Auto Flower Grow Cycle

Auto flowering strains require some preparation, as they will grow quickly and start to flower whether or not you are ready for them. However, follow these steps and you should find success in your auto flowering garden. Read more on the benefits of Autoflower Seeds and Popular Auto Flowering Seeds.

Week 1: Germination

This initial stage occurs within 3 days, sometimes as soon as 24 hours. Choose a potting soil mix or blend your own with peat moss, compost, moistened perlite, and moistened vermiculture, along with nitrogen-rich tablets containing other essential nutrients — plus a dose of good fungi.

The ideal planting environment for your cannabis seeds has 70 percent to 90 percent humidity and is 70 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour the soil into pots and poke 15-millimeter holes in the soil. Plant a seed in each hole, cover with soil and watch for a seedling to emerge in the next several days.

Week 2: Late seedling phase

At this point, your seedling has begun creating energy from its light source. If you are growing indoors, you will want to use LED lights because they save energy and direct less heat. You only need a single light to grow a large plant in an indoor autoflower grow setup.

Add more nutrients to your late-stage seedlings. Since you are growing autoflowers and not regular seeds, use only half the usual dose indicated on the package.

Week 3-4: Vegetation

Your plant has reached the vegetative stage. That means you should be focusing on creating the best environment. Change up the environmental conditions with low-stress training. Reduce the humidity to 50 percent, lower the temperature to 68 degrees, and feed twice per week.

The plants should be about 15cm tall at this point. The fan leaves are sprouting, enhancing the photosynthesis process, and increasing your plant’s ability to create potent flowers. Water with half a liter every day and keep feeding it twice weekly.

Week 5-6: Flowering

Sticky, resinous buds will make their first appearance during week 5, giving you a preview of the bounty to come. Keep the humidity consistent at 45 percent but increase the temperature to about 71 degrees. Increase the water to a full liter each day and add supplements twice a week. Look for those containing phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, and potassium.

The plants should be at least 30cm tall now. Do not be surprised to see a flower forming in every bud right around week 6. Drop the humidity to 40 percent and reduce the temperature back to 68 degrees. Water with 1.5 liters and feed the plants three times a week.

After week 6, you are in the home stretch of raising autoflowering plants to maturity.

Week 7: Monitor

In week 7, you are going to focus on maintaining the environment. If you have your plants outside, make sure it is not too hot or wet. If they are inside, check the humidity. You should be near 40 percent -Auto flowering strains.

It is crucial to stop harmful intruders such as mold and spider mites, so check your cannabis plants daily. Look at the leaves for signs of nutrient deficiency. Maintain the watering and feeding schedule established in week 6.

Week 8-9: Flush and defoliate

Start the process of flushing on week 8. This means you stop giving your plants anything other than water. You do not want any of that stuff in your final harvest. Flush the plant’s soil with a flood of water so that any excess chemicals are cleared before the plant can eat any more of them -Auto flowering strains.

This will prevent those chemicals from remaining in the plant when it is time to harvest. Repeat the flooding process multiple times for up to two weeks. Be sure to allow your soil to dry out between flushing’s.

Now, it is time to do a little trimming. Find some shears and remove the small fan leaves from the bottom nodes. Defoliation helps the plants absorb more light while limiting the risk of developing mold- auto flower grow.

Week 10-12: Harvest time

Depending on your specific strain, you may be ready for harvest anywhere from 10-12 weeks. You will know it is time when most of the trichomes are whitish, and the pistils are brownish-red. If you flushed your plants, the fan leaves might look rust-colored or otherwise discolored, this is perfectly normal.

Keep in mind regardless of how much you trained your plant, some buds automatically position closer to the light, and as a result, will finish ripening first.

Especially when growing autoflowers indoors, your results can vary depending on the strain and the quality of the seeds. If your plant seems to progress slower or faster than others, do not worry. Each plant is unique and may require its own time to fully mature.

Curing and storing autoflower harvest

Many of the same drying, curing and storing rules apply with autoflowering cannabis plants. You can dry your buds by hanging them upside down for a few days. Store them in airtight containers but ensure there is a bit of space in each jar. Initially, open the jars once a day for a few minutes.

After a week, opening the jars once every 2-3 days will suffice. The key is to keep the humidity inside the jar to around 62 percent. Your bud will be done curing after a minimum of 2 weeks but could take up to 2 months, depending on how patient you are.