Please tell me correct lighting schedule for auto's

Understand that auto's have a 30 day vegation stage and a 30 day + flower stage: understand that lights need to be changed from veg to flower spectrum. Question: use a 18/6 or 20/4 thru - out grow; or when flower cycle comes do you switch to a 12/12 cycle ? Thanks for your answers. Know folks that use a 12/12 cycle from seed to harvest and others; an 18/6 thru grow with just a vegation stage light spectrum.

It's literally up to you. Personally, I run my auto's at 18/6. Probably because I'm too lazy to change the timer .

Autos don't flower in response to light on/off period. They do in response to temperature change!
That said, keep the light on 20/4 or 18/6 or even 24 on and the plant will still flower when its sexually mature to flower. The longer the light is one the more photosynthesis and growth etc the plant will do. But also plants like a period of darkness to rest a little. I prefer 18/6 or 20/4 for autos (not 24 on).

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Oh one last tip for ya......autos have a predetermined life cycle. That means any shock to yhe plant will inhibut growth and ultimately affect the yield. Make sure you DO NOT shock an auto plant. So grow it either in its final pot (or what i do is grow it in a small pot and when im ready yo repot, i cut the bottom of the smaller pot ajd stick it all together half way in the bigger pot and the roots will just grow down from the first smaller pot to the larger and fill it.
Autos are also very sensetive to overfeeding. Make sure the soil isnt loaded with food and if yoire growing in hydro make sure you dont burn them. Nute burn will shock them worse than a photoperiod plant.
Good luck and happy growing bro

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5 gallon pots used 3 gallon to small

DrCannaPath said:

Oh one last tip for ya......autos have a predetermined life cycle. That means any shock to yhe plant will inhibut growth and ultimately affect the yield. Make sure you DO NOT shock an auto plant. So grow it either in its final pot (or what i do is grow it in a small pot and when im ready yo repot, i cut the bottom of the smaller pot ajd stick it all together half way in the bigger pot and the roots will just grow down from the first smaller pot to the larger and fill it.
Autos are also very sensetive to overfeeding. Make sure the soil isnt loaded with food and if yoire growing in hydro make sure you dont burn them. Nute burn will shock them worse than a photoperiod plant.
Good luck and happy growing bro

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and thanks for the additional information. So no light cycle or light change (12/12, flower light) when starts to flower? Thanks

5 gal are great ... you can also plant the seedling directly into final pot to reduce transplant shock.

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It's been established for many many many years now that cannabis is a C3 plant. It does not need a dark period. C3 plants gather CO2 only during the light period when they are photosynthesizing. As long as the light is on, C3 plants gather and use CO2 for photosynthesis.

Some growers practice a version of anthropomorphism with their plants. They believe that since people need rest, plants do as well. Concerning cannabis, this is not true.

Every grower can make a personal choice about light cycle. They can save on their electric bill or prolong ballast/bulb life. 18/6 can be less of a "shock" when changing over to 12/12 for flowering than 24/0 or heat issues can be addressed by fewer hours of light, but basic botany has proven long ago that cannabis needs no dark period.

Robert Clarke "Marijuana Botany: An Advanced Study"

Snipped from said book. A good read if your into botnay/biology.

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DrCannaPath said:

Autos don't flower in response to light on/off period. They do in response to temperature change!
That said, keep the light on 20/4 or 18/6 or even 24 on and the plant will still flower when its sexually mature to flower. The longer the light is one the more photosynthesis and growth etc the plant will do. But also plants like a period of darkness to rest a little. I prefer 18/6 or 20/4 for autos (not 24 on).

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who the fuck is this guy?!?! autos flower based on temperatures?!?! WRONG!!!

autos flower based on age please dont go around spreading misinformation, especially if your a newb

harris hawk said:

5 gallon pots used 3 gallon to small


and thanks for the additional information. So no light cycle or light change (12/12, flower light) when starts to flower? Thanks

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you can change the light cycle to 12/12 if you want but yield will be reduced.

or you can just run it 18/6, 20/4 from day1-day80

24/0 is just wasteful because youll have to pay for peak hours and itll add up real quick so 18/6 and 20/4 work best IME

bf80255 said:

24/0 is just wasteful because youll have to pay for peak hours and itll add up real quick so 18/6 and 20/4 work best IME

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glad i dont have that issue with my power company must be a city folk problem

bf80255 said:

who the fuck is this guy?!?! autos flower based on temperatures?!?! WRONG!!!

autos flower based on age please dont go around spreading misinformation, especially if your a newb

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Hey bro

I apologize to OP, you and the entire community for spreading wrong information (THAT IS IF I TRULY DID DO THAT). But it is uncalled for to be so disrespectful (who the f*** is that guy etc). We are all adults and im sure we can exchange knowledge and experience without being condescending or rude. I hope we can keep this thread clean and without arguments! (Sorry again OP)

NOW..... Very rarely do we post a factoid in here and back it up with scientific references. Nonetheless, I did in fact read such information in a scientific article. Maybe I misunderstood the information OR maybe the article itself was in fact full of wrong info. But lets consider this for a second.....if you plant a photoperiod seed under 12/12, will it flower right away? No it has to reach sexual maturity (age) or when its able to shoot out flowers ... thats when the trigger (12h of light) works and not immediately.
The ruderalis, on the other hand, is triggered by warmer temps (obviously its not going to flower in the middle of the winter just because it reached sexual maturity knowing that ruderalis plants do handle cold environments) as opposed to shorter days like the photoperiod. However, it wont flower just because its in warmer temp, and it has to reach sexual maturity (thats where age comes in) just like a photoperiod put under 12/12 from seed needing the (age).
Again and again and once again, I am sorry to you and the entire community if such information is incorrect.
And if i am wrong, gentleman, please EDUCATE (not bark at) me!
Thank you and happy growing!

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DrCannaPath said:

....if you plant a photoperiod seed under 12/12, will it flower right away? No it has to reach sexual maturity (age) or when its able to shoot out flowers ... thats when the trigger (12h of light) works and not immediately.

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Fairly sure this is indeed an error. While I have not personally done it, There are threads here were people force flowering from seed. Flowers usually show within the first week'ish or two week mark from what I remember. Of course doing so you get some interesting tiny plants. Like these:
https://www.rollitup.org/t/the-12-12-from-seed-thread.416589/

They start showing within the normal transition window you see with a plant vegged for weeks. (Whatever normal really is ) If you really want the nuts and bolts of what is going on in the photo plants I'm sure someone here can guide you to a scholarly article or book that will break down some of this in a more precise manner. The book I mentioned above is a good place to start.

esinohio said:

Fairly sure this is indeed an error. While I have not personally done it, There are threads here were people force flowering from seed. Flowers usually show within the first week'ish or two week mark from what I remember. Of course doing so you get some interesting tiny plants. Like these:
https://www.rollitup.org/t/the-12-12-from-seed-thread.416589/

They start showing within the normal transition window you see with a plant vegged for weeks. (Whatever normal really is ) If you really want the nuts and bolts of what is going on in the photo plants I'm sure someone here can guide you to a scholarly article or book that will break down some of this in a more precise manner. The book I mentioned above is a good place to start.

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Thank you for chiming in and i certainly do not disagree with you on that. The point i was trying to relate from the research article i read was that the flowering process is complex and that a plant needs to be ready (age wise .... be it a couple days or 1 week for certain strains to more time for others ) and then a trigger. For the photoperiod it was the short days.
Now back to what i understood from the article about ruderalis flowering, was that thise plants somehow theough migration etc ended up in russia and nort east europe .... the climate there is harsh and colder. Flowering was triggered when the temperatures dropped to 50s or 40s (really cant remember). When we grow autos, we grow them in temps higher than those temps at which the hormonal triggers for flowering start. So once they are of age, theyll flower. Its how they adapted to their colder original environments.
And again if i an wrong about this i apologize. Im trying to find the article again. If i do, ill post the reference to it here.

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DrCannaPath said:

Thank you for chiming in and i certainly do not disagree with you on that. The point i was trying to relate from the research article i read was that the flowering process is complex and that a plant needs to be ready (age wise .... be it a couple days or 1 week for certain strains to more time for others ) and then a trigger. For the photoperiod it was the short days.
Now back to what i understood from the article about ruderalis flowering, was that thise plants somehow theough migration etc ended up in russia and nort east europe .... the climate there is harsh and colder. Flowering was triggered when the temperatures dropped to 50s or 40s (really cant remember). When we grow autos, we grow them in temps higher than those temps at which the hormonal triggers for flowering start. So once they are of age, theyll flower. Its how they adapted to their colder original environments.
And again if i an wrong about this i apologize. Im trying to find the article again. If i do, ill post the reference to it here.

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Sounds good to me I get where you're coming from now. Hopefully you'll find that article or someone will be along to point us in the right direction.

esinohio said:

Sounds good to me I get where you're coming from now. Hopefully you'll find that article or someone will be along to point us in the right direction.

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I hope I find it too ...thanks brother... Though to be honest for the sake of what we do and why we do it, fighting and arguing back and forth over such details is pointless I always hated seeing this happen in a thread where someone is trying to get help....never hought id be in (or the cause of) one. Sorry OP
Happy growing to all

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NEVER TURN THEM OFF> I had INCREDIBLE results brother

Solo cup/ 5 gal coco 2 part lucas. all 5 were monsters

DrCannaPath said:

Hey bro

I apologize to OP, you and the entire community for spreading wrong information (THAT IS IF I TRULY DID DO THAT). But it is uncalled for to be so disrespectful (who the f*** is that guy etc). We are all adults and im sure we can exchange knowledge and experience without being condescending or rude. I hope we can keep this thread clean and without arguments! (Sorry again OP)

NOW..... Very rarely do we post a factoid in here and back it up with scientific references. Nonetheless, I did in fact read such information in a scientific article. Maybe I misunderstood the information OR maybe the article itself was in fact full of wrong info. But lets consider this for a second.....if you plant a photoperiod seed under 12/12, will it flower right away? No it has to reach sexual maturity (age) or when its able to shoot out flowers ... thats when the trigger (12h of light) works and not immediately.
The ruderalis, on the other hand, is triggered by warmer temps (obviously its not going to flower in the middle of the winter just because it reached sexual maturity knowing that ruderalis plants do handle cold environments) as opposed to shorter days like the photoperiod. However, it wont flower just because its in warmer temp, and it has to reach sexual maturity (thats where age comes in) just like a photoperiod put under 12/12 from seed needing the (age).
Again and again and once again, I am sorry to you and the entire community if such information is incorrect.
And if i am wrong, gentleman, please EDUCATE (not bark at) me!
Thank you and happy growing!

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sorry to come off as argumentative, I just am strongly opposed to teaching people the wrong thing and I can say without a doubt that the article you read is either wrong or misinterpreted.

Ruderalis is not triggered by warmer temperatures, again it is age based, I base this knowledge on the fact that I grow auto flowers year round and have experience with growing thousands of them from seed.

I do appreciate the civil manner in which you approached my inquiry in light of my somewhat lacking internet etiquette.
take care.

DrCannaPath said:

Thank you for chiming in and i certainly do not disagree with you on that. The point i was trying to relate from the research article i read was that the flowering process is complex and that a plant needs to be ready (age wise .... be it a couple days or 1 week for certain strains to more time for others ) and then a trigger. For the photoperiod it was the short days.
Now back to what i understood from the article about ruderalis flowering, was that thise plants somehow theough migration etc ended up in russia and nort east europe .... the climate there is harsh and colder. Flowering was triggered when the temperatures dropped to 50s or 40s (really cant remember). When we grow autos, we grow them in temps higher than those temps at which the hormonal triggers for flowering start. So once they are of age, theyll flower. Its how they adapted to their colder original environments.
And again if i an wrong about this i apologize. Im trying to find the article again. If i do, ill post the reference to it here.

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Click to expand...

autos are a mutation of hemp varieties found throughout the globe, wherever commercial hemp has been cultivated.
you can find it in russia, the U.S midwest, south america, pretty much anywhere lmao

the autos we work with today have undergone 2 or 3 infusions of regular high THC strain genetics and are now a different class all there own.

DrCannaPath said:

Hey bro

I apologize to OP, you and the entire community for spreading wrong information (THAT IS IF I TRULY DID DO THAT). But it is uncalled for to be so disrespectful (who the f*** is that guy etc). We are all adults and im sure we can exchange knowledge and experience without being condescending or rude. I hope we can keep this thread clean and without arguments! (Sorry again OP)

NOW..... Very rarely do we post a factoid in here and back it up with scientific references. Nonetheless, I did in fact read such information in a scientific article. Maybe I misunderstood the information OR maybe the article itself was in fact full of wrong info. But lets consider this for a second.....if you plant a photoperiod seed under 12/12, will it flower right away? No it has to reach sexual maturity (age) or when its able to shoot out flowers ... thats when the trigger (12h of light) works and not immediately.
The ruderalis, on the other hand, is triggered by warmer temps (obviously its not going to flower in the middle of the winter just because it reached sexual maturity knowing that ruderalis plants do handle cold environments) as opposed to shorter days like the photoperiod. However, it wont flower just because its in warmer temp, and it has to reach sexual maturity (thats where age comes in) just like a photoperiod put under 12/12 from seed needing the (age).
Again and again and once again, I am sorry to you and the entire community if such information is incorrect.
And if i am wrong, gentleman, please EDUCATE (not bark at) me!
Thank you and happy growing!

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Click to expand...

Dr. Canna

I am new to the site, just wanted to say I like your style. The entire industry needs to work together and share ideas, successes and failures. Not act like politicians.

I found a handy way to use 3 gal smart pots rather than 5 gal with autos. After seedlings get their second set of baby leaves I water from the bottom up. This allows me to have more available floor space and yield is substantially better than fewer 5 gallon pots.

I pour one liter of the water solution of the week in a just right size container that three gallon smart pot can sit comfortably in. Takes about 30 seconds for the liter to be inhaled from the bottom upwards.

Just thought I would share, hard for 60 year old's to find folks that "get it"

Have great day.