Cannabis grows all over the world. In warm areas and also on cold mountains, in places with a lot of light and places with little light during the day.
The cannabis plant adapts its properties to its environment in order to maintain the species. For example, cannabis has been classified into groups: Sativa, which comes from areas around the equator with short days and a lot of sun. Indica, which comes from the higher areas in Asia where the conditions are less good. Ruderalis, a species that originates from Central Europe, Russia and Central Asia where bad weather conditions prevail.
Sativa and Indica are light-sensitive or photosensitive cannabis species and need a change in light schedule to activate their flowering phase. These come in regular and feminized seeds. Ruderalis is not sensitive to this and “automatically” switches to the flowering phase when the plant is mature. The autoflowering cannabis plant was created by crossing Sativa and Indica dominant species with Ruderalis.
The first crosses had little potency and yield and carried a stigma for a long time. Today's autoflowers are no longer inferior to their photosensitive varieties. At Suzy Seeds we also bring the best of these worlds together, with our premium feminized Autoflowering Seeds.
Growing Autoflowers
Autoflowering and photosensitive plants go through the same stages in their life cycle and growing them is not very different. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when growing autoflowers because they develop slightly differently. Once you understand this, they are easy to grow yourself and their small size makes them ideal for medicinal growers or micro-growing.
Also read: Why should you consider autoflowering cannabis seeds?
Growing Autoflowering seeds indoors
You can grow your autoflowers indoors and be sure of high yield and top quality of flower. In a controlled growing space you get the best out of the plant. Growing with many hours of light the plant and by creating the optimal conditions for your plants you will awarded with high yield. When growing autoflowers indoors in a tent, the power consumption can be a disadvantageous factor. But then you grow the best autoflower with a high yield and in a short period.
Growing Autoflowers Outdoors
Autoflowers are ideal for growing outdoors. In Central Europe, the best days, with long and abundant light, are from May to August. This is the best period to grow autoflowers outdoors. The autoflowers can be grown in the open ground or in pots. With a small grow light indoors, you can start growing even earlier and extend the period in which you can grow. With fast- and short-flowering autoflowers, you can grow multiple rounds of five plants in one summer. Growing autoflowers in a greenhouse is ideal, but ensure good ventilation.
What is the best light schedule for autoflower plant?
Photosensitive cannabis plants start flowering when the days get shorter and need 12 hours of light for an exuberant flowering. In principle, an autoflower also needs this, but the flowering will be less exuberant. The best growing results are achieved with a light duration of 18 to 20 hours. Some growers claim to get the best yield if they leave the light on for 24 hours without interruption. Outdoors, the days are long enough in the summer months to provide them with sufficient light.
Nutrition and pH for autoflowering cannabis plant
Due to the short life cycle of an autoflower, it is important not to make a mistake with nutrition. Inform yourself well about the products you use and the autoflower growing schedule. It is best to use an organic all-in-one nutrition and grow on soil. You can do little wrong with this.
You do not even have to measure the PH value. If you want to work with mineral nutrients and you already have some experience, you can adjust the autoflower nutrition to the phase of the plant and also use a stimulator for root growth and top formation. For the best results with mineral nutrition on soil, it is best to keep the PH value around 6 to 6.5. With hydro cultivation, it is better to keep it a little lower, around 5.5 to 6.
Germinating autoflower cannabis seeds
All cannabis seeds germinate in the same way, including an autoflower. Decide for yourself what you think is the best way. The only difference is that you immediately put the seed in its final pot.
Cannabis has a taproot, the deeper this can go, the bigger the autoflower will become. So growing in a small pot and repotting itself, all have a negative effect on the growth process of the plant. Growing autoflowers in pots of 18 liters to 25 liters, gives you the best results.
The growth phase of autoflowers
The germination, growth and stretching phase covers about half of the autoflower's life cycle. Anything that goes wrong here will affect the further development of the plant. When growing indoors, keep the temperature between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius. The humidity may be high in the beginning, but make sure that it is below 50% as growth progresses. Growing techniques such as HST, by topping the autoflower, are not recommended because the plant has too little time to recover.
It is good to apply LST (low stress straining) during the growth phase, by spreading the plant it can absorb more light. This way you can keep the autoflower small. At an early stage of growth you can remove the bottom two shoots, these will be in the shade a lot and become small popcorn buds.
If you remove them, the autoflower will put its energy into the remaining buds. Giving a little bit of water several times is better than giving a lot of water at once. A medium that is too wet will inhibit root growth and affect the further development of the autoflower.
The flowering phase of autoflowers
For an autoflowering plant to flower, you don't have to change the light schedule or wait for the end of summer, it does that automatically. Around the fifth week, the first pistils appear and not long after that, small buds will start to form. During the flowering phase of an indoor grow, it is best to bring the humidity to around 40% to prevent disease and mold. Some autoflower varieties have a longer flowering time and can grow up to 1.5 meters high.
So make sure you are well informed when buying the seeds. An autoflower can get quite thirsty during the flowering phase, but do not give too much water. This prevents unnecessary increases in humidity. At the end of the flowering phase, it is best to determine the harvest time by looking at the trichomes. When most of them are milky, the autoflower can be harvested. Harvesting, drying, curing and cutting is done in the same way as you do with other weed.
Growing autoflowers is easy and is a fun activity that can give you beautiful harvests. Also for the beginning grower. Do you also feel like ordering autoflowers after reading this? Then take a look at the assortment from the Suzy Seeds Autoflowering Collection.
