5 Simple Tricks For Beginner Growers To Improve Their Flower Quality

Growing cannabis is one of those things that a lot of people try and then give up on shortly afterwards. Often because they aren’t happy with the quality of their flower and the amount of effort they took to get there. If you’re in a similar position or simply want to improve the quality of your harvests, here are five basic tips that a lot of beginner growers don’t adhere to, which can get you excited about each harvest and make the effort of growing worthwhile.

Start With Good Genetics

We’re not just saying this cause we’re a seed company, quality genetics will make the biggest difference to most growers, and that’s cause they determine the quality ceiling. Think of it this way, you wouldn’t go pick out a Pug to race against a Greyhound. There are just genetic differences that make one highly advantageous over the other.

Cannabis seeds are the same. You can be the best grower in the world, but if you try to grow cheap genetics, your results are often going to fall short of mediocre growers who have great genetics in their gardens.

Sure, for your first few grows, start off with cheaper seeds until you get your germination down, and then, when you’re comfortable, invest in quality seeds that cost more, but have more attention given to quality control and testing.

Keep Mother Plants

Mother plants aren’t necessary, especially if you’re primarily focused on finding unique things each time you grow. However, mothering out a quality cannabis plant means you have access to those genetics any time you want, and it lets you have much better reliability, as you don’t need to roll the dice with each seed pop. Remember, even the most expensive genetics are going to require some hunting through before you find ‘keeper’ plants.

Train Your Plants For More Yield

Sure, letting your plants grow naturally will work, but you’ll be leaving yield on the table. Training your plants can more than double the yields in many cases, and you don’t just have to rely on topping them. There are a few training methods that can be used to increase yields, but they all revolve around the redistribution of hormones through the plant, spreading the energy to lower branches that otherwise wouldn’t yield well.

Options for training include:

• Topping
• Fimming (Similar to topping)
• Branch tie-downs
• Tucking

By using these methods, you can train your plant to have multiple tops, and the more you create the more you yield, just keep in mind that training can take tim,e and so one should think about the root zone and ensuring a large enough pot size for the yield you’re aiming for.

Get Control Over Your Environment

Environmental control isn’t necessarily cheap, but it’s an investment one needs to make, in one form or another. Start simple by ensuring your indoor plants have an oscillating fan and an extraction fan. Extraction fans are essential for reducing the risk of mold.

The next most important component is a dehumidifier, for the same reasons. There’s no purpose in circulating overly humid air, meaning you’ll want something that can reduce that humidity, even on the outside of the tent. I recommend a 20-25L dehumidifier for most home grows, which costs around R4000-R5000.

The final boss is an air conditioner, but these are expensive to run, and even many long-time growers who aren’t recouping their costs by selling the flower don’t have an air conditioning setup. But in the summer months, it’s easy for growers to do everything right and for the high temperatures to negate that by burning away terpenes and creating lower-quality weed.

Master The Drying and Curing Process

Last but certainly not least is the drying and curing process. This is where a lot of newer growers screw up and then think it was their growing that was the problem.

Too much heat, too much heat, too quick a dry time, or too humid an environment can all reduce the quality of your herb, and this often plays into environmental control. Drying cannabis in 30+ degrees is not great, there are volatile terpenes that will literally evaporate into the air at these temps during drying. This is a problem because these terpenes are also what influences not just flavour but also the effects.

Aim for a drying time of 8 to 14 days, and make sure the plants are in full darkness, especially in the first few days. Always ensure there is no direct light reaching the drying plants.

In the curing process, jar your cannabis in sealed glass jars and open them up for 30 minutes or so each day for a week or two after harvest. This helps to remove a build-up of moisture in the jar, and helps to effectively cure the flower for a smoother, more flavourful smoke.