Auto topping thread,pushing the auto limits;)

Good day growers im a master photo and auto grower.but my passion is with autoflower seeds.i been on a mission for 5 years growing now trying diffrent methods of training on autos to see what they truly behold.truth is autos aint no diffrent to a normal plant other than they flower on there own.u can top lst supercrop and defol autos with monster results if done at the correct time.oviously every plant is diffrent so always use the seed info as a rough guide and a short plant can yield just as much as a tall plant in this thread i will show u all along the way of the true limits of autos and there true potential as i grow them for u all to see.also if ur an auto grower who likes to push the limits,do speak up and all pics of ur autos and talk and all questions welcome on pushing the auto limits.here a few examples of the results achived topping an auto young followed by later lst.few heavy defols along the way ,gives u an army of dominant colas and a big heavy yield.and a beautiful plant.here is automazar topped and lstd

 

[DTOM420]

@DTOM420 It is very generous of the organic soil vendor to help you out like he has. It still remains that you do not in reality know what the soil nutrient availability is until you have it tested at a soil lab. So how would you make adjustments to the ratios if you do not know what your starting numbers are? Topping at the fifth node is too late in MPE.

View attachment 987415

Thanks for catching that, I top at the 4th node. I just mistyped it in the reply to EvilScotsman. I LOVE that diagram you posted, though! Saw it a few days ago, when you posted it somewhere, and I saved it for use elsewhere.

Not sure if I mistyped somewhere else but I didn’t change any soil amendment ratios. I followed strict instructions to the letter - I did exactly what I was told at the precise measurements I was told. I’m not opposed to getting a lab test and I will at some point. But given the guy helping me’s experience and knowledge that includes extensive lab testing, I’m not worried about the mix being unbalanced. Besides, it’s very very similar to many other recipes like the Rev’s TLO recipe. I appreciate what you’re getting at. But I’m still wondering whether autos have a particular soil preference or whether they like exactly the same type of soil that a photo would?

 

[MasonJarOG]

@DTOM420
"Water Only Soil" is the holey grail IMHO. I switched over to a "Live" organic soil this year and it still requires feeding the micro herd (microbes) to a certain degree, and sometime tweaking or adding beneficial ingredients to keep the soil healthy and alive with good micro organisms. But for the most part my soil is water every couple of days as needed with about .5ml of MammothP (feed the micro heard and release P better to the plant) each week and a few drops of castile soap to function as a surfactant (help the soil retain moisture & with uptake).

For the most part all the labor goes into building the soil weeks and months before the actual grow. I have been building and basically letting my spring soil bake since October in preparation for March. The labor is now and its really not that hard to make a good soil on your own and you will learn a shit ton about soil bio-dynamics. There is a ton of info on this forum surrounding live organic soil if you take a few minutes to search it out like I did.

The bottom line is that It's far less work and reliance on bottles of $$ / feed schedules, re-usable/re-amendable soil, gives you more time to care for the training and trimming, really healthy plants and the end result is a quality organic product that tastes killer!

As far as the soils go for autos and photo's, each plant has its own needs and its great to document those needs for future grows. Auto's tend to not like hot soils at all. While Photo's can be more forgiving, the key is always to slowly add what the plant is telling you to add. After a bunch of grows you will just see and feel what the cannabis is whispering to your ear that you didn't hear before... and for everything else this is this wonderful forum of great people that can help with those weird situations.

 

[Lysergik_kid]

Branching on a topped Mephisto.. topped at the 3rd node so 4 main tops and tons of branching.

7 weeks yesterday

 

[Jewbilee]

Branching on a topped Mephisto.. topped at the 3rd node so 4 main tops and tons of branching.

7 weeks yesterday
View attachment 987499

Hey, what strain is that? Looks like a long one...

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[Lysergik_kid]

Hey, what strain is that? Looks like a long one...

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

Sour Livers but the bigger pheno. I've grown 2 others of these and they were pretty squat but killer buds. This one is a freak for sure

 

[Jewbilee]

Sour Livers but the bigger pheno. I've grown 2 others of these and they were pretty squat but killer buds. This one is a freak for sure

Any defol?

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[Lysergik_kid]

Any defol?

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Everyday just about. Shes a vigorous plant. Lst too. I have a couple branches here tied down a little to expose the lower branch so the whole branch can fill with green

Top View

 

[nicojellic]

Branching on a topped Mephisto.. topped at the 3rd node so 4 main tops and tons of branching.

7 weeks yesterday
View attachment 987499

I've had a Skywalker looking little like this, with a good amount of branches.

 

[DTOM420]

@DTOM420
"Water Only Soil" is the holey grail IMHO. I switched over to a "Live" organic soil this year and it still requires feeding the micro herd (microbes) to a certain degree, and sometime tweaking or adding beneficial ingredients to keep the soil healthy and alive with good micro organisms. But for the most part my soil is water every couple of days as needed with about .5ml of MammothP (feed the micro heard and release P better to the plant) each week and a few drops of castile soap to function as a surfactant (help the soil retain moisture & with uptake).

For the most part all the labor goes into building the soil weeks and months before the actual grow. I have been building and basically letting my spring soil bake since October in preparation for March. The labor is now and its really not that hard to make a good soil on your own and you will learn a shit ton about soil bio-dynamics. There is a ton of info on this forum surrounding live organic soil if you take a few minutes to search it out like I did.

The bottom line is that It's far less work and reliance on bottles of $$ / feed schedules, re-usable/re-amendable soil, gives you more time to care for the training and trimming, really healthy plants and the end result is a quality organic product that tastes killer!

As far as the soils go for autos and photo's, each plant has its own needs and its great to document those needs for future grows. Auto's tend to not like hot soils at all. While Photo's can be more forgiving, the key is always to slowly add what the plant is telling you to add. After a bunch of grows you will just see and feel what the cannabis is whispering to your ear that you didn't hear before... and for everything else this is this wonderful forum of great people that can help with those weird situations.

Thanks for the reply! Yeah, I know that true water only doesn’t exist (probably) but I’m starting my journey down that living soils path. I’m building soil now for future grows, as you said; and what I’m really meaning by ‘water only’ that I’m trying to get away from bottled nutes. I don’t think of feeding the microbe and fungi with things like teas and molasses and malted barley to be feeding the plant. What you said about autos not generally liking ‘hot’ soil is exactly what I was looking for. No amount of testing will help if you don’t have parameters to judge the test results by. At least that helps me to know what to shoot for.

Building quite a bit of soil this winter and putting some clover in on top.

Thanks again for the reply and info!

 

[HurricaneTrees]

Thanks for the reply! Yeah, I know that true water only doesn’t exist (probably) but I’m starting my journey down that living soils path. I’m building soil now for future grows, as you said; and what I’m really meaning by ‘water only’ that I’m trying to get away from bottled nutes. I don’t think of feeding the microbe and fungi with things like teas and molasses and malted barley to be feeding the plant. What you said about autos not generally liking ‘hot’ soil is exactly what I was looking for. No amount of testing will help if you don’t have parameters to judge the test results by. At least that helps me to know what to shoot for.

Building quite a bit of soil this winter and putting some clover in on top.

Thanks again for the reply and info!

I’m a new no till/LOS guy myself. Still learning but I love the simplicity.