Growit2

Grow guide 2

Although growing marijuana is not an exact science and there is no perfect formula for developing potent grass, there are many factors which could positively influence the potency of your crop.

Lighting

Although natural sunlight is the best form of light for growing plants, their life cycle can be controlled more effectively with artificial lighting.

The life cycle of the Cannabis plant is determined by the daily photoperiod (hours of light per day).

A young marijuana plant tends to grow faster if it is grown under continuous light for the first two months of it's development. Although the lamps should be kept as close as possible to the growing tips, they should never be allowed to touch the plants. The best light for plant growth emits high intensities of the blue and red bands of the light spectrum.

Fluorescent light is one of the most effective source of artificial light readily available to home growers.

Metal Halide lamps are better than most fluorescents, because they radiate more light in the blue and white bands of the light spectrum.

If your lights, after being on for a while, are too hot to touch with your hand, they are probably also too hot to be close to the growing tips.

The amount of light you supply your plants depends on the size of the garden, but at least 20 watts per square foot is recommended.

Although Metal Halide lamps are generally considered a better light source for marijuana growth, they use a lot more electricity than fluorescents..

Under artificial light, a marijuana plant can grow from three to six feet tall in three to four months.

Plants entering the vegetative stage enjoy up to twenty two hours of light per day, while twelve hours or less is required for flowering.

The more light you give your plants, the faster they will grow.

Lamps should be fixed to the roof in such a way that they can easily be raised as the plant grows in height.

The use of aluminum foil reflectors ensures that the light is spread more uniformly around the plants.

To increase the humidity of the air in a small, enclosed garden, place a small bowl of water in the growroom.

You could use a small fan to cool down your plants, if the lights in a small growroom raise the temperature too much.

Plants grown in conditions of varying daily light patterns will not settle into a regular life cycle and will grow poorly.

If there is insufficient light in the growroom, the plants will often grow tall and thin, in search of the light.

Do not "wake up" your plants by switching on the lights if they are in the dark period of their daily light cycle.

Plants grown with a long daily photoperiod, will require more frequent watering than those grown with less light.

Although incandescent, or screw-in light-bulbs are usually not suitable for good growth, they can be used in conjunction with fluorescent tubes.

If the edges of the leaves near the lights and growing tips start curling up, it usually means that they are getting too hot.

A Cannabis plant will grow with as little as six hours of light per day, but requires more than twelve hours per day for good strong growth.

A plant grown with insufficient light may sometimes develop disfigured leaves with only one or two blades per leaf.

If your growroom has a window, you should consider covering it up to prevent daylight from interfering with your own photoperiod.

Paint the walls, and even the floor and roof of your growroom white, for better reflection of the light onto your growing plants.

If you have a few plants growing unevenly under one light, you could raise the pots of the smallest plants by placing them on a few bricks.

Although easy to control, the daily light photoperiod is the single most important factor influencing the growth of your plants.

Cannabis plants require less than twelve hours of light per day for at least two weeks before you can expect to see the first signs of flowers appearing.

Never increase the daily light photoperiod to more than twelve hours, once your plants have started flowering.

A marijuana plant grown indoors with lots of light will often grow larger and more potent than a similar plant growing outdoors in natural light.

To increase the amount of light available to the lower branches, you could mount extra fluorescent tubes vertically, onto the walls of your growroom.

Watering

After the seed has been planted and the soil watered well, you don't need to water again for a few days.

The amount of water, and how often to water varies with the size of the pots and plants, and the amount of light.

When plants are small they transpire less, and don't require as frequent watering as when they are larger with more leaves.

When seedlings have just appeared above the ground, you should water very carefully to prevent the force of the water knocking them over.

Water provides the hydrogen necessary for plant growth and also carries the nutrients throughout the plant.

Cannabis plants prefer a regular watering cycle, but should preferably not be watered every day.

Although the theory that the more water a plant is given, the faster it will grow is incorrect, underwatering will slow plant growth.

Although the Cannabis plant loves lots of water, the most common cause of death in homegrown plants is from overwatering them.

A large pot that was saturated before germination may hold enough moisture for the first two to three weeks of growth.

Plant cells are kept rigid by water, and when there is not enough moisture left in the soil, the leaves start wilting and dropping off.

The ideal water for your plants should have a neutral pH and be relatively free of chlorine and other harmful chemicals.

Never allow the soil to become too dry, but never allow it to be constantly wet either.

Your plants will grow better if you water them during the morning hours rather than the evenings.

It is always better to use water at room temperature than warm or cold water, to prevent "shocking" the root system.

Too much chlorine in tap water tends to turn the soil a little acidic, and may have to be balanced by adding some calcium.

If your water supply is high in chemicals, the best solution is to let the water stand in an open container for a few days before use.

Although distilled or boiled water will not be harmful to your plants, it does not contain certain minerals beneficial for good growth.

Plants with a long daily light photoperiod will transpire more and require more frequent watering than plants grown with a shorter light period.

Lightly spray the leaves of your plants to cool them down after a hot day or long light photoperiod.

A wilted plant that has been without moisture for several days can still be saved if watered immediately and thoroughly.

A good sign to water your plants is when the top five or six centimeters of the soil in the pot has dried out completely.

If your plants start losing more leaves than normal, it may be because you are overwatering them.

It is better to use a watering can with a sprinkler top than a one with a solid flow, to prevent soil and root disturbance while watering.

Always water into the pot from above, rather than by filling the tray underneath and letting the plant suck up the water.

Whereas a small plant growing in a big pot will only require weekly watering, a big plant growing in a small pot may require daily watering.

It has been suggested that by limiting the watering during flowering, you can positively influence the potency of the plant.

During flowering, you should check how long after watering your plants start wilting, and then regularly water them one day sooner.

Although Cannabis is a very hardy and adaptable plant and survives quite well in conditions with little moisture, it prefers a regular watering cycle.

Always check the pH of your regular water supply to determine it's long-term effect on the soil and growing plants.

Because some plants grow faster than others, hand watering each pot individually is usually preferable to automatic drip-release systems.

Rain water often contains nitrogen and other elements, which makes it an excellent source of water for indoor marijuana plants.

Cannabis prefers a well-drained soil, so you should not be too concerned if some water runs through the pot and into the tray below.

As indoor marijuana plants do not receive stem strengthening rain and wind, spraying the leaves with water is a good substitute.

Fertilization

The elements Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium are considered the important nutrients for strong growth. Calcium can be used to control the pH.

Adding ample Nitrogen ensures fast lush growth, enabling a Cannabis plant to outgrow almost any other plant.

Cannabis' need for phosphorus is the greatest during the seedling and flowering stages of it's life cycle.

Potassium is associated with strong sturdy stems and plants with a high resistance to diseases and pests.

Calcium is not added to the soil as a nutrient, but rather to balance the pH of the soil.

To grow to a large size, marijuana requires a steady supply of nutrients, which should be added to the water on a regular basis.

The amount of nutrients to add to the water depends on the size of the plant, the size of the pot, and the general condition of the soil.

Always add water when you add any nutrients or fertilizer to the soil. It is recommended that you dissolve the fertilizer in the water before watering the plant.

Adding more nutrients than a plant requires will toxify the soil thereby harming plant growth and development.

Foliar feeding, or spraying the leaves with a fertilizer solution, is an ideal way of fertilizing large plants with nutrient deficiencies.
Nutrient deficiencies can best be detected by a change in the condition and colour of the leaves.

Soilless mixtures are a good alternative to using large amounts of soil, the main advantage being that the nutrient balance is easy to control.

The pH is the measure of how alkaline or acidic the soil is and it's balance is determined by the amount of nutrients present in the soil.

Although marijuana will grow in soils with a pH between five and nine, it thrives in soils with a neutral pH of around seven.

Soils with a high content of organic matter are often quite acidic with a fairly low pH. Calcium can be used to balance the pH.

Most nutrients are soluble in soils with a pH balance of between six and seven and a half.

Continued use of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium will lower the pH of the soil. This can be rectified by adding some Calcium.

To save overfertilized plants, the soil can be leached by removing the top few centimeters and overwatering with lukewarm water.

Although healthy, strong growing plants love a steady supply of nutrients, you should never fertilize them every day.

A plant growing in a poor soil, low in nutrients will develop better than a plant growing in overfertilized soil.

Although Carbon Dioxide cannot be classified as a true nutrient, it can been used to increase growth during the vegetative stage.

To balance the pH of an acidic soil, crush some egg-shells and soak them in water. Then strain out the shells and pour the water over your plants.

A soil rich in Nitrogen will increase internodal growth in the stems of developing young marijuana plants.

Urine is an excellent source of Nitrogen for marijuana plants, but as it is too concentrated to apply directly, it should always be diluted with water.

Unless the soil is poor in nutrients, a young seedling growing in a large pot doesn't require any fertilizing for the first few weeks of it's life.

Although Cannabis does not grow well in a soil with a low nutrient content, this is preferable to a soil that has been toxified by over-fertilization.

The influence of the soil, and in particular the nutrient content of the soil, to the potency of the plant is something which cannot be overlooked.

Nitrogen can be positively correlated with higher potency and increased growth, and it is the most influential nutrient available to the grower.

Organic fertilizers are less concentrated than chemical mixes, and as the nutrients are released more slowly, there is less chance of toxifying the soil.

A typical program of fertilization may be to fertilize after the fifth week of growth, and then every two weeks thereafter until flowering.

It is always better to fertilize your plants more often with a more diluted solution, than to give them concentrated doses at longer intervals.

Always make sure that the fertilizer is completely dissolved in the water before you apply it to your plants.

It takes less Nitrogen than other nutrients to toxify the soil, and hence there is less margin for error when using it as a fertilizer.

Pruning

Each time a growing tip is clipped, the stem branches into two shoots, which begin to grow from the nearest leaf axils.

Pruning a growing marijuana plant is an easy way of controlling uneven growth without seriously harming the plant.

Don't prune the growing tip of a young seedling until after the first five-bladed leaves have formed, and the vegetative stage has begun.

Many growers prune the growing tips after four to five weeks growth to develop lower branches which will quickly fill all the horizontal space.

The greatest potency of the growing plant is found in the growing tips, and by three months, they should make a high quality smoke.

You can basically prune growing tips at any stage of the plant's development, but just don't overdo it. Severe pruning can harm the growth of the plant.

It is always better to plan a pruning strategy for your developing plants, rather than haphazardly clipping off growing tips on an irregular basis.

Each time a growing tip is removed, the plant takes a few days to recover before new growth resumes on that branch.

The amount of new growth formed with continued pruning is limited by the genetic structure of the seed, and the conditions of the environment.

It is better to prune your plants at an early stage of their development, than towards the end of the vegetative stage or during flowering.

It is always better to prune growing tips in the morning than in the evening, as it gives the plant a full day to recover and heal the wounds.

It is not recommended that you prune every new node in a developing plant. Rather prune every second or third node to allow the plant time to recover.

Wait for the new node to start growing before clipping the young branch a few millimeters above the previous node's newly formed leaves.

It is always better to use a small scissors to prune your plants, than to simply pluck off the growing tips by hand.

Do not prune any growing tips if you notice that your plant's health is declining and it has started losing leaves.

Although you should always smoke the pruned growing tips, plants should be pruned to develop their growth rather than for smoking purposes.

While it may be tempting to prune female buds during early flowering, your harvest will be severely reduced by doing so.

Cannabis Indica is a genetically smaller and more bushy plant than Cannabis Sativa and usually requires less pruning.

Never prune more than the single growing tip, or upper-most node, from any branch on the growing plant.

The upper-most growing tip of an unpruned marijuana plant will always be more potent that the top buds of a pruned plant grown in similar conditions.

Pruning the tallest branches ensures that the lower branches grow upwards, forming a larger surface area for the light to cover.

The clear fluid that often flows from the end of a newly pruned branch, contains substances which seal the wound and aid the healing process.

Although it is recommended that you remove all dying leaves from the plant, you should resist the temptation to prune too many healthy leaves.

To grow seedless marijuana, you should remove all the male plants as soon as they are discovered, by pruning the main stem right above the ground.

Although it may be better developed, a pruned marijuana plant does not always produce more buds than an unpruned plant.

Another good reason for pruning is to take cuttings from a strong growing, favourite plant for further hydroponic development.

Marijuana growers often prune their plants in an attempt to limit their height and prevent unwanted detection.

An alternative to pruning for developing growth, is to bend the tops of the branches over and tie the growing tips down with string or wire.

Remember that by pruning a growing tip, you are removing the most potent part of the plant, thereby spoiling it's chance of reaching full maturity.

By pruning all the buds at harvest time, rather than cutting the stem off above the ground, you could easily harvest your plant a second time.

By severely pruning your marijuana plants you are lowering their resistance to harmful natural enemies such as insects, fungus and frost.

You can make a great cup of tea, by chopping up some pruned growing tips and soaking them in boiled water for a few minutes.

Cannabis is a very hardy and adaptable plant, and will endure serious harm to it's leaves, branches and stem before it dies.