Open Outdoor Auto Thread

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
I'd love to hear from other outdoor auto growers, to share what worked and what hasn't in your grows. Feel free to post pictures of your grows in progress, it's all good.

I switched from photos to autos for my outdoor in stages, and then went full auto 2018. It was driven by our shorter grow season that is consistently ended by rain and cold, and therefore mold and PM. If I can time when I start my autos well, I'll finish in August while it's still warm, dry, and the sun is relatively high and the days are longer.

Autos can be tricky. If I start too soon, the cooler spring will stunt the plants and my overall harvest will be smaller. If I start too late, the plants finish in the early fall when the first rains come and I lose a percentage to mold. I think the optimal set up would be to start them indoors mid-May and keep them there until the first or second week in June (depending on the weather that year), and then put them out. I start them mid-May, but each of the last few years we've had some very hot weather in late May that has forced me to put them out, since my garage builds up too much heat. Once they are out and hardened, so far I've left them there, even if cooler weather came back and may have somewhat stunted them.

It all works out each year, I'll keep looking for the sweet spot but in the end the weather will determine what happens.

Here are my 2021 kids, getting ready for their second day of hardening in the tall tunnel. Four of these are for a friend, the rest I'll have to decide what to do with.

05.30.21_day2-hardening.jpg
 

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
Do you keep them in containers or plant in the ground?
First year I did both, and the ones in the ground consistently got bigger and some really bulked up, so after that they all went in the ground. This year I'm reverting somewhat, for two reasons. One is that this year I'm not growing in open raised beds, I'm growing in an 8x8 structure, so I can't over-crowd it (too much...). Secondly, I've read that some of the bigger "XXL" strains can go for up to 16 weeks, but that putting them in a container can cut 2-3 weeks off of the run time. So, since I'm time and space restricted, this year all the biggest ones will go in pots, and the smaller ones will go in the ground...

Since every other summer I've been focused on getting them as big as possible this approach seems kind of ass-backwards to me, and maybe it is, but every year is different so we'll see what I learn this time around. I'm growing all strains I've never grown before, so that'll be fun.
 

MICHI-CAN

Well-Known Member
What the heh? I'm running a White Widow now. First auto in a while. Prefer photos. Already hardened off. Although indoors nightly. Frost advisories again last night. And only 40W LED. lol. Flowering since week 5. Soil/coco and amendments. Tap water only till I get outdoors. Cat munched on the top shade leaf and a bit of the cola. May top yet. And honestly just another plant on crank is all. 001.jpg002.jpg
 

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
What the heh? I'm running a White Widow now. First auto in a while. Prefer photos. Already hardened off. Although indoors nightly. Frost advisories again last night. And only 40W LED. lol. Flowering since week 5. Soil/coco and amendments. Tap water only till I get outdoors. Cat munched on the top shade leaf and a bit of the cola. May top yet. And honestly just another plant on crank is all. View attachment 4912647View attachment 4912648
Looks like the cat might have already topped it for you? I top everything I grow from seed. Overall on paper I prefer photos also, but all things considered, especially for an outdoor, autos work better for me.

Who is the breeder on the White Widow?
 

MICHI-CAN

Well-Known Member
Looks like the cat might have already topped it for you? I top everything I grow from seed. Overall on paper I prefer photos also, but all things considered, especially for an outdoor, autos work better for me.

Who is the breeder on the White Widow?
Seedsman. Only running after all the issues my friends have had with the name. No problems here. Thinking operator error for most.

Not topped. Just a nibble. Only a week into flower. Transplanted 4 times and nothing fancy. Just basics.

And I do in ground insanity in a greenhouse. 3 gallon pot on the auto for a demonstration. LOL. Just weed plants.
 

sirtalis

Well-Known Member
First grow in a decade for me, I used to run Lowryders back in 2009 and wanted to see how far autos have come. Gotta say it's impressive so far.

My goal was start in March with autos, have them finish in July and put out photos. Gotta stay under the 6 plant legal limit but want 2 harvests.

Here's the ladies today in 10 gal pots.

MSNL Purple Hulk
IMG_9930.jpg


Barney's Gorilla Zkittlez Auto
IMG_9928.jpg



And a hilariously stunted MSNL Gorilla Glue Auto. This one was maybe 2 inches when it started flowering and sitting at 8 inches now.
IMG_9927.jpg


In terms of what I've learned this year in my climate is that cold weather can really screw things up. Growth slows way down, and new growth comes out yellow but eventually turns green.

Giving the plants 30 days indoor is really the way to go. Also, leaf septoria really sucks. Almost wiped out the entire crop.
 
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Humanrob

Well-Known Member
First grow in a decade for me, I used to run Lowryders back in 2009 and wanted to see how far autos have come. Gotta say it's impressive so far.

My goal was start in March with autos, have them finish in July and put out photos. Gotta stay under the 6 plant legal limit but want 2 harvests.

Here's the ladies today in 10 gal pots.

MSNL Purple Hulk
View attachment 4912722


Barney's Gorilla Zkittlez Auto
View attachment 4912725



And a hilariously stunted MSNL Gorilla Glue Auto. This one was maybe 2 inches when it started flowering and sitting at 8 inches now.
View attachment 4912726


In terms of what I've learned this year in my climate is that cold weather can really screw things up. Growth slows way down, and new growth comes out yellow but eventually turns green.

Giving the plants 30 days indoor is really the way to go. Also, screw leaf septoria. Almost wiped out the entire crop.
Looking good so far! It is wild how differently the various strains react to cold weather. This year it looks like I'm going to learn how they react to temperature extremes. I'm using a structure for the first time and yesterday it was 15º above the ambient temps -- Tuesday it's supposed to get up to 92º outside, so that would land the structure at over 105º. Should be interesting. Then later in the week our overnight lows are projected to get down to 47º. That'll be a stress test for sure.
 

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
That's going to be quite hot with little airflow. Hope they hang in there! I'm also using this year as a test run to see what strains handle my climate.
It's an odd hybrid structure, I suppose best described as a tall tunnel. Last year I just used PVC hoops to hold up my bug netting (because of serious worm issues, I can't grow out in the open here), and then had to put plastic over that when we got some late season rain. This year I was going to use cattle panels to make a taller more structured hoop house/tunnel with plastic on top and netting around the sides. That just kept evolving... and as it stands it is not based on a single or proven design. That can be problematic.

So it's not a "greenhouse", it is not sealed -- the north and south walls are just bug netting, and the bottom 2 feet of the east and west walls are bug netting. Bug netting breathes, but it does cut airflow in terms of diminishing natural breezes. There are a pair of fans up high on a thermostat, one exhaust, and one to push hot air towards the exhaust (since it's not sealed, the exhaust fan would basically just spin without the second fan). It's an experiment that uses ideas that might prove to be incompatible or ineffective, I'll find out as the season progresses and adapt accordingly.

tall_tunnel.jpg
 

mudballs

Well-Known Member
It's an odd hybrid structure, I suppose best described as a tall tunnel. Last year I just used PVC hoops to hold up my bug netting (because of serious worm issues, I can't grow out in the open here), and then had to put plastic over that when we got some late season rain. This year I was going to use cattle panels to make a taller more structured hoop house/tunnel with plastic on top and netting around the sides. That just kept evolving... and as it stands it is not based on a single or proven design. That can be problematic.

So it's not a "greenhouse", it is not sealed -- the north and south walls are just bug netting, and the bottom 2 feet of the east and west walls are bug netting. Bug netting breathes, but it does cut airflow in terms of diminishing natural breezes. There are a pair of fans up high on a thermostat, one exhaust, and one to push hot air towards the exhaust (since it's not sealed, the exhaust fan would basically just spin without the second fan). It's an experiment that uses ideas that might prove to be incompatible or ineffective, I'll find out as the season progresses and adapt accordingly.

View attachment 4912765
Mad respect to your 'get it done' approach that adapts
 

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
Mad respect to your 'get it done' approach that adapts
Thanks, I really like building things, as is often the case I had lots of goals and some constraints, so I did the best I could to walk the line.

Oh nice, my bad for assuming there were no fans. Looks awesome, I should try building one of these.
If you wait until next season, I can let you know what did and didn't work with this one. :)
 

MICHI-CAN

Well-Known Member
Thanks, I really like building things, as is often the case I had lots of goals and some constraints, so I did the best I could to walk the line.


If you wait until next season, I can let you know what did and didn't work with this one. :)
One tip as a recent greenhouse noob here. More CFM'S than you think. And be stingy on the watering later in the year. PM is rampant here. Too many cucumber farmers around to boot. LOL. Plant spacing and airflow. I love mine for all the issues I've learned and 2 ltr. sized buds.
 

Nutty sKunK

Well-Known Member
Nice greenhouse Rob! Keen to see how they get on!

Ive got a few plants going outdoors just now. I’m at 54’ N so lots of light this time of year but short growing season.

Going for Super Lemon Haze, Strawberry Pie, Purple Punch, Malawi x NL auto and a Blackberry CBD. All at different ages ranging from a few days to 17 - in pots that is.

In the flower beds I planted a tangie magic back in mid March. We had frosts every night in April - new record in the UK. So that really stunted her but now days are low 70’s with night time lows of 45-50f

First pic is of purple punch which is 17 days old. I bring this one in at night under my 13w T5 kitchen lights lol

7142CB49-D1B6-4562-AC36-EAFC0E0FF57D.jpeg9C3EE448-3C39-4DF3-9F80-DE6EDAC98C50.jpegA24601C4-C92B-48FD-94F8-8B691420DC8D.jpeg6C6E4C96-DFA2-46D4-AC5E-7F7B2CAE75B6.jpeg
 

Southernontariogrower

Well-Known Member
I'd love to hear from other outdoor auto growers, to share what worked and what hasn't in your grows. Feel free to post pictures of your grows in progress, it's all good.

I switched from photos to autos for my outdoor in stages, and then went full auto 2018. It was driven by our shorter grow season that is consistently ended by rain and cold, and therefore mold and PM. If I can time when I start my autos well, I'll finish in August while it's still warm, dry, and the sun is relatively high and the days are longer.

Autos can be tricky. If I start too soon, the cooler spring will stunt the plants and my overall harvest will be smaller. If I start too late, the plants finish in the early fall when the first rains come and I lose a percentage to mold. I think the optimal set up would be to start them indoors mid-May and keep them there until the first or second week in June (depending on the weather that year), and then put them out. I start them mid-May, but each of the last few years we've had some very hot weather in late May that has forced me to put them out, since my garage builds up too much heat. Once they are out and hardened, so far I've left them there, even if cooler weather came back and may have somewhat stunted them.

It all works out each year, I'll keep looking for the sweet spot but in the end the weather will determine what happens.

Here are my 2021 kids, getting ready for their second day of hardening in the tall tunnel. Four of these are for a friend, the rest I'll have to decide what to do with.

View attachment 4912621
Have you ever seeded outdoor crop in fall? Ive got a few survivers and theyre getting big fast, sure they have auto in them. Came up early april. Survived a few frosts, are in pots.
 

Southernontariogrower

Well-Known Member
It's an odd hybrid structure, I suppose best described as a tall tunnel. Last year I just used PVC hoops to hold up my bug netting (because of serious worm issues, I can't grow out in the open here), and then had to put plastic over that when we got some late season rain. This year I was going to use cattle panels to make a taller more structured hoop house/tunnel with plastic on top and netting around the sides. That just kept evolving... and as it stands it is not based on a single or proven design. That can be problematic.

So it's not a "greenhouse", it is not sealed -- the north and south walls are just bug netting, and the bottom 2 feet of the east and west walls are bug netting. Bug netting breathes, but it does cut airflow in terms of diminishing natural breezes. There are a pair of fans up high on a thermostat, one exhaust, and one to push hot air towards the exhaust (since it's not sealed, the exhaust fan would basically just spin without the second fan). It's an experiment that uses ideas that might prove to be incompatible or ineffective, I'll find out as the season progresses and adapt accordingly.

View attachment 4912765
Nice been thinking of building a light dep gh!
 
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