Free Hydroponic Marijuana Growing Guide - Part 2
First only obtain marijuana seeds that are brown, or gray in color. Seeds that are white, or small, are immature and should not be used. It is very important to use nutrient solution sparingly during germination- the best results will come from a mixture of about five drops per gallon/per nutrient. It is best to merely start with a water soaked paper towel, or to begin with a water soaked medium. Place your marijuana seeds in the paper towel, or medium- it is imperative that you make sure each seed is completely covered. Afterward, you drain off any excess water and place the marijuana seedlings into a zip lock baggy, or some air tight container. At this point you can add a little CO2 into the container and seal it-blowing into the bag/container also works well. The carbon dioxide exerted into the zip lock bag/container will create the atmospheric conditions cannabis favors. This will stimulate the seeds to sprout. After you have completed the preceding steps store your soon-to-be sprout-lings some place warm, preferably under a low watt light (look at lighting section for details). Make sure your towel, or growing medium, stays damp at all times. Failure to do so could kill the fragile sprouts.
On average it takes two days to a week for the marijuana seeds to sprout. If you have sprouted the seeds in a paper towel wait until the seeds have reached 5mm then transplant the sprouts into a medium. This is called transplanting and you need to exercise extreme caution when attempting this because the sprouts break, very easily. We recommend that you use tweezers to accomplish this delicate feat. Create a whole in the medium, using the tweezers, to place the sprout in root first. Then soak the medium in a much diluted nutrient solution as discussed before. Then place them under a metal-halide light, or your single light source. Keep the light on for about eight hours a day, for two weeks. Then slowly increase the light, as the plants grow, by two hours every week. Remember keep the light 18” to 24” away at all times, to avoid burning your plants. Once the roots begin to protrude out of the medium it is time to move them to your grow system. If you do not have steady hands, simply, sprout the seeds in a medium.
It is exceedingly important to be acquainted with the various stages of growth for the marijuana plant-particularly if you are attempting to grow in an Indoor-Hydroponic garden. Environmental needs will change as the plant(s) develop- predominantly with regard to lighting and nutrient supply at first.
Sprouting? Germination
Vegetative growth
Flowering
Marijuana is a genus of plant that reproduces sexually, which means the plant has male and female counter parts. The male plant develops pollen -essentially the same as human sperm. The female on the other hand, produces buds that contain tiny sacs which await pollenazation from the male. If the sacs are pollinated, seeds will develop. If the female buds are not pollinated then the sacs jam with potent THC molecules.
It's possible to differentiate between the sexes of marijuana very early. To do this cover the lower branch of the plant in question for 14 hours a day, while the rest of the plant remains in light and is kept on a vegetative cycle. A black paper bag, or equivalent, should be used to cover the branch. This type of cover allows the leaves to exchange gases like CO2, while keeping out light. After a couple of weeks you will see signs of advanced development on the covered branch. It will either show signs of a male reproductive system, or of a female reproductive system. This denotes the sex of the entire plant.
Marijuana Hydroponic Plant Nutrition
We encourage you to especially pay close attention to this page and to read THE HYDROPONIC BIBLE because an incorrect nutrient concentration will cause problems, which may become uncorrectable. This chapter will also help you identify nutrient problems and show you how to resolve them.
There are sixteen primary elements use by cannabis for growth. As many of you know, if you have read the rest of this book, oxygen, carbon and hydrogen usually are extracted from the air, and essential for plant growth. However, these are not the only elements necessary to sustain plant life. The plants also extract macronutrients and micronutrients from a nutrient source in order to grow. Macronutrients are present in large amounts in the solution and micronutrients are present in trace amounts. Macronutrients consist of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, sulfur, and magnesium. Micronutrients consist of iron, boron, manganese, copper, molybdenum, zinc, and many other trace elements that macronutrients do not include.
The three most basic elements used in identifying macronutrients formulas for many hydroponic solutions are nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K). When you purchase a macronutrient formulation, there will be three numbers on the container that look similar to 15 – 20 – 15. These numbers are the percentage of the three major minerals present. They are always in the following order: nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. So 15-20-15 means your solution will be 15 percent nitrogen, 20 percent phosphorous, and 15 percent potassium. If you purchase a micronutrient formula it is measured in a similar way but the numbers correspond to the basic elements present in it.
Marijuana Nutrient Excesses and Deficiencies
Hydroponic crops quickly respond to a nutrient deficiency, or excesses. The most common deficiencies are potassium, nitrogen, iron and magnesium.
Problems can be avoided by following a schedule and monitoring your solution. If you have an extreme deficiency, or too much of one element, you will quickly notice the symptoms. Once you notice a problem identify it in the above list and then fix it, quickly!
Nutrient Mixtures for Hydroponic Marijuana
The elements needed for successful hydroponic growth are widely available in premixed form. Most amateurs rely on these available mixtures rather than preparing their own. There are many different brands and types of Hydroponic nutrients available for purchase. Probably the most widely used solution is the General Hydroponics® Flora Series. Like most premixes it comes in three parts; floral grow, floral micro and floral bloom. These are all excellent, and provide plants with all of the necessary minerals and elements. There are common guidelines for feeding plants on the back of the containers; of course these are not specifically intended for marijuana, but they work very well. For specific instructions on how to mix the three part solutions, consult the back of the bottle.
The Change in Nutritional Needs during the Different Stages ofMarijuana Growth
As the seeds sprout they are given a nutrient solution high in N such as a 17-10-12 mixture. As the sprout lings enter the vegetative stage the concentration of solution (in ppm) is increased, which increases the amount of nitrogen. The plants are kept on a high N solution until flowering. Marijuana requires less N in the flowering stage than in the previous vegetative stage. When it begins to flower marijuana increases the use of P. So a solution high in P and low in nitrogen is ideal. This formula is usually referred to as a Bloom formula. A solution similar to 5-20-10 will be ideal.
During all stages of growth micronutrients are combined with the feeds discussed above. Generally, as the plants age the amount added to the solution is increased.
Right Before Harvesting
Feed your hydroponic marijuana plants only pure ph adjusted water for the last week of your flowering cycle.
As your plants develop it becomes necessary to adjust the amount of nutrients required for each stage. In order to do this you increase or decrease the solutions primary source of the basic elements below. To add or remove these elements simply add or do not add the compound that is the source of the nutrient. In addition, remember to add, or take away trace elements.
Nutrient Solution In Parts Per Million (PPM)
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|
N |
K |
P |
|
Germination |
135-150 |
80-90 |
60-75 |
|
Vegetative Growth |
200-225 |
70-80 |
175-200 |
|
Before Flowering |
90-100 |
100-125 |
80-90 |
|
During Flowering |
0-25 |
90-125 |
40-75 |
Mature hydroponic marijuana plants process a surprisingly large amount of water. For instance, a fully-grown cannabis plant may consume up to a gallon of water a day. An inadequate water supply can limit the plants growth. Water deficiencies can cause the plant to focus all its available energy on developing an extensive root system to absorb whatever water is available. This will result in a small, weak cannabis plant. It is very essential to pay close attention to water levels; they need to be checked daily.
Foliar feeding is one of the easiest ways to increase both yield and quality. It is the process of feeding the plant through its vegetative growth-the leaves, stems etc... It can be used in conjunction with, or without CO2, and should be used in conjunction with root feeding.
pH is a measure of free-floating hydrogen (H+) ions in any solution and is the measure of the acidity of the solution . The complete opposite of pH is pOH, or amount of hydroxide ions in a solution and is the measure of the solutions alkalinity. A high level of OH- means the solution is basic, and a high concentration of H+ molecules makes the solution is acidic. The scale of pH ranges from 0 (very acidic) to 14 (very basic) with 7 being neutral. If the pH of your solution increases in number from six to seven it is read as a decreased in acidity. Likewise, if your solution decreases from six to five the acidity of your solution just increased.
In hydroponics it is important to maintain a relatively constant pH. You do not want too much fluctuation in the measurement of the pH. For example, one day your pH is measured to be 5.0 and two days later it some how moved to 8.0.
How to Measure pH
The cheapest and simplest way to measure pH is to by the liquid measuring devices that use a vial of solution and a sample of water to measure pH. You can find these at any Hydroponic shop. The sample of water changes color when the solution and a chemical agent are added together in the vial. It is compared to a color chart, which gives you a pH measurement that corresponds to the color of the mixture.
Limiting Growth Factors of Marijuana
At some point you may make the observation that your plants are not up to expectation, or they simply have problems. This is usually due to a limitation of certain growth factors. Usually these problems are easy to solve, and even easier to recognize.
Potential Causes:
Temperature of Hydroponic Grow Room
Temperature is a key component to any successful garden. The range of temperature has a direct affect on your plants growth rate and overall health, not an indirect one. If the plant gets to hot, or to cold, it could die- or become seriously ill. Of course it is important to keep your grow rooms’ temperature at a constant, unvarying, optimum degree.
Most cannabis plants originated from tropical climates, where temperatures rage between 75 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
There are many products available to control, or reduce, the aroma of un-cultivated cannabis. The most commonly used are ionizers, ozone generators, air scrubbers and chemical sprays. None of these products (with the exception of Ozone Generators) will completely eliminate all of the pungent smell, but they will prevent it from saturating rooms outside of the grow area.
The most practical odor control device is your exhaust system. Although it won't actually make the outgoing air odor free, it does allow you to control where the air goes. A properly installed exhaust system can solve an odor problem
Increasing Potency of Hydroponic Marijuana
Cannabis stores THC in trichomes. Trichomes and are used by plants for many different reasons. Cannabis uses its trichomes to produce THC, or seeds. Large trichome production is an indication of a potent plant. This is due to the resin that courses within the trichomes. Cannabis converts cannabidiol (CBD), and cannabichromene (CBC) into THC. If you encourage the plant to make this transition its THC content (potency) can increase.
Pruning in a Hydroponic Marijuana Garden
During the vegetative stage of growth the plants must be pruned. Why you ponder? Well pruning encourages the plants to remain healthy and prevents the plants from becoming too large. It allows the plant(s) to focus its nutrients and energy to the parts of the plant you want to grow, like the buds for example. The basic concept of pruning is to remove branches and leaves out of the way. In other words pruning is just clipping your plants branches.
The first place to start pruning is under the canopy toward the lower limbs. This is where you will get your cut-lings that will be used for cloning.
Starting from the bottom and working your way up allows you to create an open area under the canopy, which allows carbon dioxide to be circulated to all parts of the plant. Pruning from the bottom also permits light to reach the other parts of the plant, which are essential for plant growth. It allows the strong upper branches to focus most of the plants energy on photosynthesis, without wasting the energy on the growth of smaller branches below.
Supercropping is just another description for bushy growing. There are many different techniques used to grow a plant in this fashion, the most commonly practiced is the tying method.
The two major reasons this technique is used is; one, to encourage horizontal growth; and two, to control the canopy. The first part begins when the plants are a couple of weeks old; the second takes place during flowering. In order to apply this technique to your crop you need to first tie the plant you wish to supercrop, to one side of the system. Now gently bend the plant, in a horizontal motion, ninety degrees, and secure it in place-so that it is stationary at ninety degrees. Make sure the top of the plant is bent at or below the nodes. Whatever you do-do not force the plant so much that it breaks, or can no longer stand on its own. This technique forces the plant to redistribute its energy and resources to fix the bend. The result is decelerated vertical growth, which keeps the plant bonsai-like. You will have to retie the plants, daily, because they will grow back towards the light. After the bend appears to be permanent, you should untie the branch and bend it again, inward, toward other plants. This process is repeated until the desired outcome is achieved.
FIM technique. This method is used to produce more growing shoots and simultaneously keep the plant bushy. It involves cutting off 85% of the growing shoot and leaving 15% intact. From the remaining 15%, up to 6 branches emerge. This is due to the rapidly dividing cells of the shoot that grow in every direction. The purpose of this technique is, again, to slow down vertical growth, but also to produce more branches for budding.
How to Increase the THC Content Using Light
For a traditional cropper, Grower-X sure does a lot of experimenting with Indoor lighting. Among his favorite ads is the black light. He has tried many different techniques, timing and combinations, with this light source. He has found that a black light can be utilized best in small amounts once or twice daily. He explained to us that if you bombard the plants with ultraviolet “photons”, it will cause the cannabis to produce more THC. The plant actually is attempting to protect itself from the harmful rays, and it just so happens that THC is it sunscreen. He was quick to point out, “this should only be done during the flowering stage“, and that this light source should be used in conjunction with your normal light source(s). In his experience he has found that the plants should only be exposed to this light in three intervals, of ten minutes, with a thirty-minute rest in between each interval, at a maximum of thirty minutes a day. If it is used any more than thirty minutes a day it could damage the plants.
Breeding Marijuana in Hydroponics
There may come a point in time that you choose to produce seeds. This is usually done save them for future use. Sometimes people simply want to try a fresh strain and do not want to use cloned replicas of previous plants for one reason or another. In order to do this people must breed their plants.
With the right breeding method, it is possible to breed plants that grow, flower and mature faster than the parental plants. It’s best to use plants that already naturally exhibit these extraordinary traits. For example, it is best to pair off a fast maturing plant with a highly potent one to obtain both qualities of the parental plants.
Crossbreeding Marijuana in Hydroponics
When you breed two completely different varieties of cannabis it is known as crossbreeding. The result of this is offspring that are known as Hybrids. A “Hybrid” is a term used to describe the offspring of two different types of cannabis that were bread to make a third new strain. This third strain, or Hybrid, exhibits characteristics of both parental plants. With hybrid offspring each plant grown from the same batch of seeds, harvested from the same plant, will produce different traits. For that reason, you want to judge each plant individually to see if it has all the qualities you desire. If you find one that surpasses the rest in growth, flowering and potency then clone it.
The word Sinsemillia originated from the Spanish language and it basically can be translated to mean “without seed”. In essence, this means is that the plant has not been pollinated. This allows the female to concentrate all of her energy to developing flowers. As a result the plant produces more resin to fill the spaces where seeds were intended to develop. The seed pods fills with resin, which causes them to swell the flowers to produce large buds.
To produce Sinsemillia all one has to do is remove all male plants from the grow room. Ordinarily, after the initial weeding out process, additional males may present themselves, or a female might become a hermaphrodite. So keep a watchful eye. The whole theory, in a nutshell, is to not allow your female plants to become pollinated and you will produce a Sinsemillia crop.
Most croppers want to produce seeds that will only grow to become female plants because they have no use for male plants. These plants, in effect, have no male chromosomes in their genetic make up. The main reason people feminize seeds is to eliminate the unpredictability of seeds. It is possible to determine the dominant traits of a female that will be used for breeding, but it is almost impossible to determine what genes the male will pass on to the off spring. Again it’s a wait-and-see game.
To avoid this many people use Gibberellic Acid to develop male flowers on their best female plants. This acid can be purchased at horticultural outlets or nurseries. In order to improve the success of the acid you should also purchase a non-ionic wetting agent, to be used in conjunction with the acid
Cloning Marijuana Hydroponically
The process of cloning can basically viewed as asexual reproduction. This process involves taking small, but significant, cuttings off a mother plant and growing them into matured plants. This process yields genetically identical offspring that are exactly the same as the mother plant. The cloned plants are the same sex, color, potency and have the same harvesting capacity as the original plant. They also inherit their defects as well.
Cloning was derived in order to preserve favorable traits in prized plants. If done correctly, you can clone a plant over 30 times without producing any side effects, such as genetic mutation. You can keep the same genetic strain alive for years with this process.
A QUICK 3 STEP METHOD FOR CLONING
Step 1.
Start by cutting a 3 to 5-inch piece of healthy branch form the lower portion of the plant with a sterile cutting tool. Place under sterile water and cut it again. Then add rooting agent, and cloning gel to the cutting. Now place the cutting in a medium. Water the medium with distilled water.
Step 2.
Spray the leaves with an AT spray. Place the plants 4 to 6 inches from fluorescent lamps.
Step 3.
Give the clones 16 to 20 hours of light per a day, with slightly high humidity and a temperature of 70 to 80 degrees, coupled with good ventilation. After the roots have started to form, slowly increase the light and feed the plants according to the plant nutrition guide, generally a light dose of nutrients for young plants is suitable. Refer to the last chart in the nutrient chapter to know the amount of solution to add.
Perpetual Harvest of Hydroponic Marijuana
Perpetual harvest is a termed used to describe continuous harvesting. This technique requires two separate grow rooms, clones and a great sense of timing. The key is to grow vegetative plants in one room (clones are included) and have a separate flowering room.
The first step in creating a perpetual harvest is to grow a crop to its vegetative stage then take clones from them when they are two months old.
You subsequently place the clones into a separate grow system, but next to the vegetative plants, treat them as the chapter entitled Cloning instructs you to. These clones should be at the correct height from the light. In order to place the clones at the correct height you should have two different arrangements: one dedicated to clones, and one dedicated to vegetative growth. The cloning tray is placed on risers, or the light source is lowered to the proper distance for clones. The vegetative arrangement is adjusted according to the suggested construction in the Lighting chapter. Keep in mind that both the clones and the vegetative plants are in the same room-the only distinction is the distance of the lights from the plants according to their respective stages of growth.
At this point you let the clones grow until they are about the same height as the plants in the original plant(s). Now you take a new set of clones off of the plant(s) that were previously cloned. Then you transplant the original plants into a flowering room, which are now ready to flower. Now transplant the vegetative arrangement into the designated vegetative stage grow area. Then place the clones in the designated cloning grow area.
At this point you direct your attention to the flowering room, and forcing in particular. You should begin to force your original plants at this time. After the plants flower and are subsequently harvested, the plants remains are removed and replaced by the first set of clones that are now in the flowering stage.
Move like this:
Clone area to→ Vegetative area to→ Flowering area= Harvesting
Now you take clones from the new vegetative pre-flower plants, located in the vegetative area and you place them (the clones) next to the bigger vegetative plants.
Once the new vegetative plants are forced to bud, they will be replaced by more vegetative stage plants-and so on and so forth, until eventually you get a repetitive cycle that produces a harvest every couple of weeks. This takes work and although it sounds easy many people just cannot get it. So if you do not become a perpetual harvester right away do not become discouraged. After a trial and error phase, you will get it.
The most important incident to watch out for during transplanting is shock. Shock is the foremost killer of plants when attempting the transplanting process. Luckily you have chosen hydroponics as your method of growing, and shock is much easier to avoid, and even easier to fix with hydroponically grown plants. In order to avoid shock you need to be very swift and careful when you transplant. It is best not to transplant, but if you have to follow these directions.
How to Produce Smooth Tasting Hydroponic Marijuana
The process is also known as Flushing. All you have to do to flush your plants is to replace the nutrient rich solution with regular pH adjusted water preferably the same pH as the original solution, a week before harvesting. The technique allows your plants to remove any chemical residues that may linger. If you want good tasting bud with as little chemical remains as possible, this is the way to go. Flushing can make ordinary hydro taste like a heavenly cancer. It will also increase the value of your product- its generic verses name brand.
How to Treat Pest and Fungus Problems
When growing hydroponic marijuana indoors most of the problems that occur with respect to pests are increased by a factor of 10 % because the indoor-hydroponic environment is an ideal habitat for fungus and bugs alike. This is why we have chosen to write about pests and fungus in the same segment. The humidity in the air creates a kind of rainforest effect, which encourages all kinds of unwanted problems. The best defense against bugs and fungal growth is to keep the growing area and the area around the growing area, immaculately clean. Prevention is the best weapon against these problems- there is nothing that can help more than prevention. In order to prevent an invasion or infection sanitize everything with a 15% hydrogen peroxide and 85%water solution. You should never transfer water or grow room items between any grow rooms that were infected, unless thoroughly sterilized. This helps prevent the spreading of bugs, fungus and viruses that will harm your plants.
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Bordeaux mixture -
A mixture of copper sulfate and hydrated lime used to control
fungal infections. |
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Copper oxychloride -
Controls most fungal infections in cannabis plants
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Sulfur -
Used as a treatment for powdery fungal infections.
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Organic Pesticides
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Derris -
Made from the powdered and dried root of a wild plant but still
highly toxic. Its active ingredient is rotenone. |
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Pyrethrum -
Made from the South African Pyrethrum plant.
Very safe for the user and kills all pest that attack the
sativa strain. |
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Insecticide soap -
Derived from fatty acids of plant origin.
Very safe to handle but only kills those insects it is
sprayed directly to. |
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Soft soap -
A traditional mixture of plant origin used to control aphids and
as a wetting agent. |
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Copper oxychloride -
Controls most fungal infections in cannabis plants. |
End of Part 1 -Click Here For Part 3
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