Requesting a discussion on Autoflower nutes

[GigaGrew]

Hi peeps
Ive been trying very hard to pick up facts about nutrients for autoflowering plants.

Im trying to plan ahead here (factoring in national availibility and macgyvering) so rather that saying "fox farms this and guano that" (which is good too for those that find this compatible) im hoping people can express nutes in terms of 5-3-5 and macro x and y for the first x weeks then 2-4-6 until flush.

It just allowes us that have to make do with what we can find to mix our own supples.

some questions this thread should answer.

1.what differences are there between growing auto's and standard plants

2.can you make a single blend of food that can be used the entire life of the plant (come on, who wouldnt love to just add 1 cup of x per week and all your worries go away)

3.what are the generic pros and cons of growing auto's instead of traditions breeds.

If we handle this correctly i think managment can hijack the thread and turn it into a new supplimentary faq or sticky.

please feel free to add any knowledge of auto's you can think of, it takes many small brush strokes to make a work of art

 

[first-tymer]

This is a post I recently put up on my current journal. Keep in mind this is my first grow and it is esspecially difficult cause I am using a DWC/drip ring hydroponic setup rather than growing in soil, but this is the conclusion I have come too thus far...

Plants are looking good! When I woke up this morning the leaves were all fanned out and looking very healthy! I transplanted the last of the four original survivers last night before I went to bed and it also looked very healthy this morning. I don't expect anything big from three of the four plants, but the first one I transplanted is becoming much larger than the others and given the size of the pistols and growth on the nodes, I am expecting her to grow up n do big things. I am going to give her a water change this evening and when I do I intend on switching her to the transition stage between veg and flower suggested for the nutrients I am using. She will only be in this stage for one week and will then go to the suggested flowering ratio. I plan on slowly increasing the amount of nutrients this plant is being fed until about the last week before harvest when I intend on completely flushing the plant.

As of this evening I believe it will have been exactly 4 weeks since I began germination of this first batch of seeds.... This being said, one important thing i have come to learn thus far is that purchasing autoflowering seeds is not necessarily going to put out results all that much sooner than regular feminized indoor seeds... Sure it may provide a slighly shorter veg cycle, but given the fact that you can veg most indoor strains in about a months time or more depending on personal preference and priority, autoflowering strains will only shorten this by a few days to a week and will as the name implies automatically do so. This prevents the grower from having much control over the length of the veg cycle if he or she thinks prolonging it may be beneficial.

From what I have been led to believe, the flowering cycle of an autoflower isn't all that much shorter than that of a normal strain either. The difference here is only a few days to a week as well.

This being said, if your intension is to begin growing from a seed and you are attempting to finish asap, the autoflowering strains will typically only save you a few days when all is said and done, and give the grower little to no control over the length of veg/ size of plant. Autoflowering strains typically yield much less than normal strains although there are a few exceptions and provide the indoor grower with flexiblity involving light cycle provided and introduction of new plants to the room at any time as long as there is space.

Outdoor growers who already have very little control over the light cycle can be expected to benefit more in some ways. Although they don't yield nearly as well as most outdoor strains, autoflowering strains can provide growers with up to one or two more harvests each year. If you are limited by time or space outdoors auto's can be a very good solution.

All in all, don't believe the hype surrounding most autoflowering strains. They may be beneficial to some, but consider your priorities before purchasing to ensure it fits your particular needs first. Buyer beware...

 

[GigaGrew]

i dont dissagree on any particular point, but there are many reasons to go for auto's

for example its a lot less complex and expensive to do a real stealth grow with these (as in set em up and dont come back till harvest)

they can be grown in smaller spaces without learning specialised gardening techniques such as SOG, LST and topping.

and for begginers, as long as you dont actually manage to murder the plant, it allows you to visually study the plant across its entire lifetime without doing anything, valuable knowledge to take to future grows.

 

[galgrower]

You also don't have to worry about light creeping in during dark periods affecting yield.
Also very time I've grown auto's. I find I don't need to feed so much as a regular plant during veg.

 

[GigaGrew]

I find I don't need to feed so much as a regular plant during veg.

Interesting. was the difference significant? is it a classic case of half the size = half the nutes needed?

wouldnt it be nice to know exactly what weight of nutes to give a plant based on its mass. i suppose it would be no different to the RDA of us humans and our nutrients.

 

[galgrower]

Interesting. was the difference significant? is it a classic case of half the size = half the nutes needed?

I reckon that's it, auto's I have grown have been small. Also when I grow normal weed. I veg them 2 or 3 weeks longer than the average auto veg period.

 

[first-tymer]

Yes I agree, autos are good for stealth grows and gorilla grows, but I still would be concerned with light entering the room/tent during the dark cycle, not sure whether it will force it to try n flower sooner or not, but it will confuse the plant no matter what and will eventually put undue stress on it affecting yield potential/plant size, or in other words stunted growth... The plant will still produce, but that may explain the small size of your plants. I know in general autos are typically smaller than the average plant, but I have one going now that will more than likely end up around three feet tall in well under 70 days. It is being grown indoors in a growlab tent under a 600 watt HPS Blockbuster lamp and general hydroponics flora 3 part series hydroponic formula. It is being grown in a waterfarm hydro unit. It currently just began to flower and it is around 2 ft tall at this point, and is on day 30 I believe. First one I've grown and it looks like it will be just under the height my tent can handle which was exactly what I was going for. I have put little effort into trimming the plant as it is an auto and I'm afraid topping or fimming could hurt my yeild since it has such a short and predetermined veg cycle, also wanted to more or less let this one go on it's own so I have a better idea of how I could manipulate the next batch I have coming. I currently have three smaller plants that are about a week younger than then initial one, all seem to have slightly different genetic qualities. One is taller, one is wider, one is purple. Kinda cool but since they are all different it is harder to judge their condition and growth. The parents are Auto #1, Big Bud, and Power Plant. Auto #1 is obviously where it gets it's ruterallis genes, Big Bud gives it a good yield (approx 450g per sq meter), and it's potentcy (17-20% thc) comes from the Power Plant Genetics. I'm excited to see how the girls all turn out.

I have two more seedlings I am about to transplant into my other water farm units and I will be experimenting with organics nutes from Botonicare with them. It should be interesting, I have heard some bad things about organics in hydro since I have made this purchase. Ex: Hard to contol ph, not as resistent to water born diseases/pests. Not sure if they are going to work well with autos, but I purchased the stuff so I might as well try it out and see what happens!

Thinking about supplementing co2 very soon. I bought a used tank/regulator/ppm meter/controler the other day from a guy on craigslist and all I need to do is get it refilled, plug it in, and find out how to time it so it is effective. I will need to find a cheap A/C unit for my room/tent so i can afford to turn the fan on the light off for a period of time so i don't waste a lot of co2 by just sucking it straight out of the tent while it is running constantly... I could also simply have the vent sucking air from outiside the tent and suck it straight throught the lamp and out the other side. Though this will ultimately limit the amount of air circulating through the tent and may suffocate them from oxygen if I'm not too careful and allow it to suck air out of the tent periodically. Not sure exactly which way I will go quite yet, hence the reason I haven't filled it yet...

 

[exile19]

Can you sex autos and get seeds or make them hermie?

 

[GigaGrew]

yes you can breed them and yes you can hermie them....you cannot clone them however =(

 

[exile19]

thanks

 

[Perfect Sun LED]

From Nirvana seeds

Auto-flowerers need a light hand with fertilizers, and no nutes that are intended for vegetative growth – use a high P fertilizer instead. Auto-flowering varieties are perfect for guerilla growing.

 

[GigaGrew]

Thanks LEDRF =)

+reps for digging this out =)

We are still building our understanding of autos =)

 

[freetrees]

nice thread. there are some great white label seeds available in spain, ive tried 2 types, cheese and ak47,they were cheap and very big for autos, they seem to be moving away from the old days of low rider, and can actually produce good yields. another ive tried is sweet seeds big devil xl, they are big and lush. as for nutes i use atami light it smells mushroomy and is light and soft. i use canna veg flora pk and spray with cannacure, ive heard its sugar water but my gals look so nice im gonna continue with it for now. also last 6 weeks i use mollases for flavour. no extras just this and especially using canna feed i start on 1/8 recomended dose and never go over 1/6. Autos go 2 nweeks minimumin most light mix with no added nutes after that take it easy they really dont like too much. peace

 

[Compubob1]

I have started from seed 5 auto fem bubblicious. They are 2 1/2 weeks old and have lots of green, they are growing in peat pods. When do I replant them and do I go to a small pot or large, finishing pot?

Thanks for any help...

 

[GigaGrew]

straight into their finishing pots, and as gently as possible. and as soon as possible so they can recover...autos really don't like to be repotted =(

 

[Compubob1]

Thanks, GiGaBaNE! I will replant them this week...

 

[J189RFC]

Wow... apparently my lowryders (most of them) decided to defy the laws of autos. I gave them ferts since they had two sets of nodes. Did 2 weeks of grow (N based with lots of fish poop) They drank and ate away! Then I started using a more bloom heavy one and they just stopped stretching. They would probably be between 16-18inches now. at about 40 days in. And they eat and eat and eat still! I feed em a gal + a full shot nutes almost every day! Did I get the most vigorous LR#1's ever?

 

[killuminati99]

Green house seed co powder feeding for all your motherplants(growth) powder shortflowering powder(also autos) and longflowering powder, keep it simple

 

[bothteams]

Yeah if people only knew.. You can really abuse them in the feeding department.. They will eat things regular strains have problems with without a hiccup

 

[GardenFaerie]

Interesting. was the difference significant? is it a classic case of half the size = half the nutes needed?

wouldnt it be nice to know exactly what weight of nutes to give a plant based on its mass. i suppose it would be no different to the RDA of us humans and our nutrients.

No, the genetics of the plant have C. ruderalis as part of their hybridization. C. ruderalis is hemp. Hemp is a plant which thrives in disturbed, poor soils. It has developed a way to thrive on how it uptakes nutrients. It does not use a lot of nitrogen which is the first number in the ratio. For this reason, farmers used to plant it between their corn plants to supplement the crop with another commodity. They stopped that long ago...for some idiot reason.

This is what I used on my autos, which was my very first indoor grow under CFL.

Not sponsors, but I've been using Medina products for years on everything with success.

Here is one of my buds. I don't know what strain it is because I bought a mix called, Buddha Dwarf Fem Autos mix from Herbie's, which is a sponsor and great to deal with.