lighting question about autos

Hello,

I am new to the world of autos due to not paying attention to what I ordered. I have no clue about them really, except that they strive in colder weather and that they start budding whenever they like.

Here is what I am working with
Light of Jah Auto from Amsterdam Seed Bank
Viparspectra 300 watt full spectrum
Happy Frog Strawberry fields
3 gallon cloth pot

I am starting 2 seeds off in grow plugs with a 54 watt T5.

So how does the light schedule work for seedlings and up, thank you in advance.

18-24hrs of light a day all the way thru till the end. No dark period required for autos. Most run 20 on 4 off.

As Ginger said, light cycle doesn't matter as long as they get enough light.

Your 130W Viparspectra is a bit weak though. One plant directly under it might work, any more than that and they won't get near enough light.

With the rect. shape of the light you should be able to get 2 under it and still have the light at a good height. Rotate the pots 90 or 180 degrees every day and that should take care of any intensity issues.

Can't say I've heard anything on autos doing better with cooler temps...

Most people think the key to autos is no setbacks on growth due to the predetermined life span of autos. No time to recover from problems. Fewer problems=bigger yeild. Try to plant in final container to prevent any issues with transplant. Autos are also know to be lighter feeders. Usually suggested to start with 1/4 strength nutes and not to go higher than 1/2 strength. Also it is usually suggested to feed veg nutes thru the 3rd week of flower before switching to bloom nutes.

Your 130W Viparspectra is a bit weak though.

I agree it may seem a little light on the wattage, but I have personally seen this particular light grow some serious weed.

another thought

I do have a extra 8 bulb T5 (with new 5600k bulbs) light laying around, which do you all think would be better? This way I can put 2 more in (just a thought). I will be moving these to a proper tent with HID lighting when they are of a adequate age.

Ginger Viking said:

With the rect. shape of the light you should be able to get 2 under it and still have the light at a good height. Rotate the pots 90 or 180 degrees every day and that should take care of any intensity issues.

I am only running the vipar light until they are large enough to go to the tent

Can't say I've heard anything on autos doing better with cooler temps...

I was reading up on these seeds and came across that info. I went back to try to find it and I have not had any luck yet. Its probably a bunch of B.S.

Most people think the key to autos is no setbacks on growth due to the predetermined life span of autos. No time to recover from problems. Fewer problems=bigger yeild. Try to plant in final container to prevent any issues with transplant. Autos are also know to be lighter feeders. Usually suggested to start with 1/4 strength nutes and not to go higher than 1/2 strength. Also it is usually suggested to feed veg nutes thru the 3rd week of flower before switching to bloom nutes.

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I had read about the issues with transplanting and a little on the light schedule. So do we treat these seeds like another normal seed as far as our method of germinating?

I agree with the method of nutes about running light and 1/4 strength. That is my rule of thumb for growing in dirt or hydro.

twistedvinesofbud said:

I had read about the issues with transplanting and a little on the light schedule. So do we treat these seeds like another normal seed as far as our method of germinating?

I agree with the method of nutes about running light and 1/4 strength. That is my rule of thumb for growing in dirt or hydro.

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Yes, treat them just like any other seed or marijuana plant, even with the nutes. I am growing 2 different strains right now and have been using Fox Farms feeding schedule with them full strength the whole time and the auto love it.

I ra my autos 20 hrs on 4 hrs off ..Start in final container I used a 7 galbpot On one and a5gal potbon the other 3 and the one in the 7gal pot got bigger and produced more than the others ...IMO I would run them in 5gal pots maybe 3gal pots ..Not all autos are the same all strains take nutes differently I would start slow than pick the nutes up slowly

Kerovan said:

Yes, treat them just like any other seed or marijuana plant, even with the nutes. I am growing 2 different strains right now and have been using Fox Farms feeding schedule with them full strength the whole time and the auto love it.

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I do believe I will be using fox farms Happy frog or strawberry fields, I will be using General hydo (grow, bloom, micro) for nutes. With GH products I always cut the amount to a quarter to half strength, pending which nutrient it is. I was going to do them in hydro but I have one of these ladies in a tent now that is fucking huge it is actually taking up half of the growing area.

Tx-Peanutt said:

I ra my autos 20 hrs on 4 hrs off ..Start in final container I used a 7 galbpot On one and a5gal potbon the other 3 and the one in the 7gal pot got bigger and produced more than the others ...IMO I would run them in 5gal pots maybe 3gal pots ..Not all autos are the same all strains take nutes differently I would start slow than pick the nutes up slowly

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I am going to be running them in 5 or 7 gallon cloth pots, it just depends on how much dirt I have, I do not want to go buy more dirt, the dirt I use costs 20 to 30 per bag. My last grow it seemed like I bought about 400 in dirt alone. I saw a dude on here that is running autos in a 1 gallon pot and pulling some serious weight off it it.

I have 1 in a hydro ten right now that is crazy huge! I did not think that they got so big. I will snap a pic here in a little bit to show you. It is in a 4x4 tent with 2 other plants, again I did not think it was going to get as big as it has. She is about 3 to 3.5 ft tall and right at the same size round.

Here is a pic of my ladies. View attachment 4068876

It's a crappy pic. It's hard to get good pics in the dark. I would say that the light of jah is a little bit taller than 3.5 ft. My light is all the way to the highest setting and you can see where they are in relation to it. My tent is over 7.5 ft tall so I would say that I have a grow height of 5.5 to 5.75 ft from floor to light. I did not open the tent all the way because my bianca (I do not know how they would act to lights off schedule).

Wow that is Big that a nice looking plant though ...Yeah I have seen people get good weight off of 1gal also ,What kind of soil do u use happy frog and ocean forest is only 20$ a bag ..Are u using Michigan Made mix????

Tx-Peanutt said:

Wow that is Big that a nice looking plant though ...Yeah I have seen people get good weight off of 1gal also ,What kind of soil do u use happy frog and ocean forest is only 20$ a bag ..Are u using Michigan Made mix????

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Thank you @Tx-Peanutt

I use happy frog dirt where I live they like to rake your ass over the coals before they get to you cash for growing equipment. Happy frog is actually 25 to 32 per bag here. I hope that once we get medical at least here, I am hoping those prices will drop a little. But this state is crooked AF!

twistedvinesofbud said:

Thank you @Tx-Peanutt

I use happy frog dirt where I live they like to rake your ass over the coals before they get to you cash for growing equipment. Happy frog is actually 25 to 32 per bag here. I hope that once we get medical at least here, I am hoping those prices will drop a little. But this state is crooked AF!

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I hear that I live in a Red state so it’s a waiting game also but the prices ain’t that bad out here I pay 19$ for a bag of happy frog for my soil and perlite I pay 24$..How do u like the trellis

Im just a newbie with autos only 1 done so far
But your plants are much bigger nice job

If you want cheap go hydro with cheap ferts
I am

Shlepping bags of soil gets old at least to me.

Heres the shiznit. My first auto lol

Cold$moke said:

Im just a newbie with autos only 1 done so far
But your plants are much bigger nice job

If you want cheap go hydro with cheap ferts
I am

Shlepping bags of soil gets old at least to me.

Heres the shiznit. My first auto lolView attachment 4069267

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Nice colors to that girl of yours nice job

Cold$moke said:

Im just a newbie with autos only 1 done so far
But your plants are much bigger nice job

If you want cheap go hydro with cheap ferts
I am

Shlepping bags of soil gets old at least to me.

Heres the shiznit. My first auto lolView attachment 4069267

Click to expand...

Brother! That looks yummy. Great looking strain. Don't let my plants fool you i am new to the game too. I just do a lot of research and I have always had a back for growing things.

I have 2 hydro tents right now.

1 4x8 fit (wor k in progress).
View attachment 4069271

Then my 4x4

View attachment 4069272

I am going to make another grow area just for autos, if these pan out. I have 30 seeds of autos that I am stuck with. It's all good

@TxPeanutt. Thanks man but she was my first and i was too affraid to make her big lol.

After reading how "sensitive " they are...

I never had interest in autos
as i didnt want to fall in love with a strain i couldn't clone you know.

But now im happy to get them in my freebies and might even order some to constanly live in the veg area so its makin budd TOO

The guy on youtube "grow pot cheap"
The video is called. "The first 4 inches is all you need" he grows TREES. That are autos.

Thats where i learned of the air pruning and dr Whitcomb.


Now im growing a dutch passion auto blackberry kush and trying the root pruning and nutes sinces day 1 lol shes doin fine if anything needs more nitrogen to keep up with the roots

Ill grab a pic later

Nice yea im a rdwc im on my 3rd system
And i have to say after this run im taking one rdwc set up out to do a side by side
Rdwc vs my nft/flood and drain table.

I love rdwc but if the other system is just as productive im going to switch.

I love rdwc. But its not without its quirks.

I think mainly people like it because it makes them feel smarter? Like a mad scientist lol

But if the other system works the way I want it to
Then i will lose
My circulation pumps which run 24/7.
And my big airpump (dont really need it but makes me feel better having constant fresh air in the containers )

That shiznit was done in coco without much love

Cold$moke said:

@TxPeanutt. Thanks man but she was my first and i was too affraid to make her big lol.

After reading how "sensitive " they are...

I never had interest in autos
as i didnt want to fall in love with a strain i couldn't clone you know.

But now im happy to get them in my freebies and might even order some to constanly live in the veg area so its makin budd TOO

The guy on youtube "grow pot cheap"
The video is called. "The first 4 inches is all you need" he grows TREES. That are autos.

Thats where i learned of the air pruning and dr Whitcomb.


Now im growing a dutch passion auto blackberry kush and trying the root pruning and nutes sinces day 1 lol shes doin fine if anything needs more nitrogen to keep up with the roots

Ill grab a pic later

Click to expand...

Im going to check that out now. Air pruning (shit that's just fun to say)!

With my new Light of Jah seeds I popped 2 days ago and wet them with R.O. water, Clonex, and Amor Si. I am going to run these for at least a week maybe 2 then go into my regular nutrients. I am only adding 3 nutes from GH after that. Then when bloom time hits I am going to use (Micro, bloom, Amor Si, Cal mag+, liquid koolbloom, and floranectar). All of the nutes running about a 1/4 strength some less. I am using a 6 way meter now to watch ppm, ph, and water tem mainly.

The seeds sprouted yesterday afternoon, I cant wait to try this project out. I have a few extra lights laying around and I need to makeup my mind what I am going to use.

2 450 watt LED viparspectra reflector series (I know already).
1 300 watt LED viparspectra full spectrum (this one actually out performs the 450's)
1 400 watt HID HPS/MH I need a mogul for it. If I do this I may do what others are doing just let the bulb hang with no reflector.