stay tuned!

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Both plants are on Week Six of Ventana Plant Science (VPS) + FlavUh + Stash Blend (1 tsp/gallon) with an average PH of 6.4. Each plant receives 2 L of water every three days at this point (up 1 L since last week).

If you have never used Ventana Plant Science, I highly recommend it for beginners and veterans alike. The system is easy to use and produces some strong and beautiful flowers. Their complete nutrient kit, as well as any Ventata Plant Science product, can be found at GrowersHouse. Be sure to use the code VPS25GN for 25% off ANY VPS products!

If you have any questions about VPS, don’t hesitate to reply on this thread!

Another week gone, another great week of growth for both Blueberry Auto #1 (control) and Auto #2 (LST).

Blueberry Auto #1 is growing strong and is starting to produce some nice looking buds and frosty goodness. I trimmed off some of the dying leaves towards the base of the plant, but besides that, left the entire plant intact and unaltered.

Here is a top-down from 12/3:

And a close-up of the main cola development:

With strong bud development throughout the plant, Blueberry Auto #2 will have to greatly benefit from the LST to be the winner!

Here is a side by side:

Blueberry Auto #2 has undergone some major LST. It has started to bud out in several locations with several stems looking like they will produce some great nugs. This is definitely one of the benefits from LST.

I tied down most of the stems to a corresponding location on the AC Infinity 3-Gallon to maximize light exposure and ventilation:

BB Auto 2 Vertical 12 3
BB Auto 2 Vertical 12 31920×864 167 KB

It’s looking strong, properly spread out, and robust as it starts to bud:

I expect to see some major bud development on Blueberry Auto #2 over the next week, so be sure to stay tuned every Tuesday for my next update.

I am curious what you all think thus far, so don’t hesitate to reply with any thoughts or ideas on how to continue my grow!

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Both plants are on Week Seven of Ventana Plant Science (VPS) + FlavUh + Stash Blend (1 tsp/gallon) with an average PH of 6.4. Each plant receives 2 L of water every three days at this point.

If you have never used Ventana Plant Science, I highly recommend it for beginners and veterans alike. The system is easy to use and produces some strong and beautiful flowers. Their complete nutrient kit, as well as any Ventata Plant Science product, can be found at GrowersHouse Be sure to use the code VPS25GN for 25% off ANY VPS products!

If you have any questions about VPS, don’t hesitate to reply on this thread!

Week 7 has presented with some interesting differences between the two plants, and perhaps some alarming signs that need to be addressed in Auto #1 (Control)

Blueberry Auto 1 (Control) is showing some real signs of stress. There has been some canoeing as well as discoloration across the leaves. Additionally, the tips of the leaves are darkening/dying.

I have pondered the factors that have led to these signs of stress and I am going to list them here to see what you all think!

  1. Environment: I had to use my humidifier for a few days to dry a CBDV plant, thus my general humidity in this tent hovered around 30%. I know that is less than ideal for growth, especially at this stage, but I had to do what I had to do. So it could have been the lack of humidity for those 5 to 10 days. However, BB Auto 2, which is in the same sent, looks fantastic and shows no signs of stress.

It could also have been a temperature issue. My nighttime temps have dropped down as low as 52 degrees. I live in Colorado, so we are going through sub freezing external temps, and will continue to go through them until 2/25. However, the other BB auto shows no signs of stress in the same exact conditions.

I am looking into buying an AC Infinity Heater to address temperature concerns, and my humidifier is back in action!

  1. Feeding/Watering: Could this be nutrient burn? I have been feeding 2 L of water every 3 - 4 days (they are in 3 Gallon AC Infinity Cloth Pots). I usually go by feel of pot weight of before and after watering, and I made some overwatering mistakes last run, so I am very cognizant of watering. Again, the BB Auto #2 is getting the exact same water/nutrient loadout, and it is looking great.

Just to be sure, I did a 1 gallon flush of BB Auto 1 and drained excess water. I think this will help at least clear out the soil, if it is indeed over-nutrients. Sometimes I have to remind myself that Autoflowers don’t need as much, or any, nutrients at all.

Here is BB Auto #2 (LST):

There are some fantastic bud sights across all of the nodes created by the LST. A nice canopy is starting to form that spans the size of the pot. There are 4 - 5 stems that are growing to the same size as the main stem, and I can start to see how, if the buds fill out accordingly, it will compete with our BB Auto 1 control in terms of size and dry weight.

I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts on what is happening with my canoe/discoloration in BB Auto #1 (control).

It is so weird that it is looking so different in terms of health! Is it a phenotype issue (given BB Auto 1 was so much larger than #2 at the onset?) Should I separate watering/nutrient plans given the difference between the two?

I will be sure to keep everyone posted heading into next week with the environment and flush of BB Auto 1. I hope to hear from all of you!

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Hi @kevinstrombel

Great updates, there could be a couple other problems, but I think one the main issues is over fertilization. The reason I say that is you have yellowing and brown leaf tips as well as the curling. Check your runoff pH too, can help you going forward with any other problems.

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I think you are 100% right, Chris!

I am going to do another full flush on BB Auto 1 (Control), and I trimmed a few larger dying leaves over the last few days.

It is looking better, but still needs a more flushing out.

It might even be close to the final 2 week flush! More to come in my update tomorrow!

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Blueberry Auto #1 has been fully flushed with 1 gallon PH balanced water twice over the last week. PH test right at 6.3, so we are looking good there.

Blueberry Auto #2 is on Week Eight of Ventana Plant Science (VPS) + FlavUh + Stash Blend (1/2 tsp/gallon) with an average PH of 6.4. Each plant receives 2 L of water every three days. I have halved the amount of nutrients in general due to some possible over-fertilization concerns with Blueberry Auto #1.

If you have never used Ventana Plant Science, I highly recommend it for beginners and veterans alike. The system is easy to use and produces some strong and beautiful flowers. Their complete nutrient kit, as well as any Ventata Plant Science product, can be found at GrowersHouse Be sure to use the code VPS25GN for 25% off ANY VPS products!

WOW, these two plants COULD NOT look more different!

BB Auto #1, which as a reminder was our control plant that had no LST or defoliation, is here on the left. While there were some issues with overfertilization (I have since adjusted across the board with my autos), it has a beautiful, fruity fragrance and is looking nice and frosty.

I am going to give it another 2 weeks, maybe less, and start the flushing process. We are at about 50% hair darkening, and it should be a decent yield given it’s over-fertilization concerns.

Blueberry Auto #2 is looking fantastic! The LST and defoliation strategies have allowed several bud sights to develop, and it is looking like we will have 3 or 4 different steps reach a very nice cola size.

The buds are JUST starting to form, with a bit of frost kicking in.

This plant easily has another 3 weeks to go, with maybe an additional week for flushing. If I HAD to guess at this point, I think Blueberry Auto #2 will surpass our control in quantity.

This is a really fun experiment! It is showing me that there are times that different phenotypes can really come into play with feeding schedules as well as the potential of LST.

What do you all think? How has your experience with LST gone with previous grows?

More to come next week!

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12/31

It’s been awhile since our last update due to the holidays and potty training my 2.5 year old. Our two blueberry autos have gone through significant changes over that time, and BB Auto #1 (Control) has been harvested!

Blueberry Auto #2 is on Week Eight of Ventana Plant Science (VPS) + FlavUh + Stash Blend (1/2 tsp/gallon) with an average PH of 6.4. The nutrients are being delivered once a week at ¼ strength but I will be shifting to flushing over the next few days. Each plant receives 2 L of water every three days. I have halved the amount of nutrients in general due to some possible over-fertilization concerns with Blueberry Auto #1.

If you remember from my previous entries, BB Auto #1 (control) was dealing with some significant stress, most likely caused by over-nutrient feeding. I did two full flushes over the past two weeks, and the troubled plant came back to life!

I feel like I pulled it a bit too early, but it was showing me some signs of finishing, including a few bananas showing up, but it was smelling ripe and I thought it was better safe than sorry.

BB Auto #1 was pulled on 12/27 at 71 days old. The root structure was lacking significantly, and I feel like it would have gone a bit longer if I didn’t make mistakes that lead to high stress. It’s fun to learn by doing, and BB Auto #1 was a great experience! It is drying right now and I will be sure to share pictures and weight of the final product.

Now, for the comparison. This was taken on 12/19:

BB Auto #2 is looking fantastic! The training has really produced several strong colas that are developing nicely. Here are some shots from 12/30. When comparing the two plants, it is really hard to imagine that BB Auto #2 was HALF the size of #1 in the early stages of life. At 71 days, BB Auto #2 is ripening nicely and starting to frost. There have been a few signs of stress, mainly canoeing, so I have reduce nutrients to ¼ strength and only delivered once a week.

I might want to do a full flush, but we will see!

If I had to predict, BB Auto #2 will be done by 90 days, but we will see. Given it’s size, it may very well benefit from a bit of a longer flowering window.

At this point, and at the risk of jinxing the final few weeks, LST has really shown it’’s benefits when comparing these two plants.

Stay tuned to my next post to see the dry weight of BB Auto #1 and the final stages of Auto #2!

PS: If you have never used Ventana Plant Science, I highly recommend it for beginners and veterans alike. The system is easy to use and produces some strong and beautiful flowers. Their complete nutrient kit, as well as any Ventata Plant Science product, can be found at GrowersHouse Be sure to use the code VPS25GN for 25% off ANY VPS products!

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Looking good!

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Thank you!! It’s been a fun little experiment. I love seeing how LST works!

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