Super Cropping An Autoflower

[MadDog1984]

Hi all, i have grown a fair few times and after some time off have came back to growing. I have some auto flowering plants growing now (i've never grown auto flowering before) and as you can guess from the title i would like to call on your expert advice. Is it possible to super crop an auto? and if so what would recommend as the best method - bending or topping?

Thank you in advance

 

[Aqua Man]

No expert advice needed. I have never grown MJ before and I can tell you don't do it.

 

[Ina]

Why not?I guess it depends on the strain,because from auto to auto there can be huge difference in the duration of growth and flowering.I guess if you wanna do that your auto should be long enough,not super fast one.Something with sativa may be.....So first you have to select the strain(but you already have some growing).If you have super fast autos and want to try start when they are little so they have enough time(but if they are so fast I just don't see the need of that) and avoid topping,just bending,LST or something.I would pick up some super auto, it allows more experiments even cloning and topping.What strain you grow now?

 

[Aqua Man]

Auto's start flowering within a few weeks. LST would be fine but HST causes recovery time and slows growth while they recover. You don't have the ability to extend your veg time to make up for this and stunting growth for any period of time with auto's will affect your yields. I don't grow yet but someone please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Ina]

Super cropping is not so HST(sometimes I cant even find where I did it if it wasn't the "knee"which forms there,the top stands up very quickly and you have to tie it down) ,may be you should avoid topping and removing parts of the plant if it has no time to recover them......But I think even that can be done if it is on time and if it makes sense....And if you stop cropping and leave it be in the right moment it can be done with success .I'm just assuming ,i grow autos from time to time,mostly fast,now i have that first super auto,i'm not a pro....Mostly they don't like to be hold in tide pots for long,they stay dwarfs,happening to me few times:)

 

[MadDog1984]

Thank you Ina and Aqua Man. I am growing Amnesia at the minute and I've read from seed to harvest is 80days whether or.not that is true.

 

[Aqua Man]

Super cropping is not so HST(sometimes I cant even find where I did it if it wasn't the "knee"which forms there,the top stands up very quickly and you have to tie it down) ,may be you should avoid topping and removing parts of the plant if it has no time to recover them......But I think even that can be done if it is on time and if it makes sense....And if you stop cropping and leave it be in the right moment it can be done with success .I'm just assuming ,i grow autos from time to time,mostly fast,now i have that first super auto,i'm not a pro....Mostly they don't like to be hold in tide pots for long,they stay dwarfs,happening to me few times:)

I would have to respectfully disagree. I would consider super cropping a HST that would slow down growth for a week or so. But again you have experience I'm going based of research. I guess you could always try 2 plants and super crop one to see how much of an effect it has either way but I would bet a lower yield for super cropping with auto's and an extending vegging time with photo's. I would also assume the difference in time to mature would be based on the difference in flowering time of the strain so you still would really only have a couple to a few weeks of veg to work with.

Again no experience in my view points

 

[TerpyTyrone]

In my experience I have found using metal tie wire from a job to be the most effective.
I use fabric pots and @G gnome mix. I cut the wire on a slight angle, 45°, poke it through and bend it. It has enough resistance in the wire to do what ur looking for.
Yes I know they may put a little oxidation/rust on the outer stem. Oh and they're sharp.
Also, FIM is the least strenuous on the plant. I fim asap. Like 4 or 5 nodes. It doesnt even show signs of distress. She keeps a chugging right along.
I love this mix btw. Look it up.
I have a day job so I cant always get a nighttime feeding in before lights out.
I run my 1000w hps @50% 14 on -10 off . The photos in the room in flower dont seem to mind. First pic is of my g mix auto white widow that I just place the wire
The second picture os what can happen if my custom wire scrog is done correctly.
Todays quiz ..... Who can find the main cola? I have devised my custom scrog to engage the plant into growing a pretty spiral. Keep in mind this is my 4 month growing. Period. I am quick learner, open to constructive criticism, and eager to listen to the true elder statesmen who blazed the trail. Pun intended . . . for us. End prohibition so I can go outside, please.
Hey its your bud,
-Ty

 

[Aqua Man]

Fimming would make sense. That with lst to break dominance like Terpy did

 

[MadDog1984]

Wow thankyou for :) that I have mine in the the oxypot system using the clay pebbles. I have never used these systems before nor have tried the bending method so fingers crossed this turns out well. Will upload photos as time progresses.

 

[MissBotany]

This is not expert advice only my opinion, if you are not counting on this grow and can afford to possible mess with your yield, I say go for it and let us know how it works out.

 

[str8smokn]

Autos do not like stress PERIOD.
STR8

 

[G gnome]

In my experience I have found using metal tie wire from a job to be the most effective.
I use fabric pots and @G gnome mix. I cut the wire on a slight angle, 45°, poke it through and bend it. It has enough resistance in the wire to do what ur looking for.
Yes I know they may put a little oxidation/rust on the outer stem. Oh and they're sharp.
Also, FIM is the least strenuous on the plant. I fim asap. Like 4 or 5 nodes. It doesnt even show signs of distress. She keeps a chugging right along.
I love this mix btw. Look it up.
I have a day job so I cant always get a nighttime feeding in before lights out.
I run my 1000w hps @50% 14 on -10 off . The photos in the room in flower dont seem to mind. First pic is of my g mix auto white widow that I just place the wire
The second picture os what can happen if my custom wire scrog is done correctly.
Todays quiz ..... Who can find the main cola? I have devised my custom scrog to engage the plant into growing a pretty spiral. Keep in mind this is my 4 month growing. Period. I am quick learner, open to constructive criticism, and eager to listen to the true elder statesmen who blazed the trail. Pun intended . . . for us. End prohibition so I can go outside, please.
Hey its your bud,
-Ty

Well,....if ur usin gnome mix u can rest assured ur doin at least one thing right! Haha

 

[RuralFarmer]

Autos do their very best if left alone. Just let the whole plant develop. Anything else will affect your yield. I've grown them indoors and outside. Like one poster said, they start flowering about 3 to 4 weeks from seed, regardless of light cycle. And they will flower out with a minimum of 11 hours a day, but I always gave them at least 12. It was a novelty to me. I had one outdoor that took on a pheno that looked nothing like cannabis. And like the previous poster said, they really don't respond well to any stress. :cool:

 

[crimsonecho]

I prefer just tying branches down for autos. Supercropping is not counter productive too ime, but fiming i don’t recommend.

 

[Jack og]

To ops original question. Yea you can super crop autos. Lst only. It works.

 

[Ina]

Fimming would make sense. That with lst to break dominance like Terpy did

Fimming is basically topping so how it is not stressfull,it will require more time and as we can see even that coulsd be done so why not cropping?:)It depends on the strain like i said before.Cropping once or once on every branch if it makes sense is nothing to the plant,it doesnt even require more time to recover.I can say that from my experienca with MJ and many more plants and trees(i do cropping and topping on other plants also)You can do cropping but you got to have on mind it is auto and do it like it is auto:) If it can make the shape of the auto more bushier for example or if it hepls the other branches to be exposed to light,it could be done but does the particular plant needs that,this is the first question,will it be better that way?:)If i have at least two i would definatelly try on one of them just to have first hand experience.If you have only one plant yоu can not compare how it is better....

 

[TerpyTyrone]

The reason why this forum is such an invaluable resource, is because of people willing to step out of the box and try new ideas/methods.
I'm not sure if @Ina was referring to me but, if it isnt of the foremost importance to have meds AsAp, then maybe experimenting is for u.
I originally bought photos because I needed meds and I didn't want the wait time.
The white widow strain fare exceptionally well to my version of lst. In my experience the environmental factors have more of an effect on the growth rate.
75° f 50-60% rh 100% air exchange and "listening" to what your babies are trying to tell u. Keep it simple STONER. Autos like need to grow a tolerance to the nutes by gradually raising the ppm instead of referring to the book exactly. I let my ph drift a little from 5.8-6.2ish because I'm using equal parts perlite/coco/Organics soil. Its not exactly the g mix , but whatever ya got, lets roll. Oh and gh flora series 3 part base, cal mag , silica, and in flower I hit em with molasses regularly and Epsom salt, a couple times a week. I do have a small bit of runoff after she eats, but I catch mine in 5gallon drywall buckets under my 5 gallon fabrics and it works great. I consider this a drain to waste hybrid coco / soil grow.

But hey its your bud,
-Ty

 

[Ina]

Yes i was giving your WW auto for example that everything can be done.First you can check if your auto is branching well for this kind of treatment,if it is really short and fast indica it is just pointless to do that.You just have to

"listening" to what your babies are trying to tell u.

I absolutelly agree with that!:)How they look and grow,are they suitable for what you want to do to them,how you are going to fill your space best......

 

[MadDog1984]

I really appreciate your advice guys Thank you