Tag: cannabis

Commercial Growing

Irrigation Systems for Cannabis
Water is central to hydroponics—which derives from Greek “hydro,” meaning “water,” and “ponos,” meaning “work”—and indeed to all plant cultivation. As we explained in our previous blog post on choosing a hydroponic system, there are several irrigation systems available to growers. But irrigation can do more than supply water; when paired with nutrient dosing units, they deliver water enriched with essential nutrients. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the benefits of irrigation, the components growers need, how to schedule irrigation and …
Advanced Tips

Cannabis Plant Maintenance
Like all annuals, cannabis grows in three phases (Figure 1) and many more sub-phases, or stages. Each has its own demands that require specific care and supervision, including nutrition, lighting, climate, irrigation, pruning and so forth. Meeting each of these demands is essential for maximizing plant potential—achieving the most vigorous possible growth, the most bountiful possible yield and the optimal cannabinoid profile, depending on the strain. Figure 1. Cannabis life cycle.Maintenance during propagation: caring for clones Rather than growing plants from seed, …
Growing Tips

Cannabis Preservation and Storage
Growers can cultivate a fantastic cannabis crop, brimming with flavorful buds high in cannabinoids. However, without following the right steps to preserve those consumer-desired compounds, growers can let all that effort go to waste. Improper storage puts cannabis at risk of losing its potency, terpenes and even its safety for consumption.[1] In this blog post, we’ll discuss why preservation and storage are the final critical steps in a successful grow operation and what growers can do to ensure their product stays …
Advanced Tips

Plant Density and Its Influence on Cannabis Cultivation
Plant density plays an important role in cannabis cultivation. Deciding how many plants to grow per unit area determines your cultivation strategy and influences outcomes like yield and secondary metabolite synthesis. In this blog post, we’ll discuss how plant density affects cannabis production and share strategies for managing denser canopies. Why plant density matters Plant density influences resource allocation, which in turn affects plant morphology. The closer plants grow together, the more they compete for light, water and nutrients. Plant density also …
Growing Science

Phenohunting in Cannabis Cultivation: Techniques and Strategies
Growers who start with clones or tissue culture can count on plants with the same qualities and characteristics as the mother plant, or donor. However, growers starting from seed aren’t guaranteed a replica. That’s because cannabis exhibits phenotypic variation.[1] A phenotype refers to an organism’s observable traits, such as yield, structure or aroma.[2] The term derives from the Greek phaino, meaning “to appear.”[3] Phenotypes can vary widely based on environmental conditions,[4] so even if two growers plant the same seeds, they …
Growing Science

Plant Respiration
All living organisms need food for energy, but to use that energy, they must first release it through respiration. In plants, food is created through photosynthesis, which uses captured light energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into complex molecules like glucose and starch. These compounds are stored in plants, but the energy is not immediately available. Respiration allows plants to tap into that stored energy to power growth and other biological processes. In this blog post, we’ll explain how respiration works, …
Growing Science

How Plants Feed
Plants produce their own food through photosynthesis, using energy from light to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and carbohydrates.[1] Understanding the factors involved in photosynthesis and how they interact is essential for ensuring plants photosynthesize effectively, resulting in healthy, high-yielding crops. In this blog post, we’ll explore the science behind photosynthesis, including the critical role played by nutrients, and discuss how growers can support this vital process.The photosynthesis equationPhotosynthesis is a light-driven process. Plants capture light energy and use …
Advanced Tips

Preparing Stock Solution
When feeding cannabis crops in hydroponic systems, growers must first prepare a stock tank solution—either using a complete fertilizer line from a reputable manufacturer or by mixing and matching fertilizers themselves. With a complete fertilizer line, creating a stock solution is straightforward: simply follow the manufacturer’s instructions. But for those who prefer to mix their own fertilizers, the process is more complex. Growers must understand the nutrient concentrations in each fertilizer, how much they want to feed and the dilution …
Advanced Tips

Flushing in Cannabis Cultivation
Flushing is the practice of halting fertilization before harvest and irrigating plants with plain water instead. The goal is to remove excess salts from the growing medium and the plant.[1] Growers typically flush for two reasons: First, nutrient deprivation is believed to trigger secondary metabolite production as a stress response, indirectly increasing the quality (i.e., color, fragrance, flavor and potency) of the end product. Second, reducing the plant’s nutrient content may degrade chlorophyll, which some believe contributes to the harshness or …
Advanced Tips

Cannabis Plant Morphology
Plant morphology refers both to the scientific study of the external physical structure and appearance of plants and to the descriptive terminology used to characterize these traits.[1] In this blog post, we’ll provide an overview of the descriptive morphology of Cannabis sativa. Morphology matters The morphology of cannabis varies throughout its life cycle in relation to such factors as genetics or strain, environmental conditions and growing techniques. Its height impacts how much light it can receive, as well as its biomass and …
Advanced Tips

Bridging Yield Gaps in Cannabis Cultivation
In agriculture, a yield gap refers to the difference between a crop’s maximum yield potential and the yield the farmer actually achieves.[1] For cannabis, the yield gap is the difference between the highest possible flower yields and those currently achieved by commercial growers under optimal conditions. Data from 2018 collected from commercial cannabis growers in Canada found projected yields ranged from as low as 3.36 grams of dry flower per square meter to as high as 3,590 grams.[2] While there is …
Advanced Tips

Managing VPD for Cannabis
The vapor pressure deficit (VPD) is the difference between the moisture currently in the air and the maximum moisture it can hold when saturated. As we discussed in our previous blog post, VPD is an important parameter to measure and control because it directly influences plant transpiration. In this blog post, we’ll explain how to determine the VPD of the grow room using temperature and humidity, the ideal VPD levels for cannabis and the equipment needed to monitor and adjust VPD. Measuring …
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