[Anne_Fetamine]

Gonna be growing 1 or 2 of these discreet shorties this Spring.
I've wanted to try these fast little plants FOREVER & finally got 3 seeds. I'm extremely stoked. Gonna be growing outdoors in 3-gallon smartpots with plain soil w/ no added nutrients. (Cheap stuff from Wal-Mart or similar).

We have a large farm with trees to give me privacy so that shouldn't be an issue, but I'm still thinking of ways to be stealthy. There's a faucet out back where I plan to leave my watering can & a barn for me to store the plants during bad weather. I plan to leave them sitting among the tall grass during the daytime to soak up the sun so they won't be in full view but can still catch some rays. Planning to water them about 3x per week once they're out of sprout stage.

How long from sprout to harvest do these badboys usually take? I've heard everything from 40 to 120 days, which is a big difference. I plan to give mine full sun as much as possible, but some days I probably can't since it storms a lot here & I'll need to keep them hidden at times. I'll be planting them in early May.

I'm keeping this as utterly simple & cheap as possible--no fertilizers or other fancy stuff. Any bug repellent will be made out of things I've got in the kitchen. I live in a humid climate with every pest & critter imaginable so it's not fun going outside in the summer. Wasps, spiders, fire ants, mosquitoes & everything else imaginable comes out when it's hot. I don't really care about yields or anything like that. I'll just be excited if it makes it through its entire life cycle to harvest with a couple buds intact. It will be my first successful grow.

If anyone's grown these Lowryder #2's & has any tips or tricks I'd love to hear them! I'm still months away & already obsessing

[aridbud]

Lowryder...generally 68- 75 days (outdoors), seedling to harvest if in full sunshine and good soil. Don't skimp on cheap soil or nutrients. Mix in quality soil amendments (earthworm castings, kelp) in 3 gallon. Supplement 1/2 strength if needed water based nutes or make a compost tea, diluted every 2-3 waterings once you see them sexed (17-25 days). Only water the last 10 days or so before chopping.

Good luck!

[ronbo51]

I grew autos exclusively for a few years and came away with some conclusions.

Autos do not have time to recover from anything that interrupts the lifecycle. Transplanting can be done but is a risk. I would start in solo cups under t5. As soon as the roots hit the outside of the cups they go into 2 gallon pots. If the rootball is not handled gently you risk shock, but it can be done with care. Optimum conditions need to be maintained throughout the grow.

Another thing I found out is that small autos do poorly out in the bush. I ended up growing mine in walmart type shopping bags with handles (same material as smart pots) so I could keep them close to the house where I could baby them. Guerrilla type auto grows do poorly, at least short autos. The buds will be close to the ground and will likely mold. Insects, leaf spot,poor growing conditions will cause extremely poor yields. In my opinion small autos do best on a deck or patio in full sun, isolated from the wild. Good luck

[pumpkinpie eyes]

therz better autos than lowryder. agree with other posters, tho maximum environ can offset mold, sm budz. watch out for munchin critters- build a chicken wire dome.

[aridbud]

Originally Posted by pumpkinpie eyes

therz better autos than lowryder. agree with other posters, tho maximum environ can offset mold, sm budz. watch out for munchin critters- build a chicken wire dome.

Very true. Autos have progressed a lot since LowRyders made the scene years ago.

[rolandomota]

Try some auto Malawi by ace seeds. 3 seeds means you can get three males or no plants at all i suggest you a buy at least another three seeds. Auto Malawi is feminized seed it takes 3 months or 4 from seed to harvest its potentially high yielding and if you get a lowryder male you make your own autoflower seeds.
Their was some lowryder 2 seeds for cheap i think you can still buy them here at seedbay but their not listed they were 16$ for 16 seeds purple ryder also. Also look for Afterthought autos on seedbay they have very affordable interesting autos that are male and female most only do fem autos now a days

You want to buy some plant food at wal mart also i keep things simple nothing fancy miracle grow plant food will work just fine all purpose, tomato, or flower its all good. Just dont overfeed watch for leafs clawing. Use a gallon of water and add one small scoop to it then up the dosage as the plants get older its so easy some people will say your messing up but the plants will love you they dont care thats its not "organic" or fancy they will grow just fine. You wont need more than 4 small scoops of nutrients in a gallon 2 or 3 is probably the max before you start overfeeding and burning the foliage.

If you dont want to fertilize then transplanting in fresh soil when in flower stage will help

[aridbud]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
What he says. Good advice, rolando- about nutrients. In earlier years, bought cheap soil and wasn't conducive to the results of better soil. Finally DIY, but for small growers, buying premade or good soil (like comfy shoes)...well worth it.

Our seedstock expired their listing on Sbay....other sites carry.

Having Anne plan her grow- best spot, best getting soil and nutes ready....shall be a success, if not over doing (like many experience with autos)....that's the key to an awesome grow experience!

[Anne_Fetamine]

Sweet! Sounds like good advice. Much appreciated. I also have some poppies & Cherry Wine hemp (14% CBD) I plan to plant around the same time, so if the Lowryders are duds I'll still have other things to fall back on.

Right now my biggest conundrum is finding an affordable but quality potting soil and knowing how much of it is needed for a 3-gallon pot. (Or two 3 gallon pots). Most soil bags measure their contents in increments other than gallons & I suck at math...BAD.

All I really know for sure is that I don't want a slow-release fertilizer soil like Miracle Grow and that I'm not transplanting my plants at all. I tried learning about the components of good soil but it's all very confusing to me. I'd rather just buy something that's ready to use if possible, but if it'd be cheaper to make my own I'd go for that. My shopping options are Wal-Mart & eBay.

[aridbud]

https://thegrownetwork.com/15-simple...e-fertilizers/

https://themicrogardener.com/easy-di...ng-mix-recipe/

[Anne_Fetamine]

^^^ Thanks, Aridbud! Problem solved