Marijuana Grower's Handbook - Page 2

Frequent doubts about growing Autoflowering Cannabis

Frequent doubts about growing Autoflowering Cannabis
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Principle characteristics of Automatic plants

Autoflowering or Automatic cannabis seeds are characterised by being varieties that flower all by themselves, or in other words, they are not photo-dependent, unlike photo-sensitive feminised cannabis seeds they do not depend on the cycle of light and darkness to trigger bloom.

Once the seed germinates, it goes through its vegetative growth period of about 15-21 days, after which in then begins flowering, regardless of the hours of light it receives.

This is the feature that makes autos so popular with many growers, as they can deliver a harvest just 60-80 days after germination, much faster than any traditional genetics.

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Genetic Mutations in Cannabis

Genetic Mutations in Cannabis
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When we cultivate cannabis outdoors or indoors, it is always exciting, especially if it’s our first time, as it opens us up to a new world of opportunities in which anything is possible, and in which the growers wishes, doubts and dedication are combined.

The usual way is to start reading, immersing oneself in reference books to make sure everything, or at least the basic notions, are clear before getting down to work. What can leave us, either with a strong sense of being overwhelmed, or with full understanding of the "Kung Fu of cannabis cultivation."

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Flushing roots at the end of flowering

Flushing roots at the end of flowering

Of all the procedures we should follow when growing cannabis, none are as simple or as important as flushing the roots at the end of flowering. This simple operation, basically consisting of flooding the substrate with water, can make the difference between obtaining good or bad results from our cannabis harvest: if we haven’t washed the plants correctly they will contain residues of nutrients which will negatively affect the flavour of the smoke.

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Growing Cannabis outdoors in Polyculture

Growing Cannabis outdoors in Polyculture

Why grow cannabis as a monoculture?

Even if we only have a little outdoor space for cultivation it can seem a bit absurd to only grow a single product. In cannabis cultivation, for various reasons, growers usually opt for monoculture, turning their back on the wealth of advantages brought by integrating cannabis within a polyculture of vegetables, aromatic plants and flowers.

Cannabis plants are perfectly adapted to horticultural gardens, whether urban or rural. Sharing the cultivation space with other vegetables has great benefits which can be used by cannabis plants in different ways.

Aside from the obvious benefit of harvesting a variety of products, polyculture cultivation has a range of direct benefits to the cannabis grown in it, positively influencing aspects as important as the control of pests and diseases, fertilisation, yield, and the final quality of the harvest.

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Planning an outdoor cannabis grow

Planning an outdoor cannabis grow

Towards the end of winter or in early spring is the best time to plan our next outdoor cannabis grow, to allow enough time to calmly prepare the ideal plan to suit our possibilities.

Studying the cultivation space fully, together with the assessment of the means we have at our disposal and the dedication and effort that we can provide, will mean we are much more likely to  optimise resources like the time and money that we will invest over the entire process of the culture.

The previous planning work will also help us to anticipate specific situations or needs of the crop that will occur during its development - irrigation, fertilisation, pruning, pest management, harvesting, etc.

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Soil microbes and cannabis cultivation

Soil microbes and cannabis cultivation

Healthy soil, productive soil

A healthy crop soil is a productive soil. The health of the growing medium can be measured by the diversity of organisms and microorganisms that inhabit it. These microscopic soil inhabitants, mainly fungi and bacteria, establish a whole series of relationships with the plant that are essential to the proper development of a cannabis crop.

In all substrates these beneficial microorganisms must be maintained and promoted. This is essential to achieve a balanced growing medium, as this equilibrium will give us the optimal conditions for the development of plants. All these soil microbes live in a symbiotic relationship with the plants to make up the so-called soil food web.

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Pure or landrace cannabis seeds

Pure or landrace cannabis seeds

What is a pure or landrace cannabis variety?

Landrace or pure strains are those cannabis varieties that are native to a specific area and have been adapted generation after generation to the conditions of that area and remained isolated from other varieties, keeping their genotype unaltered.

Cannabis is an ancient plant - probably originating from the Himalayas - that has been cultivated by humans for millennia, either for its recreational virtues, for its well-known and documented medicinal properties or for the multitude of industrial uses (including food) that he has. Over the centuries, it has been adapting to cultivation according to latitude and to different climates across the world, especially in the intertropical zone and in many of the temperate parts of the globe.

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The 7 most common errors drying cannabis

The 7 most common errors drying cannabis

After months of giving our plants all the care they require, the time to harvest finally arrives. Whichever variety of cannabis you cultivate, you’ll probably want to dry it before consuming it. While to many it may seem the least important phase (the hardest part is over!), the correct drying of our plants is essential to enjoy the best possible quality, if we don’t take the necessary care with drying, we can ruin our efforts… and our entire harvest!

In our post about drying and curing cannabis, we gave you the basic information to dry your flowers perfectly. In this article we will focus on the most common mistakes made when drying our precious buds, mistakes that as we say can ruin the flowers we have been caring for months. Let's see what the typical errors are when drying marijuana.

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Growth period of cannabis (Vegetative growth)

Growth period of cannabis (Vegetative growth)

Of the three stages of development that a cannabis plant has from seed - germination, growth and flowering, the second stage, vegetative growth, may seem the least demanding or important. This would be a big mistake, as each phase is integral to the whole process and neglecting or not properly caring for the crop during any one of them will have a negative impact on what remains of the plant’s development. So the vegetative or growth phase of cannabis is equally as important as germination or flowering.

What we call the growth or vegetative phase is the period of the plant’s development that starts when the seed has germinated and lasts until the plant begins to bloom. In this phase the plant shows exponential growth; the more vegetable mass, leaves and branches develop, the faster the growth accelerates, generating in turn more leaves and more branches.

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5 common mistakes when germinating cannabis seeds

5 common mistakes when germinating cannabis seeds

How do we germinate cannabis seeds?

Although the germination of cannabis seeds is a relatively quick and easy process, it is crucial to take into account a series of important factors in order to obtain as high a germination rate as possible. In addition, it's in our interest that the seeds germinate as quickly as possible, and especially if we want to avoid problems like fungal infection or a low germination rate.

In our article on how to germinate cannabis seeds we explain step by step what you must do to achieve successful germination. Today we will take a look at the main mistakes made during this process, some simple errors that, as we will see, can easily be solved. Let's see where many growers fail to germinate their seeds, it's a great way to learn what not to do if we want to make the most of our seeds.

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7 essential gadgets for you indoor grow room

7 essential gadgets for you indoor grow room

There are some essential accessories you should have in your indoor cannabis grow to successfully grow and harvest top quality buds. In this alrticle we'll list 7 devices that any indoor grower should use in order to avoid problems and provide their plants with the best possible environmental conditions.

Air extractor fans

To provide your indoor growing space with fresh air is crucial for proper development of plants, which need CO2 during the day and O2 during the night. If you don't have an efficient air extraction system, your plants won't be able to perform their basic functions properly.

Air circulation also helps to reduce temperature and humidity inside the grow room/tent, which in turn avoids problems with pests and diseases. You can find further information about it in our article about CO2 and cannabis.

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Pest prevention and management for cannabis plants

Pest prevention and management for cannabis plants

At this time of year, when summer and hot temperatures are comming, a number of mesures should be take in order to avoid pests in your plants, especially if these have not been taken during the rest of the year and whatever type of cannabis strain you're growing. Indeed, most insect pests attack indoor grow rooms during summer in a cyclical and predictable manner, when temperatures raise and relative humidity often drops. Thus, the reproduction of insects like red spider mites, thrips and white flies reaches its peak during this period, so using a pest prevention and control plan is highly recommended to ensure optimal growing conditions for your plants.

On the other hand, and if you're growing outdoors or in a greenhouse, this is also an excelent moment to start this type of treatments. You should then start a prevention plan to ensure that your plants will show their full potential in a few weeks, when the bloom phase begins. Plants should be always clean from pests or diseases before entering the flowering period if highest yields and quality are to be achieved, no matter what growing systems you're using.

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Macro nutrients and cannabis

Macro nutrients and cannabis

Cannabis plants need balanced and complete nutrition to develop to their full potential. Most fertilisers formulated for marijuana plants contain a number of macro and micro nutrients, necessary for both the growth and bloom stages. A deficiency or excess of any of these elements can quickly bring nutritional imbalances which affect the performance of plants.

According to their packaging, nutrients for plants have a certain N-P-K number to indicate us the amount of nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) contained, the three main nutrients for plants (macro nutrients). Still, the classification of macro and micro nutrients can vary from one source to another, and some of them also include calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and sulphur (S) as macro nutrients.

In this article we'll take a look at the main symptoms of imbalances on any of these 6 elements, which will be classified as macro nutrients. Keep in mind that each cannabis strain has its own needs with regard to nutrition, requiring more or less amount of each of these nutrients. Thus, while one plant may need large amounts of nitrogen to grow, another may present clear symptoms of excess nitrogen with the same amount of fertiliser.

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How to get rid of cannabis smell

How to get rid of cannabis smell

Without a doubt, one of the main advantages of growing cannabis indoors is the possibility to control the smell of the plants, which can be truly intense during the bloom stage. For many cannabis aficionados, growing indoors is the only viable way to grow since it is then possible to control and hide the smell of weed. Otherwise, and if you grow outdoors, the smell of your plants will quickly attract the attention of neighbours, robbers and – even worse - police officers.

Next we'll detail some of the most commonly used systems to eliminate the smell of cannabis plants in indoor grow rooms or tents. As you'll see, there is a wide range of possibilities, some of them more efficient than others. Still, and by using the correct system for your growing setup, you'll get rid of the smell of your plants without much trouble, something essential if your want your plants to go unnoticed. Keep in mind that, whatever indoor growing system you're using, light and odour leaks are two major evidence of cannabis cultivation for third parties.

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Grow Lights for indoor cannabis cultivation

Grow Lights for indoor cannabis cultivation

Lighting is one of the most important factors when growing marijuana indoors. It allows us to set the desired photoperiod for our plants (number of daily hours of light and darkness) and thus decide if they must grow or bloom. Furthermore, by choosing the correct light spectrum we make sure that the growth and bloom of our plants is optimal, so our cannabis seeds or clones can perform their normal functions.

In this article we invite you to one of Philosopher Seeds grow rooms to learn more about this crucial aspect, from what types of light are mainly used to how to use them properly, so you can get the best yields from your crops.

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Irrigation water temperature and cannabis cultivation

Irrigation water temperature and cannabis cultivation
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While not taken into account in many occasions, the temperature of the irrigation water (in case of using solid nutrients) or the nutrient solution (if liquid fertilizers are used) is a very important factor for proper development of the root ball and to get the most out of the plants during the growth and bloom stages, especially if hydroponic or aeroponic systems are used. Some novice growers usually forget about this and don't even measure the temperature of the irrigation water, which normally brings problems that are in turn - in most cases - incorrectly diagnosed. Plants that don't root as they should, with slow or even null growth and poor development of buds may all be symptoms of inadequate temperature of the irrigation water.

If we're lucky enough to use tap water to irrigate our cannabis seeds or cuttings, we must always bear in mind the different temperatures in winter and summer, also if we're using some type of hose in our outdoor garden. Many times, hoses freeze during the coldest hours of the day in winter, and the water during the hottest hours is not warm enough to be suitable for irrigating. On the other hand, tap water is significantly hotter in summer, also inadequate in some cases. We'll take a look now at the problems derived from irrigating the plants with water at too high or too low temperature, also at what is the best temperature range to water cannabis plants.

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About this Cannabis Blog

This is the blog of the seed bank Philosopher Seeds. It is intended for the use of adults over the age of 18 years.

You'll find information on homegrowing cannabis, tips, tricks and news from the cannabis sector.

To buy seeds from Philosopher Seeds and the best European seed banks. you can check out our cataogue.


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(+34) 972 099 409
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