Growing Cannabis Seeds

GERMINATION

Germinating cannabis seeds may be done best on a shallow saucer in between a couple of layers of wet tissue paper. Place the saucer in a dark place at a temperature of about 22 degrees Centigrade. Take care that the paper does not dry out. After about four days you can put the germinated seeds separately in a small peat pot with unfertilised potting compost. After about ten days the seedlings will have grown into a small marihuana plant, the roots of which are visible through the peat. Now you can transplant the seedlings, again separately, into a bigger pot with fertilised soil. By planting them in a generous pot the plants will develop properly and after a growth period will have been able to develop sufficiently to carry considerable flowers.


GROWING OUTDOORS

The outdoor seeds offered are selected on how early their flowering season takes place so that it will always be harvested on time. This will be particularly necessary in countries with clearly differing seasons when the rainfall in shorter and wetter Autumn days may spoil the harvest. Obviously in more southern, warmer countries the growing season may be longer because of the quantity of sun-hours and the Autumn being much dryer.

If you are living in Western Europe or Northern America you may best purchase outdoor seeds such as Afghan, Purple Power and Hollands Hoop which will start to flower early in the Autumn. Towards the time that the weather deteriorates the flowers will be large enough and you can harvest the crop in order to dry it. As soon as the climate becomes too wet it is better to get your plants indoors because the chances of getting fungus will increase. The larger the plant the more flowers it can support. That is why after germination and pre-growing it is recommended you plant your plant as early as possible (March-April) so it may benefit from the full growing period (July-August-September) in order to form beautiful, large tops. If you live in southern areas you can purchase outdoor seeds which will flower later in the Autumn such as Early Girl, Shiva and Master Kush. Because weather conditions there are less bad, less wet you can take varieties which will be able to carry denser tops! Leave the marihuana plant to grow on so that it can flower well in September-October.

Growing outdoors: After germination and pre-growing you can plant this by now small plant. To this end use generous pots or a large hole in your garden. Just fill it sufficiently with fertilised potting compost so that additional fertilising would not often be required. During mixing use a little Perlite or Compost to keep the soil airy. For additional fertilising during its growth you may use best fertiliser with a high P (Phosphor) and K (Potassium) content. If the growing is in an unprotected garden please support your plants with a stick for instance and only water them if there has been no rain for some time. If they are growing in protected surroundings - in a greenhouse or on the balcony - you have to water them sufficiently yourself.

You should grow them for about seven weeks from the moment you can see the first flowerlets to be ready for harvesting. Check carefully whether the hairs are discoloured, the seedboxes are swollen and the flower is covered in THC.


HARVEST and DRYING

When the flower hairs start to discolour, its seedboxes are swelling and the flower tops are full of THC it is time to harvest. Cut with scissors or a knife the whole flower down to the soil and after having removed the large leaves hang it upside down to dry in a dark room where it is about 22 degrees. Never use a fan or stove when drying because this will affect the taste!

As soon as the tops feel dry to the touch the cannabis will be nearly ready for smoking! Next, wrap up your home grown herbal cannabis in plastic and check the following day that it has not started to sweat. Just put it out to dry again and repeat this procedure until the cannabis emerges completely dry from the plastic bag. Check thoroughly whether there is any fungus during the first days of this drying procedure! After waiting another couple of days it is finally time to roll a joint of your own crop. Always keep the herbal cannabis in a plastic tray or bag in the vegetable tray of your fridge.

HINT: By using a pollinator or a simple polm shaker you may be able to make hash from the cut waste (leaves and the like) of your own crop.


GROWING INDOORS

Growing indoors takes place under artificial light and is possible for a greater part of the year because you are not dependant on the seasons and weather conditions.

Growing indoors: After germination you can pre-grow the seedlings in small pots with unfertilised soil under artificial light. After about a week you can transplant the little plants into larger pots filled with pre-fertilised soil. Next, use a time clock to control the numbers of light hours. In this way you can determine yourself when you want the growing - 18 hours light per twenty-four hours - to go over into flowering - 12 hours of light per twenty-four hours, or the Autumn. Do not hurry the plants and leave them to grow for at least 5 weeks so that they will be large enough to carry the flowers/tops. Should you leave the plants to grow too long they often become too high for the lamp. The flowering season of the plant takes about eight weeks, just like flowering outdoors. During the growing and flowering season the plant should have enough fertiliser and air. So before growing think about installing a ventilating system to monitor the supply and removal of air!

As soon as you put the clock on 12 hours per twenty-four hours period the flowering period will start and the plants will show their gender. You should remove the males as soon as possible. You may recognise the males from their small green buds hanging upside down in the armpits of the branches. The females have the same buds but very small hairs stick out from its buds. After having separated the sexes you will have more space which you may use to transplant the remaining females in bigger pots with pre-fertilised soil. They still have to continue to grow for under eight weeks in order to reach their full flowering. Additional fertilising is necessary with a fertiliser containing a lot of P (Phosphor) and K (Potassium) for large, fat flowers. Whilst this crop is hung up to dry you may start again with the next crop! If you have two separate spaces at your disposal you may even arrange for a separate growing and flowering room in order to be able to grow continuously.

 

 
this is a copy of Growi's growtips at Aloha.nl seedshop