Auto Strains Indoor

Hello all, hope your grows are going well?

I have a question. In regards to auto strains, when growing indoor and having the ability to control the flowering, why use autos when a female seed would do?

I can understand using autos for outdoor but indoors I really don't see the need considering we can 12/12 at any time, with regular female seeds/clones.

I'm not knocking autos but am I missing anything?

Thanks

blazeaglory420 said:

Hello all, hope your grows are going well?

I have a question. In regards to auto strains, when growing indoor and having the ability to control the flowering, why use autos when a female seed would do?

I can understand using autos for outdoor but indoors I really don't see the need considering we can 12/12 at any time, with regular female seeds/clones.

I'm not knocking autos but am I missing anything?

Thanks

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No point really if you were in an extremely cold climate it might work well so you could leave the lights on all day for heat.

Ryante55 said:

No point really if you were in an extremely cold climate it might work well so you could leave the lights on all day for heat.

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Nice! Cannabis growing foot warmer!

A neighbor of mine likes that he doesn't have to worry about when to flip to 12/12. It just happens and for that reason, he prefers autos.

But I'm with you - I prefer the photoperiod strains cause I like to train the ladies to get me tons of tops before flip.

StareCase said:

A neighbor of mine likes that he doesn't have to worry about when to flip to 12/12. It just happens and for that reason, he prefers autos.

But I'm with you - I prefer the photoperiod strains cause I like to train the ladies to get me tons of tops before flip.

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So, smooth sailing? Don't have to worry about flipping or type of light? That's a good point

blazeaglory420 said:

So, smooth sailing? Don't have to worry about flipping or type of light? That's a good point

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The type of lighting used is still the same as photoperiods. He's an MH/HPS dude.

But yeah, it's kind of like set and forget. His mantra - "Seed, feed and presto - weed."

StareCase said:

The type of lighting used is still the same as photoperiods. He's an MH/HPS dude.

But yeah, it's kind of like set and forget. His mantra - "Seed, feed and presto - weed."

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So he still has to change lights? Bummer!

HPS is still needed then? Really now autos seem kinda gimmicky for me at this point. With all the short flowering females, I can't really grasp autos popularity.

If he's going to change the light, might as well change the timer.

Also, I've read that autos have smaller harvests and quality lacks compared to regular. Is that true?

blazeaglory420 said:

So he still has to change lights? Bummer!

HPS is still needed then? Really now autos seem kinda gimmicky for me at this point. With all the short flowering females, I can't really grasp autos popularity.

If he's going to change the light, might as well change the timer.

Also, I've read that autos have smaller harvests and quality lacks compared to regular. Is that true?

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He bought his equipment with the intention of doing photos - then yours truly gave him an auto AK47 seed and since then, he has found that autos are easier. Didn't question it … so whatever works I guess. But I am in your camp. Growing a baffo photo is not a problem.

And I have read that auto yields and bud quality are becoming pretty comparable to photos. I've not done an auto grow nor have I sampled his finished product so I can't honestly answer from experience. But a successful auto grow will still depend on a good growing environment.

StareCase said:

A neighbor of mine likes that he doesn't have to worry about when to flip to 12/12. It just happens and for that reason, he prefers autos.

But I'm with you - I prefer the photoperiod strains cause I like to train the ladies to get me tons of tops before flip.

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Autos suck for potency although they’re getting better. I have grown them and in fact have 4 going outdoors here. We get about 22 hours of sunlight here right now and the suckers get bigger than you might think. They’re not bad for daytime smoke and these 2 strains are tasty but they’re not couchlockers.

hotrodharley said:

Autos suck for potency although they’re getting better ...

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So what I read most likely came from the auto seed breeders. Maybe that's why I haven't been offered to sample anything he's produced. There's no comparison to the photos that I have. I'm glad I stuck with what I knew.

Photoperiods rock!!

Some people like that you can have flowering autos and seedling autos all in the same tent without having to go through the extra effort of having one tent for veggy and one for flower. Sometimes, people are also in a rush to get a harvest even though with autos you will typically only get your harvest around 2-4 weeks before what you would a photoperiod. Over the past 10 years, autos have made some really incredible strides in regards to yield and potency. It's not uncommon at all nowadays to find auto strains with a potency of 18-22% (THC Bomb, Tran Siberian, Northern Lights Blue Auto, etc etc). The biggest disconnect for most growers is auto's typical preference and veg times, which don't permit a lot of interference such as ScROG, or mainlining. There are people on RIU that swear by topping their autos though. It really all comes down to time parameters, and your style of growing. If you do very little topping and training, and like to keep it simple, you may give auto's a try.