2 Auto Questions Topping and Light

[yamiacaveman]

Ok it's been 40 years since I grew my last plant and a lot has changed. So Autoflowering is brand new to me, I have, some auto seeds on the way and need 2 points cleared up if possible.
I have found a lot of literature on growing but only bits and pieces on auto's , unless I missed it somewhere?

Back in the day it was common to pinch the tops to make the plant bushier, I guess you call it Topping the plant -- from what I am reading with auto's, you never pinch the tops, and you can't make clones from them??? From the pics I'm seeing, the auto's will get wide and stay short on their own,Correct??

2nd has to do with light, since the flowering process begins on there own - how do I handle the light -- Is it necessary to put auto's in a 12/12 light when in the flowering stage, or just keep the lights on until it's time to harvest?


Thanks for any help,

yamiacaveman

[9fingerleafs]

I've never grown autos but I can tell you what I know. Autos are supposed to develop undisturbed so they grow as fast as possible. So any kind of stress will slow things down and as you don't control when to flower you can loose important veging days. On the light times. Most commonly growers recommend 20/4 so they get plenty light and a little bit of darkness. This is just the theory I know. Soon someone more experienced on autos may fill you in the why's and how's

[William and Sue Ashley]

I am a newbee also and have 4 Auto's about 1 week old growing now....After reading many articles on Auto's, the only thing I am going to do is some LST.....and I also will have them on a 24/7 light schedule.....Happy Growing...

[yamiacaveman]

Thanks for the responses!

Hey William and Sue Ashley The light schedule 24/7 is that right up until harvest?

[William and Sue Ashley]

Yes...they don't need to sleep....The right light is their Life.......Until the end.....LOL....

[rwdyredhead]

Welcome yamiacaveman! I'm new to growing too but have some experience with autos. You can do whatever light schedule works for you but 18/6 or 24/7 is fine-right up till harvest. You also don't have to worry about light leaks which is super nice. There are some folks on here who are doing quite a lot of defoliation and even topping autos with good results but I would stick to the easy stuff at first because you don't wanna make a lot of mistakes with them. Lst works great on them-you'll be pleased. Good Luck

[yamiacaveman]

Thanks rwdyredhead!

I'm getting old so I like easy :-) So far I am happy with what I'm hearing -- So for now, I will let the lights on and maybe do some light training for my first batch.
Much better than the old days, planting everything, then pulling out the males -- but I will say, seeds were everywhere and everyone had seeds in there bag, and today, well, at least I'm having, not a great amount of trouble gettings seeds, but it sure is a process, declining credit cards, waiting for responses, oh well.

[ZigZag]

I'll confer with rwdredhead_ I usually have a few autos going at the same time as photoperiod_for insurance. The 'insurance" they provide is reassuring and I like having some variety at harvest time. Anyway, I've done mostly LST on them but once by accident I FIMed one of them and it turned out great. Another time I topped one on purpose and it took about 3-4 days to recover but since it was really healthy and about 3 weeks from its flowering schedule. It all worked out really well because it resulted in a symmetrical division of the main stem so the LST went really well after that. I'm gonna try that again this next time with one of the autos. If you decide to try this then pick the healthiest one you have to top or FIM_do this just above the 3rd node...and I'd try this only if the plant is growing very well and is a strain that has a seed to harvest time of at least 80-90 days. These strains will likely start flowering about the 5th week. If you decide to try topping or FIMing then make sure you have an extra plant you can LST just in case you put the topped one behind schedule too much. If it takes too long to recover then it will likely be stunted because its going to start the flowering process when its genetic schedule tells it to since it doesn't rely on a changing photoperiod.
Happy growing!
PS: if the strain(s) you have are <60-70 day seed to harvest, then I think i'd just stick with the LST. Lots of growers seem to go with the autos cuz they are fast_thus they often select strains that reflect that. I usually select autos with an 80-90 day schedule because that way I can give them more light for a longer period before I change to 12/12 for the photoperiod plants.
I use a light schedule of 20 on, 4 off for all the veg period_I think they need some darkness. Then I use a 12/12 to start the photoperiod plants flowering schedule.Haven't tried an all auto grow with a constant 20/4 hr schedule for the entire grow yet, but hope to.

[Green75]

I run my lights 24 hrs a day...with my autos...and vegging photos...anything else is wrong...uninformed people will disagree
I feed full strength nutes...to my autos & photos
I top of some sort...to my autos & photos
I extreme lst..to my autos & photos
I major defoliate...to my autos & photos

All that to the same plant...

I have extreme success...with my autos & photos !!!!

[William and Sue Ashley]

Nice Job Green....well said.....

[Braink]

Hey green do you have any specifics on how to do this or timeframes and at which nodes to top. Also can you elaborate on the defoliation a little bit, as far as when to do it and how to know when its beneficial or damaging to production. Thanks in advanced!

[Green75]

Topping....it's different every time....i want a short tight fat wide plant with huge buds...as plant grows from sprout and forms new nodes the spacing between nodes is how I decide which node to top to...I like my trunk line to be about an inch to an inch and half off the medium...

Defoliation...from sprout I wait till first nodes tips are covered by third nodes fan leaves...then I cut third nodes fan leaves...I feel cutting fans off early sets the tone and trains them to be able to take much more of it...get them used to it if you will...then so on...
Vegging plant....I take every...every fan covering a tip/top...then I take one for every two leaves at same site...after that extreme chicken boning I wait till she had totally grown back in and can't see bottom of plant them I do it again....and again...and again....till harvest....I slow down a bit about two weeks before harvest...

I find all of these actions beneficial....
I like..baby arm/donkey dick..buds...so I grow them that way...

It's all about reading your plant and actually forming the structure to the size you want.....

A bushy beautiful leafy plant is a lazy plant....a waste....the more they work the stronger they are...

Hope that helps....

[William and Sue Ashley]

We are learning...everyday.....What I am learning is it take's practice and trying your own thing and pay attention to your grow..and everything will go forward....Its truly like cooking food...LOL..

[rwdyredhead]

Thanks rwdyredhead!

I'm getting old so I like easy :-) So far I am happy with what I'm hearing -- So for now, I will let the lights on and maybe do some light training for my first batch.
Much better than the old days, planting everything, then pulling out the males -- but I will say, seeds were everywhere and everyone had seeds in there bag, and today, well, at least I'm having, not a great amount of trouble gettings seeds, but it sure is a process, declining credit cards, waiting for responses, oh well.

Haha, I know, coming up all the weed had seeds! They were so plentiful you'd just toss them out the window or clean your ride & have a handful of seeds and stems from the carpet. Lol It was nothing to find a random plant that had sprouted somewhere from a seed that got tossed. And of course now and then a seed would get rolled up and pop when you were smoking...back in the day when everybody just smoked JOINTS!!!
Feminized seeds sure are the shit tho! I love them!
If it helps, I started ordering from GYO Seed Bank and got my 2nd order by credit card this week. Of course you have to call the bank and tell them you're making an international purchase via your atm card and they will approve it-that's normal-but GYO has been fast and stealth with their shipping, good quality freebies-tho not as many as a few of the other seed banks but I want good seeds and fast shipping over freebies. They have live chat right at the bottom of their page & reply quickly to questions. Love their packaging too-they ship in a blister pack in a folded cardboard case disguised to look like something else. If you're still having issues getting seeds you may want to try them.

[yamiacaveman]

Thanks rwdyredhead, yeah you know the routine, with the credit cards and the old days with all the seed. Thanks I looked them up and got them bookmarked for next time.

[Canuck147]

Feminized auto seeds are the easiest to grow. I have some that will only take 85 days from seed. Waiting on a camera to post for a new topic. Have 7 plants happening now. I remembered a thing Green75 said about not being able to see the floor of the tent. Later.

[dontknownuttin]

Mine is a auto light is on 24/7 day 20 from seed second ever grow

[gbauto]

What Green said is spot on. Auto's respond to training just like a photo plant will but you have to realize that the plant WILL begin to flower at a set time so getting the plant to recover is the trick. It obviously works but planning is required.