I have a question. Can autos be grown outdoors? Most of what I’ve come across says best suited for indoors. Due to constraints that isn’t possible for me at the time, so I’m wondering which strains if any will do well outdoors in the Midwest climate. When last I grew autos were just being whispered about and now that they seem to be everywhere now a days and somewhat stable genetics wise from my reading I would like to give them a try next year along with my photo strains. So any info is appreciated.
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Yeah autos do fine outdoors. I’m north UK and grow autos outside every spring/summer. They obviously don’t yield as well as if they were grown indoors though 
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Depending on where in the Midwest it’s too late for trying this year… It’ll grow but its probably not gonna finish…the little bit of sun we’re getting right now is gonna make for a short plant…
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I’m just looking for info for spring time. As I said, the last time i had a grow autos were just a whisper on the wind.
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Oh yea… put them out in April or so after last frost in some good sunlight and they could get very nice!
Autos have changed alot in recent years and some are actually well worth it these days
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Autos grow fine outdoor but their yield is usually pretty low compared to indoor. Just means you should plant lots.
You can do 3+ runs per grow season too if you time it right.
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“They obviously don’t yield as well as if they were grown indoors though”
Is this true? I imagined they would be as big as any photo with their grow duration. Or do you mean off season?
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It maybe the difference in temperatures in my climate (UK) compared to the USA and other warmer parts of the globe.
Auto flowers start to finish only live for 12 weeks max. They don’t rely on sun hours changing before they start to flower. Regular photoperiod plants can veg outdoors for months. I could likely do two full auto runs in the time it takes a photoperiod plant to grow, veg and start budding. The longer veg time they get means photos massively outperform autos outside when it comes to yield.
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Yes, but do autos indoors outperform autos outdoors. I imagine larger pots or straight ground and the big yellow light would make for bigger. Plans to try starting a 45 day in March for an outside bloom.
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I’ve an auto I received from @cogitech that’s been grown in 8.5 litre autopot system indoors. It’s a total beast of a plant. I know fine well I’d not be able to achieve the growth from her if I’d planted her outdoors.
I did a few autos in 11 litre fabric pots outdoors this summer. They grew really well and were healthy but only yielded me 1.5oz each.
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Well…let’s just find out shall we!!!
Mr. Sparkles Dark Sparks. Started inside under T5 H.O’s…ALWAYS in 1 gallon pot from birth.
Maybe 3 weeks old or something like that. All my outside plants are flowering, any plant brought outside now starts her stretch right away. Will have plenty of time to finish. We have about 13 hours sunlight now and losing each day.
They have been under 18/6 since sprout…
In da ground lil ones, the big ones around you shall protect you and show you the way…
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It’s hard to say that conclusively but in my opinion and from my experience, yes autos perform better indoor than out.
Think about it this way. Autoflowers want as much daylight as they can get, preferably 18hrs or more per day. I know in most of North America there’s only a handful of days every summer that have 18hrs or more of daylight. I would advise those trying autos outdoor for the first time to aim for about 2-3 weeks prior to solstice before planting seedlings, to maximize the amount of light they will receive.
They will also want a steady and frequent supply of nutrients, and benefit from frequent irrigation which is hard to achieve reliably in an outdoor growing environment, at least naturally.
So yeah, if you live in a spot that has 18hr+ days for 30-45 days a year and/or provide supplementary lighting during nighttime, and have an irrigation system and media that can keep them fed, often, and without hurting them, then sure an outdoor auto could yield just as much as an indoor.
I really think they are fantastic for growing outside though, and possibly even the future, but they should be planted in large numbers and in patches to achieve both high output and fast turnaround.
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Great info! I hadn’t thought about day length because, well… autos. Here we max out at 15hrs May-June.
I have the auto irrigation down pretty well. Nutes are currently by hand. Hoping for three shots with @Sebring’s WaterStone and DragonTongue, may only get two.
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They’re a lot of fun, I am still regretting not doing any outside this year I loved having some early smoke while I waited for my photoperiods to finish.
Good luck!
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@fishdude might you have some input?
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Question…should I take off fan leaves after Autos start budding or just LITFA?
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Ya I think it just comes down to hours of light over a lifetime. Even a good ‘full sun’ spot outside might get 10hrs of sun a day, some of which might be obscured by clouds etc. 560 hours of light in 8 weeks with perfect conditions.
Even at 12/12 indoors you’re looking at 672 hours of light in 8 weeks, and that is 100% direct, intense light. Gotta ram those photons in while you can lol
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Thanks all for the info so far. I think I’m going to give some a go head spring along with my photos. Same as @AllOra my days max right around 15 daily so a loss in quantity is expected being outdoors. I figure if I have one or two in containers it shouldn’t be to hard to water and feed. @TrevorLahey do they require a lot of feed being as such a short grow time? Also would 2 gal containers be too big? TY in advance
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LITFA
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That is one impressive lady sixth photo down.
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