Grow Diary of the Auto SFV OG plant that won the 2023 Highlife Cup

Auto SFV OG cannabis seed to harvest report by Antonio

This very special Dutch Passion Auto SFV OG was grown by ‘Antonio’ indoors under a Migro Array-2 LED at the end of 2022. This grow took place just before Auto SFV (San Fernando Valley) OG was commercially released into the Dutch Passion collection.

The exceptionally dank buds from this plant were submitted to the Highlife Cup, where she took 1st place in the autoflower category. The judges loved the exceptional taste, the creamy, earthy Kush aroma and the deliciously pleasurable stressbusting, anti-anxiety effects.

This prize-winning Auto SFV OG was grown organically on her own in a 60x60x120cm (2ft x 2ft x 4ft) grow tent in a 30L (6.6 gal) airpot. She grew from autoflower seed to harvest in 12-13 weeks. If you want to see how embarrassingly easy it is to grow 20%+ THC, high-grade dankness of your own then read on.

Auto SFV OG grow conditions: light-mix/coco blend with BioTabs & LED

Auto SFV OG, 1st prize autoflowers category, Highlife Cup 2023

With around 40 cannabis cups of his own, Antonio is a master grower who has also collaborated with Dutch Passion to produce his own limited edition releases and soon will be making a ‘regular entry’ into the Dutch Passion collection with his Ice Cream Haze, available in both feminized and regular seeds.

His preferred grow method is fully organic using the complete dry nutrient BioTabs line and their liquid PK Booster. This proven system is one of the easiest ways to grow, used by beginners and experts alike.

Apart from a few simple additions (e.g. occasional beneficial soil bacteria, PK boost) all you need to do is add water for much/most of the grow. For many, this foolproof ‘water-only’ method is much simpler than use of bottled mineral nutrients, allowing predictably solid results – time after time.

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Flowering stage)

Germination rate: 100%, 10 autoflower seeds germinated and all 10 germinated quickly.

Germination details: Seeds rooted fast, within 3-4 days all 10 showed a healthy and lengthy tap root of around 2cm.

Vegetative growth (18/6 light): Around 42-45 days of VEG growth. The plants did not show any flowers up until the 7th week of the lifecycle.

Flowering (12/12 light): These plants are autoflowers so they were grown on 20/4 cannabis light schedule from seed to harvest.

Stretch during flowering: Medium-to-large stretch during flowering.

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Flowering stage)

Type of grow room: Indoor grow tent.

Size of grow room: 60x60x120cm as the flower room (2ft x 2ft x 4ft).

Number of plants: 2

Type / size of pots: Airpot of 30L (6.6 gal).

Grow medium: Mixture of Light-mix soil/Coco fibre.

Nutrients: Full Biotabs line with liquid PK Booster.

Grow techniques: Natural grow, no use of cannabis training techniques.

Average temperature: 22-24ºC (73-75F)

Average humidity: RH 50-60%

Grow lights: Migro Aray-2 LED, 125w power draw on max power.

Light distance from canopy: Around 30cm from the light to the top of the canopy.

Seed germination

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Germination stage)

Germination of the seeds went fine, 10 seeds germinated producing 10 plants – 100%. 10 seedlings were planted into 0.25L pots after germination.

Vegetative stage

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Seedling stage)

In his own words, Antonio explains how the initial vegetative growth phase went and his observations.

These seedlings were then pre-grown in 0.25l containers for about 4 weeks. Unfortunately, a week longer than I would normally do/advise to do when growing autoflowers. But due to unforeseen circumstances I had to wait before transplanting her. So, I picked my favourite one and the 9 others went to a friend from the growers collective.

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Vegetative stage)

My remaining Auto SFV OG grew for about 6 – 6.5 weeks with no visible flowering hairs. The first 4 weeks after germination she was kept in a small 0.25l pot before being transferred to a 30L Airpot. From this moment on she started to really grow vigorously.

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Vegetative stage)

During the vegetative phase she really showed a more hybrid leaf and branch structure. Therefore, most leaves tended to be medium sized, with a visible mix of Indica and Sativa, maybe leaning a bit towards the Sativa side.

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Vegetative stage)

Flowering stage

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Flowering stage)

With just his favourite plant remaining from the original 10, Antonio saw the cannabis flowering phase start around week 7. That’s a week or two later than usual but this allowed plenty of resin and flavour to build. The Auto SFV was grown naturally, without cannabis low stress training (LST) or cannabis high stress training (HST).

This natural grow style, combined with the ‘water-only’ BioTabs nutrients system made for a simple, but highly effective, grow & harvest. The Auto SFV OG had the small 60x60cm (2ft x2ft) tent to herself with a quality 125W Migro Aray 2 LED overhead. Here is the feedback in Antonio’s own words:

She grew well though I knew I may have stunted her growth a little by keeping her in a small pot for 4 weeks. Growing an autoflower from start to finish in the big, final container is always best.

However, I was still happy with her overall size. It was actually perfect for a natural grow in a small tent because there is obviously not a lot of room for a massive lady without using the SCROG method or other grow techniques.

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Flowering stage)

Her flower development was pretty fast, and she was filled with haired pistils within a week or two from the moment she started showing sex. At the same time a lot of trichomes popped up on the small leaves surrounding the flowers.

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Flowering stage)

Her stature was rather compact but filled with quite nice sized flowers. Almost a similar stature to the Auto Skywalker Haze that was grown 2 years earlier. I had a feeling the buds would become quite massive in the end again!

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Flowering stage)

A few weeks later, the cannabis flowers have grown to decent sized buds and they have become quite sticky as well. Looking really frosty and appealing to the eye! The aroma of the plant was also quite pungent and strong, resembling a more creamy, earthy Kush scent. Quite unique and interesting.

The Migro Aray-2 LED light was used at around 75-80% of max power. So around 90-100w (of the 125W available) was used to grow this Auto SFV OG.

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Flowering stage)

Structure-wise, it resembled a slightly more open hybrid structure – without being super fluffy. When you squeezed the buds, they were still rather compact, probably coming from the SFV OG heritage of this cross. Interesting to say at least!

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Flowering stage)

The bigger fan leaves were not caked with trichomes, but the smaller leaves (often called sugar leaves) were really frosty and sticky!

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Flowering stage)

I also loved how the main cola looked. Really nice contrast with the light green leaves and a very white overall appearance. Definitely some high-quality bud!

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Flowering stage)

At this latter part of her lifecycle, I decided to take away most of the bigger leaves. This is important in order to have more light shining through the canopy. It also helps to improve air/oxygen flow and reduces humidity levels (due to reduced transpiration). All these are beneficial for the ripening of the buds, achieving higher yields and quality levels.

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Flowering stage)

After completing this final strip (or ‘schwazz’ as some growers might call it), the plant really looked like a compact tiny Christmas tree, with a decent main bud surrounded by many decent sized side-colas. A typical plant structure seen by many Dutch Passion autoflowers.

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Flowering stage)

A lights-out picture made with a flash really shows the trichome production in a good way!

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Flowering stage)

At the same moment, I was growing this lady, some of my friends were growing the other 9 Auto SFV OG plants. This is one bud-shot of one of those plants, which you can see became quite potent and sticky too and with a totally different terpene profile. More on the sour, fruity, Kush side with some sweet candy notes. I loved that one as well!

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Flowering stage)

From the moment I had stripped her, I was going to feed her strictly with water, so no more added nutrients to the water anymore. Although the science behind cannabis flushing might be up for debate, I usually starve the plant of additional nutrients during this last week (usually around 10 days).

The soil is, of course, amended with BioTabs already and I let the plant use up some of the nutrients in the leaves and soil to create a fade/get some stress…. and hopefully produce more THC. This often shows in the leaves, in this case they started to become yellow/brownish and wither at the tips, but nothing too extreme.

Harvest report

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Flowering stage)

As harvest approached, Antonio knew he had a special Auto SFV OG with a rampant, all-pervading aroma and high-end THC levels. Frost levels were extreme and the blooms were getting ready for the chop.

Here are Antonio’s remarks:

I took the Auto SFV OG plant out and shot a few pictures outside the grow tent. A really compact lady with super frosty buds which reeked like old-school strong cannabis! Really pungent and interesting terpene profile in my opinion, something unique and exciting.

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Flowering stage)

Final Height:

Small, compact plant of about 40-50cm (18 inches) in height.

Calyx-leaf ratio (Easy trim/yes or no):

Yes, pretty good calyx-leaf-ratio, not perfect but definitely not bad. She was quite easy to trim, although I did a dry trim this time. When it was harvest day, I cut the main stem and let her hang upside down in the drying tent. After she was dry, I trimmed the buds.

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Flowering stage)

Quality (Resin/Smell/Compactness):

Top notch! Really pungent aroma, interesting terps, with a more semi-compact hybrid structure. The resin levels are simply amazing, super frosty and sticky as hell!

Yield:

Solid, but could have been better, around 90g (3.1oz) of dried buds from this single lady. If she was grown in the 30 litre (6 gal) container from the start (or after 2-2.5 weeks in the small container) it could have easily been 100-125 grams (3.5 – 4.5oz) from a single plant.

Auto SFV OG THC-rich dry bud grown by Antonio

Remarks after curing:

Amazing buds, very nice bag appeal. The frosty trichome-loaded buds make this lady stand out! It was so easy and uncomplicated to produce buds of this quality.

I loved the way Auto SFV OG looked and smelled, and she also had a great taste. Very nice to smoke and vape and almost exactly like the aroma, which cannot be said all the time.

Auto SFV OG rating

Auto SFV OG THC-rich dry bud grown by Antonio

I gave Auto SFV OG an overall 4+ star rating, which is pretty damn good. Definitely one of the better autoflowers I have grown. The aroma and the bag appeal were really top notch. I would have given the bag appeal a 5 if the buds would have been a bit more compact. But hey, really I cant complain here.  

She is strong, but with a potency of around 21% (confirmed with independent lab testing) she doesnt quite match the strongest autoflowers I have grown, like Auto Cinderella Jack and Auto Skywalker Haze. Taste was, as I said before similar to the aroma – which is always a good sign.

Dry yield
90g

Overall rating
★★★★1/2

Aroma
★★★★1/2

Taste
★★★★☆

Effect
★★★★☆

Bag appeal
★★★★1/2

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Flowering stage)

When I saw the 21% THC lab-report, it confirmed my belief that this really was a top-class individual. The taste and the satisfaction/enjoyment from a single hit of this weed was as good as it gets.

Some buds were submitted to the Highlife Cup where my Auto SFV OG went on to win 1st Prize in the Autoflower seed category.

Auto SFV OG independent cannabinoid lab-test results

Although I have grown higher THC autoflower buds before, it’s important to note that absolute THC levels are often not the deciding factor. Once you get above 20% THC, potency differences get tough to discern. In these cases, the cannabis cup judges tend to lean towards those strains with the best flavour, distinctive taste and overall enjoyability. I was grateful for the win!

Observations and expert growing tips

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Flowering stage)

With another cannabis cup added to his growing collection, Antonio showed how easy it is to grow autoflower seeds into true cannabis-cup winning harvests using the simple ‘water-only’ BioTabs nutrients system alongside an aerated grow container (airpot & aerated grow medium) and a quality LED grow light.

BioTabs eliminate the hassles of over/under feeding often seen with bottled mineral nutrients. This is generally of most benefit to less experienced growers. But even pro-growers like Antonio find BioTabs to be the easiest way to maintain plants in the nutrient sweet spot from cannabis seed to harvest. The final words go to Antonio. 

Growing this Auto SFV OG lady has been an absolute blast. She could handle the slightly rough and changing circumstances quite well, so she is definitely a resilient variety. Although she was initially kept in a small container for too long and the environmental conditions (especially in the beginning) were below par she still produced a very nicely looking, rather compact cannabis tree.

The start was rough and for a large part of her lifecycle the average temperatures were a bit below average. Around 17-20 ºC (63-68F), but with minimum temps of 14-15 ºC (58F). But it seemed like she really did not mind. The yield was still pretty good and the quality of the buds was outstanding – right up there with anything I have grown. That’s one of the beauties of autoflowers, they really are forgiving genetics and easy to grow.

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Flowering stage)

I think hanging her upside down to dry without manicuring preserved the terps very well. With this technique it is thought there is still plant juice/sugar that flows through the stems to the flowers after cutting her down. Not taking away any leaves should help protect the terpenes from dissipating too quickly.

Im not sure if this is scientifically correct, but what I did notice with this drying technique is that the cannabis terpenes seem a little less volatile and better protected. It also a good method if you want to store your stash of cannabis flowers for a longer time.

Drying your buds with the complete plant upside down, with all its branches and leaves still connected to the main stem, takes a lot longer than drying your manicured buds (without any stems/leaves) on a drying net.

So, it is very important to always keep your environment in the drying tent in-check. Also, to avoid any growing/spreading of fungus/rot in either the leaves or flowers do a thorough check on your plant. Make sure there is no infected material on the plant before she is being placed in the drying tent. Remember it can spread quickly and ruin your entire harvest.

Auto SFV OG grown by Antonio (Flowering stage)

My preferred way is usually starting at around 60-65% humidity (RH) for the first few days/weeks and then lower it to 55-60% for the rest of the period.

Once the branches become dry enough, usually within 7-10 days, I lower it to 50-55% until the branches snap, checking twice a day. With the dry-trim method (and first hanging the full plant upside down to dry) it can take a bit longer to dry. So, consider that you might need a 14–21-day timeframe to fully dry the cannabis flowers.

All in all, this was an amazingly good result giving the changing circumstances during this grow. The quality was top-notch, and I was very pleased to see the judges on the Highlife cup seemed to agree! She was easy to grow, forgiving and produced a stellar result with a solid yield. And the cannabis buds really have a strong pungent aroma & taste. The effect is powerful and if you smoke a good joint, you can be sure to enjoy a relaxing hybrid high that will last for several hours. Highly recommended.

Auto SFV OG THC-rich dry bud grown by Antonio

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