Quick question here guys!

I am planing on growing 365 days a year... So I am thinking that auto flowering is the way to go... I live in Northern California and this would be a balcony grow! The weather here is just turning good here and I have a crop about 3 to four weeks away from harvest under more then enough LED lights then any plant should have to endure... So any input guys? Auto Flower???

Why do you believe that autos are the way to go? They produce less and IMO the quality simply does not compare with the photo period strains.

How much light do you have your plants under in how much space?

Not if you're looking for the 'best' product. Not if you're wanting an identical product repeatedly. Not if you're wanting to maximize your potential...."IMHP"

Regular flowering and clones the only way to go if you want the easiest most effective growing method.
I have no clue why auto's unless it's aimed at outdoor for multiple harvests.
Despite that Chemdawg post around here somewhere. Still not quite sure about those yields. :confused2: but I'll bite my tongue...i'm just a skeptic

Wow really guys? ...I am new at this and I want to grow year around... Most seed adds state that you harvest in October... So I figured that if they were auto flowering that I could control the timing... How do people grow year around? ... Mine are a balcony grow... They get some florescent, Led lighting and the real thing a few hours a day... I will get more sun on my deck in the winter...

Auto are better for indoors because they will flower without a dark period, I'm not an auto guy but I think growing them outdoors will reduce yield and quality, if your growing outside you need to wait for the seasons to change for bloom. Tell us more about your grow, why not just grow inddors so you can control light cycles.

1 Dank quick finishing regular photoperiod mom.
Clones from said mom get rooted and vegged for 2 weeks or so.

Once that is completed you are a flip to 12/12 away from harvest in as little as 7 weeks with the right pheno of the right strain.
Best part is the smoke will be better then auto smoke and you only had to run your lights 12 hours a day for 7 weeks instead of 18/6 or even 24/0.:doh:
And like Hick said you don't have to roll the dice each time with seeds. You know you are getting a Dank plant every frigging time. Oh and did I mention you don't have to keep buying beans like with autos?

Put an auto or two on your balcony if ya must but get a cpl tents and you can grow year round and grow Dank.

Not hating on autos, just pointing out the other alternative to those wanting quick multiple harvests. Once you get it down you just keep turning out the Fire.:hubba:

JMO

Stone again! said:

Wow really guys? ...I am new at this and I want to grow year around... Most seed adds state that you harvest in October... So I figured that if they were auto flowering that I could control the timing... How do people grow year around? ... Mine are a balcony grow... They get some florescent, Led lighting and the real thing a few hours a day... I will get more sun on my deck in the winter...

Click to expand...

Yes, really.

What kind of climate do you have? What are your low temps in winter? How are you doing artificial light and natural light? If you can grow autos year round, you can grow photo strains year round. Actually, autos require MORE light than photo strains and are probably harder to grow outside year round, especially in winter with so few hours of light. If you are growing inside under artificial lighting, it doesn't matter. You might want to do a little more reading so you understand the life cycle of autos and photo strains and the lighting schedules required for each.

Be careful of taking plants inside and out. This is a good way to bring pests and diseases into your inside grow space.

The Hemp Goddess said:

Yes, really.

What kind of climate do you have? What are your low temps in winter? How are you doing artificial light and natural light? If you can grow autos year round, you can grow photo strains year round. Actually, autos require MORE light than photo strains and are probably harder to grow outside year round, especially in winter with so few hours of light. If you are growing inside under artificial lighting, it doesn't matter. You might want to do a little more reading so you understand the life cycle of autos and photo strains and the lighting schedules required for each.

Be careful of taking plants inside and out. This is a good way to bring pests and diseases into your inside grow space.

Click to expand...

To late! ... It's just gnats but still :rant:
The temp just jumped from 40* at night, 60+ days, to 60* nights, and 80+ days... It can get below freezing in the winter but I have five grow tents on my balcony and 22 1' X 1" Led lights and 7 Florescent...
Here is some pictures... Sorry! Very old camera...

Now this says leaps and bounds. you are a hybrid greenhouse grower.
cool. I dig lil set-ups like these. Hope you don't have company and stuff over tho.
but, you really need to click here read and come back
Then start asking questions.

http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9396

but you won't be producing much with that set up but will provide fun hobby grow that yields something.

To keep one self in herb it takes at least a 250w HPS and that is for a light smoker. I'm a qp every two months at least. depends on the level of stress around me. After this outdoor year I have to go at least 800w HPS flower with 250w MH veg and Flos (clones) indoor with 5x5 foot space just for flower.

Stone again! said:

To late! ... It's just gnats but still :rant:
The temp just jumped from 40* at night, 60+ days, to 60* nights, and 80+ days... It can get below freezing in the winter but I have five grow tents on my balcony and 22 1' X 1" Led lights and 7 Florescent...
Here is some pictures... Sorry! Very old camera...

Click to expand...

I would call those mini greenhouses, not tents. If you live in an area where the temps go below freezing in the winter, I am not sure that you will be able to grow year round unless you are willing to spend some (big) bucks heating your greenhouses.

IMO, your LED is too far away to be doing any kind of good for your plants. LEDs need to literally be right on top of the canopy (like an inch or so) as the light loses intensity very fast over distance, especially with lower wattage LEDs. What wattage and spectrum are your CFLs? They also have to be very close to be effective. You are going to need more/better light for flowering. If you are serious about this, I would look into a HPS as Mutt has suggested.

How are you going to provide darkness for 12 hours when you get ready to flower?

if you are growing on your balcony. autos are the way to go. get some MI5 goin and you will have a nice supply of dank on your hands

Dr.Autoflower said:

if you are growing on your balcony. autos are the way to go. get some MI5 goin and you will have a nice supply of dank on your hands

Click to expand...

Agreed. The beauty of autos is that they need no specific lighting. Granted the more the better but you could work something out with that set up. Let em bathe in the sun and then run the lights nice and close a few hours a night. You'll be good. One thing id say is that the pot makes the plant. Bigger is better. And as for the seed thing just buy a pack of reg seeds and seed one female out. You'll have a grip to last for a lot of grows.

I would agree, that for a balcony grow,
autos are the way to go. If you were going to sink the money into an indoor grow, I would go with photos, with mothers to supply cuttings.
But Never move from outdoors to indoors, only indoors to plant outdoors. Hence the pest problem on your indoor grow.

HomieHogleg