Growing cannabis may seem a bit difficult, but in truth, it’s not that difficult as you may think. Following the right steps and avoiding making mistakes can help you get the best results. To grow cannabis in your home for medical purposes, you first need a medical marijuana grower license. This license allows you to grow medical cannabis in your house legally. Although to buy medical cannabis from a licensed dispensary, you need to get a medical cannabis card.
Many people believe that growing cannabis is difficult, especially if you are a beginner. But that’s not true. You just need to take care of some common mistakes people make when growing cannabis. These mistakes can make this task tricky and difficult for the grower. But, newbies are bound to make some mistakes. If you do, don’t feel discouraged, with proper knowledge and guidance, you can get the results you are looking for.
You should keep on trying even if you make some mistakes in the beginning. Also, you have an opportunity to learn from the mistakes others made. Learning about these mistakes can help you avoid them as you’d know what not to do. So, when you are thinking of growing your own cannabis plants, do your homework first. Learn about these mistakes and try to avoid committing them. Having said that, we have prepared a list of mistakes that you need to avoid when growing cannabis. This way you can easily learn and avoid these mistakes to get the flowers you need. So, let’s dive into it.
Mistake 1. Not paying attention to the genetics of cannabis seeds
I have seen many growers who do not want to spend lots of money to buy high-quality products for plants. They prefer to just try once with low-quality products to see how it goes. They then think about spending money for the next decade. Many beginners spend too little to buy the starting seeds and hence get seeds of poor quality to begin with. Some may even try to use a seed they find in the cannabis they bought. Whether you choose the first option or the second one, the results will surely disappoint you.
What you need to do is to choose a reputable source to buy your seeds. The seeds should be of high quality and get the same quality of equipment as well. Starting with seeds that have poor genes will not do you any good. Instead, you are wasting your money by doing this. So, buy good quality seeds that have strong genetics. You will get better results with it.
Mistake 2. Not doing research on soil and fertilizers
If you are growing cannabis for the first time, you may not know too much about fertilizers. Choosing the right fertilizer is essential for growing healthy plants. Many beginners make the mistake of buying whatever they see find first at the store. They will not pay attention to the details of fertilizer they are about to choose. It is important to do research about the amount of phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium cannabis plants require at different stages of their lives as they grow. So, the store-bought fertilizer may fail to offer what the plants need.
You can simply see the NPK value on the bags of fertilizer. So, before you go to buy fertilizer, learn about what amount of each nutrient your plants need. This depends upon the stage of their growth. Your plants will need nitrogen more than other nutrients before they reach their flowering phase. Once they are in the flowering phase, they will need phosphorus more.
Another thing that beginners mess up with is the soils. You may think that the soil in the outdoor grow area that you have chosen has enough nutrition. But, that is not true. Even though it is natural, even that soil can be too acidic or alkaline. It may not have ample nutrients that your plants need. So, you need to test it extensively for pH. See whether it is sand or clay soil, and then move ahead according to it.
Mistake 3. Over watering your plants
Water is important for your plant, no doubt about that. But watering more than your plants need is a mistake that you must avoid. It is a very common mistake that people can easily make. Over watering can oftentimes lead to many problems. It can lead to lockout the roots, which will make it impossible for the plants to uptake nutrients. Over watering can also be an open invitation to bad bacteria that can become the cause for root rot to thrive.
You may also over water your plants if containers are too large for your plants. I have seen many beginners making the mistake of filling the container with water until all the soil is damp. This leads to being too much water for the roots of plants to absorb.
Check the top inch of your soil to see if it is dry or not. If it is not, then you don’t have to water it just yet. However, if it is dry, you can water your plants. Check this every time you are thinking of watering your plants.
Mistake 4. Pruning too much
Another mistake of “overdoing” something is pruning too much. It is again a common mistake that beginners make. They get a bit too creative with pruning. You need to remember that it is best to keep it less. The less is more. Pruning is done to increase the growth of plants. But going overboard with it can hinder the growth rather than increasing it.
To avoid this, you can try one or two ways conservatively. And as you do, observe its effects on your cannabis plants and then move forward. This way you will understand what you have to do the next time without worrying about destroying your plants.
Mistake 5. Feeding your plants too much
Just like over watering, overfeeding is also bad for your beloved cannabis plants. I understand that you love your plants, and that’s why it may seem tempting to you to feed them a lot. But, feeding them too much can lead to nutrient burn. And in the worst case, nutrient lockout due to accumulated minerals in the soil. If this happens, you would have to start again from the beginning by flushing the soil with water. So, it is better to not feed your plants too much.