Autoflowers....make me a believer please

[Green75]

I have finally made up my mind and decided to go with seeds on my next grow. Now I am stuck on wether to go with autos or photos.I like high potency weed for sure and from what I have been reading autos have come along way since their start. They seem to do well in a SOG. My wife and I need four ounces a month to maintain our proper smoking and vaping and friend usage.

So I would like to know pros & cons of autos and obviously the best strains and where you got them. I've been struggling with this topic in my head for a few days now and have not been able to make up my mind so i am bringing it to you kind folks...cause you guys are the best.

I know you all will be thorough....thank you in advance!!

P.S. I have a 3x3x6 tent and have 10 photos in it now, so I can pull off a little sea off green

[insomniaczzz]

Your plants look great! We have our plants all neatly spaced apart so we can get around each one. How do you water with a grow like that?

[Royal Nugs]

The obvious advantage to me is the extended light cycle you get to run. Typically 18/6 for autos I believe. More light = more bud. I haven't smoked or grown auto flower before. They're huge in Europe, I think...

I have a few auto flower beans I got as freebies a while back. I don't know if I'll ever grow them. Trying to find a good home for them.

I like to to be able to control the photoperiod, personally.

[Pankace]

2 to 3 month harvest times for autos compared to photos at 3 to 6 or more months. Shorter time for autos yet bigger yields for photos. It's a trade off for sure. I'm growing an auto next to a photo. I'm keeping the photo in veg until the auto is harvested and then put the photo into flower. The harvest from the auto should get us by till the photo harvest. I hope lol

[Weed Pharma]

I recently started my first auto which is less than 2 weeks old.
The biggest advantage I can see is: you can fill in empty spaces in your veg tent or flower tent for that matter.
Since you are running the lights anyways, it may as well be productive and not go to waste- so any yield is a plus with very little effort. I picked the strain that was on sale @ Nirvana (bubblelicious) for my first run.

All my grows are in Roots organic original (amended)- so there is no need to add nutes, as long as I transplant (photo's as auto's it's not recommended for transplant) before veg and then again going into flower (so far @ wk3 flower on a 10 week sativa), but suspect it won't make it that long.
My long range goal is to create a medium that you can plant an auto seed and just water it (pH adjusted with Protekt/GH pH UP), but until then the auto's are filling any holes in my tents.

[NebulaHaze]

You mentioned you'd like to find a way to get a single grow medium that grows cannabis from seed to harvest, and it actually exists! What you need is composted, "living" soil that's been amended with the nutrients a cannabis plant needs. A lot of people call it super soil

[Mañ'O'Green]

A problem with calling it "Super Soil" is that there is a commercial product here in California that has nothing to do with the composted soil you are referring to. There needs to be a way to distinguish it. http://www.supersoil.com/smg/gosite/SuperSoil/home

[Green75]

That's a good question..I just recently bought a piece of pvc pipe and a funnel....have a look.

[HillBilly420]

I have been growing autos for a few years now and just got done growing critical jack herer auto and from seed to harvest was 76 days and after drying and curing I got 12 and half ounces of smoke and this strain is a killer sativa so just let you know autos can be a great plant

[Green75]

Off one plant..??

Got any pics ?

Damn..where did you get it from
How big was plant? Details please

[rockman]

I would choose autoflower personally...they are so darn smart about putting out their bounty without manipulating photo period! Very pleased with White Widow, Purple mazar, and Blue kush (all from Seedsman). Got a baby bubblicious from Nirvana started now. Potency has not been an issue, though that is a subjective matter. Good luck on your grows!

[Green75]

Thanks ...about how much per plant would you say after dried...all plants are different I know

[rockman]

Almost embarrassing to admit in a cannabis growing forum, but I have never been interested in weighing my bounty. Let's just say that each plant yielded about 5 or more quart size jars (not packed too tightly) of dried buds. Good enough for a novice grower like me! 😊

[Mañ'O'Green]

There is a entire forum dedicated to Autoflowering Plants. Of special interest to me was the dedicated thread about topping an autoflower! My next grow will be two Cream of the Crop strains, Amphetamine (seed to harvest 50 days! I will believe it when I see it) and Narcotic Kush. I will be topping them.

[Pankace]

Topping autos? Still kinda taboo for autos isn't it?

[Mañ'O'Green]

That is what I used to believe and then I was retrained. COTCs came from Gorilla Seeds.

[RogueDaytona]

I think topping an AF will be ok, but don't expect harvest@ 50 days. After numerous AF grows I found that topping does work, but adds time, and hydro growing for AF produces bigger bounty by far then soil does. BUT......soil is so much more tasty! I like to use Kind Soil for my organic grows, soil comes in 5 lbs. bags and is 18.00 US$ shipped from Mich. Good growing to all, and spread the word.....

[NebulaHaze]

I feel like auto-flowers are best for those looking for a quick harvest, you can't beat how much bud you'll get off an auto in under 3 months! They're also perfect for people who live in a temperate climate and want to grow outdoors any time of the year without having to worry about light periods. In Southern California I could grow all year round!

On the other hand, photoperiods have a bigger strain choice, and as a grower you get more control over when the plant starts flowering. For example if your auto-flowering plant gets stunted you'll end up with a really tiny plant with tiny buds, while you could just vegetate a stunted photoperiod plant until it got as big as you wanted.

Overall I really liked growing autos when I did! I got 2+ ounces per auto-flowering plant under a small 250W HPS, for a total of almost 7 ounces in less than 3 months. It was also kind of neat having 3 different strains at harvest since I could easily fit 3 plants in there, and I think I could have increased my yields by adding another plant or two. With bigger lights you can yield even more!

[Green75]

What do you think about thc levels..
I like higher levels...pun intended..lol

[NebulaHaze]

I'd say that the best auto-flowering strains are as potent as any photoperiod strain (all the Dinafem auto strains I've grown were very potent, for example). But if you get autos from an inexperienced breeder they can sometimes be not that potent because they are too closely related to their wild Ruderalis hemp ancestors, which didn't produce a lot of THC It seems like you get the best results with strains that are 6 or 7+ generations away from a wild Ruderalis plant! At that point they've retained just the auto-flowering characteristic, and most of their genes for bud growth come from photoperiod strains!

[insomniaczzz]

I wish hubby would have had me in on the seed buying. I told him, "It's for you, order what seems most appealing and addresses your medical issues." I now wish he'd have ordered one auto-flower strain.

[Mañ'O'Green]

FYI

Seed finder lists 1,168 autoflowering strains now and it seems like that number goes up daily.

Dutch Passion's AutoMazer has a record grow of 900 Grams (31.7 ounces from one plant ) Grown by the "King"

How much convincing do you need?

[insomniaczzz]

Okay, I am impulsive so I just finished an order for Bubblegum Auto from Seedsman. I'm going to start one as soon as they get here.

Question #1 - Should I use the same low stress training method as with photos, or do they do their own thing without interference?

Question #2 - Can I take a clone, and if so, when is the best time to do so?

[Mañ'O'Green]

No, Yes but No. Top once at 3rd node; then use LST.You can take a clone but it lives and dies on the same clock as the mother. Check out this thread about topping Autos. It convinces me.

[insomniaczzz]

No, Yes but No. Top once at 3rd node; then use LST.You can take a clone but it lives and dies on the same clock as the mother. Check out this thread about topping Autos. It convinces me.

Thanks for answering my questions. Now, that I think about it, that makes sense about the clone.