nugs

GROW TIPS 101
by Gerg

• Get prepared mentally, get ready to fully dedicate your passion for the plant. Know this is something that’s  going to require lots of time and love. Put on the scientific thinking cap and be very observant through the life of your plants.

• Make sure to have nice spacing between your plants so that lots of light can reach all parts of the plant.

• Use reflective material around your grow room. This will help evenly distribute your supply of light. Mylar is an excellent reflective material. If this is not possible, at least have the walls in the room painted white since white is the most reflective color.

• Keep your grow room nice and clean to avoid any bacteria, insects etc. Keeping the room clean also makes things go smoother for space and organization.

• Whether you are topping plants or trimming excess undergrowth from the plants, use sterile equipment.  Use a lighter to burn off any bacteria that may be on the scissors or blade

• Invest in good trimmers to thin out plants and for the harvest process. It will make life so much easier when dealing with the whole grow/harvest process. Ask my buddy Mark!! Ha..haa. Fiscars make great trimmers!!!

• Start a journal!! Make notes of all conditions, fertilizer types, amount of fertilizer used and frequency. Also keep track of the life cycle within the plants. When you transplant or when you change light cycles etc. Also take note of any observations you may have regarding characteristics of certain strains. Ex. Which plants respond well with a type of fertilizer. Note what strains have tight and compact branching and what strains may be taller.  I find that the smaller the internode (the spaces between branches), the more tight your buds. This requires a lot less trimming in the long run, which is a great great thing trust me!! Basically learn to be very observant and take notes!! This will ultimately help out with your success and what you are trying to achieve.



• Rotate your plants! Occasionally rotate your plants so that the lighting is distributed at its best potential. Especially if you have different spectrums of light  from other lighting systems.  For example, MH (metal halide) vs. HPS (high pressure sodium) lighting. Also, wattage from different light systems may be different so you want to be fair to all the plants J and give them equal amounts of wattage by rotating.

• Its nice to have both MH and HPS lighting for your plants. Many people like to use MH for the vegetation period and then switch to HPS for the flowering period. I find it beneficial to have a ballast that can switch from MH to HPS by the flick of a button. I think supplying all spectrums of light to the plants will help them do best. By having MH and HPS going in the same room, your plants will soak up all the different spectrums of light, especially if you rotate your plants. During the flowering process I do like to crank up the HPS though. This provides a lot of the orange spectrum of light which plants love for flowering.

• Forgot to mention this but, I highly suggest taking a basic coarse in botany!! This will give you an understanding of how plants live and thrive. By understanding the life cycle of plants, the whole growing process will make more sense to you. Another thing to study up on is Soil Science. Soil types and all of is qualities are the foundation of a plants success. Even if you do hydro, keep in mind its very similar. The bottom line is that plants require nutrients, aeration etc to grow. Whether you go hydro or soil, you are still providing these necessities to the plants but in different ways. By understanding what a plant requires and how to go about it is a key component of fruitful pleasure!! 

• Go out and grow other stuff too. Go outside and and establish yourself a nice vegetable garden and observe the plants and their growth the same way you would with you cannabis plants. Practice makes perfect! Remember, although there are variances among different plants in the world, every plant runs off similar concepts.