Growing your own cannabis plants can be a bit complicated, but it doesn’t have to be once you familiarize yourself with common terminology used by fellow growers. The following list contains common cultivation methods, acronyms and technical terms you are most likely to come across. Consider this your very own quick study growing glossary!
Aquaponics
Aquaponics is a method for combining aquaculture (raising fish or other sea creatures) with hydroponics. Basically you just cultivate cannabis in a completely symbiotic environment by using the waste products of the fish as nutrients for your plants. It’s one of the more sustainable (not to mention inexpensive) methods for growing cannabis. If the idea of growing weed in fish poop puts you off, I have to ask, what did you think fertilizer was in the first place?
Abiotic stress
Abiotic stress is a very important term for your growing glossary. Abiotic stress refers to any nonliving factors that will affect the health of your crops. Things such as drought, excessive heat, frost, etc., can all be devastating for your plants. Indoor and outdoor spaces each come with their own abiotic stress factors. It’s up to you to minimize them as much as possible.
Cola
A cola is one of the most important parts of the cannabis plant. It refers to a cluster of buds that grow tightly together near the top of the plant. The main cola is often referred to as the apical bud. They are long and grow in vertically. It’s the part of the plant that you smoke, so it should be of the most interest to you.
DWC
Deep Water Culture or DWC is a term for a method of growing cannabis that involves allowing plant roots to sit in oxygenated water and a nutrient solution. It’s quick and simple to set up, making it one of the best hydroponic cultivation methods for those new to the game.
DWC in one of the quickest and most simple set ups for your hydroponic grow. Image powered by YouTube
Force Flowering
Force flowering is a method for goading your plants into flowering earlier than they normally would. Force flowering is more common when growing in colder environments. Force flowering helps prevent plants from flowering too late into the season, which can result in them freezing and dying off.
Flowering
This is a pretty basic term for your growing glossary, but it is still very important. Simply put, flowering is the term for when your cannabis plants start producing buds. This is by far the most interesting part of the growing cycle. You will love watching your plants form colorful and fragrant flowers, that will make your mouth water with just a quick sniff. Flowering time for a plant averages at about nine weeks, but some strains take less time. Others can take closer to 12 weeks to flower.
A plant in it’s flowering phase is one of the most beautiful things in the world. Image powered by Surna Blog
Lumens
A term that you may remember from your biology class, a lumen is a unit for measuring light output, in this case the total amount of visible light emitted by a source. Lumens are a very important part of the growing process, too many or not enough will have negative repercussions on your plants.
PPM
PPM is an abbreviation for “parts per million” that you’ve surely seen other places. In growing terms this means the concentration of soluble nutrients aka minerals in the water you are giving your plants. It is particularly useful to understand ppm when using cultivation techniques such as DWC.
pH
A review from organic chemistry, pH short for “potential of hydrogen”. It’s a numeric scale used to determine whether a solution is more acidic or basistic. Generally if something tests below a 7 it’s more acidic, anything above 7 is considered more of a base. You don’t want a lower pH typically.
SCROG
SCROG aka Screen of Green, is a growing method that involves training your plants to grow through a mesh screen. SCRoG is designed to utilize as much of your space as possible, while also maximizing your plant’s exposure to light. This method is great for when you’re growing in smaller, typically indoor areas, though this method works perfectly fine for outdoor sativa plants. SCROG allows you to cultivate multiple colas, rather than one single bud directly under your light, thereby increasing your plant’s yield.
SCROG setups help maximize your yield. Image powered by BigBudsMag
There are of course other important terms that you should know. If you want more information check out one of our growing guides here.
Featured Image: Spliff Seeds
Anything we missed in this quick growing glossary? Tell us below!
The post Growing Glossary: A Quick Rundown of Growing Terms You Should Know appeared first on I Love Growing Marijuana.
No comments:
Post a Comment