Origins of autoflowering seeds by Philosopher Seeds
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It is very important for Philosopher Seeds' team to offer detailed information about how we develop our marijuana strains. In this post we will discuss about the origin of modern autoflowering cannabis seeds and how did we manage to create our own autoflowering seeds . We will also analyze which are their main growing possibilities.
The main difference between this kind of seeds and the rest of them - regular and feminized - is that autoflowering seeds don't depend on photoperiod (hours of light-dark) to grow and bloom, and finish their entire life cycle in about 70-90 days from germination, being suitable to grow during the whole year. This trait is inherited from Cannabis sativa ruderalis genetics.
Description of autoflowering strains by Philosopher seeds
First of all, we should describe Cannabis sativa ruderalis. This subspecies is responsible for making marijuana plants to express the autoflowering trait, or preferably, for making them non dependant on photoperiod to grow and flower.
The first botanical description of cannabis was made in 1735 by Carl Linneo, swedish biologist and researcher. He defined the marihuana plant specie as Cannabis Sativa, which had three main subspecies or varieties:
- Cannabis sativa sativa
- Cannabis sativa índica
- Cannabis sativa ruderalis
We must remember that the term ruderalis comes from Latin rudera, and its use refers to wild plant species which have been modified by either enviromental or human factors.
A large number of researchers don't accept this botanical definition of cannabis since subspecies Cannabis sativa indica and Cannabis sativa ruderalis seem to be an adaptation of the Cannabis sativa itself, caused by enviromental factors during the years, generation after generation.
Other researchers, like Robert C. Clarke in his book Marijuana Botany, define the Cannabis sativa plant and two main phenotypes:
- Cannabis sativa phenotype, with low THC levels and used for fibre production
- Cannabis sativa phenotype, narcotic, with higher THC levels
In this second category we find:
- Type “l” Russia - ( Latitude 35º N to 60º N )- Wild Cannabis ruderalis.
Development of autoflowering seeds by Philosopher seeds
To create a new autoflowering marijuana strain we must start with an autoflowering or ruderalis parental, and make a first crossing with a non autoflowering strain, like Heaven's Fruit marijuana .
We should have a few knowledge about plant genetics and the Mendel's Laws to properly perform this task:
- In this first generation we find individuals with traits from both parentals, none of them autoflowering.
- A second crossing will fix the autoflowering trait in the next generation. In this generation we may find some autoflowering individuals with interesting traits for the next selection of parentals.
- The next offspring, if this work was correctly done, will be 100% autoflowering, but with many traits from the non autoflowering parental.
- This work can be improved if we introduce genes from the first crossing - auto strain with non auto strain - and make the next three crossing to fix again (100%) the autoflowering trait.
With this breeding technique we can achieve autoflowering strains with lots of botanical traits from their non autoflowering parental, but that we wanted to fix in autoflowering seeds. The result are high potency marijuana strains, like White Yoda Auto (White Russian x Lowryder) , with a 20% THC level.
Outdoor growing of autoflowering strains from Philosopher seeds
Autoflowering strains are perfect for outdoor crops due to their short life cycle. Many of these strains are ready to be harvested about 70-75 days after germination.
Their reduced size also helps to camouflage the crop, going unnoticed. Their small size and the possibility to perform several crops per year make autoflowering seeds the perfect candidate for outdoor cannabis crops.
We can perform 3-4 crops per year if we have properly scheduled them. Best productions and quality of buds will be achieved in spring and summer crops.
Spring crops: May-July Northern Hemisfere / November-January Southern Hemisfere
Summer crops: August-October Northern Hemisfere / February- April Southern Hemisfere
Off-season crops: November-January Northern Hemisfere / May-July Southern Hemisfere
Indoor growing of autoflowering strains
The autoflowering seeds scene has changed the last years. These strains have been noticeably improved and nowadays can easily compete with the rest of regular and feminized seeds. There are autoflowering strains which are very productive, like Fraggle Skunk Auto . They don't need a previous growth period and they will finish their life cycle about 70-75 days after germinating.
We recommend using autoflowering seeds in indoor growing spaces with the following characteristics:
Autoflowering crops in reduced spaces: Autoflowering seeds are perfect for this kind of growing spaces where we often use low energy lamps (CFL) or LED lighting systems. If you control the plant size by using small containers (2-3 L) you will be able to grow in spaces from 60 to 100cm. The Cheesy Auto marijuana strain will hardly grow more than 1 meter tall.
Autoflowering crops in growing tents: Autoflowering seeds can be easily grown in growing tents. High yields will be achieved by using the Sea of Green (SOG) technique and 7-11L containers. For this purpose we recommend those auto seeds larger in size, like White Yoda Auto .
In next posts we will show you growing reports of all our autoflowering strains which will help you to plan your next outdoor crops, as well as indoor growrooms where you will see how Philosopher Seeds' autoflowering strains grow under artificial lights. Thanks for your confidence.
Have a nice smoke!!
