First auto run

tree beard said:

I've been sitting on a auto seed for a while and since I got a vacant tent atm, decided to get her going. It's a wedding cake auto from barneys farm. Never done an auto before and have no idea what to expect.

From the little I read about auto's on here, there's a few things I picked up. Plant directly into final container, and don't top? Is this accurate? How about training?

At some point will probably throw a few photos in the same tent. Is 18/6 a good enough light cycle for an auto? And what if I wanted to switch that tent over to 12/12? How long do auto's usually take till they start to flower?

This will be grown in a 4 gallon pot with just ffof and dry amendments, gonna keep it simple.. And its just kind of an experiment, seed was a freebie so if it ends up a fail won't be the end of the world. But any advice for a first time auto grower is much appreciated! Thanks fellas

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DeadHeadX said:

Good luck with the grow. I’m on my fifth round of autos in my 3x3. A few answers from my experience and reading (here mainly).

I like to plant into the final container, but I use a fistful of germinating mix in the middle and the seed goes straight into that. LST fairly early and actively in the plant’s development can be really effective and can increase yield pretty significantly. I have topped autos and it works out, but all things being equal I would avoid it and stick to lst. These are fast growers, and anything that distracts their energy from the main task in their limited life span is likely to affect final harvest. That’s why transplanting and topping can have a negative impact. They’ll work, but I prefer to avoid. Same with too much cropping.

For light, I wouldn’t go below 18 hours and I prefer to stay at 20 and lately 24 hours to maintain a constant environment (this is what Mephisto recommends and it makes sense in my cold basement - worked great last haul). They will finish their life cycle on schedule under 12 hours, but buds will not likely reach their full potential. Usually start to see sex within three weeks or so. Here’s my current grow at day 41. Three different varieties, all full into early flower now. Another shot of some nugs from the last grow (pulled 12 ounces from four plants, five gallon containers). Such nice smoke I had to take the shot. Autos can produce exceptional bud, but they’re also finicky

It’s easy to give them too much light intensity.

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Johiem said:

All excellent advice. They only thingi can think to add right now is feed on the lighter side, unless they indicate they're hungry. Some strains will take everything you throw at them, and some will get bitchy with Ph off a point or two.

Basically you're just along for the ride and trying to keep her happy.

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