New Grower More Stalk for More Bud, or Just More Bud???

[Brother Sweetleaf]

Nearly two weeks ago I began my first grow of three Autoflowers from AutoSeeds-- a Hijack, a Candy Kush, and a Berry Ryder. I've been filming the entire process in detail since I received the package of seeds via airmail, and soon I'll begin editing the footage of my first-time attempts into a video series on Outdoor Growing Autoflowers in Late Summer... So stay tuned, Autoflower community! I'm in an area where the temperature falls to freezing and below sometime around mid-October, and I planted the seeds right at the beginning of August, so a 10-week growth-cycle from seed means that I'll harvest about a week and a half into October.

I've read several different guides on (general) growing, and have recently read many of the articles, comments, and guides for Autoflower growing offered here on this website. That being said...

My question today is about how specific nutrients affect the growing cycle of the Autoflower, depending on when you administer them...

Nitrogen encourages growth of healthy stalks and leaves, whereas Phosphorus encourages bud and flower development. If a grower continued giving the plant higher levels of Nitrogen after the plant began to show signs of flowering, would this encourage the plant to devote more of it's energy into growing healthy stalks and leaves instead of it's natural "readiness" to flower??? Under certain circumstances (see below), this might be a good thing, wouldn't it???

When the Autoflower wants to bud, it's going to bud. Now, my plants sorta "know" that the amount of sunlight is getting shorter by the day, and the temperatures have begun to cool a bit, and I feel that if these were the exact same plants in the exact same area grown for the exact same duration (10 weeks total) but grown from Springtime into early Summer instead of the late Summer into Autumn, then the plant's very own "intuitive wisdom" might allow it to grow bigger simply because the amount of sunlight would be increasing daily, encouraging a thriving future.

So then, if my plants ARE in fact growing kinda slow/small because it's so late in the season, and if more stalks, nodes, and leaves ultimately would allow for more bud, then wouldn't it be wise for me to encourage leaf and stem/stalk development, even during the first week or so of flowering???

Or, conversely, is it wiser to simply enhance the plant's natural cycle as it occurs, feeding it higher Phosphorus as soon as flowering begins???

Please share your thoughts, feelings, opinions, experiences, and knowledge, and thanks!

 

[namvet25]

You can give veg nutes or nitrogen in early flowering and it wont hurt,but at some point adding bloom nutes or phos encourages flower growth and more bud development and this is what we want.Most bloom nutes contain a small amount of nitrogen witch is all that is needed at this stage.

 

[Muddy]

To get the most out of your autos it's best to keep them on veg nutrients until vertical growth slows and stops, usually during week 6. The buds growth you start seeing once they sex are only preflowers. Full flowering won't begin until the vertical growth stops. You can control that to a degree by switching to bloom nutes as soon as your see preflowers. Just know that your overall yield will be decreased. Since you are on a bit of a short time table, it might be best if you make the switch around week 4. That way your plants will finish in 9-10 weeks, before the real cold weather hits. If you wait until vertical growth stops, the plants will likely take 11-12 weeks to finish.

Autos don't care about the amount of daylight or the shorter days. They will flower under any amount of light. We have people growing indoors who run 24/0, 20/4, 18/6, etc. Outdoors it doesn't matter what time of year you plant them. They will all respond about the same.

One thing to also consider is soil temperatures. Once the soil temps start to drop into the 60s you will see a decrease in growth. By the time they get into the 50s growth will stop all together. Given how early you get cold weather and how late you planted them, you may run into some cold soil temps by the time October gets here.

More information on the auto flowering plant life cycle here: https://www.autoflower.org/f44/life-cycle-auto-flowering-cannabis-5113.html

 

[Brother Sweetleaf]

Thanks, NamVet25, for your answer, and thanks to Muddy for all the great information! That not only answers my question, but feeds me some bonus info on the subject!