Issue #652 - Sunday, October 20, 2024 Greetings Fellow Grower, - Aren't "Auto-Flowering" and "Fast" strains the same? While "Auto-flowering" strains are indeed fast strains, they aren't "Fast strains". Weird right? I promise there's a difference; we're not just making this up! Let me
explain...
- Nature vs. Nurture for Cannabis plants? If you want a successful garden with strong buds, what are the most important things you can do? Good genetics? Yes. Good environment? Also, yes. But there's a third factor that's just as important as genetics...
- Okay, these backyard grows are officially out of control! You've totally blown our minds with the sheer number of gigantic plants growing in your backyards. We'd tell
you all to stop, but there's a problem...we love it!
Nebula Haze & Sirius Fourside
Co-Founders, GrowWeedEasy.com
"Confine yourself to the present." ~Marcus Aurelius
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What’s the Difference between “Fast” and “Auto-Flowering” Cannabis Strains? by Nebula Haze
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Click here to view the full article on GrowWeedEasy.com You’re browsing a cannabis seed bank website, and see different marijuana strains with the same name, perhaps Bruce Banner, but one says “Autoflower” and one says “Fast” (sometimes also “Express” or “FF” or “Fast Flowering”). What does this mean? What’s the difference? What’s the difference between an "Autoflowering" and "Fast"
cannabis strain?
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“Autoflowering” and “Fast” Cannabis Strains are Not the Same This may be the most confusing strain naming convention for beginner cannabis growers. You could read the entire strain description, and still not know what to expect. Auto-flowering strains are technically very fast to grow, typically being ready to harvest just 2-3 months from germination. However, the short answer is a “Fast” strain is not an auto-flowering strain, but a fast-flowering photoperiod strain. Keep reading for a quick and simple explanation, so you know exactly which strain to choose for what you want! “Autoflowering” Strains Make Buds
AutomaticallyAn auto-flowering (“auto”) strain makes buds automatically after a few weeks, and these plants are typically ready to harvest only 2-3 months from germination. These are not photoperiod strains and don’t need special light periods, or any input from you whatsoever, to start growing buds. They’re essentially like a cannabis houseplant that just needs to be kept alive to make buds. Auto-flowering strains like this Gorilla Glue Auto by Fast Buds tend to stay small and are typically ready to harvest 2-3 months from germination. Learn more about autoflowering strains. “Fast” Strains are Photoperiod Strains… but Faster
A “Fast” strain is not an auto-flowering strain, but actually a photoperiod strain that has been bred specifically to go through the
flowering stage extremely quickly while still achieving good yields and potency.
What does “photoperiod” mean? Photoperiod strains are traditional cannabis strains, and instead of automatically growing buds after a few weeks, they need to experience a 12/12 light schedule (12-hour nights) in order to start making buds. Otherwise, photoperiod plants just get bigger and bigger forever, never growing buds. Luckily, giving 12 hours of darkness each day is easy to accomplish indoors just by putting your grow lights on a timer. Learn more
about photoperiod cannabis strains. A “Fast” strain like Crystal Candy F1 Fast is NOT an auto-flowering strain! Fast cannabis strains are usually developed in one of two ways. Two ways to create a “Fast” photoperiod strain: - Cross a photoperiod strain with an auto-flowering strain – Once the cross is made, some of the offspring will be
photoperiod and some will be auto-flowering, but those photoperiod plants tend to be much faster-flowering. Breeders select for the photoperiod trait in the offspring to stabilize a photoperiod strain with that extra speediness. That’s why you’ll notice that many “fast” photoperiod strains are developed by breeders that also breed auto-flowering strains.
- Cross 2 fast-flowering photoperiod strains – In this case, the breeder makes the
cross between great photoperiod plants, identifies the fastest-flowering offspring, and then uses those plants to breed the next generation. This is typically done by commercial growers, and over several generations can shave multiple weeks off the flowering time without sacrificing yields or bud quality.
For home growers, we typically don’t mind an extra week of growing here or there. As long as we’re getting several solid harvests every year,
we’re often happy with that. Compared to those growing weed to sell to dispensaries, we may take more time in between grows, and experienced home growers often grow way more weed than we could use on our own anyway. However, once breeders develop these fast strains, it’s actually pretty neat from the perspective of a home grower. Who doesn’t want to get the same bud quality and yields, but sooner? Fast cannabis strains produce the same results in less time. Recommended Fast Strain: Gorilla Cookies Fast (sometimes listed as Gorilla Cookies “FF” for “Fast Flowering”) can get big and produce great yields, but buds are ready to harvest 7-8 weeks after initiating 12/12. That’s 2-3
weeks quicker than most photoperiod strains. Here’s an example of Gorilla Cookies Fast. Tons of weed in a short amount of time!
While we’re here, I just wanted to explain the difference between feminized and regular cannabis strains, since this is a super important distinction for home growers! Feminized vs Regular Seeds- Feminized Seeds – Every cannabis plant is female when you start
with feminized seeds. That means every single plant will make buds, and the buds will be seedless. These special seeds are created using an advanced feminization technique. As a home grower, starting with feminized seeds lets you grow weed without worrying about male
plants. Example: Bruce Banner Feminized
- Regular Seeds – With regular seeds, half plants are female (makes buds), half are male (don’t make buds). Example: Bruce Banner Regular. Male plants make
non-smokable pollen sacs instead of buds, and also release pollen, causing any nearby buds to become full of seeds. Although it’s extremely important for growers to know whether a cannabis plant is male or female, you can’t tell which is which from looking at the seeds, or even from looking at the young plants. Male and female plants look the same until they start making flowers or pre-flowers. Therefore when using regular seeds, growers must identify and remove male plants as they reveal themselves. You get to skip all that if you start with feminized seeds.
Half of “regular” seeds grow into female plants, which make buds.
But half of “regular” seeds grow into male plants, which make non-smokable pollen sacs. I recommend most beginner growers start with feminized seeds. This takes one extra possible headache out of the growing process. It stinks if you grow a few regular seeds and most of them (or even all) end up being male, due to random chance. In that case, you would have to start over to get more cannabis plants that grow buds. It’s a lot easier to take
care of cannabis plants when you know every plant will make buds! Feminized seeds always make buds. Fast Fun Fact: You may have noticed many versions of Bruce Banner on this page. Why so many variations? It’s because the original Bruce Banner cannabis strain (bred by Jason Holck, aka OG Ironlung) hit
the genetic jackpot of big yields, high bud quality, and strong euphoric effects. Bruce Banner genetics tend to be high-yielding with excellent effects. Do you have any questions about marijuana seeds or strain names? If so, let us know and I can add the necessary information to this tutorial! The HLG 350R LED Grows Dense Buds!💎 Our recent harvest under the HLG 350R LED grow light gifted us with buds as
hard as hammers. LED grow lights are known for producing high-quality, beautiful, and potent weed, but sometimes the bud density isn't quite up to par compared to the old-fashioned "big bulb" grow lights like HPS, especially when using smaller LEDs. Not the case with the HLG 350R LED grow light. If anything, I think
this light may be too powerful for most home growers. We had two of them in a 4x4 grow tent and had to turn them both down to almost 50% power to keep them from cooking the plants. Despite, that, all the buds grew long and rock-hard. Frankly, I'm considering trying an HLG 350R by itself in a 4x4 grow tent. Here was the Purple Ghost Candy under the HLG 350R at 50% These plants produced the longest colas I've seen with LEDs so far. Here was the longest bud on harvest day. If you miss the ultimate power and bud density of the old big bulb grow lights like HPS, but want the sparkle, increased potency, purpling, and low heat/electricity that comes with LEDs, this may be the right light for you. However, it is truly the most intense LED I've ever tried, so don't underestimate its power! Luckily you can turn it way down as needed. Let us know if you'd rather see us test the Mars Hydro FC-E4800 LED Grow Light in the same 4x4' setup next, or try one of the HLG 350R LEDs by itself. Check out the HLG 350R LED on Amazon. Not for the faint of heart! Note: GrowWeedEasy.com is an Amazon associate and may receive a small commission for items purchased through our links. That means you help support this newsletter any time you click an Amazon link! Pssst...Look at this! Stare into the jar of Platinum Cookies and it stares back... Okay, not really...or
does it?
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📸 Weekly Plant Spotlight: More Backyard Monsters!
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"Gentlefolk, Happy Croptober! I want to thank you for GrowWeedEasy.com
Your collection of information has helped me be successful on my first grow. The site is my go to, tell everyone about site that has insured clear instruction in all phases of the process. Thanks
again, and now for my brag photo….(s)" ~Roger "Wow, that main cola is definitely making a statement!" ~Sirius
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Recommended Cannabis Seed Sources
These sources have gotten great reviews from our readers:
- Seed Supreme – Florida, United States
- ILGM (I Love Growing Marijuana) – California, United States
- North Atlantic Seed Co. – Maine, United States
- DNA Genetics – Netherlands (with US centers)
- Seedsman – Ships from US & Europe
- MSNL – Netherlands bank with shipping centers in the US, Canada, and UK.
GrowWeedEasy.com has hundreds and hundreds of pages! Check out more resources related to today's main theme of growing weed with a smooth experience. - Photoperiod vs Auto-Flowering Cannabis Strains - Do you know the difference between photoperiod cannabis plants and autoflowering cannabis plants? If not, this page is the prime place to get up to speed. It's a very important distinction to know, and lucky, it isn't complicated at all.
- 5 Tips for Growing Autoflowering Cannabis Strains (Get Bigger Yields & More THC) - You might have been convinced to try autoflowering plants after reading the article listed above. If so, this page will help you harvest the best weed you can from your autos. If not you're not convinced to try autos...go try them!
- GWE’s Best Cannabis Seed Banks in 2024 - What makes good weed? Good lights, good environment, and good seeds! Good genetics make for good cannabis plants, so if you're going to grow your own weed, don't slouch when it comes to seeds!
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Who Runs This Newsletter?
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Nebula Haze: When I first started growing, I struggled. Now, it is my mission to make it easy for new growers to get started while helping advanced growers get bigger, better yields with less time and money. We update/add articles every week. Anyone and everyone can grow if they want to! Learn which seed sources are recommended by Nebula Haze Sirius Fourside: Sirius Fourside is a hobbyist grower who has gained the bulk of his experience growing in water as a medium (deep water culture, bubbleponics). "Growing
cannabis can be a relaxing hobby in and of itself, but it also saves you money and keeps you from having to deal with shady characters. Cannabis is much easier to grow than people give it credit for, and growing in water doesn't increase the difficulty much, if any. But whether you want to grow in water, coco, or a different medium, we'll show you how easy it can be!" Copyright (c) 2024 GrowWeedEasy.com NOTE: If links aren't working or if pictures are not showing up properly, please view the full newsletter here: http://archive.aweber.com/gwe-updates Disclaimer: Grow Weed Easy only recommends products that we've either personally checked out ourselves, or that come from people we know and trust. For doing so, we may receive a commission. Nothing in this e-mail should be considered personalized Financial, Legal, or Medical Advice. The contributors to this magazine grow legally under their local laws but are not lawyers or medical professionals. Any decision to grow
marijuana should only be made after consulting with an experienced lawyer or other legal adviser. Any medical decisions should only be made after speaking with a doctor. Be safe! How Did I Sign Up For This Newsletter? Our records indicate that requested to be added to the GrowWeedEasy.com weekly newsletter at . Date: October 21, 2024
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