Auto-Flower basics guide

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time4tokin20s

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The original auto-flowering strain was created by The Joint Doctor and Highbred seeds.This is the revolutionary Lowryer.It was created by back breeding Northern Lights and William's Wonder with a Mexican Ruderalis.The amazing thing about this new strain was that the only Ruderalis trait left was the auto-flowering gene.This means that flowering is triggered by age rather then light/dark schedule.

The lifetime of the plants is short, lasting only 9 - 11 weeks.Within 2 weeks males will show themselves with the female showing around a week after that.From there the females go into a quick and violent flowering stage.They only reach an average highth of 12" with average harvests of 25 grams give or take depending on growing conditions.Giving it maximum stealth outside with up to three harvests a year.The size of the containers used will dramasticly effect size.Most growers use 1 - 2 gallon containers and can get well over an ounce out of each plant.

Due to the quick lifespan cloning becomes impracticable and is only grown from seeds.Since a separate light schedule isn't needed a grower can vegetate and flower in the same area.This creates new possibilities for small or macro operations.A small grow area can sustain a continuous S.O.G. giving a fresh harvest every few weeks.Most auto growers keep their lights at 18/6 or 20/4.A 12/12 schedule will dramatically hurt the final yield.

After the benefits of auto's was realized breeders began playing with them trying to make them bigger,stronger,and more potent.After Lowryder came Lowryder 2, also by the Joint doctor and using Santa Maria genetics.From these two strains a vast array of strains have been created in the last few years.With Low Life seeds, Mdanzig, and Dutchbreed joining to the new auto movement.Some of these new strains are said to have up to 23% Thc!
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Here are some of the strains available on the market -

Joint Doctor Highbred seeds- Lowryder , Lowrider 2 , Dieselryder , Snowryder(?)

Low Life Seeds- Automatic AK-47 , Automatic Blueberry, Automatic Lemon Skunk, Automatic White Russian, Automatic Hindu Kush

Mdanzig seeds- Masterlow, Power Stout, Blue Streak

Dutchbreed- Lowberry, Blue Barrel, Little Red Ryderhood, Lowryder Mint, Low Master, Mini Thunderfuck, Short Term Amnesia

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Here is the Joint Doctors grow guide for the original Lowryder-


OFFICIAL LOWRYDER GROW GUIDE (10/04) - written by the Joint doctor

Preferred growing methods

Indoors, Lowryder performs very well in soil mix (pots or beds) or in soil-less systems, where it can be cultivated from seed to bud in two months – 18 hours of light per day is recommended all the way through. Switching light cycles down to 12 hours may diminish yields and shorten the already-short life cycle slightly. Because Lowryder’s life cycle is so brief, cloning becomes impracticable, so only plants from seed are grown. By default, Lowryder is a great choice for sea-of-green.

Because flowering plants and seedlings can be maintained in the same room, Lowryder presents new possibilities for the small to medium home grower, including “staggering” your indoor harvest. A true continuous harvest system may be achieved by planting new plants periodically to replace the ones that have been harvested. This ensures that a grow
room is always full and always producing fresh bud, and one never has too much work at once. Click here to learn more about the Joint Doctor’s “1-2-3” continuous harvest method.

For best results, place jiffy pellet or plant directly into 1-2 gal.pots. Alternatively, start in 4-inch peat pots, then place
rootbound females into a plant bed after sexing (at approx. 17-20 days) – this may result in smaller plants than the first method. Grown under a 12 to 24 hour/daylight cycle from start to finish. I recommend 18 hours per day; this can be decreased to 16 after the first month with no loss of yield.


Outdoors: sow directly into soil after soaking, in 2 gal. pots or plant beds. New stands of Lowryder can be planted up until late summer, to ensure a continuous harvest outdoors. Avoid transplanting if you can, but do so if plants become rootbound. Rogue (remove) males at three weeks.


Growth Factors

Lowryder is extremely versatile in that it can be cultivated in virtually any climate or grow environment. In fact, it has pushed the envelope of growing, enabling early harvests in unlikely places like Finland, the North West Territories, and other northern, short-season, or high altitude areas. It is also well-adapted to backyard gardens, windowsills and patios where plants can be easily concealed because of their tiny size.

Nothing will mature earlier or faster than Lowryder! When other varieties have barely begun flowering, Lowryder outdoor growers are kicking up their feet and already enjoying their fresh harvests.


Characteristics

Lowryder virtually does away with the vegetative growth stage: it passes almost immediately from the seedling stage to the flowering period. To our knowledge, Lowryder has the shortest known life cycle and height in the cannabis species.
Male plants may be identified as such after approx. 17-20 days, while females show themselves a couple days later. Plants will even flower under a continuous light regime.

Lowryder females usually grow no taller than 16-20 inches. 12-16 inches is typical. Light intensity, pot size, and proper pH all play an important role in determining the size of plants at maturity – the better the conditions, the bigger the yield. Plants produce one main cola, although when they receive adequate light, lower nodes branch out profusely.

Yield and height are dependent on obvious growth factors. For example, plants kept in small peat cups on a windowsill may yield as little as 1 g. and grow no taller than 6 inches, with no branching whatsoever; while a plant in a 4-gallon container under high-intensity lighting and good cultivation methods, can turn into a profusely branched, two-foot wide 45-gram bud monster.


Fertilizer: During the first two weeks of growth, Lowryder should be weekly light feedings of a “grow” type nutrient solution, with micronutrients. When plants pass into full flower, they should be started on a “bloom” regime for weeks 4 through 6. Mycorise-type biological amendments (root stimulators) seem to increase growth significantly.

Average flowering time
Indoors: 40-45 days (after a 15-20 day seedling stage)
Outdoors: ripens approx. 60 days after seed is sown.
Note: 100% of plants display the auto-flowering genotype.

AVERAGE HEIGHT
12 inches. Minimum: 5 inches, maximum 16 inches (very light-dependent, with slight phenotype variations).

YIELD
Depending on light and other factors, Lowryder yields up to 45 g – one report even claims 96 g for one exceptional plant under hydroponics. Extremely light-dependent in terms of yield. Without adequate conditions, plants may stay extremely small, almost comically so – but still produce a decent smoke.

Buds are compacted close-quartered, slightly irregular and variable, with high bud/leaf ratio. Thick pistils, with orange coloration, and medium-sized, individual calyxes. Tends to be top-heavy indoors. Typically, budding sites start very close to the ground.

High is uplifting, surprisingly strong. Well-rounded. Best suited for outdoor activities. Smoke is smooth with pleasant, earthy undertones. Smell is not overpowering. Unique flavor, with echoes of NL and William’s Wonder in the bouquet.

JD on nutes:

I get a lot of requests for more info on nutrient needs for Lowryder. This is a hard question to answer as it depends how much money you want to shell out for nutrient products.

I get Advanced Nutrient products (many say the best) at a discount and I have adapted their formula for my own use. Advanced Nutrients provides a complete program for an 8-week grow and has a guide for different growing mediums.

For the first two weeks, I use what they recommend for seedlings.

Then I use the Micro 2+ Light Feeding program for the rest of their life cycle. I usually skip week 3 and 5 to bring it down to a 6 week program which I begin as soon as LRs are sexed.

I know it sounds complicated. Obviously all this is not needed.

As a rule of thumb, treat Lowryders like seedlings for the first 2-3 weeks, then switch them onto a light bloom program. So, you feed them a seedling/transplanting formula the first 2 weeks, then switch to a bloom fertilizer with something like a 5-10-5 or 1-2-1 ratio of N-P-K.

Give them a feeding of bloom fertilizer every week on weeks 3,4,5,6. Just pH-balanced water on week 7. Flushing solution on week 8.

...or for organic freaks, just plant into organic soil mix with bat guano mixed in... and put away the calculator... .
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I'm sure I forgot some stuff because I'm smoking the subject.So if anyone wants to add anything or has any questions feel free to ask.Don't forget to check out some of the great auto flower grow journals from our members.You will be amazed by some of these grows.
 
What experience do you all have with transplanting autos? I'd like to transplant after sexing to maximize my space for flowering, but I'm not sure if I'm giving up more yield than if I would just put all the seedlings into the right size containers so that I wouldn't have to. If I was positive that I could get the two ounces a piece that some see, I would just go with the bigger containers. Unfortunately, I rent my living arrangements, and to sustain my wife and I, we would need to run the space we have (2.5 x 6 ft.) all the time. Due to routine maintenance in the summer, and yearly inspections, this just isn't possible.
 
No offense at all, but I really don't understand the purpose of an autoflowering strain. I can flower a plant whenever I want already. :confused2:
 
mistisrising said:
What experience do you all have with transplanting autos? I'd like to transplant after sexing to maximize my space for flowering, but I'm not sure if I'm giving up more yield than if I would just put all the seedlings into the right size containers so that I wouldn't have to. If I was positive that I could get the two ounces a piece that some see, I would just go with the bigger containers. Unfortunately, I rent my living arrangements, and to sustain my wife and I, we would need to run the space we have (2.5 x 6 ft.) all the time. Due to routine maintenance in the summer, and yearly inspections, this just isn't possible.

Once the taproot is stopped it supposedly will stunt the growth but as long as you don't get too root bound you should be alright.
Did you ever find those tall containers?I saw some planter bags somewhere that looked fairly tall and skinny.If I find it again I'll send you the link.
 
Time4, I never got to really look yet. I've been all over the internet, but I can't seen to find anything suitable, (I'm pretty sure you said that in your thread). My room isn't quite finished yet, and I've been scoping outdoors for next year, so between that and my two jobs pots seem to have fallen to the back burner. Bags would rock, maleable and thin. I haven't seen any that were too thin though, seems like they would fall over.
 
godspeedsuckah said:
No offense at all, but I really don't understand the purpose of an autoflowering strain. I can flower a plant whenever I want already. :confused2:


also you dont have 2 change the light schedule so if u only have 1 area 2 grow u can veg and flower in the same space...i keep my lights on 18/6
 
I have planted lowlife automix and belive me the size of the pot matters. plants started in jiffy pots did not get but only a third as large as the ones planted directly into 2 gallon pots. Also the outdoor plants are not as large as the indoor plants on 20/4. my reccomendation (for what it is worth) is to plant directly into 2 gallon pots and keep on 20/4 lighting. my next grow will be deisel ryder or auto ak47.
 
time4tokin20s said:
Did you ever find those tall containers?I saw some planter bags somewhere that looked fairly tall and skinny.If I find it again I'll send you the link.

I was at walmart yesterday and saw them. Freaking five bucks each, wish I didn't need fifty of 'em. That's like three hundred bucks with tax. I guess the end result will more than make up for it, but the initial start up costs are slaying me right now.
 
mistisrising said:
I was at walmart yesterday and saw them. Freaking five bucks each, wish I didn't need fifty of 'em. That's like three hundred bucks with tax. I guess the end result will more than make up for it, but the initial start up costs are slaying me right now.

Yea,I need 24 of them.I think I've got 16 so far.I've sunk a lot in this investment but it's gonna have to keep me in bud for a least a year.Until I can get a good harvest outside after my devastating season this year.
 
time4tokin20s said:
Yea,I need 24 of them.I think I've got 16 so far.I've sunk a lot in this investment but it's gonna have to keep me in bud for a least a year.Until I can get a good harvest outside after my devastating season this year.

I'm trying to get what I need for the year out of two harvests at the most. I figure half oz a week for a year is 26 ozs. Times two (wife and I), means we're looking at trying to produce this in a closet in as little time as possible, considering we rent. So two harvests of 25 autos is less than six months, and would make my outdoor a lot easier. Since there's more risk in the outdoor crop, I'd like to do it mostly for fun, and sativa. Any extra could go to her sister, or my other buddies wife, both of them have some illnesses that mj eases.
 
mistisrising said:
I'm trying to get what I need for the year out of two harvests at the most. I figure half oz a week for a year is 26 ozs. Times two (wife and I), means we're looking at trying to produce this in a closet in as little time as possible, considering we rent. So two harvests of 25 autos is less than six months, and would make my outdoor a lot easier. Since there's more risk in the outdoor crop, I'd like to do it mostly for fun, and sativa. Any extra could go to her sister, or my other buddies wife, both of them have some illnesses that mj eases.

Why not start like I did?I started 4,then 2 weeks later 4 more,and so on.That way you don't have to buy all the pots at once and it really keeps down on the smell.Then you can have a fresh harvest every two weeks.
 
time4tokin20s said:
Why not start like I did?I started 4,then 2 weeks later 4 more,and so on.That way you don't have to buy all the pots at once and it really keeps down on the smell.Then you can have a fresh harvest every two weeks.

I would love to do that, but I rent my home, and the house is older. So, we have the local code enforcement coming through once a year for a rental property inspection, then the property management company, plus they're in here twice more to service the a/c unit in the spring, and the heater in the fall. That's if nothing breaks in the place. They only look around twice, but why take the chance? I have children and a disabled wife, I can't take that chance.
 
hey guys im thinking of starting my first grow with these little guys but i wanted to know if i should change the bulbs from mh, hps. i have a digital 400 watts. will be lighting 18/6. thanx for any suggestions
 
daf said:
hey guys im thinking of starting my first grow with these little guys but i wanted to know if i should change the bulbs from mh, hps. i have a digital 400 watts. will be lighting 18/6. thanx for any suggestions

I don't quite understand.Do you have a conversion bulb and want to know when to switch over or are you asking if you need to change the lights altogether?
 
my bad, yes i do have a conversion bulb wanted to know when to switch the bulbs
 
daf said:
my bad, yes i do have a conversion bulb wanted to know when to switch the bulbs

Ok,The males will show after two weeks and the females at three.So if you're doing one grow at a time switch at three weeks.If you want to stretch out your harvest you can just keep your HPS in at all times and add a few cfl's or grow tubes to handle the short veg times.That way you can start a few every couple weeks.They also make HPS bulbs that have some veg spectrum in them that will work for a continuous harvest.
 
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