Full Autoflower doubts

[Agen36]

I have a 65 day plant, purportedly autoflower that has produced hairs, is about 20" tall and seems healthy. It has not produced more than a small amount of hairs per node and continues to grow without producing buds.

Is this a plant that will require a 12/12 light cycle ( currently on 18/6) in order to be successful?
I've heard of some not-so-quite autoflower plants that need this.

Currently using 150 watt CFLs-do I need to incorporate red spectrum CFL's at this point?

 

[nibec]

How old it is, and what strain from what breeder would be helpful, and yes red spectrum cfls come flower would be very beneficial

 

[Agen36]

Hi, thanks so much for responding!

Kannabia, Afrodite, feminised-from the seed centre.

9-10 weeks old, approx. 23" tall, a few hairs at each node but no budding.

200 watt CFL red spectrum mogul base with reflector added yesterday.

Should I go to 12/12? Currently 18/6.

Thank you for your time-very thankful...

 

[Agen36]

Well, I wish I had found this information earlier:

"Autoflowering cannabis seeds enjoy airy soil, relatively low on nutrients. Standard pot plant soil is not suitable for autoflowering cannabis seeds (actually, not for sativa's and indica's either, by the way...). It's much better to buy your soil at a specialized growshop. Always go for the ´Light´ mix.

If you want or need to mix your own soil, you could start with a simple basic recipe such as:

3 parts compost
3 parts peat moss
2 part perlite, pre-wet
1 part vermiculite, pre-wet"

I found this information on the Daily Smoker website. They also go on to add that an extra 2-3 weeks of growth is desirable for most auto-flowering plants.

Being a newbie at this I of course bought a very nutrient rich soil (Dr. Earth POTting soil). Now it remains to see if I can salvage 2 months+ of attention and bring this plant to fruition.

I wonder why a nutrient-rich soil would not be beneficial to all strains of cannabis-please discuss.

 

[nibec]

because all cannabis is different. and because cannabis in a general sense, requires a different array of nutrients that most other plants need.

pretty much all, if not all, cannabis strains like a airy soil. lots of perlite. or a medium like coco.

the "rules" they state for autos is true of most strains, not just autos.

 

[Agen36]

because all cannabis is different. and because cannabis in a general sense, requires a different array of nutrients that most other plants need.

pretty much all, if not all, cannabis strains like a airy soil. lots of perlite. or a medium like coco.

the "rules" they state for autos is true of most strains, not just autos.

Thanks nibec. I remain a little confused then why so many posts and threads on this site discuss the use of nutrient-rich soil and a plethora of nutrients, etc. It seems like less is more for cannabis, right?

 

[tk86high]

switch it to 11 light / 13 dark for the next 5 days and you will most likely see the flowering start by the 4-5th day. than switch it back to whatever light schedule u want . And honestly just go 12/12 after that unless there is some reason u want to waste money on ur power bill?

 

[Agen36]

switch it to 11 light / 13 dark for the next 5 days and you will most likely see the flowering start by the 4-5th day. than switch it back to whatever light schedule u want . And honestly just go 12/12 after that unless there is some reason u want to waste money on ur power bill?

tk86high I respect your opinion but it is one of many different ones I've read recently that seem to be at odds with each other.

One web site recommends 18/6, another 24 hours of full light, another 20/4, yet another something different. Auto-flowers are supposed to not need any specific light schedule to succeed, yet I read differing opinions on that and on types of soil, amounts of nutrients, types of bulbs, etc. on many well-respected web sites.

I suspect that's why so many new growers (like myself) seek validation by asking very elementary questions on forums like this one, questions that in theory should be answered by some basic research.

Then these poor guys sometimes get flamed.

Ah well, I suppose in the end trial and error will be the best guide and teacher and that there are a number of different paths to take to obtain a successful harvest. It's just a lengthy and potentially expensive learning curve.

What would you suggest as recommended reading on the subject- are there one or two particular tomes that are "bibles" on the subject?

It seems that there is no shortage of conflicting opinions, all apparently successful for the individual offering them.

 

[Jimmycricket]

If you arnt burning the plant it can take more nutes. if it starts burning ease back a tad.

The one big addition that you could use in your soil was something to aerate it. Rocks, clay pellets, certain types of sand, perlite, vermeculite are all good methods.

Many seed companies (the bad ones usually) sell "auto flower" seeds, but they are not really autos. Do not know if you have that or not but its possible.

Most weed plants LOVE nutes and its almost like the more you give them the more you get out. There are some strains that don't like many nutes, sure. But a lot of the top strains like medium-heavy nutes.

 

[Agen36]

But a lot of the top strains like medium-heavy nutes.

If you are familiar with auto-flowers jimmycricket, could you suggest what you consider are top strains?

Could you also suggest what you feel are some of the better (but less expensive or easier to grow) normal strains-I'd appreciate it.

One additional question: am I correct in assuming that bag seeds or older seeds (1-2 years) may have problems regardless of how well the grower has done his/her job?

 

[Jimmycricket]

For the autos (i have no personal experience, just going from information ive read as I too was interested in trying an auto) I would try "big bang" from greenhouse seeds. Ive heard a fair amount of people say it was a decent one. Also a google search of "best autoflower seeds" should give you a good list of top 5 in the first link. That website seems to be legit.

As for regular weed. Anything with northern lights or just straight up nornthern lights should be pretty easy grow. Chemdog seems to be a super easy grow too. Theres others for sure, but northern lights is a very common, potent, easy grow strain and you can find it or crosses of it fairly easy. Ive been growing Chemdog D and have nothing but good things to say about it. Plus the potency is cannabis cup worthy, as is northern lights (pretty sure northern lights won a couple times in the 90s)

As for that assumption nah. There is a grow journal here I have been watching of a dude who is growing 40 year old seeds. He got them in nam back during the war. The plants are pretty damn good looking overall. The main thing about bagseeds is you never know what your gonna get. Plus if its a bagseed of some pretty good stuff, its most likely it Hermied. So if you grow that seed there is a good chance itll hermie on you too!

If you got a big yard or are growing off in the woods then by all means grow all the bagseeds you want to along side your known strains. but if you have limited room IMHO stick to quality strains from quality companies.

 

[tk86high]

But a lot of the top strains like medium-heavy nutes.

If you are familiar with auto-flowers jimmycricket, could you suggest what you consider are top strains?

Could you also suggest what you feel are some of the better (but less expensive or easier to grow) normal strains-I'd appreciate it.

One additional question: am I correct in assuming that bag seeds or older seeds (1-2 years) may have problems regardless of how well the grower has done his/her job?

Low Ryders r the best autos quick and small. Almost all normal fem strains r gonna be pretty easy to grow.Its all about how tall and big of a plant ur grow area can handle. Than you can just search on some seed sites and look at their details before u buy. they all state the avg size it gets and how long it takes plus some put the THC content.

Old seeds can still be used to make sure which ones r good just germinate them the ones that sprout can be grown without issue , for older seeds id suggest to do the water cup germination method as after 24-36hrs u see which seeds r good or not as the bad ones will float and the good ones would have sunk.

Also in regards to the lighting period its pure science , all plants need a dark period and a bit of rest . Its unnatural for plants to have 24hrs of light . What i do when i want my girls to go into flowering regardless of strain after its 4 weeks old (not before as they wont flower some even need 5-6 weeks) I give them 2 days of 18hrs dark and 6hrs light this will make the plant think its already winter. so it will force it to flower way faster . than for the next few days til i see some good signs of flowering i keep it on 11/13. Once i see some nice flowerings go to 12/12 . But like I said this is science not forum rumors .
Weed plants need a good dark period to start the flowering. Or it could keep growing for months before it finally starts to flower Auto or not.

I always tell people do what u think is best and what makes u happy . So whatever floats ur boat ,float it on down the river in that direction .

 

[nibec]

may i ask why you want auto flowers?

apart from the potential of them going from seed to harvest fairly quickly... i dont think they are suited to new growers very well.

the reason i say this, is if you have problems, and your plant gets deficiencies, or switches to flower on its own and you dont catch it due to not knowing what you're looking for, you can have problems.

with deficiencies... it will stunt the plant, causing it to potentially go into flower in a very rough stage of its life.. causing super low yields, and reduced potency.

if it starts flowering, you are new to the subject, you might continue feeding it a high nitrogen rich nutirent that it needs for veg, without realising it, and over a short period of time give it a toxic amount of nitrogen without meaning to.


bagseeds can be great, they can be bad. i really have never had a bad experience with bag seed, but i suspect that it is becasue all the bag seeds i get, are late hermies, not early ones. late hermies have a way higher chance to succeed with their seeds than early hermies do.

i understand there to be lots of info that contradicts itself. its kind of just one of those things you have to take with a grain of salt.
basicaly... you have to find someone who does it successfully. and then just follow that. cause everyone does it differently. many things will work, BUT, that doesnt mean its the best way to do it.

 

[Agen36]

may i ask why you want auto flowers?

nibec, I have a small study crammed with books that measures about 10' x 12' in which I carved out a 3' x 3' space with about 11' of height.

I had some leftover seeds about 1-2 years old from which I picked the healthier looking ones and germinated 8 successfully. I bought the Dr. Earth potting soil as I had seen it recommended in several forums I visited. Purchased a number of pots from 2-5 gal and planted them. At the same time I purchased two lemon haze auto-flowers from the Single Seed Center (and got two free as described above) with the intention of comparing them as they grew.

5 of the eight bag seeds ended up being male which I just disposed of. The Lemon Haze auto seems to be doing fine-no worries. The free auto-flower is the one confusing me as it is now almost 2' tall with just a few hairs at each node. I will follow the advice of 11/13 for 5 days and then begin a 12/12 schedule.

I began with normal fluorescent lights (long tube) and then added 2 150 watt cfl's. When I was satisfied veg was over (2 days ago and roughly 10 weeks in) I added a 200 watt mogul base red spectrum CFL for flowering. It has made a real difference already for the lemon haze but not for the "freebie" auto so the different light schedule for it is something I'm looking forward to observing.

The reason for the auto's is that although I have a wonderful and understanding non-smoking wife she is full of trepidation and I want my grow to be innocuous as possible and eventually restrict my grow to 2-3 auto-flowers (quick turnover being the primary reason) which should satisfy my needs. As a person who has always slept poorly I find the weed to be a wonderful sleep aid and have been using it as such for 45 years (old fogy here) and shudder at the money I've spent in that time.

Having been in the Navy and all over the world (including a year in Vietnam) I've smoked wonderful MJ
strains and have never really found that quality available easily in Western NY.

So...I've embarked on the grand experiment and want to do it right. We've had a very dry summer here with only slight rain every 3-4 weeks and the local outdoor growers have all experienced massive crop failures. I haven't smoked (or slept) in several weeks and have the emotional yips as a result. Please pardon any apparent shortness on my part but I am very eager for this grow to succeed.

I wish I could use HPS as I know it's best but I have no way to vent the heat nor the money to purchase a proper setup and then pay the electric without infuriating my wife.

Thanks for the advice-I know it can be a pain to answer the same old questions over and over for newbies but I did the same thing for years as a knowledgeable world coin collector on coin forums. What you put into the hobby will dictate what you get out of the hobby.

 

[Jimmycricket]

Haha I too collect coins Agen and am a member of a few of the popular forums.

As for venting/heating LED is an option and has better light penetration compared to CFL.

Even with autos your potency should increase if you use a proper lighting schedule as light degradates THC.

 

[Agen36]

What kind of lighting schedules have you tried in the past jimmycricket? Which ones did you find best?

What was your coin forum name by the way?

 

[nibec]

may i ask why you want auto flowers?

nibec, I have a small study crammed with books that measures about 10' x 12' in which I carved out a 3' x 3' space with about 11' of height.

I had some leftover seeds about 1-2 years old from which I picked the healthier looking ones and germinated 8 successfully. I bought the Dr. Earth potting soil as I had seen it recommended in several forums I visited. Purchased a number of pots from 2-5 gal and planted them. At the same time I purchased two lemon haze auto-flowers from the Single Seed Center (and got two free as described above) with the intention of comparing them as they grew.

5 of the eight bag seeds ended up being male which I just disposed of. The Lemon Haze auto seems to be doing fine-no worries. The free auto-flower is the one confusing me as it is now almost 2' tall with just a few hairs at each node. I will follow the advice of 11/13 for 5 days and then begin a 12/12 schedule.

I began with normal fluorescent lights (long tube) and then added 2 150 watt cfl's. When I was satisfied veg was over (2 days ago and roughly 10 weeks in) I added a 200 watt mogul base red spectrum CFL for flowering. It has made a real difference already for the lemon haze but not for the "freebie" auto so the different light schedule for it is something I'm looking forward to observing.

The reason for the auto's is that although I have a wonderful and understanding non-smoking wife she is full of trepidation and I want my grow to be innocuous as possible and eventually restrict my grow to 2-3 auto-flowers (quick turnover being the primary reason) which should satisfy my needs. As a person who has always slept poorly I find the weed to be a wonderful sleep aid and have been using it as such for 45 years (old fogy here) and shudder at the money I've spent in that time.

Having been in the Navy and all over the world (including a year in Vietnam) I've smoked wonderful MJ
strains and have never really found that quality available easily in Western NY.

So...I've embarked on the grand experiment and want to do it right. We've had a very dry summer here with only slight rain every 3-4 weeks and the local outdoor growers have all experienced massive crop failures. I haven't smoked (or slept) in several weeks and have the emotional yips as a result. Please pardon any apparent shortness on my part but I am very eager for this grow to succeed.

I wish I could use HPS as I know it's best but I have no way to vent the heat nor the money to purchase a proper setup and then pay the electric without infuriating my wife.

Thanks for the advice-I know it can be a pain to answer the same old questions over and over for newbies but I did the same thing for years as a knowledgeable world coin collector on coin forums. What you put into the hobby will dictate what you get out of the hobby.

sounds like you are on the right track, and i agree, autos sound good in your situation.

whatever the breeder reccomends as a light shedual, is typically the best one. obviously 18/6 and 12/12 is a great shedual for most strains. auto's is where i get lost.

im sorry im not a big help in this topic. hopefully the community can get you on track with it all

however, a small 400 watt hps, doesnt really put off much heat (a room will acutally be cooler with a 400hps, than 400 watts in cfl) but yes, you will need a way to vent it. BUT, in the cooler months, you can just vent it right into a cold room. recycle the heat.

the main battle with a HPS light.. is the way they put off the heat... cfl's typically get hot at the ballast, and the glass is hot, but, the heat mostly just rises away from them.

an HPS will "throw" the heat away from the bulb, making it harder to control in tight spaces.

cheers

 

[Mastahkushy]

I recently just did a Dinafem auto flower strain , I didn't do a grow log meaning I just got into this forum but I had good success with just 18/6 throughout its whole life with barely using any mutes meaning its a quick plant. It goes by very quick and would not recommend these strains because of their low quality in THC "only about 8%" and low yield hope this helps

 

[Agen36]

Thanks for suggestions-one I immediately applied was the 11/13 light schedule for the auto-flower I have in doubt with a return to 12/12 after five days. Will update as to success or failure.

By the way i am immediately floored and confused as to the wealth of feminized auto-flower seeds available. I did a search for "best" and found too many examples to settle on one. Is 12% THC a high content for autos?

 

[tk86high]

Cool, u should see some baby flowers coming in within 4 days possible sooner as ur plant is already well matured in regards to veggie state.
In regards to strains it's all about what u like I usually go by reviews I'll pick a strain from a website ,google it see some grows of it and read reviews of if than I'll make my purchase I grow 3 different strains at a time.
Keep us updated . Add pics if possible .