Disclaimer:
This post is about medical/recreational cannabis.
I recommend you don't use it.
It could be illegal in your country.
Be careful!
Last post, I brushed over what 'photoperiodic' means. To reiterate:
Photoperiodic Lifecycle
- Flowering is mostly triggered by photoperiod (nights longer than day)
- Stress can trigger premature flowering and even 'hermaphroditism'
Automatics
- Flowering is triggered by age*
- Stress can trigger premature flowering and even 'hermaphroditism'
*There seems to be more to it than age, I'll explain later
Balcony
My setup comes with very specific restrictions.
Light Pollution
I can't control my neighbor's lights.
Should there be too much artificial light during the night, flowering might be severely disrupted, or other weird things could happen. This is totally out of my control and might be the main problem for photoperiodic plants.
The above plant is photo - I'll have to see how it all works out.
Seasons
In theory, the growing period starts around April here and ends in October.
I can even extend that period (will discuss in a later post).
Because I need the plants short, I have to plant photos in June - This means I have 2+ months, in which photos can't grow.
To make the most of my climate, I could use autos from April, harvest in July and start a second run. Maybe I try rotation, so I can harvest monthly...
Autos could allow me to grow for more months, harvest more light and generally stretch out my harvests. I could also have an earlier harvest.
Mould
I live in a humid climate.
Especially October can be very rainy.
Even though my plants are covered and rarely get rained on, the general humidity is dangerous.
Cannabis flowers can mould. This can completely ruin your harvest.
Photoperiods can only be harvested in autumn. Autumn is wet.
Mould likes moist conditions - it could be a big problem for me.
In addition, I have no good place to dry and cure my harvest.
Drying indoors in my living space is really smelly.
Since with autos I can stretch out my harvest period, I don't have to dry as much produce at once, and I can dry some of it in summer, which should at least make it easier to stay on top of mould.
Conclusion
Even though I like 'regular' plants, I'll grow automatics, mainly.
From 'photos', I could take cuttings, probably get better individual yields...
Generally, automatic seeds feel a bit lame and restrictive...
But I have to grow under very specific conditions and especially the light pollution could be a prohibiting factor.
I bought 25 seeds of the same exact strain of autos. (RQS 'Quick One')
I paid in BTC (thanks Hive).
I want to grow one strain mainly, because that way, I feel like I can learn the most.
I can play with pot-sizes and substrates and get at least half-way comparable results, if I keep cultivating the exact same seeds and get to know the cultivar.
I got a bunch of cheap seeds and can try out cool stuff.
PS
I really need to clean my balcony