Bongtastic's Beginner's Guide to Autoflowering Cannabis

Great post please keep info coming! This is my 1st AF grow. Got some jock horror growing. I'm using CFLs 4 (23w 6500k) on each plant. I only have room for 2 buckets. I'm using Fox Farms Ocean Forest. My seedlings are about 1week old. How close should I have my bulbs? I don't want my girls to stretch too much. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
Bongtastic, Thanks for all the info never growed AF before! Got 2 JOCK H going now so far so good 3' FEET tall and bushy! On week 7 going to start BSM for FIRST TIME wHAT DOES That do for the plant? YOUR POST IS EXACTLY RIGHT FFOF IS THE BOMB! HEARD bad things about tiger? (BUT I'M ROLLING WITH YOUR ADVICE) THANKS GANJA D!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Hey, I have a couple of questions as a 1st time grower...
1) I'm going to be attempting to grow "Auto White Widow" indoors which supposedly has a grow rate of just 7 weeks, so going off your grow instructions, I would be well off on the time scale. What would you recommend?

2) Sounds really stupid, but what do you have to do to "flush"?

3) I've got very limited space and require complete discretion, (probably got a walk in cupboard about 4ft deep by 3ft wide), will this be a big enough space for the 1 plant and the use of a high powered lighting set up?

Cheers
 
How much is a dose please?
bongtastic said:
Hello all!

It has been some time since I have posted anything on the forums, and for good reason... I've been perfecting my autoflowering grow technique.

I first started out with autoflowers back in February. Since then I have completed about 7 grows. (2 sets of 3 simultaneous grows in addition to my very first grow.)

Each grow has consisted of six plants. The first grow was a mixture of ShortStuff seeds. The following six grows all used the Doc's Lowryder #1.

I decided, after my first AF grow, that I needed to pick ONE proven strain to help eliminate variables and perfect my AF grow. I want to share my tips and tricks for any beginners looking to try an autoflowering strain.

As a side note, on my last set of 3 grows, I was able to push some of my AF plants to produce over 2 oz each. For a plant that's barely 1 foot tall, that is amazing... atleast in my mind!





First and foremost, you must ask yourself if an autoflowering strain is right for you! AF strains are a good choice for three different scenarios:

A) You are already growing normal cannabis and want to fill the remainder of your grow space with smaller plants that will come to harvest quicker.

B) You are brand new to growing cannabis and want to ease yourself into the process.

C) You are ONLY growing for personal use and prefer quality over quantity. (This is only true when using TESTED and PROVEN af strains) In other words, AF strains are NOT good for commercial profit/caregiver growing. (At least in my opinion.)






SUPPLIES:

Containers: 3.3 gallon round plastic pots.(The bigger the better - 2.0 gallon minimum)

Grow Medium: Fox Farm Ocean Forest

Nutes/Supplements: Fox Farm Grow Big, Big Bloom, Tiger Bloom and Grandma's Blackstrap Molasses

Lighting: 18x 26w CFL bulbs

Space: Aprox 6 square feet of grow space (my cabinets are 1.5'x4')






LETS BEGIN!

IMPORTANT: Your light regiment is 24/0 for the ENTIRE GROW.


1) Germinate seed as you would normally. (If you have never, there are plenty of great guides on this site.) I soak in water for 24 hours and then place between damp paper towels until tap roots emerge.

2) Plant seeds with tap roots DIRECTLY into 3.3 gallon pots. Cover pots with plastic wrap until they have sprouted. (It is very important to plant your af varieties directly into their final containers. This will minimize stress at the beginning of the grow.)

3) Water your plants regularly, every 4-6 days at the beginning. Later on it will decrease to every 3-4 days. Remember to check your soil. If the top inch or so is crusty dry, it's time to water. It is VERY IMPORTANT that you do not allow your AF plants to get too dry and start drooping. This can dramatically effect the final size of the plant.

4) NO NUTRIENTS/SUPPLEMENTS until atleast week 7. Fox Farms Ocean Forest potting soil is perfect for AF plants because the soil will stay hot for about 6 weeks! I cannot over stress this point. Through trial and error I have found that if you feed your plants before week 6 (in FFOF soil) they will burn VERY easily.

5) At the beginning of week 6 I give them a half dose of grow big.

6) At the beginning of week 7 I give them a quarter dose of Tiger Bloom, full dose of Big Bloom and 1 tblsp of blackstrap molasses

7) At week 8 - Half dose tiger bloom, full dose Big Bloom, 1 tblsp BSM

8) At week 9 - 2 TBLS BSM

9) At week 10 - FLUSH FLUSH FLUSH!

10) Two days before harvest, I shut the lights off and lock the cabinets for 2 days.

11) REAP YOUR REWARDS! AF strains can be VERY VERY potent if grown correctly. They can also end up being pure shit if neglected.


Again, this is just an intro guide for beginners. I know that when I first started growing AF strains, there was no definitive guide for an AF nutrient schedule. This was one of the hardest things for me to figure out.

I hope this helps any aspiring Af grower!
Click to expand...
 
Damage2013 said:
Hey, I have a couple of questions as a 1st time grower...
1) I'm going to be attempting to grow "Auto White Widow" indoors which supposedly has a grow rate of just 7 weeks, so going off your grow instructions, I would be well off on the time scale. What would you recommend?

2) Sounds really stupid, but what do you have to do to "flush"?

3) I've got very limited space and require complete discretion, (probably got a walk in cupboard about 4ft deep by 3ft wide), will this be a big enough space for the 1 plant and the use of a high powered lighting set up?

Cheers
Click to expand...
it took me 11 weeks
 
I disagree with many of the concepts here. I do believe at the time the OP made this thread he was right in what he posted though. I think Autos have become much hardier and stable in the psst few years.

I have never had a nute burn or od with an auto. And I have fed them as early as 14 DAYS OLD. With foxfarms and doggett and simspon.

I have transplanted autosand had no shock as well. Matter of fact I pretty much always transplant them form a red party cup into my finishing pot.
I also think 24-0 is not the best schedule for persnal growers. 24-0 is how companies advertize 55 days or 60 day. The dont care about quality or weight when talking lights. They want that fast finish number. I think 18-6 or even 12-12 as Donpaul.p has suggested is better. Im running 2 on 12-12 from 2weeks old now and Ill update my findings.
:green_heart:
 
I have a couple AF Himalayan blue diesel plants going now. I also agree that 24/0 is too much it seems, from what I've researched. I'm on 18/6 right now and starting a nutrient regiment next week.
 
Hello! Lovely guide you have here.

It's very to the point but I know next to nothing.
As my thumb is white and fungal I would be greatly indebted for some specifics.

I've no experience with herbal growing and just want to get my wife high.
Please forgive my misunderstandings and basic questions.

24/0. So the lights are on 24 hours a day?

I also assume I can just use 2 6.5k's and 1 2.7k if I just want 1 plant.

How high above the plants should the lights be? And how should the lights be spaced from one another?

The temperature has an effect I'm sure, how about humidity levels?

I have a closet under the stairs about 8 feet long, and 3 feet wide, and 3 feet tall.
This is why I ask about where the lights should be relative to the plants.

Also. Is fresh air a concern. Should I ventilate frequently(daily) if they are in a confined space?

I'm sure I have more questions but I should do some googling.
Thank you for your time.

McDank
 
Just gor my seed from OSSC today, ordered all auto's> I will be using a GroBlu LED that I friggin spent 800.00 on, but I have had awesome results with it. I will start a journal with photos in the next week.
 
wow :nicethread:this was the best thread i have read on this whole damn site . very easy to understand ..:goodjob: i have searched for hrs on this site for the answers i just received..i just started my first auto\fem journal yesterday would love for u to sit in on my grow ..

Drama's Indoor - RV - Autofem Grow Journal

my seeds are germinating now . i know from reading autos dont like to b transplanted so ... should i put them str8 into 3 gallon pots or should i use peat pots and then put that into the 3 gallon pot or maybe solo cups with the bottoms cut out and put that str8 into the 3 gallon pots ?

thanks again for being here to help. you are the only person i understood 100%
 
hey Drama!

Sorry for the delay, i'm not on the site everyday like I used to be.

I'll head over to your thread and see if I can give any advice.
 
I just want to say thank you Bongtastic for this excellent guide. You answered so many questions that I had. I am on Day 6 of my first grow ever and I am following everything you said. So far so good!! :thumb:

I just have a question for when I start my nutes. On the weeks where I have to give my plant multiple nutes(week 7 and 8) do I mix them all together? And also, how many times a week do i give it the nutes?
 
I also have to complement this!! I have been looking for a simple explanation on growing AFs and luckily I found this. So I signed up just because of your thread. Thank you so very much :)

I couldn't find if anyone asked, what is the reason for molasses? I have never heard/read of using it....
 
Hey Bongtastic. i have a question about pruning i am growing a single auto flower in the same conditions as you apart from i only i have one 150watt cfl lamp over the plant so the lower leaves and tiny lower tops do not get much light would you recommend pruning the lower tops that will only produce tiny worthless buds so that the upper buds get more nutrients ? or will this stress the plant too much ?
 
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