Are Autos Easier To Grow Than Photos?

[Mañ'O'Green]

I grow both Autos and Photos. Autos are like the Ferrari of Cannabis. It is just balls to the wall! Ms MOG is constantly impressed by the speed they grow and mature. She maintains most of the plants and flowers in the landscape of our home. You put the wrong fuel in the tank and the Ferrari will spitter and sputter across the finish line. Same with Autos. If your nutrients are not maintained just right they will show it when it is really too late to do anything about it even in hydro. In that regard autos requires a more intense input from the Farmer. My Autos always look small to me after growing Photos and I always get tired of waiting for Photos to finish.

If my back would let me I think an EarthBox is the way to go for TLS. and I think if you do the soil preparation properly (80% of the work part) this would make the best approach to Autos.

For physical reasons I am married to Hydro. I just need to perfect the nutrients input. So All in All level of difficulty is a little higher in Autos for me.

 

[idiopathic neuropathy]

Very well thought out and written, cudos to you Proph.
When I decided to grow autos based on the information of autoflower.net I felt that the speed of how quickly things could go wrong with autos that my medium of choice would be coco coir. This medium would allow me to correct toxicity/deficiencies rather quickly when they arose. I don't know if this logic is correct, but I feel it has some basis particularly since my organics medium experience is lacking. I guess if I was adept and more experienced with organics it wouldn't be a problem. I just didn't want to struggle through the organics learning curve. However, with coco coir it has its' challenges as well.
I view autos as a "ticking time bomb" once it is germinated or as a "high maintenance female." (Sincerely, I hope I didn't offend anyone by using this analogy.) Autos keep me "on my toes" so much more than photos. And for this reason, I enjoy the challenge.
As MOG inferred in the above post, do you want to drive a Ferrari or a 1960's Caddillac?

 

[automan2]

40 years ago, we just planted a seed. Now we have all the marketing skills of a 'right now' society wanting things right now.
After autos hit the market with their 'right now' action, things changed but there's always gonna be those of us who want to push things to their breaking point and suggesting we have to do the same.....
All it takes is the patience few are willing to use as a tool.
I find very little difference in growing both.

 

[Bmurrciless]

Well.. It's taken me about 7 yrs to feel comfortable with my answer.. And it's a definite NO for me, lol.. It's crazy because the reason most of us started growing autos is because we were told how quick and easy it is.. But as I reflect on the last 5 yrs, much of my early auto grows were far from easy, lol. I mainly grow photos, so comparing the two is a constant thing for me. My photo period grows are 80% hands off.. My auto grows are the opposite. Autos require much more attention and seem to be much more sensitive or finicky than photos. Truth be told, I have YET to correct an issue with an auto. I know exactly how to correct issues, but I'm not even sure it's even possible with autos, lol. They simply switch phases of life too fast.. And once it's flowering, forget about it, lol. With photos, there hasn't been an issue that I cant resolve or correct. That's mainly because I have the time to do so.. Depending on the issue, a plant in veg can take anywhere from 1-3 weeks to recover.. With an auto, you could go from veg to full flower in 2-3 weeks.. Autos don't pause or slow down, or truly recover. Another thing I couldn't do with autos?? Grow them in small pots without issues. Like one gallon or smaller.. Without fail, no matter what medium or nutrient line or grow style, issue pop up as soon as flowering starts.. Do I know why? I do now, but didn't for years. But when you first start out people will say stuff like "growing autos in big pots is a waist because the roots will never come close to filling up the pot.. So we used small pots, lol.. But looking back, every perfect auto grow that I've had, has been in larger pots.. where I have to do less and let the plant do more.
What growing autos has done for me, is make me a better grower. All the issues, led to all the questions.. Which led to years of researching and trial and error.. The issues we have growing autos, are not common to the photo period world. Many are self inflicted, but many are due to all that we DONT yet understand about autos..
But in hindsight, I definitely feel like autos are much harder.. And if your first ever grow was an auto and your still at It, hats off to you! I think that if you can, not even master, but even get a good grasp of growing autos, that you can grow damn near anything, lol.

If you have been growing both autos and photos for a while, what's your opinion? Are photos harder to grow? Or are autos as tough as it gets when it comes to growing cannabis? What are some of the difference you've noticed?

Autos definitely have more issues you don't have with photos. Photos are definitely more forgiving and for that they are "easier". I have recently come across a medium that seems to do really well until flower in a 5 gallon but I need to feed or ammend before I have this time first runs with it just ironing it out but just water and they were great. But that has applied to my photos in that medium just I have longer to iron out issues on photos. But I love autos and I will never stop them completely even though I have gotten back into photos pretty hard.

 

[Arthur]

Difference between running your daily driver on Wednesday nights at the dragstrip...
Or a alcohol burning nitrous fed sled on a Saturday morning qualifying run.

Photos you just kinda roll along... issues? Pull over for a second and figure it out. 12/12 from seed, or stall off flower for another few weeks... all good.

Autos?... well autos are all BWAAAAAAAAAA as soon as the lights turn green, and it's full throttle fun and games till the end about 5 seconds later...
Wait was that seedling stage? Veg? Wow that went fast.

Currently at 2/3rds track with the hammer down...
This one will be in my record book.

Dry and cure is still the same...!

 

[Olderfart]

Never done a photo, but so far I haven't managed to kill an auto either. Tried hard though...

Outdoors where I live, autos are the only game available, IMO. By the time 12/12 daylight arrives here, the chance of finishing a photo crop before weather gets too cold and wet are next to zero.

Indoors, different story. After my last grow lasting as many weeks as it did, photos may be on my agenda after all. In my limited experience, not all auto grows are quick enough to justify the extra effort and risk of mischief...

The jury on my next grow will be out until about November.

 

[Death The Cultivator]

Well.. It's taken me about 7 yrs to feel comfortable with my answer.. And it's a definite NO for me, lol.. It's crazy because the reason most of us started growing autos is because we were told how quick and easy it is.. But as I reflect on the last 5 yrs, much of my early auto grows were far from easy, lol. I mainly grow photos, so comparing the two is a constant thing for me. My photo period grows are 80% hands off.. My auto grows are the opposite. Autos require much more attention and seem to be much more sensitive or finicky than photos. Truth be told, I have YET to correct an issue with an auto. I know exactly how to correct issues, but I'm not even sure it's even possible with autos, lol. They simply switch phases of life too fast.. And once it's flowering, forget about it, lol. With photos, there hasn't been an issue that I cant resolve or correct. That's mainly because I have the time to do so.. Depending on the issue, a plant in veg can take anywhere from 1-3 weeks to recover.. With an auto, you could go from veg to full flower in 2-3 weeks.. Autos don't pause or slow down, or truly recover. Another thing I couldn't do with autos?? Grow them in small pots without issues. Like one gallon or smaller.. Without fail, no matter what medium or nutrient line or grow style, issue pop up as soon as flowering starts.. Do I know why? I do now, but didn't for years. But when you first start out people will say stuff like "growing autos in big pots is a waist because the roots will never come close to filling up the pot.. So we used small pots, lol.. But looking back, every perfect auto grow that I've had, has been in larger pots.. where I have to do less and let the plant do more.
What growing autos has done for me, is make me a better grower. All the issues, led to all the questions.. Which led to years of researching and trial and error.. The issues we have growing autos, are not common to the photo period world. Many are self inflicted, but many are due to all that we DONT yet understand about autos..
But in hindsight, I definitely feel like autos are much harder.. And if your first ever grow was an auto and your still at It, hats off to you! I think that if you can, not even master, but even get a good grasp of growing autos, that you can grow damn near anything, lol.

If you have been growing both autos and photos for a while, what's your opinion? Are photos harder to grow? Or are autos as tough as it gets when it comes to growing cannabis? What are some of the difference you've noticed?

Photos are so much easier. Several months of fungus gnats boring holes into my mothers and I still have four that recovered after beneficial nematodes. I tried several auto seeds, 50+ reg photos, that larvae would destroy then before they germinated. The few autos I did get to grow were so embarrassing and sickly they were dead before a month. My photos are predictable and consistent, I know when everything happens. Autos are low EC from the start with as much environmental consistency as possible IME.

Glad you brought this up - a relative decided to start growing with autos and soil. I explained to them that a few cuts would be easier and I knew their behavior. Internet says autos are easy, I disagree - I can't grow them unless I do everything perfectly or at least with minimal issues. I learned the most taking hundreds of cuts. Becoming intimately familiar with each stage and how the environment mattered more than solely what fertilizer I used.

Photos are like a 50's chevy converted to a boat with unlimited Flex Seal for leaks. Autos are the like the Titanic... Wasn't ready to captain that ship a few years ago lol

 

[NickDanger3rdEye]

 

[BoCoGrow]

I'm on a mission now to get a plan that works where the soil already has the necessary 'stuff in it to get it through to finish with just minimal input from myself.

I'm a relatively new grower myself. Well, I did closet grows like 20+ years ago, but so much has changed since then. I just ordered Buildasoil.com 3.0 soil, though I will be starting seeds in their light soil mix. Curious to see how things work out.

 

[NickDanger3rdEye]

I'm a relatively new grower myself. Well, I did closet grows like 20+ years ago, but so much has changed since then. I just ordered Buildasoil.com 3.0 soil, though I will be starting seeds in their light soil mix. Curious to see how things work out.

That is a soil mix I might try in the future. Depends on the results of my next couple of grows with my “next” plan.