Autos - How Much Will Reduced Light Hours Hurt Yield?

TorturedSoul

TorturedSoul

Well-Known Member
3 Member of the Month
September 2017
I was recently gifted some seeds by a wonderful forum member, and among them are some auto-flowering strains. I would like to grow one. However, I will be switching to a flowering light schedule (for phototropic strains) well before one could possibly finish; possibly within a month.

Has anyone ever experimented by growing several seeds of an auto-flowering variety in two different - but otherwise comparable - areas, one of which had the light hours cut back to 12/day, in order to determine how much this would hurt their yield?

I have a number of seeds, but the number per strain is severely limited (for the most part), so I'll only get one shot at most of them. In other words, I won't be able to "try again next time," lol.
 
I am soon to find out, too. My autos are HUGE for being only 25 days old! a fan leaf on the Auto Polar Express is 7 inches in diameter!

Gotta take the juveniles out of this "tent" and put them in another to give the 2 autos and the BBL mother plant room to spread out and up. But I'm not going to have both units running at 18/6. Going to go gaslight 12/12 with 1 hour on in the middle of the night to prevent flowering. The autos don't care. They flower according to an internal clock.

And I can alternate their schedules to keep the heat down.
 
I just finished growing my auto blueberry kushs under a 12/12 cycle with my photo strains currently in flower. I could of easily gotten an ounce and a half in 1.5gal pots. But i got half an ounce total it sucks. Id recommend not wasting their potential growth on them. Haha

Sent from Deez Nutz
 
TS, you already know that the general rule is 50 true watts per square foot. Less light results in smaller leaves, smaller and larfy buds. If you're trying to save on the electric bill, the gaslight schedule should keep your veggies happy till the switch.
 
AKGrower907 said:
I just finished growing my auto blueberry kushs under a 12/12 cycle with my photo strains currently in flower. I could of easily gotten an ounce and a half in 1.5gal pots. But i got half an ounce total it sucks. Id recommend not wasting their potential growth on them. Haha

Sent from Deez Nutz
Click to expand...

AKGrower, the bigger the pots, the bigger the roots system, the bigger and healthier the plants, the bigger yield. I no longer grow out my ladies in anything less than 3 gallons.
 
AKgramma said:
TS, you already know that the general rule is 50 true watts per square foot.
Click to expand...

Yes, that has always been my minimum (for flowering, with HID). I'm not sure that is germane to my question...

AKgramma said:
If you're trying to save on the electric bill, the gaslight schedule should keep your veggies happy till the switch.
Click to expand...

No. Well, yes, always, lol. But What I was trying to do was to figure out if it would be pointless to germinate/grow an auto-flowering plant at this time. I plan to switch my lighting to a flowering schedule soon; soon, in this case, being somewhat relative - but certainly less than twelve weeks from now. Ergo, if I started an auto-flowering variety at this point, it might have a month of 16 (or possibly a little more) hours/day of light... but then would have to finish under 12/12. I was concerned that such a change might reduce the plant's yield by a factor of four or so. Looks like I was right to be concerned, I guess.

Doggone a-f seeds are burning holes in my pocket ;) . I might end up plopping one of the "mix" anyway. If not for yield, at least for the novelty of the thing.

I meant to get my tent assembled and in place last night, but twas not to be (life intruded). I got lots of things accomplished today - but they were all for other people :rolleyes3 . I did have time (/make time) to put my Snow White and one of the blueberry x white widow seeds to soak, though. I forgot to sand / "knock the shiny off" the Snow White, which bugs me because I am uncertain whether or not it will germinate and figured it needed all the help it could get. Oh well. But IF both of these germinate/grow, that'll make four plants - and four strains. Two will be "non-feminized," so... as to whether I'll have four strains in a couple months remains to be seen.

And I'm going to take a few cuttings off of each of the two plants that I have already got growing, so that's a few more plants (even if one of those parents turn out to be male, I'll have three or four from the other one). Therefore, I do not really need to launch an auto-flowering plant.

But the urge is still there, lol.
 
AKgramma said:
AKGrower, the bigger the pots, the bigger the roots system, the bigger and healthier the plants, the bigger yield. I no longer grow out my ladies in anything less than 3 gallons.
Click to expand...
I know. But these were freebie seeds so i didnt expect much. But usually i get an ounce and a half in 1.5gal pots.

Sent from Deez Nutz
 
It will hurt heaps mate. I personally like to make sure i get 18 hrs light for the finish of my buds with autos. I love autos. But decreasing light at the end of autos cycle is not recommended. Ppl even run then 24/7 with success. I personally believe they need a good (little) sleep to stay healthy. I low stress my branches and honestly i can get 5 dry ounces of dank dry weed off an auto plant.
Ive just started a post. Check it out. Just at its start but it will produce big buds. Only using 1 400w hps wich is far from full lumens after its hard life of 4 grows.
 
I have a chese photo in 12/12 flower right now. For the hell of it When i switched the chese into flower i figured I may as well go ahead and plant 2 Autoflower girls. That way in the eight weeks that the Cheese plant is flowering the autoflowers will be about done too. Well I can tell you that 3 weeks into this with the autoflowers in 12/12 light from the start I see a very noticeable difference in their rate of growth compared to when I run a normal 18/6 schedule on my autoflowers. They look to me after 3 weeks like they are almost behind by a week compared to what they normally would have been. I will not get a great harvest from them like I normally do but it won't be terrible either. My last autoflowers yielded anywhere from Two and a Half 2 almost 6 ounces per plant depending on strain. This run with them in the flowering light cycle the whole time I don't expect but maybe 2 ounces from my better strains that normally produce 5 easy. I always grow my Autos in 7 gallon pots.

Sent from my VS980 4G using 420 Magazine Mobile App
 
Thanks for everyone that posted (and that will in the future).

fanleaf said:
Well I can tell you that 3 weeks into this with the autoflowers in 12/12 light from the start I see a very noticeable difference in their rate of growth compared to when I run a normal 18/6 schedule on my autoflowers. They look to me after 3 weeks like they are almost behind by a week compared to what they normally would have been.
Click to expand...

I can provide more light hours to start with, but IDK whether or not I will be able to do so after the fourth week or thereabouts. I decided to just go with the two plants I have, plus the two seeds that are in the "pre-germination" phase now. And then I hear a little voice (no, not those voices) in my head mumbling something about auto-flowering strains :rolleyes: ...

Today I found an old 12" diameter clay (terracotta?) pot. It looks atrocious, but doesn't seem to be cracked. It's covered in salt (inside and out), has old soil in it, and some stuff all over the place that... I'm hoping is just some kind of soil/dirt and not evidence that the seller once had it in use for "night soil." Guy wanted a dollar for it in a yard sale, and when I told him I only had 75¢, he let me have it (after first letting me walk away, as if he thought maybe I'd both change my mind and suddenly crap out another quarter - I almost kept walking when he yelled that I could have it for 75¢, lol). I have no idea what the capacity of this thing is. More than a gallon, certainly, and less than five is also a given, but...? Cleaning this thing will be a b!tch - my "new" 75¢ 12" clay pot is NOT going to turn out to be a bargain. Anyway, I bought it because I could use another mid-sized container. But then I realized that it might be stressful (and for the plants, too ;) ) trying to get a plant out of it for up-potting. So... maybe one of the mystery Crop King Autoflower Mix seeds belongs in it? I have read that it is not a good idea to transplant autos due to the stress involved, and the only non-stress way I see to get a plant (undisturbed) out of one of these kinds of pots involves a hammer, lol, so...

I asked my brother (who has been pestering me to grow meds longer than anyone else) if I grew a plant for a month, could I stick it in the one-plant-sized (lol) closet he has that currently has... a couple of old rolls of gift-wrapping paper in it. He flipped out, so that's not an option. He's... is there a word for when a half-wit breeds with a nitwit, lol? I still think he was adopted. Or maybe I was - that would explain quite a lot of things...

Anyway, if I germinate the thing, I'm "stuck" with it for the duration. I could maybe find space outside of the tent, if occasional light during the dark hours won't cause issues. I could maybe cobble together some lighting for it, although since I have a "nine square foot footprint light" in a 16 square foot tent, I really need to think about adding lights to it. I have some (assumed to be poor, but my Thai(?) basil seems to like it) off-brand clearance-priced organic soil that I can use for the auto - but it's "fortified with nutrients" which are supposed to feed for... three months? AND I'm running real low on perlite, so IDK how much I'll be able to cut it. The more I think about it, the more likely it is that I'll be wasting my time trying to add an additional plant. But... Well... Hmm...

And I've still got to figure out exhaust (and odor) for the tent. <YELPS LIKE A KICKED PUPPY>
 
Hey TS, I can speak from experience that 12/12 from seed isn't really that bad of a thing with auto flowering strains. I have started photo period seeds under 12/12 as well and they just act almost like an auto in regards to when it starts showing preflowers. since you have said above that you will be able to keep them under longer light for the first 3 or 4 weeks it should work out fine for you because more auto flowering strains will show sex within 3 to 4 weeks. So switching them to 12/12 after that shouldn't have any adverse effects at all I wouldn't think since they had the extra light hours during veg time anyways to get more growth. You can always check out my finished journal in my sig, I grew 4 auto's under 12/12 from seed due to other photo's in the same tent I was experimenting with. My grow conditions were far from perfect and using a 430W HPS for the whole grow, I yielded just under an oz from each and had lots of sugar trim to make almost 1/4oz of primo oil :)
 
I like to get a QP (dry) or more from a plant, unless it is spaced somewhat densely. But I suppose that my plants will be "somewhat" (lol) crowded this time. I'm looking at... a Serious Seeds Kali Mist, a Sensi Seeds Jack Herer, a Blueberry x White Widow, a Snow White (if it germinates), four clones from the Kali Mist, four clones from the Jack Herer... and a Crop King auto-flowering plant (unknown strain, could be any that the breeder sells, AfaIK). I broke down and threw one into a cup of water.

My space is a 4'x4' Mars-Hydro tent. And that's about it. Unless I get really lucky and manage to be the person that gets picked to receive / review / test / grow with / learn / teach about Mars-Hydro's new Mars Pro II Epistar 320 LED panel - because it comes with a 4' x 4' tent to use it in. I could definitely use both the additional space AND the additional light at this point, lol. That's why I decided to root four cuttings of each of the two "main" strains that I am growing, just in case. I have another company's (who is also a forum sponsor) LED panel, and am very much interested in the possibility of getting to compare and contrast the two products, which are somewhat different - one is quite a few more watts (but is actually somewhat cheaper) and uses all mono-color LEDs, whereas the other uses a mixture of 60 mono-color LEDs and six Cree COBs and includes a small fluorescent tube for supplemental UV. They are different enough to make such a comparison interesting, IMHO, and both companies are worthy of consideration (again, IMHO) if someone is in the market for a new light source. And since both companies are sponsors here, you'd be helping a business that helps keep our favorite forum free for all to use, regardless of which one you chose.

If anyone would like to see such a comparison grow, feel free to suggest my name to SmokeSara (the Mars-Hydro representative here by making a post in the relevant thread and including my user name with an @ sign at the beginning of it, like so: @TorturedSoul . The thread is here:
Mars Hydro is looking for product reviewer
(Thank you!)
 
Well I guess you will find out how it pans out now that it's sitting in water, no sense wasting it lol. Will this be added in with your current journal? I will stop over and have a look once I get some time.

That setup from Mars Hydro to do the review would be an awesome opportunity, I need something like that. I would love to upgrade to an led panel of some sorts to help keep down on the heat during the summer months. They are so much more compact and easier on the electric bill at the same time. I have still been steering away from them due to some of the prices though myself. I know they have owned up to their name and quality has come a long way, but it's just not in the budget when I could purchase a decent 600W dimmable setup with shade and timer for $200-$300 canadian. I could maybe even find a 1000W setup for the much.. But if I look at comparable led panels I'm looking at twice the amount on average. Unless they are going to make such a difference in room temps that I wouldn't need to buy extra ventilation or a/c I just find it hard to spend that much at once given my budget. Maybe some day I will get lucky enough to own a decent one, or may be able to purchase a used one when someone upgrades :)
 
dick23rk said:
Well I guess you will find out how it pans out now that it's sitting in water, no sense wasting it lol. Will this be added in with your current journal? I will stop over and have a look once I get some time.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's the plan. Although it's sort of a trainwreck (and I'm not even growing that strain :rolleyes3 ).

dick23rk said:
That setup from Mars Hydro to do the review would be an awesome opportunity, I need something like that.
Click to expand...

Well, put your own name into the running, then, lol. Like my brother always says, "The answer is always no - unless you ask." Or something like that. I was just hoping that I might get a couple of people to recommend me. But I certainly wouldn't want that to preclude someone being able to recommend their own self (if they want to try for it).

dick23rk said:
I would love to upgrade to an led panel of some sorts to help keep down on the heat during the summer months. They are so much more compact and easier on the electric bill at the same time.
Click to expand...

IDK how much the [color]Mars-Hydro[/color] one would cut down on heat or save electricity - with both switches on, it uses something like 760 watts (IIRC), so it'd use more electricity than a 600-watt HPS.

dick23rk said:
I have still been steering away from them due to some of the prices though myself.
Click to expand...

Tell me about it. For me, a candle would be considered expensive, lol... But LED grow light panels are expensive.

dick23rk said:
Maybe some day I will get lucky enough to own a decent one
Click to expand...

If I get really, really lucky, in a few months maybe I can provide a recommendation between a couple brands/models (or, possibly, recommend both of them).
 
I need to make the switch. Yes leds are heaps cheaper to run than hps. 600w hps beside a 600w led has totally different price on the electricity
 
Greenracer192 said:
Yes leds are heaps cheaper to run than hps. 600w hps beside a 600w led has totally different price on the electricity
Click to expand...

Err... 600 watts costs the same, whether it's being used by an LED panel, a HPS setup... or a refrigerator.
 
Well im led to believe you save up to 60% using leds. I may be wrong though i dont believe i am. But if im wrong ppl let me know coz thered be no way would i go to leds from hps in that case.
 
Greenracer192 said:
I need to make the switch. Yes leds are heaps cheaper to run than hps. 600w hps beside a 600w led has totally different price on the electricity
Click to expand...

TorturedSoul is right in his post below this one you made. The thing about these led panels they have out is that a 600W led panel isn't actually drawing 600W from the wall, they are saying it is equivalent to a 600W HPS, it is actually only drawing roughly 300W from the wall and still claiming to be a 600W light panel... something like that anyways. That's how they use less power though is cause they don't draw the full 600W from the wall, makes me wonder if you're really getting 600W worth of light or only 300? And then you have to look at lumens and par differences on top of all that lol


stewie d said:
Sup dick I've just did the same thing and I'm two weeks in and I'm liking it I don't see any difference as of right now I think I would run all my autos on 18 then switch to 11/13 as I am doing now we will see how things go stop by and check her out!! Keep your grow up bro

Sent from my iPhone using 420
Click to expand...

Hey stewie, long time no see bud! Good to hear you got some upgrades, I will have to stop over to your grow and have a look!

If I had the choice I would be running my auto's on 18 hours of light from seed to harvest, this has pretty much been proven that the yields are better. I don't have the same conditions as my last grow so I can't grow out the same strain the same way as I did my 12/12 auto's last time or I would see what the true difference is. I am also in dirt this time rather than hempy's since I couldn't get the proper materials.

But, what TS (the OP) was looking for was basically to see if would be worth it for him to put these beans he got in his tent now. Since he can get up to 4 weeks of 18 hours light on and then go to 12/12 due to his photoperiod plants. If you can get around not having to switch the auto's I wouldn't do it. :)
 

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