Once you’ve mastered basic growing you can move on to the next stages. This includes things like different training methods, grow methods and other ways that you can improve your buds. There are also a lot of ways you can improve from your first grow just by changing some basics. There are a lot of little mistakes we make early on that are extremely easily fixable. No matter how or where you prefer to grow, there are always easy improvements that can be made to fatten up your buds, increase your resin production and improve your yields.
Quality Seeds
Of course, the easiest first step to improving the quality of your bud is improving the quality of your seeds. It doesn’t matter how you treat a low-grade seed, it won’t grow into an impressive plant. Do plenty of research and get ahold of the best seeds you can. Straight away you’re going to improve on the quality of your last crop.
LST
Many growers going into their second or third crop will start playing with a bit of Low Stress Training. This is the natural way to improve the size of the buds without too much damaging the plants. It’s the best way to ensure you are maximising the light getting to your plant. This in turn gives it more growing energy and helps it to produce big juicy buds. Basically, you want to help the plant to grow to the side rather than upwards. This can be done in a variety of ways including using ties and a stick or cutting at the top of the stem to encourage it to split into two bud sites.
Nutrients and Supplements
Using nutrients and supplements can be a good way to improve your buds. Although you need to make sure that you don’t overwater or give too many nutrients that the plant doesn’t need. Have a research and find out what to watch out for. Your plants will let you know when they need more or less of any nutrients or supplements. It’s easy to get anything you need from most garden shops.
You likely won’t need to use nutrients at all until the vegetative stage. This is when the plant does the bulk of its growing. The easiest way to ensure your plant has enough nutrients is to use a nutrient rich fertiliser. The primary nutrients the plant needs are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Each plays a vital role in ensuring your plant grows up big and strong. Just keep an eye out for yellowing leaf tips which is usually a sign of nutrient burn.
Use Felt Pots
Felt pots are a great way to speed up growth and produce larger healthier buds. Felt pots make it very difficult to overwater the plants and the roots will get a lot more oxygen. Clay or plastic pots can cause root choking which will stop the roots from taking in everything they need to grow. They also are easier to use than other pots and are completely reusable.
Keep An Eye On Temperature and Humidity
The temperature and humidity of the grow space will massively affect the size of your buds. You need to make sure that there is constant air circulation bringing in lots and lots of fresh air. If there is too much stagnant air or humidity it is much more likely that your plants will get sick. Mould, disease and pests all thrive in excessive humidity. You also need to ensure that the space isn’t too hot or too cold. Too hot and the plants will start to wilt and die, too cold and they won’t be able to use their energy on growing, they will just try to stay alive. Try to keep the temperature between 20 degrees celsius and 27 degrees celsius. If the temperature stays in this range and you have a good air filtration system your buds should flourish and be better than ever.
Remove the Males
If you are using non feminised seeds you need to make sure that you get the boys out of the crop as soon as you notice them. The males don’t produce buds but they can mess up the buds on your females. If a male does manage to pollinate a female bud it will become small and full of seeds. This is obviously not what we are after. The easiest way to spot males is by their height and their flowers. The females will be fluffier with little pistils covering their leaves and buds. The sooner you can separate the males the better, or just use feminised seeds to avoid the issue all together.
Pruning
Taking care of your plants will always make them more fruitful. You need to do this right through the various stages of growth. If your plant becomes overgrown she won’t take in as much light, she will waste energy growing unnecessary leaves and she is more likely to fall victim to mould or pests. Definitely start pruning during the vegetative stage, as this is when she will be using the most energy on growth. Just get a pair or scissors, pruning scissors are cheap enough from garden shops, and work from the top down. Make sure to remove any dead leaves, as well as any that are starting to go brown. Dying leaves don’t mean the plant is unwell, it’s just a part of the life cycle. Make sure the scissors are very sharp, if you go pulling leaves off or sawing them off you’ll damage the plant and she will just waste more energy on healing. You can lead this pruning into your low stress training which will involve cutting or gently moving parts of the plant that are still alive in order to change the shape. Although, usually vegetative pruning counts as high stress training rather than low stress because you will likely be a bit more brutal with it. However, pruning is one of the most successfully proven methods of improving bud mass and quality in your second or third crop.
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