Preventing Autos flowering early outside

johnnyappleseed

Well-Known Member
I'm in New York, zone 7 a/b. It's tough with photos out here since the humidity usually encourages bud rot. So I'd like to try growing autos outside. Every auto I've tried to grow outdoors ends up flowering way too early. like 6 inches early.

How do I reduce the stress placed on autos when transplanting so they don't flower prematurely?

Any other transition considerations re fertilizer, time of season, etc.

I will be growing in the ground.

Thanks.
 
If you’re in the US, the time for growing outside has passed. June-September is ideal.

Autos require quite a bit of light to get big before flower. Growing outside will never get the same results as growing under lights. Even at max lights outside you might get 14-15 hours a day of sun, and that’s in July/August.

I start mine inside (April/May) and get them healthy and robust, then they go outside. Most autos are done in under 90 days so no chance of extended rain/humidity

Every genetic reacts differently to its environment so growing outside is sometimes as unpredictable as the weather.

Autos are finicky to begin with and while growing them in dirt outside is fun, there’s a time and place for that. If you need this plant to produce because it will be your only smoke, I’d try to do it inside.
 
I'm in New York, zone 7 a/b. It's tough with photos out here since the humidity usually encourages bud rot. So I'd like to try growing autos outside. Every auto I've tried to grow outdoors ends up flowering way too early. like 6 inches early.

Is there some special trick to doing this? I'm guessing it's the actual transplant itself or the soil/air temps perhaps?

I will be growing in the ground.

Thanks.
Hello there! Autos are suppose to flower with time, so if they are doing that while too small - that means that either the conditions are too harsh or maybe you got not the best seeds in the world. Along with that, if you suspect humidity issues - you'll need to somehow decrease it, do you have like windy spots for extra ventelation?
 
I'm in New York, zone 7 a/b. It's tough with photos out here since the humidity usually encourages bud rot. So I'd like to try growing autos outside. Every auto I've tried to grow outdoors ends up flowering way too early. like 6 inches early.

Is there some special trick to doing this? I'm guessing it's the actual transplant itself or the soil/air temps perhaps?

I will be growing in the ground.

Thanks.
Look for autos that have a longer growing time Listed as super or xxl autos
I have one that takes 150 days to finish
Also with a higher percentage of Sativa
 
If you’re in the US, the time for growing outside has passed. June-September is ideal.

Autos require quite a bit of light to get big before flower. Growing outside will never get the same results as growing under lights. Even at max lights outside you might get 14-15 hours a day of sun, and that’s in July/August.

I start mine inside (April/May) and get them healthy and robust, then they go outside. Most autos are done in under 90 days so no chance of extended rain/humidity

Every genetic reacts differently to its environment so growing outside is sometimes as unpredictable as the weather.

Autos are finicky to begin with and while growing them in dirt outside is fun, there’s a time and place for that. If you need this plant to produce because it will be your only smoke, I’d try to do it inside.
Thanks. I've got tents inside too. I'm just really looking for advice on how to reduce the stress on transplanting outside so they don't flower prematurely.
Hello there! Autos are suppose to flower with time, so if they are doing that while too small - that means that either the conditions are too harsh or maybe you got not the best seeds in the world. Along with that, if you suspect humidity issues - you'll need to somehow decrease it, do you have like windy spots for extra ventelation?
No control outside. Last year in early oct we got hit with like 3 weeks of rain and I lost everything to bud rot.
Look for autos that have a longer growing time Listed as super or xxl autos
I have one that takes 150 days to finish
Also with a higher percentage of Sativa
Why longer? I was thinking autos because they're usually done sooner, which is appealing because my fall seasons are pretty sultry.
 
Thanks. I've got tents inside too. I'm just really looking for advice on how to reduce the stress on transplanting outside so they don't flower prematurely.

No control outside. Last year in early oct we got hit with like 3 weeks of rain and I lost everything to bud rot.

Why longer? I was thinking autos because they're usually done sooner, which is appealing because my fall seasons are pretty sultry.
I used to think they flowered prematurely because of me, but it turns out even under perfect conditions with no stress or transplant they sometimes show sex at 17-18 days. It’s mostly genetics.

The reason you’d want “longer” is because even plants that start flowering early (due to whatever factor) can still get huge.
You may have a hard time finding any plant that wants to grow huge outside in fall, just saying.
You want autos to produce and not get bud rot, but they want 18-20 hours a day of light. You can’t have both if you grow when there’s only 9 hours a day of light and the temp/humidity breeds mold.
 
Thanks. I've got tents inside too. I'm just really looking for advice on how to reduce the stress on transplanting outside so they don't flower prematurely.



Why longer? I was thinking autos because they're usually done sooner, which is appealing because my fall seasons are pretty sultry.


Well In places that the sun doesn’t get close to 12/12 till mid August or September
Plant early inside last week of April transplant outside end of May
Starts to bloom mid July
Harvest mid September before the fall rain & cold

Look for autos with longer growing times & higher Sativa content
The early strains were crossed with Indica so flower faster
 
A topic titled "Preventing Autos flowering early outside" shows what needs to be done.

Every auto I've tried to grow outdoors ends up flowering way too early. like 6 inches early.

How do I reduce the stress placed on autos when transplanting so they don't flower prematurely?
That has to be one of the easiest questions to answer in a long time. An auto-flower will start its flowering when the plant has more flowering hormones than vegetating. That means that the grower will have to work overtime if they want to prevent the plant from doing what it is genetically designed to do and still have a 99% probability that they will fail.

Plan ahead to take advantage of what nature will do.

Want to reduce the stress placed on the plant when it is transplanted? Basically, don't transplant. Select the spot where you want to grow the plant and put the seed into the ground there when it is time.

...ends up flowering way too early. like 6 inches early.
Sounds like a size problem and not early flowering problem. Are you are worried about the amount of harvest? Not transplanting will help. Following a fertilizing schedule using a decent fertilizer will help some more.

I'm in New York, zone 7 a/b.
The USDA zones available as a way to help with figuring out which perennial plants should survive an average winter in that zone. Disregard the zone maps since they are confusing the issue and you will be planting, growing, and harvesting in the warm months. You do not even need to know the average last spring and average first fall frost dates but a good grower will learn what they are anyway.

Since you brought it up, Zone 7a & b in your state is pretty much the New York City and areas within about 25 miles. The last frost is about April 5 to 15 and first fall frost will be October 20 to Nov 10th. Remember those are just averages.

Any other transition considerations re fertilizer, time of season, etc.
Nothing will beat a quality fertilizer with easy to use measuring and scheduling. Do not choose by price or pictures of pretty girls on the package.

"Time of season" is easy; all that you have to do is plan ahead. Do not start by figuring out when to plant. The first thing to do is to figure out the best time to harvest. Since September has the highest average monthly humidity levels for your state go with a harvest in mid to late August. Let us pick August 15th for harvest.

The average auto-flower still seems to have an eight week flowering window so back-track 9 weeks which allows an extra week for glitches in the Matrix;). That would mean making plans based on the plant starting to flower about the 13th of June.

Since the average time between germination and start of flowering for autos is 4 to 5 weeks that means you should have the spot picked out and prepped by May 12th. Put the seed in the ground and if all goes right it should be sprouting by the 15th.

If the seed takes a couple of days longer to sprout or if it sprouts on time but is slow in getting started you have that extra week to play with which is why I recommended 9 weeks to allow for glitches. Actually, I gave you another two weeks or so since you could back-track from the 1st of September if you wanted. Keep in mind that September has the highest average humidity for New York state.

Longest day of the year is the first day of Summer which is June 20th. You will have the best window for quality light levels between the 15th of May and the end of August. Good light should mean great growth and quality at harvest time. And great growing temperatures come to think of it.

I am running my "On Schedule" photo essay-journal based on back-tracking from a planned harvest date using photo-period plants. I know when the length of days will start them flowering. I wanted them a certain size and height. I had to figure when to get the plants into the final pot to get root and above ground growth. I planned on when to get them outside to take advantage of sunlight. I took cuttings for a clone and planted seeds ahead of time and then had to keep them inside. That meant stalling them with making them get root bound and then having to root prune. Had to figure in transplanting a couple of times because there is only so much root work that I wanted to do. I had to give lower fertilizer doses to keep their size down. Controlled their growth by giving lower amounts of water. But it was all planned ahead after back-tracking from an October 10th to 15th harvest window to see if I could beat the Bud Rot issue.
 
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