Yeah. That seed run came from 2 plants. And I said "screw it...I'm not just gonna pollinate one branch...I'll just pollinate them all...3 times each month". It was a bit overkill I guess but I hadn't done a seedrun before and wanted to make sure I got enough...oops.
I've combed through more autogrows than I can count for the past 8 months or so, and most people's take home off of them is usually about 1 oz (usually soil).
That being said, my lowryder 2 grown in DiggityDanks 3-gallon DIY rubbermaid bubbler, with just a 150w HPS on it, with Fox farm Hydro nutes, pulled me 3 oz. Took me 3 months cuz i stunted the hell outta her for the 1st month, but they usually go 8-10 weeks seed to harvest.
So yield can be very good. But i would recommend hydro IMO.
Size will vary quite a bit. Usually around 1 ft. But the ruderalis-crosses tend to get taller (2 ft).
As far as quality, I've only tried Auto AK47, Auto Ak47 x Auto Blueberry, lowryder 2, and Auto White Russian. The crosses are the real key to quality. My lr2 messes me up real good. But the Auto AK and Auto BB x Auto AK have a more high-thc kick to them. Heard real good thing about the diesel-cross too.
Quality will suffer. I don't think the strongest auto- strain will ever be as strong as the strongest regular strain.
But it's not all that far off. Cross-selection is limited so far, but increasing like each month on most of the major seedbanks.
As far as advantages I found:
1) Shorter Grow Cycle. the crosses go 10 weeks, just 2 weeks less than many non-auto strains. but the important part of the 10 weeks comes into play when we discuss light cycle.
2) Nutes. They barely take any. couldn't even get to 900ppm safely with the 3 oz lr2. And that is NOT a plant known for yield at all. That smaller size of FF hydro nutes...I could easily get through 25 plants before needing to buy more...probably quite a bit more than 25 plants.
3) Impossible To Kill. Okay, so maybe this is an overstatement. But my environment would run over 90, have humidity well below 30% early grow and then well over 60% late in the grow. I let algae go for 2.5 weeks...I actually was STUPID enough to let the algae go for 2.5 weeks
. Didn't check ph for 2.5 weeks (and it was way high)...
...And she lived. She was dead for awhile, hence the 3 week stunt (from the algae issue...and possibly others). But she lived, and once she got her grow environment right, and her grower got off his lazy ass
shock
, she lived...and managed to give 3 oz. The seed run was even worse temps, RHs, pHs, and ppms...but they didnt stunt and gave over 1000 seeds.
The grow simplicity of these autos, at least what I've experienced, is nothing short of incredible. Like Jason Vorhees from Friday The 13th...they just won't die.
4) Light Cycle & The Limited Space SOG. With no space to form 2 chambers to get a real sog grow, but still wanting to get a constant supply, the autos give a new option.
Looking at gypsybush's and Al B's sog grows is great...but i didn't have that space at 1st (and cloning seemed like too much work for me). But I was fine with one room, one light cycle, and just seeds. So, I could use Al B's - Get A Harvest Every 2 Weeks design by just planting however many autos I wanted to harvest every 2 weeks (times 2...cuz of the males)
.
One room or One tent. One SOG. Constant harvest in small space.
IMO, this is their biggest advantage in the cultivation community.
Disadvantages I found:
1) Higher Light Bill. At either 18/6 or 20/4, and heavier lighting sources, you'll notice a change in the bill.
2) We discussed quality drawbacks already.
3) From Seed Only. Long story short, cloning autos is not a viable means. They are from seed only grows. Working from seed means variation in plants, unlike clones. Have to deal with germ rate and early growth issues. Also, you need alot of seeds to do a sog/perpetual as you'll hav to kill 1/2 of your plants.
3) The Sausage Party. From seed, you have to deal with about 50% males. In a SOG, this can be a pain (tangled roots in hydro, a small risk of pollination if you can't manage to identify the males quick enough, wasted nutes). This tangled-roots-thing is actually a MAJOR hangup in the sog idea with hydro. Once those roots tangle, you will damage the roots of the ladies by pulling out the males (but again...they won't die, just stunt). And seperate, smaller rez's = smaller plants and less yield. Same issue with soil/hempy/coco growing, smaller containers needed. I'm still working on a DIY tub design that can solve this problem so the roots won't tangle yet rez size can stay the same.
As for the current need for seperate chambers. Well, I moved my growspace to a space i didn't have available before (and didn't think i would). And it's a much better growing environment (even though it's a real pain for the meantime). And i have lovely non-autoflowering strains available to try new weed (cuz i'm too impatient).
And, if need be, i can continue to use my closet that I used and my 150w hps with cheapo set up to supplement my supply.
But, when I get serious about startin up a SOG with minimal work...the autos will be my choice easily.
I would highly recommend their consideration with a reasonable tent size set up or closet grow where 2 chambers may not be an option.
Butters