Issue #78 - Sunday, October 13, 2013 Dear Fellow Grower, In today's issue...
- Learn the 5 most important factors to growing Top-Shelf bud!
- You can't grow high-quality buds without the first step in the list. See what works for us!
- Last week, we challenged our readers to show us what a T5 fluorescent light could do.
See one of our readers responses!
Happy Growing!
Nebula Haze & Sirius Fourside (founders of GrowWeedEasy.com)
"I know that if odour were visible, as colour is,
I'd see the summer garden in rainbow clouds." ~Robert Bridges, "Testament of Beauty"
5 Secrets to Growing Top-Shelf Bud
by Sirius Fourside |
Have you ever had cannabis that was just...so so? Mediocre? Just okay? Cannabis that's 'just alright'? Have you ever had cannabis that was so good, you want to save it so you can have it as long as possible? Cannabis so good that you inspect it closely as if you could somehow see why it's so great? What makes the difference between the two? The look of the bud in addition to its potency, taste and smell is what makes cannabis seem top-shelf to the user. But what happens when you're growing cannabis that makes gives it these desirable qualities?
In this week's issue of the GrowWeedEasy newsletter, you're going to see what growing practices are responsible for making the difference between mid-to-low-grade cannabis flowers and top-shelf bud!
How can I buy cannabis seeds?
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You've probably heard it a million times, but good cannabis starts with good genes. Starting with seeds or clones that have good attributes to work with gives you a plant that will flourish under the right conditions as opposed to just surviving. All cannabis strains have their own attributes, so the best thing to do is to find one that fits what you're looking for. Some strains are high in THC, some are known for tasting pleasant, some are high in CBD, etc.
In any case, growing cannabis from 'bagseed' is an easy way to lower your chances of growing great weed. In a best case scenario with bagseed, you'll get a female seed as good as one from a seed bank. In a not-even-the-worst-case-scenario, you could get a male seed that grows a runt plant from a weak strain. Or even worse...it's not even cannabis! There are quite a few places you can go to get seeds with good genes, I've had the most luck and the least trouble with ordering from a trustworthy seed bank. Personally, I use Nirvana Seeds for their high-quality strains and I've got 100% of my shipments from them, but I'm also a big fan of seeds from Barneys Farm and DNA Genetics.
High Light Intensity The amount of light your plant receives during its life can be used as a good indicator of how close it will get to its maximum potency when all other conditions are met. In fact, outside of genetics, light-intensity plays the biggest role in determining how big/hefty/potent your buds will be.
This means that even if you get seeds from a strain that is known to have 22% THC, the plant will need enough light to allow it to grow to this level of potency. This doesn't mean that you need a 1000 watt HPS to grow great bud, but it does mean that you're probably not going to grow top-shelf buds with a single 26 watt CFL bulb. So how much light is enough? Unfortunately, this is a question that is very difficult to answer as it depends on the specific strain you're growing, the area you're growing in, and the size of the plant being grown (smaller plants need less light). The general rule to go with is "more is better", and watch your plants to see how they react. In most cases, it's hard to give your plants too much light unless you have a high powered LED or a 1000 watt HPS that's kept too close to the plants.
Harvesting At The Right Time For many growers, this is the toughest part to get right. Why? Because you can buy seeds with awesome genes, and you can buy a MH/HPS combo that will flood your cannabis with light, but you can't buy patience! And boy will a flowering cannabis plant try your patience! Aside from becoming ever more picky about which nutrients they get, flowering plants will begin to smell ever-more enticing and look more and more ready to harvest. The problem is that there is a small 2-3 week window in which cannabis should be harvested, and most growers (myself included) get the urge to take them down prematurely.
Whenever your plants are flowering and you get the feeling you should harvest them because they look ready, reference this page and double check to make sure they are: http://growweedeasy.com/how-do-i-know-when-to-harvest-marijuana. Harvesting early is an easy way to ruin the buds you've taken so long to grow, so double, triple and quadruple check they're they're ready before you cut down a single bud! A Slow Dry Many growers consider drying and curing to be two parts of the same process, but I like to separate them to really underline the important steps involved. It's important to not only dry your newly harvested buds before they can be used, but you want to dry them as slowly as possible. Drying buds too quickly can make them crispy and harsh, and will make them smell - ironically - like cut grass.
A good way to keep moisture in the plant and keep it from drying too quickly is to trim the harvested branches after they've been dried. Having the extra leaves left on will cause the plant to dry slower since there is more actual plant to dry out. Personally, I trim my buds before I dry them since it seems to be easier for me while trimming and when I'm cutting buds off of the stem. From there the buds can be hung up to dry, or placed on a drying rack.
In either case, I would recommend leaving on as much stem as you can as it slows the drying process, and is easy to remove later. I would also recommend hanging your buds upside down to dry before testing any other methods. Anecdotally, I've found that buds that retain their stems and are hung upside down to dry tend to dry much slower than on a rack...which is exactly what you want! In short, dry your buds for as long as you can. Aim for more than 5 days of drying, with a goal of 8-10. Proper Curing Once your buds have been properly dried, the only thing left to do is cure your buds. This last step won't add to their potency per se, but it's largely responsible for the taste and smell we all love.
Essentially, curing your buds involves sealing them in an airtight container for at least 2-3 weeks. During this time, the jars are periodically jostled, opened, emptied and refilled with the same buds. This will give the buds to 'get rid of' certain not-so-tasty chemicals, and the jostling, emptying, etc. will help prevent mold from forming. Here's the meat & potatoes of this article in case you forgot any part of it(as some of us are prone to do): Potent, top-shelf bud requires these 5 things: - Good genes (Get good seeds or clones)
- High Light Intensity (More light is better for your plants)
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Harvesting at the right time (You only get one chance; patience is key!)
- Slow Drying (The slower you dry your bud, the better)
- Proper Curing (Put them in a jar and let them out every so often until they're done)
Great Bud Starts With Great Seeds!
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What's the first step in creating fat, potent, mind-blowing buds? GOOD GENES! Make sure you start on the right path by beginning your next grow with a with a hearty, potent, higih yielding strain!
Aurora Indica "Nirvana Aurora Indica is an F1 hybrid of Afghan and Northern Light. Its plants stay short, producing heavy colas and dense buds. This marijuana strain produces exceptional amounts of resin, resulting in a deep, near-black hash with a tasty aroma and a heavy buzz."
BlackJack "BlackJack produces hard buds with huge, grape-like calyxes that are completely encrusted with THC! The smoke is heavy and flavorsome, and produces an exceptionally long-lasting high." Wonder Woman
"Nirvana Wonder Woman is another one of those fabulous new high-volume marijuana plants. Wonder Woman bears rock hard buds which are easy to trim. The smoke of this cannabis variety has a classic, rich, skunky flavour accompanied by a long-lasting buzz."
Who Runs This Newsletter?
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Nebula Haze:Marijuana has literally saved my life, and I'm dedicated to showing you how easy it can be to grow.
I have made it my mission to build growing resources to help both new and advanced growers get bigger, better yields with less time and money.
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Sirius Fourside: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, perlite, or a different medium, we'll show you how easy it can be!"
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"I like to put in my 2 cents in favor of T5, because I have never used CFLs. I make up for the side lighting by using Mylar. As you can see from the pictures. It seems to work very well."
~wolf
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Nirvana has been breeding top-quality strains for over a decade.
Nirvana is the breeder GrowWeedEasy.com uses to get seeds!
Find the Perfect Strain For You
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