Growing autos: what are the main differences?

[Dabeast09]

Hello lovely people,

If you don't know me (have no idea why you should) I am a new grower, few weeks from my first ever harvest.

I recently got some auto seeds that came free with my order.
My extensive Studings ware about photos mainly.

I do get the gist of it, but I would like to learn more deeply about differences. Light regime, nutes, flower time, and i guess many other thing that are for me an unknown knows (j.r)

Would appreciate any help my duds

 

[Apoc]

Differences, they flower without changing the light schedule. I keep them on 19 hours light 5 dark.

When sprouted put them into the pot you'll harvest from don't transplant. I use 7 gal fabric pots and the root ball completely fills the bag. Don't go small pot in a 3 gallon bag your yield drops dramatically.

As soon as they go into the dirt start feeding 1/4 stregnth nutes (grab some Mega Crop it rocks). Don't wait, feed immediately reguardless of the soils claims to feed to contain enough nutes for weeks. You are training them to take nutes.

I top them at 6th node, then LST with pipe cleaners. Don't listen to the bro science, 6th node they get wildly large. Topping at the 7th or 8th they get unmanageable.

I'm pulling 14-16 zips per plant under 350-400 watts led. Here's some auto flower porn.

If you get questions feel free to ask, someone will answer. If you want my full grow guide I can post tomorrow when I'm on my laptop.

This one is 3 foot tall and is now filling a 3x3 tent completely. I predict 17 or more ounces minimum.

This one ran 14 zips mostly big colas.

This one i pulled 16 zips but lost 1/2 ounce to bud rot.

 

[013]

The main differences are autos can be stunted if you piss them off, just one mistake can hose them up - whereas with photos you can make mistakes and the plants bounce back. If an auto is stunted then yields will suffer.

Hey @Apoc - I’d love to read your auto guide!

 

[Dabeast09]

Thank you guys for the Input, it's much appreciated.

Me too would love an auto guide by any experienced writer here in 420M
Hit me up with liks

Thanks again what a great community here

 

[Justin Goody]

One of the things that drew me to autos is that they aren't affected by light cycle/power outages like photos are. If the power goes out here for 2 days, my autos take it in stride like nothing happened. Photos are more sensitive and may start flowering or herm after that and may also need some re-veg time.
On the flip side, a tiny light leak on a flowering photo can screw up the whole grow. A light leak on an auto won't do anything.
How confident am I in my ability to grow plants with no light leaks, no accidentally left open tents, no power outages... and I'm also in charge of flip date? I'm too unreliable for that. That's part of the reason why I grow autos.
I really haven't found them to be any more touchy than photos, but I've been growing a long time and am pretty good at reading a plant's needs.
My one gripe used to be that autos just aren't as strong (THC %) as photos because of their breeding, but my last 2 grows have proven that is a quickly fading rumor as well.

 

[Apoc]

The main differences are autos can be stunted if you piss them off, just one mistake can hose them up - whereas with photos you can make mistakes and the plants bounce back. If an auto is stunted then yields will suffer.

Hey @Apoc - I’d love to read your auto guide!

Not really 013, Autos ruderalis side was nature built to take a beating. I routinely pluck a 2 gallon bag of leaves off 3 plants across their life. I've grown them in 12/12 light, left light on 24 hours for 2 months then flipped to 19/5 to get them to flower (the 3 foot tall one got that light regiment and is purple and on track for more than a pound), I've topped them, bent them over, lollypopped, drilled screws in them and occasionally broke a limb or two. Never had a hermie or weak smoke. Most had colas a foot long and some branches weigh 2 zips dry.

I did have one plant, full grown, that just looked like it dehydrated but the breeder confirmed it was somewhat genetically unstable. One plant out of a couple hundred isn't bad.

 

[Justin Goody]

Not really 013, Autos ruderalis side was nature built to take a beating. I routinely pluck a 2 gallon bag of leaves off 3 plants across their life. I've grown them in 12/12 light, left light on 24 hours for 2 months then flipped to 19/5 to get them to flower (the 3 foot tall one got that light regiment and is purple and on track for more than a pound), I've topped them, bent them over, lollypopped, drilled screws in them and occasionally broke a limb or two. Never had a hermie or weak smoke. Most had colas a foot long and some branches weigh 2 zips dry.

I did have one plant, full grown, that just looked like it dehydrated but the breeder confirmed it was somewhat genetically unstable. One plant out of a couple hundred isn't bad.

I don’t quite get up to your yields, but using under 200w per tent I get 5-7 oz per plant every 70-80 days. Between that and MC being dirt cheap, it’s hard to justify doing it a different way now.
Working on finding that perfect combo of genetics, food and lighting- but if I never changed another thing I’d be pretty happy with the way things are working out with my autos.

 

[013]

Absolutely Apoc some people are killing it with autos but what I meant was for new growers to nail autos right out of the gate is not an easy thing. Sure it can be done but I’ve seen more than my fair share of autos that ran for 10 weeks and yielded 1.5 grams. You guys have that Midas touch - I still can’t grow autos for shite

 

[Bud Love]

Hey man.. hope alls well
Wow.. wow
no info or knowledge from me I’m afraid..on my 4th auto grow.. maxing 70g ish a plant

But I would love to read your auto guide. If I may
WOW!
Cheers Bud

 

[Apoc]

I don’t quite get up to your yields, but using under 200w per tent I get 5-7 oz per plant every 70-80 days. Between that and MC being dirt cheap, it’s hard to justify doing it a different way now.
Working on finding that perfect combo of genetics, food and lighting- but if I never changed another thing I’d be pretty happy with the way things are working out with my autos.

I use mega crop and my 200w tent gave 14 zips dry on a single plant. Worked out to 1.84gm/watt.

Try running 7 gallon fabric pots with FFHF, top at 6th node and LST with pipe cleaners. When they get large give as much as a gallon per day. The secret sauce (when plant is larger) is 6gm mega crop, 4 drops/gal superthrive, couple ml/gal cal/mag and your ph to 6.3-6.8. Big part of it is feed daily when large. That's really it no big secret.

You can also pluck 6 or seven leaves/week when they get bushy, seems to hold them in veg a week longer but they may go 90 days doing that.

I'm running an experiment on two, both got 24 hours light for 50 days and refused to flower. Here's the Amnesia Auto, it's so bud heavy I had to put in 3" dowels and cord around it to hold the colas up. That's 350w I'd say 16-18 zips. We test smoked a bud it's fire lol.

 

[Apoc]

Absolutely Apoc some people are killing it with autos but what I meant was for new growers to nail autos right out of the gate is not an easy thing. Sure it can be done but I’ve seen more than my fair share of autos that ran for 10 weeks and yielded 1.5 grams. You guys have that Midas touch - I still can’t grow autos for shite

People make it more complicated than it is. Feed 2gm gallon mega crop as soon as it goes in the final pot. Increase to 3gm on the second gallon, 4gm on the 3rd, 5gm on the fourth and hold there until budded then go 6.

Superthrive 1/4 stregnth, 2ml cal/mag when they get big and do your normal ph thing.

Run 7 gallon fabric or air pots. 19/5 light.

When big feed a gallon per day or until runoff.

Top at 6th node and LST with pipe cleaners.

Works for every auto but some want a little more cal mag.

 

[Apoc]

Hey man.. hope alls well
Wow.. wow
no info or knowledge from me I’m afraid..on my 4th auto grow.. maxing 70g ish a plant

But I would love to read your auto guide. If I may
WOW!
Cheers Bud

Let me fire up the laptop and I'll paste the guide in. It's heavily dependant on Mega Crop and Superthrive.

 

[Justin Goody]

I use mega crop and my 200w tent gave 14 zips dry on a single plant. Worked out to 1.84gm/watt.

Try running 7 gallon fabric pots with FFHF, top at 6th node and LST with pipe cleaners. When they get large give as much as a gallon per day. The secret sauce (when plant is larger) is 6gm mega crop, 4 drops/gal superthrive, couple ml/gal cal/mag and your ph to 6.3-6.8. Big part of it is feed daily when large. That's really it no big secret.

You can also pluck 6 or seven leaves/week when they get bushy, seems to hold them in veg a week longer but they may go 90 days doing that.

I'm running an experiment on two, both got 24 hours light for 50 days and refused to flower. Here's the Amnesia Auto, it's so bud heavy I had to put in 3" dowels and cord around it to hold the colas up. That's 350w I'd say 16-18 zips. We test smoked a bud it's fire lol.

I always use superthrive in the first month, but I’ve only recently been adding it occasionally during flower in my last few grows. It’s a product I’ve trusted for years, maybe I need to increase it’s use in flower..seems to work great for you. I defoliate the same way, and also 19/5, pH around 6.2.
Though I have decreased my MC a bit so I rarely go over 5.2ish, where I used to always hit 6 and still be adding Sweet Candy etc.
The pot size is definitely affecting yield- I’m only in 3g right now, and I used to only be in 2g. Still have never broken that 8oz mark but I get real close.
Good looking plants you have there!

 

[Apoc]

Here's the method I use, the main things I use are FFHF, 7 gallon fabric pots, Mega Crop, Superthrive, PH down and Cal/mag.

This is for Autoflowers

These are the things I use religiously, I can't advise on substitutions, I do these things for every auto and they work every time across 40 or so crops.

Take all the Bro Science you've heard and discard it (except don't up pot that's legit, as soon as it's a seedling put it in the final pot you'll harvest from. Once again F* the bro science, use a 7 Gallon pot, the roots will fill an entire 7 gallon so using a smaller pot will get you less yield.

Lights (for a 3x3x6' tent) it's not optimal but I ended up with a ton of Mars Hydro Lights (Ts600 100w wall draw lights)

One 250w (I'm using Budget LED and harvests increased tremendously) Samsung LEDs with a meanwell Driver, I add one Mars Hydro to the Budget LED for a total of 350w per tent (I run 3 tents for simultaneous harvest, perpetual harvest you need 3 different nute mixes so I don't do that often) So one 250w Samsung LED and one 100W Mars Hydro.

Topping: I don't care about people who say topping will not increase a yield, topping when combined with LST will give you huge Colas (like 16 or more 1 ounce colas dry). Huge colas make me happy so I top at the 6th node. They get a little wild like mine at 6th node so you need a 6 foot tent.

LST: WHEN TOPPED AT THE 6th NODE, I start LST when they reach 6th node and I top the plant, I use pipe cleaners they run like $11 for 300 on amazon.

Pop a hole in your fabric pot directly in front of the limb and gently tie it down level to the dirt, you'll need to re tie the limbs down at like week 6 use your own judgement.

You are training your auto to accept nutrition hence the next section. Forget the soil bag saying it has enough nutrition for 6 weeks that's a lie.

As soon as your auto's go into the dirt use 2 grams Mega Crop Per Gallon. When you've used one gallon of Mega Crop on a plant the next gallon go to 3 Grams, 3rd gallon 4 Grams, 4th gallon 5 grams and hold at 5 grams until they start to flower. When Flowering (even pre flower) give 6 grams MC. When decently flowering give an additional 1 gram of Mega Crop bloom booster. Watch for the tips of the leaf if they burn back off the nutes a hair, I've never had one plant nute burn with this schedule, BUT if you go above 6 - 6.5gm of MC in the end you'll have lockouts.

Seedling feed 4 ounces of MC water (2gm/Gal) in a circle around the plant, check in the evening to see if it needs a small drink. As it grows a little up it to 6 ounces, then 8 ounces, jump to 16 from there. The idea is let it dry out but not wilt. When grown I give 1 gallon a day unless the pot is saturated then I skip a day.

I honestly don't care about all the "bro science" you read, I water 1 gallon daily after a month and generally harvest from 12-16 dry zips a plant. Mega Crop nutes really help here because you feed daily.

The secret sauce for huge autos once you reach 5 and 6 Grams MC/gallon. You'll have lights at between 12 and 18 inches from flowering plants so we start Cal/Mag.

THIS IS FOR PLANTS 5-6 weeks old in flower.

6 Gram Mega Crop
1 Gram MC Bloom Booster (when in flower)
PH up or down to 6.3 to 6.5 ph
4 drops Superthrive (Prevents deficiencies)
2-3 milliliter Cal Mag protects against strong light exposur

No Apoc it's not that simple, yes it is it works every time.

Grab a $20 Lux meter:
10-15k Lux seedling with lights 24 inches from the plants. If they start to stretch use common sense.
35-45k veg
55-65k flower

65k is top end and watch for light burn, I wouldn't go above 60k without adding cal/mag and even then I'd watch for light burn. If your light is adjustable turn it down a hair from maximum to extend longevity, you can lower the light a little to compensate.

Elevate your pots cold floors are not good for your roots.

When they are growing good and getting big trim 6 fan leaves a week, if they are really hairy you can take 2 or three more but no more than 9 a week. This will keep them in veg a week longer. Once the pre-flower stop trimming unless a leaf obscures a bud then trim it.

But Apoc leaves are the powerhouse powering the plant you shouldn't trim them at all, My last two auto's gave 15 and 16 zips dry. I seldom get less than 12 zips even from a small yield plant so trim those 6 a week once a week, if it's to hairy trim another 3 like 3 days later.

It's counter intuitive but once your root ball is big give them a gallon a day of 6gm MC with your favorite bloom booster, if you get runoff watering slow they have enough and you can stop short of a gallon. Generally i give the gallon and if i get runoff i use a wet dry shop vac.

Everyone says it's not that simple but it really is. Everyone says every grow if different but I do the same thing for every auto and they all yield big and fire to smoke. You have to use a little common sense and look for bugs and deficiencies. I've never had a deficiency or had nute burn using that regiment but it could happen.

Hope this helps.

 

[013]

Apoc - wow thank you for the knowledge drop!! I read it twice and bookmarked it. I‘m not running mega crop but it’s on the list and I will be ordering more auto beans. I’m more of a photoperiod freak but if you are pulling down these kind of harvests - what’s not to like? I’ve wanted to revisit autos anyway just to develop the skills.

 

[Apoc]

I always use superthrive in the first month, but I’ve only recently been adding it occasionally during flower in my last few grows. It’s a product I’ve trusted for years, maybe I need to increase it’s use in flower..seems to work great for you. I defoliate the same way, and also 19/5, pH around 6.2.
Though I have decreased my MC a bit so I rarely go over 5.2ish, where I used to always hit 6 and still be adding Sweet Candy etc.
The pot size is definitely affecting yield- I’m only in 3g right now, and I used to only be in 2g. Still have never broken that 8oz mark but I get real close.
Good looking plants you have there!

Your yield is right where I was at with a 3 gal pot. I went to 5 gal and got 12. When I was out of 5 gal I had some 7 gal I use for potatoes and tomatoes so I ran 3 in 7 gal and that's when I started getting big yields.

I suspect if you went big pot your yields would get a lot bigger. So far the larger ones are stronger smoke.

I have one white widow auto I put 24 hours light on for 50 days and she refused to flower, I flipped to 12/12 and she's huge. I'll get a picture tomorrow the lights off now.

I believe the life cycle can be changed on autos but they take longer to mature. Given normal treatment 70-80 days but I can run them for 100 days by manipulating environment.

 

[Apoc]

Apoc - wow thank you for the knowledge drop!! I read it twice and bookmarked it. I‘m not running mega crop but it’s on the list and I will be ordering more auto beans. I’m more of a photoperiod freak but if you are pulling down these kind of harvests - what’s not to like? I’ve wanted to revisit autos anyway just to develop the skills.

No sweat if you have any questions shoot me a message. The yield is pretty consistent. Mega Crop runs like $26 shipped for a kilo. I get 12 plants per kilo.

 

[013]

That’s really cheap on the MC and I’ve been wanting to try it anyway. I’m cool with topping, lst, defol whatever it takes right? Ok help me now was that 3 plants all in one 7 gallon container, or each plant had its own 7 gallon pot, whew I think you kinda blew my mind for second there.

Thats insane too on 1 gallon of water every day after 30 days of growth, just blows the lid off the old school growers concepts like wet dry cycle, but I get that you are extending the veg with the continued defol which is a great hack btw.

 

[Justin Goody]

That’s really cheap on the MC and I’ve been wanting to try it anyway. I’m cool with topping, lst, defol whatever it takes right? Ok help me now was that 3 plants all in one 7 gallon container, or each plant had its own 7 gallon pot, whew I think you kinda blew my mind for second there.

Thats insane too on 1 gallon of water every day after 30 days of growth, just blows the lid off the old school growers concepts like wet dry cycle, but I get that you are extending the veg with the continued defol which is a great hack btw.

I was able to bring an auto clone to almost full size doing that. It was stronger than the mother plant and twice as sticky.
Right now I have my GSC that’s on day 84 and needs about 2 more weeks, seems like it will be a nice producer, definitely has the height for it.
Still barely at the end of my first full year of running autos, they have been a lot of fun and a lot of good bud so far. Scared of what might happen in my tiny tent with a 7g pot or 2! My next grow I’m using 5s

 

[013]

That’s wild, I’m gonna swing by yours soon anyway - it’s been a minute for sure. I like big pots and I’m not gonna lie.... I’ve got 7.5‘s and 12’s one is a 35 gallon rubbermaid trash can sitting on a 6 inch tall dolly plus a 10 inch rear ATV tire to get it elevated above the concrete.

Wow that’s awesome (JG, still want to say 13G) a full year of autos. I need to do that just to up my game. I bet that’s been a fun ride