Hello #Madamegrowers!
Today we have to talk about the beginnings of cultivation on our blog. There are many questions that growers ask themselves before starting to cultivate, in this post we are going to solve all these questions and give you a few tips and tricks so that you have an abundant and quality harvest.
At first glance, the growing cannabis plants it seems like a very complex and difficult process. And it is true that many variables influence this process of growing marijuana, but following some guidelines and tips it becomes a simple procedure.
If you are a novice grower you should set well-set goals to establish some paths to follow towards this goal. Practice makes perfect, that is, don’t be discouraged if your first crop doesn’t turn out the way you expected. It will be good for you to learn from mistakes and not make them again.
We are going to show you what steps to follow and many important tips so that you achieve your goal of growing cannabis.
INDOOR GROWING OR OUTDOOR GROWING?
It could be said that it is the first question a cultivator should ask himself. We must meditate if we grow outdoors or indoors. Both options are good, indoor cannabis cultivation allows you to control practically all environmental factors that affect the vegetative growth of your cannabis plant. (relative humidity, water, light and amount of air). In this case, the use of a grow tent is usually very common.
On the other hand, outdoor cultivation puts your marijuana plant in total exposure, being outdoors we would not have control of these environmental factors. However, the budget for outdoor cultivation is very low, since the use of electricity is not necessary. In addition to considering the growing space for the cannabis plant it is much larger and this translates into larger plants and a great harvest.
If you have the ability to choose an indoor grow or an outdoor grow you are very lucky. Many growers cannot choose the option they really want. If it is the case that you do not have a large growing space, you have to prepare an indoor culture.
To start cultivating you must make a good cultivation team. Start with a good lighting system, a fan, and a good grow tent; It is also possible to grow in a room that you have available.
If you prefer to start growing outdoors, you must choose an appropriate area. The location of your plant should be where it receives the longest sunlight throughout the day. You also have to take into account the quality of the soil, if you are going to start cultivating directly in the soil.
There is another type of cultivation called guerrilla cultivation, it consists of placing your plants in a place where it has good light and away from areas prone to flooding and areas frequented by onlookers.
CHOOSE A VARIETY TO GROW
In order to start your cultivation in the best way you should know what variety to grow. This option is to the grower’s taste, today there are a large number of cannabis genetics to choose from. Choosing a variety is a simple task, but it depends on the objectives, preferences and spatial limitations of the grower.
There are some varieties that are more appropriate for outdoors and others for indoors.
If your choice is outdoor cultivation, you should choose a marijuana seed with a sativa predominance, that is, one that can take advantage of a number of spaces and get an incredible harvest. A disadvantage is that this seed variety has a longer shelf life than eg predominantly indica seeds.
If your idea is to grow an outdoor crop but you don’t want to attract the attention of neighbors or possible thieves, or an indoor crop but with little space. Your choice should be the pure indica or indica dominant variety. In these cases you can also choose the autoflowering seeds. These seeds do not need to be planted in season because they do not need the sun to flourish. Autoflowers are great for growers who want speed and optimal cultivation.
CHOOSE YOUR LIGHTS
In this factor is where the budget to cultivate shoots up. If your choice is to grow indoors, you will need a good lighting system so that your cannabis plants can photosynthesize.
There are a wide variety of lights to choose from:
- The luces LED they are the most common choice among indoor growers. Their benefits are that the consumption is low, therefore the cost of light is not so high, it has a high power and they emit very little heat.
- Compact fluorescent lamps (CFL). If you have a medium budget you can get them, their light spectrum is of quality and they are very effective in small growing spaces, but if your grow is large, this is not your option.
- And lastly high pressure sodium (HPS) grow lights have always been used, this lighting system is cheap and effective. The only downside to these lights is that they emit a lot of heat and use a lot of energy.
DECIDE THE AMOUNT OF LIGHT FOR YOUR PLANTS
In the event that your variety is photoperiodicaIn other words, a plant that needs a light change to flourish, you have to offer a different light cycle to your cannabis crop than the one used with autoflowering plants.
In summary, the large number of growers provide 18 hours of light and 6 hours of darkness during the vegetative growth stage. When your plant has stopped growing in size, the cycle of 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness is usually changed, at this moment the plant knows that it is entering the flowering phase. This is several weeks until the root washing phase and later the harvest.
NUTE YOUR PLANT WITH ORGANIC FERTILIZERS
To start your marijuana cultivation in the best way, you should know that any type of plant requires a quantity of nutrients to survive and grow in a healthy way. Not only can you feed on the nutrients contained in the substrate, it is convenient to use some fertilizers. If you use Madamegrow, you will be providing nutrients to your plant in a 100% organic way without any additives or chemicals. Many of these nutrients are minerals that help the plant to carry out its physiological processes.
A classification of the two nutrients can be made: macronutrients and micronutrients.
On the one hand, macronutrients are substances that need a large amount, such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (F) and potassium (K). Our fertilizers contain this ratio, known as N-P-K. Micronutrients refer to boron, chlorine, copper, iron, nickel, etc …
At Madamegrow we advise you from start to finish in your cultivation with our cultivation tables. These help you to know the exact amount of fertilizer to apply and when to apply the dose. We have our STARTER KIT BASIC, which is ideal to start your marijuana cultivation in the best way. A Kit to start the cultivation of your plant with all the guarantees and to be the beginning of spectacular results.
There is a certain tendency in novice growers: “law of the minimum”. This means that even if a plant receives all the nutrients it needs, if it receives less than the minimum of a particular nutrient, it will suffer from deficiencies and may look bad.
This will help you in your next crop to apply different future doses and to fully satisfy the needs of your plant. You have to be very careful with overfeeding, which can also affect your plant.
YOUR PLANTS IN A QUALITY ENVIRONMENT
In the case of novice growers we advise using soil / substrate, it is the best option for a beginner grower. There are other means such as water, which is known as hydroponic cultivation. This process is for a high level of cultivation.
It should be noted that not all media are the same. There are poor quality soils without nutrients for your plant and there are soils full of minerals and nutrients, with much better consistency. As is normal, the marijuana plant prefers rich soil, with good drainage.
In the event that your choice is an autoflowering variety, you should choose an aerated substrate with fewer nutrients, an example would be a substrate with perlite.
SLIGHTLY ACID SOIL
A cannabis plant loves soil with a certain amount of acids. The correct thing is that you use a pH meter and that you keep the level between 6 and 7 to facilitate the absorption of nutrients. If your soil is too alkaline, you can add cotton meal or iron sulfate, if your soil is acidic, add coffee grounds.
PEST CAUTION
One tip to prevent any type of plague is to spend a few minutes every day observing your plant closely. With this action, we try to find pests that are not yet expanded and we will have time to eradicate them.
It is true that depending on the growing space you can control pests or not, as is the case with an outdoor crop.
At Madamegrow we have a 100% natural insecticide, Potassium Soap Premium. Environmentally friendly. Improves crop development and covers deficiencies. Protects against attacks. They do not contain residues or leave traces on your plants if you are going to consume them. 100% natural. Contains 10% Potassium oxide (k2O).
HARVEST READY?
After all the time and strength invested in this long process, it is very important to know when your harvest is ready. That is, knowing when it is appropriate to collect the buds at the best time. How do we know this?
The most accurate signal is the appearance of trichomes, which are small, resin-producing pistils found in flowers and leaves. These are very small and therefore difficult to see. We must pay some attention to these trichomes in the flowering phase, which will turn from a transparent to an amber color. When the time comes for all the trichomes to be this color, we must begin to collect the buds.
