Indoor marijuana growing

Although as a grow shop we sell all kinds of products related to cultivation, from the most modern hydroponic systems to ranges of completely organic nutrients, at Alchimia we know that caring for the environment is very important and we always try to offer you not only the products necessary to carry out organic farming but also the information on how to ensure that your cultivation has the least possible negative impact on nature.

As with almost any other type of cultivation, cannabis farming is not exempt from bad practices and can potentially be disastrous for the environment, much more damaging than if other types of methods are followed. Growing sustainably isn't simply a matter of switching to a specific type of substrate or fertiliser, but of analysing our growing practices from start to finish, taking into account the carbon footprint of each product, input and even of the techniques that we use. We've already examined our own methodology from this point of view, and we'd love to share the conclusions we have reached with you. By protecting the environment we are protecting ourselves, and as you'll see, it's easier than you might think!

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Micropropagation is one of the most widespread uses of in vitro plant cultivation. These techniques and tissue culture methods are used to multiply genetically identical plants (known as clones) on a large scale, in reduced spaces and short periods of time, combining some of the advantages of both systems of plant reproduction.

This method of in vitro plant propagation is one of the plant biotechnology cultivation techniques that has shown a huge rise in popularity in recent years, as it allows growers to obtain thousands of identical plants from very small sections of a mother plant, called explants. The success of any micropropagation will depend on the ability to acclimatise high-quality plants from in vitro conditions to ex vitro conditions, thus producing new plants from these explants.

In this article, we'd like to take a closer look at the fascinating world of tissue culture, outlining the possible applications that this technique offers to cannabis cultivation which, as you'll see, are quite a few!

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Summer is already here and we're sure that many of you already have a beautiful outdoor garden with plants in full growth. Perhaps you started growing from seeds, or maybe you keep mother plants and moved some clones outside in the last few weeks. However you start, outdoor cannabis cultivation in summer is usually relatively simple, as the weather is good and the plants develop splendidly as long as they have the correct nutrients and irrigation they need.

However, and those of you who keep mother plants indoors while you move clones outside you will know this well, growing indoors in summer can be a real nightmare! This is mainly due to the elevated temperatures that indoor grow rooms and tents can reach, which can not only get so high as to be incompatible with proper plant growth but can also increase pest pressure and other problems. Today we'd like to tell you a few tricks that will allow your indoor mother plants to spend the summer in comfort and be ready to provide all the clones you need once the indoor growing season begins.

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When setting up your first indoor grow, the first few things to consider is the space you have available - whether it's a room or a grow tent - the lighting system needed, and the number of plants you can fit in that space. Many times, people don’t take into account the relevance of proper air exchange and how vital it is to achieve a successful harvest.

This article will help you to understand this important factor, and to decide which exhaust fan is more adequate for your grow room, so it works as efficiently as possible without wasting power.

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Environmental conditions play a vital role in successful indoor cannabis grows. It goes without saying that the right temperatures are essential for growing healthy plants, but if you want to further optimize your indoor growing space, you shouldn’t ignore the importance of relative humidity in relation to the plant’s life stage.

The right humidity levels allow a faster plant development, which translates into shorter growing periods, but also into healthier plants thanks to better nutrient absorption and assimilation. It’s a great way to make the most of your indoor setup and get maximum yields.

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Whether in an outdoor indoor cultivation, transplanting cannabis is a sensitive phase in the life of your plants, which need enough space to develop an extensive root system in order to reach their full potential. A plant with little room for its roots will never perform as well as another with a well-developed root ball! For this reason, it’s a very important moment for the plant growth, and you must transplant your marijuana at the right time and into the right pots.

Today we are going to take a closer look into this operation, which must be carried out with utmost care in order to minimize the stress caused to the plant. If you do it right, you will be able to make the most of the available space, save substrate and nutrients, reduce the risk of fungi, accelerate plant development, and obtain maximum yields... It’s worth trying, don’t you think? Let's do it!

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09Torus Hydro Perfect pH

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As we all know, cannabis is an annual plant that goes through different stages during its life cycle; from germination, growth and flowering, to harvest. After harvesting your marijuana buds, you can no longer benefit from the plant or its genetics, unless you remembered to take some cuttings during the vegetative phase.

What happens when you realize too late, during the flowering period, that you should have taken some cuttings from that specimen of unique nature?

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Now that the heat of summer is upon us, and before it ends, many growers will decide to shut down their indoor grow operations until conditions cool down in the autumn. This is partly because their attention shifts towards growing outdoors while the weather is favourable, but it's also because of the increase in ambient temperatures. The hot days, combined with the heat produced by powerful grow lamps, make it a real challenge to maintain the ideal conditions in our indoor garden. With the advent of good quality LED lights and affordable air conditioning these problems are somewhat reduced, but even so, much of Europe still gets far too hot to allow trouble-free indoor cultivation in summer.

So, while your indoor grow area is temporarily out of commission, there's no better opportunity to give your grow tent a thorough deep clean and at the same time double-check that all your equipment is in perfect working order so you're prepared for the much anticipated first crop of the autumn!

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CO², also known as carbon dioxide, occurs naturally in the atmosphere at a ratio of 300/400ppm. Bearing in mind this is the main inorganic component used by cannabis plants to build their tissues, an additional provision of CO² with the right assimilation conditions will result in faster, more robust and productive marijuana plants.

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Water is essential to life; without water, nothing thrives, but like everything else, too much of a good thing can be harmful. Today we’re going to explain how overwatering affects cannabis plants during their life and different stages.

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The key to successful cannabis growing lies in proper plant nutrition. It's true that every environmental factor should be adequately laid down in order to maximize the outcome of your crop: air exchange, type of lighting, temperature, humidity, etc. However, it would be pointless to choose a complete and balanced range of fertilizers if you are not taking into account the pH of the nutrient solution, or in other words, the acidity or alkalinity level in the feed you are giving to your plants.

To ensure proper nutrient uptake through the plant's root system, each macro and micronutrient in the marijuana feed must be administered with regard to a particular acidity value (pH), otherwise the absorption won't be adequate. This factor is very important to make the most of the fertilizers and to prevent nutrient deficiencies and overfeeding problems, thus obtaining a bountiful harvest.

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You're probably aware that the hormones we humans produce can have a marked effect on our behaviour, metabolism and physical development, but it's not just us that do this, it's a common trait to almost all other organisms, and even plants synthesize hormones too. Over the course of a plant's life cycle, almost all aspects of its activity, of its growth and its development, are controlled by these organic chemicals that the plants naturally produce for themselves, and which we call phytohormones.

These plant hormones not only regulate the morphology and metabolism of plants but also determine how the plants respond to environmental factors such as stress and physical damage caused by weather conditions, pests or pathogens. In this article, we'll take a look at the most common phytohormones, the effects they have on plants, and some ways that gardeners can harness the huge potential of natural plant hormones to their own benefit.

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As most of you already know, cannabis resin is in fact an accumulation of trichomes secreted by the plant, which contains the highly regarded cannabinoids and terpenes that give marijuana its particular and unique aromas, flavours and effects. Coinciding with the steady increase in popularity of extractions and concentrates in recent years, the resin production of a particular strain or plant is a trait that is becoming more valued by growers and extracts producers who refuse to invest time and effort in the cultivation of plants with a small amount of trichomes.

https://www.alchimiaweb.com/blogen/harvest-marijuana-plants-trichome-ripeness/

Of course, this interesting trait has a lot to do with the plant's genetics. Parental crosses that produce a big amount of resin have a much higher probability that their offspring also stand out in this department, so more and more breeders are now using the most resinous strains available in their projects. Nevertheless, and regardless of the resin production "dictated" by the genetics of each strain, you, as a grower, can use a number of tricks that will make your plants produce more trichomes, which ultimately will mean better buds with a more intense aroma and a more powerful effect. Below we explain some of these tricks, as well as others that can help you to increase your production of cannabinoids and terpenes.

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Flushing your cannabis plants

Cannabis is one of the few plants in the world, together with the vine, which contains a large number of terpenes. When mixed, these terpenes generate new flavours and smells that caress the taste buds like candy. To obtain this type of flavour and enjoy buds of the best quality, you must make sure the plants are nutrient-free at the moment of the harvest.

If the plants have an excess of nutrients in their metabolism, the organoleptic properties of the buds will be ruined by the high amount of salts accumulated in them. When combustion takes place, it will release harmful particles that, aside from leaving a bad and very unpleasant taste in your mouth, could make the joint spark due to the excess of mineral salts.

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What are the roots?

The roots are the first organ of the plant to come into direct contact with the surrounding growing medium after germination. Most plants have three types of roots: the main tap root and the fibrous roots, which grow into the ground, and are often invisible to the naked eye; and adventitious roots, which can sprout from the aerial parts of the plant, such as the stem, and grow towards the substrate.

The cannabis plant has all three types, but the adventitious roots are less common and only grow in environments with high and steady humidity levels. The ability to produce adventitious roots is what makes cannabis so suitable for propagation via cloning.

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