How to Grow Auto-Flowering Seeds Using Hydroponics

As the most cost-effective long term and space-saving method, a hydroponic system is one the best ways to grow marijuana. And from auto-flowering to feminized, it’s important to start off with the best, most potent seeds on the market. But with so many seeds out there, knowing how to grow using different methods can get confusing. Many beginners often wonder how to grow auto-flowering seeds using hydroponics.

Auto-flowering seeds are already the most streamlined seed on the market. These babies don’t rely on light cycles to grow, so they leave more room for error. So, to best understand how to grow auto-flowering seeds using hydroponics, you need to understand how this system works.

A hydroponic system doesn’t need soil, and instead uses water to provide the plant with nutrients. Everything is delivered directly into the roots, making it a more powerful and potent growing method.

Growing auto-flowering seeds using hydroponics follows the same basic rules as growing any other seed using this method. Keep reading for everything you need to know on the auto-flowering variety and hydroponics.

 

How to Grow Marijuana Using a Hydroponic System

Although hydroponic systems can require some extra TLC than soil growth, they are known to maximize yields and speed up the growing process. Working with soil leaves plenty of room for error in most cases. Some cultivators steer clear of soil for several reasons:

• You may not be able to recycle soil
• Susceptibility to pest problems
• Difficult to determine proper amount of nutrients
• Need to carefully monitor soil pH
• Soil quality significantly influences the final product

Using auto-flowering seeds is really no different from other seeds, such as feminized or CBD marijuana seeds. Like always, each seed must go through its germination stage. This is where the seeds “hatch” or “pop” to reveal a sprout, which is when you know it’s time to transfer it to a pot to begin the growing process. We’re explored in-depth how to germinate marijuana seeds if you’re unsure how.

After that, it’s time to decide which kind of hydroponic system you’d like to use.

What are the six kinds of hydroponic systems?

Each of these systems have their advantages and disadvantages, which you can learn more about from Fresh Water Systems.

• Ebb and flow – This works by flooding a grow bed using a nutrient solution from the reservoir located underneath the roots. Using a timer, the water pump fills the grow bed every 15 minutes or so with the solution.
• Aeroponics – Here, plants are suspended in the air and a nutrient-rich mist is used to feed the roots. This system is enclosed and can’t be exposed to light or exterior moisture. S
• Deep water culture – Plants suspended in aerated water. The roots are immersed in the water solution, giving it constant access to all the nutrients it needs.
• Wick systems – Roots are placed in the growing medium within a tray on top of the reservoir. Several wicks made from rope or string travel from the reservoir to the growing tray, and these wicks are used to transport nutrients.
• Nutrient film technique – Also known as NFT, this method sees plants hanging over a stream of endlessly flowing nutrient solution that splashes over the ends of the roots.
• Drip systems – This method uses tubes to transport the nutrient solution to the plants. These tubes drip the solution slowly into the growing medium that holds the root system, ensuring constant moisture and sustenance.

Once you’ve chosen and have all your equipment, you can then move onto the planting stage.

How to Plant Auto-Flowering Seeds with Hydroponics

• Use a Rapid Rooter or other medium to plant your autos when using a hydroponic system.
• Keep the Rapid Rooter quite moist, but not drenched.
• Put the Rapid Rooter on top of the pellets and add more pellets around it to keep it steady.
• Just like planting with soil, use tweezers to gently place the seed inside the Rapid Rooter with the root facing the base.
• Unlike planting with soil, you don’t need to cover the top of the Rapid Rooter or pellets. The top of the Rapid Rooter should be just peeking out above the pellets.

And finally, the rest of the growth and maintenance stages.

How to Grow Auto-Flowering Seeds with Hydroponics

• Start by setting up the water reservoir. This will hold the water pump and air stone, as well as a drainage line.
• The grow bed or table is next, and this is where the plants will gain and return the leftover water to the reservoir.
• Each bucket for the grow table should be able to hold around 19L and need to have holes drained into the base to let the excess water drain out. Fill these buckets up with clay pellets after soaking them overnight.
• Use the plastic tubing from the water pump and place it across the table. Use the drip line gear to pierce holes into the buckets and attach the drip line emitters to the ends of the drip lines.
• Practice the system to make sure it’s working before putting the plants in. Water should be constantly moving from the air pump that helps it run and stay oxygenated.
• Now you can fill up the reservoir with the nutrient-rich water solution and place the germinated seeds inside the pellets.

 

What are Auto-Flowering Marijuana Seeds?

“Auto-flowering” refers to the ability of these seeds to flower in an “automatic” sense. This means that they don’t require regular light cycles to grow, in comparison to other seeds which need these light cycles to develop.

So, rather than reaching their final form thanks to light, auto-flowering seeds grow and flourish once the plant reaches a certain age. These seeds do need some light to help them on their way, but certainly not as much as feminized or other seeds. In other words, they aren’t light-dependent.

 

Which is Better: Soil or Hydroponics?

At the end of the day, it all depends on your own personal preferences. Would you enjoy the slightly increased maintenance required for hydroponic systems? Or would you prefer to get your hands a little dirty and work with soil?

Hydroponics are great for those who love growing indoors, don’t want to deal with insects or other pests, want to save space, and enjoy controlling nutrient levels.

Soil is ideal for those who want less maintenance, need a more forgiving growing process, love outdoor growing, and who need a more affordable option upfront.

 

Grow Your Own Weed Today

Growing your autos using hydroponics is the same as growing them using regular seeds. Using this system instead of soil is easy once you get the hang of it, and produces significantly more potent weed and increased yields. To even further streamline the process, we suggest choosing auto-flowering feminized marijuana seeds to eliminate the chance of producing male plants, which can contaminate the females and reduce the amount of usable buds from your crop.