Hey there, SF!
Glad to have you here catching up, lots of quiet watchers so no biggie...
As far as autos, Yes, stick around and you may see something you like.
First thing- Topping YES. I see a lot of growers around here questioning whether it would have time to recover, etc...The answer is yes. It will recover and have 2 heads, which simply becomes part of a system of heads, and the more the better. Anyone who doesn't believe it can look back through 18 months of me growing autos (my first ever) and see what I did to make it work.
This current auto got topped at 19 days. Generally topping comes between 12-20 days (for me). It literally takes 1 day to recover if the plant is growing/thriving properly. Training starts right after. Lots of people clip at the 3rd or 4th node and Quadline. I've had good results with that, but even better with Hexlines and Octolines. My last GSC auto was Octolined and produced 10 oz dried. I still clip above the 4th normally.
I think a lot of people assume that once it starts flowering, the growing is basically done. That couldn't be further from the truth. I've had them stretch to 3-4x their original size after flower started. ALL BUD in that stretch. Training starts right after topping and continues until it doesn't need it anymore...
When I put my first auto seed in the dirt, I expected nothing but problems and smaller crops. Now I can't imagine NOT growing them.
One of the biggest advantages of autos (for me) is their immunity to light leaks and power outages, which happen here frequently. Lights go out on a
photo plant for 2-3 days, you're basically f**cked without backup.
On an auto, it will just keep plugging away like nothing ever happened once that light comes back on. No special treatment needed.
People will say the THC level is lacking...well I haven't noticed, and I smoke all day every day. The taste definitely isn't lacking, either.
On a side note-
Some will say you can't clone them. I have.
Some will say you can't breed them. I have.
Some say you can't up-pot them. I have.
Some will say they are harder to grow than photos. I disagree. I've grown photos for 30 years.
Some will say they are too temperamental and easy to shock. All plants are. It takes finesse to do things right.
Hope this is helpful in some way for anyone wanting to grow autos. I love autos and believe them to be very misunderstood and misjudged. Try them again, they've changed