Auto’s versus Fem seeds

Total novice here and curious to the major differences and why people choose regular Fem seeds.
What are the advantages of choosing regular Fem seeds?

3 Likes

Welcome! I can tell you this much I run Photoperiod plants because it allows you to be in control of the length of time you can Veg your plants. Auto’s flower regardless of the light and dark cycle. Meaning they will only get so big and then will flower AUTOmatically hence why they are called auto’s. You can veg photos for as long as you like if your indoors simply because you control the light dark periods. This allows you to employ several training methods and also grow monster plants that produce more flower. Hope this helps!

5 Likes

Because Auto suck. They do what they want, when the want. Photo you can keep vegging for months and months before you force it to flower. :+1:

3 Likes

Auto vs Fem

Pick which one you think which Is which. :+1:

2 Likes

I thought yield would be a key factor. Makes total sense!
Thanks for sharing

2 Likes

Well technically you can yield way more with a photo which you can veg longer which leads to larger yields.

1 Like

Autos don’t “suck” unless you’re looking for a plant that you can grow to a large size. Autos are convenient if you live somewhere that big plants aren’t feasible. Yes, they yield less on average. They’re a smaller plant generally. But that doesn’t mean you can’t or won’t get a decent amount of smoke from an auto if you treat it right.

7 Likes

I’m running autos right now but gonna transition to photos. For me I chose autos because the advertised ease for beginners. Now I know they aren’t any easier the same strain auto or photo grow with the same issues or lack of. Ok then there’s the quick harvest time, well no because you can force a photo to flip and the flowering time is the same. Difference really comes down to yield. But still I’m gonna do 5 runs of autos and stock up some buds to last thru a long photo grow.

2 Likes

Personally I enjoy growing both, to me they both have their pros and cons. But I do cater to my photos I get a bigger yield out of photos. Just my thoughts !

4 Likes

Hi good to hear cause I grow outside but don’t have room for bigger right now but would like to try fem when I can enclose more of my yard :blush:

Hi do you have to take the makes out of photo ? Not sure I know fem you don’t have to or auto but when you say that photo you mean regular seeds am I correct? Ty

When I transition to photos probably just gonna go with feminised seeds don’t really wanna fool with dealing with males or pollen. @Mama05 non feminised regular seeds can be male or female. There’s 3 types auto, feminised photos and regular photos.

2 Likes

Don’t let people scare you away from autos. Some people don’t have the patience for autos. If you treat them right as babies, they’ll reward you with 6+oz of primo bud in 9-12 weeks.

Photoperiod plants allow you to make more mistakes.

7 Likes

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AUTOS AND PHOTOS IS SIMPLY THE DARK PERIOD REQUIRED TO START BLOOMING.

Autos at 42 days from germination:


Comparison shot, 3 weeks difference:
https://aws1.discourse-cdn.com/standard17/uploads/bergmanslab/original/3X/0/2/025fdfd15178b23e0b78c7f618dbde68216e7d24.jpeg

6 Likes

Yeah, c’mon, that wasn’t from genetics. You know it. :grin: You screwed that plant up, righteously, then blamed the poor auto. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

3 Likes

Well I got the all caps reply, that’s never good.

2 Likes

Autos have a place in my garden.
Sometimes it’s for a taste of something different. Sometimes to help stagger a harvest.
If treated properly when young as @blackthumbbetty stated then there’s no reason that 6-8 oz isn’t possible.
Just bear in mind strain and grow conditions will determine yield with them.
:+1::v:

2 Likes

Oh, I just forgot to disengage shift lock after “the diffference”. I’m lazy

3 Likes

Facts over feelings lol spit that truth Chef Betty :metal::metal::metal:

1 Like

Feminized seed can be “autoflowering” or “photoperiod.” “Regular” usually means the seed hasn’t been feminized, and it will contain both male and female plants (or in some cases monaceous aka hemaphrodite plants).

“Photos” are sensitive to scotoperiod, or the amount of relative darkness out of 24 hours. “Autos” are insensitive to the scotoperiod, and will initiate the flowering stage on their own time (there is anecdotal evidence to suggest they can be encouraged to flower).

“Autos” have a lingering bad reputation because most commercial cultivars came out of ruderal landraces which produced Lowrider. Lowrider was notoriously small and lacked potency. But decades of selective breeding have produced some really great autos. Some are still bad. This is true for photos as well.

The biggest shortcoming of autoflowering cannabis, IMO, is the inability to keep genetics. Every single seed will have slight variation, and you cannot keep mother plants to grow identical clones as you would with a photoperiod. But autos have their advantages. Remember that photos need a certain amount of darkness to initiate flowering (10-12 depending on the cultivar). Outdoors that means you might need to use light deprivation covers or supplemental lighting depending on your latitude. If you’re growing acres of cannabis that can be a challenge. Autoflowers solve that, and can enable a farm to produce more crops, and greater yields per year outdoors with less labor.

For the personal grower, that means you can flower earlier in the season to beat cold winter weather. It also means you can get a mature crop before the rippers start grabbing the typical fall harvest. It also means you don’t have to worry about light pollution during the dark period. That might be useful even in an indoor grow.

I won’t go into photoperiod plants, since I think the arguments have or will be made in favor of the “regular” varieties. Sufficed to say, both scotoperiod sensitive and insensitive varieties are useful, and solve problems for segments of the home, medical, and commercial cultivators.

4 Likes