I’ve read a ton of comments about the light schedule for Autoflowers and I’m still a little confused! I’m looking for some clarity, do you need to flip from a 18/6 to a 12/12 light cycle? And if so what are the benefits of doing so? Or should I stay with the 18/6 for the whole life cycle?
I leave mine on 20/4 for the entire grow. 18/6 is fine to, I use to do it this way when I started. There is no reason to switch lights with autos. Only time you would “need” to switch, is if you were growing photo plants in the same tent…
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With autos you don’t have to flip to 12/12 like you would photos, you can stay on 18/6 throughout the entire grow. If you want to save on your electricity bill you can run 12/12, but you will probably get better results running 18/6, unless your lights are high quality. If your growing photos with autos, then you would simply use the 12/12 once you switch photos to flower.
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When i first started growing auto’s i I would keep them on 18/6 then switch them to 12/12/. Now I leave them on 18/6 for the hole grow unless i have a stubborn one that won’t flower.
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I tried a SOG of northern lights autoflowers on a 6/2 light cycle. Eventually had to pull the plug when the plants grew too tall. They started flowering when they were about 12 inches tall but within a month had grown more then 5 feet tall and into the lights.
I tried the 6/2 light cycle to keep them from getting too cold during long dark cycles. Since then I have been vegging photoperiod plants under a 6/2 cycle with no issues.
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I agree with this. If a “breeder” releases duds, sometimes you’ll need to encourage them to flower. Another method that seems to help encourage early flowering is using smaller containers. 1 gallon pots or smaller seem to hold the plants closer to the schedules breeder’s advertise.
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Thanks for the info!