Z Auto by Fast Buds (Budget Grow!)

Kaya666 I'm using a combo of lighting options: the first is a 42w (6500k) CFL bulb in my closet & the 2nd is a North-facing window with supplemental 9w LED bulb. Gonna make the most of the remaining summer sunlight until it gets too cold, then I'll switch to just CFLs. Also have two 2700k CFLs on a splitter for flowering. Why CFL's? Because that's what I already had. Plus, this is a stealth grow and I don't have anywhere to hang those giant LED boards, nor do I wanna bother learning HOW to hang them. And they're like upwards of eighty bucks. Yes they're superior but again, this is a budget / stealth grow, not a Cannabis Cup entry. I'll probably do a 22 hour lights on schedule during veg and switch to 20-hour during flower. I need this girl to HURRY TF UP and finish haha. Planning to transplant to a much bigger pot full of fresh soil around Week 4-5. Hopefully that helps prevent the godawful yellowing I always get around Week 6. Using the much-maligned Miracle Gro (Moisture Control) brand after seeing others have success with it. Counting everything to be used in this grow, the entire op shouldn't exceed ninety bucks and the lights/pH strips/soil/pots were already on hand & used on other grows.

Kaya666 Didn't realize I flubbed up my weeks. I put germination as a whole week instead of a couple days... d'oh. So I'm actually entering Week 2 now! I added some very ghetto aluminum foil reflectors and gathered up all my grow gear so I can transplant her easily next week. Even bought a banana so I can try the banana peel tea during flowering again. (Gonna freeze the peel & use it when it's time, but much more cautiously and with ample pH testing to prevent lockout!). I'm also keeping a strong fan on her most of the day to boost stem strength. 💪🏼 She seems to love the Miracle Gro soil at this point. This is going as well as the fancy Black Gold organic soil grows I did in the past, oddly. Just planning to keep it simple this week to prep her for transplant early next week. So I know I said I wasn't gonna try anything new but I read about taking the cover off LED bulbs and just had to try it. Said it'd make them brighter. Wasn't easy and I had to cut it into a million pieces, but I finally got it. The light still works fine--now to see whether the plant likes it. Be very careful not to touch an uncovered LED circuit board if you attempt this, as it could electrocute you.

Kaya666 Just transplanted into her new home: a 5-gallon fabric pot with more of the same soil. I made sure to water thoroughly the day before and then watered the new medium somewhat after moving her, then placed in the shower immediately afterward. (Not directly in the water--just so she can get the warmth & humidity of being in a closed shower). She was starting to act a bit temperamental in the cup, with leaves "praying" to the light at times and then turning downward/drooping on the ends 5 minutes later. Planning to avoid bright direct light for the rest of the day to reduce stress, then return to her regular 22 hour light schedule the rest of the week. I gave her plenty of humidity and then moved to my bedroom where I turned on the ceiling fan for about an hour to dry. (I accidentally plugged the tub and ended up with about an inch of standing water for a minute--woops!). Then placed her in the North-facing window at 3 p.m. for some very indirect sunlight. I took a 20-minute bath and when I got out she was much taller on the side that was farther from the window lol. Guess she missed the light! She's definitely loving her new home the morning after transplant. Never drooped, yellowed or looked the slightest bit bothered by the transplant which is the first time I've had a plant NOT show signs of stress. I see a new set of leaves today and she's happily reaching up toward the light. I'll be gone part of today so lights will be off, but when I return it'll be back to 22 hours on again. Found my old stash of Humic Acid which I plan to use in Week 5 to hopefully help offset nutrient deficiencies in flowering--potassium in particular. Not only is Humic Acid a great source of K, it does a whole range of other cool stuff like pH buffering, boosting root development & improving overall nutrient uptake. For the rest of veg though, I plan to let her coast on the nutes in this big pot of fresh Miracle Gro soil.

Kaya666 Last week of actual veg! I plan to stick to the same old lighting and watering schedule this week but am gonna experiment with a foliar feed of the potassium humates to see how she likes it. I figure it's better to test things like that now than in flowering. She's beginning to develop something between the nodes, though it's still too early to tell for sure if she's a girl. (It was a feminized seed so I certainly HOPE so!) This plant has given me absolutely zero problems despite being in the most maligned soil under a weak-ass CFL bulb AND transplanted, which is supposed to be a no-no for autos. It def looks unmistakably like pot now lol so I've gotta figure out where to hide it should the landlord come in. (Legal state, illegal building). Hoping this Ona Pro Gel will be sufficient to offset the stench once she starts reeking. 😁 So my 1st attempt with the humates was a fail. I for some reason thought the pH was too high so I sprayed some white vinegar into the mix to bring it down, which it did. But then I read that you're NOT supposed to mix the two, plus I'd possibly made the solution way too strong by using online "recipes" vs. what the package said: 1 tsp per gallon water. YIKES. I'd used 0.7 grams in 2 liters the 1st time. 🤦🏻‍ Thankfully I only sprayed that mix on the two bottom leaves before realizing what I'd done, so I sopped it up, poured out the rest and made a more dilute mixture without the vinegar this time. I used my little 8 Fl. oz spray bottle to mist the plant from a healthy distance before her brief dark period, which is where she's at now. Did a 2nd foliar feed the following day and she's looking just dandy! (Aside from the twisty taco leaves at the top lol).