If you really want to maximize the outcome of your harvest, you are going to need to figure out a few things.
First, you’ll need to be able to identify the type of plants you are growing.
Then, in order to know how to grow huge marijuana buds, you need to understand how to make buds bigger during flowering.
That is the goal, right?
The bud of a marijuana plant is the prized appendage that appears after a plant enters the flowering stage of its life cycle.
The leaves of the marijuana plant contain THC, but the buds of female plants are the most potent product by far.
So as an individual grower, it’s important to focus a significant amount of attention on the buds of your crop.
Growing bigger buds takes skill. If you do it right, you can accomplish incredibly huge buds with a high THC content.
This guide will equip you with the knowledge you need to accomplish that goal.
Keep reading and learn how to grow bigger marijuana buds.
BONUS: make sure to read the bonus section about splitting the stem of your plant. The purpose of stem splitting is to disturb the flow of nutrients and water right at the base of the stem. This will cause the plant to start producing more trichomes which means heavier and denser buds with higher THC levels.
What are marijuana buds?
Before you can grow big marijuana buds, you need to have a bit of background knowledge. For starters, a bud is the growth that pops up during a plant’s flowering phase.
Although marijuana plants’ leaves also have a THC content, the buds have a far more concentrated amount.
This is why the buds are the prize possession of any marijuana grower – they are the part of the plant that gets you high.
While both male and female buds contain plenty of THC, there are some important differences that distinguish the two.
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Male buds flowering vs. female buds flowering
Plenty of people seem to believe that male plants don’t produce smokeable buds at all.
While it’s true that female buds contain the most THC levels, male buds are also quite potent and able to be smoked.
Male buds look like round flowers that are jam-packed with pollen.
Be careful that your males don’t pollinate your females because your plants will start producing seeds and less THC.
I only grow males to produce seeds and remove them from my female plants.
Female buds will start showing up about two weeks later than male buds, and they start out as growths that are round, white-colored, and hairy.
They show up on the very tip of every branch, as well as at the top of the plant.
Don’t dismay if your plant doesn’t look like it can produce big buds.
If treated well, the smallest buds on your female plants will grow to be longer than two inches.
See how this bud grows during 8 weeks of flowering
Since female buds really are the cream of the crop, you are going to want to ensure that their buds get as large (and potent) as possible.
Therefore, the best way to grow bigger buds is simply doing things to encourage growth at a faster rate.
Download my free Grow Bible for more tips to increase your yield.
The faster they grow, the more time they have to become huge.
Read the article Male or female marijuana plants for more information about sexing plants
Removing yellow leaves helps make buds bigger during flowering
Once it has entered the flowering stage, the number one thing to speed up your plant’s bud growth is to remove any dying leaves.
These leaves can be identified by their yellowing color.
They are a lost cause, and they are using up your plant’s energy and resources that could be focused on bigger and better things (namely, the buds).
Take away the yellowing leaves to conserve these resources.
Instead of discarding these leaves, keep them and cure them properly.
They have a high enough THC content that you can make cannabutter or weed brownies in case you run out of weed or while you are waiting for the big harvest.
If you want your buds to be fat and juicy, you are going to have to spoil them a bit.
Take special care of them during the flowering phase of the plant’s life cycle.
Best nutrients for big buds
Marijuana plants require nutrients to thrive. In many cases, the best nutrients for big buds come from the Earth. In other scenarios, growers need to supplement these nutrients through the use of fertilizers.
Therefore, knowing how to utilize nutrients for cannabis correctly is integral to the growth of your cannabis plants.Many things can act as fertilizers to some degree, but it is often easiest to purchase packaged fertilizers at a local garden center. Most fertilizers are sold as hydroponic solutions. Some are designed for soil, while others are designed for hydroponic growing.
The best nutrients for flowering buds will have nitrogen to aid leaf growth, potassium to facilitate the development of the flower, and phosphorus for root growth. These are represented by their elemental symbols of N, P, and K respectively. In fact, on most commercial fertilizers, you’re going to see an NPK ratio listed on the bag (e.g., 20-20-20). This tells you exactly how much of each element is in that particular fertilizer.NPK aren’t the only nutrients found in marijuana fertilizers, however.
There are also micronutrients such as calcium, sulfur, magnesium, and many more. Although these nutrients for flowering cannabis help with specific processes inside the plant, they are not quite as vital as the three core nutrients. During the vegetative stage, plants need an added boost of nutrient content to ensure that they are growing and producing at the right rates. For plants that are in a vegetative state, it’s essential to use a fertilizer that has an even NPK distribution of 20-20-20. This will provide them with an equal amount of each of the three core nutrients.
During flowering, you are going to want to change the fertilizer just a bit. Cannabis thrives when it has a lot of nitrogen, and it uses extra nitrogen during the vegetative stage. This need for nitrogen reduces during the flowering stage, and extra potassium and phosphorus become necessary. That’s why the best nutes for flowering cannabis has an NPK ratio of 10-30-10. The phosphorous helps with the production of buds and flowers to ensure an optimal yield. The cannabis plant gradually stops needing all nutrients as flowering ends, and it matures.
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The important thing to remember is that the best nutrients for bigger buds act like marijuana multivitamins.
In fact, you could say that the plants “eat” the nutrients to thrive. Without proper nourishment from fertilizer or the proper cannabis soil, a plant will not produce the desired outcome.
You will see the effects of a lack of proper nutrient intake.
Plant leaves will start to show burnt tips, and the amount of growth will appear to cease. If you want bigger buds, nutrients are key.
That’s why it’s important to ensure your plants are getting the proper nutrients starting with the macronutrients.
How to use nutrients for bigger buds
Nutrient burn is one way to ruin a perfectly good harvest, but it’s not the only way. Here are some more nutrient tips that will help give you the best results.
Mixing nutrients
Leave nutrient mixing to the experts. If you do it yourself without prior experience, you risk coming up with a solution that contains incompatible nutrients that will lead to plant death instead of a performance boost.
Administering growing and flowering feeds
Avoid changing the leaf growth feed to the flowering feed the moment you notice the flowering cycle has started. It takes a bit of time for cannabis to respond optimally to light stimuli.
Therefore, that extra nitrogen is necessary for two or three weeks after the beginning of the flowering cycle, which is when growth will have adequately slowed down.
Mixing organic feeds
You may prefer to use organic nutrients. Ready-made organic feeds are available, or you can do your own mixing if you have the right knowledge and patience.
Keep in mind, sometimes it takes months to get the perfectly balanced home-made organic feed with the right big bud NPK ratio.
Controlling plant growth
Mediums without nutrients are ideal for controlling the amount of nutrients your cannabis receives, and the rate at which it receives them. They do not contain standard potting soil or compost, and you’ll need to add what’s needed to the plant’s water, instead of the soil.
You should not use these mediums with slow-releasing nutrients or manure unless you are a pro.
Nutrient problems
If your plants are looking sickly, and you’ve already checked your nutrients, you should check other factors such as the pH of the nutrient solution, medium, or water.
Underfeeding, overfeeding, and overwatering are common causes of wilting and plant death. Other factors include disease, fungus, pests, lack of sunlight, and extreme temperature.
Dilute it first
Indoor growers should dilute their solution a bit before using it on their plants. Even though you may think, the more nutrients for big buds, the better, the truth is, indoor plants do not generally respond well to large infusions of nutrients.
It is definitely possible to go a little bit overboard with your fertilizer. If you can scale back each of the nutrients by about 20%, then you should be okay.
Best fertilizer and macro nutrients
The most vital elements for every plant on Earth are the so-called Macronutrients. Topping the list are Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. They are an inseparable part of all kinds of fertilizers; however, the amount of each nutrient varies according to the type of fertilizer.
The best nutrient for bigger buds on your cannabis plants may not be the best nutrient for your berry plants. Different types of plants require different ratios of these nutrients. Keep in mind; the cannabis plant has needs that are similar to a tomato. Each element has different atomic characteristics – leading to a particular effect on a marijuana plant.
Understanding each of these elements can help growers safely address deficiencies in their plants.
Nitrogen
To begin with, Nitrogen, has the symbol ‘’N’’ in the periodic table, an atomic number of 7 and an atomic mass of approximately 14.
It helps with photosynthesis and is responsible for chlorophyll production.
Photosynthesis is impossible without the existence of chlorophyll, and this is why Nitrogen’s role is so important in the life of marijuana plants. Stimulating the growth of leaves and stems while also increasing the plant’s size and vigor are also effects of Nitrogen. That’s why it’s essential when attempting to grow big buds.
Nevertheless, when there is a deficiency of N, the growth rates are reduced, and the leaves become yellow faster. The older leaves are the first to suffer, as are the lower leaves of the cannabis plant. Cold soil temperatures can also cause a nitrogen deficiency.
Phosphorus
The second element is Phosphorus or P on the periodic table with an atomic number of 15. It has an approximate atomic mass of 31.
The primary benefit of this element includes promoting seed germination, as well as seedling and root growth.
Phosphorus is an essential element, and one of the best nutrients for marijuana because it helps the development of terpene resins and floral clusters. It also participates in the formation of sugars and starches necessary to grow buds.
The overall vigor of the marijuana plant depends on Phosphorus. Therefore, a Phosphorus deficiency is signified by a reduction of the rate of growth and the quick drying of smaller leaves. They become purplish, and their edges are seared.
What’s more, excessive levels of Phosphorus can also cause Potassium-deficiency.
Potassium
The last crucial macro element is Potassium or K on the Periodic table of elements. Its atomic number is 19, and it has an atomic mass of approximately 39.
Potassium is vital for healthy plant metabolism during the flowering period, and it helps in the formation of the clusters of marijuana flowers. Potassium keeps the plant vigorous, healthy, and growing. It is the best nutrient for big buds since a deficiency can cause a slow down of growth rates and problems with the leaves – leading to brown tips and curled edges.
The micro nutrients
The basic Macro Nutrients are not enough for a marijuana plant to grow normally. Micronutrients also have critical functions, such as maintaining vigor and health.
These Trace-elements include Calcium, Magnesium, Sulphur, Manganese, Boron, Zinc, and Copper. They are included in some of the best fertilizer for big buds but in smaller quantities.
Calcium
Calcium is one of the major microelements. It bears the symbol ‘’Ca’’ on the Periodic table of elements.
Its atomic number is 20, and it has a mass of 40 approximately.
Calcium is vital because it is a part of the cell walls. It provides strengthening of the stems and branches and helps in the formation of the root and its tip’s growth. A deficiency of Calcium causes distortion of the leaves.
The leaves’ margins are hooked, and the roots do not finalize their development; their tips are weak.
Magnesium
Magnesium is also an important element. It has the symbol ‘’Mg’’ on the Periodic table, the number 12, and an approximate mass of 24.
Magnesium stimulates the formation of chlorophyll and most of the reactions with enzymes.
The structures of the leaves and the veins in them are healthy due to this element. When Mg is deficient, the effect is different in each plant species. Cannabis plants, for example, suffer from yellowing of the leaves, the disappearance of leaves, and withering, which starts from the older or lower leaves.
Excessive levels of Magnesium can cause Calcium deficiency.
Sulfur
Sulfur or ‘’S’’ on the periodic table has the number 16 and an atomic mass of approximately 32.
It consists in the proteins of marijuana plants and is important for their production. It also participates in the formation of chlorophyll and the growth of the plant.
The deficiency is presented by slower rates of growth along with smaller deformed leaves that are round and roll upwards. Soon they become stiff and die off, making the flowering stage unproductive.
Manganese
Manganese (or ‘’Mn’’, atomic number- 25 and an atomic mass of approximately 55) is responsible for the production of enzymes and chlorophyll production vital for photosynthesis.
Its deficiency has various results which depend on the species. On a cannabis plant, chloroplasts become yellow, and the stems are still quite green.
On the surface of some leaves, there may be white or grey spots. It also causes Iron deficiency with similar symptoms.
Boron
Boron (B, Z=5, A=10) helps with the movement of sugars and reproduction as well as water consumption by cells.
It participates in the formations of stems and stalks and prevents Ca from becoming insoluble.
Boron also aids in the production, coloring, and formation of leaves and their structures. It’s one of the best flowering nutrients because its deficiency causes death to the tips and malformations of the marijuana buds.
Boron deficiencies also cause Mg and K deficiencies.
Other marijuana micro nutrients
Your plants are least likely to experience deficiencies of Zinc and Copper, but they are still essential to the health of your marijuana plants.
Zinc gives the plant strength, by fortifying the stems, branches, stalk, and leaves.
A zinc deficiency will look similar to a manganese or iron deficiency.
Copper deficiencies, on the other hand, appear in younger leaves. Healthy leaves can quickly start to curl or wilt and eventually they will die.
Without this nutrient, a plant has trouble forming new growth. When it has too much, it is unable to process iron properly.
How to use nutrients
Using both macro and micronutrients requires attention to detail.
In addition to selecting the best nutes for bigger buds, you’ll also need to follow a feeding schedule and only give plants the bare minimum of what they need.
Many times that means feeding your plants a lot less than the recommended dosages.
A good place to start is ¼ of the recommended amount, and then slowly move up to ½ based on how the plant responds.
Read the article Best fertilizers for marijuana plants for more info on nutrients.
If you give a marijuana plant too many nutrients, it could experience nutrient burn. And, if you start with the full amount, you are very likely to burn your plants.
Whereas nutrient burn won’t kill your plants, it will damage them. You will not get the best yield with bigger buds if you burn your plants.
For the best results, use a complete nutrient set for your entire grow. Grab my marijuana fertilizer set in my shop.
Marijuana fertilizer set
- All the nutrients you need
- For at least 5 plants
- Discounted combination deal
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Monitor pH levels to make buds bigger
If you haven’t grown marijuana before, you may not know nutrients and pH level go hand in hand. This is because the pH level of the soil (or whatever grow medium you are using) at the roots will affect your marijuana plant’s ability to absorb different kinds of nutrients.
Many times, nutrient deficiency or toxicity is actually caused by a pH imbalance. The main nutrients marijuana uses to grow are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. During vegetation, they use a lot of nitrogen.
During the first weeks of flowering, they use a lot of phosphorus and at the end of flowering, they use a lot of potassium. But they also use lots of other nutrients, like iron, zinc, calcium, and magnesium. Each nutrient behaves differently when it is in an environment at a different pH level.
To put it simply, the pH level decides how a nutrient or any chemical compound will “act.” Whether it falls apart, dissolves, or does something else is based on the pH level.
Also read Measuring pH for your marijuana grow
The pH level can be compared to the temperature and chemicals. For example, calcium in tap water won’t even be visible if the water is cold because it has dissolved completely.
Once it surpasses the boiling point, however, it will precipitate instead.
Wrong pH levels create nutrient deficiencies
At certain acidity levels, certain elements can’t be absorbed by the marijuana plant’s roots.
If the pH level is too low, for example, your marijuana plant won’t take in magnesium very well.
Therefore, even if you’re feeding plenty of magnesium to your plants, they still will exhibit signs of a magnesium deficiency. A magnesium deficiency includes yellowing of leaves and even whitening, but the veins will still be green colored. Simply supplying your marijuana plant with more magnesium will not suffice, however, since the pH level is actually the root of the cause.
The key, in this case, is to balance the pH level (or, in the case of a magnesium deficiency, raise the pH level) until your plant can take in nutrients.
With the right pH levels you can grow bigger buds. And with the wrong pH levels you can ruin your yield. So know your pH.
If growing in soil, you should keep the pH level right around 6. For marijuana plants growing in other types of media, such as rockwool or other hydroponic setups, keep the pH level at 5.5.
How to lower the pH
Of course, the other elements of keeping healthy plants in general also come into play with growing big buds.
Proper amounts of water and light, along with temperature and good genetics will all affect the way your buds grow.
Monitor EC levels to grow big buds
The electric conductivity, or EC value, illustrates what the salt content is. This salt content is a measure of how much nutrients are in the soil or in the water you are feeding your plants. Water with an EC value of 0 is purified, without any salts or minerals. Its pH level should be 7 if it is balanced and purified. Regular tap water would not be this balanced since it contains lots of minerals (including magnesium, calcium, and potassium).
Generally speaking, tap water in the United States has a value of between 0.2 and 0.5. Tap water does not contain enough nutrients for marijuana plants – you will need to add some.
How to increase EC levels
The EC value is important because, if it is too low, there aren’t enough nutrients for your plants to access. An EC value that is too high could also be bad news for marijuana plants.
If nutrient salts start to build up in the soil, the pH value will decrease, and the roots will not absorb most nutrients as efficiently as they should.
More about EC/TDS in the article The right EC and pH levels
The best lighting conditions for big buds
One of the most surefire ways of increasing your bud growth is by increasing the intensity of the light that is hitting your plants. Light is what helps marijuana plants absorb carbon dioxide and convert that carbon dioxide into the useful sugars they need to grow bigger buds.
When it comes to marijuana plants, more light is almost always better. Plants that aren’t getting enough light will not grow as fast, or they may even stretch into tall, thin plants that are “reaching” to get closer to the sunlight. These plants will never be able to produce bigger marijuana buds.
If your plant has already grown uneven colas because of poor lighting during its vegetative state, it will be difficult to evenly and effectively distribute the light. The buds themselves should have direct exposure to the light for best results.
If you are an indoor grower, try moving the lights closer to your plants. This will increase your yield significantly. Be careful temperatures don’t exceed 80 degrees. Learn how to control the temperature in our tutorial here.
Generally speaking, HPS lamps are the best lamps for an indoor growing operation. For every 13 square feet of growing area, make sure there are 400 Watts of light during the vegetation stage.
Also, for every 13 sq ft make sure there is a 600-watt lamp during the flowering phase. Fluorescent lighting is a less expensive option that can work well too.
Here are more reference points for how much you can expect to achieve with various setups:
Read more about Marijuana grow lights if you’re growing indoors or about yield in my article about Marijuana yields
How to get bigger buds by adding carbon dioxide during flowering
Imagine how much you love food. That is how much your marijuana plants love carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is vital for the flowering and growth of your marijuana plant (and any plant, for that matter). More carbon dioxide is literally how to get bigger buds. Overall, the more carbon dioxide, the better.
If you increase the amount of CO2 that your plant is receiving, you will essentially be “feeding” them more, allowing their growth to be sped up even further and achieve bigger buds.
Adding CO2 nicely complements increasing light intensity since it basically is expanding your plant’s ability to use light.
Between 350 and 400 ppm of carbon dioxide is standard in the air. The marijuana plant will take this carbon dioxide and combine it with light energy to create the sugars it needs to grow. If the level of carbon dioxide begins to drop, the sugar production in your marijuana plants will also start to decline.
This is why ventilation is so important — there always needs to be an incoming supply of fresh carbon dioxide.
CO2 alone will not increase the yield. The more light and CO2 your plant gets, the more efficiently it will grow. This will also keep your plant from ever getting too much light since the added CO2 will increase its light capacity.
Marijuana plants that have access to between 350 and 400 ppm of carbon dioxide won’t make a lot more sugars than is possible with a 600-watt HPS light bulb. Therefore, keeping the carbon dioxide level the same but increasing the wattage of the light you use will have little effect.
However, increasing the carbon dioxide levels while also increasing the light will help your marijuana plants be far more productive — expect nearly double yields. This can be an expensive endeavor with all the equipment that is required, but when your yield is so much higher, it can certainly be worth the trouble and the extra money it costs.
Using CO2 with CO2 reg and timer to get bigger buds. Although it’s pretty tricky to ever reach the light threshold, this is yet another way to “hack” your plant’s speed of growth.
If you do decide to pump extra CO2 into your grow room, be sure to seal it off properly – although it works wonders for plants, high levels of CO2 can be very dangerous for humans. Read the article Growing marijuana with CO2 for more info.
The ideal temperature and humidity to make buds bigger during flowering
Temperature and humidity need to be at the right level for your plants to reach their highest budding potential.
In addition to ruining your shot at growing big buds, if the temperature is too high, your buds won’t have as potent of an aroma.
When the light is turned on, an ideal temperature for the cuttings and seedlings is between 68ºF and 77ºF (20ºC and 25ºC). As the plants get older they can evaporate a little bit more and the temperature may increase to a maximum of 82ºF (28ºC).
When the lights are off, the temperature should lie between 59ºF and 72ºF (15ºC and 22ºC). Another important rule is that the temperature differences between day and night cannot be too high, a maximum difference of 50ºF (10ºC).
So when it’s 82ºF (28ºC) during the day, it cannot go below 64ºF (18ºF) at night. A temperature difference of 40ºF (5ºC) is ideal.
These are the best humidity levels to grow big buds:
| Veg week 1 | 70% |
| Veg week 2 | 70% |
| Flowering week 1 | 65% |
| Flowering week 2 | 60% |
| Flowering week 3 | 55% |
| Flowering week 4 | 50% |
| Flowering week 5 | 50% |
| Flowering week 6 | 45% |
| Flowering week 7 | 45% |
| Flowering week 8 | 40% |
| Flowering week 9 | 40% |
Controlling your temperature can mean controlling the amount of potency and smell of your buds – when done properly. Make sure you pay special attention to your grow room’s temperature throughout its entire life cycle. If you do this, the results will definitely be to your liking.
Read more about temperature or humidity
Marijuana bud growing limitations
If all the factors above are optimally present, the buds on your marijuana plants will grow as big as possible. But there’s always a limiting factor. This is the factor of which the value is furthest away from the optimal value.
Let’s say you have a 250 watt lamp, there’s sufficient CO2 in the room (350pp, just like outside) and the plant gets enough water and nutrients. The light will then be the limiting factor. Because if you use a 400 watt lamp in these circumstances, you can almost double your yield. And you can harvest even more with a 600 watt lamp.
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But if you use a 1000 watt lamp, the plant will need more CO2 than standard air can provide, causing CO2 to become the limiting factor.
The plant can’t convert all the energy from the lamp, because it needs more CO2 to do so. This is how all factors are connected and influence the functioning of a plant.
Depending on the stage the plant is in, these values slightly differ, but generally speaking, these are the perfect values;
| Light | 600 watt per 12 square feet |
| CO2 | 350 ppm |
| Water | as required* |
| EC | between 1.0 and 2.0 |
| pH | 6 |
| Temperature | 77 degrees F |
| Humidity | 50-60% |
*These values depend on the stage the plants are in. Seedlings can’t take as much nutrients as older plants, and they’ll evaporate more and more water as they grow, so you’ll have to water them more.
Read more in my article about watering marijuana plants
Pruning: tricks that grow bigger buds
Pruning is always done by tomato farmers to increase the yield. The small shoots between the branches and the trunk are removed so all the energy is used to maximize fruit production.
For marijuana plants, it’s also very effective to remove these useless shoots so the plant can develop bigger buds. You end up with small plants, big buds, and an acceptable yield. Using this technique to produce a few big, hard and heavy buds instead of many smaller ones.
Pruning is mostly done by professional cannabis growers who wants to yield the maximum amount of weed per square foot. Because there is no energy wasted on the small buds and small leaves the top ones will grow bigger and heavier. The main colas will also get more light because they’re all at the same height.
Pruning should only be done during the vegetation stage because the plant needs time to recover and grow big leaves. Wait at least 3 days after pruning before forcing them into flower. Make sure your marijuana plants are growing again and evaporate enough water.
Go easy on the fertilizers and give them a few days to recover. If you master this technique, you will know how to grow big buds in every situation. Do it at the right time and it will definitely pay off. No more small and fluffy buds. You will only get big, hard, and heavy marijuana buds.
Scrogging: make buds bigger during flowering
If you use the SCROG (Screen of Green) method you also have to prune your marijuana plants. Place a screen at 50 cm above your plants. Take the top out of every plant when it’s 10 centimeters from the screen and wait until the new tops grow through the screen.
Wait until they grow 10 centimeters through the screen, gently bend them and connect them to the screen.
Prune your marijuana plants after the first shoots have grown through the screen. Wait a few days and force them into flowering. During the first two weeks of the flowering phase your marijuana plants will keep growing.
Combine the pruning and the SCROG technique and you can grow 1 gram of marijuana per watt of light.
So if you have 1 600watt HPS bulb you should be able to grow 600 grams of cannabis. Temperature, humidity and other factors also have to be right of course.
Low Stress Training (LST) for bigger buds during flowering
“LST” (low-stress training) is a way of training that doesn’t include any cutting. It is a way of manually manipulating your plants to grow flatter and wider rather than skinny and tall.
It uses bending techniques that anyone can do (but proceed with caution, as with anything).
LST is an effective way to get big buds because it trains the plant to grow in a way that will maximize its intake of light. Every leaf that is exposed adds another source of energy to your plant so you can see why it is an effective technique.LST generally begins at a younger stage of life, before the plant has established its own shape. Screen of Green is another form of LST that includes a net.
The net (or screen) keeps your plants where you want them, and maximizes your plants’ use of the indoor growing space. These forms of training can all be helpful in improving your plants’ yield, starting from an earlier stage of your plant’s life. Even if you are a veteran grower, trying a new training technique might be a great way of improving your yield significantly.
Read the article How to prune marijuana plants for a list of all pruning techniques like topping, low-stress training, super cropping, and monster cropping.
When to harvest marijuana buds for the biggest nugs
Ultimately, one of the most important factors in having the most potent and biggest buds possible is to harvest at the right time. You need to make sure you have let your buds become as ripe as possible before harvesting.
Sometimes the amount of growth in a bud’s final two or three weeks can be as much as a 25% increase. In other words, by harvesting too early you could sacrifice your yield.
In general, the best time to harvest falls within a window of two or three weeks. Harvesting before this window of time would greatly reduce your overall yield, and will result in less potent weed.
Time of harvest affects the taste, smell and weight of your buds
Harvest big buds by looking at trichomes
Trichomes are small, white drops of resin that appear on your buds — you probably have seen them at some point, whether or not you knew what they were at the time.
Cannabinoids come from trichomes, so they are absolutely crucial to the marijuana consumer.
Trichomes have the added bonus of serving as protectors of the marijuana plants, specifically against diseases and pests. This is because of the thick, sticky layer that it forms around the marijuana buds. It can also keep your marijuana buds safe against the wind, UV light, and water when necessary. Because of this protective feature, more trichomes are produced during times of stress. Therefore, inducing a certain amount of stress can have amazing effects on your marijuana plants.
Other known techniques are using ice water or keep their plants in the dark for 48 hours just before the harvest in an attempt to get more trichomes to be produced. Download my free harvesting mini guide so you can always have a handy reference on when to best reap your crop.
The biggest buds come from the best genetics
Once again, genetics is everything. No matter what you do to increase the yield or grow bigger buds, poor genetics will ruin it. If you did choose marijuana seeds with great genetics, you will be pleased with the end result.
Luckily, most strains that people buy today generally have very high yields and potency, which would not have been the case ten years ago. These strains will grow with fewer problems and will end up with plenty of happy, fat, potent buds.
All in all, the most important way you can increase your yield is by investing early on in a high-quality strain. It may seem expensive, but the payoff is well worth the upfront costs.
Do your research and pay the money, because the result will be amazing. Check my seed shop to make sure you buy high quality marijuana seeds
BIG BUD SECRET: Split the stem
There is one method of increasing the yield of your marijuana plants that not everyone knows about — splitting the stem. This will help your plants’ buds be heavier and denser and will improve THC production as well.
This technique is exactly what it sounds like — it involves splitting the stem of your marijuana plant right at the bottom. It likely originated in China and Southeast Asia.
To be successful with the stem splitting technique, start out by tying the stem right at the base, just above the soil. Tie a second rope or cable tie a couple inches above that. Take a very sharp knife and cut from the top tie to the bottom tie. There should be one vertical cut that is a few inches in length.
The knife should remain inside until you have a pencil, chopsticks, or other objects to replace it with to keep both sides of the marijuana plant from touching each other.
Remove the knife partially and rotate it to allow the chopstick or pencil enough space. Leave the ties in place, so the damage does not spread.
The thing about splitting the stem is that it is a tricky technique to master, so you should only try it on one plant per growing season until you are confident you’ve gotten it down.
Apply this technique a few days or a week before harvest, not sooner.
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Produce more THC
The purpose of stem splitting is to disturb the flow of nutrients and water right at the base of the stem. Because of this, the plant will start producing more trichomes and more THC. Trichomes are responsible for making heavier, denser buds that are just better overall, so you can see why this is a useful technique. All cannabinoids are created in the trichomes.
Is splitting the stem something you’ve heard of before or are you going to try it? Please give me your thoughts on this technique in the comments below.
Thanks for reading. Please leave comments or questions below and don’t forget to download my Grow Bible.
Happy growing!
Robert
FAQ about growing big marijuana buds
What do buds look like when they start to form?
Buds appear as hairy, white-colored growths when they start to form.
How to make buds bigger during flowering?
There are several things you can do to make your buds grow bigger. You’ll need to remove dying leaves, give your plant an extra boost of nutrients, ensure the soil PH is balanced, monitor the EC value, and increase the light intensity.
You should also increase the amount of carbon dioxide the plant receives and monitor the temperature and humidity levels.
Where are bud sites on a plant?
Buds show up at the top of the plant. You can also find them on the tips of the branches.
U are the pot God.
I’m a veteran grower of 33 years..
And fuck me I learn something every time I have a read of your articles.. splitting stems. Wow. I will try.
Thanks for sharing your experice.
From Australia.
my plants just went into flowering stage this past Monday i will try the stem splitting on 2 plants to see if it works and makes bigger and better buds maybe first week in Sept happy smoking
I love this site and like most who use it. i owe ilgm a lot because this is where all my success comes from. you are the best.
This is my first visit, thank you for sharing you’ve provided is a wealth information. I will be trying the split the stem method and will definitely give you a feed back when my crop is matured to do so.
When I was a youngster, the old hippies would, in the final weeks, actually snap over, at the base, there by breaking the stalk, and propping it back up with long stakes, and wow did it produce more tri’s and the few times I’ve done it, it was with the same results, so the splitting is a safer way for the same results, cuz sometimes it breaks too much,and could die, thereby finishing too early, but cannabis is tough as nails most times.
amazing post ! Thanks for sharing.
Iam looking for the variety that can be used for cooking.. Last year I got 5 plants out of 20 seeds. Can you help? My husband had lung cancer surgery and can not smoke. I want to provide pain relief.
Sounds good
I’ll be trying stem splitting but only on one sounds like a technique for me
Amazing article incredibly helpful thank you so very much for writing it
You wrote that LED lights are not known for good yeilds? Why do you say that?
When can I do the split on a budding plant?
How do I keep the smell on my outdoor cannabis plants. In they have a good taste
I don’t go that extreme of hurting plants.i just put poolside flavours and 7warm 7 up in the dirt or hydro grow mediums that produce major new crystals that fills up in the crystals.
I have convinced in your ability to grow.. But I need quality seeds but your always out!!. So how am I’m I going to grow the best without your best???.
yes I have heard of stem splitting before and even have witnessed it, with various success.. It is a technique you need to know what you are doing and seems not on a strain you have not grown before. Timing is key with good observation and knowing your plants will help loads in this process. Due to the fire this year my main grow was destroyed but have a few other small grows I am caretaking and I plan on doing all I can to make up for the major loss suffered. I am going to try this for the first time my self. So by your info with 3 weeks before harvest it is done most definitely in the flush stage of your grow?
I would like to know at what stage do u spilt the Steen???..
Thanks for your tips
Everyone has there so secret way of growing.
It’s a fun profit hobby l love to do
Northern Light strain l like of all
Very forgiving if ya make a mistake.
I am setting up a year round grow facility
And know much you her than outside
I am a older farmer and know about soils
pH is the key to every plant
People don’t get that
Thank You
Tom
Excellent article! Another key tip, is to ensure your growing supplies are chosen wisely. The plants will spend their entire life in the pots they grow in. Giving them the best possible pots to thrive in, will enhance their harvest and overall health.
With some varieties, I like to pinch the stem until it cracks, while in veg, it triggers hormones to start stiffening up the branches, but, make sure you have it trained like you want it, it gets woody and doesn’t flex the same, but, the branches can hold more weight….
hello i got 4 plants in my greenhouse and a gonna try op 1 plant the split the steem in a few weeks and i send you the result bye
I have heard of this and this is the first time I have read about this. I plan on splitting the stalk exactly like your instructions.
Word for word.
My leaves on my marijuana plant are curling and shading themselves I’ve done everything raise the light I’m confused please help
sounds to me John, that you started with clones, often especially clones used in a outdoor grow simply means they they are getting the message they are not inside anymore and will straighten out if it is good genetics. Indoor is not my expertise but it sounds like a lack of mineral magnesium or phosphorus
Thank you
Fantastic ! Information,here’s some help also planterplus.net love it never kill your plant just trim off buds as needed.
Fantastic
Hey Robert. I read your material almost daily. But this is the first I have seen “Splitting the Stem”..
I am so intrigued by this that I am going to try it on a Northern Lights i have in flower. I WILL LET YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS…WITH PICS!!
If you have had your plants growing several months but no buds yet…what is wrong?
Thx, good info.
Thanks for the info!! I’m going to do this on one of my Grape Ape plants. If this techneic works I’ll be doing this for my Diamond Hord.
Hi my name is Craig and i been growing for 8 years and I’ve found with technology these days is unbelievable. I use digital ballast and H.P.S lights and I find its easy to get good yields and good strains budding with L.ED lighting is a complete joke, good for veg I suppose but best to just use at least a 400 watt HPS and you will get good results with one globe right through till the end
Advice please contact me. Cheers and happy growing, Craig
I agree. Hps old school is best..
Was a good read
You guys got A lot to learn. You are robbin ur self of 8 to 10 x more harvest. I bought stock in ur company and only want the best for you and myself. I have 25 years Of knowledge and I am sure their is much u don’’ t know just by looking at ur pic. Wish I could tell you but I don’t see how I can. This is not a joke
Hi
Thank you for a very informative article.
I have been growing a small plantation for two seasons now. I have got a very strong yield of thc buds. But the yield was quit small. I suspect that I might use to small pots. Around 6 liters per plant. Maybe I should use double size. I am growing autos.
Best regards
Mikael
Hey mate , I’ve found auto’s are really overated, I had four growing in decent size pots and I only got around 12 bags total. I was using coco to grow in, canna nutrients, 600 watt lighting. I found extreme problems when trying to clone.
cool
I simply stress them by bending. Then rooting gel and splint it at the near break. It stresses the plant. Like working out. You will plateau….. Shake it up!!!! New results!!
I will be growing my Maui wowie on an east facing balcony on the seaside in Central America. I ordered the Maui because it was native to Hawaii and I thought it might be best for my location.
Anyone have any helpful hints?
Thanks.
I ACTUALLY HAD MY PLANTS SPLIT NATURALLY last year. I guess instead of tying them back together, I should have just lest them as it was a week before harvesting.
First time hearing. That. Will try it out on one of 2 Blue Kiss in October (outside California)
David, Clint, Read the post above or read the article. It is clearly stated in both. Thanks
Markwin, The article clearly states that this is only done in the last 3-4 days before harvest
When is the best time to split the stem please
I’m just starting out this is my 1st time So far from what I’ve read you guys Have some really amazing techniques that I would love to learn more about contact me on my email to stay in touch thank you
Thank you for telling me about the stem splitting technique it was fascinating and I feel that I can do it especially with the training I have had when I studied Horticulture and agriculture some years ago but should I only do it just before harvest and if so how close to harvest should I do it on outdoor ones and On indoor one’s or is there not much difference
Would you have any Seeds thst will Eeel well out & how many pounds will it produces
nice to know if it works. i’ll try it this year. can’t hurt anything.
I am definitely going to try this technique. Question my last week before harvest is usual flushing should I do it the same time I flush
Hey guys the buds or plant splitting can it be performed at young stage or when it flowers…
I’m going to try this method on a couple plants see what happens . I heard of it be fore but never tryed it. Thanks for the information.
Thats awesome im splitting the stem on my gold leaf cant wait till its time to split the stem i might split it and put in dark 48hrs
Thanks for Sharing i think i will try this Splitting the stem thing
I will be trying To split the Stem, harvest date is in 6 weeks
Going to try stem splitting, your artical says it slows the water Intake, but if it the last week wont Slowing the water intake affect the final flushing? Thank you roberts crew.
going to to that splitting got 3 oc kush 3 black widows and 3 burgman going to do 1 of each see if this works i have 3 weeks before harvest.
I have taken a lot of notes from you as I said before I’m not growing this year but next year I probably will I’m just digging up the best note so I can get so when I start it I’m going to start like a pro and finish like one next year thanks bro
Cheers for the remainder. I have tried this technique after reading your grow Bible and joining Bergman lab. I’ve Found your information easy to follow and very beneficial. Bigger yields of better quality flowers. Changed the way I viewed the whole process.
Is it possible to do all three steps to produce more THC ..ice water ,48 hrs of darkness and splitting the stems ..has this ever been done and if so what was the final results..
Got a pack of seeds and got some of them to germanite with a small tail comming from the seed i waited for the tail to get a little longer 3-16 long and the end turned brown and fell off what am i doing wrong thanks ray
Sounds like something to try can you do it with auto flower
I’m thinking of trying super skunk autoflower. (I just grew 4 Super Skunk fem the harvest was kinda light on quantity but quality is unbelievable). Can i use elite nutrions with the autoflower. My schedule is for a 13 week grow cycle according to the seed bank subscription says autoflower supperskunk is like 48 Days. Is there a conversion chart or something.
This article came at the perfect time. I’ve been using the dark method and I’m gonna switch it up this time, stem splitting at least for 1 of my babies. I will hit you back when the experiment is complete. Thanks for sharing with me
I cant believe how many of you are asking when to do the split technique when it was clearly written. No wonder so many of you are having growing issues, either you cant read, or your short term memory is shot.
That’s awesome information
I’m going to try the spl stem. Should be f un cutti thru 1/2-3/4″trunk
Hello Robert; love all your info. At what stage in the plants life do you split the stem? Thanks aga.
Margie
I Inadvertently stumbled across this technique by forgetting to untie an Australian sativa strain I was training. Actually it still has a few weeks to go, and I’m telling you it has some monster buds on it. I was doing a main line with it, and thought I was going to be screwed. Well low and behold, like I stated, it is doing quite well, just hope it doesnt get to heavy and split before harvest, although I’m confident I have the buds supported. I guess a picture would be in order if you care to see
F you need to fix your pictures. The start of flower and the big bud week 8 photos are the same.
You may be correct about the splitting technique originating in China. However my grandfather, a Laguna Indian, from Santa Ana Pueblo in New Mexico stressed his Chili plants by shoving an iron nail through the base of his plants about a week to ten days prior to harvest to get the hottest chilis in the area. This was a trick that he learned from his grandfather..
I found that by cutting back The water until plant absorbs the bottom leaves this works good too… you have to be care full not to lean out water too fast!
Yes! Just like children, plants raised with no adversity will be weak! We have “whacked” or stems in several places, a couple of times during flowering, with a bamboo stick, hard enough to bruise the stem but not hard enough to break it. Plants mistreated like this are 10 to 20 percent more productive by volume
Stem splitting seems to have a positive effect at all times as I found out by accident. One of my plants split in half during a wind storm, and I split a large branch pulling off a large yellow fan. The split plant was tied back together, and the split branch was completely torn off leaving a large hole in the main stem. Both plants are now larger than their peers, and also busier. I remember back in the 70s trying to pull a huge ditch weed plant out of the ground. It had been mowed over by a brush hog at least one time. The truck was at least four inches across, and the plant was like a large flat evergreen. Two of us tried to pull that plant out of the ground. We left it. Someone once told me that to get the best plants, you have to be mean as possible to them, and they will thrive.
My plants seemed to flower then back to vegetative state. Not sure what to do . they are outside . concerned about humility im in Florida .i have big stems covered in buds but still green leaves growing from the buds help !
I’m about a week away from the time to try splitting the stems. My husband and I have been growing together for almost 20 years and we had never heard of it. I’m definitely trying it. I will post again after harvest to update on my plants Potency. Thanks for having such an awesome site and great seed variety. You have been incredibly helpful.
Ive heard of this one time before but have never tried it but will very soon because I’m just 10 days from harvest so 7 days prior I will split one plant and see the results looks a simple process hopefully the results will be good.
This seems like something I have to try on my Bruce Banner I have just put into flowering. Doesn’t seem too complicated to get right. Good detailed pictures. Can’t wait to see what happens.
Thank you!
“GOD” gave us Marijuana, the “DEVIL” and his “Affiliates” want to take it way!
Down with the “DEVIL” and his “HENCHMEN”!! Help promote “GOD’S” PLANT!
Wow, it’s worth a try. I’m about to Germinate a few more plants..for juicing/ nutrition. I will volunteer one of my girls for this technique. Thank you, Robert!!
Thanks Mr Bergman. I intend to do stem splitting this season. I wonder if that
was done For “ty stick “back in the day. I remember getting some buds of ty stick with Bag I got in the 70s. We thought it was tied up like that. Come to think of it I got 2 buds with sticks through the stem. Your thoughts on this Mr Bergman?
You mention to start right above the soil,but then you say not to start but a few weeks before flowering. Did I miss understand you?
Been wanting to try this Just been looking for a credible source of information about this so will be doing my next run thanks
do you leave the chopstick in until harvest?
The article didn’t say when to do the splitting
I had a strong storm back in June 2019. My outdoor tent blew over and split the stalk on one of my nearly 7 foot plants. It split near the base as if in the technique you shared above. Used duct tape in desperation to save this plant and oMG, The branches are so much sturdier and the flowers are coming back full force. The way things are looking, this will be my best grow of the year. Let me know if you want pics
I’am going to try splitting on at least 1 plant. I’ll let you know how successful i’am. Good article.
Can I use this method with autos? (Stem splitting)
Crazy, been doing this for years but with rusty nails. Got this trick from my uncle who grew in the 70’s. I get the same results. Awesome
YOU DIDN’T TELL THE TIME FRAME. IN WHAT WEEK OF FLOWER STAGE DO YOU DO THIS?
I have found the newsletters I receive from I Grow Marijuana very helpful and informative. I live in Canada and so growing up to four plants is Legal. But they have to be grown indoors. This means finding ways to improve my Corp is highly important. Thank You Robert. I will be buying some Seeds in the next month or so..
INTERESTING CONCEPT. GOING TO TRY THIS. WILL LET YOU KNOW HOW IT WORKED.
I have heard of this I have been wanting to try this but have been scared not eney more this was all I needed to hear and see thank you
Hi Robert, I have seen this technique on youtube. Never seen the results of this type of technique.
Definitely gonna try the stem split method!
Great info. Never heard about Splitting the stem before, but have Heard about the ice trick and using darkness 2 days before harvesting. One question i Have is This, if you Fim a plant or topped it, then say two weeks later you cut it off for a clone. Would the plant continue to be double produce or better through Out the season?
Great info. Never heard about plitting fore, but have e ice ter nd darkness 2 days before harvesting. One question i o ve is is, if you fimed plant or topped it, the say two weeks later for clone. Would the plant continue to be double produce or better through Out the season?
I never heard of splitting the stems before but im Definitely going to try it…
Yes, I learned about stem splitting the first year I started growing. Found the article completely by accident. Nice trick that a lot of people don’t know about
I’ve used this technique approx 2 weeks before harvest day without any noticeable difference. When in the flowering stage do you recommend this olease
Norm, The article does tell you where and when to split the stem. you use this method the last few days before harvest and split the stem a couple inches above the soil
Thank u . Very helpful knowledge
I was curious on the splitting the stem, it doesn’t say when to split it? is it when it’s slall or just before budding
Thanks for the detailed explanation. Even I a 1st.time grower understood it well most of it lol. Keep your fingers crossed
When should you split the Stem. I have researched it and think when thr trichomes are all Cloudy.
Gerald, The article plainly states that you should not split the stem until the last week before harvest. I would say about 3-4 days before harvest. Happy growing.
Thanks for the awesome information. It helps tremendously. I am currently working with 3 of your strains that just turned to the flowering stage and I’m looking for great results.
Hello Robert
Your genetics and customer service are the best. Your sharing of knowledge is unmatched.
However I have to ask “Have you personally tried this splitting the stem” technique?
I tried the “Monster Cloning” and it was completely wrong so I wanted to ask about this stem splitting
Did you read it somewheres or did you actually try it?
Thanks again
Curtis
Black Dog Cannabis Company
Hey guys yall are great…But in the artical of splittig stems ..you state to tie at the base closest to the soil ..but your pictures mainly shows a few inches above the soil ..which one is it ??..
I believe that near or a couple inches is close enough. I think the article is merely clarifying that the technique should be applied to the lower part of the stem. Hope this helps. be careful 🙂
used nutrients in drip irrigation got scum in water which traveled to plants one showed signs of fungus I stopped method and hand water now . Do I need to worry ? plants look great now that I took off spotting leaves and hand ater
Boy scout,
You should join our support forum, so that we understand what you need and can help you out.
Your conversion between delta F. and delta C is wrong. You’re using the formula for converting between plain F and C. For delta, the formula doesn’t have the constant term. Read the text to see how wrong it is.
How does this relate to the article?
He is right- the temp differential does not read correctly- you mention a 40 deg differential which would reduce 80 deg to 40 deg…at least the way Im reading it- its confusing
A dutch grower told me about it 35 years ago. Since then I do the splitting and I believe it is a excellent way to stress the plant and make the plant think it is dying. The right time is important I do it 1 to 3 days before I harvest and since the plant is thinking it is dying it will suck all the rest of the goodies out of the root. Your weed will be more potent and if done right you will start doing it to all yoour plants after a while. Try it on one plant first see what it is like and tell me if I was right.
Thank you! In the Angels Valley this helps a ton!
this is the best site for info and seeds
that is all
I have been using the splitting technique for a while, but as usual with many of these techniques, there are many questions left unanswered. 1). How long should the plants remain this way until you harvest?
2). Should they be watered during this process, since you are forcing the plant into shock ?
3). Should they be kept in darkness?
Can anyone enlighten me ?
Joe.
1. Article clearly indicates this technique is to be done only in the last week before harvest.
2. You follow the regular watering or flushing process.
3. I see nothing that said to place them in darkness. Why would you place plants in the dark?
Because that’s what people are doing days before harvest….leaving plants in total darkness to jack up thc production. Have you never heard of this?
ty also for this as i will definitely try this stem splitting on a nice kush girl i know. yum yum.. happy tokin’..
Thank You for the info always a help good read, I will try stem splitting on one plant seem to be easy enough, I’ll keep my fingers crossed and let you know how I made out TY
TY for a very good read , been growing for 29 years , first time I have heard about splitting the stem , I am definatly going to try this , ty again , keep on budding
if you are real adventurous try pulling up a plant out of the ground for about 1hr then re-pot and water heavy to reset roots. Your plant will wilt and loose most leaves then just buds will come back better than ever.
Gday champ
Iv been splitting my plants for a long time now. Sometimes I just bust a huge nail right at the base and you’re right about not doing it too early
I have 3 females in seed. Will stem splitting benefit the quality of seed, or is this just related to THC ? Thanks
Gday Bert I believe it’ll work for seed too as it stresses the plant out an your plant will put everything it can into finishing
I’d like to see scientific evidence on the stem-splitting allegations; sounds like stoner-think to me.
Back in the late sixty’s I just used a stainless nail, and drove it thought the base then wrapped cotton cloth around the area. When I cut the plants I would dip the end in melted wax then hang the plants over plastic drop cloth. After four days I would scrape the plastic with an old wiper blade and round up all those tiny Amber beads—OH MY GOD, sit down and grab a handful of grass so you don’t float off the planet!
Hi did this 20y ago but used hash instead of stick.worked very well
I AM GROWING FOR SEED PRODUCTION ONLY. A SMALL EFFORT OF JUST 6 FEMALE NORTHERN LIGHT PLANTS ALL WITH LOTS OF SEEDS. I JUST DON’T KNOW HOW TO PROCEED FROM HERE AM ONLY WATERING AND LOTS OF LIGHT ON 10 HOURS A DAY. SOME DARK SEEDS SEEM HOLLOWISH AND MANY GREEN SEEDS NO PISTILS AT ALL .. REMOVED ALL LOWER DRIED LEAVES AND BUDS HAVE DRY LEAVES ATTACHED WELL THOUGH.. should i just be waiting and do i need to have a clear area under plants to catch seeds as do they drop from plant?. REALLY AM ASKING HOW DO I PROCEED WITH HARVESTING SEED ONLY INTERESTED IN THE SEEDS
THANKS
robin
I really enjoyed this article on splitting the stems. Will be trying it in the fall. On the gold leaf that i bought from you. Also, near the end of flower, I start talking real disrespectful to my plants. Its all about the stress at the end. No more ” how pretty you look this morning” or ” I brought you some breakfast”. It’s all about ” you look old this morning” and “you sure are getting fat”. Might sound silly but it helps. Scientists have proved that plants are sentient. Look it up! All forms of stress make a big diference Peace out.
Interesting. I use a 5′ x 5′ grow tent. 1 – 1250W led full spectrum. Two 4′ x 4 bulb florescent shop lights. 1 on each side of tent. Probably don’t need the florescent, but had them, so why not. I scroog all my grows. I have found that when scrooging 3 plants in that tent is all you need. The last grow was Supper Skunk. 3 plants produced 1 1/2 lbs. This grow is Grand Daddy Purple. They are BEAUTIFUL! Twice as many buds. Harvest is in 2 1/2 weeks. I’m going to try splitting 1. Will let you know how it works. With a little practice you can grow plants just like the pictures. ILGM seeds are the best!
I just did the stem splitting technique on one blackberry marijuana plant. I have never tried it before and I will let you know how it turns out. I chose one of my smaller plants just in case. I chose this plant due to the fact I didn’t have as much to lose if I messed up one of my huge bushes.I have . Also I am a outdoor grower. I tried indoor one year but wasn’t content with the small bushes. Outdoor is the best. I’ll let you know how it grows this year. See ya….Sam.
I have thought of the splitting technique, just been waiting for the specifications of how to do it THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE INPHO !!!!!!!!!!
Ok. Here’s my 2 cents worth. Been growing for 30+ years but this is the first time with LED. I am truly amazed! I’m growing AK-47 in a 3×3 foot tent. 1000w full spectrum led in a 3-gallon pot with my one mixture of compost. For feed, I make my own and it works better than any I’ve tried before. In one gallon of water, I mix 1tbs Epsom salt, 1/4 tsp baking soda,1/8 tsp ammonia. This is for the veggie stage. For flowering, I add 1/8 tsp of crystal phosphorous per gallon of before mentioned plant food. It puts the “P” at about 61 instead of the recommended 50. You can get all the ingredients on the Walmart or e-bay site for pennies.
Well we will giver a try I have some gold leaf about a wk. away some super skunk to maybe one of each as far as going to seed it is impossible this late in da game
I’ve been told that urinating on the cuts of the stems can help bud development? I’d appreciate if someone would clarify this, I’ve been storing my urine in containers for several months and some of the containers have burst open leaving my grow room filled with the odor of urine. I’ve been cleaning the urine up with rags then wiping down my plants with the urine rag. It’s working pretty well, apart from the obvious smell of dirty public toilet, the buds are looking juicy and wet.
Aaron Keith O’Brien
I DID IT I SPLIT THE MAIN STEM AND THE PLANT WAS SO SHOCKED THAT BECAME FULL OF SEEDS.AND I DID IT TO ALL AT THE SAME TIME AND I FINISHED WITH 66 GRAMMS SEEDS
VASILEIOS vasileiadis,
You do realize that stem splitting should only be done in the last 2 days to a week maximum before harvest; Right? Splitting the stem earlier can cause issues.
If you did noty have seeds and split the stem to gain 66 g of seeds; You had to have had applied this technique much too early in the flowering phase.
Thanks for sharing.
ILGM ,You guys rock. Amnesia Haze auto, 7inches colas, 8 of them,yes I filmed and it was fine. Also as small useless branch broke,so I “cloned”it .It went back to revel, lost lol white cotton tops,and degree was several weeks before a true leaf formed lots of single blades, Point is the thing turned into 24 bud sites all even..Maybe cause it was a branch but it’s as small 24in ×8 in plant now..Love it!!. The original comes up soon but has turned purple leaded starting at top and working down.Thought it was great burn,might’ve been? I just raised lights tho and it went purple,hitting it with cold air early 5-6hpurs of it before it heats up. I do love the genetics of these folks product..Spring time to order again Thanks ILGM.
JUsred,
Thanks for your positive commentsd. We are glad you have enjoyed successful growing with our guidance and genetics.
Happy growing 🙂
ILGM , Rocks in my humble opinion. Their genetics are some of, if not the best most consistent I’ve seen. I’m normally outside,weather permitting. Had to go a different route,so I tried autos, I am very pleased ,600watt mars hydro, 1 huge plant, two smaller is about max. 4 produces same as 1 good one. Light equals yield in my experience. 600watt, 4-5 ounces,irregardless how many plants. They worked with me,helped in light picks. IT ALL WORKED GREAT, weird thing was the different phenotypes, all grew well just different,but it was crowded that time. Either way my point is These are my go to guys. They’ve never let me down. Thanks Roberdt and support. Peace and out..About time for spring. Talk to you really soon Thanks ILGM TEAM..
what kind of waist use for it?
raghuveer,
Could you please re-phrase your question? We have no idea what you are asking. Thanks 🙂
Sorry…Meant research. 😉
alright, let’s just get a couple of things straight here so far :
1. the splitting of the stem theoretically works as long as you do it right and be kinda gruesome at it (awaiting empirical analysis)
2. the ice water flush works on changing the colors of your buds (for blue and purple strains), meanwhile the increased prod of trichs is contested (awaiting empirical evidence)
3. about the well-heard-of 48 hour of dark before harvest time to get more trichs, is it myth or reality? (awaiting empirical evidence)
CONCLUSION : WE NEED TO RECEIVE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE TO ALL THESE CLAIMS
Keep doing your reseatch. The only way to prove things that you doubt is to do it yourself over and over and witness the results.
Happy growing 🙂
Me again, I think I’ll call them Lemon Widows. Kinda has a ring to it.
Was reading articles about CO2. Had friend tell me it is very good for the roots of plants. Is it feasible to run a tube to the drain hole in bottom of planter pot to allow the CO2 to filter up through the soil?
Also planted a couple of Red Poison auto blooms. Haven’t done auto blooms before, but they are really looking good. Gorgeous colors in leaves/buds. Held back on doing any topping, as was told you really don’t want to cut the top bud off autos. May try to clone from the bottom in a separate room.
Also, my 1st grow did not start right. It consisted of 1 Lemon Haze and 3 White Widows. I was not aware of the light schedule being 18 hrs for veg. I had them on 12 hrs. Needless to say I screwed the lighting up from the start. Later, 1 of the WW’s hermed an I just decided to go with it and learn. The Lemon Haze really got pollenated and produced a lot of nice looking seeds. I now have 6 of the seeds growing quite well. Not sure if this is how new strains are created, but can’t wait to try it out…
Dude TJ,
That is not how a stable strain is created. IN order to have a stable strain you must back breed to one of the parent’s several times. 3-4 at least. Watch for “hermies”. 🙂 Good Luck
Some folks just make it way too difficult. I grow in two tents, both the same size, 2′ x 4′ by 5′ tall. 400w mh for the veg tent, 400w hps for the bloom tent. 2 months in one, 2 months in the other, clone with an oxy cloner 20 site system with just tap water. Minimal misting, no pruning. A little bending if they get too tall. 2 tsp of dyna grow foilage pro for 8 plants in one gallon pots every other day. Same in the bloom tent but we switch to dyna grow bloom. If we see mites we hit it with azamax, and check again in a week, if need be, spray em with it again. Once usually does it. Consistent cleaning of everything in between cycles, with one day down for that on each tent. We consistently get 1/2 lb. every two months, white widow. It’s VERY important to clean the oxy cloner thoroughly with a good dish dtergent and the hottest tap water you have. Let it soak a bit. blow some hot water through the hoses, too. Good Luck.
I’ve done your splitting technique on several of your wwa it was cool and killer, buds looked like snow cones. Killer crystal also I highly recommend both of those seeds, low stress, scrog, topping I’ve learned a lot from you guys ☮
I read about “splitting”, going to try on sour D, not the entire plant just some branches, pistols are about 80% brown, let you know how it goes
I read about “splitting”, going to try on sour D, not the entire plant just some branches, pistols are about 70% brown, let you know how it goes
How do you use ice water in your increasing trichomes. I flush heavily with ice water 5to7days (last watering) before harvest, works for us.
Ed,
Flushing your plants with ice water at finish serves one purpose, only. By flushing with ice water, you lock the phosphorous. Locking the phosphorous uptake causes a color change in blue and purple type strains.
Flushing with ice water has no affect on producing higher quality trichomes.
Happy growing! 🙂
Chris,
We do not rate light systems. If you join our support forum, I can guarantee you that we have several people with informed opinions that can help you out.
Peace, lw
ive live in oregon, and it’s starting to rain. I have a plant I rescued and is treating me well,I’ve never done this before,so to prevent over watering,I put it in a corner and put an umbrella over it,helps a little but now the cold weather is setting in and it is just now starting to bud,my question is “HELP” !. Can i go from outside to inside without killing it? I mean is there a way to adjust it’s environment, I mean from outside to in, in one move cause it is in such a big pot,I have problems moving 6 inch, she’s came this far i can’t give up one her know,and this weather will be the death of her, if i don’t do something now! thank you for reading and hope for some helpfull advice soon,thx
Kevin,
Join our support forum. We can help you there. Briefly, yes you can move it inside.
i think the reasoning is sound so i’m going to try if i can do it . i’ll probably get somone else do it for me as they will be steadier than i. i hzve ms and one plant. do you syill recomend this?
I’d like to try the stem splitting on one of my plants that is not doing as well as the others. 2nd year outdoor grower. Plants are looking great (I think). Had great results last year using your guide. Should I test my splitting on a well plant or the slow grower?
Lynette,
This is totally your choice. It is an experiment for you, so you need to decide which plant to experiment with. Happy growing >)
I have heard when you harvest your plant to put your root in boiling water to rush the thc to the buds .is this right?
I have a beautiful big bud plant in flower. 1 of its smaller branches has just a single bud on the end like a lollipop. I waited for the bud to be established then made a shallow split through the center. At first it appeared the bud was dying. After 3 days it now appears it’s splitting into 2 separate buds. Also I’ve noticed that unless you touch the plant or gently squeeze a bud there isn’t much of a smell to her. I already harvested a few other plants from ILGM bought seeds. Which every seed I have started has been a female. My first grow wasn’t productive as I was using organic nutrients that created a build up in my hydroponic setup. I found out that hydrogen peroxide would clear it up. The bad end of using the peroxide to stop the build up is it killed the nutrients in the nutrient tank. So the plants got nutrients for 2-3 days then I cleared out the build up and killed the nutrients and basically flushed the roots for 11-12 days. I switched nutrients and found I was pruning my plants in veg every other day. I put the big bud in flower and wishing 5 days she had well established flowers growing from every node and top from every branch and sub branch. She is on day 21 of 12/12 flower cycle and she’s making my mouth water with anticipation.
Paul,
MOst likely you have a land race Sativa, and it takes 3-4 months or longer to finsih.
I suggest you look us up at our forum and we will be gald to help you move forward.
Shortening light photo period to 11/13, 10/14 can help the plant finish faster.
Happy growing, see you at the forum 🙂
Looking for so me advice.
This is my second grow and I let me plants get pretty tall 36 inches before going to 12/12. The plants stretched badly up to 54 inches into the light. My only option was to tie the plants down and gave them grow across a string. I’m now 12 weeks into the 12/12 and all my bud pistols are very white. Could the tying down have slowed the growth by as much as a month? This stuff looks like I have weeks still to go? Any help or advice would be great.
I have 3 plants. One is 15in the other is 11in. They are outdoors plants. I noticed that all 3 are female. One plant is in a little over a gallon container. That’s the bigger one. The other is in a 3 gallon. What should I put them in for good 5 Gallon each? Also when will they begin to flower give or take? I really need to get to the next important step an need a little advice and a good mentor on my first grow. Please anytime. Joseph
Joseph,
If you join our forum we will be glad to help you become a grow expert by the end of your 1st 2 grows. 🙂
Just wondering if I’m only using a 3200 lumen 150 watt equivalent 4ft led light that’s spectrum is daylight nondimmable. Should I get more lights for four plants?
Mrdean,
That sounds lie an interesting lamp you have. I find it best to use 600 watts in a 4×4′ – 5×5′ space with 4 plants.
Happy growing
I have tried splitting the stems on a chocolope and amniesia haze. it’s been 4 days and not much change. the trichomes are starting to go cloudy so I think the timing was right. I used kabob skewers. Erlier in the year I used toothpics in upper stems to try to slow down growth (my lights ran out of height) and it helped considerably. It also made them stronger.I keep you updated at harvest.
Bozlee, on your comment abt splitting to control height, can comment more. i have low ceilings, am using LST, SCROGGING, FIMMING, etc. Thx!
5 degrees C is 9 degrees F not 50. C to F is C*1.8 you only add 32 when talking about a regular temp not a difference.
The splitting sounds interesting….but as a new grower I think I will stick to just growing the plants as is. I’m using a 1000w LED light for 4 plants. I’m using some high content KNP soil and leaves are popping up all over the place, which will help with photosynthesis. They have been on 12/12 light for 5 days now, I need to get a mini dehumidifier because the cupboard seems to generate quite a lot of humidity. From reading as much info as possible I need to get the humidity down a little bit. It can fluctuate from 60 to 70% and I will need to get it down to about 40-50%. I’ve got to plants from bagseeds and if necessary will remove them if they are male of hermes, the other 2 consist of 1 feminised pineapple chunk and the other is feminised peppermint kush….So, I’m hoping all 4 are females but only time will tell I guess :/
P.S. the reason I’m growing them….pain relief, I don’t want to take anymore medication, as I am already on enough tablets to open my own chemists lol
Hey Andy, be sure to hop onto our support forum. Our experts there can help you along
Thank you for the e-mail. There is such a vast treasure trove of info. I was following you on you tube and purchased books and other things from your site.
Awesome Mike, happy to hear we’re helping out!
Dude that’s just Nasty!
Coltfire,
Does what work? Plase do not ask a vague question. We are glad help you if you inform us of what “this” refers to.
After reading this ,it is something I want to try, does this work on outdoor In the ground plants?
Rv1157,
You made your bed, so to speak.
What you do to one plant will affect the other. So you weill have to allow the faster plant to become more ripe before harvesting. It is always best to have a solid plan and some insight into proper plant management before you start too many seeds 😀
Happy growing!
Hi, I’m growing unknown sativas. They’re in week 6 of flower. There seems to be two distinct strains. On one strain the leaves are long and thin, the other looks similar but the leaves are a bit wider and are blooming later. Unfortunately I have both strains in one pot. Can I still flush with water for two weeks without harming the other strain? I had no idea I would have so many female plants. They’re about 4 feet tall in a 2 x 3 bedroom closet!
Hi Tony, you can find more on growing autos here: https://ilovegrowingmarijuana.com/growing/autoflower-marijuana-basics/
And you can hop onto the support forum where our experts can help you out with any questions.
I am starting my 2nd harvest soon. I used WW auto/fem from ILGM last time and will use them again this time. I planted 4 plants in a 2×4 tent with 400 watt lights. last time I added 2 small uv lights to the tent. This time I will only plant 2 plants and remove the 2 extra uv lights. Last time I had two plants in 3 gal pots and 2 plants in 2 gallon pots. In the small pots the plants produced very small buds. In the larger pots I got bigger buds, but all four plants tasted green and nasty and the effect was bad. This time the two plants I plant will be in 5 gallon pots. Last time I germinated in paper towels and planted in cups then transplanted to pots. This time I will plant and germ in the pots they will live in. I have the grow bible but I don’t see a lot of info on growing autos. any other suggestions?
I went for it and split the stem and placed a chop stick in there.. interesting concept
Hemp Invaders,
Perhaps you would like to join our support forum and share your results with allk the friendly and knowledgeable members 🙂
You didn’t say when to use you stem splitting technique. ? When the buds start forming?
Hi Ricky, Robert explains in one of the comments:
“It’s a week before harvest. This techniques creates a lot of stress on the plants. If you do it a few weeks before harvest your buds will ripen too fast. Which results in a lower yield and less trichomes.”
I am definitely going to try this this spring. I’ve lost all but two of my white widows I ordered, I can’t keep up with the cold here in Maine, I will order more this spring .
Ronald. We hope you can find a way to grow indoors; After all; It is legal in Maine now !
I am strictly hydro,can I still split the stems? I never did that before but will try anything for bigger better buds. My next harvest is 3/11 so ill try splitting on 3/5. I will let you know.
Richie,
Method of growing is moot. Whether you grow in soil, soil-0less or hydro 🙂
I have 2 Haze plants that are 10 weeks flowering. Looks good, but I also have 5 plants of a mystery seeds in 10 weeks of flowering, they are some signs of white hairs, and they are now 5 ft tall. No sign of any buds, the question is ? Do some plants take more than 3 months flowering ?
Yes they do. I find that most Indica plants finish in 8-12 weeks, and Sativa 12-16 weeks. I also find that length of veg cycle has a direct affect on finishing time.
Happy growing
‘@latewood You mentioned “I also find that length of veg cycle has a direct affect on finishing time.” What effect? Does a longer veg time result in a shorter flower time or v.v?
I love all the information, I learn something new every time I log in 😉 I never can learn enough here keep up the great work Robert ,just an open book of knowledge, thanks again
Its better then going to any school, every time Robert sends some information, there’s something that you will
Learn. I appreciate any tips that ilgm sends my way. Knocked over a lawn chair, split a plant, stood the ww back up and had one huge cola the size of two, two liter bottles. Lol Lol land weed, it was killer!
Thanks for the love Hempy!
I ordered the high yield pack and 3 of 3 germinated and came out of the ground on Xmas. They are very healthy and I will be ordering a different strain today! I’m glad I trusted the cash by mail thing. It’s hard to have trust in anything nowadays. Thanks Robert!
Good to hear all’s well Bozlee. Happy growing!
My first grow was with 2 gallon pots and they are not even close to being big enough to support a plant. 4-5 gal root pouches are key for rootzone health and overall plant vitality. I started to use 5 gal root pouches and my plants are so much happier. I suggest you spend the $50 on Amazon for the 10 pack of 5 gal bags. I use a 400w hps with ilgm seeds and I have had an amazing %100 germination rate and incredibly healthy robust plants. My last white widows from ilgm sprouted in 2 days and yielded 2 ounces dry per plant and my amnesia hazes were a bit more. I bought seeds from seedssupreme and not a single plant sprouted out of 5 seeds. Ilgm seeds are a sure be and I would recommend them to everyone.
Good stuff Brianne! Thanks for sharing!
Aloha! As you can see, i live in Hawaii, and grow nearly exclusively outdoors. My experience with outdoor growing in HI began in the mid-1970’s, at remote locations. For the past 5-6 years, i’ve been growing legally and openly where i live. thanks to HI’s medical marijuana provision. However, this presents unique problems: I live less than 100 yards from the ocean, on the windward side of my island, thus i have to deal with salt air, and warmer temps/higher humidity than when i grew in the interior decades ago. So i’m always looking for stains that can thrive in these conditions. In essence, growing outdoors in HI means growing in a micro-climate. I would value a recommendations of strains-particularly Hawaii-originated hybrids. I have this question regarding stem-splitting: what depth should the incision be? Am I to slice clear through the stem, or? I have heard of “scrogging” before, as well as various methods of stressing the plant to stimulate growth and potency. Thank you in advance of receiving the grow bible, im sure it will help me be more successful this season.
i’m in Colorado and the beginning of the year the laws are changing I can only grow 12 plants is there any recommendation for me to get more pounds will talk plans if you put three lights for plants would that increase the monthly amount of house you get ?
At what stage do you split the stem! Start of budding! Halfway thru! ??? Makes absolutely perfect sense in my experiences of growing so many things for 35 plus years!!
Hi Jimbo, It’s a week before harvest. This techniques creates a lot of stress on the plants. If you do it a few weeks before harvest your buds will ripen too fast. Which results in a lower yield and less trichomes.
Hi Rob, I have split plants in the past, intentionally and my dog split one for me unintentionally that’s the way I found out the plant was producing lots more resin, the plant was split from tip to stem, and fell into two parts growing along the ground, incredibly yielding 3.9lbs of massive sticky buds. This plant was left alone, just watered. With other splits, I use a paddle pop stick sharpened at one end and just poke it through the base and leave it, does the same job, might try soaking stick in molasses and see if there’s a difference. Thank you for the bible, it’s been very handy, though I’d forgotten how to grow after 25yrs and living in Australia makes it very difficult to grow,we are so backward here, guess it’s like riding a bike. Thanks. Fab.
Hi robert.. ive been growing now for about a year.. im gettin better every harvest.. i really like your tips on how to be successfull at growing.. im going to try the splitting of the stem this time.. keep up the great advice and spreading the knowledge of cannibus growing.. i always resort to your emails when having issues.. and no matter how good we growers think we know it all. Theres always issues that arrise during a grow cycle.. thanks for your efforts and keep up the great advice
I loved the information on stem splitting. However I don’t remember it being in the grow bible? I will go back and look . Just would like to see all this great information in one book not several
The grow bible is a beginners guide to a successful grow. If you follow the direction in the grow bible you will succeed. Advanced techniques are published in the blog, and discussed at our support forum
I cannot see how splitting the stems 3 days to one week before harvesting could possibly have enough time to affect the plant to grow larger buds or increase THC? Do you mean before flowering?
Hi Janice,
It’s a week before harvest. This techniques creates a lot of stress on the plants. If you do it a few weeks before harvest your buds will ripen too fast. Which results in a lower yield and less trichomes.
Robert
Janice,
The article clearly states to use this technique a few days to a week before harvest. Thanks for asking.
Splitting the plant sounds interesting. Would like to try this. Can I do this on an auto?
I would not advise this technique on an “auto”; However, you only have a week left before harvest; So, y not try it! 🙂
Have never heard of that but I will definitely give it a try.
you are so closed minded i own my own home and business and love growing marijuana so open your mind a bit and do not be so judgemental
sean,
You do not add ash to hydro. Ash would be an ingredient in compost; Unless I misunderstand you.
Happy growing 🙂
Spider mite infestation week 7 bloom, can I remove all large buds with webbing, then shower plant without causing damage to remaining plant
Phil,
Once you have developed a mite issue that has thrived to the point that you see webbing; You plant is pretty much done.
For mites: You need to treat them early, and after grow; Tear down grow area and wipe it all down and or soak everything in a weak bleach solution.
To treat mites; I use Food grade CODEX Diatomaceous Earth.*
* You cannot use pool grade filter DE. It is not suitable for human or animal consumption. Food grade CODEX DE is used a s afiller in foods and can also be used as a multi-vitamin and to rid animals and humans of parasites that are living in their digestive tract. 🙂
How much ash to use for one gallon hydro?
I find myself constantly taking leaves off of my plants. At least a couple nearly everyday. Is this bad?
At the end this is very normal. Also any leaves not getting light will yellow.
Anthony Mandich,
Why would you do that? The leaves are equivalent to the heart and lungs of the plant. Without the leaves, photosynthesis cannot occur properly.
Good Luck 🙂
I think you are wrong about removing leaves. Yes , they are the solar panels for the plant but in my experiences I have completely stripped some of my plants down to just a few leaves once the budding has started and I still had good harvests. I am sure stripping all the leaves is not the best but removing enough leaves ( biggest, no smaller than 3″ leaves) so the light can penetrate the canopy deeper is a good thing !!
How effective is worm castings in the complete growth cycle. I have pounds from my worm bins
Worm castings are a great amendment to add if you are building your own soil.
Happy growing 🙂
I have ak47’s in a small grow box. 2 weeks into flowering, but they grow to high. They will reach the to before i
see any buds. How do i correct that?
Bend them over, be careful and roll the stalk in your fingers firat then just bend it over. They bend stalks will right themselves and actually xreate more budding sites..
Allen, how close is the light to the top of the canopy? With my 400 W HPS light I keep it at 18″ – 20″ so with a 600W HPS you probly need ta keep it right around 24″. You will need to add some Phosphorus during the flower stage also!
I am growing kimbo kush and it’s in about the 3rd or 4 th week of flowering and all of my leaves have started turning light green to yellowish color not just the main leafs but the sugar leaves around the flowers I just got a 600w hps air cooled light and put on them 2 weeks ago upgrade from 2 150w hps the 600w is around 10 to 12 in. Away from the tops could the stronger light be causing the leaves to turn or is this a nutrition problem
Allen, you probly need ta move ur lights up to about 24″ from the canopy. My 400W HPS is at 18″ – 20″ from the canopy. Keep a thermometer at the same height as the canopy so u can monitor the heat at the canopy level! Also u will need ta add some Phosphorus and Potassium during the flower stage!
Moose
If you just transplanted into fresh FOF; I would not advise adding anything else for approx. a month. Plant will let you know when it needs a boost from some bloom nutrients.
Good news, Good news!!! I can actually see growth at the pinch points now!!! Not much but they are there for sure!!! Cool, Cool!!!
Can’t post on the forum! Says not permitted to view requested resource???
Gilly,
New members are not allowed to post until they read and respond to a few posts. This helps keeps “bots” from joining and spamming the forum. Better security.
I have a plant of unknown strain (bagseed) in week 1 flower about 9″ started in crappie MG soil and is in FFOF now. She is about 6 weeks old. Since she was transplanted into the good soil, should I consider adding nutes or leave as is? Ph is 6.6, temp is 68, unsure of humidity, using 2 x 23w soft white cfls
Gilly,
I forgot to add that patience is the strongest virtue of a grower. I cannot tell you how long it will take you to see more stems or “off shoots”. You just have to nurture plant everyday and wait for results. This is how we all learned. Happy growing. 😀
I’m also growing 6 white widow autoflowers, currently on their 4th day of being planted in their pots
Gilly,
Nothing is exclusively common when manipulating MJ plants. Perhgaps when tou piched you left a bit of the kola to allow for growth in one area.
No one can tell you whether or not to pinch more tops. This is a matter of you learning what you need to do in order to achieve the results that you want. Join our support forum and after making a few posts and making your self known to the community; You can start a topic or grow journal and post piks 😀
Is there a way to post pics???
I just pinched the center growth last Sunday. I’m seeing very minor starts of new stems. Some show signs of growth on 1 side so to speak and not on the other? Is this common? How long before new stems will actually be visible to the eye? Other than that, they will be 5 wks old come this Saturday and they are 10″ to the tallest point from the dirt!!! Also, should I be pinching growth elsewhere or just wait on these 4 new stems to get big enough and then pinch those? They are bigger round than the buckets are now. When seedlings I covered the stem with dirt every time they grew a 1/2″ and all that then turns to root! My 1st branches are even with the dirt! Keeps the height down even further!
I’m growing 4 AK-47 plants.
Gilly, keep us posted on your grow. We love to hear from fellow growers.
Sorry Gilly; I can only giver you a broad answer due to you not informing us of what type seeds you are us
I generally consider 64 days yo finish the flowering time.
Happy growing.)
When they say 64 days to flower does this mean from seed to start of flower or from start of flower to harvest??? I’m growing in a 4′ x 4′ tent with a air cooled tube light with a 400 watt HPS Bulb. (16″ from canopy)Plants are 4 weeks old and about 6″ tall. I’m using Blue Mountain Organic : GROW IT GREEN during the veg. state and FLOWER POWER during the flowering state. (when the time comes) Also misting with a light solution of the same nutrients a couple times a week. Anything else I can do to improve the quality and quantity??? Thanks Gilly
Hi my name is wayne,i’m a pensioner
in australia would like to buy some seeds as i suffer from arthritis can you garrentee that they will be deliverd as you can understand i’m a bit sceptical.thanks wayne.
No worry’s Wayne! They do as they say! Had mine in 9 days!!! (USA)
Go for it Wayne! You have nothing to worry about, get you some and relieve your pain.
I love the articles and purchased the bible a few years ago. I grow my own medical marijuana since it’s not available in my state. I have limited space and grow autoflowering plants, but I cannot get near the yields everyone talks about. In a 2 gallon container, I am lucky to get about 1/2 ounce. The quality is excellent but I would love a higher yield. I use espoma soil, perlite and peat moss. I use light nuts ( FoxFarm ). What else can I do?
Aloha Betty C, I am finishing my 3rd Auto crop. I grow outside in Hawaii. I can offer you my way of getting more product from Autos. As you know they grow fast. So you must work fast and check them more often than regulars. First, start with a good organic soil. Fox Farm Ocean blend or their other one I can’t remember or Promix. Organic. They do not need any nutrients.(unless they develope a deficiency in their short life hmm. Good soil is enough. However, I do give them 1 tsp of Cal-Mag in 1 gal of water and split it among the five. Make sure soil is not wet wet and not bone dry. That’s the only thing in the nute thing. Why that? I have no idea. Start them in the pot they will finish in. No pot/container smaller than 3 gal. I use 3 gal., easier to move if need. Give them as much light as possible. I try to keep them in direct sunshine as much as possible and that’s why I grow them in 3 gal pots. No transplanting. Never. I have germinated in the plate and paper towel method and str8 in ground method. No difference. Ground easier. If doing the paper plate method, have pots ready before cuz they could pop in 12 hrs. Now for getting Bigger Yields time. Top/fim as many times you can b4 they start to flower. They grow so fast you may only get 1-2 chances. We all know the more tops the more buds. My last grow, I waited and watched vigilantly and got 10- 12 nice sides branches and bud sites on almost all 5. Just don’t go crazy on them. They need sun, water and good soil. You grow that wonderful gift of nature like any other type, strain of plant just easier and faster. Oh and PH the water, every time. Mine do well at above 6 below 7. I hope I didn’t forget anything. Oops, my yields:
1st attempt. (Summer) 5 Blueberry x White Widow =2.4 oz’s total.
2nd (summer) Blueberry x W.W. 5 plants 4.3 oz’s. (I like this strain) I was able to top more b4 it started to bud.
I just cut my grow of 5 of the same as above 2 weeks ago and they weighed in a hefty, I kid you not, 11.2 oz. Trimmed. I hope u didn’t fall asleep reading this and I was able to help. Autos are great, u can grow all year so you have medication on hand. They have their own little eco system houng on. Cool on that. Some breeds of seeds says 75-90 days til harvest. All my seeds ( I got them from same place same time) took from 90 – no longer than 100 days after breaking ground. Autos are cool, quick and easy. The biggest problem I had contradicts my “easy” statement, harvesting and drying them. Harvest was everyday for 7-10 days. Drying and curing, same thing. Label, label , label. 20-30 day cures and keep the rotation all year if you can. You will have great years.
P.S. I also grow other Feminized strains inbetween my autos. Mixing it up is the way to go. ✌
Seeds by: ILGM, Nirvana, Herbies
GOO fully organic; use ALKALINE water; try making your own nutrients and pesticides but most important work with Mother Nature and it’s cycles, allow Mother Nature to do its thing..
Here
Amen remember it’s a WEED. I’ve trimmed, cut, and punished mine for over 40 or so years, when you would go to jail for life so we had to make it look like a ordinary bush, and we still got outstanding bud. It’s a weed folks it ain’t brain surgery. Enjoy the excitement of growing the gift from god. O
1 plant, 1- 5 gallon air pot, a bag of fox farm soil, GH line of nutes. (the 3 basic ones). Keep it simple, do not over water and make sure you flush every 7-10 days. Use half of the nutes that is recommended. The main thing is don’t try so hard and you should get at least 2-3 oz with the 1 plant. Keep it even simpler by using auto flower and the correct light which you can look up to find the one that suits you.
I personally do not like to mist my plant unless it is a proactive measure against disease or pests.
You definitely do not want to mist plants once they have developed buds.
Happy growing!
When should one stop misting the plants for fear of mold in the buds?
Need to buy seeds
Ralph,
Go to our Seed Shop and browse the quality selections. Choose a payment method and, there you go 🙂
I have used nothing but Roberts seeds they always come within 2 weeks only once was there a problem some came crushed and with 1 picture i got new seeds more than i orderd think you ilgm i Will never. Buy seeds from any where else6
Where can I buy seed for upstate new York in the southern tiers moist soil over 200 acreage to hide on soils not the any help
Herbies. From G.B.. Thousands of strains. takes two to three weeks.
ILGM is the best place for seeds in my opinion. Great consistent genetics. Healthy happy plants. And ILGM takes care of their customers. All my orders to east coast come within 2wks. I’ve never peraonally had a problem but a buddy in our crew had a problem with one crushed seed out of one of his 10packs and ILGM replaced that seed,plus gave him extras, and they rush delivered it to him. Our of our fellow growers 420crew only buy seeds from ILGM
gary and Gene,
1st let me inform you that wood ash also contains in higher levels Potassium, Magnesium, and a small amount of Sulfur, as well as Phosphorous.
It is recommended to add wood ash at no more than a 1/4″-1/2″ to top of soil. You can blend it into soil before adding a plant. As far as Water to wood ash ration. I do not believe the water makes any difference as long as you can apply it evenly to your soil plants. Just make sure you calculate how much you would use to keep it in the application range mentioned above.
I recommend you all join our support forum for more discussion and guidance on this topic. Happy Growing! 🙂
Great advice…. Another cool way to make your plant become a bush is FIMMING, If done right it can split into 3 or more new colas…
I would like to know the ash to water ratio. I check my soil nutrients a couple of times, and would like to get to phosphorus level up a little more for the budding stage .
How much wood ash to water ratio should i apply?
I have grown pot for close to 20 years the last 12 legally, and what I’ve learned over the years is that those articles,photos of monster buds are fine, but give me a break, I have used the same strain since 2005 ( I do grow different strains with exceptional results) this strain produces small dense tight heavy buds that are killer. If you have a great strain that produce small tight killer buds clone and keep growing it. My strain is Pot of Gold check it out, seeds are not cheap but well worth it. One more thing after growing for many years I still have the passion and true enjoyment I had when I started so go for it because you’ll enjoy the process.
Where is safest place to buy good good seeds/outdoor
Whether or not; The plants growth slows down; You still should harvest by the color of the trichomes.
In general, the statement you made was correct. Anytime you stress the plant, you will see growth slow for a few days, while it heals itself.
Most information we get here is good. I have to say that an important missing point here is how the plant reacts after it is topped or trimmed (pruning). Correct me if need be, but I was given a precaution before pruning, whenever we start to change these babies it will slow it’s growth for a week or two. I think this is a good point because to assess the stage of flowering to determine the next steps along the way we might be over doing expectation’s that after topping or whatever we shouldn’t be expecting immediate growth, it will take time. Yes? I’m into my fifth grow and I am curious why my girls aren’t larger. After the other grows I pull them up to see where the root development is at. They are uniformly not as developed as one would expect. I have kept good notes on all of these and adjusted and tuned accordingly. Yet to slim avail. All in all yields are pretty good and end results as well. I don’t want to be buying every nutrient and much else. I learned it’s not worth it to keep throwing new stuff into the mix ( this is one problem with many site ) they are basically selling their products along with instructional information. I suppose keep tuning in the basics is the way to go.
To peteski72 /: I’m an old farmboy and I’m not at all convinced that cutting/pruning in any way “discourages” the plants from continuing their established level of growing “enthusiasm”.
e.g. These are “weeds”, remember. Have you ever owned a house? Ever tried to cultivate a lawn? Ever pulled the top off a dandelion? Or a plantain? Or crabgrass? If you have, was your experience that the plant “rolled over” and died?
Not likely. If anything, pruning renews the vigor of almost any plant. Read any gardening book about getting the most out of your Lilacs, Petunias, Geraniums, Begonias………ANYTHING. Pruning is a RECOMMENDED method of ENCOURAGING growth.
WW,
NO, not necessarily. I read it as suggesting an option. I would not take buds unless my trichomes showed that the buds were finished. I think what is suggested is that you can remove the kolas, and allow the rest of plant to finish for another week or so. I also do not feel that the buds will get that much bigger, but they do add a bit of weight.
Below is the text from the above article:
SPEEDING UP BUD GROWTH
“Another way of saving and focusing your female plant’s energy is by topping it. This is a form of pruning that requires you simply cut off the topmost buds. You can take this bud home to cure and smoke already, and in the meantime the remaining buds will grow even faster. Some growers swear by this every year to achieve bigger and more potent buds by the time the harvest rolls around.”
Is this article suggesting that I top my flowers? If so, how late in the flowering stage (I am in week 6) and how far down the cola do I cut? Please advise. Thank You!
WW
What is Golden tree? I would recommend you joining our Support Forum in order to find a wider range of answers.
What are the best feeds to use along side golden tree to get huge buds ?
I utilize the LST method of tying down the top and some of the stronger side branches so that the main stem forms an “S” shape. This method really opens up the interior of my plants, stimulating many nodes into bud production that would otherwise not happen. The overall effect is that of a beautiful SoG (Sea of Green) where the side branches grow as tall as the top, creating this level plateau of green. Beautiful and easy to do without cutting or topping. I get just as much bud if I were to prune, and bending puts a lot less stress on the plants than cutting them.
Thanks for sharing Mattman!!
I need something to make the buds on outdoor plants bigger.any ideas
I “can’t” grow outside, so to keep it hidden a little better I bend over some saplings into a grid and toss a tree top over that, been using that to Scrog. Then just miracle grow, outside only, and kelp until it’s time to start open sesame. I have had some good years lately, and I don’t see them every week, or longer. My focus is inside. I’ve also been doing this for over 20 years, you’ll get very good with some practice.
Found your article very informative. I’m doing a LST now, but will try the kola harvesting on my nest grow as I’m going to let them go naturally to see what they can do. I am doing Island Sweet Skunk from Federation..
Thanks Walli420, Keep us posted on the growth of your plants!
how good is a 250 watt hps for flowering could i yield very large flowers
Hi Leonard,
250 watt HPS are perfect for flowering. Read this article about how much a plant can produce
Is too much light when flowering a problem? I am trying to solve the smallish bud problem. My nugs are not tight, they are about the size of the first digit of my thumb when still damp. Equipment: I have 2 Mars Hydro 700 watt LEDs, and 2 350 watt CFL fill lights on a 12/12 schedule. I use these in a 4 x 4 tent. I used better nutes this time for flowering – adding Humboldt Secret Golden Tree and Humboldt’s Sonic Bloom (0-51-34), as well as a pinch of Miracle Grow for Azalea’s for Nitrogen (30-10-10). Sometimes I use Atomic Bloomz – hormones with vital nutrients. My feeding schedule is usually Nutes-Water-Water. I grow in dirt – Fox Farm. I’ve done LST. I work to keep temperatures and humidity in the right ball park. It is winter still in Detroit so it is really dry.(On my clones and seedlings and young plants I use a small humidifier. ) I have an CO2 tank with all the apparatus and I have to hook that up as soon as I get the room airtight the refill company scared me about having it blow up in the room and having the CO2 kill us! So I have been cagey with it). Guess that’s it. I was gearing toward SOG or SCROG, with 1.3 gallon planters, with the LST etc. and I found that my little SOG plants had bigger more compact nugs and output only 30% less than big 3 foot plants that had been in there for like months! But still nothing like what I see in these pictures on the net. I use good genetics – mostly (Nirvana!) seeds now since buying clones at first without knowing anything, and getting a pesky spider mite issue that takes constant vigilance. Any advice?
I live up in the north of Canada and its winter so very dry aswell but thats not an issue since i dont clone or use clones i only use quality seeds from herbies and have had awsome grows with this websites seeds, i use 2, 400w hps light for flower, and i also used em for veg for a bit but i found it got too hot in my 5×5 tent even with -30 air going in (highest temp +40 at one point so i took them out of the tent for flower because heat makes buds airy like you described) so watch out for that, also the light your using is apperently a very good 1 im goin to go with the 1200w mars 2 soon aswell so your lights are good, but your buckets are too small for that light in my opinion, i use 5 gal buckets and when i harvest the roots are almost taking up the whole bucket of dirt exept the 1 inch at the bottom (your plant can only grow 2-3 times the amount of your root zone so max your plant in a 1.3 gal bucket can grow up to double or triple the hight of that bucket so consider upsizeing, i dont think co2 would be a good idea unless you have 1000 watt hps lights (or equivelent) because you need the max amount of light you can get for all that co2 to be sucked up, alltho it will help a tad, also iv noticed if you do too many plants under 1 light the buds will be smaller because the lights being seperated amongst the other plants so you loght i belive is good for a 3×3 areaso id only put 4 plants not topped, lst’d manifolded or anything done to it just let it grow naturally. Or 1-2 topped/manifolded plants maxx. I also should mention i use advanced nutes ph perfect grow micro bloom for my base nutes in promix hp along with senzizyme, tarantula, b-52 and since iv switched to an eve tho most ppl hate me for it, its made my last harvest florish i got just about a pound from 6 3ft tall plants manifolded to 8 colas per plant i am switchin up my nutes next grow but not recommending those nutes as i have not used em yet but those an nutes packed a punch for bulking up buds but they were not as good as they couldve bin because the temp was really high uring weeks 1-3 untill i could afford to solve the problem but hope that helps you out (also look for stuff called snow storm ultra or gravity that shits insaaaane for dense buds) and stay away from miricle grow the time relesed ferts are horid and can wreak havoc on your plants even there perlite is laced with that time relesed shit i made that mistake my first grow and the buds tasted horible… Btw i use nivana seeds aswell they have awesome seeds
Should also answer your main question aswell you can never have too much light aslong as your not getting light burn on your plants and that 700mars should be about 1.3 metres away from your canopy because of the 190 degree reflectors on it
We grow outside and I pinch my plants several times when young plants, we used miricle grow our first year and had some awsome turnout. friends couldn’t enough Tahoe. We are lucky enough to know a longtime grower and grow facilities designer expert for all over Western States, and get very high quality clones from them, This year Jack Herrer, girlscout, old school, lemon haze, cherry cush and blueberry.. This year will get some clones, but I also want to try seeds. Not so good second year, two humid and huge buds that sweat. And diffidently too much nutrient experimenting. Had fun, fun but studing more, but sur wish there were more info on outdoor growing. Thanks so much for all intell.
Is that snow storm stuff the same as Fox farm cha ching ? or is that something you add additionally on top of that
Great knowledge, would like to email you, where?
Hey ryan, i was wondering if you can help me solve my space problem..
How many hours are on your light bulbs would be my first thought. Also I would use 3 gallon pots instead of 1.5 gallon. You might be getting root lock.
TIA,
Anom
You need to increase the size of your pots for starters and it sounds as if you might be over crowding them, all of the buds need to get lighting in order to grow big and potent no more than 4 plants in that space and ideally 10 gallon pots but 5’s will do also you could use 3’s but wont give you the biggest harvest and use root extender through out grow, good luck.
The bigger the pot the bigger the bud for the most part.. Genetics play a role for sure, but if your pots are less than 3 gallon, you will not see big buds
I beg to differ Friend. I just harvested 6 jars of juicy buds from an 8′ tall Amnesia plant. I wanted to try to cheap plastic nursery pots out (2.5 gal) instead of my 5 gal Black Magic. I failed at pruning her correctly. So she was super cropped. I only started indoor last August. I Harvested 5 jars of Purple Haze from a plant half the size in the Black Magic. I employ any technique necessary to keep the plant under the light. I also Kushman cracked the Haze. I will be attempting the splitting technique as well. Will keep you posted.
spider mites must be rid of weeking plant whole tent needs to be cleaned and room
Spider mites are a bugger to remove. Use neem oil & remove webs & large old leaves.
They hate humidity.
After harvest, thoroughly clean EVERYTHING in your grow room, lights, fans, pots, everything.
Quarantine bought/gifted clones for at least a week before putting near other plants & grow room. They’re often the source of infestation. Good luck.
Heat ..what’s your temp?
Grow outdoors in the ground with the real sun…I grow 24 inches Colas every year…
You may need either a smaller tent or brighter/more lights. 16 square foot is a huge compared to my 4 square foot tent that I use a 1000 watt led “equivalent” in. A smaller space would intensify the light which should get you bigger yields. You might also want to consider an hps light specifically for the flowering. I’ve only ever used l.e.d.s so I can’t tell you personally but it’s worth looking into. Good luck with everything.
I remember my first grow it has to be at least 30 years ago and I remember using a 250w HID MH/HPS light system and the seed strain was Big Bud and back then it was all trial and error but big buds are what I got, those buds were so heavy and huge that I had to tie these plants and buds up to stand or the stalk would have broke off and the entire buds would have went to waist.
So the answer to your question about using a 250w system is YES YOU CAN USE A 250w SYSTEM and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t.
I would just like to know on average, how many months it takes before you see buds. This is my first attempt, it has been 3 months. Thanks!
Have you switched to 12/12 light cycle yet?
You can find pairs of hairs at bud sites in7 to 10 days, but full little buds about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks.
Once you switch your lights to 12 hours on, 12 hours off, depending on the strain you should start to see buds in about 2 weeks with them finishing around 8 weeks
Very good advice easy to understand thank you very much is the book as good thank you
how do you make those extremely large fat buds. puzzled
Large plants to start with nature is perportional perfection nature remains a balance of chaos you can’t grow 2 foot buds on a 4 or five foot plant nature won’t allow so start with huge plants equil big buds
Yes u can
Should I stop using hose water and use distilled water
I am just puzzeled about the site today. I was renewing my green card yesturday and told a new friend , About the site he gave me a call this A.M having trouble with it. I have disgovered this A.M that it has changed. It states even my email address is invaild. My opinon don’t care for your changes. But still wanted bad.! Wished could even get more tips. Jerry Thanks also
I had the same thing happen to me on another site while trying to buy seeds
I have heard of this before but it was called sacrificing but means the same! I am going to try it out! I’ve follered your steps this year, Alittle different Them I useally do! I hope it works on my buds that’s already big and tight
As a first time grower i wish i would have come across ur site n articles ect.. Few months ago.. But. To late now all i can do is from this point on apply ur insite asap with still at lest 3.5 month. Till harvest hope along the way i can continue to ask questions amd get tips n some assistance by everyone to educate myself n to get max potential from the few plants that are thriving n the othe half that until this article i thougjt hd no hope due to . using initial inferior soil with lack of mac n mic nutrients. But hope no can be salvageable.. Fantastic insite all around especially for this 1st timer..
Thanks so much this is going to be very helpful. And now i understand what i was doing wrong. And i am going to do the split and let you no how it went thank you Robert
Have you heard of: kashmere kush?
Have used this technique on og kush auto,and it definitely was the strongest plant I had on taste aroma and buzz.
How do I cure my plants?