Grow autoflowering cannabis strains the right way: Tips & Tricks

What are autoflowering strains?

Spring is here, the days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising and the growing conditions for outdoor growing are getting better and better. In more northern/cool regions, it usually takes longer to start outdoor growing. Autoflowering strains are now an excellent option for many growers to harvest their own buds in a short time and with little space. In the following article, you will learn everything about growing autoflowering strains. But first a little background knowledge....

Fast-flowering photoperiod cannabis plants will finish in mid to late September at the earliest, depending on the climate. The "fast version" strains can often be harvested outdoors already at the end of August/beginning of September. Of course, this also depends on your growing climate and other growing conditions. Photoperiod cannabis plants, also fast version varieties, always start flowering when the days and thus the hours of sunlight per day become shorter.

Autoflowering strains are quite different, often remaining smaller and not achieving as high yields as their big sisters the photoperiod cannabis strains. However, you can harvest with them about 2 months after germination. Automatic strains take up little space, are perfect for growing on a terrace or balcony and start flowering regardless of the daily light hours. This allows 2-3 harvests per season, depending on the climate.

After a short vegetative phase of 2-4 weeks, autoflowering strains start flowering on their own. Cannabis breeders brought together genes from Cannabis Ruderalis, a type of cannabis with autoflowering properties, with other cannabis strains. Crossing the autoflowering Ruderalis with Indica or Sativa strains produced strains that can flower regardless of the daily sun hours and have a short compact structure.

Some autoflowering strains of the latest generation can reach a considerable size and thus also increased yields.

The growing phase of autoflowering strains lasts about 25 days. Then the plant starts to flower and can increase in size until the 40th day. From then on, the increased flower growth starts, the buds become bigger and denser.

The advantages of autoflowering varieties

• Autoflowering strains automatically start flowering outdoors regardless of the hours of sunlight per day. This means you don't have to worry about extra lighting to compensate for too little light, or a "relapse" into the growing phase during flowering, which causes losses in harvest and often produces strange growth (twisted leaves, altered leaf shape...).
• You can get 2-3 outdoor harvests per year. Indoor and outdoor you can harvest faster and more often.
• Many automatic varieties stay smaller than photoperiod plants and are therefore easier to hide and less noticeable. They are perfect for growing in small grow boxes or gardens.
• Autoflowering cannabis strains are easy to grow, do not require much prior knowledge and have few demands.

In recent years, autoflowering genetics have steadily improved, especially in terms of potency and effect. Countless different automatic strains have come onto the market, allowing every grower to find their favourite.

Cultivate automatic cannabis varieties

Trim Automatics

Automatic varieties are only in the growing phase for a short time, sometimes only 2 weeks. So the time is limited to do pruning or other training methods. With the help of topping you encourage the formation of flowers. As soon as the plants have three pairs of leaves, you can start topping. Another low-stress method is to tie down the main stem so that side branches can grow more upwards and form a uniform flower carpet. Once the automatics have started flowering, you should not top them again. You can prune them up to a maximum of one week into the flowering period.

As a general rule, however, autoflowering varieties should be pruned as little as possible. In the short vegetative phase they only have a limited time to recover and they need all their energy for the short flowering period.

Sufficient light

Automatics grow best outdoors when they receive as much sunlight as possible. The best time to grow outdoors is from spring to mid-summer. With good planning and depending on the climate, you can achieve 2-3 harvests per season with autoflowering varieties. Indoors, you can achieve the highest yields with the lowest wattage using NDL or LED lighting. However, it is also possible to grow automatics with fluorescent tubes or energy-saving bulbs and many growers achieve satisfactory results.

The ideal indoor lighting duration is 18/6 - i.e. 18 hours of light and 6 hours of darkness. 

However, autoflowering plants can also be lit 24 hours a day without any problems. However, this also costs more energy indoors.

The growing conditions

Give autoflowering varieties the best conditions in their short growing season to get the best results. This means: ensure a good planting medium, moderate and not too intensive fertilisation, make sure there is enough sunlight, avoid stress due to desiccation, overwatering or other factors, etc.

Fertilise Automatics

Use a few days after germination a natural Root booster in a low dosage to promote root development. Fertilise for the first time from the 20th day of life with a growth fertil iser and from the 30th day of life with flowering fertiliser. From about the 50th day of life, water only with water to wash out excess fertiliser salts.

The planter

Plant germinated automatic seeds directly in the plant pot with the final size. The pot they will stay in until harvest. Planters of at least 11 litres are best, larger pots of 20L or 25L are even better. This avoids the plants having to overcome the stress of repotting during the short growing season and having to stop growing for the time being. This way they can grow without disturbances and interruptions to reach their maximum size by flowering. Larger plants can produce higher yields. This is also and especially the case with autoflowering cannabis varieties.

The right soil

Autoflowering varieties like air-permeable, loose potting soil that contains few nutrients. Especially suitable for this is a Light Mix with little added fertiliser. You can additionally loosen up the light mix by adding some Vermiculite or Perlite to the soil. The pH value of the soil should be 6.3-6.5, similar to photoperiod plants. Ready-made soil mixtures for cannabis plants already have the right pH value.

The ideal harvest time for autoflowering varieties

For best results and to achieve buds with the highest THC content possible, harvest when 50-70% of the hairs have turned brown and most of the trichomes are milky. With a small Microscope or a magnifying glass you can easily see the trichomes.

Planning the Automatic Grow

Prepare the next crop of autoflowering plants in time. If you germinate new seeds before the current grow has been harvested, you can achieve a continuous harvest.

In the meantime, you can find a large selection of high-quality and productive cannabis strains at numerous seed banks. autoflowering cannabis strains.