Yeah - surprised me too! It wasn’t expected - and usually the the freebie give away seeds are of lesser genetics (such as the 5 Lemon Skunk Autos I got). But whatever their business model, the selection is excellent, the customer service very good and delivery time great! If the germination rate is good, I will definitely be a return customer. I have issues when I try to order through this seed bank and lack the patience to work through the challenges. For me, it should work - but it doesn’t - I get over it and keep going.
Mate, it is great to be back! Just starting into what will be a challenging summer. But at least I can kick off if I want to - the limbo between harvest and beans arriving was painful. It was only 5 weeks - but a painful 5 weeks! 
They are the 2 reasons I wanted to try - the challenge and the learn. Some decent smoke at the end is an added bonus!!!
Thank you sir!
It was fascinating researching the strains and to have a basic idea of what the plant is going to do before I grow it. Being my first run from seed, I am really looking forward to it. I like the randomness of clones - but the consistency in form I really look forward to.
Now to look up Autos…
Laughing as my list changes constantly. Forever I was sold on growing Grand Daddy Purple but decided on the Critical Mass at the end due to the intrigue of growing a higher CBD content one. Have never even smoked CBD but interested in the effects for pain. I am waking up every morning with elbows so stiff I can’t move my arms. Ugh!
FIM is super easy. I did it my first grow. Don’t be ‘ascared’ as we say in New Mexico. I also played with supercropping, which is fun too. Have a supply of Coban medical stretchy wrap and honey on hand to repair anything that might tear. I actually had a stem tear nearly in half on first grow and repaired it, the thing never even wilted. But I like fiddling with things. The autoflowers finishing up were boring to me as you just can’t mess with them much, and let me tell you, they don’t finish any quicker. My Lemon Haze auto, should finish in 8-10 weeks will be 14 weeks on Wednesday. Harvesting some Blueberry X Big Bud today. Great day for it with 20-30 mph winds and 45 mph gusts, ain’t gonna be no long trail runs today.
The pain management definitely provides additional incentive to grow something special!
Autos are not something I want to make a habit out of for sure. I will give them a run and challenge myself with a summer grow. I am much more excited about playing with more photoperiods. I am fascinated my the training/ punishment they will endure - and thrive in response to.
My last grow (my first) was from clones - so got to do quite a bit of trial and error - to learn what works and practice on doing it better. Really looking forward to putting that into practice.
As you say, there isn’t a lot you can do with autos. From what I understand, they are a more sturdy plant - more forgiving to conditions. Our summer is sure to put that to the test!
Just got back from fishing - keen to germinate some beans… 
Let the games begin!
First up we have 4 x Barney’s Farms Pineapple Express Auto seeds dropped in water. Supposed to be 60-65 days from germination.
From water, they will go into Jiffys (mesh removed!) and into small 1 gallon (I think) pots under fluros and domes. I am sticking with the Canna Terra soil and nutes (will use their supplements this time).
Undecided if I should stick with the 5 gallon pots or are 3 gallons generally preferred - being that they are generally smaller?
If I am to believe the website, the expected harvest is 60-100 grams per plant - which seems solid!
I will probably use my SCROG net again - even if just for guidance and support of the buds.
I am going to do this grow under a 600W HPS in a Cool Tube. Is it generally best to ease seedlings into the HPS? Fluro > LED > HPS?
Which is the preferred light cycle for Autos? 18/6 or 12/12? I’ve seen both used - what are the benefits of one over the other?
Am I right in believing the common limit for training on Autos is a bit of light bondage and Supercropping?
Any inside knowledge or tricks appreciated.
Thanks in advance peoples!!!
@Hellraiser @Cannabian @Davyg @Dman1969 @Covertgrower @Chasworks @Enlightened420 @beardless @Kellydans @PurpNGold74
I run my Auto on 18 /6 till time to flip photos then finish autos on 12/12 . Autos will grow on about any reasonable light schedule.
Thanks mate. Is that just for simplicities sake?
You don’t find any benefit of one over the other? I wasn’t sure if there was a benefit to the longer dark hours being that they grow quicker - so work harder… I’m probably thinking too far into it…
12 /12 save you a little on the electric bill. In the past I have grown on both schedules start to finish I really didn’t see a lot of difference in the yield .that’s just me others may have had different experiences.
Never grown autos Brother wish I could help. But I’m stoked for your grow!! Keep on keeping on! 
It will be a mystery!
I will just have to be sure I don’t go too heavy with the training because you don’t get the recovery time you do with Photos…
I run my autos at 20/4. When I started reading on auto light schedules, some advocated 24/0 other 18/6 and everything in between. So I figured 20/4 has to be a good compromise. I dialed it back midway through flower a little with the last grow. Closer to 19/5 because of the amount of light I was throwing at a single plant.
Wish i could help never grew any auto’s i will be set to watching! That 60 days isn’t the Flower count down?? Seem like 60 is quick for Veg and Flower! 
stay lit 
Definitely seems there is no set way. I think I will stick with 18/6, that way if I get the urge, I can drop a photoperiod in near the end to run as a mother… there I go… getting ahead of myself again!
They actually state 4 weeks veg from germination and 28 days for flower! Seems crazy fast to me - and obviously why training is kept to a minimum…
I ran 12/12 seed to harvest.
Do you go easy on the training and just let them run their course? I was thinking maybe just to spread and possibly supercrop… 
This a jack herer auto with extensive LST
Others, just spread out, tie down and maybe top depending on the strain. I usually like to top. Not a fan of single colas for the most part. Too much light deviation between top and bottom unless you tie down the top.
No. They don’t recover from supercropping. I had one stem early on bend and break in a supercrop manner and I propped and shored it up, the area damaged never really recovered and that was with weeks and weeks of growing. It left a bruise and it did not get stiff or stronger at the break as my photos did when I supercropped. Nor did it grow any extra branches or buds that supercropping encourages. The bud a the end was so so, but probably would have been better had that not happened. I always SCROG, simply because it is so handy to have the net to tie down to or use as a prop. So tying down is about all you can do, some do FIM them very, very early on. But with tying down I ended up with some really big colas on the Blueberry X Big Bud and harvested 238 grams on that plan. That is dried weight.
Personally, autos make sense to me for an outdoor grow. Start as early as you can and get a harvest well before the fall. Indoor grow it doesn’t matter so much. Timing for my autos is about same as photos and if I am going to use that much electricity and resources might as well get a bigger yield in same space and about same time. If that makes sense. I noted that the stems were way more tender and bendy than the photos, and I use silica on all my grows.
Looks like you have a great line up ready to go for you! And for yield? I am realizing I may not need to grow more than we can consume, however, old friends are kind of showing back up in my life when they learned I had a grow. 
You can see I used the cheapie net I can destroy at the end. Next grow will use the heavy duty bungee style net as the Critical Mass buds apparently can bend the stems over. And I got a lot of nice big buds from the LST.
I tried all sorts with my autos and they didn’t like it. I kept one whole and attacked the rest. The one I left yielded the most. That was in my greenhouse long before my ILGM training began. Lighting is the same as @kellydans does, 18/6 then on to 12/12 with the rest of the tent