Tips on Growing Good Marijuana Plants
Basic instructions to start growing you must have good
seeds, some seedling soil, some small and large pots and depending on
whether you're growing indoor or outdoor some lamps and all the toys around
them.
Soak the seeds in a cup of water overnight before beginning the process of
growing. First you may want to have some good fertilized soil, preferably
peat moss, and you may want to use a little bit of miracle grow, which can
be purchased at a low price at any plant shop, pretty mucQuik grow tips. You
must have either a 400 watt or 600 watt grow lamp. Soft white bulbs will NOT
work.
RATIO: 1 400 watt lamp = 1 squire meter of plants( +/- 25 plants). First up
you will need a small space. A wooden closet of approximately 100*100*200cm
would be good. This size can be varied depending on the number of plants but
this is good for 25. Remember to make sure that your lights will fit inside
the closet. The inside of this closet should be painted with flat white
paint or coated with aluminum foil (or Mylar is you have it).
This will increase reflectivity and will make your lights more effective.
Now you need to put lights inside the cabinet.
The optimum temperature is 27-30 C. It will probably be hotter than this so
cut a small ventilation hole (10cm*10cm) in the top of the cabinet. Mount
the lights vertically with one in each corner, as close to the top of the
cabinet as possible. Mount the remaining light on the roof of the cabinet.
Wire all the lights into one plug with enough cable to reach the socket.
This could be dangerous so get someone who knows what they are doing to do
it. Use an appropriate fuse or better still, buy a circuit breaker. Buy a
timer. A standard and widely available 24hr timer will be fine. These are
cheap. Get some potting soil from a garden center. Sandy or loose soils are
good soils for growing. The exact soil is not all that important. With
enough light and nutrients you should have no trouble getting good growth.
If you can then monitor soil pH values.
Switch the lights on and leave them on. Plant 10-15 seeds.
Water the plants once a day and feed the plants twice a week with a standard
miracle grow product in the water.
Try to use a high nitrogen plant food during vegetative growth (at the
start) and a low nitrogen plant food during flowering.
When the plants get to the height you want them (about 60cm is good) set the
timer for 12 hours of light and 12 of dark.
Only water once every two days around the time when the lights come on.
This will halt vertical growth and after a few weeks the plants will start
to show either male or female characteristics.
Males: pollen balls.
Females: stems and branches.
During the dark periods absolutely no light should be allowed in.
Cut out the males before they release pollen.
Reduce the number of plants down to the best 5 females.
These females will now grow outwards.
The whole thing takes 4 months. 4-6 weeks in vegetative growth stage, 2
weeks differentiation to split males and females and 8 weeks for the females
to flower.
Harvest when the large leaves begin to yellow and drop off.
Cut the leaves off and let dry on a flat surface.
Trim the leaf near the buds and hang the buds to dry for about a week.
A book with pictures and good detail is essential for serious growing.
Growth space must be high enough to allow growth to about 60cm (2-3ft). This
requires a space of about 100cm (4ft high). Twice this height should be
converted into a two level growing space by inserting a shelf.
There should be between 18inches and 2ft growing space per plant. All of the
inside of the growing space should be coated with foil or painted with white
paint to increase reflectivity and improve light efficiency.
More space than the minimum is always best because good ventilation can
greatly improve growth rates.
Lighting
Fluorescent tubes are named for the spectrum of light which they emit. Some
spectrums are more efficient than others.
Deluxe warm white, warm white and deluxe cool white are all conducive to
good growth and should be widely available.
All types of growing light should have a reflector box around them directing
the light towards the plants.
You should get the longest light that will fit into your space and the
highest wattage you can find.
Screw-in grow bulbs are tempting but highly inefficient.
Plant Pot Size
A pot of 6"*6"*6" should be perfect to support good growth.
One of these per plant.
Organic Soil Mixes
There are many different types of soil mixes available and they are easy to
obtain from garden centers.
Two proven types are:
-4 parts topsoil, 1 part peat moss, 1 part vermiculite, 1 part perlite.
This is moist, contains medium/high amounts of nutrients and is best for
hand watering systems.
-1 part worm castings, 2 parts vermiculite, 1 part perlite.
This is light-weight and high in nutrients.
Fertilizer
The main nutrients that a plant needs to grow are Nitrogen, Phosphorous and
Potassium. Most plant fertilizers contain these elements and a good, easily
available, one is called Grow More.
If you really want to then here are the some effective ratios of the three
elements to be used through the two growth stages.
Early growth stages: 7-9-5 or 5-10-5 or 4-5-3.
For the flowering stages use 3-10-4 or 5-20-5 or 4-30-12.
It is best to build up the amount of fertilizer you use to what is making
the plants look healthily green as too much fertilizer can kill the plant.
Soil pH Levels
Any pH level between 6 and 7 is fine but you should aim for as close to 6.5
as possible.
Temperature
Aim for 70 F. Anything higher than 75F will be too hot and will damage
growth. Make sure the water for watering is luke-warm.
CANNABIS LIFE CYCLE
Marijuana plants may belong to any one of a number of varieties which follow
somewhat different growth patterns. The following outline describes the more
common form of growth. Differences between varieties can be thought of as
variations on this standard theme.
Cannabis is an annual plant. A single season completes a generation, leaving
all hope for the future to the seeds. The normal life cycle follows the
general pattern described below.
Germination
With winter past, the moisture and warmth of spring stir activity in the
embryo. Water is absorbed and the embryo's tissues swell and grow, splitting
the seed along its suture.
The radical or embryonic root appears first. Once clear of the seed, the
root directs growth downward in response to gravity. Meanwhile, the seed is
being lifted upward by growing cells which form the seedling's stem.
Now anchored by the roots, and receiving water and nutrients, the embryonic
leaves (cotyledons) unfold. They are a pair of small, somewhat oval, simple
leaves, now green with chlorophyll to absorb the life-giving light.
Germination is complete. The embryo has been reborn and is now a seedling
living on the food it produces through photosynthesis. The process of
germination is usually completed in three to 10 days.
Seedling
The second pair of leaves begins the seedling stage. They are set opposite
each other and usually have a single blade. They differ from the embryonic
leaves by their larger size, spearhead shape, and serrated margins. With the
next pair of leaves that appears, usually each leaf has three blades and is
larger still.
A basic pattern has been set. Each new set of leaves will be larger, with a
higher number of blades per leaf until, depending on variety, they reach
their maximum number, often nine or 11.
The seedling stage is completed within four to six weeks.
Vegetative Growth
This is the period of maximum growth. The plant can grow no faster than the
rate that its leaves can produce energy for new growth. Each day more leaf
tissue is created, increasing the overall capacity for growth.
With excellent growing conditions, Cannabis has been known to grow six
inches a day, although the rate is more commonly one to two inches.
The number of blades on each leaf begins to decline during the middle of the
vegetative stage. Then the arrangement of the leaves on the stem
(phyllotaxy) changes from the usual opposite to alternate. The internodes
(stem space from one pair of leaves to the next, which had been increasing
in length) begin to decrease, and the growth appears to be thicker. Branches
which appeared in the axis of each set of leaves grow and shape the plant to
its characteristic form. The vegetative stage is usually completed in the
third to fifth months of growth.
Preflowering
This is a quiescent period of one to two weeks during which growth slows
considerably. The plant is beginning a new program of growth as encoded in
its genes. The old system is turned off and the new program beings with the
appearance of the first flowers.
Flowering
Cannabis is dioecious: each plant produces either male or female flowers,
and is considered either a male or female plant. Male plants usually start
to flowers about one month before the female; however, there is sufficient
overlap to ensure pollination. First the upper internodes elongate; in a few
days the male flowers appear. The male flowers are quite small, about 1/4
inch, and are pale green, yellow, or red/purple. They develop in dense,
drooping clusters (cymes) capable of releasing clouds of pollen dust.
Once pollen falls, males lose vigour and soon die.
The female flowers consists of two small (1/4 to 1/2 inch long), fuzzy white
stigmas raised in a V sign and attached at the base to an ovule which is
contained in a tiny green pod. The pod is formed from modified leaves
(bracts and bracteoles) which envelop the developing seed. The female
flowers develop tightly together to form dense clusters (racemes) or buds,
cones, or colas (in this book, buds). The bloom continues until pollen
reaches the flowers, fertilizing them and beginning the formation of seeds.
Flowering usually lasts about one or two months, but may continue longer
when the plants are not pollinated and there is no killing frost.
Seed Set
A fertilized female flower develops a single seed wrapped in the bracts.
In thick clusters, they form the seed-filled buds that make up most fine
imported marijuana.
After pollination, mature, viable seeds take from 10 days to five weeks to
develop. When seeds are desired, the plant is harvested when enough seeds
have reached full color. For a fully-seeded plant this often takes place
when the plant has stopped growth and is, in fact, dying. During flowering
and seed set, various colors may appear. All the plant's energy goes to
reproduction and the continuance of its kind. Minerals and nutrients flow
from the leaves to the seeds, and the chlorophyll's that give the plant its
green color disintegrate. The gold's, browns, and reds which appear are from
accessory pigments that formerly had been masked by chlorophyll.
About Plants Generally
Plants use a fundamentally different "life strategy" from animals. Animals
are more or less self-contained units that grow and develop to predetermined
forms. They use movement and choice of behavior to deal with the changing
environments. Plants are organized more as open systems - the simple
physical characteristics of the environment, such as sunlight, water, and
temperature, directly control their growth, form, and life cycles.
Once the seed sprouts, the plant is rooted in place and time. Since growth
is regulated by the environment, development is on accordance with the
plant's immediate surroundings. When a balance is struck, the strategy is a
success and life flourishes.
Behavior of a plant is not a matter of choice; it is a fixed response. On a
visible level the response more often than not is growth, either a new form
of growth, or specialized growth. By directly responding, plant in effect
"know," for example, when to sprout, flower, or drop leaves to prepare for
winter.
Everyone has seen how a plant turns toward light or can bend upward if it
its stem is bent down. The plant turns by growing cells of different length
on opposite sides of the stem. This effect turns or right the plant.
The stimulus in the first case is light, in the second gravity, but
essentially the plant responds by specialized growth. It is the same with
almost all facets of a plant's live - growth is modified and controlled by
the immediate environment. The influence of light, wind, rainfall, etc.,
interacts with the plant (its genetic make-up or genotype) to produce the
individual plant (phenotype).
The life cycle of Cannabis is usually complete in four to nine months. The
actual time depends on variety, but it is regulated by local growing
conditions, specifically the photoperiod (length of day vs. night).
Cannabis is a long-night (or short-day) plant. When exposed to a period of
two weeks of long nights - that is, 13 or more hours of continuous darkness
each night - the plants respond by flowering. This has important
implications, for it allows the grower to control the life cycle of the
plant and adapt it to local growing conditions or unique situations. Since
you can control flowering, you control maturation and, hence, the age of the
plants at harvest.
PHOTOPERIOD AND FLOWERING
For the marijuana grower the most important plant/environment interaction to
understand is the influence of the photoperiod. The photoperiod is the daily
number of hours of day (light) vs. night (dark). In nature, long nights
signal the plant that winter is coming and that it is time to flowers and
produce seeds. As long as the day-length is long, the plants continue
vegetative growth. If female flowers do appear, there will only be a few.
These flowers will not form the characteristic large clusters or buds. If
the days are too short, the plants flowers too soon, and remain small and
underdeveloped.
The plant "senses" the longer nights by a direct interaction with light. A
flowering hormone is present during all stages of growth. This hormone is
sensitive to light and is rendered inactive by even low levels of light.
When the dark periods are long enough, the hormones increase to a critical
level that triggers the reproductive cycle. Vegetative growth ends and
flowering begins.
The natural photoperiod changes with the passing of seasons. In the Northern
Hemisphere, the length of daylight is longest on June 21. Day-length
gradually decreases until it reaches its shortest duration on December 22.
The duration of daylight then begins to increase until the cycle is
completed the following June 21.
Because the Earth is tilted on its axis to the sun, day-length also depends
on position (or latitude) on Earth. As one moves closer to the equator,
changes in the photoperiod are less drastic over the course of a year. At
the equator (0 degrees altitude) day length lasts about 12.5 hours on June
21 and 11.5 hours on December 22. In Maine (about 45 degrees north),
day-length varies between about 16 and nine hours. Near the Arctic Circle on
June 21 there is no night. On December 22 the whole day is dark. The longer
day-length toward the north prevents marijuana from flowering until later in
the season. Over most of the northern half of the country, flowering is
often so late that development cannot be completed before the onset of cold
weather and heavy frosts.
The actual length of day largely depends on local conditions, such as cloud
cover, altitude, and terrain. On a flat Midwest plain, the effective length
of day is about 30 minutes longer than sunrise to sunset. In practical
terms, it is little help to calculate the photoperiod, but it is important
to realize how it affects the plants and how you can use it to you
advantage.
Cannabis generally needs about two weeks of successive long nights before
the first flowers appear. The photoperiod necessary for flowering will vary
slight with
(1) the variety, (2) the age of the plant, (3) its sex, and (4) growing
conditions.
1. Cannabis varieties originating from more northerly climes (short growing
seasons) react to as little as nine hours of night. Most of these are hemp
and seed varieties that are acclimated to short growing seasons, such as the
weedy hemp's of Minnesota or southern Canada. Varieties from more southerly
latitudes need longer nights with 11 to 13 hours of darkness. Since most
marijuana plants are acclimated to southerly latitudes, they need the longer
nights to flower.
To be on the safe side, if you give Cannabis plant dark periods of 13 or
more hours, each night for two weeks, this should be enough to trigger
flowering.
2. The older a plant (the more physiologically developed), the quicker it
responds to long nights. Plants five or six months old sometimes form
visible flowers after only four long nights. Young marijuana plants (a month
or so of age) can take up to four weeks to respond to long nights of 16
hours.
3. Both male and female Cannabis are long-night plants. Both will flower
when given about two weeks of long nights. The male plant, however, will
often flower fully under very long days (18 hours) and short nights (six
hours). Males often flowers at about the same time they would if they were
growing in their original environment. For most marijuana plants this occurs
during the third to fifth month.
4. Growing conditions affect flowering in many ways (see Chapter 12). Cool
temperatures (about 50F) slow down the flowering response. Cool temperatures
or generally poor growing conditions affect flowering indirectly. Flower
development is slower, and more time is needed to reach full bloom. Under
adverse conditions, female buds will not develop to full size.
Applications of Photoperiod
The photoperiod is used to manipulate the plants in two basic ways:
1. By giving long dark periods, you can force plants to flower.
2. By preventing long nights, using artificial light to interrupt the dark
period, you can force the plants to continue vegetative growth.
Outdoors
Most marijuana plants cultivated in the United States begin to flower by
late August to early October and the plants are harvested from October to
November. For farmers in the South, parts of the Midwest, and West Coast,
this presents no problem and no special techniques and instructions are
needed for normal flowering.
In much of the North and high-altitude areas, many varieties will not have
time to complete flowering before fall frosts. To force the plants to flower
earlier, give them longer night periods. If the plants are in containers,
you can simply move them into a darkened area each evening.
Plants growing in the ground can be covered with an opaque tarpaulin, black
sheet plastic, or double or triple-layers black plastic trash bags. Take
advantage of any natural shading because direct sunlight is difficult to
screen completely. For instance, if the plants are naturally shaded in the
morning hours, cover the plants each evening or night. The next morning you
uncover the plants at about eight to nine o'clock. Continue the treatment
each day until all the plants are showing flowers. This usually takes two
weeks at most, is the plants are well developed (about four months old). For
this reason, where the season starts late, it is best to start the plants
indoors or in cold frames and transplant outdoors when the weather is mild.
This in effect lengthens the local growing season and gives the plants
another month or two to develop.
By the end of August the plants are physiologically ready to flower; they
sometimes do with no manipulation of the photoperiod. More often female
plants show a few flowers, but the day-length prevents rapid development to
large clusters. The plants seem in limbo - caught between vegetative growth
and flowering. The natural day-length at this time of year will not be long
enough to reverse the process, so you can discontinue the treatment when you
see that the new growth is predominantly flowers.
In areas where frosts are likely to occur by early October, long-night
treatments may be the only way you can harvest good-sized flower clusters.
These clusters, or buds, are the most potent plant parts and make up the
desired harvest. Forcing the plants to flowers early also means development
while the weather is warm and the sun is shining strongly.
The flower buds will form much faster, larger and reach their peak potency.
A good time to start the treatments is early to middle August. This allows
the plants at least four weeks of flowering while the weather is mild.
Another reason you may want to do this is to synchronize the life cycle of
the plants with the indigenous vegetation. In the northeast and central
states, the growing season ends quite early and much of the local vegetation
dies back and changes color. Any marijuana plants stick out like green
thumbs, and the crop may get ripped off or busted. Plants treated with long
nights during late July will be ready to harvest in September.
Outdoor growers should always plant several varieties, because some may
naturally flower early, even in the northern-most parts of the country.
These early-maturing varieties usually come from Mexican, Central Asian, and
homegrown sources. By planting several varieties, many of you will be able
to find or develop an early-maturing variety after a season or two. This, of
course, is an important point, because it eliminates the need for long-night
treatments.
Preventing Flowers
Manipulation of the photoperiod can also prevent the plants from flowering
until a desired time. For example, in Hawaii the weather is mild enough to
grow winter crops. The normal summer crop is harvested anytime from
September to mid-November. The winter crop is generally planted from October
to December. Because the winter days are so short, the plants flower almost
immediately, usually within two month. The plants are harvested in their
third or fourth month and yield about 1/4 the yield of summer plants.
A large Hawaiian female can yield a pound of buds. Most of the plant's
overall size is reached while it is vegetatively growing. By interrupting
the night period with light, you can keep these plants vegetatively growing
for another month, yielding plants of about twice the size.
The amount of light needed to prevent flowering is quite small (about .03
foot candles95 - on a clear night the full moon is about .01 foot candles).
However, each plant mist is illuminated fully, with the light shining over
the whole plant.
This might be accomplished with either electric light or a strong
flashlight. The easiest way is to string incandescent bulbs, keeping them on
a timer. The lights need be turned on for only a flash at any time during
the night period, from about 9:00 PM to about 3:00 am. The interrupts the
long night period to less then nine hours. Start these night treatments each
night or two, until you want the plants to flower.
Indoors Instructions
Natural Light.
The growing season lasts all year. The night period is much easier to
control. Sometimes people grow plants in their windows for more than a year
without any female flowers ever forming. This is because household lamps are
turned on sometime at night, illuminating the plants. Under natural light
exclusively, indoor plants flower at about the same time they would outdoors
(sometime a bit sooner because it is warmer indoors or the plants may be
shaded).
When plants are well developed and you want them to flower, make sure that
no household lamps or nearby street lamps are shining on them. During late
fall and winter, the natural day-length is short enough for the plants to
flower naturally, if you simply keep off any lights at night that are in the
same room as the plants. If you must use light, use the lowest wattage
possible, such as a six-watt bulb. (The hormone is also least sensitive to
blue light.) Shield the light away from the plants. Or shield the plants
from any household light with aluminum foil curtains.
Once the flowers are forming clusters, you can discontinue the dark
treatments, especially if it is more convenient. However, if it is too soon
(when you see only a few random flowers), household lights can reverse the
process.
By using natural light, you can grow indoor crops all year. The winter light
is weak and the days are short, so it is best to use artificial lights to
supplement daylight, as well as to extend the photoperiod. The extra light
will increase the growth rate of the plants and hence size and yield. You
should allow winter crops to flower during late January or February, using
the natural photoperiod to trigger flowering. If you wait until spring, the
natural light period will be too long and may prevent flowering.
Artificial Light Instructions
Under artificial light the photoperiod is, of course, any length you wish.
The most popular way to grow with artificial lights is the harvest system.
Start the plants under long light periods of from 16 to 18 hours daily.
After the plants have reached a good size, usually between three and six
months, shorten the light cycle to about 12 hours to force flowering.
To decide exactly when to force the plants to flower, let their growth be
the determinant. If male plants are showing their flowers, then the females
are physiologically ready to flower. Most of the plant's overall height is
achieved during vegetative growth. Some varieties, of course, are smaller
and grow more slowly than others. Wait until the plants are nearing the
limits of the height of the garden or are at least five feet tall. This is
large enough to support good flower development and return a good yield. If
you turn down the light cycle when the plants are young and small, you'll
harvest much less grass because the plants simply can't sustain a large
number of flowers.
Some leaf growers prefer a continuous growth system, emphasizing leaf growth
and a continuous supply of grass. The light cycle is set for 18 to 24 hours
a day. This prevents flowering and the plants continue their rapid
vegetative growth. Growing shoots and leaves are harvested as used, and
plants are removed whenever they lose their vigor and growth has noticeably
slowed. New plants are started in their place. In this way, there will be
plants at different growth stages, some of which will be in their rapid
vegetative growth stage and will be quite potent. Male plants and some
females eventually will form flowers, but the females will not form large
clusters. People often use this system when the lights are permanently
fixed. Small plants are raised up to the lights on tables or boxes. This
garden never shuts down and yields a continuous supply of grass.
Variations by Plant Part
The concentration of cannabinoids depends on the plant part, or more
specifically, the concentration and development of resin glands to plant
part. The female flower bracts have the highest concentration of resin
glands and are usually the most potent plant parts. Seeds and roots have no
resin glands. These shoe no more than traces of cannabinoids. Smoke seeds
will give you a headache before you can get high. If you got high on seeds,
then there were probably enough bracts adhering to the seeds to get you
high.
Here are the potencies, in descending order, of the various plant parts:
1. Female flowering clusters. In practice you don't separate hundreds
of tiny bracts to make a joint. The whole flowering mass (seeds removed),
along with small accompanying leaves, forms the material.
2. Male flower clusters. These vary more in relative potency depending on
the strain (see "Potency by Sex," below).
3. Growing shoots. Before the plants flower, the vegetative shoots (tips)
of the main stem and branches are the most potent plant parts.
4. Leaves (a) that accompany flowers (small);
(b) along branches (medium);
(c) along main stem (large).
Generally, the smaller the leaf is, the more potent it can be.
5. Petioles (leaf stalks). Same order as leaves.
6. Stems. Same order as leaves. The smaller the stem (twig), the
higher the possible concentration of cannabinoids. Stems over 1/16"
in diameter contain only traces of cannabinoids and are not worth
smoking. The small stems that bear the flowers can be quite potent.
7. Seeds and Roots. Contain only traces (less then .01 percent) and
are not worth smoking or extracting.
This order is fairly consistent. The exceptions can be the small leaves that
accompany male flowers, which are sometimes more potent than the flowers
themselves. The growing shoots are sometimes more potent than the mature
female flowers.
Samples of pollen show varying amounts of cannabinoids. Resin glands are
found inside the anthers, alongside the developing pollen grains, and form
two rows on opposite sides of each anther. Pollen grains are smaller than
the heads of large resin glands ({see Plate 7}), and range from 21 to 69
micrometers in diameter21. A small amount of resin contaminates the pollen
when glands rupture, but most of the THC in pollen samples comes from gland
heads that fall with pollen when the flowers are shaken to collect it. One
study, using pollen for the sample, found concentrations of up to 0.96
percent THC, more then enough to get you high79.
Cultivation: Indoors or Outdoors?
The basic elements of the environment (light, water, air, and soil) provide
plants with their fundamental needs. These environmental factors affect the
growth rates of plants, as well as their life cycles. If one factor is
deficient, growth rate and vigour will wan regardless of the other three.
For instance, with low light, the growth will be limited no matter how
fertile and moist the soil is. In the same sense, if soil minerals are
scarce, the growth rate will be limited no matter how you increase the
light.
Indoors vs. Outdoors
At this point the book divides into separate indoor and outdoor cultivation
sections, and you may wonder whether it is better to grow the plant indoors
or outdoors. Each alternative has advantages and disadvantages. It is
usually better to grow the plants outdoors if possible, because the plants
can grow much larger and faster than indoor. Indoor presents space and light
limitations. It is possible to grow a 15-foot bush indoors, but this is
unrealistic in most home. There simply isn't enough room or light for such a
large plant. Outdoor gardens return a much higher yield for the effort and
expense. most indoor gardeners buy soil and may have to buy electric lights.
So there is an initial investment of anywhere from $10 on up.
On the other hand, outdoor plants are more likely to be seen. Many gardens
get ripped off, and busts are a constant threat. Indoor gardens are much
less likely to be discovered. Gardening indoors allows the grower closer
contact with the plants. The plants can be grown all year long; it is an
easy matter to control their growth cycles and flowering. Probably the
biggest attraction of indoor gardens is that they are beautiful to watch and
easy to set up anywhere.
One popular compromise is to construct a simple greenhouse. Use plastic to
either enclose part of a porch or to cover a frame built against the house.
The potency of the plants doesn't depend on whether they are grown indoors
or outdoors. As long as you grow healthy plants that reach maturity and
complete their life cycle, the grass can be as good as any you've ever
smoked.
