It is becoming more common to grow marijuana or cannabis at home or in own small gardens, its acceptance is expanding more and more, being legal in much of the United States, Canada, Uruguray, etc. what entails that, in other countries, even if it is not legal, their tolerance is increasing (you can read our post about the Evolution and Acceptance of the Use of Marijuana in the US and Europe).
The cannabis plant in a type of crop that undergoes many changes in a very short time, and although its cultivation is not very complicated, it is necessary to follow a series of careful steps to have a successful result.
Cannabis is a resistant plant that can grow in diversity of climates and environments, outdoors or indoors, or in greenhouses.
The process of cultivating cannabis is like everything, you have your art, and therefore you never stop learning, above all we will learn the more we observe our marijuana plants and know what their needs are at each moment.
Regarding the necessary care, it is convenient to use supplements such as marijuana fertilizers, and you can use the budget you want, because the variety of possibilities is quite broad.
With this mini-guide, if you are a beginner in the cultivation of marijuana or cannabis, we want to give you a series of basic guidelines to carry out your successful cultivation and obtain good and better and better harvests.
How to choose cannabis or cannabis seeds
You have many varieties to choose from, the market is wide, mainly we will find three great indica varieties, sativa or rudeliers, each one of them has some ancestors, some properties, some preferences, behavior and development, for that reason with a brief study about the varieties of the market and our tastes or preferences, we will surely choose well, it is not very complicated.
Once we have chosen which type or species of marijuana plant is the one that most catches our attention, we must think about the means / place we have for the development of our new friend.
Therefore we must ask several questions:
- Do we have a large patio or terrace to grow marijuana?
- Will we grow our cannabis strains indoors?
- What climate is there where we are to cultivate?
- In which season of the year we are?
- Will we plant in our 420 on the ground or in a pot?
Once we know all this we will finally choose the type of the specific seed class.
In MADAME GROW® we work regularly with the SEEDS PRODIGIOS Seed Bank, with this seed bank we never take risks in our choice since the results are always excellent.
General Principles of Marijuana or Cannabis
So that our plant develops in the best conditions and we obtain the best of the harvests, we must acquire some general knowledge.
Medium: Organic growers will use interior or exterior for their marijuana plants, however, planting on land is not the only option, since we can plant in neutral media that can include coconut fiber, pearlite, rock wool, etc. You can also use the aeroponic culture where our strain is directly suspended obtaining directly the nutrients of the mixture that we provide.
LIGHT: For marijuana to grow in appropriate conditions, it needs more than twelve hours of light per day. If we plant indoors, we will not suffer from this problem or we will have this concern, since we ourselves will regulate the time in which our 420 is exposed to light. When we plant outdoors we must delay germination for when the plants receive at least eight hours of direct light a day.
AIR: Our friend cannabis plant, is a living being, if not, could not be our friend, therefore, like us, requires fresh air in motion, that is, needs to ventilate with fresh air tickets, outdoors This is not a problem, but indoors they will need a fan and an exhaust or air drain. Anyway, we must be careful because these environments are prone to pests, fungi and weak growth. An accumulation of gases will prevent the correct growth of our marijuana plant.
WATER: Basic element for all living beings, cannabis needs this element to grow, develop and carry out its biological functions well. If you live in a place where it usually rains, it may not even be necessary to water our plant.
The larger our marijuana plant is, as well as depending on its variety, it will be more or less thirsty. Indoors, water becomes the medium that transports nutrients, as well as being used to wash both roots and hydroponic systems. The pH of the water is very important to have it controlled by it, a good grower will always have a pH meter within reach of his.
TEMPERATURE: Marijuana is a very resistant plant and can survive cold and heat, however, as for us, extremes are not good. A temperature between 25 and 28 degrees is adequate for cannabis to grow in the best conditions. Indoors it is quite easy to control temperature changes since it will depend on our thermostat and ourselves.
To grow marijuana outdoors we must know our climate well, you must know when to plant, since you run the risk of your plants entering flowering too quickly or too late, thus affecting the plants not growing enough or that the buds do not form correctly.
NUTRIENTS: They are the fuel that your plant needs to grow, its food, therefore, you will have to find a good soil with compost and apply mixtures of compost or fertilizers for marijuana that nourish your friend as she deserves, you know that your mother always tells you that you should take care of your best friends.
You can choose 100% organic nutrients from the living world, and minerals from the chemical industry, so you decide what you would give your good friend if you really appreciate her.
At MADAME GROW®, we only produce 100% organic and natural nutrients.
HUMIDITY: We return to the same as before, indoors you will have it easy it will depend on the means you use, the more you spend, the easier it will be to control it, the correct variations in humidity can make your marijuana plants grow stronger and more robust, being very important its control until flowering.
Take care of your friend plant and satisfy all its needs, she will thank you with beautiful and heavy buds with a large amount of resin, since you will live with her for a few months watching her grow from a small seed until she is totally delivered to you.
Indoor cannabis growing light – “Indoor”
The varieties to choose from are multiple, luckily we have a wide range of options, and unfortunately, there are so many that we must choose well so that our friend does not suffer.
The grow cabinets are totally tailor-made for the cultivation of marijuana or cannabis, this is where our economy and the level of improvement to be a good “grower” will come into play.
The germination of marijuana or cannabis seeds
It is time to get more serious, our adventure really begins with the germination of our marijuana seeds. We must grow the strain of the plant we have chosen. All we need are the right conditions for the cycle of life to begin. Our marijuana seeds will not germinate until three specific needs are met, a correct temperature, water and a good location.
The cultivation of cannabis is an organic process that does not have very strict guidelines as it depends on many factors, and that is why we consider it an art which you must learn or master, with experience you will progressively acquire the technique that best suits your environment. , and here in this apprenticeship is where your skills come into play to be a true specialist in the wonderful art like growing marijuana or cannabis.
PLANTING: Place the seeds directly in the medium you have chosen, if you are a beginner in growing marijuana, this way you will avoid any impact first. You can find a smaller container at first for convenience and then transplant into larger pots.
PAPER TOWEL: You can also germinate your seeds on a damp paper cloth placed on a plate in a dark and warm place. You can cover it with plastic or cover it with the plate to promote greater humidity. After a few days your seeds will germinate.
The easiest thing is to take a plastic container with a lid, put a completely soaked napkin or paper in the bottom of the container, pour the marijuana seeds far enough apart so that they do not mess up when they germinate, once spread, put another cloth Wet on top, close the container and do not open it until you think they have germinated to maintain humidity and stable conditions so that the origin of life of our travel companion “María” is a good start.
If the container is translucent, that is, it allows light to pass through, we recommend covering it with something that does not let light through, remember that for correct germination the seeds need total darkness, the simplest thing is to cover it with aluminum foil.
Once the container is closed, store it somewhere with a stable temperature between 21 and 25 degrees, after just over 24 hours your seeds will almost certainly have germinated and will be ready to be planted in their final environment, although there are some that can take up to 5 days, it depends on the variety.
ROCK WOOL: If you have selected this medium, you can put enough seeds to germinate in a very small space, once the seedlings are established you can put them in their final position without damaging the roots.
IN WATER: Put your cannabis seeds in enriched water until you see the main root appear and then put it in its middle.
GERMINATION STATION: Offering substantial control over the environment in germination stations where humidity, temperature control is provided and germination times can be accelerated.
When the plant breaks the surface and the cotyledons open the seed shell to reveal the first set of leaves, that is when photosynthesis has truly begun. Now the coexistence with your marijuana plant friend begins, which you must pamper in her not very long way to provide you with those resinous buds that you want so much.
Vegetative or growth phase of cannabis
When the green leaves have started photosynthesis we get serious, our friends start to metabolize and the vegetative or growth phase of marijuana has begun.
INTERIOR: The light is fixed in a period of 18 hours and 6 hours of darkness. You can coordinate this with the actual daylight hours to save a lot of money on electricity consumption.
The plants will be very happy in organic soil or being fed by nutrients specifically designed for the vegetative or growing phase. We must maintain the temperature well to strengthen our young marijuana plants, there are several techniques to increase the growth rate that we will explain in other posts on the MADAME GROW® Blog.
How long does the vegetative or growing phase of cannabis last?
Well here the hand of the grower plays a lot, since we can lengthen or decrease this phase depending on whether we want larger and less concentrated plants, or small bushy plants with large clusters of flowers.
OUTDOORS: Marijuana grows very quickly, once the hours of daily light begin to increase with the arrival of spring and summer, you can see large specimens grow.
Your cannabis plant will continue to grow as long as there is more than twelve hours of sunshine a day.
Marijuana Flowering
Flowering, is the moment when our friend’s flowers begin to develop, some exciting months where aromas begin to awaken. The flowering phase of marijuana has several episodes that are common to all cannabis plants and begins when the vegetative phase ends.
During the first flowering phase, when the time when the plant must support the weight of the buds is near, it begins to grow quite quickly, being able to double its size, and that is when the plants undergo a stretch to prepare for what is coming.
In the part of the main tails new leaves will grow, focusing on producing stems and leaves to take more consistency.
In the transition from the vegetative phase and the beginning of flowering, you can use flowering inducers with this you will control the process and stimulate the plant to have a more abundant flowering. Likewise, the demand for nutrients is much higher, so you gradually reduce and apply the different specific nutrients for each phase, so that the plant does not suffer even more from changes in its food and nutrition.
After the first week of flowering, the first pistils will begin to appear, they are white and fine hairs, where the leaves meet the main stem.
How do I know if my plant is male or female?
This is the moment, if the plant, instead of producing the aforementioned hairs, begins to develop pollen bags, we will be facing a male, and you must separate the male plants from the females, so that your friends do not produce seeds when pollinated by male cannabis plants.
After about 20 days from the start of flowering, your marijuana plants will not have stopped growing, stopping the stretching or growth process slowly until it stops completely, the hairs will also begin to transform into what they will be. marijuana buds.
The plant begins to produce trichomes and some resin, it is a time of maximum demand and stress so refine with the dosage of your nutrients.
After one more week, your plant will have stopped growing, giving way to the beginning of the fattening of the buds, the hairs of these sticking out.
Continuing the fattening of the buds, it is possible that new buds will come out in different parts of the plant, your plant will take on more and more volume, and the white hairs will change color to dark golden, brown, beige, etc. Trichomes will begin to become opaque, and so your plant will continue for 15 or 20 more days, depending on the species, to be almost ready to be harvested.
Harvesting, drying and curing to obtain quality cannabis
It is totally recommended that you do a root wash, which means this, well simple, that for at least two weeks you do not add any product to your plant, and you water them only with water to obtain a pure flavor free of nutrients.
When is my marijuana plant mature?
Your friend “María”, if you have done your homework well, it will look like “Tía Buena”, with abundant trichomes, the pistils will wrinkle backwards and will begin to change color, try orange, mauve brown, purple … they may appear depending on the species of marijuana that we have grown. The resin-filled buds change color. First they go from transparent to milky, then amber. Clusters of flowers or buds will be so swollen that they will appear to have been turned upside down.
When you observe all this, it means that your hard work has paid off, and after the effort will come the reward.
Harvesting the marijuana plant
There is no exact moment, you must be guided by observation and by your intuition, so practice the trial – error method, surely you will do better every time.
For harvest, some remove the leaves with the plant still standing, then break the plant at the bottom. Then you must hang the branches to dry in a drying net.
Be careful when handling your plants you do not want to spoil or alter the trichomes of your marijuana plant.
Cannabis drying
Dry in a cool and dark place, with little humidity, this process is somewhat slow, and at least you should dry for 14 days.
Do branch checks
Once dry, thin branches will break easily, thick branches will be slightly flexible.
The chlorophyll has been degraded and the green of the growth has been replaced by colors according to the species. Orange, brown, beige, pale green, or even blue or purple can appear as this precious part of the plant dries up.
Where to store dry marijuana
It is recommended to keep in glass jars, so that your precious asset does not lose its blessed properties.
It is convenient to open the bottle for about five minutes a day during the first weeks so that it loses the last moisture. When you see that the buds are completely dry, do this only once a week.
Don’t waste so many weeks of effort and work growing marijuana due to lack of attention in these last moments.
How long does it take for marijuana buds to cure?
Cannabis can be cured for as long as you want, remembering that psychotropic compounds, when the plant is properly cured, become more psychoactive. This takes at least six weeks when it heals under ideal conditions. The longer the cure, the smoother the result. It is recommended to keep the jars with the marijuana buds in cool and dark places. THC breaks down into other cannabinoids when exposed to light over time.
If you are not sure about drying, go testing the material to get references for future experiences, cannabis dries slowly and is not denoted totally dry since it is impregnated with resin giving the sensation of waxy.
Once you have finished the whole cultivation process, you will be proud of yourself, you will have developed and improved personal virtues, such as attention, caring for others, patience, a sense of responsibility, ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡ So enjoy growing !!!!!!!!!
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