Pruning and Training Your Plants

Shaping and Strengthening Your Cannabis Garden

Proper pruning and training techniques help maximize your growing space and plant yields. By selectively removing foliage and guiding your plant’s growth, promoting lateral growth and maximize the potential of your homegrown cannabis garden.

 

1. Techniques for Pruning:

   1. Topping:

      Topping is one of the first techniques you’ll incorporate into your garden. It involves removing/cutting the main stem (apical meristem) off a young plant. This encourages cannabis plants to create a more evenly shaped and bushy plant structure, allowing for increased bud production and canopy coverage.

   2. Lollipopping:

      Lollipopping removes the lower branches and foliage to provide the maximum nutrients to the upper branches and flower sites. This technique improves airflow within your grow space and light penetration throughout the plant, allowing the top cola sites to absorb the maximum nutrients.

2. Low-Stress Training (LST):

   • LST can be achieved in various ways: soft ties, plant clips, trellis netting, or anything that helps hold the plant in position after gently bending over the plant without causing stress or damage.
   • This technique can be utilized throughout vegetative growth and into the early stages of the flowering cycle to help enhance the plant’s overall yielding potential.

3. Identifying and Removing Male Plants:

   • Cannabis being a diocese plant, male plants produce flowers that are full of pollen with the desire to pollinate the female plants, causing the focus on seed production and a reduction in cannabinoid production
   • Regularly check your cannabis plants for signs of pre-flowering branch nodes or the development of pollen sacks. Any plants with signs of male flower production need to be removed promptly.
   • Proper observation of your plants for male pollen-producing flowers will help you achieve the high-quality sensimilla (seedless cannabis flower) from your female cannabis plants.

4. Pruning/Training Considerations:

   • You will want to avoid pruning or training your plants during the flowering stage since this can delay bud development or cause hermaphroditic traits and grow pollen-producing flowers.
   • Being aware of using sharp and sterile shears to make cuts as clean as possible will help prevent the introduction of infections or damage to the plant.
   • Starting to prune and train the plants earlier in the vegetative stage will allow ample time for recovery and new growth before you flip this plant into the flowering stage.

Incorporating the pruning and training techniques we touched on here and some more advanced techniques we will cover later will help you shape and mould your plants to optimize your growing space and reach your maximum yield potential. 

 

Identifying and Preventing Common Issues

Troubleshooting Guide for Home Cannabis Cultivators

The rewards and overall delayed gratification from growing your cannabis at home can be great, but there are challenges we will have to overcome along the way. Pest infestations, nutrient deficiencies, and the variety of problems that home growers may encounter along their homegrown cannabis journey. Being diligent and observant will help you find and remove any problem plants from your garden and ensure a successful harvest.

1. Nutrient Deficiencies:

   • Nitrogen Deficiency:

   • Symptoms: Yellowing of lower leaves (starting from the tips and spreading inward), stunted growth, and an overall pale or yellowish plant appearance.
   • Treatment: Apply a nitrogen-rich fertilizer according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Choose a fertilizer with a higher nitrogen content to replenish the deficient nutrients and promote healthy vegetative growth.

   • Phosphorus Deficiency:

   • Symptoms: Dark green or purple leaves, slow growth, and weak stems. Leaves may also exhibit a bronze or reddish tint.
   • Treatment: Add a phosphorus-rich fertilizer or nutrient solution to the soil to address the deficiency. Look for fertilizers explicitly formulated for the flowering stage to support bud formation and maximize yields.

   • Potassium Deficiency:

   • Symptoms: Yellowing or browning of leaf edges (necrosis), weak stems, and poor bud development. Leaves may also appear scorched or burned around the edges.
   • Treatment: Supplement with a potassium-rich fertilizer to correct the deficiency. Potassium helps regulate water uptake, nutrient transport, and enzyme activation, essential for overall plant vigour and flower development.

2. Pest Infestations:

   • Spider Mites:

     Spider mites are tiny pests that thrive in drier environments. They feed on plant sap and produce fine webbing. This leads to yellowing leaves and reduced vigour across the plant. Infestations can be treated with neem oil or insecticidal soap and isolation for infected plants. Maintaining a higher humidity environment within your grow space will help keep the environment as inhospitible as possible for spider mites while supporting the cannabis plant growth.

   • Aphids:

     These small, soft-bodied insects cause wilting and distortion of the leaves due to them sucking the sap from the pant’s tissues. Insecticidal soap or horticultural oils are an option, but you can also introduce natural predators like ladybugs to your garden.

   • Thrips:

     These slender, winged insects feed on the plant’s sap, leaving silver streaks or scars on the leaves. Proper sanitation practices can prevent thrips from spreading and can be treated with insecticidal soap or neem oil.

3. Disease Management: 

   • Powdery Mildew:

     This appears as white, powdering patches on leaves and stems. Powdering mildew thrives in warm and humid environments. Still, it can be controlled with proper air circulation and flow within your grow space, reducing humidity levels, and treating with a fungicidal spray.

   • Botrytis (Bud Rot):

     Bud rot affects flower buds, causing grayish mould growth and decay from a fungal disease. To prevent bud rot, maintain proper humidity levels, promote good airflow throughout the canopy, and remove any affected bud upon discovery.

4. Environmental Stressors:

   1. Temperature Fluctuations:

      Extreme cold or heat can cause many problems while your cannabis plants grow. You want to aim for between 70-85°F (21-29°C) while knowing that the plants are sensitive to big temperature swings between the day and night light cycles.

   2. Overwatering and Underwatering:

      Excess water in the containers from overwatering can cause root rot and nutrient leaching. Underwatering can cause the plants to wilt and cause nutrient leaching from the soil. Excess water from overwatering the containers’ base can lead to root rot and nutrient leaching. Underwatering can cause wilting and a lack of nutrients available for the plants, leading to deficiencies. Monitor the soil’s moisture levels and water only when the top inch of soil feels dry.

Spend ample time observing your plants and looking for pest infestations or environmental issues in your grow space. It’s a matter of time before encountering one or more of these issues in your growing journey. You will find the best ways and techniques for your plants and grow space, ensuring a bountiful harvest of homegrown cannabis flowers.

 

This concludes the ‘Introduction to Growing Series’