Auto help?

My autos are 4 1/2 weeks old and only 6 inches tall but very thick and bushy. Look very healthy and looks like they are going into flower. Seems to me that they were a total waist of time unless they have some sort of stretch. Is this normal size? I’m using 3 p2500 viparspectra led lights with happy Frog/OF blend and advanced nutrients ph perfect. Ive been growing for quite some time and the tent is dialed in. Not sure if I did something wrong or this is just the world of auto flowers ? Any in put?

Depends on so many variables. Some stretch more than others.. here's a pic at week 4.5, and the week 6.5. two autos, both stretched drastically.

Here's another auto basically filling a 2x4.


These all pre flowered around week 3/4. They are no bigger or smaller than a photoperiod that vegged for the same period of time..

What breeder, strain are you running? Did you get an idea of what size they are supposed to be? I have never had a problem with poor yielding autos other than issues I've caused by stressing them through grower error when I was first starting out. I usually get at least an ounce or more per gallon of pot size. It varies a little by breeder but not by much. Hope it fills out for you. Some pics would help.

There are no tricks to autos other than the same patience shown toward everything All my plants, autos and photos, are bonzai style, in less than 3L BBLM, typically yeilding 1.5-2 oz each under 600w of 12/12....no prob.
Being on a genetic timetable there's not much time for adjustments...conservative feeding works for me.

They are chunkadelic strain from humboldt seed company. Supposed to be huge buds ..that’s what the strain is know for. I’m using 3 p2500 led lights and they are in a 3x3 area and in 7 gallon pots. The only thing I could think I did wrong was having the lights only 12 inches away made them thick and bushy but maybe it’s possible they couldn’t grow any higher due to too much light?

I would say 7 gallon pots might have been overkill for autos in this case. I've had best results with mine in pots ranging from 2-5 gallons depending on the strain. You want room for roots but you don't need to grow a huge root mass like you do for a big photo plant in my experience. I would check the ppfd chart for your lights and find out what it's putting out at 12". I'm guessing that they're getting more light than necessary. Autos are getting anywhere from 18-20 hours of light a day in flower so they don't generally need tons of ppfd like a photo getting 12 hours a day. I get great yields in a 4*4 tent with only 300-350 watts of actual power draw for my lights with autos and my COB's are at 26-30 inches above the canopy. I'm sure they will do fine but these are just ideas to improve your yield for the next run. It looks like that strain runs about 12 weeks so they still have plenty of time to fill out and up.

I thought there was a rule about starting seeds/clones in big pots... I thought you were supposed to transplant like 3 times? Like Solo Cup > 1 Gallon > 5 Gallon.

ForTheVets said:

I thought there was a rule about starting seeds/clones in big pots... I thought you were supposed to transplant like 3 times? Like Solo Cup > 1 Gallon > 5 Gallon.

Click to expand...

Typically just 1 transplant for auto's or just strait into a big pot.

ForTheVets said:

I thought there was a rule about starting seeds/clones in big pots... I thought you were supposed to transplant like 3 times? Like Solo Cup > 1 Gallon > 5 Gallon.

Click to expand...

There's no rule about transplanting. Some people start in their final pot and other will transplant one or many times.

I personally go from starter pots to 3 gallon pots. I grow in coco and their is no need to go any larger than that.

twentyeight.threefive said:

There's no rule about transplanting. Some people start in their final pot and other will transplant one or many times.

I personally go from starter pots to 3 gallon pots. I grow in coco and their is no need to go any larger than that.

Click to expand...

I just vaguely remember reading something about roots and not starting in your "final pot" but eh its whatever... I personally transplant 2-3 times..

Oldreefer said:

There are no tricks to autos other than the same patience shown toward everything All my plants, autos and photos, are bonzai style, in less than 3L BBLM, typically yeilding 1.5-2 oz each under 600w of 12/12....no prob.
Being on a genetic timetable there's not much time for adjustments...conservative feeding works for me.

Click to expand...

@Oldreefer -

curious if you ever train your autos, or pinch the tops if they get unruly?
or do you just leave them alone and let them do their thing?

also, do you limit pot size/capacity with your autos?

Till Valhalla said:

@Oldreefer -

curious if you ever train your autos, or pinch the tops if they get unruly?
or do you just leave them alone and let them do their thing?

also, do you limit pot size/capacity with your autos?

Click to expand...

I know you didn't ask me specifically but I train all my autos using LST.

twentyeight.threefive said:

I know you didn't ask me specifically but I train all my autos using LST.

Click to expand...

grateful for the response/opinion/wisdom.
this/these are my first autos. have a bunch of freebies laying around. figured i'd make them do something useful besides collecting dust.
been trying to read through the posts and find answers through conversation. any/all unprompted insights with experienced growers are most appreciated. thank you.

Till Valhalla said:

@Oldreefer -

curious if you ever train your autos, or pinch the tops if they get unruly?
or do you just leave them alone and let them do their thing?

also, do you limit pot size/capacity with your autos?

Click to expand...

Training is limited to simply topping and little bit of leaf tucking. In the past, I did grow in larger pots but now limit to small 3 ltr airpots for ease of handling. Since I only grow for quality, I'm happy with my yeilds.

Oldreefer said:

Training is limited to simply topping and little bit of leaf tucking. In the past, I did grow in larger pots but now limit to small 3 ltr airpots for ease of handling. Since I only grow for quality, I'm happy with my yeilds.

Click to expand...

thanks for your response.

seems to be several schools of thought on how to handle/grow these autos. some are all for training/pinching/topping and others say to leave them be as it may stress the plant to much to flower properly.
all seem to be experienced growers with a few autos under their belts.

color me more confused. *shrugs*
i think i'm going to refrain from topping in favor of training and leaving be... my first time with autos so best to observe a bit more. just hoping the texas sun doesn't fry them too bad. (my photoperiods (with one exception) struggled a bit when i put them outside to harden in march/april.)

as far as the grow pot size is concerned, i was planning to stay on the smaller size 2-3gallon, as i have photoperiod plants as the stars of the show. the autos (for me) were more of an experiment... but i DO want them to turn out good if i'm going to start and tend them.
the smaller buckets will also be easier to transport if unexpected company comes by, plus ~should~ keep plants smaller and not peeking up over the fence.

again, thanks for response. practical wisdom is always appreciated.