I’m looking for some advice from fellow auto growers. In order to get two harvests from my autos and due to limited plant counts I like to start my seeds early inside, let them grow out a bit and then transition them outside to finish off. This allows me to place them outside at the optimal time and also to start seeds for the second round while the first round finishes.
What in your experience is the optimal time to transition autos to outside for maximum potential and without stressing/stunting the plant too much?
I’ve had some ok success with transitioning my autos at 21 days of veg to outside but am really looking for some advice to really maximize the potential of my auto grows.
I think one of the optimal methods is to plant an auto that hasnt filled out its pot, so it doesnt experience any sort of transplant shock, or at least its minimized.
In terms of when to plant outside, i wait until the nightly temps are kinda stable at 8 to 10 degrees celsius and then plant them outside in a large a hole as i can.
Good question. I plant on starting 4 the end of the month and putting them in the ground May 24 weekend. Can’t say that’s optimal but that’s what I am shooting for.
I’m glad that you are asking this question because I am currently growing up a BB auto from Alaskagrown and I have a Skywalker auto fem in my phototron and I’m going to try and transition the BB for outside in case it’s a male and keeping the Skywalker in the phototron for entire grow and I’m sorry for asking on your thread but is what @NorthNorthNugs asked alright to do without to much stress and I have been trying to keep the Blueberry in the window sill for natural light but I just don’t have the humidity to do it in Colorado it’s dry as a witches titty…LoL happy spring growing The Doc
Like @jessethestoner said before, autoflowers should be transplanted well before their roots fill the container. Autoflowers take reaching the end of the medium as a sign to start flowering, so to allow your autoflower to reach a decent size, you should transplant when you are still having trouble keeping the soil mass together during transplant, rather than when the whole container can be picked up by the main stem.
It can be a bit of a bitch to do, so some people like to layer their soil instead so they don’t have to do a transplant when growing auto’s, which is also a very good method for good results.
I’ve been growing autos inside and out for several years. Generally speaking, i usually wait until i see signs of puberty before I transition them outside. Since I generally grow them in 16 ounce solo cups or 22ounce McD’s cups, i usually just dig a little hole and partially bury the cup into the dirt. That way, the roots are not disturbed and the roots can grow into the soil as they need to. The last couple of years, I’ve even transplanted a few directly into soil. I’ve read that we shouldn’t transplant auto, but i suspect it’s “bro-science”. I’ve found that when transplanted within a couple days of showing pistils most adjust just fine and continue to grow into nice plants.
Thanks for the answers everyone! You’ve all given me a lot of insight and I believe now I know what I will do. You all jogged my memory and I was thinking back to a few podcasts I’ve listened to about maximizing the potential of Auto’s!
One in particular I listened to recently was talking about a 1 gallon fabric pot that has no bottom. It’s basically just a sleeve. I will plant my seedlings directly into those pots and place them on a fabric watering mat. This watering method trains the roots to grow downwards to feed from the water! Then on about day 21-25 of veg I will transition the plants outside and place the bottomless pot directly on top of my outdoor container when the weather is optimal. The roots will continue their downward growth into the pot below for nutrients! SHAZAMMMMM! NO TRANSPLANTING NECESSARY!
In my experience, placing my plants outside on June 1st is the most optimal time for my particular location. This also allows me to start the seeds in early May and get a mid to late July Harvest. While that first round is finishing up I start my next seeds in and around the beginning of July and do the same process without skipping a beat. Round 1 is harvested and within a day or two Round 2 is placed outside. This will give me a second harvest in the same season in and around Mid October.
Here’s my plan to run 2x sets of 8x Auto’s from May-Oct
1: round 1 = indoors starting on May 1st in 5 gal fabric pots.
2: 2/3 promix Bx + 1/3 Composted manure + added Perlite = main mix; with a pocket of PURE BX topped with EWC for the plant to start.
3: 3rd week of May they go outside to be cropped around July.
4: Round 2 gets the same treatment but start on July 1st inside then get outside 3x weeks later.
The hope is i just water everything and enjoy the harvests
Ok awesome man, seems like we’re pretty much on par for our methods. I will try the 3rd week of May and see what happens. Doesn’t hurt to be a little early!
Autos don’t give a shit when u start and finish em, that’s the joy of running em cuz u can pop seeds of em regardless of season and they will grow given light and optimal temps, more light hours in a day and bigger pots gives bigger plants but found 3-5 gallon is ideal size for autos and grown in 12/12, 18/6 and 24/0 all turned out great but the 24/0 with a Bruce banner 3 in a 10 gallon was my biggest auto to this day
Ya the only reason I said June 1 was because I figured the weather might be a little warmer for you at that time frame if you are at 50 degrees N. If you did wait for more optimal temps you might avoid stressing the plants and you would still be able to pull a July harvest with a good yield.
@Groenevingers , for our climate, you can start in May perfectly fine. For autoflowers, now would be the ideal starting point for your first harvest o t year (doing 2 a year) IF you can start them up indoors under artificial lighting, or in a greenhouse or under a cut off 20l water bottle. If you’re going outdoors the whole run without any assistance of domes or anything I’d hold off until May.
Why stop there? Autos are also great perpetual grows, each month start new seeds of em cuz by then u will see how much space you still have from the others ahead and after a few months you will have a continuous crop once a month with little to no effort
