Auto help needed

[Westy6930]

Hi this is my first post on here became a member yesterday thanks in advance. 
I’ve just been given some autos and know nothing what so ever as I’ve always used light cycle plants. Basically I just want to know the general ins and outs about growing Autos what’s the minimum light they need per day and so on. If some one can just give me the general advice I would need please that would be much appreciated. I want to use shogun nutrients as I all ready have them. A feed chart for shogun nutrients, hard water grown in coco for AUTOS  would be really helpful as well. Loving the forum many thanks 

[MindSoup]

This guide is for soil and getting a bit outdated, but it should give you a good idea of how autos differ from photos.

 

 

Main thing with autos is giving them a really good start as you've only got a few weeks to get them up to size,.root boost would be a good help. From what I gather they like a weaker feed compared to photo's so start of nice and gentle. 

 

Welcome to UK420 .

Edited May 8, 2023 by MindSoup

[purepotstill]

Give them at least 18/6. They usually want less nutes too, typically half as much as photos, but you'll have to adjust, as usual. No pruning too, only LST, because you don't want them to need a recovery time.

 

About potting up, there's different opinions. Most of guides say to start them in their final pot, but it makes watering more difficult. OTOH, potting them up twice or three times like photos may slow their grow when you have no time give them to recover. I won't put them in a big pot before their roots have colonized at least a 0.5L pot.

 

You should start a thread in the presentation section too, but that's another thing.

Edited May 8, 2023 by purepotstill

[Westy6930]

49 minutes ago, MindSoup said:

This guide is for soil and getting a bit outdated, but it should give you a good idea of how autos differ from photos.

 

 

Main thing with autos is giving them a really good start as you've only got a few weeks to get them up to size,.root boost would be a good help. From what I gather they like a weaker feed compared to photo's so start of nice and gentle. 

 

Welcome to UK420 .

So is it right that they need 18 hours light per day so same as photos in veg without switching to 12 hours light for glower 

[handysmoker]

Serpents guide helped me start my 1st Auto ... good place to start.

 

Please check my 1st Diary 1st Grow ... up to day 29 now. It's got some good guidance and advice from other members.

1st Diary 1st grow

 

[MindSoup]

@Westy6930 Yeah mate veg hours all the way through, they'll flip when they feel root restriction and or reach about 3-4 weeks old. Some people run the lights for more than 18/6 some even keep the lights on 24/7, I'm definitely not an expert with autos but I reckon you want a bit of dark in the mix, there's certain processes that plants do better with the lights off. What's most important is the total amount of light they receive in the 24hr period (Daily Light Integral/DLI) so if your running for 18/6 you'd want more light intensity than at 20/4. Migro on YouTube has some good videos that explain that sort of thing, but essentially if you give them what you give your mature photo's in veg all the way through then you should be in the right ballpark. 

[5Lip]

Couple of tweeks I made to the serps guide…

 

I just leave the lights on 24/7

 

as soon as I feel they are starting to stretch I introduce grow nutes @ 0.5ml/l and increase the feed by 0.5 ml/l for every feed from then. This gives you an opportunity to stop / not over feed but also (and more importantly) increase as per, some of the autos I’ve grown have happily soaked up twice the recommended dose

 

bending them about / keeping the canopy level has really increased yield and info feel I have my lights a little closer than average but my plants seem to respond positively 

 

im in a massive quandary right now as I’ve really loved my autos and really enjoyed tweaking the routine down to a fine art, but my friend gave me some “quality “ (photo) stuff last week and it’s better in every department than my autos (although my autos slightly trump the “high” which is obviously the main reason we do this) and there here is my quandary

 

good luck anyway you’ll get loads of help and support here mate

 

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by 5Lip

[Goodbloke]

For my personal interest, can I ask why you're switching/trying autos after previously growing photos? 

[Dank Dad]

15 minutes ago, Goodbloke said:

For my personal interest, can I ask why you're switching/trying autos after previously growing photos? 

 

autos are great if you're a one tent person... your can grow them whilst vegging your 'regs'.

Bio Biz all mix has everything needed until they stretch  ...then go easy on the nutes, they don't need much.

I've burnt and over fed in soil many times in the past but they are resilient and will get through it....

Every living species needs time to sleep so I don't buy into 24/7 lighting... even a couple of hours will enhance. 

[purepotstill]

2 hours ago, 5Lip said:

I just leave the lights on 24/7

I've done it to, and managed to reach the g/w with a 315CMH in 1m². It's useful when you struggle to keep temps high and RH low enough when growing in a cold room.

[MidgeSmith]

I agree that 24 hours of light seems a bit hard on them.  I had a bad 24 hour crop after a good 18 hour crop with the same genetics.  They had a problem and never recovered really.  So I recommend 20 Hours a day, but I am adjusting for DLI using the Photone app on my phone to gauge the light levels.  It seems kinda to my light.

 

I am running some Autos after having run Photos last time, because I was going to harden them and plant them out, but then it became undesirable to plant them out, so I thought I'd get them done quickly (they are all 8 - 10 week strains) and have 3 more strains to try in Autumn.

 

The only awkward bit about growing now is trying to dry and cure them in July if the weather is hot.  I guess I will have to splash the cash to use my air conditioner if it is too hot at the time they are ready.