Why auto Buds so small?

So this is a big devil auto, she obviously got a little nute burn [yeller tips], but otherwise i don't understand why the buds are coming in so small unless its my new LED. I did the joint doctor lowryder and yielded 50g dry (under my 250hps), I want to blame this LED but I'm thinking it may be an operator error...any ideas? i doubt i will get even 30g dry off this...here the setup.

medium-Miracle grow(shut up, used it for years, its cheap and works good)
Light-90w UFOGP 20/4 cycle
temp/hum-variance +- 8 from 66deg to 74deg( the way i like it, cold at night warm in day)
300cf of co2 released over 2 weeks (not meant to be anything, rather my own comfort)
space is 30inx50inx60in WxLxH
AV nutes, and i aerate water for 15 min before watering

If you are using the same nutrient strength of miracle gro that you did back when you used the 250 watt, that could be the error. And then yes....pretty much have to talk just a little shit about miracle gro since it burned the tips of the plant....really worm poop + blood meal + bone meal is just as cheap...

But to tell you the truth, its probably the genetics. Lowryder plants tend to stay smaller and more compact and that Big Devil plant looks like it has some large internode space....they probably do better outdoors in the Spain climate like they are acclimated to.

You really should also probably use some side CFL lights or something, cause that 90watt UFO is probably a little weak....

Hope it will beef up a bit for you closer to harvest, looks like it could still use another 2 weeks or so.

How many weeks has it even been flowering anyway? Looks like its only about 3 weeks or so into flowering....usually autoflowers grow about 3 weeks and then start flowering for about 6-7weeks...even if they only say 2 months thats usually in a hydroponics setup or with very intense lighting like a 600-1000watt HID or outdoors even. Lower lighting almost always means a longer flowering

i was expecting another 2-3 weeks, every time I've done an auto I've averaged 3 months, or about 10-11 weeks. this one is only 6-7th week, i remember thinking my harvest date should be around end of june. I've just never had an auto thats seems to be more hair/pistil than actual bud...real saaaad, I'm thinking that even with 2 more weeks she'll still be small

could be the ufo bro...which ufo LED is it actually? There are 3 models from what i remember all with different lighting spectrums......if you got the one that has a mixture of the spectrums that is the best from what I hear....but you still should probably add 3 CFL's on each side really....90watts of LED isn't much for that size of plant....those diodes are 1watt each I believe....not that well at penetration. They make LED units nowdays that have 2-3watt diodes that penetrate the canopy better, but in all reality HID lights still give more bud production and probably a little better quality if you got a 400-1000watt fixture....

Hoping to keep the electric down is why i traded the 400 and 250 for the UFO, and its the GP90 with 660nnm red and so on and so forth. Im thinking about the t5 lighting rather than HID...any idea on how them work out? and overall trying to keep the ENTIRE grow (8 plants) under 500wtt, other than that 90 i use the other GP48 or whatever, real low consumption and growth power...horrible light but it does the job of slowly bringing them up until i have the room to fit them under the 90...i see what your saying, too much foliage for not a lot of light...t5's?

I use T5 mostly in my seedling/vegg tent nowdays, but I have in the past used them as flowering as well. If you get a nice 4 foot T5 fixture that has 4 lights mixed spectrum then you buy like 2 single tube t5 lights for side lighting, you would get some nice plants. I had a setup like this a couple years back and was running Lowryder, La Diva, and the occasional Automatic NYCD. With T5 though you still gonna need to keep the plants short and real near the lights to get a good yield. Really if you are trying to keep it under 500 watts I would just use a single 400watt HPS. Maybe you could even try that UFO + 400watt and see whats up...

I'm using 400watters right now in my grow tent and getting awesome results....tried some of those Greenhouse Seed Green-o-Matic autoflowering plants and I've been really happy with the results

As long as you haven't got any real burn issues or nutrient shortages then it could simply be something as simple as not enough lighting. Hopefully another week or so into flowering will change things unless you are already seeing amber trichomes. As for miracle grow...I know it's worked in the past, but maybe you should try and do as much homework as possible on what it provides and see if you need to add another ingredient to help boost the plant, or try something else all together. I recently purchased some cheap stuff that was easy to get and had all the crucial things i needed for good growth, and better yet it was half the price as the stuff you've been using. The point being all this somewhat technical jumbo jumbo can help both your grow and help on costs.

Either way I wouldn't mind seeing a bit more info on times, strains and anything different you might have changed to try and pinpoint the problem. As for the end yield I would be happy to get an oz or more from any small auto as most companies suggest it will be more towards 25g roughly. Or so I've seen with most of the short stuff seeds.

Best of luck with it.

Side note: Im a bit skeptical on the 90w ranges I've seen due to both not the right light spectrums to cover both veg and flowering, and not enough light output for good grows. Maybe you should check some of the other UFO grows and see if anyone else has the same brand you have, and take note of the yield and issues they might have come across. Chances are someone else out there has had the same issue as yourself and could help suss it out.

2 buds have maybe 2 or 3 ambering hair but they are more of the randoms, still good 2 weeks, ill post an update at 1 week and the day before the 48 of darkness

If you are in your last two weeks then I suggest to start flushing the soil with nice clean water, and if you haven't got some reflective material in your grow room then add some. This baby will need as much light as possible.

Well, like i said earlier, dont go by what the seed company says by the time it takes to flower....its always gonna take a good week or two longer except in the absolute 100% perfect conditions with 600-1000watts light.

My opinion is, you're getting too anxious. Those don't look like they will be ready for weeks. Don't forget, they really start packing on weight and size in the last 2-2.5 weeks. I have two strains that are both 8 weekers and every single cycle, the one fattens up really fast and the buds make the other plants buds look TINY. Then in the last two weeks, the smaller bud bearing plant just blows up and passes up the early budder bigtime. By time they are finished, the late bloomer beats the early bloomer EVERY time. I've also noticed that it seems the late bloomers finish wit more density and yield than the early bloomers.

cc08150 said:

Well, like i said earlier, dont go by what the seed company says by the time it takes to flower....its always gonna take a good week or two longer except in the absolute 100% perfect conditions with 600-1000watts light.

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I've learned over the years to not pay a single bit of respect to breeder projected flowering times. G13 labs says their Pineapple Express takes 8-9 weeks and mine finishes in around 7 weeks and few days. Breeder suggested times mean NOTHING! I don't even keep track of the dates on my perpetual flowering plants anymore. I used to harvest based entirely on the date, now I rely on my scope and my 6th sense

Its really just the nature of the beast. Auto's are designed for a primary genetic function, to auto flower. The genetic agenda of a Auto flowering strain does not have yield in mind. All other genetic traits are thus subsequent to other genetic priorities.

Its not much different than feminized seeds. The primary function of feminized genetics is to ensure female sex. Thats priority/agenda #1 in a feminized bean. All subsequent attributes take a second seat.

silusbotwin said:

G13 labs says their Pineapple Express takes 8-9 weeks and mine finishes in around 7 weeks and few days. Breeder suggested times mean NOTHING! I don't even keep track of the dates on my perpetual flowering plants anymore. I used to harvest based entirely on the date, now I rely on my scope and my 6th sense

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There is the occasional early finisher pheno Gotta love it and feel proud when you find one of those! But I totally agree on how some strains do pack on almost all of their weight in the last 2 weeks...it's mostly dependent on the genetics, but environment is also key.

well I've come to the conclusion that it is the lighting, without a doubt, of course the buds are fattening (still scantily). I knew when i started that i shouldn't try as many as i did under one gp90 ufo and one gp28 but i figured if i kept them 2 plants 2 weeks apart and cycled that i could keep the light "perfect" with the cycle. but i did 3 separate strains, the one that is budding is the big devil, but i have the sagarmantha smurfberry and grassomatic too. on top of that the pheno's of each produced much different heights. i just tied the branches of the big devil in some funny ways throughout the foliage though and i think that will help little with my lighting. If anybody wants ill post a pic of the whole thing all tied up but if none cares i shall just wait til she done (my computer cam kind of poopy quality if couldn't tell from last pictures)

downtG said:

well I've come to the conclusion that it is the lighting, without a doubt, of course the buds are fattening (still scantily). I knew when i started that i shouldn't try as many as i did under one gp90 ufo and one gp28 but i figured if i kept them 2 plants 2 weeks apart and cycled that i could keep the light "perfect" with the cycle. but i did 3 separate strains, the one that is budding is the big devil, but i have the sagarmantha smurfberry and grassomatic too. on top of that the pheno's of each produced much different heights. i just tied the branches of the big devil in some funny ways throughout the foliage though and i think that will help little with my lighting. If anybody wants ill post a pic of the whole thing all tied up but if none cares i shall just wait til she done (my computer cam kind of poopy quality if couldn't tell from last pictures)

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throw up some pics i always love to see how people tied off their plants hahaha. I agree that it is more than likely that UFO....that thing is not the equivalent of a 250 or 400watt light like it is advertised, believe me lol....The only grows with LEDS I have seen that come anywhere close to HPS is with those huge LED fixtures that are like $1000 and even then I think they used side CFL lighting just due to the fact that LED has such low light penetration after the first few top branches...

I always use a light meter in my grow area to make sure I am getting enough intense light....im not sure if LED lights are measured the same way.

pretty crappy pictures but i don't own a camera, and the LED kind of throws it all fuzzy for the computer, here in a week or two when i take it out i will get a good one

hmmmm....she is almost done...im still saying 2 weeks, again, she is taking her sweet time.