Autoflower plant-which bulb to use?

T

THC1138

Active Member
Hi All. First time poster, long time lurker. I wanted to first thank everyone for their questions and answers, so much useful information here and it's really cool to see everyone sharing it so kindly. :bigjoint: I love reading about other member's projects and gardens. Great site.

I have searched the site and around the interweb and haven't been able to figure out which type of bulb I should be putting an auto flowering plant under?

I am going to give it 18/6, and am planning to use soil but which light do I put her under? MH or HPS? or should I be changing lights at any point in her short life? I was assuming MH since it's all about the growth but the autoflower/no veg state makes me think maybe it might appreciate the HPS bulb more.

What do other autoflower growers use? Do you switch at any point? I'm also really interested in any other tips or techniques autoflower growers might be using or can recommend.

I am attempting to grow Shortrider from Nirvana seeds. This is my second grow but first attempt with a 400W HID, I used bag seed under flouros for my first 'learning experience'.

I'm posting this in the newbie section just to be sure that I don't upset any of the veterans with my starter questions, I know it's more of a strain or grow specific question. Mods please move if I posted this in the wrong section. Also it might be a dumb question, so newbie section :D

Thanks in advance everyone and keep up the good info sharing. :peace:
 
danrasta

danrasta

Well-Known Member
Yea i forgot say start them under the flouros for the first week as there delicate then, Yea i grew lowryder#2 under a 400w but i had them on 12-12 cause i had other plants in flower is well and results wernt to bad yield and OZ from two plants that were in small pots and cut early so i was pretty happy!
 
T

THC1138

Active Member
danrasta said:
Yea i forgot say start them under the flouros for the first week as there delicate then, Yea i grew lowryder#2 under a 400w but i had them on 12-12 cause i had other plants in flower is well and results wernt to bad yield and OZ from two plants that were in small pots and cut early so i was pretty happy!
Click to expand...
Awesome thanks. So flouros for a week while they get strong then I can 18/6 them under an HPS? I thought I might split the time between MH and HPS, like get some good growth for a few weeks then HPS for the reminainder. What do ya think of that idea?

Any other tips or advice? Thanks again.
 
danrasta

danrasta

Well-Known Member
If you man a MH yea you should def use it and just switch to hps when they start to flower! best of look with it man
 
T

THC1138

Active Member
danrasta said:
If you man a MH yea you should def use it and just switch to hps when they start to flower! best of look with it man
Click to expand...
Thanks Dan. I picked up a digital ballast so I do have the option.

So run it similar to a typical grow then? MH for the initial growth period and HPS once she starts to flower. Sounds simple enough.

I don't have to switch it to 12/12 when I flower do I? I know that's what you had done Dan, but from what I read I was under the impression I could run 18/6 from start to finish. Is that wrong? I guess I just assumed it was under the same type of bulb. To the lab!

Thanks again.
 
danrasta

danrasta

Well-Known Member
THC1138 said:
Thanks Dan. I picked up a digital ballast so I do have the option.

So run it similar to a typical grow then? MH for the initial growth period and HPS once she starts to flower. Sounds simple enough.

I don't have to switch it to 12/12 when I flower do I? I know that's what you had done Dan, but from what I read I was under the impression I could run 18/6 from start to finish. Is that wrong? I guess I just assumed it was under the same type of bulb. To the lab!

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

Yea you need to switch to 12-12 at all i just done cause i had other plants that were not autos:bigjoint:
 
smoker715

smoker715

Active Member
i have Nirvana fem short rider beans but am waiting till my bagseeds are done, since this is my first grow. i read that it will autoflower with any kinda light regiment. hope that true. never dealt with af b4..goodluck
 
(Butters)

(Butters)

Well-Known Member
Auto grower here.

-Use your MH until you see gender (males will be first to show). Once you see gender/preflowers, get the HPS going (should be no more than 3 weeks depending on autocross).

-Careful with the feeding. Autos are sensitive and react poorly to large jumps in ppm. Slow and gradual is the way to go (I'm all hydro so I'm not sure how this would work with soil).

-Possibly re-evaluate the 18/6 schedule to 20/4. While lowryders are good at 18/6, most of the auto crosses do better at 20/4 (check Nirvana's site for definate on this).

-Depending on the amount of plants you plan on growing at once, think about "lollipopping" them to fit all comfortably under the 400hps (should cover a 4' x 4' space comfortably). Many of these autos will grow as much (if not more) horizontally as they do vertically. Close together, they'll be fighting for the light and producing wispy, tiny, and rather useless buds at the bottom (wasted plant energy). With lollipopping, there won't be as much competition for the light and will improve overall yield and consistency.

-If your seeds aren't fem'd, research pollen collecting procedures on this site so that you don't have to buy anymore seeds. With a 400w HPS, it would be easy for ya to do a sort of smallish sea of green so you don't run low and don't need to seperate vegging plants from flowering (gotta love their consistent light cycle).

Best of luck bro! Hope this helps. I have included the link to an autoflowering thread as well.

https://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/199319-autoflower-thread-resource-guide.html
 
T

THC1138

Active Member
(Butters) said:
Auto grower here.

-Use your MH until you see gender (males will be first to show). Once you see gender/preflowers, get the HPS going (should be no more than 3 weeks depending on autocross).

-Careful with the feeding. Autos are sensitive and react poorly to large jumps in ppm. Slow and gradual is the way to go (I'm all hydro so I'm not sure how this would work with soil).

-Possibly re-evaluate the 18/6 schedule to 20/4. While lowryders are good at 18/6, most of the auto crosses do better at 20/4 (check Nirvana's site for definate on this).

-Depending on the amount of plants you plan on growing at once, think about "lollipopping" them to fit all comfortably under the 400hps (should cover a 4' x 4' space comfortably). Many of these autos will grow as much (if not more) horizontally as they do vertically. Close together, they'll be fighting for the light and producing wispy, tiny, and rather useless buds at the bottom (wasted plant energy). With lollipopping, there won't be as much competition for the light and will improve overall yield and consistency.

-If your seeds aren't fem'd, research pollen collecting procedures on this site so that you don't have to buy anymore seeds. With a 400w HPS, it would be easy for ya to do a sort of smallish sea of green so you don't run low and don't need to seperate vegging plants from flowering (gotta love their consistent light cycle).

Best of luck bro! Hope this helps. I have included the link to an autoflowering thread as well.

https://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/199319-autoflower-thread-resource-guide.html
Click to expand...
Thanks Butters. I am using fem'd seeds, I may try a mixed batch for my next run and try to produce a few beans myself. I'm gonna get the growing part figured out first but I appreciate the help.

thanks again.
 
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