When I see a new strain with such a positive performance and, simultaneously, with a taste and effect so well balanced, it is difficult not to recommend it to my friends. I am telling you this while I taste a good vaporization of Crystal Candy Auto^®, harvested about one month ago and I can say that day after day I enjoy it even more. It is the kind of strain you can 100% enjoy not only while growing it but also while smoking or vaporizing it.

This new autoflowering comes from a cross between the latest photoperiod-dependent stain released by Sweet Seeds^® in 2016 – Crystal Candy^® (SWS58) – and an autoflowering strain with very similar aromatic tones: Sweet Special Auto (SWS35).

The combination of both genetics results in a very aromatic plant, with compact structure and dense flowers covered by trichomes. The effect is very clear, leaning to the Sativa side. This strain can be harvested 8 weeks after germination. It features very vigorous and accelerated growth, producing multiple side branches and a big main cola. Taste and aroma are absolutely great and you will love it if you enjoy plants with fruity, sweet and exotic tones. A plant to fall in love with.

From my point of view Sweet Seeds^® designed a new autoflowering variety with its own character, exuberant taste and high yield. Taking in consideration the results obtained in my grow, I am sure most of you will agree with me once you try it.

I usually share grow diaries in different cannabis forums in which I put all my effort to show in the best way possible the techniques I use to grow my plants so that everyone can compare results. When I write an article for a magazine I always do it the same way and from the moment I open the seed package I pay special attention to the modus operandi, so that it is as clear and clean as possible, always respecting the plants and giving them a dignified and pleasant life. All the love you give them will be given back to you.

But in this case the beginning was not so benevolent for the 6 Crystal Candy Auto^® seeds that I soaked because the germination occurred simultaneously with a lack of coordination with a friend of mine who keeps the soil in his house and so the plants were nearly 10 days without a pot with soil. As many of you know, because you are enthusiastic growers, delaying the transplant of an autoflowering plant recently germinated always has consequences, particularly in the final size of the plant. And, therefore, a decrease in the final yield is also inevitable. This time span is crucial for their normal development because autoflowering plants start to grow slower by the 4th week of life when flowering begins.

Luckily, and thanks to the fact that the 6 seeds were still alive after my friend came back, I hurried to give them a good soil and an adequate pot for the cycle and light potency that they were going to receive. In this case 600W High Pressure Sodium for a cycle of 20 hours of light and 4 hours of darkness, from germination to harvest.

I keep both air extraction and intraction working almost in a continuous way and inside the closet there are also two medium-sized fans and a heater that keeps the temperature above 18ºC. I recommend keeping the temperature stable between 18ºC and 28ºC with moderate humidity, between 40% and 80%, as this ensures that plants always have the right growing conditions. As this grow matched with the Autumn rainy season there was no need to add humidity, which remained stable.

I used 10 L and 20 L Airpots. By using two sizes I can see the difference between them and then decide which ones to use in the future. But I usually prefer the 20 L ones because they make the task much easier. In addition, since Airpots feature side holes, the soil dries much faster, so the smaller ones required continuous watering. This is good because it allows us to raise the watering frequency and you can obtain big harvests but, in my case, I prefer to choose bigger pots that make cannabis growing easier although at the cost of loosing yield.

With autoflowering strains I always use the same soil I would use with any other Cannabis strain. According to this I make sure that the plants have enough food for the first 4 or 5 weeks of life. It is important to help with bio stimulators to promote the growth of roots and flowers.

Using a root bio stimulator helps the plant to generate outstanding root growth, which is ideal to improve nutrient absorption and, most importantly, to keep the plants in perfect health. I recommend the use of the flowering bio stimulator whenever the plant reaches to a certain height and the first pistils appear, indicating the beginning of flowering. In this grow I started using it at day 28, when the first flowers started to appear. At that time they had an average height of 35 cm which does not reveal their maximum potential, but considering the initial delay I could not complain.

All the plants were very healthy and at this moment there was no need to add anything else to the water besides flowering bio stimulator. This was the main fertilizer that I used because almost all the other nutrients that Crystal Candy Auto^® needed were already present in the soil mix. The most critical moments happened between the sixth and the seventh week, when some plants started to ask for more nutrients, especially the taller ones. Besides that, being in smaller pots they consumed the available nutrients very fast. If this is your case, you can add some blooming fertilizers. They usually also need a bit of Calcium and Magnesium at this stage, but this time I did not have to add it. I only gave them blooming fertilizers twice because they always looked very healthy, with shiny leaves and an outstanding flower structure.

Adding nutrients when a plant does not demand them tends to cause undesired accumulation of salts and usually blocks correct nutrient intake. If you pay attention to the pictures you will see that the plants were never hungry and the flowering formation was great. By the way, the bloom nutrients used were totally organic.

Crystal Candy Auto^® produces large central and lateral buds. Once flowering begins it becomes worth of admiration because the pistil and crystal production is extreme, leaving all the buds and their surrounding leaves fully loaded with trichomes.