Flowering Indoor Cannabis Plants
A Basic Guide to flowering and harvesting your indoor marijuana plants
It has been a long couple of months caring for your marijuana plants, but here comes the tricky part that you need to focus on. After all the hard work you have put in to get to the late flower stages, you have to pay close attention to your crop now, as to not lose it during the most important time.
I’m writing this article in hopes that it helps in getting a more potent quality yield for all those who follow these grow tips.
Remember to adjust the height of the lights as your plants grow, you do not want them too close as they will burn or at the very least get too warm.
Whether you are growing from seed, bought Marijuana Clones or even the larger teen size you need to keep an eye out for signs of your plants being male. If you have already removed the males from your crop, it is still possible for the plants to turn hermaphrodite on you. These can also pollinate your female plants as they have developed the male sex organs.
Keep inspecting your crop for hermi’s well into flowering stage.. If you find a male or hermi in your crop (having large pollen sacs) remove it carefully from your grow so that none of the pollen escapes. One pollen sac could ruin your whole grow.
Ph Levels
Buy a PH testing kit!
Often when there are issues with a marijuana plants health, whether it be the leaves getting wrinkled or curled, or showing signs of deficiency. Often this is due to the Ph level. Too high of a PH can fry a plant. Whatever medium you are using to grow your plants, you must know your PH levels and adjust accordingly.
A few PH tips
For Growing in soil (test at the roots) pH levels should be at 6.0 and 7.0 If you are using a hydroponics system the PH levels should be between 5.5 and 6.5.
Cannabis Nutrients
During flowering stage you really need to monitor how much you feed your plants. Over feeding can lead to strange tasting buds. This is also caused by nutrient burn. If you ruin your buds this close to the harvest there isn’t enough time to bring them back.
If there are obvious signs of nutrient deficiency as you decrease the doses, then pop them back up for a little while, but never higher than they originally were. Cannabis plants need lower and lower doses of nutrients as the approach harvest time.
Continue to look for nutrient burn.
Humidity
Do not forget the humidity levels. To high of a humidity can cause bud rot. Use a dehumidifier if needed, as the humidity at flower stage should be at 45%. Bud rot, means a complete waste of time, as this means that there is mold growing inside of your bud due to too much moisture in the air.
Flushing Nutrients Out of Your Flower
For the quality of your buds and your own health, begin flushing your marijuana growing medium a week or two before you plan to harvest. removing the nutrients that you have been feeding the plants is important as you do not want to ingest/inhale or taste them.
To flush you need to use neutralized water. Neutralized means an absolute balanced pH level.
When to Harvest (Be Patient)
Harvest time depends on a few factors. Does the bud look the way you want it to look? Full of crystals? The size you want? Has it been at least 2-4 months (depending on strain these months vary).
Do not harvest until the pistils are half or more darkened after that: Harvesting earlier means a more Sativa energetic type high. Later for the Indica relaxed type high. This is tricky because harvesting too late or too early can damage the effects you want. You want the Trichomes to be a milky white. This can be seen even with a magnifying glass.
Chop, Hang and Cure
Hang your buds to dry in a cool, dark dry place
Cure your buds
The trimmed buds should be placed in airtight jars. Opening the jars every day after and moving the buds around. Check for mold. After about a week change to opening only twice a week.
You can do this for a few months if you choose to cure longer for improved aromas.
Hope these basics help!
Happy Growing!
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