How To Grow Autoflowering Strains

  • Thread starter Seraphim19
  • Start date
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S

Seraphim19

250
93
Hey guys, I get asked a lot about autos and how to treat them so I put together a little booklet on how to grow them. Since the accurate info thread is so long now it can be hard to find what you are looking for so I though I would make it easy for you and just post the booklet here so you will have all the info in one place to read at your leisure.

Chapters
  1. Introduction

  2. Preparation

  3. Feeding Procedures

  4. Harvesting

  5. Drying and Curing

  6. Troubleshooting

  7. Reference
Introduction

This book is meant as a quick reference guide for growers of photoperiod plants who want to try auto-flowering plants. By this I mean that I am assuming that you have a grow space, lighting, air circulation, carbon filter etc.. ready to go and set up on a timer system.

Autos vs Photos
There are many pro's and con's to both varieties but for this short guide I will just be going through the differences in genetics and requirements.

Genetics
Photoperiod plants require a drop in the available light hours from 18 to 12, in order for them to begin flowering and producing buds.

Autoflowering plants do not need this change, they will show sex at around 21 days old and then continue on to full maturity even under 24hrs of light.

There are three types of cannabis plant
Indica
Sativa
Ruderalis

Autoflowering plants contain the ruderalis gene which dictates flowering by age rather than light exposure
This presents a number of possibilities as it does away with the need for a veg room. I believe these possibilities are the main reason that autoflowering plants have become so popular. This potential for perpetual grows and a constant supply has changed the world of marijuana forever.

Requirements
Autos require different treatment to photos in order to get the best out of them.

Here are the two key differences:
Photos require a 12/12 light cycle to flower. Autos do best under a 20/4 light cycle for the whole life of the plant

Photos can take stronger nutrients. When using nutrients on autos always use half the recommended dose. You can always play with this as some stains can take more nutrients than others.

Preparation
So you have your equipment, your grow room is all ready and you are itching to start growing your own Autoflowering cannabis. There is still a bit of preparation to do before we can start growing though. So lets get started!

Soil Preparation
Preparing your soil in advance is the easiest way to avoid problems. By taking the time to get it right now you can save a lot of head aches down the line.

To buy or to make?
You can get good soils for autoflowering cannabis from all good hydro shops.
I would recommend a light mix like Plagron light mix.

Personally I don't like going into hydro shops so I mix my own soil which I get from the local garden centre. If you are going to mix your own soil then first you will need everything on the following list

Soil Ingredients
ph spike
fish blood and bone
egg shells (washed, dried and powdered)
bat guano
perlite
vermiculite
multipurpose compost(low nutrients, not miracle grow!)

Everything on this list is readily available at good garden centres except bat guano. This is easy enough to get on Amazon or Ebay

Mix
60% Multipurpose compost
20% Perlite
20% Vermiculite
this will be your base mix

To this you will need to add:
1 tablespoon of bat guano per 8 litres
1 tablespoon of fish blood and bone per 8 litres
2 powdered egg shells per 8 litres

Now wet the soil and test the ph with your soil ph spike, this will give you an indication of the ph but not a proper reading

Getting the ph right
Now you have your soil mix you want to let it sit for at least a day or 2 for the ph to stabilise then test it and make sure it is in the 6.5-6.8 ph range. If it is a little over I.e between 6.8-7 then leave it, if not then you will need to amend your soil to the right ph. Use dolomite/garden lime to raise the ph and sulphur pellets to lower it.

Potting up
You will want to fill your pots and wet them about a week before you are going to plant anything. This way you can check the soil ph again before you plant to ensure it is stable and in the correct range.

Make sure you use a minimum of an 8 litre pot. For most autos grown indoors 10-12 litres is the ideal pot size. For super autos you will need at least a 15 litre pot.

Germination
Now you have everything ready, you have the hardest choice. What strain to grow?
Once you have figured this out you will need to germinate the seed and plant it.
There are a few ways of doing this and I have given you two options below.

Option 1 - Root Riot Cubes

  • put the seed into a root riot cube and keep moist and warm until the seed sprouts from the cube and roots become visible on the outside of the cube.

  • Plant the cube directly into the plants final home
Option 2 – Paper Towel Method

  • Place a folded paper towel into a plastic container(you want about four layers of paper towel on the top and bottom)

  • Wet the paper towel

  • Place the seed on top of the wet paper towel

  • Cover with another folded paper towel

  • Ensure there is sufficient water(paper towels should be very wet, but not flooded)

  • Place somewhere warm to germinate

  • Once germinated transplant to its final home
Preparation is over and its time to see the plants grow!

Feeding Procedures
In this section I will lay out a guide for feeding your plants and avoiding issues.

General Principals
When feeding your plants you will need to ensure that

  • Your water is ready
  • The plant is healthy(if the plant is not healthy go to troubleshooting section)
  • The plants have the correct environment i.e. soil ph is between 6.5 and 6.8(see troubleshooting section for ph correction)
  • Nutrients are correct strength
  • PH of feed is adjusted according to soil PH
  • Adequate water is held by the soil
Getting Your Water Ready

All the water you use to feed your plants should be allowed to sit for at least 12hrs before use. Tap water comes loaded with chlorine and this evaporates while the water sits and makes it better for your plants.

If you want to see explosive growth then you will also need to bubble your water. To do this just use an aquarium air pump and air stone. You place the stone in the water and allow bubbles to pas through it. The water should be bubbled for at least 12 hrs.

By bubbling the water you allow oxygen to be dissolved in the water which is highly beneficial for the roots.

Plant Health Check

Before you feed your plant you need to check and see if it is healthy. If you see any of the following signs then go to the troubleshooting section.
  • Pale or discoloured leaves

  • Spots on leaves

  • Curling leaves

  • Insects or pests

  • Sour smell from the soil

Checking Soil
Before making up your feed you will need to test the soil ph. To ensure you get an accurate reading follow these steps:

  1. Wet the soil if it is completely dry.

  2. If you are using a cheap ph spike then scrub the probe with a scouring pad, otherwise you will get false readings.

  3. Spike soil and let the reading stabilise for about 3 – 5 mins
If your soil is not in the 6 – 7 range then go to troubleshooting.

Mixing the Feed

Now you have all the info you need to mix your feed.

Getting this right is crucial to a successful grow. Too weak and you will not get the full potential from the plant, too strong and you can damage or even kill your plant, and if your ph is off then it can block the absorption of nutrients completely

To make sure you have the correct mix I have put a feeding chart at the back of this book for reference.

Once you have added all the nutrients to your feed you will need to test the ph of your feed and adjust it to meet the needs of your plant.

If your soil is in the correct ph range then always water at PH 6.5

PH Adjustments

For minor corrections in soil ph the feed can be used.

To explain this lets say your soil ph is 6.2 and you want it at 6.5

To correct it you take the difference of what the soil ph is and what you want it to be. In this case 0.3, then double it( 0.6 ) and add it to the soil ph ( 6.2 ) and you get the ph you need to water at to correct the imbalance (6.8)

So its

Find the difference

Required Soil ph – Actual Soil ph = Difference
  1. - 6.2 = 0.3
Then

Difference x 2 + Soil ph = Feed ph

(0.3 x 2) + 6.2 = 6.8

0.6 + 6.2 = 6.8

By using this formula you can correct low ph problems. For high ph problems instead of adding the (difference x 2) subtract it.

Flushing Salts
When your plants use the nutrients you are feeding them there is salt created as a by-product. This salt can build up and become toxic. To avoid this you should always make more feed than you need.

The reason for this is that you need to allow the feed to flow through the soil and wash away the salts that can build up.

Adequate Saturation
It is very important to water slowly!
By feeding slowly you allow the soil time to absorb the liquid.
When your soil is dry it will allow liquid to run right through the pot with very little being absorbed by the soil. If you water slowly then the liquid will be absorbed by the soil and have a chance to wash away any salts that may be present in the soil.

When slow watering NEVER re-use the run off water as this will contain the salts.

Harvesting

When to Harvest

The easiest way to know when to harvest an auto-flowering plant is to wait until the fan leaves have yellowed and died, at this point the plant is at its peak and its time to harvest.

If you have a jewelers loupe or a microscope then you can have a look at the trichomes and see if they are ready. You can tell by their colour if they are ready. I have put a trichomes reference chart at the back of this book. I like to harvest at around 20% amber

If they are ready now all you need to do is trim away all the leaves and start drying the plant

Drying and Curing

Drying
The simple way to dry your bud is the paper bag method.

  • For this you need to get some brown paper bags.

  • Place your buds into the paper bags and fold the top over to seal it.

  • Place somewhere with good air circulation and allow to dry until the stems snap when bent
Curing

  • Take your dry buds and your small humidity meter and place them into an airtight container

  • open/burp the container three times a day for 15 mins each time. Continue doing this until your relative humidity reaches 67%

  • Once 67% RH is reached burp once a month
Troubleshooting

PH and Deficiencies
9 times out of 10 the problem indoor growers have is a bad soil ph. The bad ph causes a lockout of nutrients and this shows itself as nutrient deficiency in the plant.

If you have a bad soil ph it is important to correct it as soon as possible.

To raise soil ph use dolomite or garden lime

To lower soil ph use sulphur pellets

There is a ph nutrient availability chart in the reference section. I have also included a deficiency identification chart so you can diagnose and correct any deficiency you may have.

The most common nutrient problems are

  • Nitrogen deficiency – caused by lack of food or bad ph – cure – correct the ph / give stronger feed

  • Calcium/magnesium deficiency – caused by lack of nutrients or ph lockout – cure – correct ph / feed molasses / add cal/mag liquid feed
Pests
Some of the pests you get in a grow room can be devastating. Things like spider mites and thrips can destroy a whole crop if left unchecked.

For these pests I recommend you use a pesticide that is designed to kill thrips and spidermites as these ones will usually kill everything else too.

DO NOT SPRAY PESTICIDE ON BUDS, YOU WILL MAKE THEM POISONUS

If you have budding plants and want to get rid of the pests with no risk to your bud them you can use ladybugs/ladybirds. They can be ordered from garden centres or online. Once released into your grow room they will eat all of your bugs and leave the plants untouched.

I have included pictures of the common bugs in the reference section.

So there you have it a quick guide to Autos, I hope this book helps you produce some winning plants

Seraphim


REFERENCE

How to grow autoflowering strains


Ph chart



How to grow autoflowering strains 3


Trichs


Thrips
How to grow autoflowering strains 4


How to grow autoflowering strains 5
 
S

Seraphim19

250
93
As the booklet above was made for photo growers I thought I would add some more info to help the people completely new to growing.

LIFECYCLE OF AN AUTO

A common question I see is when to switch autos from veg to bloom. Many people are under the impression that as soon as they see the first flowers it's time to switch. Perhaps a little explanation of the life cycle of autos will help to clarify this.

Weeks 1 - 3. Once you've started your seeds and they break the surface of the soil, they are in their seedling stage. The first set of leaves to appear will usually single fingered, followed by a second set that may still be single fingered or perhaps 3 fingered. Once that second set appears growth will start to accelerate as the new leaves provide more photosynthesis. This process will continue, more new leaves, faster growth. Depending on the type of soil in use, mild vegetative nutes can be introduced at week 2. By week 3 most plants will start to show their sex. Males will start to produce pollen sacks and females will display pistils.

Weeks 4 - 6. The plants are now entering a pre flowering stage. During this time the plants should exhibit explosive growth, often as much as a new set of nodes and 1" vertical growth a day. This is the time when they will gain most of their vertical height. Many people make the mistake of switching from vegetative to flowering nutrients at this point, assuming that since they see flowers it must be the proper time. This is incorrect. If the switch to flowering nutes is made at this time the vertical growth will stop and the plant will put it's energy into producing buds. If you need to keep your plants small, or want them to finish earlier, they by all means switch nutes at this point. But if you want to get the most out of your plants continue feeding vegetative nutes until you see the vertical growth slow and stop. Depending on the strain that will usually be sometime during week 5 or 6.

Weeks 7 - 9. By now vertical growth has stopped and the switch to flowering nutrients has been made. The buds will start to fill out and put on weight, becoming hard and tight. Pistols will start to change from white to brown, orange, red, etc. By now the plants will also have developed a strong smell. Toward the end of this phase the large primary and smaller secondary fan leaves will begin to turn yellow. This is an indication that the plant is moving toward the end of it's life.

Weeks 10 - 11. At this time flowering nutes should be discontinued and only plain pHed water fed to flush the remaining nutrients from the soil and improve the taste. Yellowing of the fan leaves will continue as the plant draws the stored energy from them. Eventually they will die and fall off. By the time that the smaller leaves that come from out of the buds will also start to turn yellow. Then it's time to harvest.

I know that many of you are thinking that the seed bank said the plants will finish in 8-9 weeks, so why are you saying they take 10-11? The claims made by the seed banks are somewhat deceptive. If you switch to flowering nutes at week 3 or 4 the plants can finish in the times the seed banks say but they will remain small and not reach their full potential yield. Years of growing by myself and others has shown that autos do best if you follow this time line.

Of course, there will always be variations depending on the strain, the environment, nutrients, etc. This information is meant to only serve as a general guideline.
 
1

123D

9
3
Hi There,
Great thread but I have one question, might be a stupid one but here goes...when you say a ltr of water in week 1, are you running through a ltr of water or making this up and sharing with all the plants?

One Love
 
str8smokn

str8smokn

8,036
313
Hi There,
Great thread but I have one question, might be a stupid one but here goes...when you say a ltr of water in week 1, are you running through a ltr of water or making this up and sharing with all the plants?

One Love

You mix up a liter of water and use what is needed.
If you need two liters then mix up two and adjust nutes as needed.
STR8
 
SugarSweet

SugarSweet

96
33
Hey guys, I get asked a lot about autos and how to treat them so I put together a little booklet on how to grow them. Since the accurate info thread is so long now it can be hard to find what you are looking for so I though I would make it easy for you and just post the booklet here so you will have all the info in one place to read at your leisure.

Chapters
  1. Introduction

  2. Preparation

  3. Feeding Procedures

  4. Harvesting

  5. Drying and Curing

  6. Troubleshooting

  7. Reference
Introduction

This book is meant as a quick reference guide for growers of photoperiod plants who want to try auto-flowering plants. By this I mean that I am assuming that you have a grow space, lighting, air circulation, carbon filter etc.. ready to go and set up on a timer system.

Autos vs Photos
There are many pro's and con's to both varieties but for this short guide I will just be going through the differences in genetics and requirements.

Genetics
Photoperiod plants require a drop in the available light hours from 18 to 12, in order for them to begin flowering and producing buds.

Autoflowering plants do not need this change, they will show sex at around 21 days old and then continue on to full maturity even under 24hrs of light.

There are three types of cannabis plant
Indica
Sativa
Ruderalis

Autoflowering plants contain the ruderalis gene which dictates flowering by age rather than light exposure
This presents a number of possibilities as it does away with the need for a veg room. I believe these possibilities are the main reason that autoflowering plants have become so popular. This potential for perpetual grows and a constant supply has changed the world of marijuana forever.

Requirements
Autos require different treatment to photos in order to get the best out of them.

Here are the two key differences:
Photos require a 12/12 light cycle to flower. Autos do best under a 20/4 light cycle for the whole life of the plant

Photos can take stronger nutrients. When using nutrients on autos always use half the recommended dose. You can always play with this as some stains can take more nutrients than others.

Preparation
So you have your equipment, your grow room is all ready and you are itching to start growing your own Autoflowering cannabis. There is still a bit of preparation to do before we can start growing though. So lets get started!

Soil Preparation
Preparing your soil in advance is the easiest way to avoid problems. By taking the time to get it right now you can save a lot of head aches down the line.

To buy or to make?
You can get good soils for autoflowering cannabis from all good hydro shops.
I would recommend a light mix like Plagron light mix.

Personally I don't like going into hydro shops so I mix my own soil which I get from the local garden centre. If you are going to mix your own soil then first you will need everything on the following list

Soil Ingredients
ph spike
fish blood and bone
egg shells (washed, dried and powdered)
bat guano
perlite
vermiculite
multipurpose compost(low nutrients, not miracle grow!)

Everything on this list is readily available at good garden centres except bat guano. This is easy enough to get on Amazon or Ebay

Mix
60% Multipurpose compost
20% Perlite
20% Vermiculite
this will be your base mix

To this you will need to add:
1 tablespoon of bat guano per 8 litres
1 tablespoon of fish blood and bone per 8 litres
2 powdered egg shells per 8 litres

Now wet the soil and test the ph with your soil ph spike, this will give you an indication of the ph but not a proper reading

Getting the ph right
Now you have your soil mix you want to let it sit for at least a day or 2 for the ph to stabilise then test it and make sure it is in the 6.5-6.8 ph range. If it is a little over I.e between 6.8-7 then leave it, if not then you will need to amend your soil to the right ph. Use dolomite/garden lime to raise the ph and sulphur pellets to lower it.

Potting up
You will want to fill your pots and wet them about a week before you are going to plant anything. This way you can check the soil ph again before you plant to ensure it is stable and in the correct range.

Make sure you use a minimum of an 8 litre pot. For most autos grown indoors 10-12 litres is the ideal pot size. For super autos you will need at least a 15 litre pot.

Germination
Now you have everything ready, you have the hardest choice. What strain to grow?
Once you have figured this out you will need to germinate the seed and plant it.
There are a few ways of doing this and I have given you two options below.

Option 1 - Root Riot Cubes

  • put the seed into a root riot cube and keep moist and warm until the seed sprouts from the cube and roots become visible on the outside of the cube.

  • Plant the cube directly into the plants final home
Option 2 – Paper Towel Method

  • Place a folded paper towel into a plastic container(you want about four layers of paper towel on the top and bottom)

  • Wet the paper towel

  • Place the seed on top of the wet paper towel

  • Cover with another folded paper towel

  • Ensure there is sufficient water(paper towels should be very wet, but not flooded)

  • Place somewhere warm to germinate

  • Once germinated transplant to its final home
Preparation is over and its time to see the plants grow!

Feeding Procedures
In this section I will lay out a guide for feeding your plants and avoiding issues.

General Principals
When feeding your plants you will need to ensure that

  • Your water is ready
  • The plant is healthy(if the plant is not healthy go to troubleshooting section)
  • The plants have the correct environment i.e. soil ph is between 6.5 and 6.8(see troubleshooting section for ph correction)
  • Nutrients are correct strength
  • PH of feed is adjusted according to soil PH
  • Adequate water is held by the soil
Getting Your Water Ready

All the water you use to feed your plants should be allowed to sit for at least 12hrs before use. Tap water comes loaded with chlorine and this evaporates while the water sits and makes it better for your plants.

If you want to see explosive growth then you will also need to bubble your water. To do this just use an aquarium air pump and air stone. You place the stone in the water and allow bubbles to pas through it. The water should be bubbled for at least 12 hrs.

By bubbling the water you allow oxygen to be dissolved in the water which is highly beneficial for the roots.

Plant Health Check

Before you feed your plant you need to check and see if it is healthy. If you see any of the following signs then go to the troubleshooting section.
  • Pale or discoloured leaves

  • Spots on leaves

  • Curling leaves

  • Insects or pests

  • Sour smell from the soil

Checking Soil
Before making up your feed you will need to test the soil ph. To ensure you get an accurate reading follow these steps:

  1. Wet the soil if it is completely dry.

  2. If you are using a cheap ph spike then scrub the probe with a scouring pad, otherwise you will get false readings.

  3. Spike soil and let the reading stabilise for about 3 – 5 mins
If your soil is not in the 6 – 7 range then go to troubleshooting.

Mixing the Feed

Now you have all the info you need to mix your feed.

Getting this right is crucial to a successful grow. Too weak and you will not get the full potential from the plant, too strong and you can damage or even kill your plant, and if your ph is off then it can block the absorption of nutrients completely

To make sure you have the correct mix I have put a feeding chart at the back of this book for reference.

Once you have added all the nutrients to your feed you will need to test the ph of your feed and adjust it to meet the needs of your plant.

If your soil is in the correct ph range then always water at PH 6.5

PH Adjustments

For minor corrections in soil ph the feed can be used.

To explain this lets say your soil ph is 6.2 and you want it at 6.5

To correct it you take the difference of what the soil ph is and what you want it to be. In this case 0.3, then double it( 0.6 ) and add it to the soil ph ( 6.2 ) and you get the ph you need to water at to correct the imbalance (6.8)

So its

Find the difference

Required Soil ph – Actual Soil ph = Difference
  1. - 6.2 = 0.3
Then

Difference x 2 + Soil ph = Feed ph

(0.3 x 2) + 6.2 = 6.8

0.6 + 6.2 = 6.8

By using this formula you can correct low ph problems. For high ph problems instead of adding the (difference x 2) subtract it.

Flushing Salts
When your plants use the nutrients you are feeding them there is salt created as a by-product. This salt can build up and become toxic. To avoid this you should always make more feed than you need.

The reason for this is that you need to allow the feed to flow through the soil and wash away the salts that can build up.

Adequate Saturation
It is very important to water slowly!
By feeding slowly you allow the soil time to absorb the liquid.
When your soil is dry it will allow liquid to run right through the pot with very little being absorbed by the soil. If you water slowly then the liquid will be absorbed by the soil and have a chance to wash away any salts that may be present in the soil.

When slow watering NEVER re-use the run off water as this will contain the salts.

Harvesting

When to Harvest

The easiest way to know when to harvest an auto-flowering plant is to wait until the fan leaves have yellowed and died, at this point the plant is at its peak and its time to harvest.

If you have a jewelers loupe or a microscope then you can have a look at the trichomes and see if they are ready. You can tell by their colour if they are ready. I have put a trichomes reference chart at the back of this book. I like to harvest at around 20% amber

If they are ready now all you need to do is trim away all the leaves and start drying the plant

Drying and Curing

Drying
The simple way to dry your bud is the paper bag method.

  • For this you need to get some brown paper bags.

  • Place your buds into the paper bags and fold the top over to seal it.

  • Place somewhere with good air circulation and allow to dry until the stems snap when bent
Curing

  • Take your dry buds and your small humidity meter and place them into an airtight container

  • open/burp the container three times a day for 15 mins each time. Continue doing this until your relative humidity reaches 67%

  • Once 67% RH is reached burp once a month
Troubleshooting

PH and Deficiencies
9 times out of 10 the problem indoor growers have is a bad soil ph. The bad ph causes a lockout of nutrients and this shows itself as nutrient deficiency in the plant.

If you have a bad soil ph it is important to correct it as soon as possible.

To raise soil ph use dolomite or garden lime

To lower soil ph use sulphur pellets

There is a ph nutrient availability chart in the reference section. I have also included a deficiency identification chart so you can diagnose and correct any deficiency you may have.

The most common nutrient problems are

  • Nitrogen deficiency – caused by lack of food or bad ph – cure – correct the ph / give stronger feed

  • Calcium/magnesium deficiency – caused by lack of nutrients or ph lockout – cure – correct ph / feed molasses / add cal/mag liquid feed
Pests
Some of the pests you get in a grow room can be devastating. Things like spider mites and thrips can destroy a whole crop if left unchecked.

For these pests I recommend you use a pesticide that is designed to kill thrips and spidermites as these ones will usually kill everything else too.

DO NOT SPRAY PESTICIDE ON BUDS, YOU WILL MAKE THEM POISONUS

If you have budding plants and want to get rid of the pests with no risk to your bud them you can use ladybugs/ladybirds. They can be ordered from garden centres or online. Once released into your grow room they will eat all of your bugs and leave the plants untouched.

I have included pictures of the common bugs in the reference section.

So there you have it a quick guide to Autos, I hope this book helps you produce some winning plants

Seraphim


REFERENCE

View attachment 544441

View attachment 544443


View attachment 544444

View attachment 544452

Thrips
View attachment 544448

View attachment 544449


As the booklet above was made for photo growers I thought I would add some more info to help the people completely new to growing.

LIFECYCLE OF AN AUTO

A common question I see is when to switch autos from veg to bloom. Many people are under the impression that as soon as they see the first flowers it's time to switch. Perhaps a little explanation of the life cycle of autos will help to clarify this.

Weeks 1 - 3. Once you've started your seeds and they break the surface of the soil, they are in their seedling stage. The first set of leaves to appear will usually single fingered, followed by a second set that may still be single fingered or perhaps 3 fingered. Once that second set appears growth will start to accelerate as the new leaves provide more photosynthesis. This process will continue, more new leaves, faster growth. Depending on the type of soil in use, mild vegetative nutes can be introduced at week 2. By week 3 most plants will start to show their sex. Males will start to produce pollen sacks and females will display pistils.

Weeks 4 - 6. The plants are now entering a pre flowering stage. During this time the plants should exhibit explosive growth, often as much as a new set of nodes and 1" vertical growth a day. This is the time when they will gain most of their vertical height. Many people make the mistake of switching from vegetative to flowering nutrients at this point, assuming that since they see flowers it must be the proper time. This is incorrect. If the switch to flowering nutes is made at this time the vertical growth will stop and the plant will put it's energy into producing buds. If you need to keep your plants small, or want them to finish earlier, they by all means switch nutes at this point. But if you want to get the most out of your plants continue feeding vegetative nutes until you see the vertical growth slow and stop. Depending on the strain that will usually be sometime during week 5 or 6.

Weeks 7 - 9. By now vertical growth has stopped and the switch to flowering nutrients has been made. The buds will start to fill out and put on weight, becoming hard and tight. Pistols will start to change from white to brown, orange, red, etc. By now the plants will also have developed a strong smell. Toward the end of this phase the large primary and smaller secondary fan leaves will begin to turn yellow. This is an indication that the plant is moving toward the end of it's life.

Weeks 10 - 11. At this time flowering nutes should be discontinued and only plain pHed water fed to flush the remaining nutrients from the soil and improve the taste. Yellowing of the fan leaves will continue as the plant draws the stored energy from them. Eventually they will die and fall off. By the time that the smaller leaves that come from out of the buds will also start to turn yellow. Then it's time to harvest.

I know that many of you are thinking that the seed bank said the plants will finish in 8-9 weeks, so why are you saying they take 10-11? The claims made by the seed banks are somewhat deceptive. If you switch to flowering nutes at week 3 or 4 the plants can finish in the times the seed banks say but they will remain small and not reach their full potential yield. Years of growing by myself and others has shown that autos do best if you follow this time line.

Of course, there will always be variations depending on the strain, the environment, nutrients, etc. This information is meant to only serve as a general guideline.

This is great thanks!
 
SugarSweet

SugarSweet

96
33
Oh when should i start applying the colloidal silver (50ppm) to self pollenate a lower branch?
 
McCannabis

McCannabis

202
43
Got a few Q's about autos! Never grown 'em myself just wondering.

1. Are all autos female? Or can they still be male?
2. Is it possible to clone autos?
I figure that it was possible but I wasn't sure if it being an auto would screw it up?
 
str8smokn

str8smokn

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313
Got a few Q's about autos! Never grown 'em myself just wondering.

1. Are all autos female? Or can they still be male?
2. Is it possible to clone autos?
I figure that it was possible but I wasn't sure if it being an auto would screw it up?
Most Autos that you buy online are Feminized. But you can find small Farmers that breed them.
I have a couple different ones that aren't Fem'd . They are male/female.
Some say that you can clone,but I say no.
The clone stays at the age of the mom. It doesn't stop to produce roots,they continue the cycle.
STR8
 
McCannabis

McCannabis

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Most Autos that you buy online are Feminized. But you can find small Farmers that breed them.
I have a couple different ones that aren't Fem'd . They are male/female.
Some say that you can clone,but I say no.
The clone stays at the age of the mom. It doesn't stop to produce roots,they continue the cycle.
STR8
See that's why I figured for the clone. I wasn't sure though. So most autos are fem'd then. Sweet. Cool beans. Thanks @str8smokn
 
str8smokn

str8smokn

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Yes most are,that way it's harder to make seeds.
You have to go thru the whole process of breeding in the Auto gene.
STR8
 
B

Baggins

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1
Thanks for the info. I have a 1 metre x 1 metre room. I have some 2vast2fast autos. They say height 90cm . Would I fit two plants in this space? Or better to do 1 plant? I'm using a single 400 watt light. Also is 800 grams per plant real in a square metre using this variety as stated on the seed bank info. Thanks
 
str8smokn

str8smokn

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313
Thanks for the info. I have a 1 metre x 1 metre room. I have some 2vast2fast autos. They say height 90cm . Would I fit two plants in this space? Or better to do 1 plant? I'm using a single 400 watt light. Also is 800 grams per plant real in a square metre using this variety as stated on the seed bank info. Thanks
Lol
No you will not get 800 gr from one plant. You won't get that with a reg,plant inside unless you veg for a long time.
And you would probably do best with one at a time in there.
STR8
 
B

Baggins

2
1
Thanks Str8. So 2 plants in my space is ok? I usually super crop but I've read to just leave em alone. First grow with autos so not familiar. I'll let you know how I go. I thought the yield was pretty radical. Lol. What would be realistic yield for these?
 
3N1GM4

3N1GM4

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So far 10 out of 11 of my 18 seeds that I got from chucking non auto pollen on an auto have been autos. The remaining 7 should be showing sex in the next few weeks if they are autos.

Super Lemon Haze X Smokin Gun Auto
20160314 132649
20160314 132935
 
SugarSweet

SugarSweet

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Sounds like a sweet cross mate. Ive been saving a berry ryder auto seed and a nirvana bubblicious auto seed to cross with my harlequin cbd and my cinderella 99
So far 10 out of 11 of my 18 seeds that I got from chucking non auto pollen on an auto have been autos. The remaining 7 should be showing sex in the next few weeks if they are autos.

Super Lemon Haze X Smokin Gun Auto
View attachment 582003 View attachment 582004
 
Midwestjay

Midwestjay

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Thanks Str8. So 2 plants in my space is ok? I usually super crop but I've read to just leave em alone. First grow with autos so not familiar. I'll let you know how I go. I thought the yield was pretty radical. Lol. What would be realistic yield for these?
If it's a bigger longer auto, 70-80 day you can get pretty aggressive with training. I've got a huge Og auto right now I wish I was more aggressive with.
 
EventHorizan

EventHorizan

15,707
438
I know this thread is a few months old but I want to keep it going as I have 3 sweet skunk auto's that just broke the surface of my lil rockwool cube. From what I gather i should just run them 24 hrs under my t5 till week 4 and move them under my 600 mh for 20-4 and then change over to my hps when I switch the nutes to flower. I got these lil girls in a rockwool cubes that i rinsed and soaked in ph5.8 water. How long should i go before giving them any water? I have never used rockwool. I will be transferring 1 into a 5 gallon grow farm hydroponic drip dwc bucket and 2 in to coco... How long should I wait to transfer them? And lastly I can use the same flora bloom,micro,grow in coco as I use in my hydrofarm right? Thanks for any advice.
 
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