I have a grow underway, and am looking to purchase seeds from here for my next grow, however am having difficulty with choosing which would work best for me. Will be all indoor with soil and how/mh lighting in3.5’X4.5’X10’ area. Want highest yield to time ratio. All opinions welcomed!
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Hi @Blountville,
The main advantage that I see with an auto-flower is that you do not need to control light conditions in order to induce flowering - the ruderalis genetics in an autoflower cause it to automatically flower at a set point. This makes autoflowers best suited for situations where controlling light duration is an issue (like growing outdoors).
If you are growing indoors in a designated grow room, then controlling light duration is not a concern for you, so you’d lose the main benefit of selecting an autoflower variety.
Additionally most autoflower varieties that I am aware of tend to yield less than their non-autoflower counterparts, so this would also be a reason against selecting an autoflower for your grow situation.
I’m not against autoflower, it’s actually all I grow at the moment, but I don’t see any major benefits that you’d derive from selecting an autoflower variety given the setup you are describing.
I’d suggest looking for a good feminized strain that conforms to your space requirements, desired potency strength, etc… If you’ve got good odor control, you might want to think about selecting White Widow. It’s a classic, has high potency, and (if I remember correctly) Robert has a good special on it where he’ll double your seed order.
There are really so many wonderful varieties to chose from. It really comes down to a mater of your growing situation and personal preference. I’m looking forward to seeing what other members will suggest ;-).
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that’s a decent size space for indoor, I just bought and received mine (all Fem. autos) for an outdoor grow, but, after I bought them I started to Really look at All the seeds and read All the “details” about them , I’m still very happy with what I bought , But, that" Big Bud Auto" sure looked good. !! autos are All Fem. and bud quicker, problem is they are smaller so the yield is a bit less, If you know what your doing the yield could be quite large per plant , ie SCROG etc.
I had read conflicting stories about autoflowers yields, and was attracted to the simplicity of lighting requirements. But don’t wish to sacrifice yield or quality. Thanks for the help
Don’t forget that autos generally take much less time to grow, too. So even though you might not get as much, you’ll get it 2-6 weeks sooner.
For absolute fastest seed to harvest with big yields, you might look into doing a SOG (Sea Of Green (SOG) Marijuana Growing Method). It takes a lot of seeds, but since you force flowering after just 2-3 weeks of veg, it drastically reduces grow times.
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Thanks Kushpa, the quick turnaround is the argument for autos that I keep seeing. Guess trial and error is the way to find out. Lol! May take me awhile to figure it out, but will be fun trying!
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I’m sorry but I have COMPLETY DISAGREE with @hobbygarder
Unlike traditional (referred to as photoperiod) strains, autos don’t need any special kind of light schedule to “tell” the plant to start budding. With a photoperiod strain, a cannabis plant needs 12+ hours of darkness a day to initiate flowering.
When growing photoperiod cannabis plants outside, flowering naturally begins when the days get shorter. For outdoor growers, this means that plants must be planted in the spring, and they grower must choose strains that will finish in time before winter.
Indoor growers cultivating photoperiod strains can initiate flowering at will by giving plants longer dark periods (usually by putting their grow lights on a timer). For indoor growers, this means the grower needs to make a light-proof grow space to allow for 12 hours of uninterrupted darkness each day while the plants are flowering.
For an auto-flowering cannabis plant, a grower doesn’t have to worry about light schedules. Each auto-flowering plant starts blooming after a few weeks no matter what light schedule is provided. For outdoor auto growers, there’s no need to match up the strain with your local time zone or plant at the perfect time - simply plant autos when you know you have at least 2-3 months of warm, sunny weather.
For all growers in a hurry to harvest, an auto-flowering plant will almost certainly be ready to harvest more quickly than any other type of cannabis strain.
Hope this helps if you need some help picking out strains let me know this to is very important.
Will
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No need for trail and error …
Will
@garrigan62 sure! What strains do you recommend? New at indoor growing, have a little experience with Mary Jane outside, tons of just garden plant experience. I will probably go photo period bc of variety. Would like to get try and grow two, need a pick me up sativa type high, and also something to hammer me at bedtime. I have terrible insomnia, and can’t really take any type of prescriptions due to liver disease.
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Hi @garrigan62
I suspect we are making the same point here. Did I make a typo in my original reply?
What I believe/hope I said was that autoflower is GREAT when it is difficult to control light duration (e.g. when you are growing outdoors).
But given that Blountville has plans for an indoor grow room, he will not benefit overly from an auto flower’s ability to, well… auto flower (as he will already have control over this with his enclosed grow room and light setup).
That said, I think you raise a great point about the benefits of auto flowers for when you are in a hurry and want something that will be ready to harvest quickly. Many varieties of autoflower do have a shorter flowering period.
I feel for you @Blountville. I have bad insomnia as well, and that’s one of the reasons that I started growing. I’m looking for something to help me sleep when the insomnia is bad, without dealing with all of the side effects of prescription drugs. If you find a strain that’s working for you I hope you’ll let me know ;-)!
Hi @Blountville,
Autoflowers certainly do make the issue of lighting a lot more straightforward . My only option was for an outside grow, and I needed something that wouldn’t get too big, so autoflower varieties seemed like a natural choice for me.
Although I don’t grow inside, I don’t believe that the issue of inducing flowering in a grow room is overly complex. Many experienced indoor growers could give you a more detailed and accurate response, but from everything I read it seems that when you are ready to move out of the vegetative phase and into the flowering phase, the key element is to drop your light cycles down from 18/6 to 12/12 (or something similar).
If you are comfortable with the notion of inducing flowering, it certainly opens up many growing more options for you
Sure will, insomnia is a special hell. Lol
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Autoflowers are fast, fun and easy!
I loved mine! 
I think some growers with certain needs should do nothing but autos! They’d have much more success with far less headaches, and autos don’t take much room either
-good luck
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@Paranorman Nice! I don’t think the harvest from my 2 autos will be quite that good, but this is something to aspire to
Nice:grinning:
This is what I disagree with. …But given that Blountville has plans for an indoor grow room, he will not benefit overly from an auto flower’s ability to, well… auto flower (as he will already have control over this with his enclosed grow room and light setup).
An auto plant is genetically perdermind to flower so @Blountville has no control with his grow room or his light schedule. And so he wil not have any control.
Other wise I agree with you.
B Safe
Will
Hi Will,
Perhaps I chose my words poorly and accidentally muddled my message? Thanks for clarifying - the points you succinctly made were very much in line with what I was attempting to convey
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