# Autoflower Pot Size, Light Distance From Top = Bigger Size and more Bud?



## TheChodesman (Dec 11, 2011)

I'm starting a new batch of autoflowers. I'm using 1 gallon pots and a 400 HPS. My previous autoflower grow was vegged under 250 watts of CFL in 1/2 gallon pots inches from the tops and they stayed short as fuck. My current plants are roughly 8'' at six weeks and have grown very little since switching to my tent a few weeks ago. 

I of course know that pot size increase can lead to a bigger plant, but since I will be vegging under a 400 HPS will they stretch a bit more, grow taller with more bud sites possibly and more bud? My Chronic Ryder is 8'' tall but 6'' of cola, I can't see any stem whatsoever. It has side growth but I feel like it could have developed longer and branched out if it stretched toward the light. The plant is just a huge cola at this point. I feel like they could have been a few inches taller with a HPS veg, but would that necessarily increase the yield? Would a dense, short autoflower be better compared to a taller, say 1-2 foot plant? I have extra space now is why I'm asking. 

I don't have much experience with the autos.

So basically tall or short? Let it stretch or lower the light?


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## sonar (Dec 11, 2011)

I think one gallon is too small. I'd say 2 gallon minimum, 3 gallon optimal.


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## TheChodesman (Dec 11, 2011)

All I had was a 1.5 cubic foot bag of FFOF and 1 gallon pots. I used the 1/2 gallon last run and I expect at least a quarter from my Royal Dwarf. Everyone else got the change to the 1 gallon and seem fine. If I could pull 1/2 to an ounce off a plant in a one gallon that would be fine. Around here somebody would try to dime that shit out and make $500+ off some less quality weed. $20-$25 a gram. Mids around here are called chronic and it's $50-$60 an 1/8. Anyway I can easily fit 12 1 gallon pots in my tent. I can't say the same for 2 or 3 gallon. Since this is a personal grow and I could potentially harvest 12 or so plants 4-5 times a year that's fine by me. I only have a 3 x 3 tent, size matters.

I've already spent $700+ on supplies. I spent my student loans on a bud garden. I'm a broke college student lol. 

The question was aimed more at lighting. Stetching of the plant, vegging, nodes, bud density, yields and such.


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## Scyntra (Dec 11, 2011)

in a 3x3 you can easily fit 16-2gal pots there only 8"-9" across most 2 gal pots so 4 rows of 4 and have way more bud in the end... with a little room on the side to start babys when you need them...but as far as light the cfl will make a more compact plant in a lot of cases but the 400hps will not stretch them out unless you had it way to high but they will be bigger/more buds of course because its way more light vs the cfl. I use a 400hps all the way through and mine get from 20-24" by the time there done and yea the taller ones generally have more bud..


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## olblue26 (Dec 11, 2011)

i only have expierience with the one auto im growing now.i veged with t8 tube flouros and was happy with the results.once in flower i just used 8 red spec cfls.im still about 3 maybe 4 weeks from harves and its about 2 1/2 ft tall and about 1 1/2 ft around.there are cola sites everywhere. i used 3 gal pot and ffof soil and just added a little perolite.im really impressed with it.the strain is auto berry from marijuana-seeds.nl. the colas are getting bigger everyday.today i had a moment of weekness and cliped a little bud from one of the side branches,so ill get back with you on how it tasts.i was very impressed on how dence the bud was considering my getto light setup.hope this helps bro! happy growing!!


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## TheChodesman (Dec 11, 2011)

I just measured my pots and they are 7 1/2 inches across for the 1 gallon. I have fans in all corners of my room, accounting for space between the pots, fans and plants I can fit 12 pots. I have pics of my setup in my sig. I already have 3 plants in there so I put in 9 pots with germed seeds waiting to sprout. 

I just measured and the top of the pots are exactly 1 1/2 feet from the cool tube. I'd say I want 1 foot plants, that sounds pretty efficient. 12 plants in 1 gallon pots with the tops 6 inches from the tube if they grew 1 foot which I think these will.


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## TheChodesman (Dec 11, 2011)

2 gallon pots would be too big in my opinion for what I have going. I could fit maybe 9 2 gallons from the ones I saw. I'm growing multiple strains and have no clue how tall or big they'll get in general let alone in a 2 gallon pot.


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## sonar (Dec 11, 2011)

Sounds like you are looking to do a small SOG, more or less. What about trying a regular, photoperiod strain and taking clones and flowering them as soon as they root in 1 gallon grow bags/pots. It would be a little more work, but in the end, I think you would pull significantly more and save a lot of money over having to keep buying auto seeds each some. Since you would be looking at keeping them as pretty much one big cola anyway you could keep the light close and maximize the space in the tent because they will be a lot more uniform.


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## Terms (Dec 11, 2011)

TheChodesman said:


> I expect at least a quarter from my Royal Dwarf. .


Freebie from Attitude?


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## hoss12781 (Dec 11, 2011)

5 gallon pots for sure if you want max yield


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## hoss12781 (Dec 11, 2011)

you can pull 2 oz off autos in 5 gal pots. I've done this several times. 1.25-1.5 is about average, sometimes I've pulled more than 2 on a really solid pheno.

Distance from the light is going to depend entirely on the lighting source you've chosen.


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## TheChodesman (Dec 11, 2011)

Yes the Dwarf was a freebie from Attitude. I thought nothing of it for almost three weeks. Absolutely puny. It flowered with three nodes at about two or so inches. I'd grow it again, it's fast and stinky it should be done in 3 weeks. 

I have some other freebies from the Attitude:

Paradise Seeds Acid
Dinafem Blue Hash and Blue Widow

I was thinking of vegging a few out when my three flowering plants are finished and taking clones. However, I was also thinking of getting a really good, small auto strain like the Royal Dwarf, keeping a male under a CFL and pollinating a few females for seeds, buying like 40 1/2 gallon pots and growing a shit ton of plants.


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## Scyntra (Dec 12, 2011)

TheChodesman said:


> I just measured my pots and they are 7 1/2 inches across for the 1 gallon. I have fans in all corners of my room, accounting for space between the pots, fans and plants I can fit 12 pots. I have pics of my setup in my sig. I already have 3 plants in there so I put in 9 pots with germed seeds waiting to sprout.
> 
> I just measured and the top of the pots are exactly 1 1/2 feet from the cool tube. I'd say I want 1 foot plants, that sounds pretty efficient. 12 plants in 1 gallon pots with the tops 6 inches from the tube if they grew 1 foot which I think these will.


 you should get some pots like these there 2 gal and 9" across...http://plasticflowerpots.net/2gallonnewplasticflowerpotslotof10.aspx ...could put 4 wide x 4 deep just would have to move your fans, hang them!! safer anyway to have them up in the air then on the floor if you happen to spill water... general safety rule... all power is from waste up, all water is from waste down...


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## hoss12781 (Dec 13, 2011)

I hate to hate on your pot selection but the plastics are not the best way to go. Air pots will give you better results and with two gallons you'll sacrifice some yield. You'll want at least four gal to max them out.


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## sixteenounces (Dec 13, 2011)

I tend to disagree with the 4 and 5 gallon pots. I have proven that you can obtain a better result, space to pot with 2 - 3 gallon square containers. And i would like to explain my findings.

When growing with 5(14 inches) gallon buckets, i found the production increase to be minimal <10g between 3(10 inches) gallon square rose pots. And the loss of space was rather high, I lost space for 2 square rose pots with the 5 gallons.

A rudimentary drawing of canibus strain root structure can be found below. As you can see, a smaller stature, ruderalis prevalent pheno will grow a more spindly short root system in comparison to indica and sativa prevalent plants. Also when you take into consideration, a short life cycle, and minimal intervention, there is plenty of space in a 3 gallon container to accommodate an auto flower.


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## TheChodesman (Dec 13, 2011)

Next round I will try some square two or three gallon pots. Cool diagram man.


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## hoss12781 (Dec 13, 2011)

Sixteen - I'm not disagreeing there but as I can only grow four plants at a time without crossing into felony territory for my garden I'm going for max producion on each plant. While it may only be a smaller increase in final yield since I can only have the four at a time ...


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## TheChodesman (Dec 13, 2011)

Kentucky has strict marijuana laws, but Indiana is worse.


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## hoss12781 (Dec 13, 2011)

Could call it strict I guess, not that bad considering you can cultivate four and its a misdemeanor - which was actually lowered to a ticketable offense in summer of 2012. I don't think we'll see dispensaries in the bluegrass state any time soon. I'd rather be hidden in the woods here in KY than in Indiana though, its pretty much a felony for one plant (over 30g) over there.


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## TheChodesman (Dec 13, 2011)

You can get a ticket for an ounce in Louisville. In Indiana across the river you're definitely going to jail.


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## dump1020 (Dec 13, 2011)

sixteenounces said:


> I tend to disagree with the 4 and 5 gallon pots. I have proven that you can obtain a better result, space to pot with 2 - 3 gallon square containers. And i would like to explain my findings.
> 
> When growing with 5(14 inches) gallon buckets, i found the production increase to be minimal <10g between 3(10 inches) gallon square rose pots. And the loss of space was rather high, I lost space for 2 square rose pots with the 5 gallons.
> 
> A rudimentary drawing of canibus strain root structure can be found below. As you can see, a smaller stature, ruderalis prevalent pheno will grow a more spindly short root system in comparison to indica and sativa prevalent plants. Also when you take into consideration, a short life cycle, and minimal intervention, there is plenty of space in a 3 gallon container to accommodate an auto flower.


I agree, all i grow are autos, I use 2.5 gal smart pots and IMO they are just right for autos.


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## Scyntra (Dec 13, 2011)

hoss12781 said:


> I hate to hate on your pot selection but the plastics are not the best way to go. Air pots will give you better results and with two gallons you'll sacrifice some yield. You'll want at least four gal to max them out.


 oh I agree air pots are a better pot but I was just showing him there is cheap pots he could use and make more bud... he did say..
*"I've already spent $700+ on supplies. I spent my student loans on a bud garden. I'm a broke college student lol."*
I have to disagree with you on the need 4 gal to max them out maybe for some autos but not for all, I have grown 3 auto strains and none of them got any bigger in bigger pots past 2 gal..I tried 2 liter, 1 gal, 2gal,3gal and 5gal..2 gal give me as much as 5 gal per plant but I had way less overall because I had less pots/plants..I do use subcool's supersoil that's a very hot soil maybe why they don't use it all up...but for the bigger autos sure I could see using bigger pots..


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## hoss12781 (Dec 14, 2011)

All I was really saying is you'll be hard pressed to pull 80 grams off an auto in a 2 gallon pot. This can be accomplished with a 5 gallon smart pot. I'm at the point where I am consistently hitting close to if not more than 2 oz per plant in 5 gal, the 80g monster was a freaky large pheno. 

If number of plants isn't a factor for you then have at it with as many 2 gal pots and plants as you want and you'll probably have more efficient use of your grow area. This isn't feasible for me and the laws in my area.


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## taekwondoguy (Dec 14, 2011)

TheChodesman said:


> Kentucky has strict marijuana laws, but Indiana is worse.


actually one of most lax in the east, up t 8 oz is a misd. and max of yr(95% or more plead and get probation tho)


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## taekwondoguy (Dec 14, 2011)

as for max yield per plant should look into DWC I've seen 8 oz. from single 5 gallon for photos, might take an extra 2-4 weeks for veg but more than worth it imo.


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## jaibyrd7 (Dec 15, 2011)

this got me to thinking, so i went out and got the floor out of my 3x3 tent and 16 - 2 gal buckets, they fit nice. i could also fit 12 - 3 or 5 gal buckets (mine are the same diameter, just different heights). i also tried the square 4 gal (think waterfarm) and got 16 of those in their nice. while i was goofin, i grabbed some 1 gal grow bags. i put 30 empty and got tired of poppin them open but i probably could of fit 10 more, so i would say 25-30 with soil in them. i think theres lots that will fit but imo you still only have 9 sq ft of area. depending on which auto or way of thinking, .5 to 1 sq ft per plant? so thats 9-18 plants. since buckets = weight, the 16 - 4 gal square pots seems like the big titties to me! lol! swing by the local donut shop and grab you some, they only want a buck or so each, but you gotta wash and drill em. the bakery in my local supermarket is also a cheap place to experiment with bucket sizes. good luck to ya!


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## sixteenounces (Dec 15, 2011)

you fit more 4 gallons in the space than 3 gallons?


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## jaibyrd7 (Dec 15, 2011)

Yeah my 4 gals are square and my 3s are round like a 5 gal, just shorter.


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## nodnarb7 (Mar 29, 2012)

hoss12781 said:


> 5 gallon pots for sure if you want max yieldView attachment 1930140View attachment 1930141View attachment 1930142View attachment 1930143View attachment 1930144View attachment 1930145View attachment 1930147View attachment 1930150


Nice plants man! A+


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## CultivationDude (Mar 2, 2013)

is that low stress trained?


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## jaibyrd7 (Mar 3, 2013)

CultivationDude said:


> is that low stress trained?


They couldve been a little, but it doesnt really look like they were.


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## Palantir (Jun 20, 2013)

hi.

will 2.5 gallon pot size be enough for an autoflower to herhaps give around 30g(one plant)?.
(take for granted that water,food,light etc etc is problem free and optimal.)


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## mr. si (Apr 19, 2015)

almost at harvest with an auto in 3gal under led @ 24hrs. i'm expecting an ounce, would likely be more if the hours of light were shortened. what i've noticed is that 24hrs has most likely crippled the yield as the plant is rather short and bushy even with lst (harder for penetration in lower sites). i wouldn't even dream of using anything bigger than a 3gal since photoperiod have more potential and can be pushed to greater lengths. @altredux


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## Supersport (Apr 28, 2015)

Well I grew fast & vast last year in 4 gallon pots got almost 3 zip per plant but they were root bound, so this year is thc bomb in 7 gal pots. Growing big but drinking a lot


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## Big smo (Mar 20, 2016)

I'm using 7 gallon air pots for my autos. First grow. I thought the bigger the pot the better. Figured what's the big deal with extra soil, nutrients ext. it takes forever to water, they take up tons of space and overall just take so much more time. Hate to pitch the air pots at this stage but next run I'm defo gonna raise the bottom at least 30%

I'm running 2 lights that cover a 5x5 area for 11 plants. If I had smaller pots I could easily double that amount.


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## Big smo (Mar 20, 2016)

Leds look funny since I adjusted the red and blues to zero. Better picture I assume


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## Diskokobaja (Mar 23, 2016)

i uswd in my all three grows 18l pots (about 4gal) and i got 2oz per plant -/+ 0.30oz..


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## Diskokobaja (Mar 23, 2016)

Big smo said:


> View attachment 3636963 I'm using 7 gallon air pots for my autos. First grow. I thought the bigger the pot the better. Figured what's the big deal with extra soil, nutrients ext. it takes forever to water, they take up tons of space and overall just take so much more time. Hate to pitch the air pots at this stage but next run I'm defo gonna raise the bottom at least 30%
> 
> I'm running 2 lights that cover a 5x5 area for 11 plants. If I had smaller pots I could easily double that amount.


what led are u using?


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## Big smo (Mar 23, 2016)

Kind k5's 1000 watts x2 they draw 650 or so at the wall


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## Diskokobaja (Mar 23, 2016)

This looks interesting to me..


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## degadogg (Mar 23, 2016)

TheChodesman said:


> Next round I will try some square two or three gallon pots. Cool diagram man.


Has anyone ever used self watering pots?I saw some at a store,I believe they set in a tray of water and get the water from bottom to top.I was going to try some of the 3 gallon ones.


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## BuddahBudz (Jul 31, 2016)

I just bought 6 airports 10litres each and I'm using biobizz all mix as a medium and biobizz nutrients for feed and I got a 600w HPS. I'm gona be growing 5 candy Kush and a girlscout cookies all auto flowers. can anyone give me a idea on how much I'll get dry weight per plant at least an ounce I hope....will upload pic eventually


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## TheMAdDabber13 (Aug 4, 2016)

sonar said:


> I think one gallon is too small. I'd say 2 gallon minimum, 3 gallon optimal.


1 gals are a lil small but my autos are loving them I have 6 plants round two feet all doing amazing.


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