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Growing with Hydroponics
INDOOR: Use either an 18hr on / 6hr off, or 24hrs of light during the vegetative phase. It is common practice to keep plants in this vegetative stage anywhere from one month to two. In this time the plant is building up and maturing and it needs a good amount of nitrogen to flourish.
OUTDOOR: Plant your seeds in the soil in the summer. The sun’s natural cycle dictates when your plants move from vegetative to flower. By planting in the summertime you ensure a good couple months of vegging and they should flower around October when the sun starts going down earlier and coming up later.
It is always a good idea to take a few clones before you are ready to flower your plants. This ensures that if you grow a second crop, it will be at least equivalent if not better than the original grow. It also ensures you only female plants. Cloning is a slightly advanced technique but don’t be intimidated. It is easy to pick up and virtually a necessity for any green thumb. If you would like to know how to build a cloner for cheap there is a free tutorial available here.
It’s been a month and a half and you are finally ready to flower! The first thing to understand is that some of your plants may be male plants. The female plants flower, yielding herb to smoke. The male plants grow pollen sacks which impregnate the female plants, creating seeds. Unless you want seeds for future grows it is important to pick out the male plants as soon as they show signs. The first step to flowering is changing the light pattern. As outlined above, an outdoor grow requires no extra work, but if you growing indoors you need to change the light to 12hrs on and 12hrs off. In the first week you have to keep a very close eye on the sex of your plants. Male plants grow little balls that eventually open up with pollen. Female plants grow flowers. You can detect a female plant early because it will have hairs growing out of the calyxs located on flowering branches.
Flowering time varies depending on the strain. Typical times fall somewhere between 8 and 12 weeks. Your herb will be ready for harvest when at least 30% of the pistils (hairs) turn from clear to red/orange. If you have a microscope, take a look at the trichomes. These look almost like little mushrooms under magnification of 50x. Just as the hairs turn orange, the tops of the trichomes turn from clear to white. A count of 30% + white-top trichomes also signifies the readiness to harvest. It is also important to note that harvesting early leads to more of a head high, whereas harvesting late with more orange hairs makes for more of a couch lock effect. When you are ready to harvest, first cut each of the flowering branches close to the stem. Discard the leaf branches and main stem. Take your collection of flowering branches and cut all fan leaves out. Get a nice pair of clippers and trim down the leaves to where the flowers are mostly exposed. Hang these trimmed branches upside-down in the dark, in a well ventilated area for 3-5 days. Wait until the plants have exhausted most of their water before removing them from the room.
Now that the herb is cut and has been dried for a few days, it’s time to cure. This is the most important step in the entire thing. Any shortcuts here will undermine your months of patience so don’t get too ahead of yourself. Your herb is good but still has an excess of chlorophyll and amino acids. Curing brings out the full flavor and helps the herb actualize its potency. Thc is the chemical that gives you desired effects, but before the herb is cured, the thc exists coupled with amino acids. The more time you cure, the more cannabaloids detach themselves and become active thc. Collect your herb and trim to your liking. Put the herb in a sealed jar for one month. Every day you should open the jar three times for about 20 minutes. In a month you will have some killer herb.
OUTDOOR: Plant your seeds in the soil in the summer. The sun’s natural cycle dictates when your plants move from vegetative to flower. By planting in the summertime you ensure a good couple months of vegging and they should flower around October when the sun starts going down earlier and coming up later.
It is always a good idea to take a few clones before you are ready to flower your plants. This ensures that if you grow a second crop, it will be at least equivalent if not better than the original grow. It also ensures you only female plants. Cloning is a slightly advanced technique but don’t be intimidated. It is easy to pick up and virtually a necessity for any green thumb. If you would like to know how to build a cloner for cheap there is a free tutorial available here.
It’s been a month and a half and you are finally ready to flower! The first thing to understand is that some of your plants may be male plants. The female plants flower, yielding herb to smoke. The male plants grow pollen sacks which impregnate the female plants, creating seeds. Unless you want seeds for future grows it is important to pick out the male plants as soon as they show signs. The first step to flowering is changing the light pattern. As outlined above, an outdoor grow requires no extra work, but if you growing indoors you need to change the light to 12hrs on and 12hrs off. In the first week you have to keep a very close eye on the sex of your plants. Male plants grow little balls that eventually open up with pollen. Female plants grow flowers. You can detect a female plant early because it will have hairs growing out of the calyxs located on flowering branches.
Flowering time varies depending on the strain. Typical times fall somewhere between 8 and 12 weeks. Your herb will be ready for harvest when at least 30% of the pistils (hairs) turn from clear to red/orange. If you have a microscope, take a look at the trichomes. These look almost like little mushrooms under magnification of 50x. Just as the hairs turn orange, the tops of the trichomes turn from clear to white. A count of 30% + white-
Now that the herb is cut and has been dried for a few days, it’s time to cure. This is the most important step in the entire thing. Any shortcuts here will undermine your months of patience so don’t get too ahead of yourself. Your herb is good but still has an excess of chlorophyll and amino acids. Curing brings out the full flavor and helps the herb actualize its potency. Thc is the chemical that gives you desired effects, but before the herb is cured, the thc exists coupled with amino acids. The more time you cure, the more cannabaloids detach themselves and become active thc. Collect your herb and trim to your liking. Put the herb in a sealed jar for one month. Every day you should open the jar three times for about 20 minutes. In a month you will have some killer herb.