Autoflower Strains - Why?

I keep reading how auto-flowering strains are becoming extremely popular in Canada and Europe. Why is this? I don't understand the advantages of these and seems like it would be more of a hassle than anything.

I can understand why it would be appealing to noobs who don't want to mess with changing the photocycle, or don't have the space for a veg room- but what other advantages can be had? There must be something I am not seeing, why do I keep reading how they are becoming so popular in places other than America?

Also, how do these things even work? How does one breed a strain into an auto-flower?

From what I understand, most autos were bred with Ruderalis genetics. These (rudys) are indigenous to the colder regions (higher latitude) and tend to grow much easier in all climates because of this. They also don't have the same photo-period response as other sub-species. When making an auto strain breeders usually combine known indica/sativa genetics, with the rudy. With careful selection they can balance the high thc of the indi/sat, with the hardiness and auto-flowering traits of the rudy. The result is a plant that is easy to grow, not as finicky with nutrients, reliable, easy to flower in the same room as your mothers, and can still get you quite mashed if the breeder did a good job.

I'm sure there is more to it, but this is how I understand the autos.

If you read around, you'll hear "lower quality, can't clone, more hermies ...", etc.

I did hear one advocate imply that you could go from seed to finished bud in 8 to 9 weeks on some AF strains. If so, that's the ONLY sane reason I've heard to use them, but certainly not enough.

Yet, you can find a legion here on ICmag who run them and shout at anybody who questions the choice.

Beyond me ....

best,
rabbit

Reasons Include:
60 Days Seed to Harvest
Low profile, when planted outdoors extremely easy to hide and easy for stealth grows.
Outdoors you can get up too 3 harvests in one outdoor season without a problem.
With ~12-16% THC they are still more potent then many regular strains.
You can perpetually harvest indoors under a single 24 hour light.

Are there problems with them? Yes
Are they getting stronger every year? Yes

I've have run both and I have no ill will towards either. Different strains for different brains!

Why indeed.

I don't see the pros outweighing the cons anytime soon.

Where i live autoflowers are essentially the only plants that will work, i have 18-20 hours of daylight all summer, and other strains just won't finish in time for frost or mold.

I cant think of one reason to germinate an autoflower seed.

I just emptied out my veg chamber and threw everything into flower...I have a bunch of extra room in veg that isn't being utilized so I plan on running a quick 2 month crop of autos to supplement a little while my next batch of veg plants catch up. Also due to my location, very few strains will finish outdoors here. Yet with autos I can have multiple harvests per year...perpetual outdoor.

I think it's funny how the same people that knock autos are the same ppl that have never smoked or grown them (5-10 years ago doesn't count)..kinda like leds, or hydro...or whatever else you want to lump into the category of "I don't think it works/is inferior because that's what I've read about it"

I have a few friends that are die hard soil growers and talk shit about my hydro stuff all the time..yet they've never grow in it and can't tell my organic from my hydro stuffs. Kinda like the autos I've grown...they talk all kinds of shit about how low potency autos are, yet they can't pick out the auto from the normal strains I have.

If you can't figure out the clear benefits of growing autos by skimming through a couple auto grows, then no one can explain it to you. I've never seen anyone claim that autos are better in all circumstances than normal plants....the only claims I've ever heard made is that autos are right for some people, and not right for others.

StealthDragon said:

I think it's funny how the same people that knock autos are the same ppl that have never smoked or grown them

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I would bet you many of the people who frown upon autos have plenty of experience with them, and have grown them.

Umm where do I start I got about 20 grows under my belt all small 6-7 plants and indoors in soil. From what I've read and thats a lot a reading is that the first auto's where shit and they are getting less shit, thats just from what I read.

Well no point talking about what I know not so I have three autos 10 days from germination about 3 inches tall that will be ready for xmas if it does what it says on the tin

I'm not worried about the outcome but am interested to the effect the higher levals of cbd.. correct me if im wrong.... will have !

I've just harvest 'lsd' real nice yeild so I'm smiling for a while just playing games with the auto's atm. To be honest I still think its maybe a waste of time but its winter in UK and theres benefits to the light cycle 24 or 18/6 as it keeps room warm and saves electricity cost heating room during lights out... So pro's and con's I guess.... Like said earlier in the thread what suits one person shits on another

autos can have all the same problems regular strains can.... yield issue, potency issues, etc etc.

some of the most potent shit around here is an AF strain grown commercially.
some varieties are shitty potency, like all weed.

often times, people who have never grown AF's do not know what they like / when to harvest, and blame the resulting premature/week pot on the strain.
lets say i gave you some seeds, you grew them, and because of something in your grow room / environment, they do shitty and dont give good pot. then a month later you tell me that strain is shit, then i tell you "actually, those seeds were from an incredibly good super silver haze hybrid.... you must have grown it wrong"
that kind of shit happens all the time.......... same exact issues with AF's , lack of experience or a climactic factor.
most of the time its the growers fault... but some AF's do suck.

The benefits:

for indoor growers.... AF's dont make sense , to me, as a main stay for commercial. you use more energy, same amount of time and everything else, and get the same yield. 2 400 watters on a flip flop will yield more than 1 400 watter on 24/0 ... obviously.
HOWEVER they have usefull niches... filling in veg room space etc etc etc

Outdoors:
1 - many many people are in the same situation as Super Hemp.
2 - you can start seeds from 2 months before set-out date, and continue untill almost end of growing season..... literally the only way to have continuous harvest in a strictly outdoor growing setup.
3 - maybe you just want a few ounces for the head in july/august, way before 90%+ strains are ready.
4 - maybe you only want to harvest in summer time.... so even if cops see your grow, it wont be there in the autumn when they come to raid it.
5 - they work well for breeding with NON AF strains to create earlier NON-AF F1 crosses that are a real nice tool for outdoor growers.
6 - a 5 acre field of autos is way easier to NOT get busted with, than a 1 acre field of full sized plants. (from aerial view)
7 - if your main crop dies or if something goes wrong, plant a shitload of autos to ensure you get SOMETHING from all your work...


my only issue with autos, is the yield.
some autos have been breed PROPERLY.... but the mass majority are very quickly slapped together strains that are not meant to be good strains, they are meant to SELL SEEDS, $10's of thousands of seeds at jacked up prices.... they are not bread with care to fix the cons of AF strains, they only exist to make money, like many non AF strains...

personally i like the AF's. they grow differently, making them more interesting to grow (its a different game), all of my AF strains are very potent and tasty quality nuggets. i LOVE having harvest in mid July of quality head stash.

i also love being able to grow in 1 oz and 4 oz patches.... many little patches everywhere that i cant grow full sized pot.


people that go out of their way to say autos are terrible, need to try a REAL af strain....... and find something more important to argue about.

EDIT ---

soilgrower said:

... Like said earlier in the thread what suits one person shits on another

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haha well put

Whats really telling is how some people that posted against them didn't even read the posts above. There have been plenty of pros presented, but many of you would prefer to be bum buddies with a few arrogant breeders (who I won't list) who like to attack autos... probably because they would rather not put the time into something that is MUCH harder to do then conventional breeding. Why would they when they just slap together two elite cuttings and charge 200 a pack. THINK FOR YOURSELF. Well the auto projects may not have come to fruition yet they grow closer every year, and should be commended for pushing the boundaries of this species. There are now AF's that have no Ruderalis in them, so for anyone saying they are diluting the species, sorry not anymore.

You probably think that I'm an AF nut... nope only done one grow with them personally. I clone a lot so they aren't my cup of tea, but I'm not close minded enough to not see the benefits that they bring.

Guys, you are like kids...or snobs. Does everyone of you lives in Mexico or Thailand? Many people lives in NOT TROPICAL countries (Uklraine, Russia, Baltic countries, Scandinavian etc), in september, when day turns 12/12, in october and later, temperature is too low for outdoor growing...so the AF hybrids is only chance to grow outdoors.

autos are great because you can grow high quality personal stash smoke in the fucking arctic circle.

obviously people who put down or have nothing good to say about autoflowers, have VERY limited experience with them.

you know, all that putting down is getting very old and people who now better find them selves amused.

this outdoorgrown @ northern latitutde 62 diesel ryder would put in shame most boring commercial indy smokes potency wise. but also the aromas from it being grown in cold, CLEAN northern climate under the constant midnight sun... well let's just say that it can not be achieved in any indoor setup.

auto's are ideal for ppl with limited space /time / expirience

they have come on alot in recent yrs, check out cheesey's nyld on here

edgey

epicseeds said:

I keep reading how auto-flowering strains are becoming extremely popular in Canada and Europe. Why is this? I don't understand the advantages of these and seems like it would be more of a hassle than anything.

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They are quite simple to grow. No harder or easier then a standard marijuana plant. Why? Because they can flower these strains outdoors at any time, or they can grow a small plant in a small space in their small apartments (Europeans have smaller housing then most Americans).

I can understand why it would be appealing to noobs who don't want to mess with changing the photocycle, or don't have the space for a veg room- but what other advantages can be had? There must be something I am not seeing, why do I keep reading how they are becoming so popular in places other than America?

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I can understand why a noob or an expert would want to grow these. Its not a pissing match, but I'm not a noob and I like growing them.

Also, how do these things even work? How does one breed a strain into an auto-flower?

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You plant it, it generally grows and flowers in ~70 days.

Step 1: Autoflower x normal strain. Step 2 Backcross F1 x Autoflower. Step 3 F2 x F2 = Stable breeding autoflower. Step 4 (optional): Spray your favorite F3 females with colloidal silver to create feminized seeds (links in my sig).

The quality of the autoflower depends on the selections made in this process.

Sometimes you can skip step 2 because you'll find two autoflowers in your F1.

Now my questions:

Why does everyone hate on autoflowers?

Why does nobody understand they're cannabis just like any other strain?

Why are people afraid of what they don't understand?

Auto's have got good medicinal potential as well as they can contain higher levels of CBD and other cannabinoids .

so it seems af strains are geared towards outdoor and not indoor. this makes sense.

i am interested in the science behind how it actually flowers. what causes it to start to flower?

The number one reason for me to look at them is making the cop’s job a lot harder
Those helicopters aren’t cheap to fly
4 or 5 harvest a year that sounds very sweet to me.

i think there are better ways to breed them such as just doing one initial cross to the auto with a normal strain and then inbreeding those seeds and the result of those seeds will be 1/4 autoflowering then just inbreed the ones that suit your needs and if you like backcross to the original non auto and start over this will ensure the least amount of ruderalis in there as possible and if you're using a recent auto you've already got them pretty far from the original lowryder.