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1. Training Your Plants Generally speaking, you’ll want to train your plants while they are in vegetative growth. For auto-flowering plants, this period could be as short as two weeks which means time is limited. To start, consider topping your plant after it has developed three nodes to promote a more even canopy. Another LST (low-stress training) method involves training your plant by pulling it down sideways to create new upward growth. Once your plants do begin to flower, you should not top them. Prune your plants conservatively for no more than one week into flowering.
2. Climate Considerations When you are growing auto-flowering plants, you’re allowing plants to flower when they should be in vegetative growth. Because you don’t need to follow photoperiod light cycles, many people start auto-flowering plants early in the season (e.g. March) or late in the season (e.g. September). For this time of year, it’s important to remember that the plants still need warmth to grow, and there also might be considerable rain putting the buds at risk of rot. To combat these issues, consider growing in a greenhouse to provide protection from the elements.
3. Go Easy on Feeding Auto-flowering strains do not need to be heavily fed due to their small size and the short amount of time they spend in the vegetative cycle. Feed very lightly and understand that they don’t need as many vegetative growth nutrients such as nitrogen. Also, note that these vegetative nutrients are best put to use if they are readily available for the plant to utilize quickly.
4. Harvest Gradually Auto-flowering plants often do not have time to develop a canopy, which means you will be keeping buds that are lower down on the plant. Because of this, it’s a great idea to harvest your plants sequentially. First, take the colas, then allow more time for the lower buds to dense up before they are harvested next.
5. Prepare Your Next Crop To get the most out of auto-flowering seeds, it’s a good idea to prepare your next batch of plants as you are harvesting. This means popping seeds before you harvest your current plants so that your room is continually producing. Because of the plants auto-flower, you can have plants that are just starting out in the same room as those that are finishing without worrying about the lighting.
