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CARING
FOR MATURE MARIJUANA PLANTS
TOWARDS THE END OF THE FLOWERING STAGE, your cannabis
plants will fill out and take on a Christmas tree shape. From vegetative
growth to the end of flowering, the cannabis plant develops in three main
sections: the top cola, mid-section and the base. The top cola will develop
a large amount of bud. The mid-section contains stems along with old and
new leaves and should fill with buds growing between the nodes. Although
these buds will generally be smaller in size to those found at the main
cola, they should be just as potent. Growers who find that bud taken from
the mid-section is less potent have likely not developed their plants
to full maturity. Towards the base of your plant, you will find large
fan leaves and a small amount of bud. Growers should learn to treat each
section differently to get the most out of their plants.
The bottom fan leaves are generally not smoked or ingested. If your plant
is growing under an artificial light source and the fan leaves are not
receiving much light, you may be tempted to cut them away. This is not
a good idea. Fan leaves produce sugar that is used in bud production.
Cutting away the fan leaves may cause bud growth to stunt, resulting in
a smaller harvest. The only time to remove fan leaves is when a plant
is either dying, badly burnt or the fan leaf is covering a large bud mass.
Light is probably the most important factor in bud development and if
the fan leaf is preventing light from reaching a bud you will want to
remove or tie it back. Refer to the ScrOG section in Chapter 8 for information
on clipping fan leaves.
You should always remove dead leaves from your plant and throw them away.
Never leave dead matter on your soil as a fertilizer, as it tends to attract
unwant ed pests while it decomposes. Place dead matter in a compost heap
where it will eventually turn to humus.
THINNING
Thinning is the action of manipulating plant height and numbers either
via cutting the plant at the stem or removing plants from the grow altogether.
Naturally plants compete for light and plants that grow taller than the
rest can easily prevent light from reaching other plants in the group.
This is especially noticeable with unstable strains and new hybrids in
which some of the population may grow more vigorously than others. The
action of thinning your crop either by cutting or total removal creates
a more even canopy and allows light to penetrate every top cola without
some plants getting in the way of the other plants' light requirements.
Thinning generally applies to outdoor growers, but some indoor setups
such as ScrOG and SOG may also need to be thinned.
As a cannabis grower you should aim to produce plants of relatively uniform
growth. When all of your plants are approximately the same height, you
can more easily achieve optimal lighting conditions. If one plant grows
more vigorously than the others, you risk ending up with light gaps. For
instance:
• Distance from Plant A to light is 3 feet
• Distance from Plant B to light is 1.5 feet
• Distance from Plant C to light is 8 inches
Obviously you will be wasting light, not to mention space, on this setup.
The reason for uneven growth is simply that some plants tend to be more
vigorous than others.* If this happens, the more vigorous plants will
cause the smaller ones to receive less light. We use a process called
thinning to control these vigorous plants.
Clones, taken from the same mother, should not need to be thinned because
they will all possess the same genetic makeup.The only time that clones
will not grow in a uniform manner is if light dispersal is uneven. Obviously
the clones that receive more light have a better rate of photosynthesis
and will grow more vigorously. If all the clones are treated in the same
way, they should grow uniformly.
If you discover a vigorous plant, either cut it down to the same level
as the others or remove it from the grow altogether. Do not throw away
the cuttings from thinning. You can clone these cuttings into new plants!
You may be tempted to thin the other way round, leaving the taller plants
and removing the smaller ones. Recall that in cannabis growing, if you
have started from seed, the taller plants are generally male and the smaller
ones are female. For this reason do not give in to the temptation of removing
plants before you actually identify their sex.
Thinning your grow makes it look nicer, tidier and helps to improve your
overall yield by preventing potentially good plants from being covered
by weaker ones that are growing much taller. Remember that height and
size have nothing to do with potency. Some plants with very long internodes
tend to grow very tall, covering other plants and diverting most of their
energy into vertical growth rather than bud production. This kind of competitive
growth will only lead to less than optimal results.
By the time you have finished your thinning you should have a uniform
with some clones that you can use to grow more bud.
GROWING - LIGHT BENDING
Light bending occurs when a plant grows at an angle toward the light.
You may have noticed plants on the perimeter of your grow area bending
toward the light to try and get their share. If your plants bend too much
they will eventually grow toward or even into another plant and block
other plants from the light. Also, during flowering the buds will become
heavy and may cause plants to fall over.
A simple way to avoid light bending in an indoor grow environment, is
to simply switch your plants around. If a plant leans too much in one
direction, then move it toward the middle of the grow space or turn the
plant around. It only takes a day or two for the plant to straighten.
If your plants can't be easily moved, as is the case with hydroponic setups
and outdoor gardens, then you may have to tie your plants so they don't
bend.
If you are growing outdoors and have a major problem with light bending
you may have to cut away surrounding foliage to allow more light to reach
your plants. If this is not possible, try using thread and small stakes,
such as bamboo, to keep your plants upright. Remember: if your plants
are bending they are trying to tell you that they need more direct light.
PRUNING FOR YIELD
Pruning is the action of manipulating the number of node regions (potential
bud sites) that your plant creates and has nothing to do with the thinning
process. Cutting a plant at the stem will automatically result in Hopping'.
For this reason, plants that are thinned via cutting will end up growing
more than one top cola. Topping is discussed in the next section. This
section covers pruning to increase yield.
By using stakes you can also control and separate branch growth after
pruning.
This plant has generated more than eight new node regions after pruning.
Prune cuts are made using clippers held at a 45-degree angle to tbe shoot
being cut. For every stem or branch that you prune, the cut area will
develop two more branches.This process is natural: just look at any tree
to see how the stem divides into branches which sub-bivide into more branches
which divide into new shoots and leaves. Marijuana plants grow branches
out from the stem. Any filling out occurs when new leaves and branches
develop at the node regions. Some of these branches may develop new shoots,
but these are somewhat smaller and thinner and don't support as much bud
growth. If you prune your plant you can make it more like the example
of the tree.
Recall that Indica plants tend to be smaller than Sativas. If you learn
to prune your plant properly you can produce small bushy Sativa plants
that grow in tiny spaces. Without pruning, a Sativa plant can stretch
to five feet or more.
Keep in mind that there is a limit to how much you can prune a marijuana
plant. If you prune the stem, it will split in two. You can prune both
of these new stems and end up with four stems. You can try to prune each
of these four stems to create eight stems, but results will depend on
the strain and its genetically predetermined branching limit. You might
be able to prune some of the lateral branches, but again, if the plant
has reached its threshold it will not produce more branches. All strains
are different in this respect.
TOPPING
Some marijuana growers will take a pair of clippers to the top of their
plant just above the last branch formation during the third or fourth
week of vegetative growth. The top is removed by shearing it away at the
stem. What happens next is that the main stem splits off in two or more
directions, creating a V-shape at the top of your plant. The end result
after flowering is two or more top colas instead of one. Now, two top
colas instead of one does sound appealing and some growers have even managed
to force a plant to grow more than six top colas using this method. Unfortunately
this topping method of pruning doesn't always lead to better results.
Depending on the strain and the growing environment, the 'topped' plant
may produce two small top colas instead of two big ones. Also, each strain
has a threshold for bud production that cannot be improved upon because
it is a genetically predetermined factor. On the other hand, some plants
when fully grown without topping do not reach their threshold. The strain
Blueberry is a good example of this. If you grow Blueberry without topping
you won't achieve maximum bud production from that plant, but if you top
the Blueberry, you will. Other strains aren't so flexible and the two
top colas will simply share the same volume of bud that a single cola
would have produced on the same strain.
It's
advised that you keep in mind that pruning for yield using the topping
method is strain-dependent and experiment carefully with this pruning
method. Do this with 2 out of 10 plants in every grow. You'll find in
time that during this vegetative prune you will be able to shape your
plant. Plants are generally pruned three to four weeks into their vegetative
cycle, but can be pruned sooner or later or more than once.
Pruning during flowering is not advised as the plant will be forced to
divert its energy from bud production into branch and leaf production.
This results in a slower rate of bud growth. For optimal growth finish
your pruning well before flowering.
FIM Technique
There is a topping method known as the FIM technique. If you push the
leaves apart at the very top of the plant you should see a small bud (not
flowering bud but an actually leaf bud). Use a pair of nail clippers to
pinch off about 3/4 of the bud. This should result in more than two top
colas being developed. In a single FIM clipping you can produce up to
eight new top colas.
The origins of this technique are humorous. As the story goes, FIM was
discovered accidentally when a grower messed up a topping exercise. FIM
stands for: "Fuck I Missed".
Super Cropping Technique
Another method of topping is called xSuper Cropping'. By taking a branch
between your forefinger and thumb you can gently crush the branch, causing
it to develop multiple branches above the crushed area. You must crush
it on the correct side or risk breaking the branch. Just squeeze lightly
until you feel the branch give, then let go. If it gives easily then you
have crushed it on the correct side. If it is hard to crush and the branch
splits then you have chosen the wrong side. Practice makes perfect with
Super Cropping.
Super Cropping should be carried out during the second or third week of
vegetative growth and does stunt the plant. You should also note that
plants that are Super Cropped can remain in the vegetative growth stage
for twice as long as normal but the end result is a very bushy plant with
multiple node regions that should all produce bud. Many growers have thrown
Super Cropped plants away because they believed that the plants were not
flowering in time. If you Super Crop your plants make sure that you have
the patience to wait until the process is finished which — usually
about four to six more weeks of vegetative growth.
HOW
TO MAKE CANNABIS BUSHES
Some people prefer their plants small and wide. Fortunately for them,
making cannabis bushes is a simple process. During the third week of vegetative
growth prune half the plant's branches. Cannabis plants need at least
50 percent of their leaves in order to continue growing without experiencing
fatal stunting problems. If you prune off more than 50 percent of their
leaves, you may end up killing your plants.* Do not prune only one side
of the plant; prune both sides to achieve the 50 percent. You may also
prune the main top cola if you want to split it into two or more parts.
If the prune cuts you previously made grow new branches and leaves, you
may wait until the fourth or fifth week of vegetative growth and prune
again, leaving 50 percent growth.
During the seventh week of vegetative growth you'll notice that your plant
has started to grow outward more than upward. Let's say you have a plant
with eight shoots. That means it is four nodes high. You prune the plant
and end up with 16 shoots, but the plant is still only four nodes high.
Now this does not mean that you can keep doubling shoots forever. Pruning
merely pushes the plant to grow all of its shoots early. If you keep pruning
a plant that is four nodes high until the eighth week of vegetative growth,
the greatest number of shoots you will get will be about 32. Most marijuana
plants will not grow much beyond this factor, but again this is strain-dependent.
Now each new shoot has a junction point or a node that it grew from and
each node should produce bud during the flowering stages. It is possible
to create a marijuana plant that droops over the sides, completely concealing
its own pot. With the right strain, it is also possible to have a single
plant spread over an entire 6x6 foot space using this method. Creating
cannabis bushes usually requires a few additional weeks of vegetative
growth.
TRAINING
Training was covered in Chapter 8 in our discussion about advanced SOG
and ScrOG setups. Training simply means tying down your plant's main stem
so that it grows in an S-shaped pattern. You can also train your plants
to bend into other shapes but the S-shape is the most common. Training
is mainly used to prevent plants from reaching their natural vertical
height without pruning, although you can also prune trained plants without
a problem.
Training
does not stop your plants from growing to their natural height but instead
promotes horizontal instead of vertical growth. You can also prune trained
plants if you want but most growers just rely on the training to achieving
optimal results. Training is accomplished by bending the plant over, attaching
a piece of thread to the stem and securing the thread to either another
part of the stem or another plant or object. By tightening the thread
bit-by-bit, day-by-day, you can successfully bend your plants without
causing them undo stress.
Fishing line works very well in cannabis plant training. Some of the threading
may be located very close to your lighting and heat can cause some threads
to snap or even burn. Fishing line works best because it is one of the
most durable and heat-resistant filaments you can buy. Make sure not to
tie your line too tightly around the stem or you could end up cutting
into it and causing plant stress, topping it or even killing it. People
have managed to grow plants of all sorts of shapes using this method —
from corkscrews to full circles. Some growers even like to grow their
plants horizontally during the vegetative growth stage with just a single
90-degree bend at the base of the plant. When done correctly with the
right strain, training can lead to excellent overall bud production.*
If a stem breaks during training, simply hold it in place using a stake/stick
and bind it with cheesecloth or a porous cloth bandage wrap.There are
many types of plant waxes that you can buy from gardening stores to help
close the wound. If you do not have a wax, applying honey to the wound
also helps. Honey has healing properties that help rejuvenate plant wounds
but must be carefully examined every day for fungi development on the
honey-treated area. If you do find fungi development simply refer to Chapter
12 on how to solve this problem. Watch for any new growth at the break
area and trim these away, because they will try to break away the upper
part of the stem, effectively topping your plant. It is not uncommon to
find roots trying to grow out from a damaged area although the high percentage
of air outside of the break zone will prevent the roots from growing much
more.
CLONING
Cloning is a simple method of replicating your plants. In most cases a
clone is taken from a mother plant and grown into a new plant that contains
the exact same genetic code as its mother plant.
In a selection of 30 seeds you may find a nice mother plant that you wish
to keep. You can sustain and keep using her genetic profile indefinitely
through cloning.
Any
cannabis plant can be cloned once it's been grown to a certain height
and has developed a number of node regions.* The best place to take a
cutting for cloning is above a node that has at least two nodes above
it. The smallest cuttings on average are three inches in length. Once
the cutting has been taken it is placed in the growing medium and should
form new roots over the next one to three weeks.
One hundred and twenty clones rooted in rockwool!
Cloning straight to soil can have a low success rate and is very dependent
on the type pf soil that you are using. Use the wrong soil and the clone
will fail quickly. The best soil for cloning is a standard loam type with
an even N PK ratio. Avoid using seedling or cutting soils as most of these
have added hormones and nutrients that are not suitable for cannabis or
cannabis cuttings.
Cloning in water also has a low success rate because the roots need air
to breath once they have developed. If they remain submerged, the cuttings
will eventually die. In water cloning, the cutting needs to be transferred
to another medium, such as soil, rockwool or a hydroponics system. This
means that the clone will have to move through a number of mediums before
finally being transplanted to the main growing environment. Multiple transplants
can lead to stress and the overall success rate can decrease because of
this.
Some advanced growers like to use an aero cloning kit that acts like a
miniature aeroponics systems for the propagation of clones.These systems
can be expensive, however, and tend to require a lot of practice before
getting cuttings to successfully root in the system.
The best medium for cloning is rockwool cubes or Oasis foam bricks. In
order to increase your success rate with cloning you may wish to purchase
a rooting solution, which can be bought from most grow shops.
Make sure you that use a clean instrument, or better yet a sterile instrument,
when you make your cut. Try to take a piece of stem of no more than three
inches between the cut zone and the next node level. The longer this section
is, the more difficulty the cutting will have in the uptake of water and
nutrients it needs to grow and produce roots. Take the cutting and dip
the cut area into the rooting solution before placing it into the medium.
Make sure that you close any holes where the cutting may have punctured
the medium to prevent air from reaching the cut zone, which can stunt
root growth. Do this by simply filling in any gaps with little pieces
of the medium. Clones don't need much light to root. Try to avoid using
the bigger grow bulbs for cloning as this can be a waste of electricity
and bulb life. A simple window with some outdoor light is all you will
need for the clone to root. Many people use fluorescent lights for clones.
When the clone takes root in the rockwool you will see the roots jut out
from the sides of the cube. It is best to keep the cube size small so
that you can observe the roots' progress. A two-inch squared cube is ideal
for rooting cuttings. Any bigger and it will take longer for the roots
to grow outside of the cube. When they do the clone should be transferred
to its new grow medium: soil, hydroponics or aeroponics. This is the most
successful way of producing clones. The great thing about cloning is that
you can create hundreds of female plants from a single mother. Clones
also flower more quickly and you know what you are getting in the end
because you have already seen, smoked and grown the plant that the clone
was taken from. For information about how to obtain the best results with
clones,
turn to the section on SOG and ScrOG growing.
Two labeled trays of fresh clones. After a few (Jays of rooting the clones
will look more vigorous.
Although you can take clones at any time during the plant's life it is
best to do so during the vegetative stage of growth. Clones carry the
same age as the parent plant. Some clones used by seed-bank breeders are
actually more than a decade old. They have been propagated for years and
years by constantly taking cuttings from clones and then taking further
cuttings from these cuttings. If you take a cutting a week before the
plant is mature enough to display sex then the cutting should only need
a week after rooting before it is able to flower. If you take a cutting
during flowering the clone should be able to flower right away after it
has rooted. If you want to revert a cutting from flowering to vegetative
growth simply keep the cutting under 24 hours of light and clip away any
calyx or flower formations that appear. After a short time under constant
light, the cutting will revert to vegetative growth; however any manipulation
of the photoperiod will throw the plant back into flowering almost instantly.
Clones
that are taken from a plant during vegetative growth are much easier to
control than clones that are taken from a flowering plant. That is why
we generally take clones during the third or forth week of vegetative
growth.
Growers can use cloning hormones or rooting hormones, which come in two
main formats: powders and gels. Powder hormones are generally used for
cloning in soil. The powder is tapped into a small hole in the soil and
the cutting is placed into this hole. A small amount of the powder is
then added to surface of the soil so that, with successive watering, the
powder will seep down into the soil and promote root growth. Rooting gels
are much better because they act as a seal, preventing air from reaching
the cut zone. In addition, gels are not water soluble, whereas powders
tend to be.This means that gels have a longer lifespan than powders.
A proper rooting hormone should contain the vitamin Bl (Thiamine). As
an experiment, cut some roots from a test plant and place half of the
'dead' roots into a solution of water and the other half into a solution
of water and vitamin Bl.The roots in water with added thiamine will continue
to grow for quite some time, while the roots in the plain water solution
will die.
The time it takes to root a clone depends on the strain and the cloning
method used. Some strains, like Blueberry, are notoriously hard to clone.
Others are much easier. On average it takes about a week and half for
a clone to develop a root mass suitable for transplantation. Do not be
surprised if you find that it takes a set of clones more than three weeks
to develop a root mass.The best way to tell whether or not your clones
are rooting properly is to clone in batches from the same strain. If some
of the clones do not develop a root mass after the others have, chances
are that these clones have failed to root.Take one of the clones without
any obvious root mass from the medium and pull it up to check for roots.
If none have developed then the cutting has failed to root and should
be discarded.
You should never let your cloning medium dry out. Keep it damp (not soaking
wet) and check for fungi development regularly. Cloning environments containing
damp mediums like rockwool are ideal breeding grounds for fungi. If you
find that fungi is attacking your clones, consult chapter 12 for details
on how to eradicate it from your grow space.
Another method of cloning, called air layering, is described next by Strawdog.
How to Air Layer a Clone
Items Needed:
• Plant
• Match sticks or toothpicks
• Tape
• Razor blade (preferably sterile)
• Rooting hormone (Clonex)
• Tweezers
• Plastic wrap
• Scissors
1) Sterilize all your cutting tools before using them
2) Find a branch that is at least 1/8 inch thick with a minimum of two
nodes
3) Use the razor blade to split the branch vertically/lengthwise. Cut
at least 1/4 into the branch to meet the phloem.
4) Use tweezers to open the slit; do not break the branch completely
5) Apply rooting hormone to the open wound. Tape a matchstick parallel
to the stem for support
6) Pack the open wound carefully with any grow medium, or use a rockwool
cube to cover the area (just split the cube down one side and slide over
the branch)
7) Wrap the area with the small plastic bag. The effect should be a funnel-shaped
plastic wrap enclosure
8) Pack the bag with grow medium before sealing with tape
9) Use a pin to create holes around bag so that you can water the medium
10) Use an eyedropper to keep the medium wet every day
After two weeks, your cutting will have developed roots and you can cut
away the branch below the roots. Now you have a clone with roots ready
for growth. You can choose to remove the plastic bag if you feel that
it is too tight to allow all the roots to pass through it and transplant
the clone to its new growing environment.
This method is especially good for growers who wish to transplant a cutting
with roots directly to a hydroponic or aeroponic system. It effectively
allows you to skip at least one transplanting step, reducing the risk
of shock to your clones. The fact that you can grow roots without using
a medium (do not use rockwool if this is what you want to do) makes it
an extremely effective cloning method for aeroponic systems.
Bonsai Clones
Bonsai clones are easy to make. The objective is to produce a small bushy
clone
with multiple branches so that lots of cuttings can be taken from it.
Simply prepare a cutting using your preferred method and prune the clone
using the 'how to make cannabis bushes'technique. The end result is a
clone with multiple branches and node regions that can give you a constant
supply of cuttings.
Keep the bonsai short, about 1.5 feet in height, and you can store it
in a very small place. Diminutive bonsai mother plants can be used to
generate at least a hundred clones per year.
In countries where cannabis clones are legal, there is quite a market
for them. Medical users especially like to buy clones from experienced
growers because they know that the grower has worked on multiple strains
to find a 'special' mother that suits the medical users needs.
SINSEMILLA HERMAPHRODITES
It is not uncommon for some strains to generate a few hermaphrodites in
the final weeks of flowering. This is quite a familiar condition with
sinsemilla crops as some plants, in a last ditch effort to continue their
line via seeds, will generate a few male flowers to try to self-pollinate.
In most cases the pollen produced is not viable, but as a precaution you
should clip them away. Simply check your sinsemilla for small yellow banana
shapes in the bud during the final weeks of flowering and clip them away.
INCREASING YIELD
Yield, the amount of bud your plant will produce at the end of its grow,
is what marijuana cultivation is all about.The more you grow the more
you'll learn about what your plants need. The two most fundamental factors
in high-yield growth are strains (good genetics) and lighting. Optimal
lighting along with good strains will lead to great yields and bud-rich
plants. Of course, high yields may not mean highly potent bud. Remember,
potency depends on both the strain and how well your plant is grown.
Many growers have found that some of the grow bloomers and advanced-feeding
products actually produce greater amounts of bud, but reduce potency and
produce a different taste. Learning which feeding products are best requires
a degree of experimentation on your part, but experimentation is what
growing is all about. To discover1 new methods of growing, the marijuana
cultivator must experiment and through failure learn more.
I should caution you that, although marijuana has no physically additive
properties, you may become addicted to growing! I know plenty of growers
who gave up smoking pot and yet continue to actively develop new strains
and discover new ways to increase yield. Cannabis cultivation is a very
addictive hobby.
REVERTING TO VEGETATIVE GROWTH
This is also called Re-veging, regeneration or rejuvenation and can be
done anywhere between the start of flowering and the end of the plant's
peak bloom when it is ready for harvest. This does not work with strains
that have autoflowering properties like Ruderalis.
The first thing you need to do in order to revert a plant back to vegetative
growth is to quit the flowering photoperiod of 12/12 and change this to
a vegetative pho-toperiod of 24/0 or 18/6. The 24/0 photoperiod is certainly
better because it reverts your plant to vegetative growth quicker.
The next thing you should do is to remove all of the plant's flowers and
calyx development by clipping them away from the plant at their base.
When your plant is bare of its flowers and calyx development you can then
choose to reduce the height of your plant to a stage where it resembled
its vegetative growth. After a few weeks your plant will revert to vegetative
growth and will no longer flower until the 12/12 photoperiod is initiated
again.
When you are satisfied that your plant has reached a satisfactory level
of node production change the photoperiod to 12/12 and your plant will
flower again.
Reverting to vegetative growth is a way to harvest more flowers from the
same plant again, however it does have the following disadvantages:
• Reverting to vegetative growth can take up to four weeks to occur
properly. This time could have been spent by simply cloning the original
plant and growing these clones out instead. Cloning is usually much quicker
than rejuvenation.
• Plants that are rejuvenated tend to not produce the same quantities
of bud that they did during their peak bloom although it is not impossible
for them to do so.
• The growing medium will contain higher
levels of P than l\l and K.This needs to be changed to higher or equal
amounts of l\l to P and K. This can be hard to do without flushing your
soil or performing a transplant. Both of these can cause stress which
may lead to sexual dysfunctions appearing in the flowering stage a rejuvenated
plant.
• Rejuvenated plants go through a certain amount of stress because
of the photoperiod change and this can induce sexual dysfunction.
• Stress from cutting the plant during regeneration may also induce
sexual dysfunction.
Some other grow books have suggested that rejuvenation compromises the
genetic integrity of the plant. This is false.
A good example is if you take an IBL strain (covered in Chapter 15) which
is stable for all of its traits and pollinate the females with a male
from the same strain you will produce a batch of offspring. Keep some
of the male pollen used in this exercise and rejuvenate one of the females.
After you rejuvenate her use the male pollen again on her to create another
batch of offspring.*
If rejuvenation compromises the genetic integrity of the plant then these
two sets of offspring will show variations. Do the normal offspring exhibit
variations when evaluated against the rejuvenated female's offspring?
No, they do not. Thus rejuvenation does not compromise the genetic integrity
of the plant.**
INCREASING YOUR CHANCES OF FEMALES
A well maintained grow room with plants growing in optimal conditions
will naturally produce more females than males. There are some other things
you can do to increase your odds of improving your male to female ratio.
These are as follows:
• High nitrogen levels in vegetative growth have shown to produce
more females than males. This might be a good to reason to use feeds with
a higher l\l to P and K ratio rather than foods with an equal N to P and
K ratio. Remember though that plant burn will only lead to stress and
this will produce more males and hermaphrodites than females.
• High potassium levels in vegetative growth
and flowering tends to produce more males than females. Keeping your potassium
levels down is another good reason to choose a food with a higher N than
P and K ratio where the P and K ratios are even, or where the K ratio
is kept lower than P. Remember though that lack of K can cause plant stress
due to this nutrient deficiency and this can cause more males and hermaphrodites
to appear than females.
• Cannabis plants grow best under conditions of between 40 and 80
percent relative humidity (rH). In the higher rH range of between 70 and
80 your female to male ratio may increase.
• Cannabis plants grow best at 75 degrees Fahrenheit. If you do
not allow the temperatures to increase beyond this you will improve your
chances at getting more females than males. If the environment is supplemented
with C02 the temperature may be allowed to increase as far as 95 degrees
Fahrenheit.
• Using MH lights in vegetative growth will improve your female
to male ratio.
END OF THE GROW
This concludes the propagation portion of this book. At this stage you
should have a fair idea of the following:
• The history of cannabis
• How it is used
• The life cycle of the marijuana plant
• THC and potency
• Different species and strains
• Security issues
• Types of seeds and where to get them
• How to germinate seeds
• Setting up your grow space
• Indoor/outdoor/guerrilla growing
• Hydroponics and advanced grow techniques
With this amount of information you should feel ready to tackle any challenges
with your grow. Right? Wrong. You still need to be able to answer the
question: what do I do if something goes wrong? The next two chapters
focus on how to solve problems with your grow. After that, we'll discuss
what happens after the grow: from harvesting your bud to making hashish.
We will also cover breeding.
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