Nebula’s Autoflowering Cannabis Grow Journal (Seed to Weed in 3 Months)

Last updated Dec 31, 2025

by Nebula Haze

This is a start-to-finish completed autoflowering cannabis grow journal by Nebula Haze of GrowWeedEasy.com. Follow along to learn what to expect during an autoflowering marijuana home grow.

The 6 autoflowering plants from this grow journal just before harvest day. 80 days from germination.

Top row: OG Kush Auto, White Widow XXL Auto, Zkittlez Auto.
Bottom row: Critical Orange Punch, Alaskan Purple, Pink Kush CBD

An Alaskan Auto Purple (by Seedsman). Weighty!

Do you like cannabis grow journals like this? Want something cozy to read every Sunday morning? Sign up for our weekly newsletter! We share free grow tips and our grow journal updates, so you can follow along with us live!

Nebula Haze’s Autoflowering Grow Journal

Here is the first entry, which we sent to the growing community via our Sunday newsletter.

Sneak peak: The Pink Kush CBD plant is going to grow bright purple buds!

May 4, 2025 – Get Ready!

Watch Us Grow Weed in 90 Days! (Autoflowering Grow Journal About to Begin)

Speaking of cannabis grow timelines, several growers have requested a “Seed to Weed” autoflowering grow journal. Seeing a whole grow helps you know ahead of time exactly what to expect.

So for the next 90 days in this newsletter, we’ll be covering a grow journal featuring 6 autoflowering plants of different strains, using the Home Grow Masterclass method!

We’ll be using THIS general setup for the grow journal!

Here are more examples of effective setups with yield estimates.

You’re about to embark on an exciting journey. We’re going to walk through this grow journal together.

Feel free to follow along with your own autoflowering grow, and you’ll have a beautiful summer harvest!

Genetics for this Grow Journal

The first step of any home grow is to get your seeds. For this grow journal, we’re germinating these strains.

Plan: Germinate 8 Strains

Then we pick the top 6 seedlings after germination to grow!

It’s always a good idea to germinate more seeds than you need!

Here’s more information about finding the best strain for you.

Wanna See How Autoflowers REALLY Grow? Let’s Do This!

May 4 (today): I introduced the strains and setup for this grow journal.
May 11 Newsletter (next week): I’ll talk about picking the right grow medium and setting up right. We show you how to ensure Mother Nature does most of the work for you during your grow.
May 18 Newsletter (week after that): Seed germination!

This way anyone who wants to follow along has time to order seeds and get set up. Then we can go through the grow together!

May 11, 2025 – Getting Set Up to Grow 6 Autoflowering Plants!

Next Sunday (May 18) marks germination day of a “Seed to Weed” autoflowering grow journal.

This grow journal features 6 autoflowering plants of different strains.

Wanna See How Autoflowers REALLY Grow? Let’s Do This!

May 4 Newsletter (last week): I introduced the strains and equipment for this grow journal.
May 11 (today): I talk about the grow medium and setup below. Getting set up properly ensures Mother Nature does most of the work for you during the grow!
May 18 Newsletter (next week): Seed germination!

Grow Medium for this Grow Journal – Coco Loco Soil

Coco Loco is a coco-based rich airy soil that cannabis plants thrive in. One 2 cu ft bag fills 15 gallons worth of pots.

I’ll be using 6 x 3-gallon fabric pots (Delxo brand, but any brand works) for this grow. Since that totals 18 gallons, I got two bags of Coco Loco to ensure all the pots can be filled completely. I’ll store the extra soil to use later.

Nutrients for this Grow Journal – GH Flora Trio

For nutrients, I’ll be using the General Hydroponics Flora Trio following this custom schedule. Learn more about the Flora trio as cannabis nutrients.

2’x4’x6′ Grow Tent & 300W Mars Hydro LED grow light

I’ll be using THIS general setup for the grow journal! (learn more).

Learn how to set up your grow tent with your grow light and smell filtering. Get this right and you create a perfect plant paradise. That lets Mother Nature do most of the work for the rest of the grow.

Feel free to follow along with your own autoflowering grow, and you’ll have a beautiful summer harvest!

Otherwise, stay tuned for next week to see the autoflowering seeds get germinated!

May 19, 2025 – Seed Germination!

Germination Day: See the Babies! Today marks germination day of our “Seed to Weed” autoflowering grow journal.

To germinate these seeds, I used the wet paper towel method.

Basically I put the seeds between cheap wet paper towels (don’t use the expensive cloth-like ones or roots may grow into them!).

Then I enclosed everything between two plates. This ensures the paper towels don’t dry out.

The seeds get a lovely moist, dark environment for germination.

I put the plates on a seedling heating mat to provide extra warmth. This isn’t necessary but increases both germination rates and speed.

I added an extra seedling tray in between to make sure the seeds don’t get too hot. Get the full instructions on this germination method.

I germinated two seeds each of 8 strains

After two days, all but one Zkittlez seed has germinated!

The plan is to pick the top 6 autoflowering seedlings for our grow journal. All the extra seedlings are going into other grow spaces. I’ll share sneak peeks of them throughout the grow journal!

Next week, I should have some happy seedlings to show you!

The race has started. With autoflowering strains, we can expect to harvest in less than 90 days from germination day. Follow along as we take these strains from seed to weed!

Other Grow Journal Information:

2’x4’x6′ Grow Tent with a 300W Mars Hydro LED grow light (THIS general setup, learn more). The grow medium will be Coco Loco in 3-gallon fabric pots. So far they’ve only gotten water, but the nutrients will be General Hydroponics Flora Trio following this schedule.

May 25, 2025 – Grow Journal Update – Seedlings Moving to their New Homes!

Today I’m moving seedlings to new temporary homes in plastic cups. At this point, I’m still not sure which of the 6 seedlings I plan to keep for the grow journal.

I thought this was cool! A seed shell got stuck on a leaf. (4 days from germination)

There’s no need to pull the shell off. It’s not hurting anything and pulling it off could possibly rip the leaf. All the green is fully exposed and I’m confident the shell will fall off on its own.

Day 8 from germination – in the middle of moving to new homes!

Although all 16 seedlings survived, one of the Pink Kush CBD seedlings is struggling a bit. In the above picture it looks like one of the cups (bottom right cup) doesn’t have a seedling.

But if you zoom in, you can see it’s trying… (Click for closeup)

I probably won’t end up keeping this seedling since it’s so far behind the others, but I thought I’d give it some time to see what it does. Sometimes the “odd” seedlings end up being the most interesting (if not necessarily the most productive)!

This seedling is particularly photogenic, in my opinion 🙂 I love the way those leaves look!

Why am I moving the seedlings to cups first? A grower could pick the seedlings they want and put them directly into their final pots to save this step. In fact, that’s what I’d recommend most growers to do.

But the reason I’m moving them all into plastic cups first is to give them a little more time to grow before I make the choice of exactly which six auto-flowering seedlings to use in the grow journal.

I plan to grow all the “extra” seedlings in a separate mini grow tent under a 100W LED in a Sea of Green style grow.

Which 6 strains do you want to see in the grow journal? Click on the strain name(s) you’re most interested in, so I can see which ones get clicked the most!

By next week we’ll have our 6 seedlings picked out, and they should be about 2 weeks old.

At that point, with autoflowering strains, everything starts moving FAST!

Details About Grow Setup: 2’x4’x6′ Grow Tent, 300W Mars Hydro LED grow light (THIS general setup, learn more). The grow medium will be Coco Loco in 3-gallon fabric pots. Nutrients are General Hydroponics Flora Trio following this schedule.

June 1, 2025 – When are seedlings ready to be transplanted?

Today I’m moving our autoflowering seedlings into their final homes. Each one is going into a 3-gallon fabric pot!

Here is a picture of our 17 day old autoflowering seedlings from this week!

Top row: Pink Kush CBD Auto, Alaskan Purple Auto, OG Kush Auto.
Bottom row: Critical Orange Punch Auto, White Widow XXL Auto, Zkittlez Auto.

Since the sides of the cups are clear, I can see that the roots are starting to reach the edges.

Some stringy white roots have reached the edges of the cup.

I probably should have transplanted them a day or two earlier. Why?

Restricted roots slow down growth. I want to move the seedlings to a bigger pot immediately, so roots can spread out. Root freedom helps seedlings grow as fast as possible.

These seedlings are about to be transplanted to bigger homes…

I transplanted them into 3-gallon fabric pots full of Coco Loco soil.

The seedlings are in their final containers. It’s GO TIME!

After the transplant, I gave each seedling about 3 cups (750 mL) of water in a small circle around the base. I want their roots to stay nice and moist, but I don’t want to drown them. Seedlings this small aren’t drinking much water yet.

Yet they are picking up steam. I can see new growth every day now!

By next week they likely will have doubled in size. It’s possible we may even see the first signs of flowering, as most autoflowering plants start flowering when they’re just 3-4 weeks old.

Stay tuned!
Nebula

Grow Journal Details: 2’x4’x6′ Grow Tent, 300W Mars Hydro LED grow light (THIS general setup, learn more). The grow medium is Coco Loco in 3-gallon fabric pots. Nutrients are General Hydroponics Flora Trio following this schedule.

June 8, 2025 – Auto-Flowering Plants Got Topped and Tucked!

Here the plants are 23 days old from germination.

So far the plants received water and nutrients, but were otherwise left alone.

But today, that changed… Today I did something controversial.

Since they’re growing fast and healthy, I “topped” each seedling. With autos, ideally this happens when they’re ~3 weeks old, before they start making buds.

Topping means to cut off the top of the plant through the main stem.

Topping helps the plants naturally grow more bushy, with lots of branches (and therefore lots of bud sites).

Here is a closeup of one of the tops that is about to be cut off.

Here it is that same plant after being topped. I just use my fingernails to pierce through the main stem.

The arrow points to the stem that remains behind. The two little stems below are going to grow into two new main stems.

Here are some of the tops in hand. This is how much I removed from each plant. With auto-flowering plants, you want to take as little as possible while still getting a clean cut through the main stem.

Why is it controversial to top autoflowering plants? Many growers say, “Never do it!” because topping risks the chance of stunting your autoflowers. And it’s true you should be careful. When in doubt, it’s better to leave them alone.

However, I’ve tried growing autoflowers with and without topping and the results were clear. See my side-by-side experiment: Topped vs Natural Autoflowering Plants

The topped autoflowering plants not only yielded more and grew denser buds than their untopped counterparts, but their buds also tested at higher THC in the lab!

Learn more about topping autoflowering seedlings.

Summary: I’ve found topping works well for autoflowering plants as long as the seedlings are healthy, fast-growing, and haven’t started flowering yet.

Leaf Tucking: Explained

Lastly, I did a good leaf tucking. What that means is I took all the biggest fan leaves and tucked them to expose the lower stems to light.

Getting light to these lower stems encourages them to grow. That helps the plant grow wide and bushy with lots of “tops” (bud sites).

With the big leaves tucked under, almost all the lower stems are getting direct light. Perfect!

Here’s what they look like after being topped and tucked. All those little growing tips exposed to the beautiful light!

By next week, plants should have about tripled in size, and we may even have some flowers forming!

Stay tuned!

Nebula

Grow Journal Details

2’x4’x6′ Grow Tent, 300W Mars Hydro LED grow light (THIS general setup, learn more). The grow medium is Coco Loco in 3-gallon fabric pots. Nutrients are General Hydroponics Flora Trio following this schedule.

Strains

Top row: OG Kush Auto, White Widow XXL Auto, Zkittlez Auto.

Bottom row: Critical Orange Punch, Alaskan Purple, Pink Kush CBD

June 22, 2025 – Grow Journal Update: 30 Day Old Auto-Flowering Plants (Almost Halfway to Harvest Already!)

Here the plants are 30 days old from germination.

Strains

Back row: OG Kush Auto, White Widow XXL Auto, Zkittlez Auto.
Front row: Critical Orange Punch, Alaskan Purple, Pink Kush CBD

Last week we used the simple, free “top and tuck” technique on these plants.

Here are the plants 1 week ago (right after their tops were cut off, and leaves and tucked to expose lower branches)

Exactly one week later, our plants are naturally growing wide and bushy.

Notice how the six plants have completely filled the entire 2’x4′ grown space with a flat “table” of plant canopy.

The plants are growing this way because of what we did last week. Little tricks like “topping” plants at the right time and tucking leaves are part of what makes the difference between just-okay and outstanding yields later.

One of the autoflowering plants (Pink Kush CBD on the front right) has started growing buds already. It’s a fast, 60-day strain, so it’s already halfway to harvest.

The Pink Kush has 8 top stems, all of which are now growing buds.

Each of these top stems is going to develop into a thick chunky main bud. Cannabis naturally only grows one main bud, so forcing plants to grow multiple bud sites results in a higher-yielding growth pattern than letting plants grow unaltered.

And it only took a few minutes last week to ensure every plant grows multiple bud sites.

Within a week or two, all of these autoflowering plants should be covered in growing buds, just like the Pink Kush.

Can you grow autoflowering plants in a smaller space?

Yes, you can grow weed with autoflowers in a tiny grow space using the same grow techniques.

Here are plants grown the exact same way, but in a 2’x2’x3′ grow tent with a 100W LED grow light. You could fit this in your closet.

We were able to produce almost 6 ounces in under 3 months. That’s growing the equivalent of 2 ounces a month with a tiny 100W light.

The flat, wide plant shape doesn’t just increase yields but also bud quality. Top buds are the most dense and potent buds on the plant, and this growth pattern forces each plant to make ONLY those highest quality buds.

Regardless of the size of your grow space, combining good seeds with the right setup and proven guidance ensures you produce more weed than you need.

June 29, 2025 – Auto-Flowering Plants Are Making Buds

Here the plants are 39 days old from germination.

ALL the plants are growing buds! Some further along than others.

Pretty much now it’s just a matter of waiting until harvest in about a month, but I’ll continue giving updates each week.

Mini Auto-Flowering Plants in Cups (germinated at the same time)

I thought you might find this interesting. So when I germinated the above autoflowering seeds, I popped a few extras, just in case. But I didn’t throw away those extra autoflowering plants.

In fact, I put them in solo cups and stuck them in a tiny grow tent under a 100W LED grow light.

Since those plants have their roots restricted by the tiny cups, and are under a smaller light, they have not grown nearly as much as their bigger siblings.

These plants are the same strains, germinated at the same time with the same nutrients. Yet look how much smaller they stayed because their roots are restricted!

I think this helps demonstrate how big a difference it makes to let your plant roots have a bigger space to grow.

I’m now keeping them together with photoperiod plants.

I added some vegetative photoperiod plants in the same tent. The cool thing about autoflowering strains is you can keep them together with vegetative photoperiod plants and they’ll keep making buds.

It’s a little party in there now!

From now on, I’ll give you little updates on these autos too. It’s interesting to see the same strains, at the same age, developing differently due to their environment!

Stay tuned!
Nebula

Grow Journal Details

Strains

Top row: OG Kush Auto, White Widow XXL Auto, Zkittlez Auto.
Bottom row: Critical Orange Punch, Alaskan Purple, Pink Kush CBD

July 9, 2025 – Auto-Flowering Plants Are Stacking

Here our autoflowering plants are 49 days old from germination.

I thought it might be fun to discuss some of the strains and how they’ve been developing.

Critical Orange Punch Auto (front left) didn’t start making buds until over a month from germination. As a result, it spent extra time in the vegetative stage, and grew into an overall bigger plant. The buds are the least mature.

Critical Orange Punch Auto

Alaskan Purple Auto (front middle) looks high-yielding! Despite the name, the buds aren’t purple, but they are sparkly and smell amazing. The grow light clearly reaches deep into the plant. The buds are all long and “stacked” with nugs. Adorned in glory!

Alaskan Purple Auto

Pink Kush CBD (front right) is the beautiful small purple plant. Its buds appear further along than all the other plants. It started making buds at just week 3 from germination. As a result of flowering earlier, it stopped growing vegetatively before all the others, and is the smallest plant.

Pink Kush CBD Auto

Next week I’ll cover the other 3 plants in the back row. The Zkittlez Auto, White Widow XXL Auto, and OG Kush Auto. Their buds are fattening up nicely!

We’re at the home stretch now. I can almost taste the harvest already 🙂

Stay tuned!
Nebula

Grow Journal Details

2’x4’x6′ Grow Tent (THIS general setup, learn more). The grow medium is Coco Loco in 3-gallon fabric pots. Nutrients are General Hydroponics Flora Trio following this schedule.

Strains

Top row: Zkittlez Auto, White Widow XXL Auto, OG Kush Auto,
Bottom row: Critical Orange Punch, Alaskan Purple, Pink Kush CBD

July 16, 2025 – Bud City at Day 56!

Here the plants are 56 days old from germination.

Buds, buds, everywhere!

Last week I talked about the 3 strains in the front, and this week I’m going to talk about the 3 strains in the back!

Zkittlez Auto (back left plant) looks green and happy with buds all over. All the buds are covered in straight white hairs, which means they still need time to mature. I love how this Zkittlez plant responded to being topped. It naturally grew into an excellent shape to maximize yields.

Zkittlez Auto

White Widow XXL Auto (back middle plant) These buds are fattening and maturing fast, emanating a true old school “White Widow” scent.

White Widow XXL Auto

I noticed a few brown spots on the White Widow and Critical Orange Punch, likely from incorrect pH at the roots. Those plants also look a bit pale, as if they need higher nutrient levels. I made them their own batch of water with higher nutrient levels and adjusted pH.

Big buds need a lot of nutrients, and strains that grow huge buds tend to need higher nutrient levels and be more sensitive to pH problems. High-yielding plants just want a little TLC.

Note: If you see deficiencies on your leaves, GrowWeedEasy.com has a free tool to identify the problem and give you the solution.

OG Kush Auto (back right plant) shows how genetics affects plant growth. This and the above plant are the same age and get the same care, yet their structures are vastly different, with buds maturing at dramatically different rates.

Something notable about this OG Kush Auto plant is how THICK the stems are. Rarely do plants grow such thick stems. I wonder… are they hard and woody or hollow and flimsy? I will find out at harvest.

OG Kush Auto

Have you ever grown a strain with thick or unusual stems? Feel free to reply to this email and send pictures, we’d love to see them!

Some of these plants have a while to go, as you can see. But some are actually pretty close to harvest already! Perhaps we’ll harvest our first plant next week…

Stay tuned!

Nebula

Grow Journal Details

2’x4’x6′ Grow Tent (THIS general setup, learn more). The grow medium is Coco Loco in 3-gallon fabric pots. Nutrients are General Hydroponics Flora Trio following this schedule.

Strains

Back row: Zkittlez Auto, White Widow XXL Auto, OG Kush Auto
Front row: Critical Orange Punch, Alaskan Purple, Pink Kush CBD

July 23, 2025 – Buds Galore at Day 63!

Here are the plants at 63 days old from germination.

At this point in the life of an autoflowering plant, the plants have mostly stopped growing new branches and leaves, focusing completely on bud development. As growers, we’re mainly just watering the plants and adjusting the grow light if necessary.

Getting closer each day!

The buds look fatter and more solid every day, but I’d guess there are still a few more weeks before buds reach peak potency. It looks like the yields are going to be awesome.

Stay tuned for next week’s update!

Nebula

Grow Journal Details

2’x4’x6′ Grow Tent (THIS general setup, learn more). The grow medium is Coco Loco in 3-gallon fabric pots. Nutrients are General Hydroponics Flora Trio following this schedule.

Strains

Back row: Zkittlez Auto, White Widow XXL Auto, OG Kush Auto
Front row: Critical Orange Punch, Alaskan Purple, Pink Kush CBD

July 28, 2025 – Day 68: Harvest Window is OPEN!

Here are the plants at 68 days old from germination.

Strains

Back row: Zkittlez Auto, White Widow XXL Auto, OG Kush Auto
Front row: Critical Orange Punch, Alaskan Purple, Pink Kush CBD

I feel like I could probably harvest all of these plants today (except maybe the OG Kush in the back right).

However, with cannabis plants, you often achieve the best yields and potency if you wait another 1-3 weeks after the harvest window opens.

We’ll check in on them next week, with closeups of the buds, and assess whether to harvest immediately or wait another week or two!

Nebula

P.S. Grow Journal Details

2’x4’x6′ Grow Tent (THIS general setup, learn more). The grow medium is Coco Loco in 3-gallon fabric pots. Nutrients are General Hydroponics Flora Trio following this schedule.

August 2, 2025 – Day 73: 1 Week to Harvest!

Here are the plants at 73 days old from germination.

Strains

Back row: Zkittlez Auto, White Widow XXL Auto, OG Kush Auto
Front row: Critical Orange Punch, Alaskan Purple, Pink Kush CBD

Tentative Plan: Harvest next week!

All plants are in the harvest window now. Next week I’ll be covering the harvest in detail!

Zkittlez Auto (back left corner) naturally grew in this wonderful shape.

Here’s a closeup of a Zkittlez Auto bud. The hairs have mostly turned dark, but they haven’t all fully curled in yet. I believe the buds need one last week yet for max potency and bud size.

Get ready for tons of harvest pictures next week!

~Nebula

P.S. Grow Journal Details

2’x4’x6′ Grow Tent (THIS general setup, learn more). The grow medium is Coco Loco in 3-gallon fabric pots. Nutrients are General Hydroponics Flora Trio following this schedule.

Autoflowering Harvest Begins!!!

August 9, 2025 – Day 80: Harvest Day!

80 days ago, these plants were just tiny seeds.

Day 17: I could still pick one up in my hand. They grow up so fast!

Today, the plants are literally covered in buds. It always amazes me just how fast autoflowers grow. It’s like a race to harvest day.

Day 80: The Gang’s All Here!

Back row: Zkittlez Auto, White Widow XXL Auto, OG Kush Auto
Front row: Critical Orange Punch, Alaskan Purple, Pink Kush CBD

I’m so excited to try all 6 different strains! Harvest day is a tiny bit bittersweet. I love tending the garden and get attached to each plant. But I know they want me to put their buds to good use 🙂

Each plant is beautiful in its own way.

Pink Kush CBD Auto – I had to start with this plant, the splash of color in this grow. These dark purple buds that look even more exotic in person.

Now this is my kind of bouquet. Cry your heart out Valentines Day!

White Widow XXL Auto – This plant is a beast! I only just realized how big it is (it was hiding in the back).

The White Widow buds are HUGE.

But since they are so thick and weighty, I am just a tiny bit worried about mold during the drying process. Big, long buds like these can get surprisingly wet while they dry. I prefer a strain that tends to grow buds in smaller “nuggets”, as those are easier to dry well.

But no worries. I have just the solution. I will dry the White Widow buds in one of the HerbsNow dryers we have lying around (no affiliation). That kind of drying environment, with a lot of airflow around each bud, pretty much guarantees you won’t see mold. And it’s way faster than regular drying. Buds are dry in 2-3 days instead of up to a week.

The HerbsNow dryer claims to dry up to 6 ounces.

I have expanders and I could barely fit the whole White Widow plant in there. I literally stuffed the branches in.

The most important thing to keep in mind when using any herb dryer, is you can’t let the weed dry too much. Dryers are fast and convenient, but it’s easy to accidentally “cook” your weed. You have to watch the buds closely and stop drying before it over-dries the buds.

That’s why I hang dry buds most of the time. As long as I give buds the right drying environment, there’s a lot of leeway on exactly when to stop drying.

Two plants down. I’m not sure why I did them in this order. I think I just wanted to see the purple one up close, then look at those huge White Widow buds up close.

Two plants down!

OG Kush Auto – Surprised me at the end!

Now we’re going to do the OG Kush Auto in the upper right corner! This plant originally had the tiniest buds, but they have really fattened up over just the last week or two.

Two weeks ago the OG Kush was already in the harvest zone. Buds looked high quality, but hadn’t reached their full potential.

A few extra weeks can make a big difference in yields! I’m not sure if you can see in pictures, but it’s very clear in person…

Today (two weeks later) the buds look significantly more filled out and “solid”.

The OG Kush buds aren’t just thicker but also longer.

The bud structure reminds me of the original OG Kush clone I grew a few years ago. Solid and dense with that classic 90s “Kush” smell.

Now, onto the last plant from the back row.

Zkittlez Auto – This plant naturally grew in such a lovely way despite getting almost no input from me. All I did was “top” it and leave it alone. It never needed bending or tying down.

The Zkittlez Auto grew in this bushy shape with lots of buds after being topped (with basically no other training).

Tons of clean, beautiful flowers, just the right size. The smell? Sweet and light.

The buds are a bit thick, so I’ll put them in the other HerbsNow dryer.

It’s pretty full, but not totally stuffed like the dryer with the White Widow!

Alaskan Purple Auto – Bigger than the OG Kush, but a more diminutive plant compared to the White Widow or Zkittlez.

But what Alaskan Purple lacks in plant size, it makes up with a plethora of hard, dense, long buds!

Buds are so heavy they immediately fell over the moment I started moving the plant.

No sign of purple, but the bud quality looks superb.

Hefty!

Partly harvested with two “colas” (big buds) left, to stuff in the dryer!

Critical Orange Punch Auto – It smells like an orange grove full of weed plants 🙂

Last, but not least, the Critical Orange Punch!

Another good yielder.

When I put my nose up close, the buds smell sweet yet skunky, with hints of citrus.

Ok, that’s it for today guys! However, I’ll update next week with the final weights and anything else cool I notice in the meantime! 🙂

Check back next week!
Nebula

Post Harvest – Drying, Curing, and Weigh-in

Drying

I talked a bit about drying buds in the last entry, but let me talk about how I dried each plant, since we got a lot of questions about that.

I ended up harvesting these autoflowering plants over the course of a few days, so I couldn’t easily dry them all together in the grow tent.

White Widow

Dried in the HerbsNow dryer – instead of laying buds on their side, I removed the middle pieces and dried the branches vertical so that the buds don’t get a flat side. I think this also helps the buds dry more evenly, since the buds are attached to the stem. Plus, when adding a lot of buds like today, I think it’s easier to “stuff” the dryer full when you’ve removed the middle panels.

I removed the biggest fan leaves, cut up the branches, and squished all the buds in here.

I have expanders and I could barely fit the whole White Widow plant in there.

I was actually surprised how little this ended up yielding. Although the buds looked really big before drying, after drying it was clear they were airy and not very dense.

Final Weight (White Widow): 46g (1.6 oz)

Pink Kush CBD – Dried in a closet

This little purple beauty was so small I just hung it in my bedroom closet. It was dry in a couple of day.

Pink Kush bud in my lap (get in real close with the full resolution version)

The Hermie Banana – I thought I’d share. Sometimes, at the end of a female cannabis plant’s life, it will “panic” because it “thinks” winter is coming and it hasn’t made seeds yet. Some female plants will put out tiny male flowers, to self-pollinate and create seeds for the next generation.

This is called ‘herming’ (short for hermaphrodite, which means it has both male and female parts). If it happens during the flowering stage, this behavior can cause seeds to form. In fact, if a plant makes lots of male flowers, it can even cause seeds to form on other plants in the grow space! Learn about herms here.

However, if herming happens at the end of a plant’s life right before harvest, it doesn’t have time to cause seeds. It’s just a sign that the buds are ready to harvest. The plants are done with bud development and now focused on making seeds.

I spotted this herm below. You can actually see the yellow hermie “banana” in the middle of the above picture if you look close right in the middle. Like a green Where’s Waldo.

White trichomes and one green banana. We harvested on the perfect day!

Final Weight (Pink Kush CBD): 31 gram (1.1 oz)

Alaskan Purple Auto

The Alaskan Purple buds had that “Grand Daddy Purple” smell and appearance. Buds seemed to lean more towards the GDP than Alaskan Thunderf*ck side of its genetics.

Final Weight (Alaskan Purple Auto): 49 grams (1.7 oz)

Zkittlez Auto

Zkittlez Auto was a sleeper! This plant was in the back of the tent so I didn’t realize how beautifully the plants and buds were developing. The buds are all fat. The smell is sweet and light. And it seems to have yielded the best in the tent.

Final Weight (Zkittlez Auto): 62 gram (2.2 oz)

Critical Orange Punch

Critical Orange Punch in the dryer.

Buds were fat on this strain, and smelled of skunky lemon citrus in the jars.

Final Weight (Critical Orange Punch Auto): 51 gram (1.8 oz)

OG Kush Auto

I am so surprised by this plant. It was relatively small, and the buds seemed so small at first. But it just needed some time because by harvest day the buds are weighty and just beautiful. Truly the most “photoperiod” looking buds of the harvest.

A look at the OG Kush buds

Love that sharp, old school “kush” smell.

Final Weight (OG Kush Auto): 43 gram (1.5 oz)

Total Yields – Auto-flowering Buds Weigh-in

White Widow XXL – 46 g
Alaskan Purple – 49 g
Zkittlez – 62 g
Pink Kush CBD – 31 g
OG Kush – 43 g
Critical Orange Punch – 51 g

Total: 282 g (9.95 oz)

Nebula’s Thoughts right after the weigh-in

Final Yields – 9.95oz
- Ah! Just under 10 oz. What a shame, just for the sake of even numbers haha
- Overall I’m happy to produce ~10 oz in 3 months. That’s over 3 oz a month, and mostly all I did was water plants.
My Favorite Strains
- Zkittlez Auto was a sleeper! If every plant yielded as well as the Zkittlez, we’d be looking at over 13 oz of weed, approaching a pound. Buds are incredibly sticky, gorgeous, and FAT. Strong effects. The smell is particularly delightful, almost like sweet herbal tea.
- OG Kush Auto is ultra-smooth to smoke, with uplifting effects that made us giggle, and that lovely classic 2000s weed smell.
- Alaskan Purple Auto wasn’t a huge yielder, but buds are superb (pictured below). A very relaxing, mellow kind of strain. Like you want to stay inside and do hobbies or just chill.

The Zkittlez Auto buds were FAT and have a delightful light, sweet smell.

OG Kush Auto reminds me of the weed I loved in the 2000s 🙂 Here are the long OG Kush buds fresh out the dryer.

The Alaskan Purple Auto buds are sparkly (click for closeup)

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About the Author: Nebula Haze

I co-founded GrowWeedEasy.com in 2010 with my husband Sirius Fourside. Together, we built the most complete cannabis growing encyclopedia on the internet. Our 500+ growing tutorials and articles walk even a total beginner successfully through the whole cannabis cultivation process. No matter your budget, goals, or experience level.

Written by Home Growers (No AI): Every guide is written by real human growers who care about your success. All pictures and videos are real cannabis plants, so you know exactly what to expect.

Here I am posing with some of the plants in this grow journal!

Sirius and I have dedicated ourselves to the home growing movement. Our goal is to make it so anyone (anywhere) can grow their own weed, in the privacy of their own home. We believe everyone deserves to have as much weed as they want, with the superb quality and effects they desire.

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If you want a guided experience to a magnificent harvest on your next home grow, check out our 5-week “Seed to Weed” structured course, Home Grow Masterclass. Results guaranteed.

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