Why does everyone dislike Auto's?

DoubleAtotheRON said:

Oh!... one other question.. Will these autos do ok with a 12/12 flip with my others until they mature? I just came off of 18/6.

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I’ve ran auto’s next to photos in flower and they finished out fine. They just kept on flowering.

They're OK. They can be unpredictable, and like others here have said, if you mess up on some of them, you'll really eat it in the end. I've beaten some up and they didn't care. Others turned out so tiny or stunted and I couldn't figure out why, even if I never messed with em. I've had a few that just refused to flower and sat in my space eating and growing. It's kind of a crap shoot, or at least, my last few attempts with autos felt that way.

That said I'm on my third auto from Mephisto, and very impressed.

I plan on picking up some gear later this month, but I think I'm gonna let my stock of auto seeds run out (the Mephistos are the last).

1. I don't like the odd undertone of flavor that I detect in them.

2. I don't get the same kind of satisfaction from growing them.

The other day on the Dude Grows show, they were saying, adamantly, that Mephisto genetics is at the forefront of autos, with the very best and highest quality strains.

I don't have any experience with autos personally. But I would like to try sometime.

I did not read all of the posts before this but the OP's title caught my eye and I couldn't resist. I may be completely wrong here too, so take whatever I say with a grain of salt!

Here is my problem with Auto's:

1) Do you really think taking an elite cut from something like GG#4 and crossing it with a ruderalis which, by it's very nature, is extremely low in THC, is going to somehow be good?
2) We have these things called "timers" - google it if you aren't familiar with them. I would much rather run elite genetics on a 12/12 from seed (or very brief veg) AND have the ability to also veg for 4 months and then flower. With auto's, you are in control of nothing in regard to the *when*.

My 2 cents - for what it's worth.

They are lower potency, they are mostly smaller and yield less.

Also no control over veg and you cannot take clones, not to mention that terrible auto taste.

Wow, this has been very insightful! Thanks to all that contributed to this thread. I've now decided not to get autos when I am ready to move forward to growth.

I prefer higher strength with a yummy taste. I'm 99% sure my recent purchase was an auto. Tastes nasty and is NOT strong!

I don't like them, for only two reasons! I like to be able to control exactly how big my girl gets before I decide to flower! and second, you can't take clones from autos, well you can but it will still be at the same stage as the mom, just flowering away! that's my reasoning! good luck.

I will say this, I was pretty impressed with the 3 auto freebies I got with my reg fem seeds. BUT!.. you're all right, it's just plug and play, no control, smaller, etc. My photos are so much fun to play around with super cropping, topping, and I have time for that, and can do it as long as I want to. We'll see how these autos taste soon.

Autos are annoying in that they don't sync with the season. They can't be cloned, vegged or otherwise be controlled with light cycles. They can get in the genepool and cause problems by adding these traits to strains that are normally right on season. I will never purposely grow them and actively try to breed away from autoflower traits.

popular with outside gorilla growers I believe. And you can get more grows through the year outside (as they're not cycle dependent). I grow inside so autos would mean no repotting (they seem to prefer 'no stress' from my experience), less ferts (but with the higher risk of stressing from over nuting). The higher light/power costs really get me (18/4 seems to be a good reference point) for what you get, compared to a light dependent strain (running 12/12 or less). The big killer for me; when I get a good smoke 'keeper' from an auto. ..it's lost (as there is no mother cloning). Those last two are important to me.