Hi guys. I recently raised Bruce Banner Autoflower by Original Sensible Seeds from seed to harvest and wanted to report back on my growing experience. This strain takes its name from the Hulk’s alter-ego. Like the superhero, it’s big, loud, and powerful. I’ve always been a fan of comic books, so I was excited to try this strain out.
It took this strain nearly 16 weeks to fully mature. That surprised me, because I usually expect autoflower strains to finish within 12 weeks or so. With that being said, they were easy to grow and required fairly little maintenance – I only defoliated twice during the flower cycle. Bruce Banner Auto has also shown itself to be extremely resilient to pests and infections. I’ve had to deal with more than my fair share of pathogens in my garden, so I always look for strains that are resilient to pests.
Gear I Used
I set up a garden using a 2 x 2.5ft (.06 x .0762m) tent in a spare room of my house. Since I was only growing a single auto plant, that was plenty of room for my purposes. I started by germinating my seed in a rock wool cube and transplanting it into a 3-gallon (11.3 L) pot filled with coco coir. I wanted to go with a hydroponic setup because it allowed me to dial in my nutrients for this experiment.
I used LED light all the way through the grow process. I love LEDs since they use less power and save money. They also generate less heat, which is important since my ventilation isn’t perfect. Since I only had one plant and the tent featured reflective walls, I figured a single lamp would be enough power.
Bruce Banner Auto Grow Diary – My Actions Seed To Harvest
As I’ve mentioned before, Bruce Banner Auto took more time to flower than I thought it would. I harvested it after 16 weeks, with the first 5 weeks spent in the veg cycle.
Weeks 1-5: Veg
I started out with four seeds and was excited when I found all of them germinated. I chose the strongest-looking one out of my sprouts, and luckily it ended up being a female. During the first 5 weeks of the veg cycle, the plant stretched nearly a foot (30cm) tall. I topped it once to help it grow into two even colas.
I kept the lights on in my garden for 18 hours per day. I tried to keep my ambient temperature fairly consistent, at 76 degrees Fahrenheit (24 degrees Celsius) during the day and 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius) at night. I tried to keep my ambient humidity at around 60%. While this is a little high for the flowering stage, it’s perfect for veg, when plants need moisture to help support their verdant stem and node growth. I gradually increased the total dissolved solids (TDS) of my mix to 1200 PPM over the course of the veg cycle, and I kept the pH at a constant 6.0.
Early Flower: Weeks 1-4 of Flower Cycle
The first few weeks of the flower cycle are generally when the most pronounced stretching happens. Plants experience a huge growth spurt during this time, adding length to their branches. Plants can often double in size when they stretch.
The most pronounced stretching for this Bruce Banner Auto occurred during this timeframe, with my plant growing nearly 30 inches (90cm). By the fourth week of the flowering cycle, I’d increased the TDS of my nutrient mix to 1480 PPM and maintained a steady 6 pH. My ambient temperature maxed out at 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.6 degrees Celsius), and the air humidity in my garden hovered at around 40%. I kept my light on for 18 hours a day to supercharge my plant’s growth during this time.
Mid Flower: Weeks 6-10 of Flower Cycle
At this point, the plant is pretty much done stretching. I didn’t notice any significant height difference between my plant’s height at the beginning of week 6 and when I harvested it. Instead, I started to pick up on some other major changes.
First, week 6 was when I began to notice any aroma from my plant, which only got more powerful as it developed. By week 10, my garden was emanating the loud, noticeable smell of this pungent strain. I maintained my light, temperature, and ambient humidity at the same level as I’d kept them in the early flowering stage. I also kept my mix the same at 1480 PPM and 6.0 pH.
Late Flower: Week 11-Harvest
At this point, I was starting to notice powerful aromas emanating from my tent. My plant had bulked out nicely, and over the plant’s last week or so of maturity, its trichomes faded from stark white to a rich amber color. Once I’d seen all the trichomes fade, I knew it was time to start harvesting.
I reduced my ambient temperature and humidity to mimic their natural progression during autumn. By harvest time, my daytime temperature peaked at about 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22.22 Celsius). I also lowered my humidity to about 30 degrees.
Final Thoughts
All in all, I’d spent almost 16 weeks nurturing this single plant from seed to flower. That’s a long time for an autoflower strain, but the wait was definitely worth it. After harvest, I weighed my yield and ended up with about 12.5 ounces (355 grams). After drying and curing, I was left with about 2.75 ounces (78 grams). I was a little disappointed with the overall weight of my dry yield, but the quality of the buds definitely held up.
I was actually pleasantly surprised with the state of the buds. Although they’d reduced their weight by nearly five times during the drying and curing process, the cured buds were hard, dense, and full. They smelled great and crumbled nicely between my fingers when I broke it up to roll a joint. I’ll definitely be trying this strain again – possibly with soil, or maybe outdoors.
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