Grow Medical Marijuana, The Easy Way, Part II

Grow Medical Marijuana Outdoors, The Easy Way,  Part II

Congratulations, you’ve made great progress in the planning stages of your Medical Marijuana cultivation. You’ve checked the legislation of your State, stockpiled some “skunk seeds”  from Amsterdam, charted the sun pattern of your backyard, plotted out your soil which tested at a ph of 6.0, and there’s a water spigot/w hose nearby. Sun, soil, seeds, and water were the basics of part I. Part II will explore some other issues involved with successful Medical Marijuana growing.

Garden pests can be, well, pests! Most insects cruising through your patch are harmless, and some are garden friendly, like lady-bugs. Since we decided that the growing strain of choice would be Indica, or skunk plants – there is no getting around the pest known as Whitefly, nemesis of many a gardener. Once your plants grow leaves, periodically check the undersides for tiny whiteflies. They may just sit there, or hundreds fly off, (infestation)

but their eggs do damage to the plant. The best remedy, is what the commercial growers use, Encarsia Formosa – a predatory insect. Find a 24hrs. delivery of Encarsia Formosa strips and hang them in your garden. Whitefly won’t stand a chance. You could also use an insecticide soap, but it’s not as effective in my opinion. Left unchecked, Whitefly will wipe out your crop.

The fertilizer that is our most common nutrient mix, is Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium, with trace amounts of some lesser one’s. If you need to use fertilizer, get a package that has numbers on the front like these, 20-30-40. Those are the percentages of the pre-mentioned nutrients. Fertilize early with this inorganic mix. Unless you are really experienced, avoid concentrated formulas, Compost areas are great to grow in also. Many people only fertilize early in the off-season, which is what I recommend. In their zest to enrich the soil, and grow record size buds, a lot of folks end up burning (killing) their plants with the fertilizer. Only mess with fertilizer early, or if the plants go from rich green, to a yellowing color. Sluggish growth or deadening leaves may indicate a need of liquid nutrients. If you are experienced, you may fertilize pre-season, mid, and during flowering. In Cali, just let them grow naturally.

The last area of concern is, thinning out plants. There are a few schools of thought regarding this. One, what ever you sow or plant, just let the crop grow out. For your first garden of Medical Marijuana, I think that is best and easiest. This way you don’t worry about male or female plant identification, you get a chance to maybe see the differences, and finally – if there are both sexes present – get some future seeds from your own crop that will be indigenous to your area. Basically, you are on the way to creating your own strain of Medical Marijuana, how exciting! Secondly, if you have an abundance of seeds, or easy access to seeds, cut the male plants (don’t pull them up, the roots may affect the other plants) out as soon as you know their sex. This will give the females more room, plus, now the female will be seedless, or “sinsemilla”, which many people prefer. Don’t toss out the males, as they are still psycho-active, and may be dried for use.

Finally, remember, Cannabis Indica is basically a weed, and we all know how easily weeds grow.  Joyce