Why do people grow autos?

[MIGrampaUSA]

About the same here, though I’m a wee bit south than you (New England) so we have from basically the summer solstice until maybe the 2nd week of October if we’re lucky.

Even then, I still wouldn’t try a photoperiod sativa here.

Maine/Vermont/parts of NY would all have a very similar growing season. Again, its not frost. It's dew point. Once you begin to hit dew point every night, it takes a lot to deliver a healthy crop. I know many northern growers who are outside early with a leaf blower blowing off the moisture from their crops.

 

[elusiveshame]

Maine/Vermont/parts of NY would all have a very similar growing season. Again, its not frost. It's dew point. Once you begin to hit dew point every night, it takes a lot to deliver a healthy crop. I know many northern growers who are outside early with a leaf blower blowing off the moisture from their crops.

Ah, that's fair. Come September, everything is wet and soggy first thing in the morning, so I get what you're saying. I didn't even consider that, tbh.

I was going to do a plant or 3 outdoors this year to see what outdoor growing was like, but I think I'll keep them in my greenhouse at night/on rainy days instead, and bring them to my deck on the good days so they can really soak in that sweet sunshine.

 

[Goodshit97]

Maine/Vermont/parts of NY would all have a very similar growing season. Again, its not frost. It's dew point. Once you begin to hit dew point every night, it takes a lot to deliver a healthy crop. I know many northern growers who are outside early with a leaf blower blowing off the moisture from their crops.

Did that this last fall every morning, still lost 3 of 4 to mildew/rot/frost.

 

[dean1963]

do you grow autos and why will maybe help me understand. plus when it comes to haircolor, it doesnt make the women you should be able to deal with whatever color they chose to wear.

you just made my point.
if i choose to grow auto's why does it bother you, if i choose to grow photo's why does it bother you?
you should be able to deal with whatever i choose to grow.
and i grow both BTW.
i like auto's because i can over lap the grows in the winter, (outside shed) and run the lights at night for heat.
photo's in winter suck for me because i have to be up real late or real early to deal with them during lights on.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

Ah, that's fair. Come September, everything is wet and soggy first thing in the morning, so I get what you're saying. I didn't even consider that, tbh.

I was going to do a plant or 3 outdoors this year to see what outdoor growing was like, but I think I'll keep them in my greenhouse at night/on rainy days instead, and bring them to my deck on the good days so they can really soak in that sweet sunshine.

I grow in a greenhouse. Dew point is still dew point. Best remedy is lots of moving air.

 

[Goodshit97]

no i suggested a mature plant in veg to be transplanted outdoor when your conditions are right
3 months will be flowering time only

Even if i put plants outside the end of July, theres a possibility that all the time and work that went into those plants, will be lost to rot. Like MIGrampaUSA said, the temp hits the dew point almost every single night in September, then i have to watch the weather every day for possible frost, or its just too cold for the plants to even grow/fatten up. Id rather not deal with the headaches and just plant 10-15 autos and have them all done and harvested by the end of august.

 

[dean1963]

and just out of curiosity, what difference does it make if you start a photo inside?
you still need the 12/12 cycle to trigger flowering do you not?
i guess the hard and true outside photo guys here are from down south?

 

[Goodshit97]

no i suggested a mature plant in veg to be transplanted outdoor when your conditions are right
3 months will be flowering time only

Also, when it gets to be later in the season, my plants dont even see sunlight until like 1030 am, and then they are back in the shade by 6pm. So they never really see the sun after mid September.

 

[GreenGalaxyFarm]

photo's in winter suck for me because i have to be up real late or real early to deal with them during lights on.

you decided to go and give your reason anyway and its a good one

 

[GreenGalaxyFarm]

and just out of curiosity, what difference does it make if you start a photo inside?
you still need the 12/12 cycle to trigger flowering do you not?
i guess the hard and true outside photo guys here are from down south?

some start flowering at 14/10
you guys make good points regarding what's best to grow to your specific geographical location. im coming from a place where conditions are optimal 9 months, we often joke that we didnt have a winter some years.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

some start flowering at 14/10
you guys make good points regarding what's best to grow to your specific geographical location. im coming from a place where conditions are optimal 9 months(3 cycles of clones) of the year so took me a while to snap into it(not being able to grow outdoors for 1 cycle)

14 hours is still towards mid August where I am at.

Yes, I figured your climate is far more suitable than mine. If I were you, I'd take advantage of it. Where I am at, if you want photo-period sativas, you grow them indoors. Even early maturing sativas like Cinderella 99 still go into October at 8 weeks of flower.

 

[elusiveshame]

I grow in a greenhouse. Dew point is still dew point. Best remedy is lots of moving air.

Think a stand up pedestal fan would be enough in an 8x8’ greenhouse? (I did run electricity out there)

How do you mitigate those issues?

FWIW, it’s not one of the plastic pop up greenhouses - it’s a wooden one with a transparent roof and some windows along the walls. I stashed my pellets in there (as well as my shed) and I never had any frost/dew/moisture on any of the bags this winter (aside from when a wind storm blew off one of my roof panels).

Then again, I haven’t had any plants in there yet, so idk if that will affect the dew point.

 

[elusiveshame]

some start flowering at 14/10
you guys make good points regarding what's best to grow to your specific geographical location. im coming from a place where conditions are optimal 9 months, we often joke that we didnt have a winter some years.

We joke about not having a winter here, but that’s only when we get no snow and the temps are bordering 40F during the day lol

Still far from suitable for any crops tho

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

Think a stand up pedestal fan would be enough in an 8x8’ greenhouse? (I did run electricity out there)

How do you mitigate those issues?

FWIW, it’s not one of the plastic pop up greenhouses - it’s a wooden one with a transparent roof and some windows along the walls. I stashed my pellets in there (as well as my shed) and I never had any frost/dew/moisture on any of the bags this winter (aside from when a wind storm blew off one of my roof panels).

Then again, I haven’t had any plants in there yet, so idk if that will affect the dew point.

Mine is a 10 x 20 structure. I have a large attic fan for intake ventilation. I have a matching attic fan at the other end to move all that air outside the greenhouse. I have 2 18" oscillating fans and I still don't have enough air flow. I have 4 more 18" oscillating fans I will be adding this year. If those leaves are always moving, you won't get powdery mildew.

 

[DoobieBro462]

What are the reasons for growing auto as opposed to photoperiod? It is just because it's easier? Or faster? Are there advantages? Is it just convenience? How do the genetics stack up? What is the market for autos?

I think it has something to do with being a noob. And looking online a quick harvest and smaller plants sound appealing for someone doing a stealth grow. I went and bought like 60 Mephisto and NightOwl beans without ever growing shit. That was a stupid move that I regret. But at the time I was thinking I have alot of money right now and if I buy a bunch of beans I can safely grow for years. Or if the world goes to shit, kinda like flu. I wanted to make sure I had beans to grow so I had something to smoke . Lol

 

[elusiveshame]

Mine is a 10 x 20 structure. I have a large attic fan for intake ventilation. I have a matching attic fan at the other end to move all that air outside the greenhouse. I have 2 18" oscillating fans and I still don't have enough air flow. I have 4 more 18" oscillating fans I will be adding this year. If those leaves are always moving, you won't get powdery mildew.

Maybe I’ll have to get some box fans then. I don’t plan on having more than 3 or 4 in there, at least for harvest.

Good to know what the expect though, thanks for the heads up!

 

[TSD]

and just out of curiosity, what difference does it make if you start a photo inside?
you still need the 12/12 cycle to trigger flowering do you not?
i guess the hard and true outside photo guys here are from down south?

You start inside so they can grow vigorous and healthy in a controlled environment, so they can thrive outside. They have to be so mature to even show thier sex as well. I usually start indoors mid March-ish. They don't go out till there's just shy of 15 hours of light. They have to be hardened off so they don't get shocked. It's usually around memorial day when I plant. They will continue veg for about another month or so, this is why you get monsters that grow pounds outdoors. The summer solstice is June 21st, daylight starts to decrease. The plants will sense this over the next few weeks and naturally flip to flower, when exactly that happens is dependent on genetics.
It's doable here in The Northeast, but it takes more work. My last plant was out till just before Halloween, it was sativa dominant, Amnesia Lemon, I had been drying it with the blower for like two months at that point, covered it for frost several times, along with the others. I scrogged as well. I had no mold or pm in my grow for the first time ever, at least in the garden that I scrogged ... some very small spots of PM at the end, on inner leaves that came right off because the scrog allowed me to spot them. I spend a lot of time and energy on them, keeping pests at bay, pruning, training, covering for frost, leaf blowing... it's what you have to do to be successful in this climate. Zone 4, only a couple zones worse lol. I'm fortunate to have a full sun all summer location, like 12 hours. It helps for better faster growth, doing it anywhere remotely shaded here is basically pointless. Late fall the neighbor's pines take 2 hours of light in the afternoon... I've contemplated a shotgun "misfire" that takes out a tree top more than once lol.
Here's a couple pics of the Amnesia Lemon, the last girl standing. She was started about 3 weeks after my oldest girl I think, I'd have to consult the diary. Black Cherry Punch was started first, She was 30 ounces, This Amnesia was 16oz, just found my tally sheet the other day lol. The late starts only yeilded a few ounces each... so that's why we start inside.

 

[mysticepipedon]

so in conclusion autos are perfect for window sills
running a 100w light for 3months.. whats the yield on those
i can understand that ok someone wants to get into growing with the purchase of a seed and light bag of soil and hopefully some nutrition.my recommendation remains run a photo indoor for veg if the season is shit and go plant it outdoor when its looking brighter outside. this will atleast yield something. better yet, plant during sowing season and let it spend its entire cycle outside. go for indica if its a short season. ive seen autos, heard the complaints, my opinion on them will never change but its interesting to figure out why someone will want to grow them

What's the yield on those?

This isn't a comparison of a yield on a photo plant to a yield on an auto plant. It's a comparison of a yield on no plants to a yield on a plant or two. I'd say plants produce more weed than no plants.

 

[TSD]

What's the yield on those?

This isn't a comparison of a yield on a photo plant to a yield on an auto plant. It's a comparison of a yield on no plants to a yield on a plant or two. I'd say plants produce more weed than no plants.

Right. Many people have a tiny space and no other options. Not everyone has access to a location outside to grow @GreenGalaxyFarm ... what are folks in cities supposed to do, say NYC... living in a tiny apartment, no place to vent or even put a tent a lot of times... grow in central park maybe? Lol. Some people need small and quick and I think that's where autos are the answer. For experienced growers that have the time and space to do photos, well that's what they should do. Weed is weed when it comes down to that or no weed, or buying dispo weed... rather have a homegrown auto than a commercial monster photo that wasn't cared for, dried or cured to my standards.

 

[mysticepipedon]

and just out of curiosity, what difference does it make if you start a photo inside?
you still need the 12/12 cycle to trigger flowering do you not?
i guess the hard and true outside photo guys here are from down south?

I've grown outdoors in:

Connecticut
Iowa
Washington, DC
West Virginia
North Carolina

Iowa had the shortest growing season, but when I lived there, my bagseed plants regularly matured before the end of the season. They seemed to mostly be skunk varieties, I would guess originating in the NW US or SW Canada. So it's a matter of choosing a strain that will finish in the area you're growing in.

When I grow in Connecticut, I grew Colombian Gold and some kind of Hawaiian. Indicas were not around, except in hash form, so no indica or hybrid varieties were available. (This was in pre-internet days. No THC Farmer to locate seeds.) They would get far, but would never properly finish.

I've found that plants outdoors start to flower well before 12/12 lighting -- more like 14/10 or 14.5/9.5. In NC, I'd put cuts outside in April or May, and they were clearly flowering by the second week of July! I told the plants they were wrong and shouldn't be flowering yet, but they didn't listen to me.