Depending on the flowering time of your particular strain, the time for flushing your cannabis plant is normally 1-2 weeks before harvest. When you “flush,” you stop administering nutrients and give the plant only plain, pH-balanced water in these final weeks. This will get rid of (flush out) salts and minerals in the reservoir which will make for a better and more pure-tasting bud. Otherwise, your smoke will be quite harsh and can have an unpleasant, chemical taste.
How do you tell if my cannabis is ripe?
We are now entering a very exciting time. Your buds should be getting closer to harvest now than ever! Let’s start to check them twice a week and look for those white, creamy pistils to turn orange or burnt brown. Let’s use our Jewelers loupe to examine the trichome heads for cloudy and amber ones taking over. It’s still early, but now is the time to start peeking ahead at the ripeness of your buds.
Why are leaves important on my cannabis plant?
Leaves are the primary energy harvesters of the cannabis plant. Green chlorophyll helps trap the sun’s energy and transform it into vital fuel. Without healthy leaves, the plant will not be living up to its full potential. Fan leaves are the large, primary leaves on the cannabis plant. Small leaves that poke out of the cola are often referred to as sugar leaves. It is recommended to use fan leaves as a way to judge the overall health of the plant. Common cannabis ailments like powdery mildew and infestations often show their first signs on cannabis fan leaves. Carefully observing fan leaves throughout the growing process can tip off growers to pesky caterpillar bites, aphids and more. Fan leaves are the first to express signs of environmental distress. Leaves will wilt when given too much water or not enough, as well as begin to brown and curl if it has experienced nutrient burn, which may be a sign that a grower needs to lay off or flush their soil as a last resort. Many nutrient deficiencies or imbalances also present themselves in leaves. A magnesium deficiency, for example, will cause brown rust like spots on the leaves, time for a spray of epsom salt! Bottom line? If the leaves are doing something odd, the plant is struggling for some reason and it is a good time to troubleshoot.
Roots education
Cannabis growers around the world pride themselves on their ability to grow healthy plants with plenty of large sticky buds. For many people in the home growing community the goal is maximum bud quality and maximum harvest quantity. But what goes on below the ground is just as important as plant growth above the ground. Healthy and extensive cannabis roots below the ground allow a large and productive harvest above the ground. One of the benefits of hydroponics over soil is that hydro often produces faster and larger root growth which allows larger plants and harvests. However, hydroponics can be more technically demanding and complicated than growing in soil. Grobo takes over much of that technical work, letting you enjoy the fruits of it’s labours!
Top 3 predatory insects
There are many methods cultivators can employ to protect their crops, and for marijuana growers it’s no different. And for every problem, there are many different solutions for growers to choose from. That also holds true when it comes to pest control. Aphids, spider mites, gnats and more are just looking for healthy cannabis plants to destroy for their own good, and it’s up to the grower to determine how to get rid of them.
For many the choice simply comes down to synthetic or organic, and most would agree that organic options are usually the best. But when it comes to controlling pests in a grow space, there’s one type of organic plant care that might be better than all of them. That’s introducing beneficial bugs into the garden that will not only organically, but also naturally, control the pest population.
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Lacewings: Also known as nature’s “aphid lions,” these tiny insects are avid aphid lovers. One lacewing can consume hundreds of aphids in a day. They also feast on spider mites and their offspring.
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Ladybugs: These are a cannabis plant’s BFF. Not only are adult ladybugs starved for aphids, ladybug larvae will eat more pests than adults do.
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Preying mantises: As true carnivores, they will only eat what they capture themselves and, as a bonus, their young are voracious eaters. They eat aphids, but they also consume everything else, including their mates.
Spider Mites Lookout!
Often spider mites will sneak onto your plant and build up a big infestation before you notice a single mite. The bite they leave behind on the leaf is sometimes misdiagnosed as a nutrient deficiency, not recognizing the disaster that has actually occurred. Fighting them is hard due to their rapid reproduction. They hide on the bottom of the leaf, can leave webbing all over your buds and can become resistant to eradication efforts. Spot them early!