Auto flower 97 days old no Amber
- Thread starter Sudd smoke
- Start date
Sudd smoke
Member
Thanks I appreciate that
Kyzersozay
Well-Known Member
Use a loop to check your trichs, clear...more time...cloudy..uplifting high...amber..couch lock
twentyeight.threefive
Well-Known Member
I just chopped two autos at 127 days. They finish when they are ready lol.
That probably has another 3 weeks to go. Most pistils are still white.
TheDifferenceX
Well-Known Member
Let that sativa go another month (3-4 weeks) and you will be rewarded!
TheDifferenceX
Well-Known Member
Nice job waiting this long. It's always nice to see someone being patient, it's the hardest part. Those last few weeks are the most important though, as your buds are swelling and gaining potency.
Humanrob
Well-Known Member
Damn... 18 weeks, that's a long haul. Most of the photos I've grown would veg for about 5-6 weeks and flower in 9-10. I could usually plan around 16 week cycles.
I'm doing my first indoor autos now. I was under the impression that it would not be that difficult to find quality strains that finish in 90 days or less -- my goal is next fall to start a three plant perpetual rotating one out per month. Given that the person I grow for prefers sativa doms, maybe I should rethink that.
twentyeight.threefive
Well-Known Member
Everything I've grown seems to finish around the same period as a good photo grow. Going to finish my photo run and will be running more photos next run in the fall too. Have some quality genetics on hand so Bohdi Cosmic Serpent is the fall run. Can't wait.
TheDifferenceX
Well-Known Member
If i'm using my two 300w cheap LEDs (246 actual watts combined) my autos finish between 63-70 days. With my 300w HPS, same strains go 85-95 days.
Humanrob
Well-Known Member
Does one light tend to produce more final weight than the other?
I read somewhere recently that autos are smaller and finish faster when grown in soil than when grown in coco, but I'm not sure if that's true or not. Seems like too many variables for a blanket statement, but I am interested in anything that can speed them up, and if anything is lost when they finish faster.
Humanrob
Well-Known Member
What type of light are you using? What percent of amber do you have when you consider them finished?
twentyeight.threefive
Well-Known Member
I use a mix. The Lemon Auto I have was started under a blurple then moved under a SF2000 and then finally under a Timber Fatty VS. Basically the SF2000 tent was aimed for veg and the 5x5 Timber tent for flower.
I don't really check trichomes for readiness anymore. Once the pistils have receeded and the calyx have swelled they are ready.
TheDifferenceX
Well-Known Member
There's a considerable difference in the density of the nugs. I've yielded 1-2oz per plant with the LEDs, where I'm able to get at least double that per plant with the HPS. Just seems like you get another 2-3 weeks of the buds swelling.
Humanrob
Well-Known Member
You said "yielded", past tense, are you growing exclusively with HPS now?
Back around 2016 when I was building my first COB light, there were lots of comparison grows going on between LED and HPS, but I was reading them in the LED section, so there may have been some confirmation bias. Or maybe photos react differently than autos, but at the time people were claiming that COB LEDs produced as well and often denser buds, even though they did acknowledge they finished faster. For me on a practical level it's moot, HPS runs too hot for my space.
So far the only thing that I've witnessed that has caused them to take longer to finish is cooler temps, but that slows their metabolism and the extra time does not gain them any weight. It's interesting how their "inner clock" works. Some people say transplanting, topping, anything that shocks them will cause them to temporarily stop growing but won't lengthen their finish time, resulting in smaller stunted plants. So far HPS lights is the only thing I've heard that can defy their inner clock and cause them to keep growing and putting on weight.
Unless... HPS is growing them to their natural duration, and LEDs are somehow speeding up their clock? In that scenario LEDs would be another factor that stunts them? Crazy. So many variables, so much to learn. Currently I'm LST'ing, topping, and growing under COBs in soil... I seem to be destined to have very small plants... LOL, which is fine, since I have a small grow space and get the bulk of our meds from my outdoor grow.
Humanrob
Well-Known Member
It's an art form, no doubt. The person I grow for likes speedy sativa dom highs and won't smoke couch lock bud, so I am on amber alert and cut basically at the first sign of it. So far she's happy, that's what counts, although I know I could get more weight in some cases with another week or three.
twentyeight.threefive
Well-Known Member
If you wanted a plant like that then I'd harvest right as the pistils start to retract. At that point you'd probably have the beginning of ambering trichomes but still swollen buds. Or you could always just scope them
Humanrob
Well-Known Member
When I first asked you about trichomes in relation to finish times, it was to make sure we were comparing apples to apples. I've seen some folks take their buds to 30% amber or more, and that would definitely add time to the grow, so I was wondering if that's why yours was taking so long. And I asked about the lights to see if it confirmed @TheDifferenceX 's experience with HPS lights and longer grow times.If you wanted a plant like that then I'd harvest right as the pistils start to retract. At that point you'd probably have the beginning of ambering trichomes but still swollen buds. Or you could always just scope them
I once had a photo go 12 weeks of flower without any sign of amber under magnification. I finally cut it, and when dried and cured it was 8 ounces of couch lock bud that we ended out giving away. Ever since then I don't use only one criteria, but I do still lean on trichome color heavily.
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Dendrophilly
Well-Known Member
Auto don't always amber the same, I wouldn't base anything off the amber ratio with most autos.
Rustproof9
New Member
Ok I have an issue with my autos from i49 not flowering. I had 4 different strains. The other two strains vegged, flowered and was ready to harvest in like two months. I planted these all at the same. Which was October 22. These other two strains, 4 plants in total are 3ft tall and I need them to flip. However I cannot try the 12/12 bc I have two young photos in the same tent. The two auto strains are white rhino and northern lights