by Nebula Haze
Summer is coming, which means outdoor cannabis growing season is about to begin. Have you considered growing auto-flowering strains outside this year? Auto-flowering strains have astounded the world with their fast and easy growth, and they also offer some major benefits for outdoor marijuana growers compared to typical photoperiod strains.
Auto-flowering strains give cannabis growers a lot more choices and flexibility. You can achieve multiple harvests in one grow season. You can time your harvest so buds form and ripen during the summer, when light levels are very high, causing buds to get bigger and be more potent than if they’d matured in the fall (like with photoperiod strains). If your climate has a short summers or a lot of rain during fall, auto-flowering strains allow you to grow your plants when environmental conditions are still ideal.
Check out this Night Queen Auto by my friend LuckyAcres. Late summer harvests help make big, potent buds.
Benefits of Auto-Flowering Strains for Outdoor Cannabis Growers
- Faster harvest – Auto-flowering cannabis plants are ready to harvest faster than photoperiod strains, especially outdoors. Photoperiod plants are ready to harvest in mid-to-late fall (the exact timing depends on the genetics and your latitude), no matter what time you put them outside. If you put photoperiod plants outside in the spring, they won’t be ready until the fall, which can take 5+ months. On the flip side, most autoflowering strains are ready to harvest just 2-3 months from germination, no matter the time of year.
- Multiple harvests per grow season – Auto-flowering strains are great for getting the most from your sunny season, no matter where you live. While you can only ever have one photoperiod harvest per season, you can produce two or even three full autoflowering harvests.
- Control harvest time – Gain the ability to ensure buds ripen when the weather is still ideal. No need to worry about short summers or your rainy season starting early and messing up your cannabis harvest. As long as you have a few months of good weather, you can grow autoflowering plants outdoors. As a bonus, when buds ripen in the summer, the extra light and UV rays means buds tend to get bigger and more potent than if they ripened in the fall.
- Great yields – As long as autoflowering plants get a strong start, good soil, and plenty of warm sunny days, they tend to be extremely productive as far as yields and potency when grown outdoors. Many autoflowering cannabis strains are specifically developed to thrive in an outdoor environment.
Before the advent of autoflowering strains, one of the main problems for outdoor growers was losing their harvest to bud rot or mold in the fall. Autoflowering strains let you choose the harvest time so that never happens to you. On top of that, the crucial few weeks of ripening before harvest are when buds pack on the most weight and THC. You get the best results in this stage when maximizing light levels. Autoflowering strains allow you to time your harvest so buds are ready right at that time. And best of all, the harvests come quick!
Recommended outdoor autoflowering cannabis strains:
I chose these autofloweirng strains based on these criteria: mold/pest resistant, beginner friendly, high-yielding, and quick-to-harvest:
This strain is an autoflowering version of the popular Mint Cake strain, but it may have turned out even better than the original. It has a THC level of up to 27% and a peppermint and cake flavor. It grows well outdoors, and is ready to harvest about 9 weeks after germination.
Mint Jelly Auto produces up to 27% THC – one of the most potent outdoor autoflowering strains available!
This strain is considered to be an Indica-dominant strain (its “body high” is greater than its “head high”) with high resin production. It has a THC level of up to 18% and buds have a caramel and creamy flavor. It grows well outdoors and is ready about 8-9 weeks from germination.
Easy to grow, good yields, smells great, STRONG bud effects. May be even stronger than Mint Jelly Auto in some cases. Tends to take a bit longer than most autos (up to 90 days) and gets bigger (up to 2-3 feet tall) but will reward you for your patience with amazing yields of top-quality buds. When growing outdoors, you want to plant this strain at least 3 months before it gets cold or rainy outside where you live.
Planet of the Grapes Auto grows with a natural bushy structure and buds are amazing.
Easy to grow, hardy enough to grow in hot or arid climates, and great yields make this a gem in the outdoor autoflowering strain world. Ready to harvest about 2.5 months from germination. I absolutely love the photoperiod version of this strain, and the autoflowering strain lives up to the same standard of bud quality. Truly an example of getting photoperiod buds in autoflowering form.
Kushberry Moonrocks Auto cannabis bud quality is in a league of its own.
Grease Gun Auto by Atlas Seed
This strain produces the best bud quality, resin production, and potency if you allow buds to continue to mature until a full 12 weeks from germination, though it can be harvested earlier in a pinch. Here’s an outdoor Green Gun Auto grown by SkunkSquatch: “Plant is grown in a 7 gallon grow bag about 22 inches tall.”
Grease Gun Auto by Atlas Seed does well in outdoor conditions and grows sparkly buds dripping in resin.
LSD-25 Auto (Fastbuds version)
This strain is ready to harvest a little over 2 months from germination. It produces beautiful purple buds with psychedelic potency, combined with an easy-going plant that can handle a tough environment. Altogether, this is a great autoflowering choice for growing outdoors.
Review from outdoor grower Bigbeardygrows: “What a beautiful, stunning plant. I’ve never gone such dark purple/inky black buds!! I gave this plant a very rough start in life. Neglected and in a small pot for the start of its life, which stunted it, but the bud colour is out of this world!!! Mouthwatering aromas of red wine, spice and hints of burnt rubber ????????????. Can’t wait to grow this again.”
LSD-25 Auto by Fastbuds is ready to harvest in just over 2 months from germination, with vibrant purple buds on most plants.
Auto Duck by Dutch Passion
“Duck” strains (also called “Ducksfoot” strains) look different from other cannabis plants. Unlike typical cannabis leaves, the leaves of these strains are the shape of a duck’s foot. This is due to a natural mutation that an enterprising cannabis grower noticed and bred into a strain. As a result, these plants don’t look as much like cannabis plants to most eyes even after buds start growing. That makes these strains a coveted choice for outdoor growers looking for a little extra stealth.
Auto Duck by Dutch Passion is a cannabis strain that grows unique duck’s foot-shaped leaves. Stealthy!
Check out those leaves up close.
A Ducksfoot strain has less of an overall “cannabis” aesthetic.
Now that I’ve shared some examples of great autoflowering cannabis strains for outdoors, let’s talk about some tips to get the best results with your outdoor grow.
When is the Best Time to Germinate Autoflowering Cannabis Strains Outdoors?
This is based on the idea you want to get one perfectly-timed outdoor harvest. Of course, you can keep planting autoflowering cannabis seeds all summer and harvest them when each plant is ready.
- Germinate outdoor autoflowering seeds in late spring – Plant autoflowering cannabis strains in late spring for the best results with autoflowering strains outdoors. That is June in the northern hemisphere, and November in the southern hemisphere.
- Aim to harvest plants in late summer – This maximizes the amount of light your plants are getting during the crucial last few weeks of growing, which increases yields and THC vs if the buds finish fattening in the fall. Harvesting plants in late summer also helps ensure your buds won’t get exposed to rain or snow, since most parts of the world are more likely to get precipitation in the fall. Before the advent of autoflowering strains, one of the main problems for outdoor growers is losing their harvest to bud rot or mold in the fall. Autoflowering strains allow you to time your harvest so buds are ready at the perfect time.
- Consider your local weather and the strain flowering time – I gave general suggestions, but each strain has a slightly different flowering time, and different parts of the world may have different months that are the warmest and sunniest. If that’s the case, for example, if your local climate is only warm from August-September, you would want to start seeds indoors in July and put them outside after it’s already warm. I gave several recommended autoflowering strains above, and each one has details from the breeder about the expected “time to harvest” from germination. So make sure to calculate backward so that plants go out during the warmest months and are ready to harvest before it gets cold. Luckily, most places in the world have at least 2 months of decent weather, so just about anyone can grow an autoflowering strain, especially if you pick an extra-fast one.
You can plant autoflowering seeds at any time during the year as long as you have at least 2-3 months of warm sunny weather. The goal is to try to get them to be ready to harvest while it’s still sunny and warm.
Tips for starting outdoor autoflowering seeds.
- Start autoflowering seedlings indoors so they get a nice start, especially if it’s still chilly outside at times. Plants will be small at first so most people will be able to find a place for them (for example in a closet with a small grow light). The first 3-4 weeks of growth are crucial to helping the seedling gain size, which will maximize your yields outdoors by giving your plant more and longer branches to grow buds on.
- Plant seeds directly in the soil – I recommend starting seeds by planting them directly in the soil to avoid having to move them much. Here’s a tutorial on how to plant seeds directly in soil. A small LED like the HLG 100 is a great way to start seedlings and get them growing fast.. Just hang it over the babies and give them 18 hours of light a day.
- Plant them in a 5-gallon fabric pot so you won’t have to transplant them. If they’re in a smaller pot their size will be limited. However, when starting seeds in a bigger pot, you need to be extra careful not to overwater them until they start growing fast. Here are tips on how to water cannabis seedlings in a big pot. Basically, just only give 1-2 cups of water every other day at first, and then slowly build your way up to more water as plants get bigger. Any pot will do, but I prefer fabric pots because plants tend to grow faster, get bigger, and are less likely to experience overwatering since the soil can dry out from the sides.
- Don’t put autoflowering plants outside until it’s consistently warm, and bring them inside for the night if it gets cold. Frost may kill them, and even cool weather can slow them down.
Start outdoor autoflowering seedlings indoors for the best results. Seeds tend to take longer to sprout and grow slower if grown outside from germination.
Plant your cannabis seeds and keep them warm during germination. Keeping seeds warm while sprouting is really important. In my tests, even I was pretty shocked at how important heat is to germination. I’ve found 80-85°F (27-30°C) is an ideal temperature for germination. Even germinating them at a still decently warm 70°F (21°F) will lower germination rates and seeds germinate days slower. So take a little time to
Seeds germinate much faster and get better germination rates if they’re kept warm around 80-85°F (27-30°C). Seedlings also grow faster when it’s warm.
Tips for growing auto-flowering cannabis plants outdoors
Unfortunately, I have very limited experience growing autoflowering plants outdoors. I live in a condo in a high rise so I’ve only grown them on my balcony, which is somewhat similar to outdoor growing, but I don’t have to worry much about bugs or animals since I’m high off the ground. Growing on a balcony is basically the same as growing indoors except I just have to pay attention if it’s going to get hot, windy, or cold, and bring my plant in.
However, I have some talented outdoor friends who have made some helpful guides.
Growing Help
- How to grow cannabis plants outdoors – Straightforward outdoor growing guide (by my outdoor growing friend LuckyAcres).
- Stealth ideas for growing cannabis outside – Even if cannabis is legal in your state, it’s always a good idea to conceal your grow to prevent people looking in your yard. Another issue is if someone knows when cannabis is ready to harvest, they may wait until harvest time, and steal your plants.
Dealing with Outdoor Problems
- Dealing with heat and humidity outdoors – Many outdoor growers deal with heat and humidity that may stress their plants. Read this guide for tips and tricks to help!
- How to Prevent Bugs (Outdoor Cannabis Pest Guide) – A holistic and natural way to prevent bugs (by my outdoor growing friend Jenny).
- A list of safe insecticides – Here is a list of natural and safe insecticides that are harmless to humans and plants, but deadly to bugs.
Growing outdoors is similar to growing indoors, except for weather and outdoor pests. Master these two issues to help ensure the best harvest possible!
PSA for Outdoor Growers: Watch out for caterpillars!
Caterpillars (including inch worms and loopers) are one of the most common outdoor plant pests. Luckily, caterpillars are also one of the easiest pests to prevent if you follow these instructions.
- Use all-natural BT spray to kill caterpillars – It’s safer and more effective than most other caterpillar treatments. BT spray is gentle on plants when used as directed, is harmless to humans, but will prevent caterpillars from being able to eat (so they leave your plant alone).
- Spray the moment you see the signs of caterpillars eating your leaves. Pictures below.
- Spray your plants at the first sign of buds (white hairs appear at the joints) – This prevents caterpillars from attacking buds during the flowering phase (they love to eat the inside of buds, the monsters!). Spraying at the beginning of flowering also reduces the chance you’ll have to spray your plants after buds have already formed.
Note: BT spray does not kill caterpillars instantly so don’t be alarmed if they’re still alive after being sprayed. What it does is prevent caterpillars from eating. As a result they immediately stop munching on your leaves and will starve to death and die after a few days.
Spray plants with all-natural BT spray to prevent caterpillars.
Spray plants if you see caterpillars, and also just before buds start flowering even if you haven’t seen any caterpillars yet. Ideally, you don’t want to spray anything on the plants after buds have started forming, and treating your plant early helps prevent caterpillars before they come for your plants.
Try to spray plants right when they start flowering to reduce the chance of caterpillars eating the inside of your buds later.
A quick summary of the bonuses auto-flowering strains give outdoor cannabis growers going into the 2024 season:
Multiple harvests possible – Outdoor growers who normally harvest photoperiod plants in the fall can still germinate some auto-flowering seeds and get an early harvest. This allows a grower to get multiple harvests in one summer.
Take advantage of short summers – With a photoperiod plant, buds are often not ready before winter in climates that have a short summer. That means that many people just didn’t have the option of growing outdoors. Autoflowering strains let you ensure buds are ready before winter. Some strains are ready in as little as 6-8 weeks, which means as long as you have 6+ weeks of warm weather, you can be an outdoor grower.
Are you ready to start growing outdoor auto-flowering marijuana plants? Let us know what you think of this tutorial, share your favorite outdoor autoflowering strains, and don’t hesitate to send us pictures of your outdoor auto-flowering plants if you’d like to see them featured on GrowWeedEasy.com!
