newb here. i'm on my third run, and i grew autos in a 4x4btent for the first two runs. this third run is 1/2 autos and 1/2 photos. i'm planning on growing the autos outdoors and perhaps a couple of the photos as well. the tent will be used for the best 2 girls, once i've sexed the photos and given them a chance to veg a bit.
growing autos has been easy for me. i love to garden, so i have a bit of a green thumb to begin with... but even so, i have learned lessons on autos that i know will serve me well in the photos that are now germinating. how much to water, how often, how to feed, how to LST, how to defoliate, how to check for harvest readiness, how to monitor (and treat) pests like gnats, etc etc etc. the idea that autos are "hard" to grow hasn't panned out for me. i think there are a LOT of folks in the forums who have problems growing autos because they've likely never grown ANYTHING before and growing plants isn't second nature to them.
growing autos has also allowed me to turn over two runs in six months: run 1 germinated in october, harvested in january. run 2 germinated in december and harvested in march. i *wanted* the shorter grow cycle. and my eight autos have yielded me ~1.5# of perfectly smokeable weed that i've quite enjoyed for myself, as well as sharing with friends. i have about 20 oz of weed oil in the freezer too, for edibles.
would i have yielded a lot more weed with photos? no doubt. but i didn't *need* buckets of weed. i have plenty as it is, even if all my current seeds go tits up, to last me for months.
initially i purchased autos because yes, they were marketed as a shorter grow cycle, and i literally knew no one personally who had grown weed before so i did about 15 minutes of research online re: photos, regs, fem, autos, and decided that autos were a safe bet.
growing them in a tent allows me to control the environment and contain the odor - that was key as the first run has 2 skunk varieties that stunk the first day of flower and only got more intense in the following weeks.
here's my question: why does anyone care what anyone else is growing, whether it's photos or autos? i'm a "live and let live" kinda person and frankly i literally have never once in any of my waking moments gave one flying fuck what anyone else is growing.