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How to Grow Huge Cannabis Buds

Tips and tricks on how to grow huge cannabis buds can increase your yield while decreasing effort.

By Ed GreenPublished 7 years ago 7 min read
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Have you been wondering how to grow huge cannabis buds and what you can do differently as a grower to maximize your overall yield? As an indoor grower, it can be tough to find ways to increase yield without using a ton of extra time and effort—or so you thought. Below are some of the most popular tips and tricks on growing huge, weed-tastic buds to take your growing game to the next level.

You Reap What You Sow…. So Get Better Seeds!

The first and probably most important part of the cannabis growing process is finding the best seeds to grow. The best way to do this is to do a little research online and also locally. Mingle with cannabis shops and wholesale growers in your area and find out what they know (and are willing to tell you) about the best canna-farmers nearby. Once you scope out the best place to get the seeds, make sure you know what it is you are looking for. Finding strains that will perform well in your indoor growing setup and will have higher yields is crucial. If your setup is small and constrained, sativa strains may not be the best option for you and indicas might have a better outcome. As with all strains though, read up on the individual plant to make sure you give it the individual care it needs to flourish.

Nutrients Are Essential

Cannabis has two distinctive stages in the growth process which are key for you to know if you want to know how to grow huge cannabis buds. First up is the vegetative phase, when the cannabis plant itself starts to develop. This phase is vital to the growing process because, if you don’t have the right nutrients in the soil when the plant starts to grow, you won’t have good results in the second stage. This stage is known as the flowering stage when the actual buds (the flower) start to develop. During the vegetative stage, using nutrients that are best for your chosen seeds/strain will help yield the best (and biggest) results. Nutrients and fertilizers high in nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium will generally have good results. During the flowering stage, the nutrients will need to be adjusted to keep your plant healthy and allow it to have the ability to grow huge buds. In this stage, plants don’t need as much nitrogen as they do during the vegetative stage, but they do need more phosphorus. Also, a key to proper nutrient use is starting slow and steady with a small amount (maybe half of what you think you need) and then slowly ramping up the amount every few weeks if your plant is taking to them well. Be wary of over feeding your plant though—if your plant leaves stay green and healthy, that is a great sign, but if they start browning or developing a yellowish color that means that you should cut back on the nutrients.

Adjust The Lights

As an indoor grower, you are already aware of the incredibly important role lighting can play in the process, and it is especially relevant if you want to know how to grow huge cannabis buds. Increasing the light intensity can help push your plant from the vegetative stage into the flowering stage much faster, and can help yield bigger, healthier buds. Often, during the vegetative stage, cannabis plants don’t get the amount of light they require, or growers think they need less light to keep the plant healthy and happy. In reality, the more light you can expose your plant to, the greater the yield will be when it comes time to snip the buds. An easy way to see how your plants will react to more intense light is to have a few cycles of 12 hour under lights and 12 hours in darkness and observe any positive or negative changes.

Keep Track of Temperature, Humidity, and PH

Along with light, temperature, humidity, and pH levels are all important if you want know how to grow huge cannabis buds. During the vegetative stage, monitor the pH of your soil and make sure it is always at the (widely accepted) optimal level of 6. In terms of temperature and humidity, your cannabis plant will be able to handle up to 75 degrees Fahrenheit at 60 percent humidity when it is a few weeks old, up to 80 degrees Fahrenheit at around 40 percent humidity when the lights are on (in the adult stages of growing), and up to 72 degrees Fahrenheit when the lights are off. Just as you need to be wary of over feeding your plant or over exposing it to light, you need to be mindful of the temperature of your grow room. If you let the plant get too hot when the lights are on, or too cold when the lights are off, you will risk mold and the possibility of damaging the plant.

Proper Air Flow to Colas

The cola, or the terminal bud of the cannabis plant, is one of the most important parts of the plant. This is the location on the plant where the bud will eventually grow, and ensuring that the cola has proper air flow at all times is one of the best methods to grow huge cannabis buds. Two different growing techniques, topping and low stress training (LST), are often used to help increase the air flow to this area of the plant. Topping is when you prune the top cola, which leads to the development of two main colas instead of one. This can be done during the vegetative cycle and is a great way to manipulate your plant into producing a higher yield of buds. Low stress training (LST) is a technique that involves tying down the branches of your plant in order to expose it to more light and increase the overall surface area of growth. LST can help your plants grow wider, which will also end up giving you more buds than you bargained for.

Harvesting Your Plant

Throughout the flowering stage, it is important to prune your plant regularly and make sure that you are ridding it of any dead or damaged leaves. Letting these leaves hang out on your cannabis plant too long can harm the entire plant and may hurt your overall yield. Another major factor in getting the best yield out of your plants is waiting for the right time to harvest your buds. Typically, most cannabis plants have a two week period of time when harvesting is ideal. To check if your plant is ready for that ideal harvest period, take a look at the buds up close (using a magnifying glass might be helpful). If the buds still have white, straight looking pistils, your plant is not ready for harvest. Once the majority of the hairs on the bud have darkened and relaxed (are not sticking up as straight and stiff), you have reached the ideal harvest period. Getting your buds during this time, not too early and not too late, will help you in your quest to grow huge cannabis buds.

Give Your Plant the Attention it is Craving

At the end of the day, growing a cannabis plant that will have major yields is all about love. If you love and care for your plant regularly, through all of the stages from the time it is just a little seed through it’s germination process, vegetative stage, and eventual flowering, you will get the best results possible. The truth is that producing high yields (and healthy, tasty buds) on a cannabis plant takes a lot of work and dedication. You can’t slack for a second, or your plant and buds may suffer. But, while the overall growing process is a big commitment of time and focus, using the above tips and tricks will ensure that you are doing everything you possibly can to give your plant the loving it needs to thrive. If you involve yourself in every step of the process and focus on getting the best possible outcome for the plant, you can rest easy knowing that you will reap the benefits of your hard work when it comes time to harvest. If you weren’t sure how to grow huge cannabis buds before, we hope these simple techniques have taught you what you need to know!

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About the Creator

Ed Green

Gynecologist. Amateur Farmer and weed whacker. Loves figure skating and Liza Minnelli. Bakes amazing brownies.

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