Table of Contents

Before Buds Start Forming

1. Choose High-Yielding Genetics – Strain choice has a significant effect on yields, so it helps to choose a strain that naturally makes big buds. Learn what to look for, and get a list of recommended strains that produce fat, envy-worthy buds.
    
2. Grow Correct Number of Plants – Match the number of plants to your space and grow light. Often you’ll get bigger yields/faster harvests with many smaller plants as opposed to a few big ones.
    
3. Use The Right Plant Containers – Choose the right container type and size for your setup, so plants grow as fast and big as possible.
    
4. Use Coco or Hydro – Soil-grown plants typically grow slower than plants grown in coco or hydroponics. If you want to maximize the number of harvests each year, you should aim for fast-growing plants
    
5. Manipulate How Plants Grow – Plant training in the vegetative stage is an effective and free way to increase yields dramatically.
    
6. Choose Good Nutrients and Supplements – Get cannabis-specific nutrients, and remember that sometimes less is more.
    
7. Grow Plants to Most Efficient Size – Too-big plants can cause considerable problems, but plants that are too small don’t have the structure to support big buds. Maximize yields by growing plants to the right size for your space.

1. Increase Light Intensity – Light is food to your plant, and giving more light will increase yields (to a point).
    
2. Use Suitable Flowering Lights – For the best yields, you should be using LEDs, LEC/CMH, or HPS grow lights while buds are forming. Avoid low-quality LEDs!
    
3. Give Proper Light Spectrum While Buds Form – Giving plants more red and far-red light in the flowering stage seems to increase yields compared to using the same grow light in a bluer spectrum. Learn which bulbs/lights work best below!
    
4. Follow a Recommended Defoliation Schedule  – Remove specific leaves at specific points of bud development to “hack” the plant’s natural processes and cause buds to grow bigger and denser than they otherwise would. Most effective on very leafy plants.
    
5. Don’t Ignore Problems! Plants get much more picky about nutrient ratios and nutrient strength in the flowering stage. Make sure you quickly diagnose and fix any nutrient deficiencies, bug infestations, or other visible problems. An unhealthy plant doesn’t have as much energy to put into bud formation.
    
6. Create an Optimum Bud-Building Environment – Hot or humid air with poor air circulation in the flowering stage causes buds to grow more airy and loose (among a host of other problems). Reflective walls can help you get the most from your lights, and some growers supplement their environment with CO2 to increase yields.
    
7. Harvest Plants at the Right Time – Most importantly, don’t harvest early!

1. Always Be Growing – If you don’t pause between harvests, your bud coffers will soon be overflowing. Along the same lines, never stop learning!

• Indica-leaning plants and hybrids typically can handle shorter nights
   
• Sativa, haze, and strain from the equator typically need 12+ hours each dark period to consistently flower