First Autoflower Any Advice?

Bricksquad2625

Well-Known Member
I'll be popping a TH Seeds Auto Bubblegum, I received it as a freebie, I'll be growing it organically using soil as my medium under LED lights. This is my first time to grow an auto strain, and I would appreciate any advice if it is different from running a normal photoperiod plant?
 

ayr0n

Well-Known Member
I can only give u some of the basic "tips" but I'm no pro..

Supposedly autos are more susceptible to stress. a lot of people recommend not transplanting them, n planting directly in the final pot from the start. You can use the tiered method with a solo cup if u really want to start n a smaller pot, n just cut off the bottom of the cup n bury it partially in ur final pot later to create a relatively stress free transplant scenario.

The main diff of course is you don't need to induce flowering with 12/12 like you would with a photo. 18/6 and 24/7 (well...24/0) are common photoperiods used for autos n they will "automatically" start flowering regardless.

Some say 3 gallon pots are as big as you need to go with most AF but others claim better results with larger pots. Probably varies with strains so you will want to experiment with diff sizes to figure out the optimal pot size for the strain you choose.

I've heard you should feed them less than photos but you can also start feeding sooner than you would with photos.

They are also supposed to be more prone to hermy out but some growers have grown dozens of autos without ever getting a herm.

The veg period on some autos is too short to recover from serious training n topping, but some have had great results with topping autos when they time it right - doing it early - so the plant can come back strong before flowering begins.

Just a couple pointers from my research on them - take it with a grain of salt as u should with anything you read online. Good luck
 
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flynfish

Member
this is my first grow at all. mine is a bomb thc auto fem that was a freebie. I put mine in ffof with a peat nest for seed. after germing water for a few hours and stuck it under my cfls. im on day 9 and already have 4 sets of true leaves. I started mine in a 2 liter pot and shes doing good just aint got no pics yet broke my camera. will post some soon. one thing a lot of people told me was depending on ur soil no nutes for a couple weeks. has worked for me so far
 

Bricksquad2625

Well-Known Member
I can only give u some of the basic "tips" but I'm no pro..

Supposedly autos are more susceptible to stress. a lot of people recommend not transplanting them, n planting directly in the final pot from the start. You can use the tiered method with a solo cup if u really want to start n a smaller pot, n just cut off the bottom of the cup n bury it partially in ur final pot later to create a relatively stress free transplant scenario.

The main diff of course is you don't need to induce flowering with 12/12 like you would with a photo. 18/6 and 24/7 (well...24/0) are common photoperiods used for autos n they will "automatically" start flowering regardless.

Some say 3 gallon pots are as big as you need to go with most AF but others claim better results with larger pots. Probably varies with strains so you will want to experiment with diff sizes to figure out the optimal pot size for the strain you choose.

I've heard you should feed them less than photos but you can also start feeding sooner than you would with photos.

They are also supposed to be more prone to hermy out but some growers have grown dozens of autos without ever getting a herm.

The veg period on some autos is too short to recover from serious training n topping, but some have had great results with topping autos when they time it right - doing it early - so the plant can come back strong before flowering begins.

Just a couple pointers from my research on them - take it with a grain of salt as u should with anything you read online. Good luck
Thank you for your advice, so I should stick with the same light schedule the entire time or when it starts to flower should I give it more darkness? IE going from 20/4 during veg and 18/6 for flowering or would it just stress it out?

Also I use the superroot air pots, I was thinking about transferring it from a 1 gallon pot to a 7 gallon, thats what I do for my photoperiod plants. The superroot pots are simple for transplant, just unscrew and unfold, I've never stressed out a plant, so I might give it a shot...still thinking about it.
 

flynfish

Member
heres what I did. I germed then place in my final pot im using ffof soil. ran under 24/7 till first true leaves showed then switched to 18/6. i am planning on running this till the end of flower cycle. I read a lot about these and have never grown any photoperiods at all. i read a lot that these plants don't like stress so i did everything i could think of to not do it and hope 4 the best and so far so good.
 

ayr0n

Well-Known Member
Thank you for your advice, so I should stick with the same light schedule the entire time or when it starts to flower should I give it more darkness? IE going from 20/4 during veg and 18/6 for flowering or would it just stress it out?

Also I use the superroot air pots, I was thinking about transferring it from a 1 gallon pot to a 7 gallon, thats what I do for my photoperiod plants. The superroot pots are simple for transplant, just unscrew and unfold, I've never stressed out a plant, so I might give it a shot...still thinking about it.
Yeah a lot of people switch to a shorter photoperiod during flower or even to induce flowering earlier in an AF n I've heard some less stable af strains won't move on past veg (at least not very quick) when staying 24/0...

As far as the transplant, it sounds like u could pull it off pretty stress free, so go for it if you want. I'd personally just start n the final pot. 7g also sounds a little overkill (I'm sure others would disagree w/ me) but try it out n see how your results come out. Might be a waste of medium buy maybe not - worth a shot if it might increase your yield.

Like I said I'm no professional - you'll def wanna experiment to get down a better system. There are so many factors - starting with the strain - so there isn't a one size fits all answer for afs. Lotta people still trying new things and attempting to push AFs to the limits.


You should def read through some af grow journals too n see what kind of results people are getting with different methods. I've seen people doing the opposite of whats typically recommended for autos n getting excellent results, some people doing it exactly "by the book" n getting good results so there's definitely more than one way to skin this cat. Try to find some journals on the strain you picked n you'll get a better idea of how to cater to ur ladies.

Sorry for the lack of difinitive answers - nature of the beast ;)
 
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flynfish

Member
don't see why it wouldn't work. only reason for mine being smaller is due to space. i say give it a try and see what happens. i had a lot of people on here tell me no nutes for a couple weeks or longer depending on soil mix. what strain is it
 

Bricksquad2625

Well-Known Member
In the past I used 4 gallon buckets and started my seeds in my final bucket, but with these you literally unscrew the plastic screw and the plastic unfolds around the plant and the plant and all of the dirt stay together, then I just place it in my 7 gallon pot and fill in on the sides and water really good.
 

Bricksquad2625

Well-Known Member
don't see why it wouldn't work. only reason for mine being smaller is due to space. i say give it a try and see what happens. i had a lot of people on here tell me no nutes for a couple weeks or longer depending on soil mix. what strain is it
It is the TH Seed Auto Original Bubblegum, I had that or Paradise Vertigo, and I'm already growing 2 Paradise Jackey Whites, so I decided to diversify my grow room but Paradise Seeds fuckin rock, I'm drying out some delahaze and belladonna now
 

vostok

Well-Known Member
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