Scheduled to be held on January 28th at the iconic Green St. building in Downtown Los Angeles, the first annual American Autoflower Cup is a new twist on an old concept that hopes to shine a new light on the progress that has been made in recent years with autoflower cannabis breeding and cultivation.
Open to all grow shops, seed banks, and any individual grower who specialize in autoflower strains and growing, the American Autoflower Cup will offer three distinct categories for would-be winners to enter: Best Autoflower Sativa Strain, Best Autoflower Indica Strain, and Best Autoflower Seedbank.
While autoflowering cannabis has been slow to take root in American cannabis culture, it is a very popular method of growing in Europe, as the climate and politics over there are more conducive to small, fast-finishing plants. However, the many benefits of growing autoflowering strains are starting to catch on here in the U.S., especially as renowned breeders like Humboldt Seed Company, Purple City Genetics, and others have begun to add their expertise to the niche.
So, while there have been competitions across the pond that focused on autoflower-only entries, the American Autoflower Cup is the first event of its kind here on American soil. Don’t get it twisted, though, as the man behind the scenes is hardly new to the cannabis events scene.
Those of you who have been in the Cali cannabis scene for a minute likely recognize the name Jeremy Norrie.
The brains behind epic events of the good ol’ days like The Secret Cup, and an author of the judging criteria used for Chalice California, Norrie has been around the block in the Prop215 medical market in California and has written for magazines like Treating Yourself Medical Journal and Skunk Magazine. Bringing things full circle, Norrie was a member of the teams who won the High Times Cannabis Cup Best Product Awards with their innovative dabbing tools in both 2009 and again in 2012.
Norrie also wrote, directed, and produced the award-winning documentary The Secret Cup, preserving and propagating cannabis culture for countless viewers around the world.
With his earned experience and reputation in Cali cannabis culture, Norrie’s inspiration for founding this new event reflects the authenticity that made The Secret Cup so special back in the day.
“My first experience with AutoFlower was in the late 2000s from the Canadian owners of Treating Yourself, they had some Afghani Bullryder that was very tasty but not strong,” Norrie told us while reminiscing on his storied past. “Since then,” he added, “I’ve learned that AutoFlower genetics have come a long way, taking over in popularity all over Europe and other places. Recently I was given the opportunity to host the American AutoFlower Cup in Los Angeles where we are going to celebrate and scrutinize all the latest hype around these new auto-period breeders that claim to be changing the game once again.”
Norrie’s community connections have also led to the American Autoflower Cup harvesting an all-star cast of official judges, including names like Nick Bradley, Jenny Beth-Dills, the Pothead Princess, Joey Burger, and more.
Talented autoflower cultivators like @autopotamus, @barkleys_buds, @basementgrowshow, @cortezthekonqueror, and more are already signed up to toss their best buds into the ring to see who comes out on top so you know the terps will be flowing for this one!
AUTOFLOWER CANNABIS IS GOING MAINSTREAM
If you look at grow lights, or hash, or even most of the weed itself from 20-30 years ago, you will likely appreciate how far it has all come since then. Comparing today’s tech with how it used to be is not just unfair, but it is not particularly useful either.
For some reason, though, when it comes to autoflowering cannabis seeds and strains, lots of people still have the earliest versions of that tech in mind when they form (and spout) their opinions on it even though, like the rest of cannabis culture, it has come a long way over the years.
One of the biggest lessons that you learn as a cultivator is that you simply cannot cut corners, but autoflower strains do exactly that. So, it should come as no surprise that many growers just ignore the tech altogether, and for those that do mess with it, the results of taking those strains to harvest can be a mixed bag of pros and cons.
No longer are autoflower cultivars only for beginners, or only for hemp farmers, and they are definitely getting people happy and high right here in the United States.
The high level of hype surrounding the American AutoFlower Cup is proof.
“My love for cannabis culture and natural affinity for the outcasts has led me to be a sort of revolutionary in cannabis, doing things that face great adversity at first but eventually are so popular they become the standard,” says event curator Jeremy Norrie. “This event could potentially capture another one of those moments in cannabis and I am yet again proudly guiding some of my most qualified peers in the shared education, celebration, and examination of this explosive branch of marijuana breeding.”
We’ll smoke to that!
YOU CAN STILL ENTER THE AMERICAN AUTOFLOWER CUP HERE NOW THROUGH JANUARY 10TH
