Autoflowering has been a popular choice when it comes to growing cannabis plants for some time now.
If you have never used autoflowering seeds, you are probably thinking about whether they are a good option for you. With all the different types of seeds on the market, growers, especially first-time growers find choosing seeds overwhelming. With all the different strains, soils, growing supplies, and the know-how required to successfully grow good marijuana, it’s no wonder why many people who consume cannabis don’t bother. At a glance, growing marijuana can look extremely difficult, but it is not as difficult as you might think. This is why many growers opt to use autoflowering seeds. Unlike regular or feminized seeds, they don’t require lots of maintenance.
If you are looking to purchase these seeds, there are lots of shops, both physical and online stores that have a wide range of autoflowering seeds for sale.
What are Autoflowering Seeds?
They are also known as auto or automatic marijuana seeds. These seeds contain genetics in their DNA known as Ruderails. These strains originated from countries that experience harsh, tough climates such as Siberia and northern Russia.
The thing that makes autoflowering so popular is that they have a fast flowering speed. Unlike all the other options, flowering does not need to rely on the photoperiod phase to create buds. The flowering happens naturally as soon as the plant has matured. This is why many newbies to the games decide to grow with autoflowering seeds.
If you grow a cannabis plant with autoflowering seeds, you can expect it to show evidence of flowering after 20-25 days. It flowers early because it is used to extreme conditions, so it wants to flower early before winters get even colder. If you are thinking about purchasing autoflowering cannabis seeds from https://amsterdammarijuanaseeds.com/seedshop-autoflowering-seeds, figuring out the scenarios which might not be ideal to use these seeds is vital.
Why do Growers use Autoflowering Cannabis Seeds instead of Feminized Seeds?
Another popular choice when it comes to purchasing weed seeds are feminized seeds. These seeds are 98% female, so the chances of them producing a male plant are very slim. However, many growers still opt to grow with autoflowering seeds, and here are a few reasons why:
- Grow better during tough weather conditions: If you are growing outdoors in a cold climate, autoflowering seeds are probably your best option. They tend to grow much better in colder conditions and they will perform better than feminized seeds most of the time.
- Faster: If time isn’t on your side, growing with autoflowering seeds is a much faster option in comparison to growing with feminized seeds. You can expect the whole process, from germinating the seeds to the day you harvest to take around 60-90 days.
- Because the life cycle is short, they hardly ever get affected by mold, bugs, or fungi. This is why so many newbies choose to grow with autoflowering seeds. Controlling moisture and pests can cause all sorts of problems, and if you are a novice to the game, it can become a nightmare.
- The plants are not too tall: If you plan on growing without your neighbor noticing, you might want to avoid extremely tall Sativa plants. Some of these can grow up to 20 feet! If you have a garden where members of the public can see in, or you are growing on your balcony in your apartment, autoflowering plants will probably be your best option. The plants tend to stay small so they are perfect for small spaces and to avoid passersby noticing. Not everybody wants the world to know they are growing marijuana, even if it is completely legal in their current location.
Tips on Growing Autoflowering Plants Indoors
Although many people grow autoflowering plants outdoors, the environment you live in might not be suitable. The other option is to grow the cannabis plants indoors, so here are a few tips to help you succeed:
- How many hours of light do autoflowering plants need per day?: This varies from strain to strain. Most experienced growers claim the lights should be turned off 18 daily. The light cycle is not as strict in comparison to growing with regular seeds, which is one of the reasons why they are ideal for novice growers or growers who don’t have a lot of free time on their hands. These plants depend on their age and not the amount of light they get. At the same time, make sure you don’t deprive the plants of light altogether.
- What soil should I use?: Any grower will tell you the importance of using the right soil. Autoflowering strains normally work best when airy soil is used. Even though these soils tend to have very little nutrients, you can still produce a very healthy plant with dense buds. Speak to the employees at your local grow store for advice instead of buying basic soil from your local garden store.
- Nutrients: As discussed earlier, autoflowering strains are low maintenance so they don’t require much feeding. In fact, you don’t have to feed them at all for the first couple of weeks. All you need to do is feed the plant water to keep it healthy, and after this period you can add nutrients until the plant is about to start flowering.
- Grow pots: With other strains, you need to purchase a lot of different grow pots. With autoflowering seeds, this is not the case as the plants don’t require plenty of grow pots to succeed.
Autoflowering clones tend to be a lot stronger than cuttings from a feminized plant. If it is your first time growing and you have the option of using a clone, perhaps this would be the best way to start the process. When cloning cannabis, it cuts out the germinating stage and because you will be taking cuttings from the mother plant, you will be 100% that the plant is a female. It won’t take long for the plant to flower and it will require little maintenance. This is probably the easiest journey to grow marijuana successfully.
