Auto vs photo?

[GIjose]

So I wanted to create a poll which class would you prefer an auto or photo? Can you please respond as to why you chose either or?
I have not done an auto plant, I've only done photo. The purpose of this pole is to find out if my next grow should be an auto or should I stick with my tried-and-true of photo plants. Thanks in advance for your responses!

 

[Old Salt]

Photoperiods, simply because I have full control over the final size and shape of the plant.

 

[Hydroholic]

I’m torn. I love the instant gratification of the autos but love the longer time spent with the photos.

 

[GIjose]

Photoperiods, simply because I have full control over the final size and shape of the plant.

Would photos be more potent then?

 

[Hydroholic]

Would photos be more potent then?

Not necessarily. That has lots of factors like genetics and your love. Photos take longer than autos but generally autos produce (not always) less weight. Also figure in how many plants you can have. Depending on space why not both. Start a auto a couple of weeks before you start your photos, then your auto should complete before you flip your photos.

 

[Remystemple]

i want my plants to flower when i say so , not when they feel like it. also control how big they get before flower, and using 18 hours light as i've heard many auto growers do in flower would be a waste of electricity.

 

[GIjose]

Not necessarily. That has lots of factors like genetics and your love. Photos take longer than autos but generally(not always) less weight. Also figure in how many plants you can have. Depending on space why not both. Start a auto a couple of weeks before you start your photos, then your auto should complete before you flip your photos.

Damn thats ingenuitive! I would have never thought of that.lol

 

[Old Salt]

Not necessarily. That has lots of factors like genetics and your love. Photos take longer than autos but generally(not always) less weight. Also figure in how many plants you can have. Depending on space why not both. Start a auto a couple of weeks before you start your photos, then your auto should complete before you flip your photos.

How many autos are out there that will produce 800gm/plant outdoors, or 400-600gm/m2 indoors? Cream & Cheese CBD does, as do many other strains. During my last indoor grow, my feminized Cream & Cheese CBD yielded 347gm in 5 sq ft. This corresponds to 747gm/m2. That's more than the breeders estimate.

Autos are generally faster, as the minimum for a photoperiod to go from seed to harvest is about 70 days. This is due to the ruderalis added into their genetics. The ruderalis also tends to keep the plants smaller than their photoperiod ancestors.

 

[Hydroholic]

How many autos are out there that will produce 800gm/plant outdoors, or 400-600gm/m2 indoors? Cream & Cheese CBD does, as do many other strains. During my last indoor grow, my feminized Cream & Cheese CBD yielded 347gm in 5 sq ft. This corresponds to 747gm/m2. That's more than the breeders estimate.

Autos are generally faster, as the minimum for a photoperiod to go from seed to harvest is about 70 days. This is due to the ruderalis added into their genetics. The ruderalis also tends to keep the plants smaller than their photoperiod ancestors.

I agree. Autos produce less. The generally is more extenuating circumstances.

 

[GIjose]

I thought ruderalis did not produce?! Wow! So if they're made with ruderal's I can only assume they are in the genetics so thenplant puts its energy into maturing and a flowering then to waste the plants energy in to getting bigger. Holy hell.. mind is blown!

 

[GIjose]

How about cost effectiveness? Do you have to use the same newts for each?

 

[TurboBucket]

Photos are always going to be genetically superior to autos. To make an auto plant they add in Rudy genes as noted above.

To me the ruderalis plant and the movie Rudy go hand in hand. Does he still play? Sure. Is he as good as the rest? Well no, he's Rudy haha.

Basically anything "auto" critical auto, diesel auto, blueberry auto, whatever it's not going to be equal to the original, be it may be damn good, but it won't be the same it's got extra genetic material that's not the same.

I like photos for newer growers as well because they are harder to ruin. Stress an auto too much and your yield sucks. Stress a photo too much and all you'll have to do is wait for it to recover.

I know you didn't ask but it goes hand in hand. Regular seeds are better for breeding genetic integrity than fem seeds. With males you get all the X And Y chromosomes from the strain with fems you get a bunch of X's. That being said if I'm growing a strain for the first time, I buy fems, easier to sample that way, no lost males, so you don't have to worry about jacking up your plant count. If I like it I'll get regular seeds and do a seed run.

Autos aren't junk as some folks will lead you to believe. They're just not for everyone.

 

[Hydroholic]

Photos are always going to be genetically superior to autos. To make an auto plant they add in Rudy genes as noted above.

To me the ruderalis plant and the movie Rudy go hand in hand. Does he still play? Sure. Is he as good as the rest? Well no, he's Rudy haha.

Basically anything "auto" critical auto, diesel auto, blueberry auto, whatever it's not going to be equal to the original, be it may be damn good, but it won't be the same it's got extra genetic material that's not the same.

I like photos for newer growers as well because they are harder to ruin. Stress an auto too much and your yield sucks. Stress a photo too much and all you'll have to do is wait for it to recover.

I know you didn't ask but it goes hand in hand. Regular seeds are better for breeding genetic integrity than fem seeds. With males you get all the X And Y chromosomes from the strain with fems you get a bunch of X's. That being said if I'm growing a strain for the first time, I buy fems, easier to sample that way, no lost males, so you don't have to worry about jacking up your plant count. If I like it I'll get regular seeds and do a seed run.

Autos aren't junk as some folks will lead you to believe. They're just not for everyone.

I only buy feminized seeds anymore also. Not worth the time waiting. I am on my first auto run and I am not disappointed.

 

[GIjose]

I can certainly see why some people choose fem seeds over original. Its kindof a toss up when you dont know if you will be growing a male or female. Some can say that it would be a wast of time and money (because of newts). I did feel that way at first on my first grow after i found out they were male. I can also see how other prefer the original o'natural seed, because a coppy isnt allways 100% like @TurboBucket explained before. Also how autos have their place when people want their meds sooner rather than later not really wanting to sculpt the perfect bud for bud cup.lol Wow! Lots of great info! Please keep it comming. Im soaking it all up

 

[Old Salt]

How about cost effectiveness? Do you have to use the same newts for each?

The nutrient requirements are about the same, but it can be hard to judge when to switch formulations. This is a non-issue for me, as I switched to Mega Crop.

Mega Crop 625gm When Full​

The plants are drinking about 50% more than they did on General Hydroponics Flora Trio and Supplements. The plants in a 3.8gal (11l) grow bags are at about 3l/day, amd the one in a much larger pot (10gal/40l) is drinking double that. The plants are huge! The only adjustment needed is the amount added. I'm using 6.5gm/gal now, but started at 2gm/gal.

The only problem I had with it was those balls you see. I'm using an aquarium wave wave generator in a 5 gal pail to mix up the solution until the balls are dissolved. I also run it for 15 minutes twice a day to keep things mixed. The cost for my entire grow will be less than just the Flora Bloom I would have used. That should be less than 20% of the entire array from the General Hydroponics' bottles.

 

[Hydroholic]

The nutrient requirements are about the same, but it can be hard to judge when to switch formulations. This is a non-issue for me, as I switched to Mega Crop.

Mega Crop 625gm When Full​

The plants are drinking about 50% more than they did on General Hydroponics Flora Trio and Supplements. The plants in a 3.8gal (11l) grow bags are at about 3l/day, amd the one in a much larger pot (10gal/40l) is drinking double that. The plants are huge! The only adjustment needed is the amount added. I'm using 6.5gm/gal now, but started at 2gm/gal.

The only problem I had with it was those balls you see. I'm using an aquarium wave wave generator in a 5 gal pail to mix up the solution until the balls are dissolved. I also run it for 15 minutes twice a day to keep things mixed. The cost for my entire grow will be less than just the Flora Bloom I would have used. That should be less than 20% of the entire array from the General Hydroponics' bottles.

What dusty balls you have there. Lol. MC is so much easier.

 

[Bud]

I’ve been researching the difference in weight between the two at harvest and found that there’s only a 10% difference between them?
I personally think photos have better genetics, smell and flavor but I’ve grown some wicked autos as well, my point is that they both have uses I’ve been able to grow both in the same closet for a few years now with good results and very few problems. Thank the weed gods.
It does seem that autos have less thc and more cbd’s than photos IMO growers luv

 

[GIjose]

I’ve been researching the difference in weight between the two at harvest and found that there’s only a 10% difference between them?
I personally think photos have better genetics, smell and flavor but I’ve grown some wicked autos as well, my point is that they both have uses I’ve been able to grow both in the same closet for a few years now with good results and very few problems. Thank the weed gods.
It does seem that autos have less thc and more cbd’s than photos IMO growers luv

awesome point about the CBD portion of the grow because my son utilizes that portion quite a bit for his disability. Thanks for sharing

 

[GIjose]

Please tag your buddies to chime in on this topic. The more the merrier for me. It's just more information to put in my toolbox

 

[GIjose]

The nutrient requirements are about the same, but it can be hard to judge when to switch formulations. This is a non-issue for me, as I switched to Mega Crop.

Mega Crop 625gm When Full​

The plants are drinking about 50% more than they did on General Hydroponics Flora Trio and Supplements. The plants in a 3.8gal (11l) grow bags are at about 3l/day, amd the one in a much larger pot (10gal/40l) is drinking double that. The plants are huge! The only adjustment needed is the amount added. I'm using 6.5gm/gal now, but started at 2gm/gal.

The only problem I had with it was those balls you see. I'm using an aquarium wave wave generator in a 5 gal pail to mix up the solution until the balls are dissolved. I also run it for 15 minutes twice a day to keep things mixed. The cost for my entire grow will be less than just the Flora Bloom I would have used. That should be less than 20% of the entire array from the General Hydroponics' bottles.

all of my grows have been on a tight budget, i would have loved to do a Hydroponic system but it is way to pricey for me. But i have known a few Hydroponic growers that have given me some bomb ass buds