Autoflower Yield: 5 Tips To Maximize It & Top Highest Yielding Strains
Growing cannabis can take time and some effort, depending on the strain. If you don't have the time or patience to grow weed, then an autoflower yield could be your blessing in disguise.
How do you achieve sucha thing? Easy, by using autoflowering seeds.
Get ready: if you want to maximize your autoflower yield, you have landed in the right place. You’ll learn everything you need to know to accomplish a high yield with autoflowering seeds, including tips on containers, nutrients, and ideal environments.
Following that, we’ll tell you our top highest-yielding strains. Ready to get started?
Autoflowering yields: what does it mean?
When we talk about yield, we refer to the number of dried weed buds you can get after you finish the harvesting process of your cannabis plants.
Since autoflowering seeds are genetically modified to grow faster than regular seeds, they don't rely on a fixed cycle of light hours to get to the blossom stage.
Many people believe that autoflowering seeds have low yields, but this is far from the truth since certain strains can yield many buds all year round if the environmental conditions are correct.
Finding success with autoflower strains is more than just buying the right seeds. A number of factors can assist you in producing high yields. Here are our top 6:
6 factors that can affect the autoflower yield
Many factors will affect how much autoflowering plants yield.
Most of them have to do with environmental conditions such as light and humidity. Others are related to how your marijuana seeds are being grown, such as the pot size for autoflowers you are using and the nutrients you feed them.
Now let's get a complete look at each one of them.
1. Weather Conditions
There is a lot to unpack here, but we are going to keep it simple for you. Weather will affect your autoflower yields depending on how you are growing your plants.
If you are growing your autos outdoors, you are restricted by the climate in that region. Light, humidity, and temperature are all natural, and while this can aid with increasing yields in a sunny state, you may experience low productions in colder climates.
If you choose to cultivate indoors, you increase your chance of high yields from your autoflower seeds all year, as long as you learn how to control the growing environment.
2. Pots
Autoflower seeds are sold by many on the premise of high yields by square feet; some offers promise up to 25 oz./m2.
The most realistic approach is to consider the actual space you have to plant your seeds. Unless you are setting your garden in the open, the best way to go is with pots.
For large autoflowering yields, you can choose pots that can hold up to 2.6 gallons if you have limited space. Two or three of them do not take much space, and they’re easier to handle.
3. Nutrients and Soil
Both elements are strictly correlated. It's not an option to choose poor soil to grow weed. Understanding mediums and nutrients will help you to get a high yielding from autoflower seeds.
All weed plants require a steady combination of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) macronutrients to blossom properly.
Autoflowering plants do not require the same amount of care in this stance as regular seeds. They still need to receive NPK regardless of how they’re growing though.
If your weed plants grow outdoors in fertile soil, they most likely get their nutrients from it. If you are cultivating indoors, even if your pots have quality soil, you’ll have to feed them a synthetic mixture of NPK.
4. Plant Count
If you wonder how much autoflowering plants yield depending on the space you have, here is how you deal with the issue:
- You can go with a green topping by placing six to ten plants over a square foot, using pots that can hold up to 1.5 gallons. This can get pretty tricky if you don't have a solid support system for all the plants in place.
- Another way is by working with larger pots with a capacity of two or two and a half gallons. You'll probably only be able to handle two or three plants, but you can train them to grow thicker and denser.
- The final tip is to aim for big plants, which will require a single pot that can hold three to four gallons. These can hold up to three plants. Your yield could measure up to 60 inches high.
5. Training: LST and HST
Training is a growing method that can help you shape your autoflower plants just the way you want them. There are two known methods to follow: low-stress (LST) training and high-stress training (HST). As you can guess, each one of them works differently.
With low-stress training, you manually bend or tie the branches of your weed plant instead of cutting them down. It calls for patience since it requires a lot of handiwork.
High-stress training calls for topping and defoliation of the plant. It's less stressful on your end, but the plant will lose pieces and bits every time you shape it into what you want.
While both methods work just fine, it's not recommended to apply these techniques to your plants after they start to flower.
6. The Cultivar
We can define the cultivar as both a feature and a strategy. When it comes to marijuana plants, a cultivar is a group of plants that carry a particular set of features that have been chosen based on the seeds planted and the results they will bring.
You’ll hear about certain weed strains having a distinct aroma, a high presence of trichomes, a specific color, or even a particular flavor.
You'll know you are dealing with autoflower seeds harvested on a cultivar where the genetic signature of the seed was the primary reason to grow the crop as it is.
What is the average autoflower yield?
The average yield for autoflowering plants ranges between 1.8 to 8 ounces of product.
The amount of marijuana yield per plant is ultimately determined by the type of seed you choose, environmental conditions, where the plants grow, and other factors such as nutrients, air, light, and space.
Indoors autoflowering plants yield
Growing indoors is the best method to favor the highest-yielding autoflowering strains. With minimal experience, you can get an easy harvest of 1.8 ounces of smokable marijuana per plant.
As you learn to control all the indoor gardening variables better, you can get as much as 8 ounces of product from each plant.
Outdoors autoflower yield
Under ideal conditions, the best outdoor autoflower yield an inexperienced grower can expect on their first try is an ounce of product per plant.
As you learn more about all the elements that favor your chosen style of growth, you’ll eventually be able to get 1.5 to 2 ounces.
What are the highest yielding autoflowering strains?
Autoflower marijuana plants are well known for having a distinct genetic signature that can make them unique in every aspect that counts for a weed enthusiast.
Are you ready to get started growing seeds? The following choices are well-known for being some of the highest-yielding autoflowering strains you can find in the market.
Big Devil Autoflower
Big Devil Autoflower is a huge favorite for both medical and recreational users. It has a distinct aroma that mixes fruity undertones with a flavor that reminds you of the greenest woods.
With a slight hint of sativa, this hybrid has traces of ruderalis and can grow up to 5 feet tall and yield an impressive 20 oz./m2 under optimal conditions.
It's considered a great plant to boost your energy levels, help maintain a high focus and concentration levels, and improve your creativity.
Hyper Critical Autoflower
An indica variation that is turning heads left and right with an uncompromising charge of 20% THC and a range of flavors that will hit you differently every time you smoke, from citrus to cheese.
Hyper Critical Autoflower is guaranteed to offer maximum relaxation, and it's the top choice of the newcomer who wants to grow indoors. Done right, expect yields of up to 16 oz./m2.
Lemon Autoflower
The best weed for the reflective person, Lemon Autoflower is known for being a powerful sedative and great for relaxation. Bearing a classic indica look, this seed is infused with Lowrider#2 and can handle up to 20 hours of light a day which helps it grow faster, delivering up to 15 oz./m2.
The THC count is on the high side with 19% and a delayed effect that begins with high euphoria levels and slowly decreases to leave you feeling as soft as a pillow.
Mazar Autoflower
Mazar Autoflower is a little wonder with a long history of rich descendants that has evolved from Afgan Skunk to this easy to cultivate weed. It grows fast, usually in 7 weeks, and it's not too tall, reaching 2.5 feet tall at most. Expect a healthy yield of up to 19 oz./m2.
Mazar packs a punch to your senses with a content of 20% THC and an overload of trichomes that make this plant an earthly pleasure with hints of spice and sandalwood. It's some of the best weed you can smoke before going to sleep.
Amnesia Haze Autoflower
Amnesia Haze Autoflower is a classic sativa weed strain that originated in Amsterdam. It's a fusion of ruderalis and the original Amnesia Haze. The plant is well known for being easy to grow even in the most hostile environment and still provides yields of up to 16 oz./m2.
When you blaze Amnesia Haze, your senses will be overloaded with citric smells and flavors ranging from lime to lemons and oranges at times.
This weed is very popular among travelers because it propels mental clarity and a feeling of happiness.
5 tips and techniques to maximize your autoflowering yields
Now you’ll have a pretty good notion about Autoflowering seeds, how easy they are to grow, and which environments they favor for the best yields.
However, you might still wonder if there is a cheat to boost high-yielding autoflower seeds. Don't worry; we have five tricks you can pull to achieve the best results with your autoflower yields.
1. Grow Indoors
This tip is probably pretty obvious, but indoor conditions favor high autoflower yields. Growing inside also offers you a lot more control over plant count, training, and management of the environmental conditions.
2. Grow Your Autoflower Seeds in The Pot Where You'll Harvest Them
One of the best tricks you can pull off to maximize the yield of your autoflower seeds is to plant them in the same pot where they'll be harvested. This tip works better if you grow indoors and germinate the seeds before planting them into the soil.
3. Don't Feed Your Autoflower Plants Excessive Nutrients
We already mentioned that autoflower seeds don't need the same amount of attention regular seeds do. This fact is especially true when it comes to nutrients.
Make sure to feed them just a quarter of the portion you would provide to plants grown with regular seeds.
If they appear a little nute-deficient, you can slowly increase the amount you provide.
4. Give Your Plants the 18/6 formula When it Comes to Light
Autoflower seeds do not need a light schedule the way natural ones do. A perfect high-yielding autoflower crop will flourish beautifully by receiving 18 hours of light a day and 6 of darkness.
5. Add a Root Stimulant
Your autoflowering plants' yield will be well served by a root stimulant that increases their water and nutrient uptake and protects them from diseases.
Key Takeaways about high yield autoflowering
When it comes to your high yielding autoflower goals, remember the following:
- Some seeds produce plants that give higher yields than others, choose wisely.
- You can cultivate autoflower cannabis outdoors and indoors, but indoor growth usually yields better results.
- A quality pot with enriched soil will do incredibly well for your autoflowering seeds.
- Follow LST for autoflowers methods to promote higher yields.
We hope you’ve learned a lot and can now achieve the highest yielding with your autoflowering strains of choice. Visit our shop to have them delivered to you!
About the author: Derek LaRose
Also known as Kronic from The Cannabis Kronicles, Derek LaRose is a young ambitious cultivator and a staple educator for indoor cultivation.