[GrowWeedEasy] Don't Make These 6 Flowering Stage Goofs

Published: Sun, 09/30/12

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Grow Weed Easy Newsletter
Issue #24 - Sunday, September 30, 2012

Dear Fellow Grower,

In today's issue you'll discover...
  • Our guide to help you avoid 5 common goofs during the flowering stage of your marijuana's growth cycle that can ruin your yields!
  • Learn about a discrete vaporizer that's cheap, easy to use, and takes 10 seconds to to start vaping.
  • Learn how you can give back to the marijuana growing community
  • More trophy pics from our readers. Get inspired by fellow growers making it happen!

We hope you enjoy this issue of Grow Weed Easy!

Happy Growing!
Nebula Haze and Sirius Fourside (founders of GrowWeedEasy.com)



"The master of the garden is the one who waters it, trims the branches, plants the seeds... If you merely stroll through the garden, you are but an acolyte."

-Vera Nazarian

 
 

Avoid These 6 Common Goofs During
The Flowering Stage That Can Ruin Your Yields
By Nebula Haze
 
 
Click for closeupYour marijuana is focusing completely on making buds during the flowering stage.
 
During this stage, plants often need a little extra TLC as they are not putting as much effort into their health.

Unfortunately, this happens to be the exact time that most beginning indoor growers tend to get comfortable and start forgetting about their plants.

As an indoor marijuana gardener, your actions during the flowering stage have a huge impact on your yields and the final potency of your buds.

Here are 5 simple yet effective things to pay attention to, so your Flowering Stage goes great, and your plants produce a huge, picture-perfect harvest every time!

1.) Watch out for boys messing with your girls

Keep an eye out for unexpected male plants or hermies (hermaphrodites; girls that grow "male" parts).

Hermies generally come in two forms. Either it looks like you're growing male pollen sacs among your flowers, or you'll see the signature hermie "yellow banana."
 
Basically look for balls/pollen sacs or yellow bananas growing among all your beautiful buds and white hairs. Definitely remove them on sight to prevent uncontrolled pollination. I often will remove the whole bud site just to be safe.

Female marijuana plant turns hermie and grows ballsMarijuana hermie growing a yellow "banana"
 
 Even a single pollen sac can ruin your whole crop if it bursts, by spreading pollen and "seeding" all the females.

All pollinated female buds will stop fattening up and instead focus on making seeds. As a result, you get seedy buds and low yields. Some growers purposely produce hermaphrodites in a process known as rodelization. Pollen gathered via rodelization  produces all-female (feminized) seeds when used to pollinate buds.

2.) Make sure indoor grow lights don't get too hot/too close

Even though your cannabis is probably not growing upwards dramatically in the flowering stage, she may still continue to gain height for most of her life.

Indoors, it's common for plants to be inching closer and closer towards grow lights without the grower realizing it. Always keep a barrier of space between your plants and your lights!

3.) Monitor pH of Your Root Zone

More than 50% of the marijuana plant problems submitted through our GrowWeedEasy.com plant doctor service end up being the result of too high or too low pH in the root zone.
 
In hydroponics pH management is crucial to your success. Even when growing in soil, pH has a big effect. Some growers get lucky, yet if you're having unexplainable problems, I highly recommend at least checking the pH and eliminating that as a possible cause.

pH problems can cause wrinkly leaves, curling, and what appears to be a wide variety of nutrient deficiencies.

Basically, plants can't absorb nutrients when the pH is off at the roots.
 
pH Problems Manifest in a Variety of Ways, as demonstrated by the examples below:
 
 
 Optimum pH varies a bit from strain to strain, and between different growing mediums, but a good rule of thumb is maintain a root pH of 5.5-6.5 in hydroponics, and 6.0-7.0 when growing marijuana in soil.
 
If you've been monitoring pH from the beginning, continue to monitor pH. Don't get too comfortable and let this slide now!

If you haven't been monitoring pH and suddenly get a bunch of unexpected problems, check this before you take any other drastic measures!

A pH kit is cheap, and easy to use.
 
When I first got a pH kit, I was amazed at how much stronger and resistant to problems my plants were once they started getting the optimum pH at their roots. This allows plants to easily absorb all the nutrients they need, so they can focus on making buds.

As a result, you may need lower nutrient levels overall, which often results in smoother, tastier buds.

Learn what you need to know about pH right here (it's simpler than you probably think!): http://www.growweedeasy.com/how-do-i-check-the-pH-of-my-water

4.) Don't overdose plant with nutrients

Organic nutrients like compost tea can give marijuana nutrient burn just like any other nutrientsGoing overboard on nutrients (even organic nutrients like compost and worm tea) can ruin your yields and makes buds taste terrible!

This is the worst thing you can do late in the flowering stage, when your plant will be unable to recover.
 
Never raise nutrient levels unless you've ruled out a pH problem and then do so slowly.
 
It's normal for your oldest, lower leaves to start yellowing and falling as harvest approaches, this doesn't mean add more nutrients.
 
Plants need less and less nutrients as they approach harvest, it's natural for leaves to start yellowing, especially older leaves towards the bottom of the plant.


5.) Keep Humidity Below 45% to Prevent Mold

Keep humidity low in the flowering stage to prevent gross bud mold like thisIn the flowering stage, humidity should be kept below 45% to prevent mold.

When humidity gets too high in a grow room, the plant pulls excess water in through the leaves which increases your chances for mold, especially in fat buds.
 
Sometimes you may think your buds are totally find, then find a gross moldy mess in the middle, like the bud pictured to the left. 
 
Never smoke moldy buds!

Some growers will dramatically drop the humidity of the grow room during the last few weeks of flowering using a dehumidifier.

This actually stresses your plant in just the right way, and may increase resin production.

6.) Flush your plants right before harvest with plain pH'ed water (no nutrients)

I recommend flushing plants with plain, pH'ed water for the last 1-2 weeks before harvest to leach out any extra nutrients.
 
A plain-water flush will improve the overall taste and smell of your buds, especially if you've gone a bit overboard with nutrients.

Hint: Add a bit of regular blackstrap molasses (a teaspoon or two per gallon) to your water during the second half of flowering as a cheap yet effective alternative to those expensive supplements that improve bud flavor.

How long does the Flowering Stage last? When do I harvest?

The time spent in flowering depends heavily on your strain, as well as the effects you'd like to produce.

Most strains need 2-3 months in the flowering stage before they're ready to harvest, though some strains are a bit faster and some strains, such as hazes, can need as long as 4 months of flowering before they're ready.

Some growers prefer to harvest on the earlier side for more of a "buzzy" high while other growers harvest later for more of a "couchlock" high.

  • Harvesting too early causes low yields and non-potent buds
  • Harvesting very late produces buds that tend to cause sleepiness
When you harvest at the right time, you get the best yields. Plus you get the effects you want.
 
The best thing to remember with harvesting is to be patient. A lot of people get too eager to harvest buds, and they end up taking their plants down too early. Wait for a few signs before you take the leap:
  • At least 50-70% of the hairs (pistils) on the buds should have darkened and started curling in

  • Marijuana trichomes (seen here up close) are a great indicator of exactly when to harvest Use a jewelers loupe, handheld microscope, or (my personal favorite) a USB microscope to look at your buds. You know you're ready for harvest when most of the clear trichomes(little mushroom looking growths) have turned mostly milky white colored, with a few amber/yellow trichomes. When they're ready, they'll also start to lean over from the weight of the bulbs on top.

Here's a complete guide to knowing exactly when to harvest your marijuana:
http://growweedeasy.com/how-do-i-know-when-to-harvest-marijuana

For the geeks like me... here's an article explaining the science behind choosing optimum cannabinoid levels:
http://growweedeasy.com/thc-cbd-cbn-when-to-harvest-marijuana

Bonus: Trimming & Curing Your Newly Harvested Buds

Once the plants are cut down, you can trim the leaves off of them and hang them up to dry.

DID YOU KNOW? You can trim all the buds off a plant and put it back under under 24/0 light to get her to revert back to the vegetative stage. One reason you might do this is if the plant has been a huge producer and you want to take clones. After a month or two, the plant will have fully recovered and started growing vegetatively. At this point, clones can be taken. You can even put her back into the flowering stage and harvest again. You can take clones during the flowering stage, but they are tougher to get to take root, and for some reason clones taken from flowering plants tend to grow into bushy monsters.

There are many ways to dry your buds, such as hanging them from a string, leaving them spread out on netting, or even just laying them out on cardboard.

Curing Your Buds
 
Once your buds are dry, leave them in a airtight jar, and place the jar in a dark place.

You can open the jar every so often and jostle the buds a bit; this is also a good time to make sure you don't smell mold and buds still feel dry. It's good to do this more often at first(once a day in the beginning) and slowly do it less(once every 3-5 days). After about 2-3 weeks of this process, you'll have great herb! Cure even longer, up to 6 months, for continued improvement in flavor/smell.

Learn more about harvesting and curing your buds: http://growweedeasy.com/basics#harvest


Nebula Haze holding article published in Skunk MagazineAbout the Author: Nebula Haze

Marijuana has literally saved my life, and I'm dedicated to showing you how easy it can be to grow.

Join Nebula Haze on Twitter

Join GrowWeedEasy.com on Facebook  
 
 

Check It Out!
 
Nebula here.
 
Nebula Haze holding her time-worn Magic Flight Launch Box. It still works as good as the day I got it!I first bought a Magic Flight Launch Box in May 2010, and 2 years later I still use my MFLB almost daily.

Read my original 2010 review for the MFLB on Amazon here: http://growweedeasy.com/MFLB-review
 
The Magic Flight Launch Box is one of the most portable and discreet electronic vaporizers available.

Why I love my MFLB
  • Totally discrete, does not look like a smoking device
  • Vapor does not really smell like marijuana
  • Small enough to fit inside the palm of your hand or inside a pocket
  • Comes with a convenient carrying case, like a little lunch box
  • Instead of using butane or flame, this handheld unit runs off rechargeable AA batteries
  • Start vaporizing within 10 seconds
  • Lifetime Warranty (though you probably don't even need it). I bought mine more than 2 years ago, and as you can see from the pic, the sticker on the box is peeling. However, the MFLB itself works as awesome as the day I bought it. I still use it all the time, and it's always ready to vape in 10-12 seconds.
Just do yourself a favor and get yourself extra batteries! If you're anything like me, you'll end up using this baby a lot!

Though many different batteries can work with the MFLB, I recommend getting spare batteries from the MFLB people for best results: http://growweedeasy.com/MFLB-batteries
 
Get Your Own Magic Flight Launchbox From Amazon.com: http://growweedeasy.com/magic-flight-launch-box
Magic Flight Launch Box (MFLB) is great for vaping marijuana
 
 

  We Need Your Help! 
 
Ever wondered how you could help overgrow the world?
 
Interested in getting exposure while showing off your growing skills and helping other growers around the world produce bigger, more potent buds?
 
Do you have experiences, pictures, or lessons learned that you believe will be helpful for other growers? 
 
If so, we want to hear from you!
 
Nebula Haze and Sirius Fourside, founders of GrowWeedEasy.com, have dedicated their lives to building the most comprehensive, easy-to-follow marijuana growing resource in the world. 
 
We know that the best way to get medicine into the hands of those in needs is to provide people with information that makes it easy for anyone to grow it themselves....
 
Click here to find out how you can help: http://growweedeasy.com/newsletter-article-submission
 

 
 

Look Who's Talking


From a few GrowWeedEasy Fans
 
"Thanks again, 4 all the Info. It Takes a special person, that really cares about people to do what you do at, GrowWeedEasy.com."
 
"Hi i love ur weekly email."
 
"Thank you Nebula. From now on I will go only off what I read off your awesome website groweedeasy.com. Thanx again Nebula you guys have been great."

 

 
 

Your Questions Answered
(Don't worry, they're not gone!)
 
This week: Our Readers Trophy Pics!
 
Check out some awesome pics of cannabis grown by one of our readers! We love seeing pics from people we've helped grow their own buds!
Click pictures for a larger version!
 
     
 
  

Want to show off your beautiful trophy pics?
Submit your marijuana pictures here:
http://growweedeasy.com/submit-trophy-pics
Anyone who sends us pictures is kept completely anonymous!
We thoroughly inspect pictures to ensure your privacy remains safe.

 



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