Serpents guide to growing autos in soil

[Greenman187]

Awesome thread , I started off on autos back in 2006 when lowryder appeared and they weren’t all that back then ,but now they seem to be getting pretty decent , especially Sweet seeds , I’ve just started up again after massive layoff and I started off with autos just to get something going as photoperiod plants take time to get into the grow tent and I chose Sweet seeds black cream autos and I’m amazed at the difference to the lowryder and how close they have got to photoperiod in size. Definitely be trying more autos only down side is the light cycle being on so long it puts electric up.

[Fishbern]

Those are some nice looking buds  Sweet seeds have been a big talk on this site. Hope to see some of your new grows then!

[Greenman187]

Thankyou fishbern, Sweet seeds are very cheap and imo are the most viable seeds I’ve ever cracked, I’m glad I asked on here first before buying seeds, cos I’m super happy with sweet seeds, I’ll be cropping the black cream a week Monday and I’ll post some decent pictures, then I’m chucking in photo sensitive cream caramel from sweet seeds also and they are both medical with high CBD. Can’t wait. But I will be trying some more auto seeds from them because they are on par with photo period size buds AWESOME. I’ve also grown out 3 supersonic Cristal storm from samsara seeds which are super resinous but they haven’t got the size to the buds. 

Edited August 10, 2018 by Greenman187

[Newbie7676]

Hi they great work. Can I ask as I’ve just started my first grow using auto I have a 600w hps and am trying purple haze and kc 45 all the have popped with about an inch root coming out so I have potted with the root down with the seed head just poking the top I did this 2 days ago and still nothing I’ve been reading ur thread and it says it can take upto 36 hours what am I doing wrong please they just sat in the window ledge at the moment in little pots were should I put them please and should they be under or in the dark 

[blackpoolbouncer]

1 minute ago, Newbie7676 said:

Hi they great work. Can I ask as I’ve just started my first grow using auto I have a 600w hps and am trying purple haze and kc 45 all the have popped with about an inch root coming out so I have potted with the root down with the seed head just poking the top I did this 2 days ago and still nothing I’ve been reading ur thread and it says it can take upto 36 hours what am I doing wrong please they just sat in the window ledge at the moment in little pots were should I put them please and should they be under or in the dark 

Are they warm where you have them. Like a constant 20'C plus? 

 

You ha e to give the plant chance to get a foothold before it pushes upwards. 

For future ref your seed should be just below the surface and it will bemreak through on it's own.

[Newbie7676]

I just have them sat under a normal lamp to keep warm thanks for the help and info should I leave them they or move them 

[Jigg]

On 9/21/2018 at 11:48 AM, Newbie7676 said:

I just have them sat under a normal lamp to keep warm thanks for the help and info should I leave them they or move them 

 

What I always do with mine and from my last 3 grows had 100% germination success is soak them in water and put the glass into the airing cupboard  then get the pots ready wet the soil and put in the airing cupboard so the soil gets warm and has time to moist the soil but it wont be soaking then after the 24/36 hours of the seeds soaking in water you should see a taproot remove the seeds from the water and place them into the warm soil with the tap root facing down obviously. Then I cover the pots with clingfilm with in 24 hours they have normally all popped and they go under my lights then. 

[Knightshutdown]

On 22/08/2011 at 3:40 PM, Serpent said:

Serpents guide to growing autos in soil

I get asked a lot of questions about growing auto’s, firstly I won’t say I’m an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I have had some success with them, getting on average 2oz a plant, give or take, grown in a DR60 under a 250w HPS, so I thought I’d put this guide together, I should stress though it’s only from my experience and not a definitive guide, it just seems to work for me.

I should also mention that for my grows I use Plant Magic Supreme Soil, Plant Magic Oldtimers Bloom and Plant Magic Bio-Silicon so this guide is based on what I’ve learnt using these products and that other nutes & mediums might react differently.

Germination

It’s been well documented that auto’s can have a tougher seed shell than photoperiod strains, and I’d agree with this, I’ve read stories of people rubbing them with sandpaper and all kinds of things to try and weaken them before germinating, I personally think it’s not needed, the most successful germination rate I’ve had is by following this method:

 

• Soak them in a glass of water for approx 36 hours
• By this time the seed might show signs of cracking
• Place seed in 0.5 litre pots with pre-wetted soil
• Put them in a propagator, if you don’t have a propagator, cover the pot with a small plastic bag or cling film, and put them in a warm, dark place, I usually use my airing cupboard
• Keep the pots moist, not soaking, with a high humidity

 

After another 36 hours (give or take depending on soil, environment and strain), the seeds should now be breaking through the soil so it’s now time to get them under light.

Seedlings

I always start the seedlings off under 24 hour light in a microbox using CFL’s (3x 23w), after a day or so they start reaching for the light, the seed shell should also shed by itself around this time displaying its first set of cotelydon leaves, but as it was outlined earlier, they do seem to be a little bit tougher than photoperiod, so a little human interaction might be required, the method I use is to carefully, and I can’t stress carefully enough, remove it with a pair of tweezers.

Feed wise at this stage should only be water, no nutes as there should be enough feed in the soil, and I usually administer it through a spray bottle carefully, I also try and keep the pots moist during the first few days under light.

Potting Up

At around 7-10 days, it’s time to pot your girls up to their final pots, the jury is still out whether to start autos in final pots, or pot up once established, I always use the latter method which works for me, one day though I’ll have to start them off in final pots to see how they compare, but the key is to get them into their final pots sooner rather than later, certainly no longer than 14 days as unlike photoperiod, they don’t need regular potting up during veg, I'll also add a small dose of Plant Magic Bio-Silicon at this stage, usually around 1ml per 2 litre over the next few feeds.

Final Pot Size

They say the bigger the better, as I grow in a DR60 (60x60x140cm) I am limited to what pot size I can use, I’ve used both round 7.5 litre and square 6.5 litre pots and to be honest, I haven’t noticed a huge difference in yield between the 2, so lately I’ve stuck with 6.5 litre as it means I can fit more plants in my tent.

Light Cycle

Once potted up, I’ll move the girls into my tent under a 250w HPS under a light cycle of 18 hours on and 6 hours off, there’s lots of talk whether they should be kept under 24 hour light, 20 hour on, 4 hours off, and from what I’ve read there’s isn’t a huge difference in yield, so to take the cost of electricity into consideration, I always grow mine on 18/6 which it stays on until harvest and so far I’ve no complaints.

I did recently read that Big Buddha recommends in the last couple of weeks to start knocking the lights down gradually until you get to 12/12 to reproduce the natural cycle of the sun as you head towards the harvest date, although I’ve yet to try this method, if anyone has, it would be good to know what results you got.

Nutes

At around 21 days you should start seeing pre-flowers appearing, don’t be anxious to start the nutes at this stage as the key to feeding autos is less is most certainly more as they are well known for being light feeders. My last few grows I’ve completely bypassed Grow nutes and started on a low dose, usually 1-2ml per litre of Plant Magic Oldtimers Bloom at around the 28-30 day mark.

The reason I don’t use Grow nutes is with potting up, the young plants generally don’t need extra nutes, that said, if you start them off in final pots, you may very well need to give them a little bit of Grow before they start to flower, don’t be in a rush to add them though, try and read what your plants need, if they look healthy, leave them be.

Over the course of the grow, I rarely go over 3ml per Litre Bloom, I will occasionally knock it up to 4 ml, but only if I feel they need it, and quite often I’ll do alternative feed of 3ml per litre, then just plain water and around 53/54 day mark I’ll start knocking them down so the last 2-3 feeds are just plain water.

Trimming

Unlike photoperiod, autos don’t need as much trimming and some growers prefer not to trim them at all, I do trim the lower 3rd of the plant a little bit, but it’s mainly any dead, dying or yellow leaves as the buds develop, and I’ll also snip off some of the smaller popcorn buds which appear low down and don’t really develop into much, but this can be personal preference though as there certainly no harm in leaving them.

Harvest

Most breeders say autos are ready in just 60 days, now most I’ve grown can be chopped at 60 days, but to get the most out of your crop and to get a heavier stoned, it’s well worth taking them longer, my target is usually 66 days, although I have chopped earlier and later, but I use this as my benchmark, it’s also worth using a magnifying glass or jewellers loupe to check the trichs so you harvest at the optimum time for what you want.

So there you have it, my guide to growing autos, like I mentioned at the beginning, this is in no way a definitive guide, it’s just what happens to work for me, but I’m always up for learning new methods and using different techniques, so all you auto growers out there, feel free to add to this thread, post pictures of the successes or disasters (I mean, we learn from our mistakes!) you’ve had, strains you’ve tried and recommend or just anything related to the love them or hate them variety of autoflowering canna.

And to finish off, here’s some photos of past auto’s I’ve grown - Keep it auto

Cream Caramel Auto at 66 days

Cream Caramel Harvest

Purple hues of the Cream Caramel

Speed Devil #2

Il Diavolo harvested at 49 days

Fast Bud and Speed Devils at 61 days

Fast Bud harvested at 62 days

nice buds mate

[Top Shotta]

@Serpent Very nice bro
Sorry if I missed it but how many auto could you fit in that space, would 4 x 6.5L pots be perfect ? ( I have a similar size tent 75x75x180 ) 

[Serpent]

On 8/10/2019 at 9:56 PM, Top Shotta said:

@Serpent Very nice bro
Sorry if I missed it but how many auto could you fit in that space, would 4 x 6.5L pots be perfect ? ( I have a similar size tent 75x75x180 ) 

 

And apologies from me @Top Shotta as I've only just noticed this and in a tent that size, I've probably do 4, but maybe in slightly bigger pots to help maximise space.

 

Hope that helps

[le0n.v6]

Brilliant straight forward guide. Lookin into getting my first crop on soon when cash allows it n think I’m gonna start with autos and follow this as a basic guide n learn as I go.

 

Cheers mate

[Guest]

@Serpent and everyone else, hey bud sorry if it's been said before but would you not wait until starting hps until bud sites are around 1cm in diameter before giving them the sodium or do you always just go straight from cfl to hps after re potting

 

So to clarify

 

Cfl to halide to sodium

 

Or just 

 

Cfl to sodium like you've written

 

Edited August 26, 2019 by TheGreenShabeenReturns

[Serpent]

@TheGreenShabeenReturns I've never used an MH lamp so I've always gone from CFL to dual spec HPS so can't comment from experience, but I can't see it being a problem using MH for a week or two then when flowers start to develop switch to HPS.

 

I hope that helps and someone who's actually done it might add their experience

[Guest]

Hey serpent, copying ur method though to be honest with my auto moby the ones in the pic I didn't use hps until around day 21 but have used hps with the other auto gorilla's after re potting after 8 days. 

Last time I done autos I had the guidance from automaster, it was a rdwc and got 15 ounces of three staryders. 

 

So will be trying your method to see how it fares, like the fact it is little hassle, here is pics. 

 

Day 30 and two have started to show pre flowers, there's also a funny. 

 

 

 

[Guest]

Hey serpent, copying ur method though to be honest with my auto moby the ones in the pic I didn't use hps until around day 21 but have used hps with the other auto gorilla's after re potting after 8 days. 

Last time I done autos I had the guidance from automaster, it was a rdwc and got 15 ounces of three staryders. 

 

So will be trying your method to see how it fares, like the fact it is little hassle, here is pics. 

 

Day 30 and two have started to show pre flowers.