How To Grow Autoflowering Cannabis Seeds
Growing autoflowering cannabis seeds does not differ greatly from growing the usual Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica varieties. However, there are a few differences you will need to take into account.
Of course, most notably the life cycle of the plants are very different. Most autoflowering cannabis seeds will flower automatically after 17-20 days of growth, which makes them ready to harvest after 60-65 days, some up to 70-80 days. This in contrast with the sativas and indicas who need the entire spring and large part of the summer to grow, plus a flowering period of 6-12 weeks when the light is weaning.
There are of course certain circumstances which will allow autoflowering cannabis seeds to develop in the best way possible.
Indoors:
Hours of light
On the internet there are many different opinion on this matter, varying from 16 to 24 hours of light each day. We favour 18 hours a day. So from the beginning to the end of the life cycle it's 18/6.
Soil
Autoflowering cannabis seeds enjoy airy soil, relatively low on nutrients. Standard pot plant soil is not suitable for autoflowering cannabis seeds (actually, not for sativa's and indica's either, by the way...). It's much better to buy your soil at a specialized growshop. Always go for the ´Light´ mix.
If you want or need to mix your own soil, you could start with a simple basic recipe such as:
- 3 parts compost
- 3 parts peat moss
- 2 part perlite, pre-wet
- 1 part vermiculite, pre-wet
Nutrients
During the first 12-14 days you won't have to feed your plant anything but water. After this period you could start adding growth nutrients, the light type. Continue this until the plant has been flowering for a week. This will amount to about two weeks of giving growth nutrients. Flush well and then switch to flowering nutrients for about 4 weeks. Again, use the light type. About a week before harvesting you can stop giving nutrients.
And please remember, don't feed them too much. Commercial producers of plant nutrients tend to advise very high concentrations of nutrients for your plants. We usually use a lot less, especially with autoflowering cannabis strains. If the bottle reads 20-30 ml per litre, we will use 10-20 ml per litre.
Size Of Pots
Most autoflowering cannabis seeds will not become very large. So really large pots are not advised to use. You could use pots varying in content from 3 - 15 litre. The larger the pot is you use, the more roots the plant will make, the higher and larger your plant will be. Of course there's a limit there. In our experience with most autoflowering cannabis seeds 15 litres pots are the limit. Every extra space it gets is basically useless. It doesn't harm your plants either by the way.
Outdoors:
The outdoor grower is of course dependent on the time of the year. With autoflowering cannabis seeds you can start the germination when the first serious signs of ´nice weather´ have come in spring. Of course it's important to take into account where you are situated, on this globe. In the warmer regions you could start early may. But if you live in a colder area you will need to wait a few weeks. During a long and warm summer you are able to start a new cycle of plants in the start of august. 2 to 3 cultivations are possible within one season!
In the somewhat colder regions it's most likely your autoflowering cannabis plants will need a few days more to fully mature than the amount of days given by the seed producer.
P.S. There are areas on this globe were during the summer the sun doesn't set at all, giving (nearly) 24 hours of daylight. The introduction of autoflowering cannabis seeds has enabled people in these areas to grow outdoors nowadays! From Finland to the North West Territories... Just give ´m a little bit of sun and they will thrive everywhere.
All info listed above is of course strain dependent, and as such could vary.
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hey is it at all possible to grow autoflowerig strains without nutrients and just normal soil just throw them in a pot and let them stand in a windowcounter ??
visitor wrote 3 weeks 1 day agoHi im just starting to grow autoflowering seeds for the first time and I'm wondering what i need to know about lights? I was told that it is possiable to use an energy saving light bulb instead of a iv lamp is this true? if not what am I meant to do? Any ways that wont affect the electricity bill too much?
visitor wrote 7 weeks 6 hours agoI am assuming the best light source for autos is LED, My question is what if it dont have a LED. Should I start under fluros and go to HPS once the signs of flower have come on? Do I just keep it under the same light source the whole time? Does changing it make any difference?
visitor wrote 8 weeks 5 days agoI just recently bought auto flowering seeds and was going to start growing them in the back garden as the better weather is starting to come in, is this ok to go forward with? I was also looking to know how much I will get off these plants. This is also my first time at attempting to grow so any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks
visitor wrote 10 weeks 6 days agoIf they have good light and soil and all of them flower fully, each plant should yield as much as 400-500 grams per plant.
visitor wrote 8 weeks 6 days agohey guys thanx for the article..any idea how much water do they need per day??
visitor wrote 14 weeks 1 day agoIf I'm using a phototron, would it be best that I use autoflowering seeds or no?
visitor wrote 14 weeks 2 days agored or blue light for indoors?
visitor wrote 22 weeks 1 day agoblue for veg and red for flower. Think of Metal halide as being blue and HPS being red.
visitor wrote 18 weeks 4 days agoand do you have to move the lights as the plant grows??what do u think is the perfect distance?
visitor wrote 14 weeks 1 day agopubes on the gash
visitor wrote 37 weeks 2 days agocheese on the bell
visitor wrote 33 weeks 4 days agocan u use grow wool instead of soil?
visitor wrote 37 weeks 4 days agoCan they be grown in a hydroponic system.
visitor wrote 38 weeks 6 days agoDo they produce new seeds?
visitor wrote 39 weeks 5 days agoI am about to finish my second auto grow and the info you supply is right on. I had a slight nute burn at the low rate they recomended. The other thing I have seen is that the yeild improves greatly if the plant is given 2-3 weeks longer (9-11) to mature.
virginia gent wrote 43 weeks 2 days agoif u don't mind tell me what kind of light do u use please thru the whole phase steve
visitor wrote 30 weeks 3 days agoSorry, I'm not Steve, but I would like to answer the question. I would suggest a full spectrum, 4000 lumen or better, fluorescent, either tube or one that fits into a normal light bulb base for each square foot of growing space. This seems to work the best for me.
visitor wrote 18 weeks 6 days agoCan You Clone them. Does it start over when new roots grow
visitor wrote 44 weeks 4 days agoyes you can clone them, but no, they don't start over. So basically it's pointless to clone autoflowering plants.
visitor wrote 39 weeks 5 hours agoThat comment is absurd. No, they don't start over as if from seed, but the clones do turn into a new plant that can also be cloned and so on. The clones mature and produce like any other plant. They are a clone of the mother and turn into another autoflower with the same cycle as it's parent.
visitor wrote 18 weeks 6 days agoIt's not an absurd comment, what he said was correct in a nut shell. They don't 'start over' because they have already started flowering. The advantage of clones from non-autoflowerers is they will go back in to veg stage, where these will not. So it isn't a good idea to clone them if you want a healthy plant you might as well start afresh.
visitor wrote 18 weeks 8 hours agoCloning autos is stupid the cutting will not go into veg because there is very little if any on these plants. Also doing this you significantly reduce your yeild once again due to the whole no veg thing. There sole purpose is to be grown from seed without pruning "plants for idiots".
visitor wrote 16 weeks 4 days agoAutoflowers are an intelligent choice for new growers or those with very limited space. They are getting better all the time with some strains over 20% THC content and grow to over 3 feet. In all candor, anyone directing remarks like that to other growers, regardless of experience, have no place here.
bongwater923 wrote 16 weeks 2 days agoactually i think you'll find all smokers are ALWAYS welcome EVERYWHERE. both your opinions are stupid anyway. just find a nice patch of land in the south of spain and grow away to your hearts content every sativa and indica you can possibly imagine. i just stick auto flowering seeds in to fill the voids until the REAL crop comes up trumps in october. auto's are just a good solution to a very small problem, one that doesn't affect me personally in the slightest.
visitor wrote 16 weeks 1 day agodoesnt effect you personally, thats why you posted a reply isnt it? lolol!!!!!!!!!!!
visitor wrote 8 weeks 1 day agoHi Ive looked all over but still cant see any mention of re potting at any stage ????? should i pot these auto flowering seeds when cracked straight into 5L or bigger pots as i dont want to shock them. ............. Thanks in advance ;0)
visitor wrote 14 weeks 5 days ago