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** Ch@ppers Grow Diary - Autoflowering AK47 **

C

Ch@ppers

I haven't done a grow diary for years, can't remember when or even what my last one was but it was certainly back on Planetganja or it may have even been so long ago as to have been on Overgrow!

I don't tend to do them because I can be quite lazy and unmotivated but I realised recently that I don't take enough notes/observations when I grow and figured that a grow diary here would serve as both a way for me to keep track of planting dates, sprouting dates, when flowering starts and would be useful in so many other ways that it's time to pull my thumb out of my ass and start doing things properly.

So thank you in advance for stopping by and having a looksee, I hope that any who keep track of my grow diary find it entertaining and will perhaps pick up a trick or tip along the way.

So here we go, I've just planted 20 of these NEW Auto AK47 seeds from LowLife. From the brief chat I had with them, they're not new as in completely redone from scratch but they've been tweaked a bit to add some extra vigour/size and general health.

That's what many people don't seem to understand I've noticed, people talk about "inbred" strains like they are somehow more desireable than f1 hybrids yet when I started growing I was buying books by Ed Rosenthal etc and they ALWAYS said that you want to be growing f1 hybrids because of something called "hybrid vigour"

f1 hybrids show good uniformity and are generally more vigourous, potent and perform better all round than "inbred" strains. Over the years I've grown many f1 hybrids and I have to agree.

It works like that in the animal kingdom also, pure bred dogs for example suffer from all types of genetic diseases and problems. The healthiest dogs are not pure breeds, the same goes for our favourite plant!

Back on topic, these new Auto AK47 are not f1 hybrids yet the injection of fresh genes, I'm told, will be quite obvious to me after growing the standard inbred line of Auto AK47 for so long.

So here's the pics...20 peat pellets each with a single seed.

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If you don't already use these peat pellets, I strongly recommend you get yourself some and give them a go, I love them! I recycle a lot of my compost and if I was to start directly in big pots, I'd have to microwave/sterilise the old compost first to kill any bugs (fungus gnat larvae eat seeds before they sprout) which is a pain in the ass and very time consuming. These peat pellets are quick and easy and work a treat!

I'll start counting the days as soon as they sprout and I'll pot them up into 5l pots round about day 2 or 3 (just before the taproot starts to come through the mesh)

I'll be growing them under a mixture of 600w HPS and the great halide in the sky. Light regime will be 18/6 and they'll spend most of their lives under the HPS but will be brought into the conservatory to bask in the sun during nice sunny days (that also gives me a chance to give them the once over and check for mites and other nasties as well as take a few pics)

So please feel free to hop on board and I hope something interesting comes of this little grow diary.

Ch@ppers
 

dkmonk

Member
Awesome been waiting for a diary from you, so are these new AK's is what is being sold right now, or what will be offered to the public shortly?

Why only 18/6 light regime if it is auto?

Good luck
 
C

Ch@ppers

I think they'll be available once the old stock is depleted.

18/6 for an auto is fine...I've found that they grow better with a dark period (some people don't give them any darkness) and I've seen no difference between 20/4 and 18/6 so I may as well save on the electricity a bit.

I keep saying that really, autos should not be grown indoors as the main crop. There's no point. You may as well grow standard strains on 12/12 from seed, you'll get the same yield and you'll use much less electricity. Autos should be grown under natural (free) light all through the growing season and should only ever be grown indoors to finish them off (if finishing late in the season) or when there is poor weather or just as a way to fill gaps in a growroom.

I only grow autos indoors because I'm constantly developing new ones. If I wasn't playing with autos all the time, I'd only grow them during the summer months. I grow and breed with autos using a more normal light regime, I don't believe there is any point in giving them special treatment...if they don't perform well under normal conditions, I don't continue with them.

For example, I've got some autos flowering at the moment under natural light. They are almost on natural 12/12 and are doing brilliantly. If they are doing well now under natural 12/12, why give them any more?

Ch@ppers
 

esbe

hybridsfromhell
Mentor
Veteran
checking in, you always know how to put a nice show m8!

heres my lowlife aks
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C

Ch@ppers

Well Goddamn! I'm A Daddy!

Well Goddamn! I'm A Daddy!

This morning I went and checked up on the peat pellets and found nothing, then at lunchtime I found this...

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And then on closer inspection...

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There's still a few yet to show their faces so I think tomorrow will be the official day one.

Ch@ppers
 
C

Ch@ppers

Official Day 1...

Official Day 1...

So here we go, 15th September 2009 - Day One.

All 20 have sprouted (that's 100% germination for you statistic junkies) as you can see, there are still 3 that are not yet standing tall but they'll be upright before lunchtime I expect.

All look nice and healthy so far, they all have normal cotyledons with no deformities.

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Because today is a particularily cloudy and cool mid-September day, I shall place these newly sprouted Auto AK47 into my (empty) male flowering chamber under an 85w spiral compact fluorescent (apparently equal to 450w of incandescent, it's a really good CF bulb!)

I'm really looking forward to seeing how these new ones perform!

Ch@ppers
 
C

cheesey

looking tip top mate . im waiting for some of the aks too turn up in the post . looking forward to doing the ak47 again .
 

blackone

Active member
Veteran
I'll subscribe to this one:)
I wonder if the new ones are Auto AK47 backcrossed to Ak and then stabilized again.
If that's what they're doing then I'm sure it's not a bad idea - especially if they have used some sativa dom AK stock to ensure the flowertime is long enough for a good stretch.
 
C

Ch@ppers

Day 2

Day 2

That could well be the idea, I've thought about and spoken with LowLife before about using Auto AK47 as the autoflowering base in a new cross with standard AK47.

I know it works because I have done the exact same thing with the Auto Hindu Kush which I crossed into a standard flowering Kush. I'm pretty happy with the results, I can't say they are better than the original Auto Hindu Kush as the original was/is very good! But there is a noticeable difference due to me probably using a different brand of Kush in my cross.

Back to the new Auto AK47, all 20 seedlings are looking lovely and healthy and I'm happy to confirm not one single deformity in either the cotyledons or the first set of true leaves. They're all perfect!

I've noticed some already have a taproot showing through the bottom of the peat pellet so I think I'll be potting up later today into their final 5l pots. I would like something a bit bigger (maybe 7l and taller) but 5l pots have served me well many times in the past so no point in changing what works.

I've also had a revision of my lighting schedule...

I've been thinking about all my previous grows and I'm confident that all my best auto plants have been grown under natural light in the conservatory. I made a quick check online and found that the longest day in the UK consists of 16hrs and 45mins of daylight.

Now I've said many times that I don't see the point in growing autos indoors unless you are doing a seedrun, and experiment (or grow diary) or areusing them to fill up unused gaps in a flowering room. If you grow indoors, you may as well use 12/12 strains instead.

Because of this, I'm going to simulate mid-summer for this grow. 24/0, 20/4 are (in my opinion) a waste of electricity. 18/6 (the vegging standard) is also, in my opinion, unsuitable for this grow diary as even that light regime is 2 hours longer than mid-summer where I am.

So to emulate mid-summer as closely as possible, I'm going to use a light regime of 16/8 for the first 30-40 days and then I'll switch to 17/7 for the second half.

If these new Auto AK47 perform well under that light regime then I see no reason why they won't perform the same outdoors in the UK and THAT is my main way of growing autos. It's also the area that I believe autos are at their most useful.

What I mean by that is, autos are not just for getting early harvests, they enable me to grow indoor quality marijuana (AK47, Blueberry, Haze etc) outdoors, in a country where I'd never be able to grow them normally.

I'm really getting excited now, usually you hear about people growing
autos under 24/0 or 20/4 but that seems pointless to me and I want to prove to everyone that such light regimes are not necessary.

Ch@ppers
 

happyherb

no wuckin furries!
Veteran
"I'm really getting excited now, usually you hear about people growing
autos under 24/0 or 20/4 but that seems pointless to me and I want to prove to everyone that such light regimes are not necessary."


would be interested too know too..
i know a fan of autos that gets 24/0 outdoor grows(uses it for vegging then plants go indoors for there 12/12) and wants one that grows / finishes in those 24/0 outdoor light conditions.HH. =]-!
 
C

Ch@ppers

Oh right so he's in Alaska, Greenland or somewhere right?

When I've used 24/0 in the past I've had great results but I do feel they perform better with at least a couple of hours of darkness.

I'm not sure I'm prepared to experiment with 24/0 anymore, it's too expensive (electricity wise) and I also don't like having the HPS on during the night (flying porkers could spot it)

I could try a 24/0 compact fluorescent grow perhaps! That's less risky.

Ch@ppers
 

Rampant

Member
Hi Ch@ppers, i really enjoyed the auto thread on PG so its great to see you start one here. Really looking forward to this, hope you dont mind me tagging along! :)
 

wotamess

Active member
keep 'em coming, mr. C!

got a MAD jungle of mixed auto's in the loft under the velux atm... got your 'mixed auto', auto mtf, and auto biddy vs zeds auto indica and 'mixed auto' batch from the zed stable, which have all been pollinated by the biggest baddest auto mtf male! :D...
EDIT: all the zed stuff is WAY pre the virus he got in his garden, and is actually from minime doing seed runs of zeds work...
they're all in a 45l tub with layered soil... bottom layer is 5l pure perlite, second layer is 15l wilko general purpose, 5l perlite and a palm full of bloood fish and bone and the top layer is 15l wilko soil and 5l perlite. i planned it out so could germ directly into the tub in the unamended soil and the seedlings could strengthen before getting to the ammended layer. it's worked a treat...

i got about 95% germ rate from 45 beans, and am down to 30 odd plants after getting the boys out...

i'll get soome pics up on the OD thread later...

keep up the good work, brother man :yes:

-wam-
 
C

Ch@ppers

Day 4

Day 4

Hello Rampant! Long time no see buddy!

WAM, sounds good mate, tons of hybrid vigour! Good to hear you've used the Auto MTF male, some of the MTF have been BADASS!

Today is day 4 of the grow diary, I potted all 20 seedlings up yesterday and placed them under a 600w HPS under a 16/8 light regime. Nothing much to report apart from a mention of the taproots which grow very very quickly.

Ch@ppers
 

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