ZenWarrior

Recently, my friends’ grows have not been going so well. Their leaves are yellowing, and some are even dying. So when I started to run through my checklist of diagnostic questions but they kept insisting that they did everything perfectly. Then I asked what the growing medium’s pH levels were consistently. Not only were they not measuring the pH, they weren’t even sure why this is important! I remember thinking the same thing when I started growing, so I thought I would share what I have learned about pH and the role it plays in plant growth and development. What is pH? pH is a logarithmic scale which measures of the acidity or basicity of a solution. Specifically, pH is the measure of the weight of hydrogen ions (H+) within a solution. What is the pH scale? pH is measured on a scale ranging 0 – 14, with 0 being the most acidic (example: battery acid) and 14 being the most basic (example: Lye). On the pH scale 7 is considered neutral. A neutral solution contains equal amounts of hydrogen and hydroxide ions. What is Alkalinity? Water alkalinity is a measure of the capacity of water to neutralize acid… in other words, the amount of acid it takes to lower pH below a certain level. Water alkalinity measures the carbonate and bicarbonate (think limestone) levels within the water. This is why it important to know a few things about your local water supply. For example, knowing how much limestone is in your regional water will help you prepare for your grow or know what is causing your pH imbalance. If your water contains a high level of limestone, your growing medium may be too basic (pH greater than 7); which means you’ll need to add acid to reduce the pH levels. Water alkalinity vs. Water pH Water alkalinity and pH do not measure the same thing. Water alkalinity is specific to the carbonate and bicarbonate levels. Water alkalinity directly affects the pH of your growing medium. Water pH measures the amount of hydrogen ions in your water. The pH levels of your water do not directly affect the pH levels of your growing medium. Water pH will affect the solubility of fertilizers, fungicides, and insecticides. The higher your water’s pH the less soluble these substances become. Why is pH a big deal? The pH of your growing medium affects the availability of many critical nutrients your plant needs to grow. As your growing medium becomes more acidic (pH less than 7) an overabundance of nutrients may be found, resulting in nutrient lockout if the pH imbalance is not corrected. As your growing medium becomes too basic (pH greater than 7) your plant may experience nutrient deficiencies such as iron or manganese deficiencies. If pH imbalances are not corrected they may ultimately affect the quality and quantity of your plant’s yield. Signs of pH imbalance When the pH levels are imbalanced your cannabis plant may start to develop small dark-green leaves that grow very, very slowly. You may even notice leaves yellowing, and eventually dying and falling off. If this happens to your plant you may need to take a closer look at your pH levels. Ideal pH levels for Soil Cannabis plant’s ideal pH range for soil based medium is 6.2 - 6.7. Ideal pH levels for Soilless (including peat moss mediums) Cannabis plant’s ideal pH range in soilless medium is 5.6 - 6.2. My experience Personally, I have had a good experience using PRO-MIX HP. I like this growing medium for a number of reasons, namely because it includes Dolomite and Calcitic limestone (which helps adjusts the pH). Dolomite lime breaks down to calcium and magnesium, which is just one less thing to have to add! Since this growing medium is primarily peat moss (considered soilless), it is important to remember the ideal pH levels are more acidic than if you use a soil-based medium. I have had better luck keeping my pH levels within a 5.8 - 6.2 range. There are a few things to consider when evaluating pH levels, like the acidity of your fertilizer and the pH and alkalinity of your water supply. I learned the hard way how important it is to be familiar with the acidity potential of your fertilizers. Ultimately, there are many factors than can affect your growing medium’s pH levels. Understanding pH levels and what works best for you takes time and experience; don’t get frustrated if it seems complicated, because it is. I hope this helps provide a basic understand of what pH levels are and why it is important that you monitor them to ensure the highest yield possible.

After spending an afternoon looking for info about cultivation environments and plant activity specific to each growth stage for medical marijuana, I discovered information was either scattered among various pages and sources, or not particularly newbie-friendly. So, I have attempted to aggregate the basic growth activity and recommended environment per stage into one document. (It’s a long read, but hopefully will save you some research time; there is an infographic attached to this blog that sums up this blog.) Here’s the deal: Cannabis’ life cycle has 4 main growth stages: germination, seedling, vegetative, and flowering. During each stage, your plant will require specific nutrients, growing mediums and environments in order to achieve the highest yield possible. Germination Stage Stage Activity & Duration: Germination marks the beginning of your plant’s life cycle. The duration of this stage varies by strain, however most strains require approximately 3 – 8 days to complete germination. There are three key components to this stage: moisture, warmth, and darkness. Germination comes to an end when the seed sprouts, splitting the seed coating, and a tap root emerges. Temperature & Light: The seeds’ environment should be kept around 75 - 85 °F with room humidity levels around 50%. Growing Medium: During this time, your young plant will be very sensitive to its environment. Ideally, seeds should be placed in a warm, dark and moist place. It’s common to initiate germination by soaking seeds between wet paper towels or peat moss. Personally, I prefer peat moss as it allows you to transfer the young plant directly into soil with minimum shock. A light, loose soil with perlite is an ideal growing medium for germinating and the seedling stages. Seedling Stage Stage Activity & Duration: Once the seed coating splits, a tap root emerges, and embryonic leaves develop. A second pair of leaves will emerge, differing from the embryonic leaves. The second pair of leaves develop opposite of one another and usually have a single blade. The first set of leaves and root system develop in this critical growth stage. A healthy root system is the key to a healthy plant and a high yield; the root system is responsible for the uptake of vital nutrients critical to the plant’s growth. Typically, this stage lasts 4 – 6 weeks. As your plant progresses through this stage a new set of leaves will start to develop; each leaf will have 3 blades and will be larger than the second pair. Temperature & Light: Your seedling is happiest in a humid & warm environment. Optimal temperature range is 70 – 85 °F with humidity levels around 70 – 80%. Typically, an 18 / 6 light cycle is observed. Growing Medium: Using a high porosity growing medium during this stage is crucial to the plant’s growth and development. High porosity growing mediums allow your plant to easily drain excess water and provide the root system enough room to grow–accessing oxygen easily. Water: During this stage “soft” water is recommended because tap is often treated with chemicals that could damage your seedling. Soft water has a pH of 5.5 - 6.5, which is slightly acidic. If you use tap water to water your plants, allow the water to stand for 24 hours. By doing so, chemicals will evaporate and the water will reach room temperature-reducing the stress on your plant as you water. Vegetative Stage Stage Activity & Duration: During the vegetative stage your plant will begin to grow, well, like a weed. Vegetative state begins when your plant produces approximately 7 sets of true leaves, with an 8th leaf growing from the tip. During this stage the plant directs its energy to growing leaves and stems. This stage can last anywhere from 4 – 6 weeks with indoor strains, however cannabis can remain in the vegetative state until you change the light cycle to 12/12. The longer you keep your plant in this state, the larger it grows and the higher yield it produces. Temperature & Light: Growing room temperatures should be kept between 70-85 °F. Remember there may be a slight drop in temperature at night (when the lights are off). Optimal room humidity levels range from 50 – 80%. Recommended light cycles during this stage vary based on strain between either 18/6 or 20/4 for optimal growth. Growing Medium & Nutrients: There are 3 main macronutrients vital to your plant’s health: Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), and Potassium (K). Fertilizers containing these macronutrients are commonly added to growing mediums during this stage of growth. Nitrogen plays a key role in the plant’s ability to grow stems and leaves. Fertilizers often list the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium; the ideal N:P:K ration is 2:1:1. It’s important to note that an overabundance of nutrients and fertilizers can be harmful to your plant’s wellbeing. If you choose to add nutrients to your water supply do not add the full recommended dose; instead, start with ¼ of the recommended dose and slowly increase the amount until you find the dose that works for you. Water: The frequency of your watering regimen depends on your growing medium. If your growing medium contains perlite or clay pebbles you will need to water you plants more frequently than dense, water-retentive growing mediums. If soil is damp to the touch then you do not need to water. Flowering Stage Stage Activity & Duration: The flowering stage is the final growth state in your plant’s growth cycle. During this stage, floral clusters develop and buds are produced, cannabis sex characteristics become evident, large shade leaves fall off as your plant focuses its’ energy toward developing floral clusters. It is critical to remove all male cannabis plants from your grow room and away from the female plants in order to prevent pollination. It is also important to note that cannabis plants can exhibit both male and female sex characteristics. These hermaphrodites should also be removed from your female plants. Most strains need 2 – 3 months in the flowering stage before they are ready to harvest. Pure indicas usually finish flowering after 8 weeks and pure sativas usually finish flowering around 12 – 14 weeks. When about 80% of the hairs (known as pistols) are orange or amber, the buds are ready for harvest. Temperature & Light: Once your plant has reached the desired size (during the vegetative stage) and you are ready to induce flowering, change your light cycle to 12/12. During the “dark” cycle it is critical plants be kept in complete darkness; if you need to garden during this cycle green light bulbs are recommended as they will not harm your plants. Personally, I try to do all my gardening during the 12 hours of light so the plants can be kept in total darkness during the 12 hour dark cycle. Be sure to place the lights approximately 24 inches from the plants & buds to prevent overheating. Heat during this phase can stress the plant and potentially affect the quality of your yield. Ideally, your grow room temperature should remain within a range of 70 – 85 °F. Growing room humidity should be kept at or below 45% to prevent your buds from molding. Growing Medium & Nutrients: Nitrogen and light exposure take a back-seat during this stage of growth. Instead, your plant will seeks phosphorous and potassium as the main source of fuel for the flowering process. Regularly checking the pH of your growing medium is important during this stage (generally, a pH of 6.5 is ideal for flowering) as an imbalanced pH level can also affect the yield. Water: Water your plants as needed. Approximately 1 – 2 weeks before you are ready to harvest the buds, begin flushing your plants with pH’ed water to leach any excess nutrients (an overabundance of nutrients within your growing medium can cause your buds to cause a chemical-like taste). Okay, that wraps up the growth stages–all in one blog. Let me know if this has been helpful. Feedback is always appreciated.

Right now I grow Permafrost for my anxiety it's a hybrid strain. I know it can take people awhile to finally find a strain and method that works best for them. It definitely is trial and error. I've been dealing with anxiety for the majority of my life but feel a lot better now that I know more about types of strains and how to grow. I also try to get a good diet and stuff but without medical marijuana I wouldn't be able to focus or sleep well so it helps me a lot.

Hey guys, I’m Zach and I’ve been growing medicinal marijuana (Cannabis Indica) for a few years to relieve some of the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder right before I left for college and have been seeking alternative treatments ever since. At first, I was just glad to have a diagnosis and know I wasn’t going crazy. Once I was diagnosed my doctor prescribed Xanax (and then Klonopin). The drugs worked for awhile but every time I used them I felt like I was in a “zombie-like” trance. I’m not saying the prescriptions didn’t have any positive effects (and if they work for you, great!) but eventually I noticed intense headaches, dizziness, and poor concentration affecting my work and personal life. Without my meds I was waking up throughout the night. I was having full-blown panic attacks, but couldn’t take any prescription pills because I would sleep through my alarm and miss work. I don’t want to feel the anxiety but I don’t want to live like that either… then I tried medicinal marijuana. For the first time in a long time I was able to “turn off” the anxiety and even get a full night of sleep! After years of outdoor growing, I recently decided to start growing indoors – it’s legal to grow outdoors and indoors in Oregon. I’ve learned there’s a good bit of difference in the growing techniques and even in which strains grow better inside or out. Hopefully, some of the tips I am sharing will be useful or at least be good reminders for you old pro-growers. The Strain Can Make a Difference: For my medical needs, I discovered early on that the cannabis indica strain provides me the most relief from my anxiety and is actually a little easier to grow than cannabis sativa. While I knew the cannabis indica plant is typically short and bushy, I did not know it is ideally suited for indoor growing more so than the sativa strain. This strain also flowers more frequently and produces a higher yield than the sativa strains. All good info. The Grow Medium Choice: You can successfully grow marijuana plants in soil and other sorts of non-soil (soil-less) mediums, or you could grow your plants directly in water or even in moist air! Each growing medium you use will have different care and watering requirements. You may want to research the different options and choose something that's right for your grow area and experience level. Here’s a link I found helpful in deciding which direction to go: http://tinyurl.com/p8pf88p When growing outdoors I had the most success using PRO-MIX BX. It has a tendency to help the soil retain water around the root system­–critical when you are dependent on Mother Nature. Before I found the PRO-MIX series, I tried several different mixtures (even mixtures of mixtures). Most of the mediums I tried were primarily composed of wood. I found the more wood a mixture contains; the more likely it is to pack down tightly when watered which can lead to root rot and a bunch of other issues. I encourage you to experiment. After researching the difference between the two environments and learning more about the wide variety of grow medium options, I decided to give soilless a try for my indoor grow efforts. I also decided to stick with the PRO-MIX brand but use PRO-MIX HP (found at Home Depot – it’s the package with a tomato plant photo). This medium is soilless. They refer to it as a high porosity professional peat-based growing medium that contains a natural growth enhancer: Mycorrhizae (Glomus intraradices). In a nutshell, it is designed to increase plant resistance to stresses and maximize water and nutrient uptake for a better plant quality and improved flowering and overall yield. Ideal for indoor growing. My experience with this product has been pretty good so far, but I am in the early stages so I am curious to hear from the seasoned indoor grower community. Have you had any luck using PRO-MIX HP? And, what else can you share about the differences between growing inside versus outdoors – without stating the obvious?

haha nice ^ Thanks for the welcome

Hey everyone, just wanted to introduce myself since I'm new here. I've been growing for a while (I have generalized anxiety disorder and this has been an effective treatment so far) but I have just recently joined various online communities and I have found a lot of helpful information from other growers so far. anyways just wanted to say hello