have you noticed any difference in bud production when growing your photos and autos together? i believe i read that u flip your photos to 12/12 once your autos start to flower? im assuming its all one room/tent? do the autos still produce decent bud on the 12/12?
That is a problem with the internet, not everyone is right.
The seed shop says they are good for beginners, and they can be. They are probably the best choice if you donāt have a well laid out grow space. Things like standby lights on power strips or light leaks can ruin a photo grow, but are pretty rare problems with autos.
Also depends on what kind of newb you are. If you are type to stay up all night watching YouTube videos on every method to increase your yeilds, autos probably not where you want to be. But if you are more in line with keeping things simple, autos can be your friend. I have no tips that are strain specific, but limiting your handling with them will increase likelihood of a successful grow. Iām not a huge fan of fox farms products either. Plenty of people are successful with it though, I would go heavy on happy frog layer if I was using.
2 Likes
When I flipped my lights to 12/12, my male auto showed itself. So it had some affect on the autos but I suspect it was only sped up a little bit (maybe a couple of days) from where it naturally would have been showing me sex anyhow.
I donāt know if it had any negative impact on the autoflower - the one female I have left seems happy as a clam on the 12/12 but sheās also super stunted from my own learning curves. I think the bud will be good, although not much.
2 Likes
Ahhh but at the expense of potency! Give me a good ol photo for indoor anyday. Autos have a place in my opinion, outside next to the tomatoās
Thank you @dbrn32. I am a kiss method firm believer and I never source YouTube for info. Apologies for coming off a little harsh. Iāve been forced to rethink virtually every aspect of my tiny grow space almost daily. Fortunately I have only bought the tent and seeds so far and Iām not starting any until iām sure my setup will give the best chance for success on the budget I have to work with. I am piece mealing all my equipment since I concluded early on that all in one kits in my price range would just disappoint at best. I love this site and Iām passing it on word of mouth to everyone I know that is or plans to take advantage of our liberation in the state of Virginia. Btw, 12qts of each FF soil is apparently on the way already so I guess Iāll be giving it a shot with the first two. Guess I better not cheap out on the ph and tds testers just in case it is too hot for the sprouts. Thanks again.
2 Likes
You can get relatively inexpensive tds tester, I would go mid range or better on ph pen. I have a couple of apera pens in $50ish range that come with storage and calibration fluid. Those would keep you rolling for a while.
If your tent is true 2x3 is bigger than one I currently use. You may have to be crafty, but plenty big enough to grow 2 plants in. Buy yourself a decent light or build one to save money, then you donāt have to run it long to get good results. If your 2 plants arenāt flowering when desired size you can just flip to 12 hour schedule and make them. Itās not not all that hard to have good grows in small space. Just beware of the crowd that suggests you need a big pot or a walk in closet to grow 4 plants. You wonāt be able to do things the way they do. I think @mattybear has 8 plants in 2x4 right now lol. I wouldnāt suggest you do that. He is an exceptional grower with a lot of experience. But if you want to see a small space full of weed just click on tag above and scroll down to his topics.
4 Likes
@OverallQuill80 itās good that you have had to re think your grow, like you said you would have wasted your money on a kit.
We are all here to help and alot of the time we agree on most aspects autos vs photos is a highly debated topic as you can see lol.
@dbrn32 has you set on the tds and the PH pen, I also use a amazon tds pen and a apera PH pen we generally say go for apera because itās good value the other two trusted brands are Hanna and bluelabs but they are expensive stuff generally. Ensure you get the kit like mentioned with all the calibration fluids.
Build a light would be ideal and itās not that hard if you can order the parts and have some basic tools and access to aluminum. Otherwise youāll want to go with a trusted brand like kingbrite (Alibaba), HLG (their own website) or spider farmer would be a last resort I wouldnāt really recommend a thing else off thatās affordable at the retail level. Two 125w lights would be great if for your two plants a single 240w would work also but the two singles would give you better positioning in your tent.
If you do go photos then a good pro tip is to zip yourself up inside your tent when itās all set up and turn the lights off inside the tent, let your eyes adjust for 5min and find any light leaks such as pin holes in the tent or power bars with ledās on or whatever else. Aluminum tape works great on the inside of the tent which can be grabbed at any hardware store.
5 gallon fabric pots would be ideal for your situation in soil, and layering the soil is key.
Mix the soil with 30% perlite because cannabis loves airey soil so buy some extra perlite.
Then grab a wine bottle or something similar and place it in the center of the pot, fill. The bottom 2/3 up with fox farms ocean forest as it is rich, pack it tight, remove wine bottle fill center plug with happy frog and the top of 1/3 with happy frog. This allows a young plant to grow in happy frog and shoot its roots down and out before tapping into the hotter ocean forest to allow for great growth. Also get some diatomaceous earth and yellow sticky fly traps in advance. Gnatts are a common problem with soils like fox farms and you will need these tools to stop your gnats fast.
Itās an old Stereotype you are perpetuating there, modern auto genetics will stand up to pretty much any photo. Itās all about quality genetics.
Here is an auto I have in my collection right now
3 Likes
Thank you @Nicky. I read your advice on ff soil use yesterday actually in the soil category and a bag of each is already on the way. Have plenty of DE on hand already too. The sticky traps are standard hanging flypaper strips? Definitely not doing photos until I have plenty of actual hands on experience. Simply donāt have the space. My little 2x3x5 tent is going to have to be for start to finish growing 1 to 2 at a time until Iām comfortable enough with my skills to maximize the space. Iām wondering too since you are the resident auto authority if my choice of ilgm girl scout cookies extreme autoflower was a wise or poor one for a complete newbie first time grower. Loving the wealth of info here. Ilgm I canāt thank you enough.
3 Likes
Great advice @dbrn32. 3 gallon bags are the way Iām going for the first attempt. Great yield would be, well great but a flawless first grow is unrealistic. The learning curve is steep no doubt. Iām sure Iāll have more illumination questions in the future. Hats off to ilgm staff. Thank you.
2 Likes
Glad you are enjoying the info on here and found some of my old threads lol.
The sticky traps are the yellow sticky paper oejs not the pull ones, any hardware store should have them. The gnats think the yellow is a flower so they fly to it and boom done.
The GSCE are the seeds you have so they are the seeds you will grow lol, Iāve never grown them myself I see they grow quite well which is good in your case. Some mixed reviews on the smoke but thatās with everything and it effects everyone differently. Itās actually one of the ilgm strains I thought about growing because of the size they grow.
Remeber to let your water sit out for 24hr in jugs or buckets prior to feeding to allow the chlorine to evaporate and ph pretty much everything to 6.5 for your soil.
I also suggest not using fox farms if you havenāt bought nutrients already I would suggest buying jacks (ask about this and we can provide guidance) but fox farms will work. Start a journal before you drop your seeds and tag us.
A little bit of hydrogen peroxide in your water glass for soaking the seeds will help soften the shell and improve germination rates as well as reduce shell stick Durring growth. Once they sink or after 24hr toss them in a damp paper towel in a Ziplock somewhere light proof and warm, above room temp. Some people put them Ontop of the cable box or ps4/Xbox or on a seed mat. Iāve rested mine inside ea glasses case Ontop of my. Furnace lots to
1 Like
Both do produce cannabis. So far from experience and reading on alot of threads that autos generally have a looser feel to buds and donāt stack up like I can get a photo to do. Usually an auto starts to flower on its own after about 30 days give or take a week for certain conditions but usually around 30 days ish the bud comes out phenomenal but the buds so far here at my house in my grows has been nothing comparable to a photo bud. If u r looking to impress ppl or sell. If or give it away photos are the way to go autos are super fun to grow and do give off good product looks beautiful taste beautiful and smell amazing. It def not comparable to fem photos or reg photos. Fem photos are good but ur still best with reg seeds as the genetics are not played with likef ems and autos.
1 Like
Hi Jee,
First time grower here, figured Iād toss in my 2 cents. Iām currently curing a harvest from 2 Northern Lights autos (ILGM), and have 2 Maui Wowie photos (ILGM) in week 6 of flower.
I initially planned on autos only, as my intentions of keeping things as simple as possible led me toward the autoflower. Photos seemed sort of tedious, coming from a place of no experience, but I really wanted to try Maui Wowie, unavailable as an auto.
Looking back, they felt actually easier to work with, and I really appreciate the control over when flowering will begin. My experience with both the NLAs and MWP has been awesome, both of which gave me very little trouble. Iām now leaning toward photos for future grows, especially with the ability to clone (cloned 2 MWs this grow - if I can do it, anyone can do it!).
Good luck!
1 Like
I call em like they smoke. White Widow and Bruce Banner autos from here are no where near as potent as the photo versions friend. Grow em out side by side smoke em then holla back.
1 Like
Iāve grown lots, have I have tons of Bruce banner auto cured in the closet like 3 plants worth.
I want a Bruce banner 3 photo but no one has back crossed a 3 to be stable, the 3 is nice and euphoric.
All Bruce banner photos are all F1ās and who even has good Bruce banner genetics? Blimburn is a F1?
Elev8 is good genetics but again a F1 so lots of pheno hunting.
Original sensible seeds also has a Bruce bannerā¦
What one are you growing? And how much pheno hunting did you do?
Thanks to all of you for addressing the growing, care, yield differences differences between the two typesā¦ I will be reading a lot more than I thought to get some insight. And burn into my head that any failures are actually learning experience
@ NICKY (and this question just shows the that I am naĆÆve to this and rems, shows how naĆÆve I really still am to this)ā¦You stated āa space that is cold running autosā
I keep reading it and trying to understand what you meant.
1.) a cool room that is running autos?
2.) does 'running autos simply mean growing them?
3.) or does cold running refer to using no heat lighting?
4.) (most likely) does it mean something totally different from what I have guessed.
Thank you, the help on these forums is great. Knowledgeable and yet different opinions.
I really appreciate all of you
MikePA
)I believe I can clarify what @Nicky was saying.
A cooler room is ideal for autos because most will run the lights for longer cycles with them. The room being cooler to start with means less issue with the heat generated by the lights being on longer.
Also ārunningā does refer to growing. 
1 Like
Define " a little bit of peroxide " please
Thanks friends haha
@TheVirginian @HMGRWN
Yes running is growing, sorry so long in the hobby I have slangā¦so run =grow
I what Iām saying is that autos are very adaptable in terms of lighting which helps with heat.
I like to run my autos at 20hr on 4hr off but they can run start to finish at 12 on 12 off, if your room is cool then it is ideal to run autos.
If you scower the forums long enough youāll notice people run heaters in basements at night time /lights off, this is something not needed in autos. Also if your rooms hot you can run your lights 12 on 12 off from start to finish.
Really autos will take any light you give them any scedule and light leaks doesnāt bother them, you can open the tent and work on your plants at anytime. Photos you canāt do that.
The biggest and only down side to autos is a new grower needs to realize temp, lights, humidity, watering, and nutrients needs to be well controlled or the 30-45 days of vegetative growth with be slow and your plant will be small.
But your turn over time is faster, you learn faster.
4 Likes
Male Auto? Really? Iāve never heard or seen that. 
1 Like