Unless you live on the West Coast of America or Canada, it’s likely that you’re having trouble getting your hands on weed. Our journalist-botanist Steven, whose expert advice graces the pages of High Times and whose cultivation tips are regularly published by Zamnesia, RoyalQueen Seeds or Leafly, talks to us about autoflowering and the pearls of… cannabic cultivation.
When they first appeared on the market some twenty years ago, autoflowering weed varieties had a rather bad reputation: small size, small effects and big disappointments were generally the order of the day.
Today’s autoflo’ strains, on the other hand, produce very good yields with a quality that has nothing to envy of their predecessors, in less time and without worries such as photoperiod management.
A brief history of autoflowering cannabis strains
So-called automatic or autoflowering weed is a cross between cannabis ruderalis (the only cannabis variety that flowers according to maturity rather than changes in photoperiod) and indica/sativa.
Legendary breeder Nevil Schoenmakers is said to have experimented with ruderalis crosses in the 1970s, but it wasn’t until the 2000s that seed banks began selling autoflowering seeds.
Lowryder by The Joint Doctor is believed to be the first commercially available autoflowering strain. According to The Joint Doctor website, it was born out of a desire to create a type of “dwarf” cannabis strain “that would work for windowsills, balconies and cramped apartments.”
Las! Lowryder is one of the reasons why people cringe when you talk about automatic weed: despite their extremely rapid maturation, Lowryder phenotypes didn’t taste good and had virtually no effect.
Today (there’s no stopping progress), an auto can be harvested in 60 days, and there’s no need to worry about quantity or quality.
Autoflowering: the COVID-19 anti-penuria treatment
If you’ve already grown your own weed, there’s no better time than now to embark on the automatic adventure (unlike classic photoperiodics, where the average grower would have had to wait until June), an adventure that’s the best solution to the dirty side-effect of containment: scarcity. They’re easy to grow, flower quickly and require no training or pruning.
After that, it’s a matter of choice and taste, and here are mine, which have never gone out of fashion as I write this article.
I’ve got a crush on White Widow Automatic from Royal Queen Seeds and AK47 Automatic (Royal Queen and TNT Seeds both have excellent versions of this strain). Both produce dense buds with crazy terpenes.
They take a little longer to grow than other autos (75 days), but are particularly hardy.
Some other autos worth checking out:
Green-O-Matic by Greenhouse Seeds Co, This variety, from one of the Netherlands’ most renowned seed banks, flowers in 5-6 weeks.
Royal Gorilla Automatic by Royal Queen Seeds, which flowers in 5-7 weeks and can produce up to 20% THC.
Thanks to their short life cycle, autoflowering strains are ideal for beginner growers. Cannabis ruderalis is naturally highly resistant to both insects and disease, a characteristic that will be appreciated outdoors.
Another good point is that autoflowering strains don’t need pruning, which is ideal for beginners who may not feel comfortable with seasoned grower techniques such as topping or super-cropping.
Cars grow indoors as well as outdoors; if you’re in the northern hemisphere, your cars will grow just fine in the sun (especially in regions like southern Spain, Portugal, France and Italy). If, like me, you’re in the southern hemisphere, on the other hand, the indoor option is the way to go. If you’re an indoor grower, remember to give your autos 20 hours of light a day throughout their growth cycle to maximize their potential.
Finally, what really sets autos apart from their photoperiod cousins is their ease and speed of growth. All your autos need to thrive is good quality soil, regular watering and a good source of light.
Good growth!
#stayhome #staystone
