Outdoor My first all auto outdoor grow

[G.Leave]

Thanks man! Trying to give them every opportunity to thrive I can


Thank you -- the garden is all my wife's doing.

When we moved here 4 years ago, the back half (double city lot) was ALL lawn, this is her dream being realized over time. It's a great mix of flowers and edibles, from every kind of berry to fruit trees, and of course the veggie garden. I help with everything, but the cannabis are my girls.

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Seriously...that is one heck of a beautiful spot!! Hats off to your wifes efforts!! Well done!

 

[G.Leave]

This is really interesting to me as an auto-newbie. It's hard for me to gauge how much direct sunlight my plants get, because different parts of the garden get different amounts during the course of the day, and additionally between June and August the light shifts south and that changes things even more. Last year was my first outdoor experiment with autos, and the ALL ran over manufacturers specs, mostly significantly over. I never thought it might be because of having less light. Someone local suggested it was because of the cool nights we get, that the temp drop slowed their metabolism down every night.

I've also been curious about the difference between growing autos indoors and out. So far I've only done one season with them and it was outdoors. I'd say at most the location I'll be putting them in this year gets 8 hours of direct light, but at least 6 of those are the strongest (directly overhead) hours, for what that's worth. I'm lucky that our volume needs are not that big, so smaller plants will still serve us. As far as in-city backyard grows go (gotta love a legal state!), most people I know are jealous of how much sunlight we get! Hopefully I'll be able to grow some of the same strains indoors next winter, and I'll be able to do a direct comparison with my available outdoor space vs my indoor set up.

Hey bud...okay here we go!
Please understand that this is all total theory, and nothing is really proven. I am not a scientist, but i am an observant farmer.

Yes i totally know what you are saying about the shifting sun affecting the amount of sun you get in a spot like that. Try to find the spot with the most light on the average, or move pots to maximize exposure.

Its weird.....its doesnt make sense why they do that for me, but it does indeed seem to be a pattern. The nightly cold is something i deal with all the time here most seasons(45th cannada), and the partial sun garden location is more sheltered form cold winds ect than the full sun garden plants that always seem to finish close to quoted breeder finish times. The more i have grown autos outdoors, the more it makes me think thats its the limited light that are slowing the process.

Autos outdoor have the potential to get quite large if the climate is good. Even with your estimated 6 hours of direct sun they have the potential to get quite large. I've had a few 40"+ autos in the partial sun location(which gets the same sun as your spot 6 hours at best here), but generally they get to around 25-30" in height. Buds are almost always fluffy(lack of density), but very solid potency. Versus their full potential indoors though on a 20-24 light schedule though? Outdoors in limited light are only a shadow of an autos true potential. In full sunlight(15 hours), even with some adversity to deal with(cold nights, high wind, high RH%) autos are capable of exceptional things.

But limited sun versus indoor full light in a controlled climate is no comparison. There is guys here that consistently grow 8oz+ autos in fine indoor setups.

 

[SUNDOG]

Sweet garden humanrob, I'm subscribed.

 

[Humanrob]

Hey bud...okay here we go!
Please understand that this is all total theory, and nothing is really proven. I am not a scientist, but i am an observant farmer.

Yes i totally know what you are saying about the shifting sun affecting the amount of sun you get in a spot like that. Try to find the spot with the most light on the average, or move pots to maximize exposure.

Its weird.....its doesnt make sense why they do that for me, but it does indeed seem to be a pattern. The nightly cold is something i deal with all the time here most seasons(45th cannada), and the partial sun garden location is more sheltered form cold winds ect than the full sun garden plants that always seem to finish close to quoted breeder finish times. The more i have grown autos outdoors, the more it makes me think thats its the limited light that are slowing the process.

Autos outdoor have the potential to get quite large if the climate is good. Even with your estimated 6 hours of direct sun they have the potential to get quite large. I've had a few 40"+ autos in the partial sun location(which gets the same sun as your spot 6 hours at best here), but generally they get to around 25-30" in height. Buds are almost always fluffy(lack of density), but very solid potency. Versus their full potential indoors though on a 20-24 light schedule though? Outdoors in limited light are only a shadow of an autos true potential. In full sunlight(15 hours), even with some adversity to deal with(cold nights, high wind, high RH%) autos are capable of exceptional things.

But limited sun versus indoor full light in a controlled climate is no comparison. There is guys here that consistently grow 8oz+ autos in fine indoor setups.

Thanks for sharing your experience with me! (and thanks for bringing this back to my thread, good move!) That's what I suspected... it's so funny how its the opposite of photo period plants. I've grown clones from the same mom inside and out, and even with long veg times in relatively big pots and 2x more "direct" light (12/12 vs. 6 hours), the ones inside were a fraction of the size of the ones outside. The indoor crops were often more frosty, and never had mold or bugs, so each has its strengths.

I'll happily grow these outside since I'm moving away from growing photos outdoors until I get a greenhouse or can commit to doing light dep. I've got a friend who got me into growing autos, and he's thinking that I'll be able to switch my whole indoor grow over to them and produce as much as I am now. I don't doubt that, these days I grow a bunch of smaller plants for variety, 6-10 in 3-5 gallon pots, and I average 3-6oz from each -- so autos could do well here. It just comes down to quality, and that is yet to be tested indoors (by me in my setup with my skill level). So that's what I'll do this winter, some of each and see how they compare. In the end it's all up to my med patient/wife, it's her call.

 

[Humanrob]

Sweet garden humanrob, I'm subscribed.

Thanks man, hopefully this will be a productive summer.

 

[G.Leave]

Thanks for sharing your experience with me! (and thanks for bringing this back to my thread, good move!) That's what I suspected... it's so funny how its the opposite of photo period plants. I've grown clones from the same mom inside and out, and even with long veg times in relatively big pots and 2x more "direct" light (12/12 vs. 6 hours), the ones inside were a fraction of the size of the ones outside. The indoor crops were often more frosty, and never had mold or bugs, so each has its strengths.

Yes very interesting indeed!!

I've got a friend who got me into growing autos, and he's thinking that I'll be able to switch my whole indoor grow over to them and produce as much as I am now.

Absolutely it is possible....the growth rates when you grow auto right can be astonishing. But the thing with autos is you need to nail them perfectly to get all that they have to offer. Being on a set time schedule(for the most part), they don't leave a whole lot of room for error.

I don't doubt that, these days I grow a bunch of smaller plants for variety, 6-10 in 3-5 gallon pots, and I average 3-6oz from each -- so autos could do well here.

Yes for sure autos will do very well in this type of situation for sure. Awesome for variety!! I play with autos in the winter in the stealth cabinet...its a 54" X 16"deep cabinet. I grow 7 small autos in 1.5 gallon pots and average 2oz per plant...sweet deal and i get to try lots of variety.

It just comes down to quality, and that is yet to be tested indoors (by me in my setup with my skill level). So that's what I'll do this winter, some of each and see how they compare. In the end it's all up to my med patient/wife, it's her call.

All about strain choice for sure!!

 

[KonopCh]

@912GreenSkell I guess photo plants gives better density at the same sun hours? On 9-12h per day.

 

[G.Leave]

@912GreenSkell I guess photo plants gives better density at the same sun hours? On 9-12h per day.

Hitt and miss on that one....often photos are not dense in limited light as well.

 

[DutchBud]

Interesting lineup you have there, i will be looking forward to your updates!
Good luck and happy growing.

 

[Humanrob]

...the thing with autos is you need to nail them perfectly to get all that they have to offer. Being on a set time schedule(for the most part), they don't leave a whole lot of room for error.

This will be one of the deciding factors for me in terms of growing autos indoors. With my photo grows I've pretty much got my system down, I aim for simplicity in terms of time/effort/overhead, and quality in terms of the bud/medicine. I've been growing for about 4 years and I've had a fair amount of time to experiment in the past, but currently I don't have as much. So hopefully the autos won't take more than a few adjustments (if anything at all other than light periods?).


On another note, I'm a little disappointed with my Mephisto seeds so far. I've attempted to germinate 15 seeds altogether from a bunch of different breeders. Of my "non-Mephisto" seeds 8 out of 9 have sprouted, with my Mephistos only 4 out of 6 popped. Oddly, the two that have not popped are both Whites -- one Walter and one Skylar. I'll keep them in damp soil for a while, I've had some really late starters in the past, but most of the others will go outside in a couple of days.