Fast Buds helps you enjoy champion weed in record time.

With growing season in full swing, cannabis cultivators across the country are hard at work searching for their new favorite strains. One of the foremost seedbanks offering quality genetics to American growers is Fast Buds, a group of autoflower specialists who have been breeding ever since they arrived on the scene over a decade ago. Gaining a reputation for their Gorilla genetics, their most-awarded Gorilla crosses are Gorilla Cookies, Strawberry Gorilla, and Gorilla Zkittlez. We just checked in on Fast Buds’ effort to popularize autoflowering seeds in backyards across the USA, and, as befitting their name, they haven’t slowed down since. 

Leafly readers get 15% off Fast Buds autoflowering strains with code LFL420.

Fast Buds has been filling their trophy case in recent years, running the table at strain competitions all over the world, including several prestigious cannabis cup victories. Competing at the American Autoflower Cup, Farmer’s Cup, Spannabis Champions Cup, Autoflower World Cup, Dab-A-Doo Brasil, and more year after year, their breeders rarely come home empty-handed. It’s safe to say that this brand of cannabis autoflowering seeds is well on their way to redefining what you can expect from autoflowering strains worldwide.

We’ve got a roundup of some of those selfsame champion strains so you can get a taste of the winning spirit and pick out some GOATs for your garden.

Strawberry Gorilla Auto

One of the most decorated strains in the Fast Buds’ stable, Fast Buds’ Strawberry Gorilla Auto took home two prestigious awards in 2023, winning Best Sativa at the American Autoflower Cup in Los Angeles in January and the ‘Highest Combined Terpenes’ title in the Home Grow Hash at the 2023 Farmer’s Cup. This latest victory in the Farmer’s Cup is quite the feather in Strawberry Gorilla Auto’s cap — not only did Fast Buds amazing autoflower hold its own against the competitor’s photoperiod strains, Strawberry Gorilla Auto’s terpenes triumphed, scoring a point for autoflowers everywhere. 

Coming in bold with intense strawberry flavor, Strawberry Gorilla Auto has tested with a jaw-dropping 28.417% THC and 29.86% total cannabinoids. That’s enough to make even those with well-developed tolerances sit up and take notice, and extractors will love how much juicy resin each bud will produce. Growers of all skill levels can expect their Strawberry Gorilla plants to reach maturity in around ten weeks, when the chunky, frosty buds are ready to go. Our advice is to take some photos before you harvest; a looker on the tier of Strawberry Gorilla Auto ought to be celebrated.

Gorilla Cookies Auto

The ruling silverback among Fast Buds Autoflowers, Gorilla Cookies Auto is Fast Buds’ flagship autoflowering strain. This balanced hybrid has scored multiple awards over the years, including a victory at the Expo Grow competition and Best Autoflower at the 2022 Cosecha Cup. Gorilla Cookies also snagged the prestigious Best Indica award at the 2022 Autoflower World Cup, and honestly, it was no surprise. Gorilla Cookies has it all; it’s incredibly potent (testing at a whopping 28.5% THC!), high-yielding, resilient in many different indoor and outdoor climates, and boy, is it flavorful. The impressively high THC levels translate into an intense resin production, making her buds almost completely white and covered in trichomes late in the flowering stage.

If you elect to try your hand at growing Gorilla Cookies Auto, you can expect trichome-frosted buds around the size of poker chips, in around ten weeks in good conditions. Gorilla Cookies Auto also loves to stretch out, reaching up to 150cm at maturity. It’s a bit difficult to describe the flavor of Gorilla Cookies; those who have had the pleasure report notes of hazelnut, earth, dank, and even more. That might be a bit vague, but there’s only one surefire way to discover Gorilla Cookies Auto’s complex flavor: Grow it yourself.

Gorilla Zkittlez Auto

Gorilla Zkittlez Auto is another of Fast Buds’ legendary crosses that makes use of DNA from the Gorilla family, featuring a potpourri of enticing terpenes that runs the gamut from earthy, spicy early notes to a cotton-candy finish. This strain took home top honors from the 2022 Dab-A-Doo Brasil competition by charming judges with its ludicrous 29.85% total cannabinoid percentage, making Gorilla Zkittlez Auto one of the most potent autoflowering strains to be found, in addition to being one of the tastiest.

A hybrid with a balanced effect, Gorilla Zkittlez Auto makes a great smoke at any time of day, which means fans of this Fast Buds favorite may go through their stocks quickly. Luckily, Gorilla Zkittlez Auto is a shockingly high-yielding strain as well, producing up to 650gr/m² in as little as 63 days in ideal conditions. With yields like that, growers don’t ever need to be shy about indulging their love for this treat of a strain.

Banana Purple Punch Auto

The definitive end to all lingering questions about autoflowers’ ability to stack up to photodependent strains, Banana Purple Punch Auto is one of the most potent autoflowers ever tested. Tested at MJ Biz Con in 2023, Banana Purple Punch was shown to have a mind-blowing, earth-shattering 30.4% THC. That puts Banana Purple Punch solidly among famously potent strains like Green Crack and Bruce Banner, but with all the speed and convenience of an autoflower.

This indica-like will produce a respectable amount of bud in a lightning-fast seven weeks. With all these factors in Banana Purple Punch’s favor, it had no trouble winning Best Indica in the 2023 American Autoflower Cup, and it won’t have any trouble winning a spot in your heart, either.

Papaya Cookies Auto

Hash lovers, rejoice; your time has come. One of the most exciting strains on Fast Buds’ roster, Papaya Cookies is also the second-place winner of the 2024 Best New Strain award at the Autoflower World Cup. Papaya Cookies’ intense THC percentage and far-above-average resin concentration make this sativa-leaning hybrid a dream for hash makers and extractors of all kinds, but that’s not the only thing that Papaya Cookies has going for it. The judges at the AWC noted Papaya Cookies’ delicious, complex flavor as a major strong point.

Receptive to a variety of both indoor and outdoor conditions, Papaya Cookies is a great candidate for growers of all experience levels and takes well to common plant training methods. Expect your buds in just eight weeks, with up to 29% THC for full-day potency.

Apricot Auto

The winner of the blue ribbon for Best Sativa Strain at the 2024 Autoflower World Cup, Apricot Auto is a potent number with a flavor profile unlike any you’ve experienced before. As you might expect, Apricot Auto has a taste heavily reminiscent of the fruit that shares its name, a surprising and innovative flavor in cannabis. The tangy mix of sweet and sour makes for an excellent pairing with Apricot Auto’s dank notes, making Apricot Auto a truly unparalleled experience on the smoke.

Growers have found that Apricot Auto’s thick, resinous buds make it an excellent candidate for making concentrates, and with up to 26% THC content, any edibles made with Apricot Auto as a base will be plenty heavy-hitting. Apricot Auto will reach full maturity in around nine to ten weeks, so get planting now so you can have this delicious strain ready for summer’s peak.

Ztrawberriez Auto

The winner of the Best Sativa prize at the 2024 American Autoflower Cup, Ztrawberriez Auto’s smorgasbord of sweet and fruity terps has been winning hearts and minds across the country. Judges, growers, and anyone else who has had the pleasure to enjoy Ztrawberriez Auto report that this autoflower is an ideal daytime smoke, elevating consumers’ moods and energy levels without giving an overly stoney feeling and testing with up to 25% THC to melt worries away.

Ztrawberriez Auto is also a linebacker against pests and rough environments; even in sub-ideal conditions, Ztrawberriez Auto seeds will yield about 600g/m² in as little as nine weeks. With speed, quality, and flavor all set to the max, it’s easy to see why Ztrawberriez Auto beat out the competition.

Fast Buds has these champs, plus heaps more autoflowering strains on their website. Right now, you can get these strains and more for 15% off from Fast Buds with code LFL420. They are continuously launching new strains, running huge sales and giveaways, as well as educating consumers on the many, many benefits of autoflowers. You can also follow them on social media for interviews with growers, updates on new strains, and announcements of (even more) cannabis cup victories. Happy growing!

Availability subject to law.

There should be no shame in any grower’s game if they ever age out of THC-dominant weed. Type 2 cannabis—meaning a strain that rocks equal or greater CBD-to-THC ratios—can be just as enjoyable and relieving as a heavy hitter, but on a different level. Cultivating Type 2 genetics from respected breeders can deliver a big yield and buds that are just as sticky and enjoyable as the intoxicating powerhouses we’re all used to.

Long-time home growers may finally be ready to hear what their mirthful medical bud-growing homies have been saying forever—the entourage effect is real, and it’s spectacular! Read on to discover it for yourself with the best balanced CBD:THC weed seeds and clones to grow in 2024!

What are Type 2 seeds?

A Type 2 cannabis seed typically distinguishes itself as having a balanced 1:1 ratio of THC and CBD. Other “mixed-ratio” seeds with a CBD-dominant ratio like 2:1 or 5:2 are often considered Type 2 as well. As several breeders confirmed to me, these ratios can also include a variety of minor cannabinoids in similar ratios.

In comparison, Type 1 seeds are THC-dominant (more than 0.3%) with a very low amount of CBD (less than 0.5%). 

Type 3 seeds, on the other hand, are even more CBD-dominant; they have ratios like 20:1, and offer barely any psychoactive effect.

Why should home growers choose Type 2 seeds?

To get the scoop on what’s up with going Type 2, I went coast-to-coast to learn from two “Pauls” who are both big-time seed guys: Paul N. Chucker of D.C. Seed Exchange and Paul Lawl of Multiverse Beans in Washington State. 

“Some of my best highs have come from hemp flower. People who don’t try ratio strains are really missing out,” Lawl mentioned. “In my experience, the CBD really helps cancel out the anxiety from the high THC strains,” he added.

Paul Chucker, of DCSE, explained that he sees “a lack of awareness about the benefits of diverse cannabinoids and the entourage effect,” and pointed out that the entourage effect “enhances their benefits, potentially leading to more well-rounded experiences and addressing a wider range of needs.” 

Some top-notch 1:1 Type 2 seeds to try

Breeders like Rab Stubing, founder of Seattle Chronic Seeds, drop strains with therapeutic and often-manageable balanced ratios. Stubing has made it his mission to fill a void with various ratios and cannabinoids in his seed varieties. 

Looking for somewhere to start your Type 2 journey? Check out Miracle Worker, one of Stubing’s favorite 1:1 strains. 

Super Sour CBD, another fave, features the highest levels of 1:1 CBD in any of his Type 2 work. A cross of Sour Brasi x Sour D BX/OX x Sour CBD Grenades, this super stable F8 is available as regular seeds and boasts levels in the 12% CBD/12% THC ballpark. Those levels make it a great medical smoke. Earthy and super sour, it’s known to be a wonder for a wide range of pain, mobility, and mood issues. 

Here are some more great seed choices:

• JD Short’s Second Generation Genetics is rocking a stellar Rosaberry F1

• If you’re in California, check out Purple City Genetics’ Gush Mints CBD (Gush Mints x Fruitcake) feminized seeds. This Cali exclusive has some phenos that top out at 20% CBD/20% THC along with a sensational frosty purple bag appeal! Check out this list of shops that carry PCG’s top-quality Type 2’s

1:1 Type 2 Autoflower seeds

Autoflower seed breeders have not slouched when it comes to excellent cultivars that provide balanced medicinal value. 

Mephisto Genetics released Aunt Ginny’s Elixir (Jacky CBD F3.3 x Walter White (Mitch’s Pick) in their feminized Medicinal Collection. It joins their Canna-Cheese 1:1 (Cannatonic x Northern Cheese Haze) available at F5 which, according to Mephisto co-founder and breeder Tim, is “their greatest achievement.” 

“Getting CBD into something where it wasn’t before was very difficult, and was quite a fun journey with Canna-Cheese,” he fondly reflected when we spoke back in 2023. 

Looking for more Type 2 autoflower reccs? Check out the Seattle Chronic gem Speedy SOGA F3 (SOGAbx2 x R4 Auto), Twenty20 Mendocino’s VitaMints, and Dutch Passion’s Compassion Lime Auto & Blackberry Kush Auto fems.

1:1 Type 2 hemp seed genetics

Thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp breeders can take their federally-compliant genetics game to the next level—Type 2—because the law permits seeds containing up to 0.3% THC. Phenotypes can be selected for Farm Bill compliance, and they’re just as dank, beautiful, and therapeutic as anything else on the market.

Hoku Seed Co.

The breeder Floyd, of Hoku Seed Co. was already a medical grower when he started his popular seed company in 2019, after the Farm Bill went into law. Since then he’s been on a tear to develop various types of seeds including regular and feminized Type 2 seeds with a wide range of cannabinoids. 

Cultivars are available for both Farm Bill compliance ( <0.3 THC) for hemp growers, and for home growers that wish to go beyond hemp with higher THC levels countered by even higher CBD levels. 

“Now we’re also even getting into even more chemotypes,” Floyd explained during a very informative chat in early January. “We’re working on Type 2’s but they’re also CBD-V and THC-V-rich. They have four different cannabinoids. Some of the variants are very uplifting.” 

Some of Floyd’s picks include: 

High Alpine Genetics

Atop any list of the finest CBD-rich genetics stands High Alpine Genetics and the company’s founder/breeder Thomas. As a committee member of the Hemp Advisory Board for the State of Colorado, he knows a thing or two about this stuff. His cultivars feature open-source genetics that he encourages and and everyone to breed with and clone to their hearts’ content.

“Our varieties tend to have a more broad spectrum of cannabinoids in them,” he explained during a quick chat from his farm. “CBC, CBG, CBD-V—a lot of them carry different cannabinoids that you really don’t see with just THC.”

Broad spectrum High Alpine Genetics Type 2 seeds for any home grow set-up include the CBC-heavy Unicorn Butter, and its parents Buddha’s Budda and Unicorn Crush. 

F1 crosses now available also include Limburger Burger (Lemon Cookie Dough Limburger Phenotype), Cookie Burgers, and the Legendary Banana Mac-cross, Alien Burgers. Fries not included.

Mixed cannabinoid ratios

The breeders I spoke to generally agree that Type 2 seeds can include mixed ratios and various cannabinoids, including CBD-V, THC-V, CBG, and CBC, to name a few. “A lot of people think that Type 2 can only be a 1:1, but I don’t think that’s necessarily true,” Floyd, of Hoku, told me.

With that in mind, here’s a roundup of some of the funkiest ratios on the market.

• Hoku’s Wild Country is an 8:1 CBD-dominant hash plant.
• Check out Humboldt’s CBD Trifecta, an all-in-one pack of High CBD, low-THC strains x 3 (Honey-Tsu, Love, Lucy, Harle-Spice).
• Crickets and Cicadas’ Panama Red F4 regular seeds are 2:1.
• Cali Connection’s CBD OGfeatures a 2:1 ratio.
• Interested in seeds that contain even more CBD with Type 3 and other cannabinoids? Check out Hoku Seed Co. & High Alpine Genetics’ endless high-quality choices.

Select the right Type 2 profiles and ratios 

Type 2 cannabis seeds have a high return value due to their potential to take the edge off of pain and anxiety, courtesy of their differing blends of cannabinoids. They can also help consumers have more control over the experience, instead of always letting the high-potency weed run the show. 

Select from a wide variety of versatile seeds for your relaxation needs. No matter whether it’s Type 2 1:1’s, mixed ratios, or even Type 3 or 4 genetics, it’s time to graduate to the next level.