Spring is approaching, it is time to germinate, but you do not have a piece of your own garden where you could grow? You do not need to despair. Try growing balcony plants. Even on a small balcony or terrace, you can grow a beautiful harvest. You only need to choose the right strain.
Before you start buying seeds, bear in mind that not every balcony or terrace is suitable for growing cannabis. The plants need at least several hours of direct sunlight every day. If your balcony or terrace is sunk in shade, cannabis will survive, but the plants will be weak, grow slowly and the yield from them will be pitiful. An ideal growing site is one facing south. The size of the balcony does not matter all that much; even in a small space, you can grow a lot of beauty. You only need to choose the right strain.
Which strains are best suited to growing on balconies
There are thousands of cannabis cultivars, which we often refer to by the English word “strain”. They differ in the content of active compounds, aroma, and also growth characteristics. When growing on balconies and terraces, plant height and their ability to flower even under an irregular light cycle are particularly important. Practical matters also need to be taken into account, such as the overly intense odour of some strains, which may disturb the neighbours.
Height and plant size: If you do not live in an opulent hacienda, there is probably no room on your balcony for three-metre-tall plants. In terms of growth characteristics, cannabis strains can be divided into narrow-leaf, slowly maturing and very tall sativas and broad-leaf, fast-maturing and short indicas. For growing on a balcony or terrace, indicas are definitely more suitable, or indica-sativa hybrids that do not grow beyond 1.5 metres.
Odour: You may be lucky with people, but your neighbours will probably not thank you much if they have to get up for the whole second half of summer smelling the pleasant aroma of Skunk, which resembles a combination of vomit and freshly trodden-in manure. To spare the olfactory senses of those around you, it is better to look for strains with a fruity terpene profile and skip the classic stinkers such as Skunk #1, Haze or OG Kush.
Flowering: A common problem with balcony growing is light pollution. It is likely that for part of the night your plants will be lit by light from a window or public street lighting, which disrupts their natural perception of day and night. This is a problem for “classic” photoperiodic strains, which regulate flowering according to the length of day and night. It may happen that your plants do not flower, flower more slowly, or produce male flowers. For balcony growers, autoflowering strains are therefore the more logical choice, as they flower independently of the length of day and night.
Best autoflower strains for growing on balconies and terraces
The following ten strains are among our favourites at HiSeeds and are excellent candidates for growing on a balcony or terrace. However, they are certainly not the only ones. Most autoflowers do not grow beyond 1.5 metres and flower quickly, so you can hardly go wrong with them.
Diesel Auto (New York Diesel x Ruderalis): In the catalogue of autoflowering strains from HiSeeds, you will find affordable seeds that certainly do not skimp on quality. An autoflowering version of the iconic 1990s Diesel strain with a characteristic petrol aroma that only stands out after drying and several months of curing. During growth, Diesel Auto has a pleasant citrus aroma reminiscent of herbs, which will not disturb the surroundings. All of this is wrapped up in an autoflowering package, so you are done in 10 to 12 weeks from seed germination.
Gorilla Cookies Auto (GG4 Auto F6 x Cookies Auto F5): The Spanish seed bank Fast Buds is one of the most authoritative names in the autoflower field, and Gorilla Cookies Auto is clear proof of that. The seed bank boasts that this is their highest-yielding and at the same time strongest strain, reaching an incredible 28.5% THC, which is truly an astonishing figure for an autoflower. The cultivar is resistant to pests and mould, making it suitable even for places with a damper microclimate.
Jack Herer Auto (Jack Herer x Ruderalis): It is difficult to choose the best autoflower from the extensive catalogue of autoflowering strains from the Dutch seed bank Greenhouse Seeds. They are all excellent. We have therefore chosen our favourite. The autoflowering version of the legendary Jack Herer strain may not be the highest-yielding of them all, but it is certainly among the most delicious. Anyone who has once tasted the sweetly spicy, myrcene-rich aroma of this strain will never want anything else again.
Auto Critical Orange (Orange Punch X Auto Kritical Bilbo): If you are looking for the number one in yield, you will be hard pressed to find a better strain. The breeders at Dutch Passion have made sure that this autoflowering version of Critical lives up to its name. You can therefore expect an absolutely monstrous load of buds, which ripen in just 10 to 11 weeks from seed germination.
Royal AK Auto (AK 47 x Ruderalis): The Spanish giant seed bank Royal Queen Seeds hardly needs a lengthy introduction, and neither does the autoflowering version of the AK-47 classic. The cultivar was a star of Dutch coffeeshops for decades and still has plenty to offer today. You can look forward to resilient and fast-flowering plants with a complex herbal aroma and a generous harvest in 11 to 12 weeks.
Big Bazooka Auto (Big Bazooka x Ruderalis): The Spanish newcomer in the field of Anesia Seeds certainly is not afraid to put its foot down, and its breeding team is churning out one hit after another. Big Bazooka is an autoflowering version of their super high-yielding indica with a refreshing citrus terpene profile. This modern autoflowering cultivar ripens very quickly, in approximately 60 days from seed germination.
Hindu Kush Automatic (Hindu Kush x Ruderalis): The breeders of one of the oldest Dutch seed banks, Sensi Seeds, pride themselves on working with original regional landrace strains from around the world. The autoflowering version of the classic that High Times magazine ranked among the 25 best in history. Hindu Kush comes from the foothills of the Himalayas and stands out above all for its resilience and flowering speed. You can harvest after just 8 to 10 weeks, and the strain is also suitable for cooler microclimates.
Purple Punch Auto (Purple Punch x BF Auto): In the catalogue of autoflowering strains from Barney’s Farm, you will find more than one banger, but for balcony growing the autoflower variants of the dominant indica Purple Punch are the best fit. The plants are very undemanding, do not grow too tall and have a subtle terpene profile reminiscent of a cake with cloves. The buds are surprisingly potent, with THC content above 20% and 1% CBD, which has a calming effect.
Auto Wappa (Wappa x Ruderalis): The showpiece of the old-school seed bank Paradise Seeds is their multi-award-winning cultivar Wappa. It stands out with a freshly fruity terpene profile with a hint of cherries and strawberries, which is a very unusual aroma for cannabis. The autoflowering version of this legend remains true to the original; you can look forward to harvest in 60 to 70 days from seed germination.
CBDV Auto (CBDV x Ruderalis): The Spanish seed bank Kannabia has extensive experience with ruderalis cannabis, and its breeders were often behind the birth of trends that later took over the entire market. Their new CBDV Auto contains less than 0.2% THC, but is rich in cannabidivarin (CBDV), a cannabinoid with potentially many medicinal effects. An ideal strain for anyone who wants to enjoy the medicinal effects of cannabis without the intoxicating effects.
We will leave you with a few tips on how best to grow autoflower strains on a balcony or terrace. Grow the plants in sufficiently large pots with a volume of at least 20 litres in an organic substrate rich in nutrients. Let the seeds germinate indoors just before you plant them outside. For autoflower strains, it is worth waiting for warm weather in the second half of May. Do not transplant or prune autoflowers. If you are growing in fertile soil, your plants should have enough nutrients for growth in the first weeks. During flowering, you can feed them with an organic bloom fertiliser.
Further advice and guides for cannabis growers, as well as information on the best strains, can be found on the HiSeeds blog.