Whether growing marijuana for personal use or sale, it is best to understand how to do it right. It takes time, resources, and effort to achieve the perfect marijuana plant; thus, developing an excellent growth strategy that guarantees higher yields is necessary. As such, understanding how to grow marijuana buds indoors is a step towards achieving this goal. Fortunately, it is easily achievable if you stick to the suggestions and tips mentioned below. Remember that every grower’s dream is to have large marijuana without compromising on the yield.
1. Practice Proper Pruning
If you always try to have big buds every time you plant cannabis but have never been successful, then the chances are that you have been doing something wrong. Watching a lot of the plant’s nodes grow can be exciting until you understand that too many nodes are not necessarily a good thing for your cannabis growing experience. The idea is to grow good-quality buds with sensi seeds that are large enough to make your venture worthwhile.
However, as the plant grows, it develops nodes in all plant parts, including the lower areas. In such a case, it is essential to know that the lower nodes will receive insufficient lighting, which means they are less likely to grow to their full potential. It is, therefore, only sensible that you do away with such nodes as they are not going to develop fully and will only use up resources that the maturing buds would otherwise utilize. You need to realize that as your marijuana plants get bigger, they are likely to develop more of such nodes, which then develop into buds.
The disadvantage of having too many nodes or buds near the bottom of the plant is that this may mislead the plant and cause it to develop during the flowering stage. The fact that minimal light is getting to them, they will not develop to full term, making them a waste. If your goal is to develop larger buds that you will be proud of as a grower, then make it a habit to prune them and get rid of shoots between trunks. The expert recommendation also directs when it is best to prune the buds. Make sure it happens during the vegetative stage to allow the plant more room to grow even bigger leaves.
2. Feed the plants Adequately.
Like any other plant, growing the most robust and biggest ones requires feeding them properly. This means focusing on supplying the necessary nutrients to the plants. Focus on providing the right amounts of potassium and nitrogen to the plant at the different growth cycles. For instance, any grower understands that nitrogen is needed more during the vegetative stage, whereas potassium works more during the flowering stage. This is also when phosphorus supplementation is required.
Besides these basic nutrient supplies, you should also focus on providing a perfect balance of micronutrients to the female cannabis plants, which boosts their growth. Some of the essential nutrients that can foster better and bigger bud growth include sulfur, boron, calcium, iron, manganese, and copper, to mention a few. It is best to work with expert researchers to determine which minerals help boost your cannabis plant’s growth.
In addition to knowing which nutrients to give or feed your crop, it is essential to get the ratios right. Just be sure to feed enough nitrogen during the vegetative stage as this makes the plant strong and large enough, which helps with the subsequent growing phases.
3. What About the Flowering Stage?
Once the vegetative growth stage is done right, the flowering stage is likely to be a success. At this point, you need to increase potassium and phosphorus feeds to your plants. This means that you need to minimize the amount of nitrogen you feed the plants to avoid nitrogen toxicity, which affects the quality of cannabis you end up with.
Sometimes this can happen without your knowledge, hence the need to watch for signs such as darkening the green leaves and yellowing the tips. When looking at ratios, note that while both are important, when the plants start to flower, ensure that you give more phosphorus when the plants begin to flower and later apply potassium within the same stage. Adding phosphorus first ensures that the buds develop into dense and large buds.
4. Never Ignore pH Levels.
If you use soil as a medium for growth, you should get the proper pH levels. Soil pH can adversely affect the development of any plant if not well considered since it affects the plant’s ability to absorb essential nutrients. It doesn’t matter how dedicated you are to providing your plants with the proper nutrients. If the pH level is off, then most of the nutrients will not be available to the plant and thus lead to deficiencies.
5. Carbon dioxide levels matter too.
Cannabis plants require enough carbon dioxide supply for them to flower and grow properly. This is a time when the plant is required to make more sugars for growth. Usually, air contains about 350-400 ppm of carbon dioxide, which plants use and combine with light energy to produce the energy they need for growth.
This means that if you increase CO2 levels in a room where you are growing cannabis plants, it is only sensible to increase the light intensity if you want to grow bigger buds. These two need to go hand in hand. Doing it right can increase a grower’s yield by double.
6. Focus on Temperature and Humidity
Any grower focusing on taking his cannabis plants to full growth potential understands the importance of getting the humidity and temperature levels right. This delicate balance is also crucial for preventing the consequences of excess moisture such as bud rot. There are specific temperature and humidity ranges with the light on or off that every grower must understand for each growth stage of the cannabis plant.
For instance, seedlings require a temperature level of 68-77 degrees Fahrenheit and a 70% humidity level when lights are on. When off, 59 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit will do. Growers must ensure that the difference in temperature between day and night does not exceed 18 degrees. These figures will change when the plant gets to the flowering stage of growth, where temperatures up to a high of 82 degrees Fahrenheit will work.
7. Lighting and Training Cannabis Plants
As already mentioned, lighting goes hand in hand with C02 levels. Premium grade cannabis has been grown under adequate lighting, which promotes better growth. Figure out the lighting technique that works for your plants depending on how tall the plants are.
It brings about the question of training. Leaving the plants to grow as far they can go only means that they grow wildly. However, it is possible to manipulate the plant to grow as you desire. This can be through low-stress training where no cutting is involved. It is even more critical for plants growing indoors. A little manipulation is needed to achieve the best buds over time. Ensuring that the plant’s height is not too much will promote light penetration to all buds and foster better growth of the buds.
Final Thoughts
A lot a marijuana plant grower can do to boost the growth of more extensive and bulkier buds. However, ideal growing conditions are necessary to support such growth. All marijuana buds can become as big as long as they are exposed to the right conditions for adequate growth and bloom.