Try these top tips for growing Autoflowers indoors
Autoflowers are great for beginner growers and give quick turnaround times of usually around three months from seed to harvest. It is important to use good quality genetics sourced from a reliable seed bank as this will greatly increase the quality and yield of your harvest.
What are autoflowering cannabis seeds?
Autoflowering seeds will begin to flower by themselves after a short vegetation phase and are not reliant on a change of light cycle like photoperiod cannabis varieties. Creating an autoflower seed is achieved by crossing a ruderalis strain with a photoperiod indica or sativa variety. These crossed seeds will carry the autoflowering and short height traits of the ruderalis plant.
How to germinate your cannabis seeds using the cotton pad method
What is the best light cycle for Autoflowering plants?
We recommend placing your Autoflower plants under a 18on/6hrs. off light cycle for the first two weeks after germination and then under a 20on/4hrs.off light cycle until harvest day. Unlike photoperiod cannabis varieties autoflowering plants will not need a change in light cycle to start flowering but will flower in their own time, usually after 2-4 weeks.
What size pot should you use for Autoflowering cannabis plants?
A pot size of no smaller than 15-20L is recommended for autoflowering strains. Anything smaller can affect their growth and your end result at harvest time. It is important to germinate autoflowering seeds in your final pot size or move them to your final pot soon after germination as they do not have enough time in their lifecycle to recover from the shock of being transplanted too late. This is especially important for Indica dominant varieties.
What soil should you use to grow Autoflower plants?
Just like the importance of good quality genetics when choosing which seeds to purchase a good quality soil is as important and will improve the size and potency of your yield. The best is to go with coco coir and a light mix soil (best when layered in your pot) Alternatively go the easy route and buy a pre-mixed coco coir based growing medium from your local grow shop.
What should the humidity be throughout my grow?
Keeping correct humidity through your grow will help alleviate many of the problems that we see from excessive humidity. Your trichome production is boosted if your humidity is dropped right down in the last weeks of flowering.
| Stage | Week | Humidity |
| Vegetative growth | 1 – 2 | 60% – 70% |
| Pre/early flowering | 3 – 6 | 50% – 60% |
| Mid flowering | 7 – 10 | 50% |
| Late flowering | 11 – finish | 40% |
Can I defoliate my Autoflowering cannabis?
Yes,- Defoliation of autoflowers can be done during their growth stage of up to 4 weeks for Indica varieties and 6 weeks for Sativa varieties. Defoliating your plants any later than this is not recommended.
Should I use any training methods on my Autoflowering cannabis plants?
Topping or trimming is not recommended due to the autoflowering plants short life cycles. You can however use LST (low stress training) techniques on Sativa dominant varieties, LST isn’t recommended for Indica dominant varieties.
Should I use any nutrients on my Autoflowers?
It is recommended to use organic nutrients on autoflowers but remember less is always more! especially with Autoflowering strains as they are sensitive to excessive amounts of nutrients.
Zootly Yours.
