HOW TO MAXIMIZE CANNABIS YIELDS

Increasing light intensity

While the period of darkness is almost universally known to be crucial for successful flowering of cannabis, awareness of the importance of light intensity during flowering is somewhat lower among novice growers. Quite simply, the intense light of the daytime feeds the photosynthesis reaction that produces sugar for flower growth, while uninterrupted darkness allows the production and release of the flowering hormone florigen, without which cannabis plants simply do not flower.

Therefore, maximising light intensity is one important option when it comes to maximising yield. The typical indoor grow tent light is a 600W high-pressure sodium (HPS lamp); if this is switched out for a 1000W, the lumens available to the plant increase from around 90,000 to around 135,000. Some growers report their yields almost doubling after switching to 1000W lamps. It is also possible to switch to using two 600W lamps instead of one, which may allow for improved light coverage.

600W vs. 1000W bulbs

The argument over whether 2 x 600W lamps are better than a 1 x 1000W lamp is still ongoing in the growing community. Many state that the lumen per watt ratio is more favourable with 600W lamps, which was certainly true in the past, but may be less so now that super-efficient 1000W bulbs are being developed and marketed. Others argue that the superior canopy penetration offered by 1000W bulbs renders them far superior even when all other factors are considered. As usual, playing around with your variables is always the best way to work out what is right for your particular situation.

One vitally important thing to bear in mind if increasing your light intensity is that almost every other variable will have to be adjusted accordingly. 1000W lamps give off far more thermal energy than 600W lamps, so adjustments will need to be made in order to keep your room within range. Using air-cooled tubes to direct hot air straight out of the room is one option; increasing the strength of your exhaust fan is another. To avoid excess heat issues altogether, investing in some high-quality, intensive LED lighting systems may be the way forward (and may save you a considerable sum on your electricity bill).

Use the correct amount of nutrients

The trick with using nutrients to assist the growth of your plant is ensuring that you do not use too little or too much. It is a common misconception that nutrients are food for your marijuana plant, but the truth is that light is food for your marijuana plant. The nutrients you give are simply to assist in the process of photosynthesis, encouraging the plant to digest the food that it has received, if you will.

Nutrient deficiency is detrimental to the health of your plant, and your plant will let you know that it is lacking in a certain nutrient first and foremost through the leaves. If the leaves are beginning to wilt or have changed colour from the rest of the leaves, this is an indication that your marijuana plant is lacking in a certain nutrient. It is actually safer to hover on the side of having too little nutrients for your plants, because this problem can be easily fixed. The main problem for growers is a lack of understanding that adding more nutrients to your plant is not always the best decision for it.

A lot of growers end up with the problem of giving their plants too many nutrients, and this results in a phenomenon called nutrient burn. The temptation for growers can be to mix a lot of nutrients together without understanding which nutrients they are giving their plant and why, and an overload of nutrients can lead to poor plant health. So, when you are purchasing a nutrient schedule, only use half of what is suggested for it on your plant. Observe its behaviour and, if it requires more nutrients, you can work on adding them.

About 2-4 weeks before harvesting your plant it is actually better to give your plants fewer nutrients. As your plant begins to focus its energy on producing healthy, big buds, it does not matter so much if some of the leaves on the top of the plant wither and fall off. Too many nutrients in this stage of the plant’s growth will actually hinder the bud production of the plant. You will subsequently lose out on your yield.

Manipulating Plant Structure

In plant training, there is one basic idea that all growers should know and that is bigger plants that have evenly spaced colas can produce bigger and better yields. You can manipulate your plants to make it produce bigger yields.

Think of it as having a free way of increasing the yields without having to make any alterations to your setup. The best thing about this is you don’t even need to get a new setup or purchase expensive grow lights to make everything work.

Manipulating your cannabis without cutting away at any parts is done through a little something called “Low-Stress Training” or LST for short. The basic idea behind LST is to manually force cannabis to grow wide and flat. This is in contrast to the usual way of growing it which is thin and tall and using bending.

Selecting high-yielding strains

In terms of yield, not all strains are equal. For example, landrace strains are often fairly low yielders compared with modern commercial hybrids, which in some cases are capable of producing remarkable harvests. Furthermore, yield is just one trait that is selected for in the world of commercial hybrid breeding—others include flavour, aroma, potency and growing characteristics such as height and bushiness. Thus, the most potent or fragrant strains may not be the highest yielders, and vice versa.

So, to ensure a high yield—perhaps if growing commercially or attempting to make your personal supply last year-round—choosing the right strain should be the first consideration. A good selection of high-yield strains can be found here. However, if the strain you ultimately choose is considered a low yielder, there are several techniques out there to get the most you can out of it.

Control the Temperature

All growers should know that having a good environment is crucial to the health of their plants as well as the yields that they end up producing. The temperature must not be too high or too low, the plants aren’t going to grow properly, and the buds aren’t going to be fat no matter what you do.

Having high temperatures during the plant’s early flowering stage will reduce the potency and odor of the buds as its terpenes and cannabinoids will be burned away. Controlling the humidity and temperature can help strengthen its smell and potency.

You’ll know if a heat source is harming the plant once the leaves closest to the source begin to wilt and display a brownish color. Indoor growers have the ability to control their growing area’s humidity and temperature, so you should use this to your advantage.

Now that you know what needs to be done to maximize your yields, we hope that your next harvest will be more bountiful. Now go out there and start growing those plants.

Increase the yield by pruning

Pruning your marijuana plants is a really simple way to increase your yields before harvest time. You can begin to consider pruning your plants when the different parts of it are receiving different amounts of light. For example, if the top of your plant is growing more rapidly than the bottom parts (because the top receives the most light usually), then you can consider pruning to ensure a more even distribution of light around the plant.

A popular technique of training or pruning the marijuana plant is called “topping,” and it is a process that can be undertaken during the vegetative state. It involves pruning off the branch tip of a main cola so that the focus of energy is no longer on it. The next two branches laterally will become the main branches and the energy will be focused onto them. If this process is repeated regularly, there will be almost twice as many branches, meaning more potential places for buds to grow.

There are methods of pruning which manipulate the way in which the plants grow entirely. For example, there is a method of pruning called low-stress training (LST). This effectively convinces your plant to grow flatter and wider, rather than taller and lankier. This ensures a better light distribution around the entire plant, which encourages better yields. Pruning and light distribution go hand in hand. You could find that the lower half of your plant is not receiving light as intensely as the top. You might consider pruning the leaves on the lower half of your plant so that the energy the light receives can be focused on the top, which is receiving the most light.