Autos

I am new to growing auto flowering cannabis. Tried a few plants on my patio over the summer and was kinda amazed by how they grew and flowered all at the same time. However, I did not realize that they should not be potted up, which I did do and I was advised that that's why they were so little. So this winter I germinated 2 seeds Nov. 24, put them right into their big girl pots Dec. 2nd in the front of my greenhouse for maximum light and then I decided to add a not-so-strong LED light with 5 wands that I can bend how I want them. They are still growing! They took a while to flower but they're cooking now, but every 2-3 days I have to raise the light up because they're still getting bigger. I need them to be finished soon - going away for spring break in a few weeks. Why aren't they finished yet? What did I do wrong this time?

You got bugs man.
Looks like thrips.

Those wands do very little. She’s not getting enough light and therefore stretching a bit and nugs are seriously underdeveloped. They need more light than nature provides, especially in the winter, to grow to their fullest. I run a decently powerful led for 20 hours of light per day on my autos. Up potting is fine, really, if not ideal. Light is the main thing missing here, I believe.

MickFoster said:

You got bugs man.
Looks like thrips.

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OK thanks - you're referring to the white flecks. I was curious about that, although I can't see anything on the underside of the leaves, but it doesn't seem to be bothering the plants at all.

DeadHeadX said:

Those wands do very little. She’s not getting enough light and therefore stretching a bit and nugs are seriously underdeveloped. They need more light than nature provides, especially in the winter, to grow to their fullest. I run a decently powerful led for 20 hours of light per day on my autos. Up potting is fine, really, if not ideal. Light is the main thing missing here, I believe.

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Thank you for that explanation. I just got a better light that I'm planning to use in a few weeks when I start my photo period plants. I'm thinking it's too late to make a difference with these plants at this point. This was just an experiment for fun, since I have these seeds. I grew 36 1/2 oz. last summer so I don't really need anymore right now. But still, always trying to do better...

As others have mentioned you've got some bad bugs going on. You're not doing yourself any favors with those leaves hanging out in the dirt. It's not the 70's anymore, you gotta get under that skirt and trim the bush. Nobody likes a bad bikini line . I've had a similar issue before with an auto being stuck in limbo at this exact stage. I gave up on mine and chalked it up to bad genetics. I'm not saying auto's are bad, because I love them. Just maybe a bad breeder. @DeadHeadX might be onto something with the light. I would add to maybe check the temp's in there as well.

Fighting Sioux said:

This was just an experiment for fun, since I have these seeds. I grew 36 1/2 oz. last summer so I don't really need anymore right now. But still, always trying to do better...

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Your auto probably wont produce much this time, but congrats on the successful harvest! 36 oz should last you a while.

Any plant grown in the winter through a window will only produce a stretched and spindly plant. Those bars won't help.

Zogs said:

As others have mentioned you've got some bad bugs going on. You're not doing yourself any favors with those leaves hanging out in the dirt. It's not the 70's anymore, you gotta get under that skirt and trim the bush. Nobody likes a bad bikini line . I've had a similar issue before with an auto being stuck in limbo at this exact stage. I gave up on mine and chalked it up to bad genetics. I'm not saying auto's are bad, because I love them. Just maybe a bad breeder. @DeadHeadX might be onto something with the light. I would add to maybe check the temp's in there as well.

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Thank you for weighing in. Interesting references to skirts and bikinis. The temperature in my greenhouse is usually in the mid 70's-80's during the day, 60 at night, but the upper sashes are on a thermostat and when the sun hits them they can open even on a cold day. That's worse for my orchids than anything else but I can't stay in there all day long monitoring that.
I've decided I'm not of fan of autos. I still have some seeds and since I do have a stronger light now maybe I'll try them again at some point.

MickFoster said:

Any plant grown in the winter through a window will only produce a stretched and spindly plant. Those bars won't help.

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That's not a window - that's my 800 square foot greenhouse.

Farmer's Hat said:

Your auto probably wont produce much this time, but congrats on the successful harvest! 36 oz should last you a while.

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Thank you! The harvest was a lot of work but well worth it! I was only hoping to get an ounce or so from the autos to make some tincture. I've gotten into making gummies and I found a great recipe on YouTube if anyone is interested.

Fighting Sioux said:

That's not a window - that's my 800 square foot greenhouse.

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Does the sun shine directly on the plant or does it go through glass?

I think the picture kinda speaks for itself. There's snow outside and I never heard of a strain of cannabis that can grow in sub freezing temperatures. It's greenhouse glass, so it lets in more UV than regular glass, but if you want to hammer your point that the plant is growing in "a window" then you got it.

MickFoster said:

Does the sun shine directly on the plant or does it go through glass?

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You can't see the autos from this perspective - they're at the front. All the other plants seem to like the growing conditions.

Fighting Sioux said:

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You can't see the autos from this perspective - they're at the front. All the other plants seem to like the growing conditions.

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Autos need as many hours of light as possible. They do best with at least 18 hours of direct light. Winter will never provide that, as you can see from the plant. Looks like a nice greenhouse. Here’s a 95 day old plant I harvested yesterday. 20 hours of light through its life. They do well in the right conditions. My house plants survive the winter also. None are bearing fruit though.

DeadHeadX said:

Autos need as many hours of light as possible. They do best with at least 18 hours of direct light. Winter will never provide that, as you can see from the plant. Looks like a nice greenhouse. Here’s a 95 day old plant I harvested yesterday. 20 hours of light through its life. They do well in the right conditions. My house plants survive the winter also. None are bearing fruit though.

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That looks delicious! Enjoy! I'm not well educated about auto flowering plants, but the info here has been very helpful. Maybe I'll try again next winter. In a few weeks I'll start my photo period plants - in the greenhouse - and grow them outdoors as I do every summer.

Beautiful setup! I'd love to have something like that to walk through each morning before work while waking up with my coffee.

Thrips suck and can be difficult to eradicate once they get going. If you look closely enough you may be able to see them on the tops of fan leaves. I squish all that I can by pinching them on the leaf between my thumb and pointer finger. They scurry when they see that giant thumb bearing down, but they're rarely fast enough to get away lol. While fun, the squishing is not a long-term solution as it's fighting a losing battle over time. I find that Citric Acid works well for thrips. Mix 1 teaspoon/pint of warm water with a drop of dish detergent in a spray bottle and blast away on top off and under the leaves. Start by doing this for three days straight then once a week. When you chop, just give the buds a a couple dips in water to rinse off the CA residue.

Thanks for the kind words and for that great advice! I can't see any bugs but I will definitely give that a try. I even have citric acid in the house - I use it in my gummy recipe. But question - would alcohol work? When I see mealy bugs or aphids on the orchids I spray/wipe with alcohol and it kills the pests and the orchids don't mind.