Auto's Done Carty's Way

[joeb631a]

Auto Flowering... many folks give this a shot and walk away, why, because grow #1 was unsuccessful. You see, Autos really and truly are a different animal and thus have to be treated so.

Stunting is the biggest issue and IMHO #1 reason why this wonderful auto flowering style of MJ is talked down by so many with bad experiences. It's easy to do.

My journey began after a 4yr hiatus and deciding to get back into my hobby. smaller spaces dictated changes like small tents and more stealth. Hmmm? I was gifted a bunch of seeds that got crushed, the only 3 that made it was 3 Sour60 seeds I got 2 females and a male, made more seeds. thus the journey begins.

Since the F2 seeds I made were not feminized, I needed to start 12 to find 5 or 6 females hopefully. so starting 12 pots in 2 or 3gal felt is a LOT of soil and I cannot afford it and don't have room for
12 larger pots. so, this is where I decided to break my first rule I read about. "They" say to NOT transplant autos. given no choice I started mine in 1gal plastic nursery pots. you know, the el cheapos.

Here is my method after 8yrs or so of growing Autos..

My #1 DON'T rule... Starting in Solo Cups. IMO has something to do with the tap root being restricted early on. A photo period can outgrow this initial stunting as it stays in veg mode longer and can overcome. NOT an auto. plant will finish usually at about a foot or so. want bigger autos. Try my method..

Germinate seeds to the point 2" tails are exposed.. this keeps you from planting upside down on accident causing possible losses, been there, done that.
>>>> How I do it: Soak in good water overnight, give a stir, if seeds sink ready for step 2. place in damp paper towel, not wet.. inside baggie and I go into an oven mit.. dark, warm.
2 days later check on them. if short tails barely popping, one more day might do it. every strain is different.

Starting regular autos..
1. Start with 1gal plastic pots.. why you ask? plastic pots allow the larger roots to form early that establishes the plants foothold, just like in nature. you want a nice root ball to form during this first 3wks in the small pot. 3 wks because most autos have shown sex by now and you know which ones to up pot, which ones to cull..
2. Introduce your Mykos here at up pot. many brands out there so not gonna recommend any, but a sprinkle of this in the hole before dropping the plant into the new pot, omg do the roots just go mad. healthy plants.
3. Up pot to: 2 or 3 gal felt pot. why felt? at this point is where you need your feeder roots to start. As she gets established in her new home and her larger roots hit the pots edge, they get air pruned thus causing feeder roots to form all along the roots mass. up taking nutrients and water.
Watch these girls blow up a week or so after up potting and stretching their legs a bit. IMHO Autos love to be up potted if done correctly. stay away from grow bags please, try finding
some Orchid pots like I use. they have more drain holes then the average pot..

Starting feminized autos..
Doesn't get much easier then this.. start them in 2gal felt pots, start to finish.. why 2gal. Autos only live about 2 1/2 months, and what I've discovered is most will not fill out a 3gal root ball.. my exception would be a long flowering auto like 80 to 90 days Sativa dom. not saying I'd not use a 3gal pot, but think I'd start THOSE in 1gal pots first. control moisture better in beginning. but my rule for starting feminized autos is, 2gal felt pots.
Hint: Look for taller pots.. most 2gal are 8.5" tall, but some are 10" tall and I prefer these.. big reason is up potting, gives me almost a full gallon of dirt under and room to grow...

Feeding: People, do not feed until end of week 1 for your 1st feeding, not day 1. you will burn them and stunt them. I sometimes go 2wks if my plants look healthy and are growing strong. but if you want to stay on a schedule of week 1-10. start end of week 1, end of week 2 and so on.
Feed, water, water.... Feed, water, water. Remember, your soil also dictates your feeding and the amount you feed them. try staying at 50%. just might get healthier plants.

Flushing: I give them a light flushing right before up potting to assure I'm converting feeding over properly to flower. not a full on flush but more of an over watering with extra drainage clearing it up a bit.

Soil: No Foxfarm Ocean Forrest straight.. it WILL burn your plants. any kind of mistreatment early on will result in stunted autos.. when autos can get up to 4ft at times.. I've tried them all and here is what I find works best.
Roots Organics basic green mix... (not 707, it's for outdoor). this stuff is like magic, but does require a lot of breaking down by hand or a grinder.. huge chunks of guanos..
Foxfarm's Strawberry Fields .. this mix is heavy in perlite and is a mushroom compost, keep medium to moist and toadstools will form...
Foxfarm's Bushmasters Coco Loco ... a heavier mix for sure, needs more perlite IMO.

My best soil ever: Mix Roots Organics, after breaking down, with Strawberry Fields 50/50. I did a grow with this mix and only had to add calmag and a PK booster to achieve awesome
plants..

I have a goal of helping people discover autos and not walk away disappointed. I see so many doing things that cause stunting and thus small yields, then compare to a photo period grow, not fair really.. photos are dictated by how long you veg.. autos decide this on their own.. why I try to find strains that take 3wks and not 10 days.. the faster it shows sex, the smaller that plant/strain is going to be. Look for Sativa mixes that still finish in 75 days or so..

I'm here to help anyone who has questions.. starting 5 new seeds tonight, soaking in water..
4 - Beserker Autos - Forgotten Cookies III x Grape Dosi Breath by Beserker7205

1 - Blue Vangoo - Kush Van Stitch x (W.C. OG x Cash Crop Auto female) x (Sour60 x Blue Streak F3). By Carty 2008..

I have a thread going called Autos...back at it. you can watch along and see how my grows progress, but I'll also be showing updates here of the 2 above strains so we can do a tutorial, answer questions and teach.. feel free to ask me anything about autos.. if I don't know the answer I'll research it until I'm sure I have it right and post it up ok...

Autos Rule

Outstanding ! thank you ....

 

[Carty]

Ok... last night I removed just the small round cotyledon leaf's at the bottom of the stems. when you pull these downward, a piece of skin will peel off with it,

this forces the stem to start building bark.. ruff ruff. No Mongo, not
that kind.. hehe. yeah, I'm high. join me.

Anyway, here we are 24hrs later and the plants have already reacted to this by spurting up over night..

My Blue Vangoo created long ago... not grown it in years, she's an auto and looking awesome.. let's hope for a lady

Yesterday....

24hrs later....

Now usually my plants are much bigger at this stage and I also remove the single blade leaf at the same time as
the round cotyledon leaf.. but because of their size I left them on for now.. I'll remove at up potting soon..

see ya soon..

 

[Carty]

Feeding....
This dang soil has me messed up.. having to change a lot of feeding habits to get the plants to respond... arrghh
So I brought a few oldies out.. Roots Organics Surge, Extreme Serene... Nitrogen baby and other goodies.. especially in the ES..
Be up potting soon and they WILL be going into Strawberry Fields or Rootss Organics, and I'll be starting 8 more.

Strains are up in the air, have a good friend sending me some feminized Mephisto Genetics, which I love... should
arrive any day now.. so hang with me here...

 

[ness]

Morning Carty looking good up there. Thank you for the tips. Have fun growing.

 

[Carty]

High Ness..
Or is that, your highness... lol ah come on, dat was funny..
Well, snail mail has made this decision for me.
4 - Dark Jedi Berserker Autos. Fems.
4- Gamhazn f3 by me.
Just the f3 seeds I made.. love this strain.
My buddy picking up 2 bags of Strawberry Fields for me @$16ea
Nice.. pots are washed
Tent is ready..
4 going get up potted same day.. busy busy

 

[Carty]

Okay... is anyone still watching?? Let's cover the next stage. Up Potting the Auto.

Again, when I learned autos it said to not up pot or transplant.. but starting 12 I just could not afford all that soil for 2 or 3gal pots right? I noticed after up potting they went nuts and took off much better..

So, here we go. 1gal plastic pot to a 2gal felt pot 10" tall.. I prefer this over the typical 8.5" tall pots most have..

Be sure to break up your soil by hand.. it gets clumped up from sitting and you want it loamy.. Roots Organics especially needs this done as it's loaded with huge chunks of guano that IMHO could cause hot spots. this time around I had to use Strawberry Fields as my buddy gave me a half a bag he had until he can buy a pallet Monday.
then I can buy the SF from him for $15 a bag vs $28.

1). As before when planting, fill the pot halfway up and water it in getting the soil to settle naturally, NEVER push it downward with your hands, you don't want to compact it anymore then need be. then I take the pot being up potted and check soil height, usually add a little more to adjust height.

2). Add your Mycho of choice here, you want direct contact with it and the root system as per directions..

3). Remove plant from 1gal pot, inspect roots.. should be nice and white.

4). place directly on top of the Mikro Myco or of the like.

All 3 Up potted, the Blue Vangoo was a male and was culled, no breeding this run..

At this point, the cotyledon leaves are removed, the single bladed leaf above that.. give these a few days and they should take off pretty nice. hope this helps a few..

 

[user 60570]

still watching Amigo

i appreciate your attention to detail

 

[Carty]

still watching Amigo

i appreciate your attention to detail

Thanks buddy... so many people get turned off of Autos by either a bad experience or listening to a friends bad run.

So, I try to share my love of this breed and hope others find success as I have at times. hey, we all have our bad days.

Now, although I do start my feminized autos straight into 2gal felt pots at times.. with doing this rotation I'm beginning it would work better if I up potted after 3wks or so.. works better for small tent too.

And, let me show you why it's okay to up pot and what good soil does for a girl. 24hrs later, almost.. lol

Berserker Autos and I think I labeled these the wrong cookie cross... better check.
YUP.. Forgotten Cookies x Grape Dosi Breath is what these are..
check out what is in her by Mephisto
Forgotten Cookies by Mephisto from their Artesian collection
Two strains we thought would blend exceptionally well and be highly complementary to each other were Forum Stomper (Girl Scout Cookies x Sour Stomper) and Fugue State (Amnesia Haze BX1 x Walter White).
If I have a male Gamhazn show up in the batch I'm starting now, gonna be hard to not paint a branch of one of these.. the rear one looks amazing..

 

[ness]

Pretty Carty. Thank you for sharing your auto grow. Have fun.

 

[pute]

Good luck today Carty. Hope everything turns out.

 

[user 60570]

healing vibes Cartman!

 

[Mac420]

Auto Flowering... many folks give this a shot and walk away, why, because grow #1 was unsuccessful. You see, Autos really and truly are a different animal and thus have to be treated so.

Stunting is the biggest issue and IMHO #1 reason why this wonderful auto flowering style of MJ is talked down by so many with bad experiences. It's easy to do.

My journey began after a 4yr hiatus and deciding to get back into my hobby. smaller spaces dictated changes like small tents and more stealth. Hmmm? I was gifted a bunch of seeds that got crushed, the only 3 that made it was 3 Sour60 seeds I got 2 females and a male, made more seeds. thus the journey begins.

Since the F2 seeds I made were not feminized, I needed to start 12 to find 5 or 6 females hopefully. so starting 12 pots in 2 or 3gal felt is a LOT of soil and I cannot afford it and don't have room for
12 larger pots. so, this is where I decided to break my first rule I read about. "They" say to NOT transplant autos. given no choice I started mine in 1gal plastic nursery pots. you know, the el cheapos.

Here is my method after 8yrs or so of growing Autos..

My #1 DON'T rule... Starting in Solo Cups. IMO has something to do with the tap root being restricted early on. A photo period can outgrow this initial stunting as it stays in veg mode longer and can overcome. NOT an auto. plant will finish usually at about a foot or so. want bigger autos. Try my method..

Germinate seeds to the point 2" tails are exposed.. this keeps you from planting upside down on accident causing possible losses, been there, done that.
>>>> How I do it: Soak in good water overnight, give a stir, if seeds sink ready for step 2. place in damp paper towel, not wet.. inside baggie and I go into an oven mit.. dark, warm.
2 days later check on them. if short tails barely popping, one more day might do it. every strain is different.

Starting regular autos..
1. Start with 1gal plastic pots.. why you ask? plastic pots allow the larger roots to form early that establishes the plants foothold, just like in nature. you want a nice root ball to form during this first 3wks in the small pot. 3 wks because most autos have shown sex by now and you know which ones to up pot, which ones to cull..
2. Introduce your Mykos here at up pot. many brands out there so not gonna recommend any, but a sprinkle of this in the hole before dropping the plant into the new pot, omg do the roots just go mad. healthy plants.
3. Up pot to: 2 or 3 gal felt pot. why felt? at this point is where you need your feeder roots to start. As she gets established in her new home and her larger roots hit the pots edge, they get air pruned thus causing feeder roots to form all along the roots mass. up taking nutrients and water.
Watch these girls blow up a week or so after up potting and stretching their legs a bit. IMHO Autos love to be up potted if done correctly. stay away from grow bags please, try finding
some Orchid pots like I use. they have more drain holes then the average pot..

Starting feminized autos..
Doesn't get much easier then this.. start them in 2gal felt pots, start to finish.. why 2gal. Autos only live about 2 1/2 months, and what I've discovered is most will not fill out a 3gal root ball.. my exception would be a long flowering auto like 80 to 90 days Sativa dom. not saying I'd not use a 3gal pot, but think I'd start THOSE in 1gal pots first. control moisture better in beginning. but my rule for starting feminized autos is, 2gal felt pots.
Hint: Look for taller pots.. most 2gal are 8.5" tall, but some are 10" tall and I prefer these.. big reason is up potting, gives me almost a full gallon of dirt under and room to grow...

Feeding: People, do not feed until end of week 1 for your 1st feeding, not day 1. you will burn them and stunt them. I sometimes go 2wks if my plants look healthy and are growing strong. but if you want to stay on a schedule of week 1-10. start end of week 1, end of week 2 and so on.
Feed, water, water.... Feed, water, water. Remember, your soil also dictates your feeding and the amount you feed them. try staying at 50%. just might get healthier plants.

Flushing: I give them a light flushing right before up potting to assure I'm converting feeding over properly to flower. not a full on flush but more of an over watering with extra drainage clearing it up a bit.

Soil: No Foxfarm Ocean Forrest straight.. it WILL burn your plants. any kind of mistreatment early on will result in stunted autos.. when autos can get up to 4ft at times.. I've tried them all and here is what I find works best.
Roots Organics basic green mix... (not 707, it's for outdoor). this stuff is like magic, but does require a lot of breaking down by hand or a grinder.. huge chunks of guanos..
Foxfarm's Strawberry Fields .. this mix is heavy in perlite and is a mushroom compost, keep medium to moist and toadstools will form...
Foxfarm's Bushmasters Coco Loco ... a heavier mix for sure, needs more perlite IMO.

My best soil ever: Mix Roots Organics, after breaking down, with Strawberry Fields 50/50. I did a grow with this mix and only had to add calmag and a PK booster to achieve awesome
plants..

I have a goal of helping people discover autos and not walk away disappointed. I see so many doing things that cause stunting and thus small yields, then compare to a photo period grow, not fair really.. photos are dictated by how long you veg.. autos decide this on their own.. why I try to find strains that take 3wks and not 10 days.. the faster it shows sex, the smaller that plant/strain is going to be. Look for Sativa mixes that still finish in 75 days or so..

I'm here to help anyone who has questions.. starting 5 new seeds tonight, soaking in water..
4 - Beserker Autos - Forgotten Cookies III x Grape Dosi Breath by Beserker7205

1 - Blue Vangoo - Kush Van Stitch x (W.C. OG x Cash Crop Auto female) x (Sour60 x Blue Streak F3). By Carty 2008..

I have a thread going called Autos...back at it. you can watch along and see how my grows progress, but I'll also be showing updates here of the 2 above strains so we can do a tutorial, answer questions and teach.. feel free to ask me anything about autos.. if I don't know the answer I'll research it until I'm sure I have it right and post it up ok...

Autos Rule

MATE YOU ARE THE MAN honestly a very wise man and how u can put all the information together well done. What you have wrote above i cound not agree more with. AUTO FLOWERS are a different animal and have there own way of being handled. How we handle and manage the stress we apply and when is very important. One thing I'd have u try urself is see the day before u train or do anything stressful water 1/2 to 3/4 the amount and leave a little thirsty and train when the plants leaves are showing first signs of thrust. Then do your training and then give her a good water make sure temps are spot on so its a refreshing drink maybe even a little em1 destresser. I run light 24/7 but I have found that she will jump back into growing and not feel the training at all if ya do that its almost like a rub after banging ur elbow it distracts the plant a little. Anyway try for urself but it has been working for me. Ie 'pre and post stress training' like if ur at the gym u will take pre work out post work out u stress her but u limit and ease the stress by the timing of ur interaction. Ur level.of detain and knowledge is amazing. Keep up good work buddy

 

[Mac420]

Have u any experience with root pots. I would recommend as they are perfect for auto flowers but I would recommend the wider rather than taller ones as there is two I have found i think one is narrow and taller for trees actually. They work fine but wide is better they keep bottom.of pot off saucer by about an inch which I believe is very beneficial also the fact that there are areas where air can get in and bits covered all the way down it give diversity in the soil for bio organic processes to take place and more natural...... I'm all for the NATURAL ORGANIC. Ie there's organic and then there's Mother Nature. I try think how can I reflect the diversity of nature in my indoor grow the root pots help also give a little gap so can bottom water later in flower which aids in not over watering just do a 3/4 top 1/4 bottom and let em take what they want. It also allows the water in saucer to.be a little different temp which is more natural. Worth tryin anyway at some point. Especially for.autos

 

[Carty]

Hey everyone.. nice responses and even peeps sharing Auto info. Now we are rocking..
Mac, you talking about the pots that look all bumpy, they wrap together around the bottom, then held with plastic screws..?
Used for years, still have bunch.. love the .7gal ones for cloning photos..
They air trim like felt pots do. So for veg I want different root development..

Establishes the plants foothold better before air trimming begins in felt pots and feeder roots form.. a good thing for flowering..

 

[Carty]

Starting to tighten up

 

[Carty]

Hey Mac...
Please... share with the auto thread here just how you do your LST, if you don't mind. Do you tie them over or remove leaf for line of sight.. ??
Love to hear it.. thanks

 

[user 60570]

Starting to tighten up

View attachment 295841View attachment 295842View attachment 295843View attachment 295844View attachment 295845

 

[Carty]

she came down a few days later, my dad calls and says he's driving down for a visit... doh. chop chop, dry girl.. lol.
she's stinking up the house.. had to take care of budiness.. she got the chop, and now the 3 Berserker girls are in there alone.. time to start some LST work on them..

And, finally got a bag of soil. had to settle for Happy Frog, made for containers, looks pretty nice so we'll see.
I planted these and overnight this is what popped up, all but 1 and it's trying hard..

Germinating them to this point you really have to handle them like clones almost

these tails got really long too in just 3 days

this could of been lost dropping it with a tiny tail, I was able to straighten it out before planting

gotta prep all the holes with a Mikro of some type.. here is what i used..
.....

you want direct contact with the root and the Myko... then water in..

All 8 born overnight cept Gamhazn F3 #D.. just kinda laying atop the soil for now... probably high on something

Um.... did I drop a seed, and where tf did it come from. I put out 4 of each.. grrrrrrrr. lol

So, we have 4 feminized seeds up from my brother Berserker_7205 his Dark Jedi x GDB

With those we have 4 regular autos I made F3 stock off from a grower up in Alaska we call Gamhazn

this should be a fun grow, question is, if I get a male do I hit one of the Dark Jedi during preflower eh?

 

[Carty]

While we wait for these plants to mature more and make things more interesting.. let's learn some other things.

Berserker Autos just over 3wks old. I used to go thru the hassle to tie plants down early and when I realized I can achieve a nice even canopy while allowing them to veg more naturally.. KISS right.

At 2wks old I remove the round leaf's and the 1st set of single bladed leaf's.. promoting upward growth and believe me it does work. A week later, or even at the same time as some don't like to stress a plant twice. Remove the large set of upper shade leaf's at the top opening up line of sight between the Mars Hydro light and budsites..

In a few days we'll show you what this has achieved along side the other 2 plants also having had this technique
done to them.. All Berserk Autos..

 

[WeedHopper]

Does it count if your dog removed damn near all the leaves?