Most cannabis gardeners strive to produce the best medicine possible. This means bigger, stickier flowers (buds). Why? Simply because all of the juicy goodness of cannabis is contained in the resin-bearing, almost-microscopic secretory glands called trichomes that populate the flowers and sugar leaves of the plant.
The rules of the cannabis quality game are simple: Cultivators who want more potent—and, thus, more medicinal—cannabis must carefully coax their herbs to produce more resin-bearing trichomes.
Genetics + Light + Nutrients + Ventilation
The most neglected area of cannabis cultivation is genetics. Put simply: Great pot can’t be produced from poor or even mediocre DNA. Unfortunately, the black market has created a desperate environment for cannabis gardeners; they are often limited to whatever seeds or clones (plant cuttings) they can find. (Quick hint: Never grow from bag seed.)
Assuming a gardener begins with quality genetics, they then must carefully dial in the light and nutrient levels that are delivered to their precious pot plants. Too few nutrients will result in plants floundering and never reaching their potential or producing the amount of quality medicine desired. Overdoing it with nutrients, however, can produce even worse results, causing plants to go into “nutrient lock,” where they cease absorbing and processing nutrients whatsoever.
While all environmental elements to which cannabis plants are exposed during their life cycles are important, none is as critical as light and nutrients. In terms of lighting, the number one rule is never, ever disturb plants during the dark cycle. The stress of disturbances can invoke significant damage on cannabis plants during any stage of growth, but especially during the final weeks, right before harvest.
Cultivators who want more potent—and, thus, more medicinal—cannabis must carefully coax these delicate herbs to produce more resin-bearing trichomes.
Many master cannabis gardeners believe that poor ventilation is one of the biggest sins of their junior peers. Without enough wind to flutter leaves and create some stalk bending, plants become weak. It’s simple: In nature, there’s wind. Wind resistance causes plants to become stronger, with the ancillary benefits of helping regulate temperature and humidity and improving overall air quality.
Minimize Stress for Final Two Weeks
Those who have grown cannabis know that there are two main stages of growth: Vegetative (or “veg”) and flowering. The veg stage is when plants develop root systems and establish a solid foundation for the production of large, sticky flowers toward the end of their lifecycle. Cannabis plants are fairly resilient to environmental stress during the veg stage.
The flower stage, however, is a different story. Plants are considerably more sensitive to environmental deficiencies or excesses during flowering, especially the last two to three weeks. Sometimes even slight changes in temperature, nutrient mix, lighting, or humidity can be harmful to a cannabis plant.
The goal in the second half of flowering is simple: Gardeners must allow the plant to focus as much of its energy as possible on the production of big, beautiful flowers that are covered in a dense blanket of resin-bearing trichomes. They must prevent environmental hiccups from distracting their plants from this task.
For more information on how to get more resin on your cannabis nugs, we urge you to check our Cali Crop Doc. They did create Pinkman Goo (the most resinous strain of cannabis we’ve ever seen), after all.
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