Growing Cannabis ChecklistGrowing Cannabis Checklist

Through practical application of the information contained in this book the journey from novice grower to guru is attainable. This final chapter is designed to serve as a checklist summarizing the most important factors in achieving superior cannabis growth results. These factors are listed and discussed briefly below:
+ Good Genetics
+ Proper Lighting
+ An Ounce of Prevention
+ Air Circulation and Ventilation
+ The Right Medium
+ Optimal Pot/Container Size
+ Safe Fertilizers
+ 12/12
+ Avoiding Plant Stress
+ Carbon Dioxide (C02)
+ Labeling

Good Genetics
It goes without saying that a plant with genetic traits for low bud production and potency will not produce an outstanding crop. If you start with bad genetics you'll only end up with poor results, no matter what you do or how skilled a grower you may be. To obtain good genetics you should get your seeds from a seed bank that advertises strains from reputable breeders. A number of quality breeders enter competitions, such as the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam. You should pay a visit to Amsterdam and sample what the breeders have to offer in the coffee shops. The coffee shop owners may tell you where you can purchase seeds from bud that you enjoy smoking. Most of the marijuana pictures in this book come from well-known strains that breeders have produced and can be bought through seed banks.

Selecting good clone mothers is also important. By selecting a good mother plant you can create a population of clone mothers that increases your overall yield. Obtaining good genetics is crucial for good growing results.

Proper Lighting
Light is a very important factor in plant growth and bud production. If you aren't getting the bud sizes that this book highlights, you should consider upgrading your lighting system.
Although results can be achieved using a 250-watt HID or fluorescent tubes, a 400-watt HID is better. A 600-watt HID will produce a much better crop than a 400-watt HID and a 1000-watt HID is the absolute best light available on the market. Of course, not everyone wants to grow large amounts of bud and a 1000-watt HID can be expensive to run. However, a 1000-watt HID light will improve your results.

Conserving light is also important. Use reflectors, white walls and Mylar to keep the spread of light even and contained in your grow room. Any light leaks mean that usable light is being lost and you are paying for it, so try and use as much of it as possible. Your plants will love you for it.
Try to keep lights as close to the plants as possible without burning them. Keeping the distance from bulb to plant to a minimum is very important. It increases overall yield and reduces internode length development. Keep those internode lengths down and you will get much better results.

An Ounce of Prevention
Prevention is better than cure. Any problem will stunt plant growth to some degree. Anticipating and preventing the problem before it happens entails knowing what problems to expect and being adequately prepared through advance planning. This book has explained some of the problems common to cannabis. Healthy plants are rewarding plants, so take good care of your plants' health and you will reap the rewards for doing so.
Check on your plants regularly. Spend time checking them for fungi and pests.

This is what cannabis gardening is all about and can quickly turn into a routine that you enjoy as you watch your plants grow strong and healthy.

Air Circulation and Ventilation
Air circulation is very important. Outdoor plants don't have this problem but growth of indoor plants can sometimes be stunted or slowed if they don't receive enough fresh air. Fresh air is important to replace any impurities that build up in your grow room. The percentage of different compounds that make up air can change or fluctuate if new air isn't introduced into the grow room and can cause problems with your grow. Heat can also build up in spaces that don't have good air ventilation, and a rise in temperature can cause stunted plant growth. Try to keep fresh air moving around your grow room at all times for the best results.

Air circulation brings a mild wind to your grow and this is very important for stem and branch growth. By stressing it slightly, the wind will cause the plant to react with thicker stem and branch growth. This is important for bud production, and the plant will be thicker, stronger and healthier overall. I've witnessed growers use fans in their grow rooms that can triple the width of a stem. On more than one occasion I've seen indoor stems that are two inches thick on a plant that is only four feet tall.These plants tended to produce the most bud in the same strain population too. The reason for this was because they were located very near to the main fan and placed directly under the light. In other words, the growing conditions were optimal for that plant.

Dust is also a problem for indoor growers. In a grow room you need to use ventilation to keep dust from settling on your sticky bud. Those tiny pistils are producing the resin that you want. A big blob of dust on a pistil will stunt its growth and reduce the overall effect the bud has when sampled.

The Right Medium
Soil is the most popular choice of medium. If the soil isn't suitable for growing cannabis, no matter how skilled a grower you are, your plants will not reach their optimum potential. You may have to experiment with soils before you find one that suits your cannabis plants. Never underestimate the importance of soil. Make sure the pH is right and the nutrients that your plant requires are present in the soil. Soils should hold a bit of water, but should also drain well — you don't want muddy or fast-draining soils. Aim for the middle ground and choose a soil that does both well.

Hydroponics is an important development in plant horticulture but requires more maintenance than soil growing. Growing in hydroponic systems can improve yields and speed up the growing time considerably. If you have the time and money give hydroponics a shot. It can be a wonderful way to improve your yields.

Optimal Pot/Container Size
A four-inch-square pot may be suitable for clones or SOG-type growing situations, however anything less than this can stunt growth because the plant roots will not be able to develop fully.'Pot bound'or Voot bound'plants can experience nutrient deficiencies as well. For these reasons most growers prefer to use three-gallon buckets, which are also commonly called three-gallon nursery pots.Three-gallon pots tend to permit enough root growth to allow the plant to flourish. To achieve even more effective results you should try using five-gallon nursery pots. Five-gallon nursery pots will help to produce very sturdy and strong plants with thick stems and plentiful node development.The problem with five-gallon pots is that they take up quite a bit of space, so less plants will fit into the grow room.

I once saw a plant in a five-gallon pot that was left in the vegetative growth stage for an additional three weeks after calyx development to encourage increased branch and node development. When flowered, the plant became a monster bud manufacturer and produced a much larger yield than any other plant in that particular crop. If you have the right genetics and the time to veg your plants a little longer, a five-gallon pot can make all the difference in the final yield.

Cannabis also tends to do most of its rooting during the vegetative stage of growth. As soon as flowering begins root development slows down considerably. Try to allow for good root development in the initial stages of growth by giving the roots plenty of room to grow. It is possible to produce colossal two-pound yielding plants in five-gallon pots with the right genetics, light and grow time.
For hydroponic set-ups you can buy net pots that usually range from between two and eight inches square. The most common net pot is the five- or six-inch type. This size net pot is suitable for simple hydroponics systems like NThe Bubbler'. For large Sativa plants, an eight-inch net pot is more suitable. Make sure that if you plan to grow a plant to yield more than one ounce, you should choose at least the five-inch type net pot to ensure adequate support for the stem and root mass.

Safe Fertilizers
If you provide the food that your plants require they will provide you with good
results. Cannabis plants like food but not too much food. You should also note that some fertilizers could change the taste of your bud. Many people claim that this is a myth, but if you smoke enough varieties from different grow techniques, you'll be able to taste the difference between natural outdoor bud and indoor bud that has been chemically treated. Some people have complained about headaches from smoking indoor cannabis that has been burnt through overfeeding. There are many potential reasons for this, but the main reason is that instead of using a feeding solution for food plants, the grower used one for plant appearance, like the kind used for roses. Some of these non-food plant fertilizers contain ingredients beyond the standard primary, secondary and micronutrients. These extra ingredients can often be toxic and a warning label on the side of the fertilizer container should indicate this. The same goes for pest sprays — another good reason to grow your own bud.

However if you have read this book then you know to stick to food fertilizers and sprays that can be used on food plants. If you get your feeding mixtures right you'll boost the overall performance of your plants and keep them healthier too.
Hormones can also increase the overall yield and vigor of your plants, but they can be expensive. In some countries hormones are banned because of the risk that they might interfere with a plant's genetics and yours. Research hormones thoroughly before using them, but note also that many growers have used reputable brand name hormones and achieved larger bud quantities.
Keep notes of feeding times and amounts to help you gauge your feeding routines. It is sometimes easy to forget when you last fed your plants and what mixtures you used. Keep these notes safely hidden from prying eyes.

12/12
If you use 12/12 and keep your flowering room completely lightproof, you will improve your overall yield. A 100 percent lightproof room will increase yields by as much as 30 percent more than a room that is only 99 percent lightproof. That is how important total darkness is to your plants during the flowering stage of the life cycle. Avoid interrupting this schedule and you will reap the rewards for doing so.

Avoiding Plant Stress
Multiple transplants should be avoided in order to minimize plant stress. By solving problems quickly and taking good care of your plants you will achieve much more effective results. Stress-related disorders are often responsible for lowering yields.
This book has covered many aspects of plant stress that can be avoided by simply implementing the good growing practices covered within these very chapters.

Carbon Dioxide (COz)
C02 supplements boost yields and should be employed if you have the resources. My experience has shown that 002 can naturally enhance yields to almost double that of a similar grow that does not include a 002 supplement.

Although you can produce great results without using 002 it does make all the difference. Growers who use 002 rarely ever turn away from it. It is a wonderful way of achieving very high yields with the right genetics.

Labeling
Never underestimate labeling. Label everything you can. This includes labeling seeds, seedlings, vegetative plants, flowering plants, clones, your harvest, your manicured bud and your stored end products.

Labeling prevents mix-ups from occurring. If you mix up your plants, you are left with the problem of trying to guess correct flowering times and strain type. Labels can be bought in most good grow stores. Plastic labels should be used in conjunction with a non-permanent pen so that they can be reused again.

My experience as a grower has taught me that the cannabis plant is so diverse that no one country, seed bank or breeder can claim to have all the best genetics. In fact the majority of high-quality genetics are available to ANY grower through the right seed bank. Not all seed banks send their seeds everywhere in the world but you will be able to find a few that do. There is nothing preventing good growers from obtaining what they need by checking a few things out.
If you understand and control the above points then you will achieve the goal of growing superior bud. We hope that this book has helped in some way and that you will continue to refer to it in the future.
Producing your own bud has never been easier. Hundreds of thousands of people grow all over the world both indoors and outdoors. Many of them have been doing this for decades and have kept it a secret by simply not telling people that they grow. They also only grow for themselves and this makes all the difference in keeping their pastime confidential. People who do not sell their produce are rarely ever discovered.

If you know people that have an interest in cannabis then tell them about this book. This is the kind of information that they need to make their own high-quality bud. The results are cheaper and better as you will see!

Remember: Do not break the law. Before you get seeds, clones or grow cannabis check your country's laws to ensure that your actions are not illegal. We would like you to grow cannabis but we do not want you to get into legal trouble.