You’ve probably heard about feminized, regular and autoflowering strains, but have you ever heard of Fast Version strains?
In the following post you’ll learn about what they are and how they differ from other strains.
What are Fast Version Strains?
Fast Version seeds are those which have a shorter flowering period, usually a week or two shorter (compared to the original strain).
This type of strain comes from a cross between feminized, elite light-dependent strains and an autoflowering plant. However, unlike autos, fast strains depend on the amount of light received to flower; they need to have a growth period (18/6h light and dark) and then a flowering period (12/12h).
Unlike what happens to autoflowering plants, even though they have a shorter flowering period, their size isn’t affected by the flowering period, as growers can increase flowering times as much as they want, just like with feminized and regular cannabis seeds.
What Advantages to Fast Version Strains Have?
Growing Fast Version strains comes with a series of benefits, including the massive benefit of being able to harvest earlier, which can help avoid issues with autumn rains, especially in areas with short summers. When it rains, the excess humidity can cause fungi and mold to appear, which puts your plants at risk.
Fast strains also preserve the aroma and flavour of the original strains, which allows for all of their original qualities to shine through.
Other benefits of F1 Fast Version strains include their high yields and strength, comparable to traditional light-dependent strains; with the right care, high yields can be obtained from fast flowering strains, keeping in mind that they have a shorter flowering period.
You can also keep their height and yield in check; if you’re growing outdoors all you have to do is germinate your seeds early for a long growth period. When it comes to indoor growing, you’ll have to give them a longer growth period until they’re as big as you’d like. If you’re looking to make a mother plant you can easily take clones from Fast Version, unlike autoflowering seeds which can only be grown from seed.
What Differences are there Between Fast and Autoflowering Seeds?
The main difference between a fast flowering and autoflowering strain is that the first is light-dependent, and autoflowering plants begin to flower regardless of the amount of light they get. Autoflowering plants tend to grow for around a month and then they move to the flowering stage, they’re easy to grow and have a shorter life, which makes them less likely to catch illnesses or insect infestations. They’re better for inexperienced growers.
Due to the fact that autoflowering strains can be harvest around 3 months after germination, you can get around 3-4 harvests a year. Autoflowering strains also differ in that they tend to be much smaller; this is a great idea for those that don’t have much space or are looking to grow discreet plants outdoors. F1 Fast flowering plants also produce higher yields than autoflowering strains.
What’s the Difference Between F1 Fast Version and fast flowering feminized plants?
As we were saying previously, Fast Version plants come from a cross between an autoflowering and feminized seed.
Normal fast flowering strains such as Jamaican Dream (42 – 45 days) or Lemon King (48 – 53) have NOT been crossed with autoflowering strains. However, due to the careful selection made when breeding these seeds, their flowering period can sometimes be exactly the same as a fast flowering strain.
How to Grow Fast Version Strains
Fast Version strains can be grown both indoors and outdoors, just like regular, feminized and auto plants. However, they can grow much bigger when planted in the ground compared to flowerpots; the more space that they have to grow out their roots, the larger the plant.
Yield produced by these plants also depends on their genes and how they’re grown; when grown indoors you can easily manipulate the amount of light they get, allowing for an earlier flowering period. You can give them a shorter growing growing period and set them to flower when you’d like; as long as they get 18h of light a day, they’ll keep growing. In this case, you have to choose between larger plants or plants that flower faster.
To summarize, whether it’s indoors or outdoors, Fast strains don’t differ much when it comes to caring and growing other light-dependent strains. All you’ll have to keep in mind is that they should be ready to harvest around 1 – 2 weeks earlier than usual, so make sure to pay attention to what the seed bank indicates so that you don’t harvest too late.
What are the best Fast strains for this season?
There are currently an enormous amount of fast version strains available online, both with indica and sativa dominance. To help you decide, we’ve made a selection of some of the best strains for this spring.
Crystal Candy F1 Fast Version
This strain comes from a cross between Crystal Candy with Sweet Special Auto, resulting in a plant that has an intense aroma and flavour, similar to strawberry chewing gum, with a faster flowering time. An indica-dominant hybrid that produces intense psychoactive effects alongside a feeling of relaxation.
We’re not lying when we say that Crystal Candy F1 fast Version is an exceptional strain; it won first prize for the best Indica at the Spannabis Champions Cup 2017.
Ice Cream Cake Fast Flowering
Ice Cream Cake Fast Flowering is one of the easiest ways to experience one of the best flavours from the West Coast in the least amount of time possible. This strain is an award winning combination of high THC levels, which produce intense effects, and its indica dominance, which produces quite a physically relaxing effect. This strain has an amazing terpene profile similar to sweet candy, with surprising hints of spicy and cinnamon flavours, making for a delicious aroma and a great choice for making your own extracts.
Cream Mandarine Fast Version
Another recommendation for this season is Cream Mandarine Fast Version, which you’ll love thanks to its mixture of citric aromas with a hint of sweetness; a lovely combination. In order to create this strain, the breeders at Sweet Seeds chose a Cream Mandarine Auto and crossed it with an elite Diesel clone.
It’s not surprising that this strain has won many prizes; it’s quite a strong plant that produces large, thick buds full of delicious and aromatic resin. It has a high THC content between 18 and 22%, producing a relaxing effect both physically and mentally.
Cream Caramel Fast Version
Cream Caramel Fast Version is the fast version of one of the most acclaimed strains in the famous seed bank Sweet Seeds. Thanks to its characteristics, this strain is a must-have for every grower. One of its best characteristics is its intense aroma and flavour, similar to sweets – which is where it gets its name. This strain produces a high amount of THC, and has a very relaxing effect. Cream Caramel Fast Version is a strain that comes from a combination between an elite Cream Caramel clone with a strain chosen from Cream Caramel Auto; as a result, this plant is light-dependent and takes just 7 weeks to flower.
