If you’re growing cannabis from seeds, you are most likely choosing between autoflower or feminized seeds, as opposed to regular cannabis seeds.
Why Choose Autoflower Or Feminized Over Regular Cannabis Seeds?
Regular cannabis seeds will grow a mix between male and female plants, and require the grower to have experience in identifying the sex of the plants. This is necessary to weed out the males before they pollinate the females, which causes females to produce abundant seeds in the buds. Most of us prefer big smokable buds that are not full of seeds.
Typically, only ganga gurus grow with regular seeds when they experiment with breeding. Otherwise, from the novice grower to commercial cultivation, feminized seeds are preferred because you are guaranteed to grow a female plant 99.9% of the time.
While autoflower seeds are feminized, they are different in that they are not photoperiod, meaning they do not depend on the light cycle to change to the flowering stage. This is the biggest difference between feminized and autoflower seeds.
Feminized (Photoperiod) Cannabis Seeds
Whether growing indoors or outdoors, choosing your cannabis seeds is without a doubt one of the biggest decisions you will make. Quality seeds can grow high-quality plants, even in subpar growing conditions, but dud seeds will never grow a quality plant even in the best conditions.
Only Female Plants Produce Potent Buds
Only female cannabis plants produce the buds with the highest concentration of cannabinoids, THC and CBD mainly, to produce the most desired effects. Whether growing for medicinal or recreational purposes, our goal is always to grow healthy cannabis plants that produce the maximum yield of marijuana flower. This is why most growers choose feminized seeds; they are guaranteed to grow female plants and you don’t have to worry identifying the sex of your plants and weeding out the males.
Feminized Seeds are Photoperiod and Require a Change in Light Cycle
When growing feminized seeds, it is the change in sunlight that naturally occurs as the end of summer approaches and fall begins with reduced daylight hours that triggers the flowering stage. When growing cannabis indoors, altering the light schedule and adjusting your grow lights is required to mimic this change in season.
Up until your plants are ready to trigger to the flowering stage, they are typically receiving full light at least 18 hours per day with 6 hours off, or it may even be 20 on/ 4 off. To trigger to the flowering stage, growers must reduce this light cycle to 12 on/ 12 off, usually with a timer. Feminized seeds will not produce buds until the daylight hours are reduced to 12.
Autoflower Cannabis Seeds
Autoflower seeds are also feminized, but they are not photoperiod and do not rely on light to trigger the flowering stage. As the name suggests, autoflower seeds will switch to the flowering stage automatically based on time, rather than light. This makes it easy for inexperienced growers who may not be very confident with adjusting the light cycle. Autoflowers are a great alternative for new growers to still maximize their yield.
Autoflowers Switch to Flowering Stage with Time not Light
Autos grow with many of the same characteristics as feminized cannabis seeds, although it is time rather than light that causes them to flower. They have a short growth cycle which means more full harvests during the year than other plants that require a longer vegetative state. Depending on your climate, some outdoor growers can get up to four harvests per year with autoflowering seeds.
Autoflower Seeds are Resilient with Quick Flowering Times
Autoflowers are typically more resilient than feminized seeds and can be tougher against plant diseases like mold, insect infestations, and changes in temperature. In the past, some growers may have felt that autoflowers were not as potent as traditional feminized seeds, although that is simply not true today. Many autos produce the same level of quality as feminized photoperiod seeds. Autoflowers are a great choice for new growers or those impatient growers that want a quick, easy, and convenient harvest.
Autos are typically ready to harvest after approximately 10 to 11 weeks with 20 hours of daylight, although may take a little longer when grown outdoors. They will start to bloom automatically in about 5 to 6 weeks after germination without any adjustment to the light cycle. These plants typically grow short and bushy compared to other cannabis plants and may not produce quite the yield compared to traditional feminized seeds that have a longer vegetative period. Nice yields can still be realized from autos, however, especially when grown indoors in good conditions.
Mosca Seeds offers high-quality cannabis seeds in fems and autos with a wide selection of the most desirable strains. We offer more than 15 years of quality cannabis genetics and several cannabis cup wins. Check out the Seed Bazaar today to see the many choice selections of feminized and autoflower seeds.