do autoflower strains need total dark?

[Vandenberg]

Too much light too soon will/can stunt autos, as will transplanting, I have learned that the hard way.
I have been growing auto flowers under LEDs for 2 years now (formerly photoperiods under hps for decades) and there is a learning curve involved when transitioning from high discharge lights to LED lights.
I run a Mars fc-e6500 730w LED on a lightrail4 mover with a 4x8 footprint.
Recently I set up a small nursery area with some old 150w quantum boards mounted high that give them less intense light the first couple weeks while they develop their root system...I am figuring out that it is much easier to just start everybody at the same time and just dial down the big 4'x4' LED down to 50% initially, which is what I will return too as a standard /no brainer easy tactic. There is that easy word again, damn I like easy.
Once the babies are established they are greeted by 84 degrees at 50-60ish℅ humidity at 800ppm at they proceed to thrive quite well in their sea based organic style media grown in their 5 gallon equivelent plastic nippled airpots. Lets just say it works for me.
LED grow rooms generally should be run at approximately 10° higher temperatures for co2 and "Leaf Surface Temperature" reasons, so don't be falling off your chair at the room temp.

LEAF SURFACE TEMPERATURE (LST) and why it matters...

A plant’s leaf surface temperature (LST) is determined by a variety of factors such as plant type, light spectrum, humidity, and air temperature. In order for a plant to produce and yield an ample crop, its leaf temperature must be kept at ideal. The act of raising ambient air temperature...

www.icmag.com

Happy Harvests!
Vandenberg

 

[bibi40]

the timers i have are not as reliable as i want, so i figured "fuck it" and am gonna let them go with no dark cycle. curiosity...it kills cats, they say.

grown at 24/24 from the beginning ,
now i' m just thinking more hours of light = more yield and will not go back after testing a lot of time cycle ...

 

[Cakeboy]

this is the most solid example of being able to give autos full 24 hr light. I admit I have not been able to achieve anything like this, mine are always grateful for a rest period, but these are serious skills Bibi, nailed.

 

[armedoldhippy]

grown at 24/24 from the beginning ,
now i' m just thinking more hours of light = more yield and will not go back after testing a lot of time cycle ...

View attachment 18758215

is this plant as short as the picture makes it look? can you tell me what strain this is? very pretty...

 

[bibi40]

is this plant as short as the picture makes it look? can you tell me what strain this is? very pretty...

yeah , was a short bush !
it' s gorilla girl xl auto from sweet seeds .

 

[armedoldhippy]

that's some kind of pretty, Bibi. thanks for reply...i'll look into those seeds.

 

[marijuanamat]

Auto's are dumb, think about this, you could veg a regular photo plant for 2-3 week then go 12/12 and you'd get probably better results and use less electric. autos start flowering in 4-5 weeks, just a complete waste and when you find a great plant you can't even keep it as clones just arn't an option, Outdoor yep spot on but indoors really.

 

[Ca++]

I did an experiment a few years back to change the Circadian cycle. I went with 12 hrs dark and 4 hours of light. The cycle was then 16 hours. I used blue light during the critical period to assist in green growth. If I remember right I cut the flower time down to about 5 weeks from 9. Naturally, yield suffered.

Sorry for the off topic.

That is very interesting.
I would like to watch the rise and fall of auto leaves under 24/7 as I'm drawn to the idea of days that are not 24h, but people usually say it can't happen, and at least one has tried when the topic last aired (a few weeks ago)

Some decent autos being shown in this thread. Some early plants just raced to finish, but some that grow a little first, an impressive looking result can be had. I wonder if the more a plant has veg first characteristics, the more it will like a sleep. I just did some of the early stuff, that rocketed to the finish line, even with 24h.

 

[armedoldhippy]

i've read little to nothing about growing autos in hydroponic set-ups for rapid growth needed because of their short life cycles. am i using the wrong search terms or ?

 

[CannaZen]

i've read little to nothing about growing autos in hydroponic set-ups for rapid growth needed because of their short life cycles. am i using the wrong search terms or ?

I don't think it's any different you get what you get. But I know only basic horticulture regarding nutes and this plant. Your saying you need a rapid growth in a short time? Some seeds were selected for that in breed more than others like the chemdog. My pakik Ryder's are supposed to be autos. They were in the ground June and started flowering July, I think I harvested seed by September. The potted definitely auto seeds I planted were a lot sooner though. Well it's relative and your asking for nuclear fusion. You need seeds that were tailored for that purpose. I don't think they'll be larger plants in the same amount of time but with hydro you meet the equisition. Some veg for longer.edit: sorry someone who has auto hydro experience should answer ask afterthought autos. I think with the right seeds you may get better performance but just because they're autos doesn't mean they flower faster but I think some perform better than others in hydro. i suggest modern seeds and asking about the best feed and regimen to use, idk if there's a section for that but.

what i do know is theres more to its resin and veg growth than compile N P K. there are macronutrients and stuff that i do not know about feeding.

 

[armedoldhippy]

Your saying you need a rapid growth in a short time?

if they are going to flower in 4 to 6 weeks or so, i'd like to get them as big as i can before then for the (hopefully) larger yield. DWC has shown more rapid growth in all types of plants (for me) than anything else. i figured i'd try it on autos and see. maybe do a DWC and an outdoor soil grow with same strain... maybe put the outdoor one under the streetlight that comes on at dusk. bright sunlight in the day, then the lower light until dawn, just about exactly what ruderalis evolved with.

 

[gorilla ganja]

if they are going to flower in 4 to 6 weeks or so, i'd like to get them as big as i can before then for the (hopefully) larger yield. DWC has shown more rapid growth in all types of plants (for me) than anything else.

A friend grew one of my autoflowers in DWC. Biggest I've ever seen this cultivar, and I've seen lots.
I think the unrestricted root growth of DWC helped him achieve slightly over a pound off this plant.

55 days

All done, ran longer than most at 95 days

Peace GG

 

[Mr Jay]

I have grown autos in the city and the country. In the city they were subjected to street lights and the general light pollution that is humanity trying to run from the dark. In the country they got completely natural cycles of light where the only sparkles that kissed them at night came from the moon and the stars. There was no difference between the two.

For the sake of complicating things.... I don't think a lot of city growers understand how bright the moon is out in the country. When I was living in the high plains desert or central Oregon and growing, there were nights where I could walk around the desert without the aid of any artificial light. The moon absolutely lights up the night when it isn't clouded out by smog and other light pollution. Plants get subjected to different levels of light at night naturally, it is just a part of what happens. I would think that the steadier light of a nightly street lamp in the city would provide less light stress than