Haven't grown in years - want to ask about autos and why so many grow them now

[SmokingWings]

Personally I prefer the control of manual.

While I deliberately killed the only auto plant I grew I can understand your preference for something other than an auto-flower.

To carry the analogy even further the 'modern manuals' have been improved so much over the past 15-20 years that they still out-perform everything that has been to to the super-duper improved automatic. The hydrophilic clutch is so sweeeeet even with my worn out knees.

Can you imagine how boring it would be if Steve McQueen was shifting some run-of-the-mill automatic trans Mustang in Bullitt instead of a real 6-speed manual.

By the way, the car is said to now be worth over $3.5 million. The cars in the chase scene were real, it was actual real life driving, sometimes stunt driving, at the genuine speeds needed and none of the special effects that other directors and actors might have used.

 

[Delps8]

i see grows and can tell autos have come a long ways, but i just do not understand growing one indoors unless you are new to growing or just want an easy plant to grow and dont wanna learn proper marijuana growing techniques.

i am not hating on autos, i think they are cool and have come a long ways and are good for many people outdoors. i am not hating on anyone growing autos, i am just trying to understand the reasoning for most.

Looks like you're not getting swamped with replies. I've done a fair amount of writing over the years so let me do a quick rewrite on those last two paragraphs.

"How come you lazy newbies, who don't want to learn the "right way" to grow weed, keep growing autos?"

Yeh, that looks good.

Now, it's just sit back and wait for those cherry, candy-ass, auto growers to reply.

 

[7Dust2]

Lmao

 

[farside05]

I've got about 5,000 reasons why I grow autos. I can get an extra crop in each year.

 

[Sativa1970]

If you are growing outdoors then yes you can get an early summer harvest, not just one fall harvest. You can have plants at multiple stages under the same lights. That is the only advantages I have ever really seen to autos. Before autos we just planted twice as much for a years supply outside and veg in a separate light area from flower indoors.

Disatvantages;
They won't grow too big and bushy, but I see that as a disadvantage.
Light cycle doesn't matter, so you can't control timing, or growth indoors.
All autos have some ruderals base genetics, AKA Northern ditch weed. Not terrible, but not as good as the pure strain.
You can improve the quality and quantity by increasing the light time. More electricity to get close to photo harvest.
Seeds are one and done. Cloning is not really an option.

I have only grown a few autos because I was given the seeds and they asked nicely. If there is some big advantage other than not needing a light timer, let me know.40 years growing and the only plants that were a disappointment were the autos.

 

[TorturedSoul]

I'm not really an advocate, but...

Disatvantages;
They won't grow too big and bushy

Some gardeners, apparently, grow them big and bushy:

If there is some big advantage other than not needing a light timer, let me know.

People who allow themselves to be scammed into buying shitty Chinese lights that are (figuratively) advertised as being 1,000,000-watt devices but are actually closer to 100 can still get an acceptable harvest, lol, because they're flowering at 150% (or more) hours of light per day? It may not be a coincidence that the autoflowering phenomenon, crappy LED grow light products, and a bazillion newbie cannabis cultivators all happened at about the same time. IDK.

 

[Delps8]

I like autos because I have a 2' x 4' tent which is just the right size for two small plants. (The colas under the "sidecar" light are on two branches from the plant on the right).

 

[Chuckeye]

Disatvantages;
They won't grow too big and bushy, but I see that as a disadvantage.
Light cycle doesn't matter, so you can't control timing, or growth indoors.
All autos have some ruderals base genetics, AKA Northern ditch weed. Not terrible, but not as good as the pure strain.
You can improve the quality and quantity by increasing the light time. More electricity to get close to photo harvest.
Seeds are one and done. Cloning is not really an option.

I have only grown a few autos because I was given the seeds and they asked nicely. If there is some big advantage other than not needing a light timer, let me know.40 years growing and the only plants that were a disappointment were the autos.

That certainly has not been my experience.

My first auto yielded +13 oz, and was scary strong !

Early Miss auto from the notorious Crop Kings

One of my last auto's was 11grams short of a pound and stronger than some of my photo's.

Gorilla Glue #4 from autoflower dot ca.

But yes, two of my auto's only yielded 6 oz. each.

Purple Silverback, also from autoflower dot ca.

In comparison, I vegged two photo's for 50 days and both yielded ~8 oz.

Potency wise, depending on the strain, the auto's are just as potent as a photo.

Now to be fair, I have not grown the same strain in an auto and a photo for a better comparison !

And the auto's didn't finish much faster than the photo's.

Cheers

 

[Sativa1970]

I'm not really an advocate, but...



Some gardeners, apparently, grow them big and bushy:

People who allow themselves to be scammed into buying shitty Chinese lights that are (figuratively) advertised as being 1,000,000-watt devices but are actually closer to 100 can still get an acceptable harvest, lol, because they're flowering at 150% (or more) hours of light per day? It may not be a coincidence that the autoflowering phenomenon, crappy LED grow light products, and a bazillion newbie cannabis cultivators all happened at about the same time. IDK.

He said most people claim to get up to 28oz as a big harvest but he harvested 46.7oz untrimmed. Out of curiosity I just threw the sugar leaf trim that I saved from last months plant on a scale. The bud and the trim worth saving came to 32oz. So 30+oz untrimmed is pretty average for my land strain sativa photos.
No tent, no CO2, no fancy lights, not a high yield plant, but my budget grow untrimmed average is more than what most consider a massive yield for autos. According to that video at least.

I'm not sure I understood your point on LED lights. Yes, lighting nomenclature is BS. Autos on 24 hour light would have twice the light hours or 100% more. The total power consumption is also doubled. Flowering times aren't less with long days, right? Or was the point crap lights, newbie growers and auto flowers were all born together?

 

[Sativa1970]

Now to be fair, I have not grown the same strain in an auto and a photo for a better comparison !

And the auto's didn't finish much faster than the photo's.

Nice plants. I have only grown maybe a half dozen auto strains so not that experienced with them. I have only grown girl scout cookie and purple urcel auto and photo side by side, so to speak. Same bank, same grow conditions. The quality was pretty close but the photos edged out maybe by a nose barely in terpenes. The photo took one week longer but grew another 25% in height and yielded 20% more. It was only those two plants and one grow comparison so not that scientific.
Standard example of my experience with autos. Had a purple haze auto grow 8 inches with no side branching and one bud the size of a billiard ball. I can't say the auto was the cause but if it was photo I could have grown it out more before it went to flower.