Though I’ve been growing awhile I’ve recently started a totally new experience for me - Auto’s. Please feel free to comment and educate as needed - I’m a total newbie to auto’s.
The journal will feature the two plants shown below and follow my standard training and automatic musings. Thanks for tuning in - Automatic Writings to follow
Please Note: I’ve got a lot going on at the moment so posting may be sporadic but please bear with me and I’ll eventually get to the end. I would really appreciate comments and feedback from those who grow auto’s on a regular basis as other than little plants with some stunning flowers that about sums up my auto knowledge.
Please forgive me as I learn the system and set-up here: I hope I’m posting this correctly.
Thanks for your patience.
For the last several years I have followed a method that I developed that helps me average a pound per plant for indoor grows without adding time to a standard 16 week photo/fem grow. That equates to darn close to 30 grows over the last 10 years and while far from unhappy with my results; I’ve only ever applied the method to an auto one time - and that was only because I didn’t know it was one!
I’ve always considered auto’s to have some the most beautiful cannabis flowers I have ever seen, but generally (from what I have seen with few exceptions) the plants are small and only yield a few oz’s at best. 8 if you’re darn good at training quick.
I’ll be more than happy to share the growing method in PDF form but that is not the purpose of this exercise (if you would like a copy private message me - I’ll figure it out).
My photo/fem grows are pretty standard by now and almost always look like this:
2 photo/feminized plants per grow in a 4x4 tent Average yield every 4 months - 2 lbs
It works great & with reliable, replicable results for photo/fems … but auto’s?
After being gifted some prime auto seeds from a good friend I decided to put the method to the test with auto’s. I have no idea what is normal for an auto, so I will and do have a ton of questions that I’m hoping a few of you can answer for me. Thanks again for tuning in and agreeing to give me your opinion and expertise. Feel free to poke me if I make a mis-step
With bit longer flowering autos and of the newer style stock high yields are fully doable, do they like aggressive pruning, no not really just cause they have a ticking time clock so any hindrances or setbacks to that can have decent effects at the end.
For autos imo best is just to let them buck and allow them to grow uninterrupted, now that doesn’t mean you can’t defoliate lowers or shade leaves or lollipop the lowers that wont be anything, and ro train as needed just heavy pruning they don’t really like that much.
One thing to look into and is what i have transitioned into pretty much as my go to for training is flopping and leaf tucking, flopping is where you allow the plant to grow uninterrupted likely until stretch phase and its throwing out some bud sets then you flop over your main apex shoot by crushing the stem and folding it over under the rest of your canopy this coupled with leaf tucking to get all you bud sites seeing the light directly typically creates a very even canopy considering the minimal effort needed, the flopping usually the apex shoot is righting itself within a day or two so one either needs to do it a couple times or really work over the fold part of the stem so it takes awhile to repair.
What you are discussing addresses some of my many questions about auto’s. Does training matter to yield and if so, what training works best (if any) for auto’s? I wonder if exposing bud sites is of the same importance as with a photo/fem plant and how much is genetics and no matter what you do your gonna get the ‘about’ the same result. ?? Stick around @Mr.Sparkle I’ve got a ton of questions
My geographic location would make growing auto’s easier in the summer when it’s hottest and I can keep the tent open and cool(er) … but I would like as much yield as possible with as little work as possible (I’m picky… if I can get more of the same quality in the same amount of time - I’m up for investing the effort)
Training autos is a tradeoff because they tend to experience a growth spurt right around the time you’d typically be doing your training, say 2-4 weeks, then flower around 4 weeks. If you slow this down or interrupt it, you’re going to lose overall size and yield. So I’d say you have to find the sweet spot where you do what you do without stressing or slowing it down. At least not enough to cancel out your training gains.
Thanks @LennyB , great information to have on hand. The training method I am using was devised to utilize the plants own abilities and tendencies and was developed to use as little HST as possible. Topping and pruning slow growth of the plants and therefore are only done 3 times total for grow (as indicated by the graphic) so most of the training is folding, tucking and using training wire to achieve the desired result. I do the first topping early and training and layout is in place by week 5 and complete except for defoliation and splaying them out during flowering. I don’t think that the training has slowed the plant growth but I didn’t do ‘non trained’ plant as a base so it’s hard to say definitively. The entire reason for this journal - for me - was to get as much information from auto growers as possible about these strange and beautiful beasties AND to find out if the same training method I’ve been using for years on photo plants also applies to auto’s and if not, what if any training method is best.
Thanks again for the info
Automatic Writing
Setting the Mood:
As I relaxed and took a deep breath - exhaling the sweet aromatic budder smoke. I was ready, spliff in one hand, rolling papers in the other and the lights in the grow room were properly dimmed; I was waiting on those automatic babies to show their heads - and … they did. Right on schedule - ya know what? They look just like all the other babies!
Are those Black Creams from Sweet Seeds? Interesting growth pattern on yours. I’ve grown a number of them, reversed and made seeds as well. Mine haven’t been bushy (I haven’t trained em either), more like 6-8 nice branch / colas, and a main cola, with minimal leaves (trimmers dream!). But they were very open naturally, didn’t need to leaf prune. Avg per plant was 90-110g for me, with the ability to stuff 9 of them in 3g pots in a 3x3 without it feeling too crowded (because they were already airy / open).
Mine were also showing much more purple by that size.
Im going to guess mainling will only get you more uniform buds . Especially with led .
If hps topping and mainlining will only slow the stretch therefore the yeikd
@Nagel420 without going back and re-reading the e-mail and letter that accompanied the gift package I am somewhat unsure of the seed source (but think I have a good inclination). I had seen photo’s of Black Cream before; including those that helped convince me this was the right choice to try for an auto, but my girl is full and fat and no purple in sight at this point. I asked the person I got the seeds from when I could expect them to start showing some color and was told that for their grow, it was about week 5 of flowering which is pretty close to the end. (I think??? sorry I’m a bit auto-phobic as I really have no idea what to expect when) I had a look at your photo’s of Black Cream and the flower structure and plant growth of my plant is very different from what you show. I’m hoping she’s not the green headed step child (love that purple)
What you are discussing addresses some of my many questions about auto’s. Does training matter to yield and if so, what training works best (if any) for auto’s? I wonder if exposing bud sites is of the same importance as with a photo/fem plant and how much is genetics and no matter what you do your gonna get the ‘about’ the same result. ?? Stick around 
(love that purple)