Italiano
Español
Français
Deutsch
This technique allows any marijuana plant to flower when the grower wants to.
We plant the seed in spring around March/April, which we won't plant directly in the ground but use a pot and start to take care of the plant so that the vegetative phase develops in the best way with the necessary nutrients until the plant is big enough, at least 50/60 centimetres.
If we are good it will take about two months.
When we have the conditions described above we will adopt a trick to induce the plant to flower: we will bring the plant to receive more hours of darkness so that the cannabis plants will receive twelve hours of light and twelve hours of darkness.
Decide when to take the hours of light away from the plant according to its exposure to the sun
For example, if they get more light in the morning hours, considering that it dawns at 06:00 a.m. we will worry about moving the pot(s) at 6:00 p.m. to a dark room. We can put the plants outside in the evening once it is dark.
The important thing is that they are outside the next day at 06:00 in the morning. In this way the plant will receive 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness, i.e. 06:00/18:00.
Another example is if the cultivation is exposed in such a way that it receives the most light in the afternoon.
In this case, if the most light is received from 16:00 to 19:00 we will do the following: taking into account the time of sunset, which in this case is 20:30, we will put the plants in the dark in the evening, and then take them out at around 08:30 the next morning. In this way the plant will receive 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness, i.e. 08:30/20:30.
The earth turns, and therefore the exposure of the earth to the sun changes, thus changing the times of sunrise and sunset.
Since the flowering period, even if it is forced, lasts about two months, we will be careful to observe the various changes in sunrise and sunset so that we can correct the times accordingly.
Taking the risk of taking the plant from 12 hours to more than 12 hours could cause stress to the plant by generating seeds, thus changing the sex to hermaphrodite or showing other symptoms. Taking the plant from 12 hours to 11 or 10 hours could speed up the flowering process. It is better if this is done gradually.
How to manipulate the photoperiod in outoor crops?
There are several ways of manipulating the photoperiod to extend the night. The simplest option when grown in pots is to move the plants every evening to a dark room or wardrobe and keep them there for twelve hours before going back out the next morning.
The room should be dark and ventilated. Be careful not to let any sunlight or light through.
It is very easy and simple, but you have to remember every day to take the plants out and in at the same time.
It is not very heavy if there are only two or three marijuana plants, but it is a lot of effort in a large plantation with this system. A good idea that can simplify the transfer of plants is to use pots or planters with wheels or trolleys that can easily be moved to where they are to spend the night.
In large crops a different system is used, such as for plants that grow directly on the ground and cannot move. What is done is to install a greenhouse structure around the plants that allows them to cover themselves every day with a tarpaulin or opaque plastic that does not allow light to pass through. Instead of bringing the plants to a dark place, the idea is to bring darkness to the plants.
The biggest problem with this technique is keeping the humidity and temperature controlled in a dark greenhouse, especially if the sun is beating down directly on the roof. It is easy that if many plants are put in a cupboard or a small room for twelve hours, the humidity will increase due to sweating. This can lead to the creation of mould or other plant infections.
This risk is particularly pronounced during the last weeks of flowering when the density of the buds complicates their ventilation.
An oscillating fan that moves the air around the buds helps a lot to avoid problems. If you darken a greenhouse, you should install an extractor to help the humid air escape and prevent the temperature from rising too much. A third system that can be useful is small 'plugs' to cover each individual plant.
You can use large rubbish bins, giant pots or plastic excuse boxes, ect…
One last system that I think is really decisive is to use a Growbox structure that can be associated with a small cupboard or a box of varying dimensions usually used for indoor cultivation. In this case, even if we do not mount the lights, we can use the closures and the predispositions for fans and extractors. A great advantage of forced flowering is that it allows the plants to flower in summer when there is hardly any rain or fungus in the environment, as there is in autumn during natural flowering. It will also be ready to go to sea ;)
What is the difference between sativa and indica plants?
Cannabis indica and cannabis sativa have substantial differences.
A brief analysis of the two indica sativa strains, and ways to distinguish between them, is essential to understand the differences.
First of all, it is important to understand the difference between male and female flowers and why marijuana users and cannabis grows prefer to have female cannabis plants, as the consumed part is the dried inflorescences that are only developed by female plants.
Whereas the male plant has stronger stems and fewer leaves. If we compare two specimens of the opposite sex but of the same variety, we see that the male has generally thicker stems.
Cannabis sativa is an unbranched plant, with long, narrow leaves, and is much taller than indica. Indica marijuana plants are much shorter, with wider leaves.
In addition, cannabidiol (CBD) is the second most important compound in Cannabis sativa, this does not mean that it is less important. In fact, CBD contains characteristics that THC does not. This is why it is the main ingredient in CBD oil, a daily wellness supplement with beneficial effects.
