Growing cannabis is one of the most convenient and rewarding ways to enjoy the highly preferred quality buds with the substantial effect you need. Growing cannabis is similar to growing vegetables, with specific requirements needed for healthy growth.
However, having optimal growth of your cannabis plants is not as easy as it sounds. With a single error or mistake in the growing process, you can end up with a poor quality harvest, which you would not have expected.
It is common to make mistakes while growing cannabis, especially if you’re a new grower. This is why we prepared a series of top 10 errors made by cannabis growers, along with their probable solutions for your better knowledge.
You can also look at the expert’s opinions on this issue at leading cannabis supplier websites such as i49.net. So, get ready to dig into this article and get a proper insight into the mistakes. Here we go!
Mistake #1. Using Cannabis Seeds With Poor Genetics
Irrespective of whether you’re a well-experienced or new grower, you must not buy cannabis seeds with poor or bad genetics. It is nothing but a wastage of your money and hard work.
Poor genetics will yield a poor-quality harvest, no matter how skillful or determined you are. Seeds with poor genetics fail to grow at times, and even if they do, the results will not be satisfying.
The best probable solution is to research the seeds before buying them and purchase from a trusted or reputed supplier.
Mistake #2. Using Average Soil From Garden
This is the most common error made by cannabis growers. You have to understand that the cannabis plants need a specific balance of nutrients in the soil, which the average soil fails to meet. The quality of soil plays a crucial role in ensuring the optimal health of cannabis plants. One of the most common errors is not obtaining soil with all the nutrients in the right proportion.
Don’t be an average grower! Verify if the soil suits your cannabis seeds and choose the soil consistency with nutrients. Doing so will help the cannabis grow optimally throughout the life cycle for that particular seed or strain. Even for germinating seeds, you must select the soil that will help them thrive in the best way.
Although you will be feeding your plants throughout their growth cycle, there is no harm to start with soil that already has essential macronutrients like nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus in the right composition.
For the growth of auto-flowering cannabis seeds, you must remember that they don’t require much feeding, thus requiring a different type of soil. Meanwhile, photoperiod plants need a high source of nutrients in the soil throughout the growth cycle.
The probable solution to choose soil for auto-flowering cannabis plants is a light nutrient mix with three parts peat moss, three parts compost, two parts of perlite, and 1 part of vermiculite. Ensure to choose a soil with a rich yet light texture that crumbles easily in your hand.
Mistake #3. Grow Lights Hanging Too Low/High
It is crucial to place the grow lamps or grow lights in the correct position and height. If not, then it can adversely affect the overall growth of your cannabis plant.
If the grow lights are too high, your plants will not get sufficient light to meet their appetite. It will lead the plants to use up their stored energy to meet the light requirement, resulting in thin and weak plants.
If your grow lights or lamps are too low, your plants will become hot easily. This additional heat will cause burn damage to the leaves, affecting the overall growth and quality of the plants.
The best solution is to place the grow light or lamp 1m-1.5m away from the plants.
Mistake #4. Overfeeding Or Underfeeding The Cannabis
It is one of the most common mistakes by amateur growers to overfeed or underfeed their cannabis plants. You must know that cannabis is sensitive to excess or deficit nutrients in its growth cycle.
It can be harmful to your cannabis growth, so try to learn about the right proportion of feeding for your cannabis plants. You must also learn the signs to identify unhappy cannabis plants that show improper growth signs.
The best solution is to feed your cannabis plants with a large number of macronutrients, which are nitrogen (N), potassium (P), and phosphorus (K). A general rule of thumb is an NPK proportion of 3:1:1. The early stages of growth require 1:3:2 NPK ratio, while the late flowering stage needs 0:3:3 NPK ratio.
Mistake #5. Improper Or No Flushing On Cannabis Plants
Many growers tend to do flushing in their cannabis plants as an urgent measure to resolve nutrient lockout or overfeeding. This is a crucial step to be taken by every grower as an immediate solution. However, it has become a tradition not to use flushing unless the situation mentioned above arises.
It is a common error which you must avoid. Flushing at the right time before harvesting the crops is beneficial. Flushing two weeks before the harvesting period improves the quality of the cannabis obtained by detoxing the excess or remaining chemicals on them.
Based on the desired color you need for harvest, you need to determine when the buds are ready for flushing. When a majority of the trichomes reach the needed shade, the time will be right for flushing.
Mistake #6. Harvesting The Cannabis Plants Too Early Or Too Late
If you want to end up with a successful and satisfying harvest, you have to ensure the right timing to do it. Harvesting your cannabis too early or too late poses a threat to all your hard work. This is one of the most common mistakes made by growers, which can easily be resolved with some appropriate knowledge.
You can always keep a magnifying glass in hand. If your cannabis growth is on a macro level, check for the yellowing of fan leaves. This happens when the nutrients direct towards the buds in the flowering stage and completes upon the final flushing. This indicates that your plants are close to harvest.
If your cannabis is on the micro-level, you have to check its pistils and trichomes. Trichomes are small, mushroom-like glands responsible for producing cannabinoids and terpenes such as CBD and THC.
Take your magnifying glass, get close to the buds in the early stage of flowering, and look if they have tiny glands with a translucent appearance or not. You will notice it to turn cloudy with amber coloration.
If you want a stimulating high, harvest the buds when it’s cloudy. If you want a high stoning effect, then wait for most of the trichomes to turn amber in color.
Also, check if the pistils have turned from white to orange during the maturity of the flowers or not. If you notice 70-90% of these pistil hairs to change their color, you can aim for harvest.
Mistake #7. Not Following The Safety Rules
Many growers feel bored and tend to avoid the safety measures in their grow room. There are many cases where the entire cannabis plants or buildings have burnt down due to inadequate safety measures and considerations. This can be a dangerous and life-threatening mistake.
You must know that you’re working with heat, electricity, and water in a small space or room. So, it is essential not to mix them up.
The best solution is to ensure safety layout, keeping the area clean and hygienic, managing the electric cables, and taking extra precautions while watering the plants.
Mistake #8. Use of Incorrect pH Level
If you want your cannabis plants to thrive efficiently, you have to ensure the correct pH level for them. If you don’t maintain the proper pH level, you will face several issues with your cannabis growth. This type of error can lead to nutritional deficiency in your plants. So, if there is any sign of an issue in your plants, check for the pH level before making changes to its feeding pattern.
So, it is crucial to have a proper understanding of assessing, managing, and amending your pH level for the cannabis plants for their optimal healthy growth. A pH level of 5.8-6.2 is the best solution for your cannabis plants.
Mistake #9. Not Doing Proper Research
You can easily avoid all of these above-mentioned problems if you would’ve done proper research. Growing cannabis is an easy, simple, and exciting task once you understand every detail, method, step, and trick involved in it.
Most growers tend to overlook finding out those details and rush towards their preparation with the desire to achieve the best results.
The only solution to these problems is knowledge. As the quote says, ‘Knowledge is power.’ So, take advantage of the internet, dig into various articles and gather as much detail as possible.
Mistake #10. Bragging Too Much About It
Grow Privately! Grow Secretly! It is a natural human behavior to brag about something that you achieved after so much hard work.
However, bragging about your cannabis cultivation can be a significant error or mistake if growing it is illegal in your state or country.
The primary reason behind the cannabis growers getting caught is not the police chasing them down or looking for them, but their own slip of the tongue or show-off attitude.
So, don’t make a fool out of yourself and enjoy growing quietly. You can use good-quality ventilators to get rid of the cannabis smell and enjoy tasty buds without any hassle.
Conclusion
So, hopefully, from this comprehensive guide, you have learned about all the errors that growers usually make willingly or unwillingly. Ensure to learn from their mistakes and not repeat them while growing cannabis.