Questions about growing with auto flowering strains?

TheShaaark

Well-Known Member
So I am setting up for a small autoflower grow and I had a few questions specifically about auto flowering strains. First is whether or not I will need to change my light bulb between vegging and flowering, I know you are supposed to keep the same light schedule the entire time but does that also extend to the kind of light bulb? If I am only supposed to use 1 kind of light bulb which one, the vegging or the flowering? Is there anything different between growing normal marijuana plants and growing auto flowering strains that I should know beforehand?
 

fullauto

Member
So I am setting up for a small autoflower grow and I had a few questions specifically about auto flowering strains. First is whether or not I will need to change my light bulb between vegging and flowering, I know you are supposed to keep the same light schedule the entire time but does that also extend to the kind of light bulb? If I am only supposed to use 1 kind of light bulb which one, the vegging or the flowering? Is there anything different between growing normal marijuana plants and growing auto flowering strains that I should know beforehand?
You can use both spectums of light for autos,T5 6500k for veg,4100k for bloom,HID mh for veg,hps for bloom. I've grown a lot of autos under straight T5 6500k veg bulbs for the whole cycle,i've also used the 240w blackstar led flowering light for the entire cycle with no ill effects. For optimum results use both. Autos are not fond of transplanting,they are prone to stunting. If you have to transplant use the tier transplanting method in party cups to lessen root disturbance. To do that use 2 party cups,1 you cut the bottom 1/3 off of the cup and slide it into the full cup and fill with your choice of grow medium. When you transplant to final pot,make hole in soil big enough to bury 1/2 a party cup deep and GENTLY pull the inner party cup out of the full outer one. What you will have is a 2/3 party cup with a root mass hanging out the bottom. Bury the rootmass and 1/2 the party cup into your final pot and that should keep your chance of transplant shock to a minimum. Most autos have a smaller nute appetite then their photo cousins,don't feed them full strength nutes like photos or you could burn them. I usually look at the photos feeding schedule on the nute bottle and cut it in half or 1/3 and see how the plant responds and work it up from there. Autos don't do well with defoliating,if you want too open bud sites up,tuck the leaves instead of cutting them off. Those are the main things I can think of,they are potent smaller cousins of photos that you can harvest from seed to weed in 70-80 days but the shorter growth/harvest times has its tradeoffs as far as the above mentioned items.
 

Alexroller

Active Member
I just did a small auto operation of 4 plants under a 250w dual spectrum hps. i got 6 ozs dry and it was minimal maintainance. if you consider that a success id go for it. with a fan blowing on the bulb the heat was minimal too
Ι need 200 cubic centimeters per hour ventilation system to keep my 600watt hps under control.... it could warm the whole grow box which is 2 meters height and 1.5 meter by 1 meter to about 50-60 celsious lol in just 3-4 hours..
One thing i hate about the hps is that it has a very warm light that can heat you 1 meter away....And it dries the soil pretty pretty fast....
 

TheShaaark

Well-Known Member
You can use both spectums of light for autos,T5 6500k for veg,4100k for bloom,HID mh for veg,hps for bloom. I've grown a lot of autos under straight T5 6500k veg bulbs for the whole cycle,i've also used the 240w blackstar led flowering light for the entire cycle with no ill effects. For optimum results use both. Autos are not fond of transplanting,they are prone to stunting. If you have to transplant use the tier transplanting method in party cups to lessen root disturbance. To do that use 2 party cups,1 you cut the bottom 1/3 off of the cup and slide it into the full cup and fill with your choice of grow medium. When you transplant to final pot,make hole in soil big enough to bury 1/2 a party cup deep and GENTLY pull the inner party cup out of the full outer one. What you will have is a 2/3 party cup with a root mass hanging out the bottom. Bury the rootmass and 1/2 the party cup into your final pot and that should keep your chance of transplant shock to a minimum. Most autos have a smaller nute appetite then their photo cousins,don't feed them full strength nutes like photos or you could burn them. I usually look at the photos feeding schedule on the nute bottle and cut it in half or 1/3 and see how the plant responds and work it up from there. Autos don't do well with defoliating,if you want too open bud sites up,tuck the leaves instead of cutting them off. Those are the main things I can think of,they are potent smaller cousins of photos that you can harvest from seed to weed in 70-80 days but the shorter growth/harvest times has its tradeoffs as far as the above mentioned items.
First off thanks for all the info, I wrote a lot of it down in my little grow book. But about the bulbs... I am thinking about buying a combo set on Amazon of a light hood, ballast, timer, some hanging wires, and 2 bulbs (YeildLab HPS 90,000 Lumens and MH 60,000 Lumens, same wattage), would these lights be good as far as spectrum is considered?
 

fullauto

Member
First off thanks for all the info, I wrote a lot of it down in my little grow book. But about the bulbs... I am thinking about buying a combo set on Amazon of a light hood, ballast, timer, some hanging wires, and 2 bulbs (YeildLab HPS 90,000 Lumens and MH 60,000 Lumens, same wattage), would these lights be good as far as spectrum is considered?
Your welcome and yes those bulbs would be fine. MH for veg and HPS for flower
 

TheShaaark

Well-Known Member
Your welcome and yes those bulbs would be fine. MH for veg and HPS for flower
Would it be bad to grow small plants and big plants together? I am thinking that the light would be more focused not he larger plants and the smaller plants wouldn't get enough light... is this true? I'm talking a different of around 18 inches.
 

fullauto

Member
Would it be bad to grow small plants and big plants together? I am thinking that the light would be more focused not he larger plants and the smaller plants wouldn't get enough light... is this true? I'm talking a different of around 18 inches.
I've done that before,had smaller plants in with bigger ones but I always tried to keep the canopy even by raising the small plants up level by stacking wood blocks and resting the plants on top of that to keep them even with the taller plants. Keep in mind my experience has been with autos,not mixing autos and photos together and trying to keep them even in height.
 
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