Life is not simple for cannabis growers nowadays. Cultivating marijuana is becoming ruthlessly competitive in several markets, while an increased focus by regulators and decreased wholesale prices on pesticide use are establishing long-term challenges and new concerns. Of course, there will always be common day-to-day roadblocks, which come with growing plants like equipment failure, weather fluctuations, and pest issues.
Given that cultivators face a lot of obstacles, which threaten their incomes, it is vital to counter potential losses with profits in other areas, including quality, efficiency, and yields. Luckily, the Marijuana Business Magazine has collected tricks from the top five commercial marijuana growers from around Canada and the United States for cultivating high-quality cannabis while keeping costs under control. These growers cultivate outdoors, indoors, or in greenhouses. Some of the tricks that have withstood the test of time up to now are included below:
- Pick the Right Site
Choosing the right site for your weed is an important aspect, which might impact your plants’ quality and yield. Growers in the Northern Hemisphere need to try placing their cannabis plants in a site with southern exposure to ensure their marijuana gets valuable sunlight by facing the sun’s archway close to the equators.
If possible, use natural formations and structures in your garden as the windbreak to avoid too much stress on your marijuana plants, which could result in branches breaking. If you reside in a place experiencing exceptionally sunny and hot days, you can use shade cloth to prevent your cannabis from overheating. In cold places, be sure to use brick walls and natural enclosures to retain the available heat to keep your marijuana warm.
- Get Quality Clones or Seeds
In today’s world of sinsemilla bud or feminized seeds, it’s becoming a challenge to get a few beans even in your tenth harvest. The ultimate solution, especially if you reside in a recreational or medical state, is to look for a local dispensary selling clones and checking them closely for mold or mites. Basically, this is not a reality for nearly half of the US and other narrow-minded nations globally.
Rather than that, these people prefer some old-fashioned rebels, primarily the offshore seed banks situated in places where seeds are legal to sell or possess.
- Put Nutrients
Marijuana plants require different nutrients and minerals to thrive in various phases of development. For you to get the most out of cannabis plants, it’s vital to pay close attention to their nutritional requirements. Usually, Potassium, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus are the key nutrients that marijuana plants need.
Before the budding phase, cannabis needs higher levels of Potassium and Nitrogen. When your plants bloom, they will need a lower level of Nitrogen and a higher amount of Phosphorus so as to produce quality buds. Apart from Phosphorus, Nitrogen, and Potassium, your plants will need micronutrients. These nutrients include sulfur, magnesium, zinc, calcium, and iron, just to name a few.
- Know the Best Time
You need to be familiar with the changes in hours of daylight, seasonal temperature, and rainfall in many climate zones. In temperate zones, the change in the daylight hours is usually considerable between seasons. This serves as a signal to photoperiod-dependent marijuana varieties to start flowering when the hours of daylight drop or perform vegetative growth in the long days of early summer.
If you try vegetative growth in the springtime, the hours of daylight might be short enough to stimulate budding. Thus, it would be wise to hold on until mid-October in the southern hemisphere or mid-April for individuals in the northern hemisphere.
- Provide Good Ventilation
Similar to human beings, plants also need air to breathe. The only key difference is that plants breathe out oxygen and take in carbon dioxide. Providing good ventilation will ensure air is fresh and the temperature in the growing site is cool enough. If your growing site gets too stuffy and hot, it might stress out your cannabis and even stop its growth. A consistent airflow will make sure your plants stay healthy.
Humidity control can also be an important component of indoor growing. High humidity might result in dreaded mildew and mold that may destroy your plants. Most professional cultivators put a humidifier or dehumidifier in a growing site for this reason. Typically, the humidity level needs to be between 50% and 70% for vegetative development and around 60% for budding.
- Choose a Growing Medium
A growing medium can be hydroponics or soil. When it comes to soil, i49 suggests that you will have to germinate seeds first and sow them in a growing medium so as to start a new phase of life.
You can as well plant clones into the soil or other growing mediums you prefer once they produce roots. It is also possible to force a cutting to produce roots in different ways. This may include setting the cutting in a cup containing water, considering an aeroponic cloner, or using rooting plugs. However, many top-notch growers recommend cultivating cannabis in the soil for the sake of the earth and the plant.
- Go for the Best Grow Light
The quality of lighting in your growing site is a vital factor determining the quantity and quality of your yield. For example, high-intensity discharge (HID) light is the industry standard, which people use because of its value, output, and efficiency. This type of light costs more than fluorescent or incandescent fixtures, though it produces more light per unit of electricity.
LED (light-emitting diode) technology is another option to provide your cannabis with lighting. Unlike before, LED is now adapted to come up with super-effective lighting fixtures for indoor growing. Although LED costs ten times than HID, it generates a fuller spectrum of light, lasts longer, creates less heat, and uses less electricity, making it suitable to produce quality and more yields.
Final Remarks!
Any serious cannabis cultivator understands that growing weed is incredibly challenging. Producing quality marijuana needs a lot of resources, diligence, and commitment.
However, many seasoned growers agree that using a few tricks, which have withstood a test of time, is key to success. Whether you grow cannabis for commercial, recreational, or medicinal purposes, the above tricks can help both experienced and novice cultivators alike.