Purple Afghani Auto

Everything about Purple Afghani at harvest follows from one decision, which is when you stop. The figures are up to 400 g/m2 indoors and up to 400 g/plant outdoors, with resin filling towards 15% THC. Weight arrives late on a plant this indica-leaning — the 84/16 split stacks calyxes hard through the middle weeks and then thickens them. Growers who cut on the calendar rather than the glass lose that last stage, and it is the most valuable one.

Three parts of the 50-60 days of bloom account for most of the difference between a good result and an average one on a plant rated up to 400 g/m2 indoors and up to 400 g/plant outdoors.

The stretch, days 1-10 after the flip. Canopy height set here decides how evenly light lands for the rest of the run. Twenty to thirty per cent is typical; taking the lowest fans around day seven pushes energy up to the sites that will finish.

Weeks three to five. Caryophyllene production climbs through this stretch and responds to a 6-8°C gap between lights-on and lights-off. Outdoors an Irish September provides that without help; indoors it has to be built, at roughly 25°C by day and 18-20°C at night. Bloom feed goes potassium-forward around EC 1.6-1.8.

The final fortnight. Feeding stops, plain pH-corrected water goes on, and the loupe comes out daily. Fifteen to twenty per cent amber suits the weight of effect this one is grown for. Outdoors, that falls between late September and mid-October, and the forecast gets a say.

Flowering: 50-60 days. Indoor yield: up to 400 g/m2. Outdoor yield: up to 400 g/plant. Plant height: Medium. Rated easy difficulty.

Purple Afghani arrives in order. The first draw at 15% THC gives peppercorn heat that lands at the back of the throat. The relaxed, sleepy, happy character follows in minutes, as weight behind the eyes that works down through the shoulders. By a quarter of an hour it reads as physical stillness rather than sedation — a strong disinclination to stand up. Two to three hours at a sensible dose. Myrcene underneath contributes depth beneath the rest.

Primary: Caryophyllene · Secondary: Myrcene · Tertiary: Bisabolol. This is a combination that turns up repeatedly in cultivars people rate, and it is usually what gets commented on when a jar is opened for the first time after a proper cure. Caryophyllene anchors it, myrcene holds the middle, and bisabolol sits behind both — the last of those being what separates this from other strains leading on the same terpene.

Who does well with Purple Afghani? Back-garden and balcony growers in Dublin, Cork and Galway. Anyone who wants a crop dry and put away before the autumn closes in. Indoor growers short of headroom. The autoflowering genetics run to their own clock, so there is no schedule to manage and no anxiety about light leaks. Rated easy, which means a moderate learning curve that rewards attention without needing specialist kit.