How to buy and grow autoflower seeds in South Africa. Learn about the latest trend in cannabis seeds with these 5 top tips for success.
A few years ago your choice of cannabis seeds was limited to just Indica, Sativa and Hybrids that were a mix of these cannabis genetics. But then there was a sudden revolution when a long overlooked option was bred into these traditional genetic lines. This was the introduction of Ruderalis.
What is Cannabis Ruderalis?
Cannabis Ruderalis is a cultivar that has been growing wild for centuries throughout Russia and Central Asia. The plants were however quite small and contained little to no real THC. So it was never really a practical option worth growing. What these genetics did contain though was a unique ability to Autoflower.
What is an Autoflower?
Traditional Indica and Sativa cannabis are photo-period plants. This means that they won’t produce any flowers until receiving 12 hours or less of light per day. Whereas an Autoflower will produce flowers no matter how much light it receives. This trait makes makes for convenient and predictable growth, as well as being able to harvest earlier than most traditional cultivars.
The first available autoflower seeds were selectively bred by crossing Ruderalis plants with potent Indicas. This delivered only decent’ish potency and low yields. But things have come a long way since then. They are now however able to compete with some of the best and offer big yields thanks to significant breeding progress. But there are some tips to getting the most out of them.
Top 5 tips for growing Autoflower Seeds in South Africa
Nutrients
Following the label on your bottles of nutrients will usually deliver excellent results. This is not the case for Autoflowers. They prefer to have nutrients diluted to half the recommended strength or less. It’s best to start with a low dose and take it from there. May growers start at a quarter of the labels recommendation.
Lighting
All of the usual lighting options for cannabis will work well. You can however run the lights for more than 12 hours a day for best results. While you can techically keeps the lights on for 24 hours a day, 16 to 18 hours are a popular choice for optimum growth.
Low Stress Training
You will want to maximize and optimize the amount of light that every part of the plant receives. Lower parts are usually shaded on by higher parts, causing a lack of bud density. Gently bending and tying the plant to one or more sides is known as Low Stress Straining. This gives a more even profile that allows for even light exposure and better bud production.
Genetics Matter
Not all autoflowers are created equal. A few years ago there were only a handful of options available. Now there are hundreds if not thousands simply a few clicks away. Be selective with what cultivars you chose to grow, Pick those that offer ideal terpenes and potency, as well as meeting your specific growing requirements. Stick to reputable brands for good and consistent results.
Minimize stress
This is perhaps what most separates growing autoflowers from traditional cannabis plants. Re-potting, cropping, light changes, nutrient burn, deficiencies and over watering are leading causes of stress. Normal plants can take a week or two recover and then get back to growing like normal. Autoflowers however grow to a set time of 10 to 12 weeks and therefore do not have the ability to easily recover from this stress. So keep it simple and stress free for best results.
Visit our guide for more info on how to grow high quality cannabis.
This article about Autoflower Seeds in South Africa was brought to you courtesy of Trophy Seeds and their range of Fastbuds Seeds.
Please leave a comment about your favourite Autoflowers and growing tips for them.
I am going to try the autos outdoor to see if i can cancell out the polination. With the new laws comming every second house is growing so pollen is every where this year.