How to Maximize your Cannabis Micro Grow

A marijuana micro grow is a method of growing and cultivating cannabis in a small scale environment. Cannabis is known to be a very hardy plant and can grow even in the most hospitable environments. There are growers and breeders that can grow marijuana in deserts and even in the freezing temperatures of Russia and China. And the good news is, you can even grow cannabis in your own home, in a small environment even, like a closet. Your own marijuana micro grow can flourish provided you give your plants what they need: enough sunlight, water and plant food.

Here are some expert tips on how to grow marijuana in a micro environment at home, at the office or anywhere you wish to grow. These tips will hopefully help you grow healthy plants, get larger harvests and will have less worries despite growing your plants in a limited environment.

1. Provide optimum ventilation inside your micro growing environment

Because you will be growing in a small environment like a closet, tent or a small room, there is a huge chance that warm air from your grow lights can accumulate. Too much hot air could be detrimental to the growth of your plants; this could affect the way plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen in the atmosphere. Marijuana plants, even in a micro grow environment, needs a little space just enough to expand its roots, branch out a little and simply to grow healthy. The best way to maintain ventilation and optimal growing temperature inside your micro grow room is to use a fan. A small fan, or two, depending on the size of your space, can help prevent heat buildup and prevent detrimental effects to your plants. Aside from using fans to blow hot air out of your grow room, you must also use the best grow lighting system.

2. Use LED lighting as much as possible

You must have thought about using all kinds of lighting to optimize your cannabis grow however in such a small space you must use a light source that can provide good lighting without emitting too much heat. LED lighting can be a good light source because it can provide bright light but won’t be too hot to burn your plants and won’t increase the temperature inside your grow room or cabinet. LED lighting is also cost-effective. You can set up two or three LED lamps inside your grow space and it won’t be a pain in the wallet too.

3. Understand your plant’s growing needs

There are plants that won’t grow in a very small space while there are species that will grow quite nicely in a tight spot. You must choose cannabis strains that will work in a micro grow and of course, you must understand its growing needs as well. Take note of the plant’s basic needs as well as the pros and cons of growing a particular strain. Almost all cannabis strains are hardy and will grow almost anywhere but if you want a plant that will nicely grow in a small cabinet space then you must do your homework and research on the best strains.

4. Keep plants short; avoid growing plants towards the light source

With careful tending, you can actually keep your cannabis plants source but beware; small plants usually lead to small yields. There are many ways to keep plants short and one of these is to place a net or strings on the top of young plants to keep them at a certain height.

The strings, usually made of cotton, are strewn on top of plants. As the plant grows, it will keep moving through the screen. You must bend any branch or stem carefully back through the screen; do this every time this happens and soon you will be able to train your plants to grow sideways rather than up.

Plants also tend to grow higher no matter how much you train it if it does not get enough light. Making sure that all the spots inside your grow box or cabinet is covered is the key to avoid this. Letting your plants grow higher will only stress it and will grow weak branches. And since it grows closer to your light source, it can also cause plant burn.

5. Train plants with FIMing and topping methods

Growing plants in a small space could be challenging and there are ways to train it to grow short but still get multiple colas and hence a bigger yield.

Topping is a high stress strategy that will let you double the number of buds for every plant. Since cannabis plants grow tall with a single bud at the tip, topping will yield two tips. Topping requires cutting the entire top to reveal two sections of the top and then holding these two sections carefully to grow two separate buds. This is a very stressful technique to grow marijuana but you get double the yield. And because this is very stressful to plants, it is recommended only for experienced growers and breeders.

FIMing on the other hand is about cutting only the top of the bud, not the entire bud. This will yield four colas instead of two. This is a less stressful way to train than topping but still not recommended unless you are an experienced grower or breeder.

6. Track soil and water pH

Any changes in pH can affect a plant’s ability to absorb nutrients from the soil and hence it may not grow well. Carefully monitoring soil and water pH is essential so you will be able to read your plants like a T. There are a number of handy pH testing kits available in hardware and gardening shops or you can order online. You can use handy products that can reduce pH when you get a high reading and products that can increase pH when you get a low reading. Overall, simply giving your plants TLC will make it grow healthy even in a micro grow environment.