Autoflower Strains - Why?

[skotty]

Autoflowers are for noobs who haven't really discovered or dont have access to true elite genetics. It's pretty obvious isn't it? This topic has been covered dozens of times on endless forums. They have nothing else so that's what they grow.

One day they will grow real plants and learn how much time they wasted, but until them let them fail. Who cares, more good cannabis for the rest of us. Let them grow their shwag.

For whoever said they are more efficient than regular strains..

assuming $0.06 per kwh.

k lets say you run a 70 day from harvest autoflower seed strain

under a 400w HPS. 24/0 ($0.58/day $210.24/yr)
under a 400w HPS. 20/4 ($0.48/day $175.20/yr)
under a 400w HPS. 18/6 ($0.43/day $157.68/yr)

vs

an elite cut that runs 70 days

under a 400w HPS, 12/12 ($0.29/day $105.12/yr)
+ WE HAVE TO HAVE A VEG RIGHT????
So...
+a 150w HPS veg 18/6, ($0.16/day $59.13/yr)
= ($0.45/day $164.25/yr)

so if you are running your autos on 20/4 you're actually paying more than somebody with a 400w flower and a 150w veg .

Even if you drop it down to 18/6 you're saving what.. $6.57? That's the reason they are more efficient? to save $6 a year and grow less quality cannabis? wtf logic is that?

One day noobs will grow up.

nobody is using a 400 watt hps i for 1 am only using 290 watts with out the need for intake and outake fans or dehumidifiers and co2 or even air conditioning units etc etc so does that mean im actually saving more money and its costing me a lot less to get results ??

 

[THC123]

autoflower strains are great (and yes i have so-called elite cuts also)

it is not the strongest weed , but not weak either

they are often very stinky and tasty

i love being able to have a harvest of white sticky dank fruity smelling buds in mid summer instead of cutting away molded buds in october

i would never grow autos indoors cuz there ARE stronger strains that outdoors are just not possible here , and also the long flowering sativas

but for outdoors and greenhouses they are perfect

there are some weak auto strains , but also very very good ones that have no herby ruderalis phenos

 

[LastWaltz]

oops missed a page

 

[The Hummus Monk]

Mkay...so someone tell me the downside of being able to harvest a good crop outdoors in the UK at the end of June (longest and sunniest) with good autos?

Basically there is no downside to that scenario...and that means autos are relevant!

Indoors is way different. Outdoors 50degs North and higher they're a Godsend.

Please haters. Don't hate me...I'm scared of you

 

[Krull]

Multiple crops outdoor, 'nuff said.
Dont hate people, smoke and relax

=K

 

[20/4]

owned.

Hmmm, how about running a perpetual garden in a SINGLE growing space with a single light...Cant do that with full season plants...gotta have a veg cab, OR somewhere to keep your mother plants you take clones from... And also that involves having more lights...So less power and money is somewhat applicable...Or you start them off 12/12 from seed which is stressful to the plant and could cause more problems for the 12/12 Hermy epidemic...Anyways some strains could take over 130 days if force flowered...id rather stick to my 60 day from seed autos. Ive grown both full season plants AND autos, BOTH have there advantages and disadvantages people just need to wake up and learn that...

Owned

 

[offthehook]

Im all for auto's but 12/12 straight from seeds for regular plants I never found to be stressfull to them.
Had to correct you on thatone mister or missis 20/4.

12/12 straight from seed with regulars is what I have been doing for the bigger part of my entire growing life. If you experienced them to be under stress, the failure was most likely somewhere else.

I'm a huge proponent of 12/12 straight from seed and auto's 20/4 as well.

 

[offthehook]

Lets try to be more clear:

If you grow regulars on 12/12 OR auto's on a cub* of prime grade soil per mtr2.... try and find the answer yourself.

There wont be much of a difference soon.

Some good genetics regular might give you 150 gr per plant that way, whereas some well bred auto might give you a 100.
Auto's are still in the process of becomming refined so it won't take long before they'll catch up and are able to match regulars.

1 kg per square meter is fairly possible to get from both as well regulars as autos doing SOG

In the end it's all the freaking same though. Auto's are just a lill faster, but for that you put longer light on them.

If you d'compare the pro's and con's over several grow cycles... eventual harvest is all the same still !

In the near future however, autos will be more productive then regulars over multiple harvests because of this speed. All signs for it are heading that way.


Hint. improve your own seedstock and laugh yourselves all the way to the bank (if your into that sorta thing )


*emphasiz is on the CUB of soil that everyone should give them per mtr2 to do it right. assuming all other plants needs are token care of properly

 

[BadRabbit]

That DOES assume a separate clone/veg space, yes.

I don't run perpetual gardens ... I know growers who do and they kick out impressive results.

For me ... much too complicated and fussy. Batch processing.

In reading all this ... I have to say, it AF's work for some, then more power to you. I especially have to give some pause before second guessing outdoor growers, especially in northern lattitudes. I've never done it, so I sure can't credibly disagree.

But ... for the vast majority of growers, I just don't buy it .... you are welcome to your solution and satisfaction with it, but I would still unhesitatingly recommend a new grower to take the simple steps required to use light schedules, learn to clone and find a mother to love.

cheers,
rabbit

 

[I'm Dykster]

Time + space + harvest

Lets do math and include, taking a clone, having it root, time to veg and then into flower.

 

[Stress_test]

How do you figure? You can grow any plant in any size of pot.

Less power? You mean twice the power? A normal strain runs on 12/12, most hemp growers run them on 20/4 or 18/6 or even 24/0. How is that exactly less power? Are you confused?

More herb? How? You have to actually waste MORE time with autoflowers, going from seed, sexing, culling, how is that more herb in less time? If anything its less herb in MORE TIME. WAKE UP KID!

Every single potential "pro" you listed isn't even applicable.

Granted I grow for my own use and not to sell or supply other people. But I cycle 15 plants on 5 plant/3 week intervals and harvest between 6 and 10 ounces every 3 weeks. More than sufficient for my own consumption.

I start my plants under T5 florescent lights. In 3 weeks they go under 1000w mh through the rest of the grow. I run 15 plants total on a 3 week interval with 5 in bud consistently. I harvest 5 plants, 18 times per years (every 3 weeks), and start 5 more from seed after each harvest.
In 3 weeks those 5 new starts are flowering and go under 1000w MH.
I think that some people are overlooking the fact that with AF's you never have to sex them. AF's usually sex themselves in the first 3-4 weeks. AND the males typically expose themselves in the first couple weeks, so they are culled rather quickly.
I have friends who still grow ordinary strains and they are always out and asking me for smoke.
If something does go wrong with a grow then it is only a matter of a couple of weeks and I can have healthy, happy girls to replace anything that is lost, instead of months and possibly losing most of a growing season.

A friend of mine has done stealth grows every summer for years, and after trying my seeds a couple years ago, he says that he intends to grow them exclusively from now on. Of course he grows outside, but he likes that he can get 3 or 4 harvests each summer.

 

[Sandnut]

owned.

under a 400w HPS. 24/0 ($0.58/day $210.24/yr)
under a 400w HPS. 20/4 ($0.48/day $175.20/yr)
under a 400w HPS. 18/6 ($0.43/day $157.68/yr)

vs

an elite cut that runs 70 days

under a 400w HPS, 12/12 ($0.29/day $105.12/yr)
+ WE HAVE TO HAVE A VEG RIGHT????
So...
+a 150w HPS veg 18/6, ($0.16/day $59.13/yr)
= ($0.45/day $164.25/yr)


Ok, almost everyone is running 18/6 or 20/4, so you are saving 11$ or paying 7$more. IN A WHOLE YEAR. Is that your point?

I personally couldn't care less about the electricity bill at this small stage, the whole point is that you are saving huge amounts of money in the first place when ur growing ur own shit.


The point is the lack of yield kicks right back at you if you are growing autos in the "veg room" space that YOU wouldnt be using for buds otherways.

Im talking amount of g/m2

If i want top notch potency i get 12/12 strains, if i want yield id get a chronic, but i like growing autos cause i dont have space for dealing with cuts and veg room. This means id have to ....... VEG+FLOWER every batch of a 12/12 strain = long ass time


And a little something from a man who thinks he knows everything

It must be fun wasting hours of electricity, wasting countless amounts of soil, resources, space, all to get a 5g piece of shit hemp plant.

Congrats to you noob.

5grams really?

Think im gonna use that one in my signature

 

[dargo]

back in may way before regular strains had even shown sex my greenhouse looked like this.

case closed!

 

[Psycho Paul]

I should have been more specific,

my breakdown of cost was based on this guys comment on autos somehow consuming less power than regular 12/12 strains.

it was just an example of cost.

I grew non-auto's for years. Now I grow only autos.

Indoor...my reason.

Have you seen how beautiful the autos are? Big, fat girls. Less trimming. When you are getting ready to flip, I am putting mine in jars.

I will put my autos up with any non auto strain for taste high and stone.

Less power.

Less space.

More herb.

No wonder it's catching on.

 

[IwannatokeNbone]

under a 400w HPS. 24/0 ($0.58/day $210.24/yr)
under a 400w HPS. 20/4 ($0.48/day $175.20/yr)
under a 400w HPS. 18/6 ($0.43/day $157.68/yr)

vs

an elite cut that runs 70 days

under a 400w HPS, 12/12 ($0.29/day $105.12/yr)
+ WE HAVE TO HAVE A VEG RIGHT????
So...
+a 150w HPS veg 18/6, ($0.16/day $59.13/yr)
= ($0.45/day $164.25/yr)


Ok, almost everyone is running 18/6 or 20/4, so you are saving 11$ or paying 7$more. IN A WHOLE YEAR. Is that your point?

I personally couldn't care less about the electricity bill at this small stage, the whole point is that you are saving huge amounts of money in the first place when ur growing ur own shit.


The point is the lack of yield kicks right back at you if you are growing autos in the "veg room" space that YOU wouldnt be using for buds otherways.

Im talking amount of g/m2

If i want top notch potency i get 12/12 strains, if i want yield id get a chronic, but i like growing autos cause i dont have space for dealing with cuts and veg room. This means id have to ....... VEG+FLOWER every batch of a 12/12 strain = long ass time


And a little something from a man who thinks he knows everything



5grams really?

Think im gonna use that one in my signature

dont worry about nicoli, i only needed to hear that tools comments once, he went right to my ignore list. bottom line, autos outyeild reg strains when u regular guys factor in your clone mom grow space into the equation. autos out yeild, its pretty dam simple.

ELITE STRAINS IS SUCH A B.S TERM NOWADYAS, THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN TRUE IN THE LATE 90S BUT WHO TODAY ISNT SMOKING BOMB SHIT JUST ABOUT ALL THE TIME, WHITE WIDOW, LEMON HAZE SKUNK, TRAINWRECK, SMOKED EM ALL, WEED IS WEED, GUESS WHAT AUTOS ARE=ELITE STRAINS MIXED WITH AN ISOLATED GENE THAT SWITCHES THE PLANT FROM LIGHT DEPENDANT TO A CHRNOLOGICAL DEPENDANT, THATS IT, THE JUNKS BEEN MOSTLY BRED OUT. THE BIGGEST WASTE OF SPACE IS YOUR MOTHER CLONE ROOM in this compairison as THAT PRODUCES THIS=0 , howerver the outyeilding isnt much past ten percent when i last did the math.

 

[Nicoli]

dont worry about nicoli, i only needed to hear that tools comments once, he went right to my ignore list. bottom line, autos outyeild reg strains when u regular guys factor in your clone mom grow space into the equation. autos out yeild, its pretty dam simple.

Hahahahah and you know this from what experience?

You have none. I have read your posts you don't even have a grow. I mean weren't you the guy who was just asking about the ratio of peat to soil? And you're supposed to be credible? No cab, no tent, what do you have? You don't need to say anything else. lol.

 

[Tropic]

I have tried to stay out of this argument so far, knowing that it would turn out more or less the way it is now...
Some people don't seem to understand that everyone has a different situation and lives in a different place, both of which dictate different possibilities for growing.
As an example, I live on a tropical island, I can grow outdoors all year long because of nice temps, but from Oct/Nov to Feb (our summer), cannabis does not flower because of the photoperiod (that's another point I'll mention later). This is the time where AFs are a great tool, they allow me to go on with my growing season until next year's plants actually start flowering.
"Why aren't you growing indoors then?" some will ask. Well down here the price of electricity is a rip-off, around $0.35usd/kWh. Add that to the heat we get during about half the year, running a decent room and keeping it cool is not viable unless you grow big and sell a lot, which isn't at all what I'm into. For these reasons, indoor growing is not a trend here, which does not help reduce the cost of equipment.
Now, back to the photoperiod. Down here the longest day (summer solstice) has about 13.5 hours of light. The shortest, about 11.5 hours. If I plant indicas down here under natural photoperiod, they start flowering very fast and usually give a shitty yield, like 5 grams/plant. Sativas, however, yield really big. Would you call me crazy for growing what suits MY particular situation best? I hope not.
A last note regarding the comparison between AFs and elite cuts... ridiculous IMHO... reminds me of some people that have never popped a seed in their growing carreer, always grown elite cuts since the beginning, like spoiled children who are given the best right from the start, then cannot appreciate the good things.

 

[Psycho Paul]

A last note regarding the comparison between AFs and elite cuts... ridiculous IMHO... reminds me of some people that have never popped a seed in their growing carreer, always grown elite cuts since the beginning, like spoiled children who are given the best right from the start, then cannot appreciate the good things.

I agree *mostly* with everything you said except this.

All elites came from seeds. Nobody gave me my cuts, I found them myself. I started from seeds just like everybody else.

You know what they say about assuming. Dont assume everybody that grows with cuttings just gets a free pass and everything handed to them.

 

[Tropic]

Psycho Paul, sorry I couldn't know, I thought you meant "popular" elite cuts, as usually on these boards. But you get my point, some people act like they're the shit because they've been given (ie. the work has been done for them) something great.
Gotta agree that popping seeds is the only way to find something good and new, props to you if you did find your elites this way.

 

[IwannatokeNbone]

well this elite strain angle is how i take someone like nicoli, i mean whats he bragging about? If i order a elite bunch of seeds and im an instant pro like him, answer is basically yes i am, its its not a bad thing its called progress, breeders have done a great job (some of them) the ego on growing cannabis is way way overblown imo, its all luv, its all sharing, its all good, leave your petty hobbiest egos at the door-