Accurate Information About Autoflowering Plants

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Seraphim19

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Hello all

In this thread I will be sharing some information and correcting some popular misconceptions regarding autoflowering plants. I hope that once I put this information out there and back it up with grow diaries and scientific evidence I can change some of your perceptions.
 
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Seraphim19

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ok guys I am back with the first installment of this thread and seeing as you want the best out of yours Tnelz I will start with a quick explanation of the lifecycle of auto flowering plants and then move on to the best growing methods.

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.
 
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Seraphim19

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Now I have talked about the lifecycle of an auto lets get to how best to grow them

I wont bore you with the simple stuff like germination the only thing I will say on this subject is its best to start them in their final pot as autos don't like to be transplanted, or rather they don't like their roots disturbed.

So lets say you have germinated your seeds and they have broken ground.
The first thing to note is that Autos are very sensitive to nutrients compared to photo period plants. So lets go through the correct way to fertilise them.

Here is a feeding schedule for autos using bio bizz nutrients

Bio bizz feeding shedule


As you can see for the first 3 weeks there is very little in the way of nutrients, this is because at this age they burn very easily.
The main thing in this time period is root stimulator, as there is a very short veg cycle this helps the roots to get a good foothold and increases the overall growth of the plant.

Once you start to introduce nutrients it is best to start with a quarter of the recommended dose and then slowly increase it to 1/2 - 2/3 of the recommended dosage.
 
altitudefarmer

altitudefarmer

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Great info. I have recently started to get into autos a little more, due to the ease of the grow for new CO home-growers. There are some really good autos out there!

If you have any info on cloning an auto, I'd like to hear it... :smug:
 
PButter

PButter

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Great info- I did have some misconceptions...
How long have you been using autoflowers?
I have been hearing good things but have yet to see a room with any... I suppose I'll try and seek one out.
 
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Seraphim19

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Great info. I have recently started to get into autos a little more, due to the ease of the grow for new CO home-growers. There are some really good autos out there!

If you have any info on cloning an auto, I'd like to hear it... :smug:

Cloning autos is possible but not really worthwhile, because the plant is governed by age not light cycle the cuttings will mature at the same rate as the mother and produce very little.
 
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Seraphim19

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Great info- I did have some misconceptions...
How long have you been using autoflowers?
I have been hearing good things but have yet to see a room with any... I suppose I'll try and seek one out.

I have been breeding auto flowering plants for nearly 14 years now and so far I have developed quite a few of my own strains. This experience has put me in a great position to talk about the history, development and techniques required to succeed.

I think I will take a quick break from growing techniques for a minute and show you a stealth set up that uses less than 300 watts of electricity and produces an ounce a week.

Let me dig up some pictures and I will be back in a minute to post them.
 
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Seraphim19

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I couldn't find any recent pictures so here are a couple that were taken a few years ago.
The autos in these pictures aren't the best but this is just about the set-up. I will post some current pictures tomorrow so you can see some autos growing.

anyway here is the set up, it consists of :
two 135w, 3w chip led lights(even though they are labelled 135w they only use 90w each.)
one 30 w 6400k cfl bulb
a carbon filter and 30w duct fan
DSCF0223
DSCF0224
DSCF0225
DSCF0227


Here are a few shots of an auto at 48 days old
DSCF2400
DSCF2401
DSCF2404
 
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Seraphim19

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That has always been my issue, lol. I was wondering if any techniques had been developed to make that work. Love this thread. Thanks for the info.

There is a technique for re-vegging an auto but it is unreliable at the minute, once I perfect it I will be sure to share the knowledge with you.

I am glad you are enjoying the info, stay tuned there is lots more to come. Once I finish the growing techniques info I will be talking about perpetual growing, the best equipment to use, genetics, feminised seed production and much more.

Welcome to the auto revolution!
 
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Seraphim19

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Salutations Seraphim19,



The "autofem" trend already seduced me, starting with day 1 a few years ago! :happy:

It's not something i've decided yet but my next project would include the use of colloidal silver sprays to promote false-male (XX) pollen generation (for seed production). So as you can imagine it would be helpful if you could also provide a time-table for autofem "males", so i can determine how to chedule my successive germinations... There would be 3 plants under CFLs until space becomes insufficient, then my pollinator would be moved to a window sill around June to make some more room for the remaining females: 1 for harvest, 1 for growing more autofem seeds...

I figure if it's true cannabis males flowers have a lower metabolism then it should be OKay to depend on sunlight only for this particular case. Impressions or comments would be appreciated.

:D
Greetings Egzoset
First let me say that male autos will grow at the same rate as females if not quicker.

So the simple answer to your question comes in two parts:

1. for making regular seed using males - I would advise you to start your mother plants and your father plants at the same time, just as nature would. Pollen will start to fall in time to give you a good amount of seed

2. for making fem seed using only females - you will want to start the plant you are going to use as the father two to three weeks before you start the mother plant. the reason for this is that to make feminised seed you will be giving a female plant a sex change and that takes time so the time line I would use is below.

week 1 - plant father plant (female to be reversed)

week 2 - maintain father plant

week 3 - plant mother plants (ones that will carry seed)
The father plant should be showing pistils now as soon as it does begin spraying daily with colloidal silver

week 4 - grow mother plants as normal
continue spraying father with colloidal silver

week 5 - grow mother plants as normal
Male pollen sacks should now be visible on the father plant, when they are stop sraying with colloidal silver and grow as
normal
week 6 - grow as normal

week 7 - pollen should now be falling from the father plant, allow this to pollinate the chosen mothers, and store some pollen for
future use, then discard the father plant
Seeds will take around 6 weeks to become fully mature
(to store pollen use a little plastic vial and rice grains to absorb moisture, ensuring all leaf material is removed then it will
last for about 6 months if stored in the fridge)
week 8 - 12 grow as normal

week 13 - harvest lots of feminised seed for future use

If you need a hand with any other aspects of breeding give me a shout and I will see if I can help you
 
CaptainHowdy

CaptainHowdy

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Here's a little example using regular auto seeds.

Same strain, same age (about 25-30 days old)

Within the next 4-5 days the male will be dropping pollen and the female will have slightly larger buds to receive :)

Sorry they're so thin and small lol, just a little project for some quick seed :)

010




012
 
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Seraphim19

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Salutations Seraphim19,
Salutations CaptainHowdy,





Thank you both! Since i prefer not to hijack the present thread here's where i'd suggest future additions should be made relatively to my project:

THCFarmer: About culture classification

Seamaiden's opinion was that my use of sunlight corresponds to an Outdoor/GreenHouse activity but all 3 plants will be started under CFLs so i still sort of wonder if the Indoor/Micro-Grow zone wouldn't be more appropriate. Please jump in should there be more feedback to post on this as i remain hesitant where it must go...

In any case, i've appreciated the answers provided here. Both in details and pictures!! :happy:

Good day, have fun! :D

the use of just sunlight for your males is a possibility but it will depend on how many hours of daylight you have available in your location.

I would say that the metabolic rate of male autos is just as high if not higher than the females. However with a male you are only looking to produce pollen and a tiny quantity will pollinate a whole neighbourhood so there is much less need for the level of care you would provide a female. in a female plant you are looking for maximum production where as in a male plant you are only after a tiny bit of pollen, so for a male you have the option of using smaller pots, using less nutrients, putting it in the worst spot in your grow space, etc...

The one thing to consider is autos need more light hours than photos so if you are getting low light hours and low intensity light you will never get a true indication of how good or bad the male is, thus making any breeding you do little more than pot luck(no pun intended). This may also retard the growth of the male as it is not getting the energy needed to develop at the same rate as the females.
Breeding projects are always best done in the summer months as you will be able to utilize strong sun for long hours

I would recommend that you grow all males with the same care and attention you would a female until you have decided on which one will be the father, when you have made this decision it will make little or no difference if you treat the father plant with less care than the mothers(within reason) as long as you ensure it has adequate light hours - a minimum of 12hrs per day, but preferably more like 16 hrs a day
 
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Seraphim19

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I have looked through this thread again and while I am giving proper info, a friend said to me seeing is believing so I will be starting a new thread where I will grow an auto white widow from dutch passion, and take everyone through a step by step process of how I grow autos.

I will continue this thread as a bit of a reference library for info on autos and a place to answer any queries you ladies and gents may have.

Now I must stress that while my knowledge is extensive I don't know everything. I am an organic farmer/breeder who uses soil as his preferred medium so if you were to ask me questions on hydro, dwc, or chemical fertilisers I wont have much in the way of help.

the next topic I will be covering is perpetual growing. I will go through why people do it, how to plan it and what you can expect from growing this way.

I am off to write the perpetual growing post I will be back soon
 
CaptainHowdy

CaptainHowdy

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I've managed to get into my old photo's, gimme a mo and I'll get a few up.

Here's one of your strains for now :)

Calcium deficient I'm afraid but she's only 48 days old here (from seed) so you can see her potential :)

20130819 202508



More soon :)
 
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