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here: Issue
#208 - Sunday, April 17, 2016 Dear Fellow Grower,
In today's issue...
- Learn 5 secrets to controlling heat in the grow room!
- Reminder to stock up on seeds this Wednesday if you want to take advantage of all the 4/20
sales!
- Check out this week's trophy pic featuring a beneficial garden predator!!
Nebula Haze & Sirius Fourside (founders of
GrowWeedEasy.com) "Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul."
~Luther Burbank
5 Ways to Protect Plants From Heat by Nebula Haze |
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Controlling heat in the grow room is one aspect of growing marijuana indoors that can be difficult for many of us growers. Grow lights provide our plants with lots of life-giving light, but they also produce heat, and
big grow lights can produce a lot of heat!
Most cannabis plants start suffering when their temperature gets over 80-85°F (27-30°C), so it's important to keep your grow space below that threshold. This tutorial will teach you tactics that you can use to control temperature and fix heat problems. You'll also get some tips to help make sure your cannabis plants do great even if it gets too
hot!
A little heat causes problems, but if it's not too severe plants can still grow slowly Too much heat can actually kill your cannabis plants (especially in the budding stage!) What can you do to protect your cannabis plants from heat damage? 1.) Supplements That Protect Against Heat Damage
Some supplements can help protect your cannabis plants so they are more resistant and/or recover more quickly from heat stress.
However, many different companies
offer supplements and it can be confusing to decide which one - if any - is best for your garden.
Try to get supplements and nutrients from the same company
For the most part, there is no best supplement for heat (or anything really). A lot of different supplements will
get you to the same place in the end. Because of that, when possible it's a good idea to choose supplements made by the same company as your nutrients instead of trying to find the "best" supplement.
This is because during the process of creating a complete nutrient lineup, nutrient companies specifically test their supplements to make sure they work together with the nutrients in their lineup nutrients without causing lockout or other
unexpected problems.
So if you're using the General Hydroponics Flora Trio nutrients like I do, it means it's much safer for your plants to add supplements by General Hydroponics if possible. If you were using Botanicare nutrients you'd look at the supplements that Botanicare carries, etc. Learn about
different types of nutrients for growing cannabis.
Use supplements to help protect your plants from heat damage!
Seaweed Kelp Extract
One of the best inoculants against heat stress is a surprising gift from
the ocean; seaweed! As a bonus it contains small amounts of trace nutrients and minerals. Many different nutrient companies use seaweed kelp extract as part of their supplement lineup, which means you have a lot of choices to choose from if you want to incorporate seaweed into your grow.
A few companies offer seaweed extract by itself like Sea-Kelp 100 and Neptune's Harvest Liquid
Seaweed which are a great choice for those growing outdoors or in super soil as they contribute to a healthy soil web matrix.
Pure sea kelp extract can be a great choice for soil growers who want to avoid using liquid
nutrients If your nutrient company doesn't offer a specific Sea Kelp product, you can almost always find sea kelp extract as an ingredient in one or many of their supplements. For example General Hydroponics has a
great all-in-one supplement called Floralicious Plus that contains several ingredients that work together to not only protect your plant against heat with seaweed extract, but can help it to produce better in other situations, too.
When starting out with supplements, it's often best to start with something that matches your base nutrients and has sea kelp extract as
an ingredient, like Floralicious Plus by General Hydroponics.
Supplementing your plants with extra silica (listed on the label of supplements as Potassium silicate) is not usually needed for
healthy plant growth. There is almost always some amount of silica available and plants don't need a whole lot of silica to survive.
That means if your plants aren't stricken with a - super rare - silica deficiency and are living in a great environment, adding extra silica might not give you tangible benefits. However, if your
cannabis plants are under specific types of stress or are generally living in adverse conditions, extra silica can make life easier for everyone!
Plant roots with access to silica (Si) happily drink it up and the silica gets incorporated into plant cells, increasing the strength of individual cell walls. These "armored"
cells help improve the hardiness, vigor and structure of the plant in many ways.
Benefits of Silica
Supplements
- Plants supplemented with silica are generally more resistant to heat or cold stress as well as some types of disease
- Silica increases the microscopic
"abrasiveness" of leaves, which can act as a deterrent to pests and herbivores (like deer). In fact, if you've ever been given a paper cut by a piece of grass, you can thank silica for making those "sharp" edges.
- Silica helps plants get the nutrients they need. Silica is effective at making phosphorus more available to the plant, which can be helpful in the flowering stage when
the plant is going through phosphorus at a much higher rate due to the process of making buds.
- Silica can also help the plant roots better absorb micronutrients (including boron, copper, iron, manganese and zinc) while making it harder for the plant to absorb certain toxic substances like aluminum and salt/sodium.
So again, silica won't magically increase your plant growth, but it can help make up for some problems with the environment. Because of this, nearly all professional nutrient companies carry a quality silica supplement as part of their lineup.
I like Armor Si by General Hydroponics, but again that's because they make my base nutrients. There is a silica supplement available from almost every major nutrient company out there and you're least likely to run into problems if you go with the company that matches your nutrients.
Note: Silica supplements (or more specifically Potassium silicate) will raise the pH of your water, so you may need to use a little bit extra PH Down. Learn more about pH.
Root Health Supplement (Essential
for Hydroponic Growing in Heat)
When growing cannabis hydroponically (and to a lesser extent when growing in soil or coco) it's very easy for your roots to start running into problems like root rot when the temperature starts getting too high.
The types of microorganisms that attack roots thrive in hot, wet conditions without much oxygen. So not only does heat bother your plants directly, the roots may become diseased. Unfortunately, in
hydroponics your water can't hold as much dissolved oxygen when it's hot, and dissolved oxygen is one of the best ways to fight off root disease.
So it's sort of a double-whammy for plants grown hydroponically when it gets too hot in the grow room: they're getting less oxygen AND becoming more vulnerable to root
rot.
Besides using an air pump with large air stones to create lots of bubbles in your reservoir (learn more about growing cannabis hydroponically), the best thing you can do to keep roots healthy is control the heat.
Unfortunately as you know, controlling the heat is often easier said than done!
Luckily there are some products that are made up of beneficial bacteria and other microorganisms that specifically fight root rot. These work by out-competing the bad microorganisms in your water reservoir and populating your reservoir with friendly ones that
actually help your roots.
Drooping is often the first sign your plants are suffering from root rot
Plants with root rot may also start getting what looks like various nutrient deficiencies, but the true cause is actually the unhealthy
roots My product of choice for fighting root rot is Hydroguard by Botanicare. Normally I only use nutrients and supplements by General Hydroponics but in my experience this product has been the best for fighting root rot in DWC / hydro, so I use it specifically. I'm definitely not saying it's the best root supplement out there, but it's the best one I've ever used and I want to recommend something I know for sure will work.
It doesn't change the pH of the water, and it doesn't interact with other supplements. I've seen it actually fight root rot directly, even when its hot, and I never go a grow without it.
I'll be honest, I grow hydro and my grow room is too hot for most of the year. Because of that, every time I stop using a root supplement like Hydroguard I can see my roots start getting slimy, sometimes within a week.
But as long as I use a teaspoon of this supplement with my reservoir changes I have white, healthy roots even in the heat!
I realize this isn't a direct method to combat heat; rather, it's a way to help deal with the consequences of too-high heat when it can't be controlled. It's best to control the heat in your grow area, but if that's impossible Hydroguard will help keep your roots healthy in DWC /
Hydro! It's cheap and a little bit goes a long way. A 1-quart bottle will last you more than one grow!
2.)
Environment Hacks
Add CO2 to the Air
Plants can easily survive in temps up to 95°F (35°C) when the air is being supplemented with extra CO2. However, for CO2 to make a difference to your plants, you need relatively strong grow lights (i.e. not CFLs or T5s). But for those with HPS or LED grow lights, adding extra CO2 can result in faster growth as well as making it so plants can better handle the heat.
Choose Hand-Watered Grow Over
DWC/Hydro
Growing cannabis hydroponically can give you some of the fastest growth rates of any style of growing, but as mentioned earlier, hydro does not
really play well with hot temperatures because too much heat tends to trigger root problems and slower growth.
We talked about supplements that help prevent root rot for hydroponic plants, but the next step is to cut out the water reservoir altogether and go for a hand-watered grow. That's because hand-watered plants are
inherently much more resistant to high temperatures. Not only are the roots relatively safe from the heat (unlike in hydro) but the growing medium can hold a lot of oxygen no matter what the temperature (a lack of oxygen at the roots causes major problems in hydro).
Plants Grown in Containers
or in the Ground Tend to Be More Resistant to Heat Soil in regular containers is probably the most common way to grow cannabis indoors, and that combo works great.
But when it comes to growing in hot temps, coco coir may be a better choice than soil. In particular, coco coir inherently has properties and hormones that encourage healthy root growth and
promote hardiness against heat.
- Soil is a good choice, but coco coir is better when it comes to heat
- Use Smart Pots (fabric pots) instead of regular containers as further
protection against heat
Choosing Smart Pots (fabric pots) over a regular container will also help with the heat. Smart pots help increase evaporation, which not only decreases the chance of overwatering, it keeps roots healthy by providing plenty of oxygen from the sides.
Growing cannabis with coco coir in fabric pots is one of the best ways to grow if you want your plants to be able to resist the heat. These
coco-grown plants were regularly exposed to temps that crept up over 85°F (30°C), and although that wasn't ideal they made it to harvest just fine.
Check Out Seed Sales on 4/20! |
All this week (and especially on 4/20) there are going to be lots of great seed sales at various seed
companies!
So if you've been thinking about buying seeds, or if it's time to stock up, then this is the perfect time to do it!
Most seed companies don't advertise their sales until the day of, so you'll just have to log in on
4/20 to your favorite seed source and see what they have to offer. However, one company already released their sales so you can make sure you get what you want!
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I also have a little insider info for you :) My all-time favorite breeder Nirvana (who also ships to the USA) will be releasing a
brand new strain called Sativa's Sour Diesel on 4/20/2016!
Both regular and feminized seeds will be 25% off all day Wednesday. Nirvana always has great strains and with an extra 25% off it's a
steal! - Genetics: New York Power Diesel x
Sour Diesel
- Indica/Sativa is 30/70 (mostly Sativa - good for heat)
- Smell:
Diesel plus grapefruit
- Flowering Time: 9-11 Weeks
- Effects have been
described as invigorating, creative and energetic. This strain is well-suited for daytime use or social events! It's also a good choice for pain.
- 25% off All Day 4/20!
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Want to thank you so much for all your helpful,and in my case productive advice on growing. I have employed many of your recommendations in all phases of cultivation. I don't think there is anything that you haven't covered, which along with ease of site navigation is what i think sets your site apart from any other of its
type.
And now thanks to your section on Drying and Curing,I finally have that right too. The 62% humidipaks are a great tool if you need them. I used the widemouthed quart mason jars and got a few hygrometers to monitor the humidity. Everything tuned out great:pungent,sweet tasting old school
skunk, not a bit of harshness. Had to keep it short and bushy due to covert closet grow but 6 oz. from one plant,after all was said and done. Going to submit pics soon.Thanks again and please keep up the good work. Us growers need you!
Respectfully,Mr Mojo Risin |
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Nebula Haze:
Medical cannabis is important to me personally, and I'm dedicated to showing others how easy it is to grow their own supply of
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Sirius Fourside is a hobbyist grower who has gained the bulk of his experience growing in water as a medium (deep water culture,
bubbleponics).
"Growing cannabis is a relaxing hobby in and of itself, but it also saves you money and keeps you from having to deal with shady characters. Cannabis is much
easier to grow than people give it credit for, and growing in water doesn't increase the difficulty much, if any. But whether you want to grow in water, coco, or a different medium, we'll show you how easy it can be!"
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