Auto-Flower Strain Basics

neuroptican · Oct 23, 2009

Good information in this guide, figured it should be posted here. I will be doing autos soon I've decided because I want a continuous harvest coming in and only have one grow room area available to use.
http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32210

The original auto-flowering strain was created by The Joint Doctor and Highbred seeds.This is the revolutionary Lowryder.It was created by back breeding Northern Lights and William's Wonder with a Mexican Ruderalis.The amazing thing about this new strain was that the only Ruderalis trait left was the auto-flowering gene.This means that flowering is triggered by age rather then light/dark schedule.

The lifetime of the plants is short, lasting only 9 - 11 weeks.Within 2 weeks males will show themselves with the female showing around a week after that.From there the females go into a quick and violent flowering stage.They only reach an average highth of 12" with average harvests of 25 grams give or take depending on growing conditions.Giving it maximum stealth outside with up to three harvests a year.The size of the containers used will dramasticly effect size.Most growers use 1 - 2 gallon containers and can get well over an ounce out of each plant.

Due to the quick lifespan cloning becomes impracticable and is only grown from seeds.Since a separate light schedule isn't needed a grower can vegetate and flower in the same area.This creates new possibilities for small or macro operations.A small grow area can sustain a continuous S.O.G. giving a fresh harvest every few weeks.Most auto growers keep their lights at 18/6 or 20/4.A 12/12 schedule will dramatically hurt the final yield.

After the benefits of auto's was realized breeders began playing with them trying to make them bigger,stronger,and more potent.After Lowryder came Lowryder 2, also by the Joint doctor and using Santa Maria genetics.From these two strains a vast array of strains have been created in the last few years.With Low Life seeds, Mdanzig, and Dutchbreed joining to the new auto movement.Some of these new strains are said to have up to 23% Thc!
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Here are some of the strains available on the market -

Joint Doctor Highbred seeds- Lowryder , Lowrider 2 , Dieselryder , Snowryder(?)

Low Life Seeds- Automatic AK-47 , Automatic Blueberry, Automatic Lemon Skunk, Automatic White Russian, Automatic Hindu Kush

Mdanzig seeds- Masterlow, Power Stout, Blue Streak

Dutchbreed- Lowberry, Blue Barrel, Little Red Ryderhood, Lowryder Mint, Low Master, Mini Thunderfuck, Short Term Amnesia

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Here is the Joint Doctors grow guide for the original Lowryder-

OFFICIAL LOWRYDER GROW GUIDE (10/04) - written by the Joint doctor

Preferred growing methods

Indoors, Lowryder performs very well in soil mix (pots or beds) or in soil-less systems, where it can be cultivated from seed to bud in two months – 18 hours of light per day is recommended all the way through. Switching light cycles down to 12 hours may diminish yields and shorten the already-short life cycle slightly. Because Lowryder’s life cycle is so brief, cloning becomes impracticable, so only plants from seed are grown. By default, Lowryder is a great choice for sea-of-green.

Because flowering plants and seedlings can be maintained in the same room, Lowryder presents new possibilities for the small to medium home grower, including “staggering” your indoor harvest. A true continuous harvest system may be achieved by planting new plants periodically to replace the ones that have been harvested. This ensures that a grow
room is always full and always producing fresh bud, and one never has too much work at once. Click here to learn more about the Joint Doctor’s “1-2-3” continuous harvest method.

For best results, place jiffy pellet or plant directly into 1-2 gal.pots. Alternatively, start in 4-inch peat pots, then place
rootbound females into a plant bed after sexing (at approx. 17-20 days) – this may result in smaller plants than the first method. Grown under a 12 to 24 hour/daylight cycle from start to finish. I recommend 18 hours per day; this can be decreased to 16 after the first month with no loss of yield.

Outdoors: sow directly into soil after soaking, in 2 gal. pots or plant beds. New stands of Lowryder can be planted up until late summer, to ensure a continuous harvest outdoors. Avoid transplanting if you can, but do so if plants become rootbound. Rogue (remove) males at three weeks.

Growth Factors

Lowryder is extremely versatile in that it can be cultivated in virtually any climate or grow environment. In fact, it has pushed the envelope of growing, enabling early harvests in unlikely places like Finland, the North West Territories, and other northern, short-season, or high altitude areas. It is also well-adapted to backyard gardens, windowsills and patios where plants can be easily concealed because of their tiny size.

Nothing will mature earlier or faster than Lowryder! When other varieties have barely begun flowering, Lowryder outdoor growers are kicking up their feet and already enjoying their fresh harvests.

Characteristics

Lowryder virtually does away with the vegetative growth stage: it passes almost immediately from the seedling stage to the flowering period. To our knowledge, Lowryder has the shortest known life cycle and height in the cannabis species.
Male plants may be identified as such after approx. 17-20 days, while females show themselves a couple days later. Plants will even flower under a continuous light regime.

Lowryder females usually grow no taller than 16-20 inches. 12-16 inches is typical. Light intensity, pot size, and proper pH all play an important role in determining the size of plants at maturity – the better the conditions, the bigger the yield. Plants produce one main cola, although when they receive adequate light, lower nodes branch out profusely.

Yield and height are dependent on obvious growth factors. For example, plants kept in small peat cups on a windowsill may yield as little as 1 g. and grow no taller than 6 inches, with no branching whatsoever; while a plant in a 4-gallon container under high-intensity lighting and good cultivation methods, can turn into a profusely branched, two-foot wide 45-gram bud monster.

Fertilizer: During the first two weeks of growth, Lowryder should be weekly light feedings of a “grow” type nutrient solution, with micronutrients. When plants pass into full flower, they should be started on a “bloom” regime for weeks 4 through 6. Mycorise-type biological amendments (root stimulators) seem to increase growth significantly.

Average flowering time
Indoors: 40-45 days (after a 15-20 day seedling stage)
Outdoors: ripens approx. 60 days after seed is sown.
Note: 100% of plants display the auto-flowering genotype.

AVERAGE HEIGHT
12 inches. Minimum: 5 inches, maximum 16 inches (very light-dependent, with slight phenotype variations).

YIELD
Depending on light and other factors, Lowryder yields up to 45 g – one report even claims 96 g for one exceptional plant under hydroponics. Extremely light-dependent in terms of yield. Without adequate conditions, plants may stay extremely small, almost comically so – but still produce a decent smoke.

Buds are compacted close-quartered, slightly irregular and variable, with high bud/leaf ratio. Thick pistils, with orange coloration, and medium-sized, individual calyxes. Tends to be top-heavy indoors. Typically, budding sites start very close to the ground.

High is uplifting, surprisingly strong. Well-rounded. Best suited for outdoor activities. Smoke is smooth with pleasant, earthy undertones. Smell is not overpowering. Unique flavor, with echoes of NL and William’s Wonder in the bouquet.

JD on nutes:

I get a lot of requests for more info on nutrient needs for Lowryder. This is a hard question to answer as it depends how much money you want to shell out for nutrient products.

I get Advanced Nutrient products (many say the best) at a discount and I have adapted their formula for my own use. Advanced Nutrients provides a complete program for an 8-week grow and has a guide for different growing mediums.

For the first two weeks, I use what they recommend for seedlings.

Then I use the Micro 2+ Light Feeding program for the rest of their life cycle. I usually skip week 3 and 5 to bring it down to a 6 week program which I begin as soon as LRs are sexed.

I know it sounds complicated. Obviously all this is not needed.

As a rule of thumb, treat Lowryders like seedlings for the first 2-3 weeks, then switch them onto a light bloom program. So, you feed them a seedling/transplanting formula the first 2 weeks, then switch to a bloom fertilizer with something like a 5-10-5 or 1-2-1 ratio of N-P-K.

Give them a feeding of bloom fertilizer every week on weeks 3,4,5,6. Just pH-balanced water on week 7. Flushing solution on week 8.

...or for organic freaks, just plant into organic soil mix with bat guano mixed in... and put away the calculator... .
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I'm sure I forgot some stuff because I'm smoking the subject.So if anyone wants to add anything or has any questions feel free to ask.Don't forget to check out some of the great auto flower grow journals from our members.You will be amazed by some of these grows.
Click to expand...

M4N14C42O · Oct 26, 2009

excellent post!

Exotic Pack · Nov 5, 2009

can I begin planting auto-flowering plants in Mid -November if I live in a hot tropical area

neuroptican · Nov 5, 2009

Exotic Pack said:

can I begin planting auto-flowering plants in Mid -November if I live in a hot tropical area
Click to expand...

It really depends where you live and how cold it gets. The seeds aren't cheap so if there is any risk I'd say no.

greencandyman · Jan 4, 2010

How about Tanzanian Magic from African seeds? It also autoflowers, and is probably the only pure sativa to do so. It is also much higher in potency than ruderalis, which is pretty lame. If the ruderalis strains are line bred 2 or 3 times, it is probably not very stable. Could end up with something that is closer to one or the other original parents.

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Auto-Flower Strain Basics

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