Aeroponic Systems and Marijuana

Aeroponic Systems

Aeroponic systems allow growers to produce great marijuana with quick turnover.

Whether you’re looking for a more reliable system for use in cloning your cannabis crop, or you’re interested in producing the maximum number of clones possible, aeroponic systems are a great resource for the serious grower. Aeroponic systems are especially useful when you want to root clones from a strain that doesn’t usually respond well to traditional cloning methods. Properly managed, most aeroponic systems require little or no oversight after initial setup, and they can produce viable roots in as little as 6 – 8 days.

One of the best aeroponic systems available, and admittedly one of the more expensive, is the EZ Clone system, available from many online retailers including Amazon. The EZ Clone system comes in several sizes, with room for 30, 60 or 120 clones accordingly. For optimum results with the EZ Clone system, be sure to clean it thoroughly between uses and maintain a pH balance of roughly 6.0 – 6.3 for the water / nutrient blend.

The EZ Clone 30 has room for up to 30 clones and comes with a 12 gallon reservoir, so it’s a fairly sizeable setup, and the larger EZ Clone systems come with bigger reservoirs. But if you aren’t ready to invest ~ $250 – $300 in an aeroponic system like the EZ Clone setups, you can still experiment with aeroponics on an affordable scale.

Bloom Brothers Cloner Bucket

Knowing how to grow marijuana with Aeroponic Systems is a great skill to have.

The Bloom Brothers Cloner Bucket, for instance, comes with everything you need to get started with up to 18 clones in a compact 3.5 gallon bucket, and it costs as little as $65. Cuttings should start showing roots in 5 – 10 days, and the Bloom Bucket comes with neoprene inserts to use in lieu of net pots or other cumbersome materials, as well as a decent pump and 15ml of Clonex rooting gel to help get your clones started on the right track.

Whether you opt for a larger system or a smaller aeroponic bucket or bubbler bucket-style system, the results of aeroponic rooting and even full aeroponic growth through the vegetative and flowering cycles, can be quite rewarding. Certainly, as a method for quickly and reliably establishing robust roots, an aeroponic system seems to win hands-down over its competition.

Remember to use a good rooting gel (Clonex is far and away the most popular) in conjunction with your aeroponic system. While you can certainly get good results from an aeroponic system with no extra help, the rooting gel will speed up root production by an average of 2 – 4 days, depending on your specific circumstances.

Aeroponic Systems and Marijuana

Cloning Cannabis 101: The Basics

Basics of Cloning Cannabis

As a first-time grower, you may have heard about a propagation technique for your marijuana known as cloning, and naturally you may wonder what all the fuss is about. Well, this is what all the fuss is about: successful cloning cannabis is the number one way to ensure you have an all-female crop that produces bud of consistent density, flavor and yield.

Cloning is also a great technique for immortalizing your favorite marijuana strain, for instance in the case of a new hybrid plant or when you’ve grown a particular female that produced amazing bud. The reason for this is because you clone plants from clippings that you take from a mother plant, which means that the genetics of the clone are identical to the mother.

The mother plant is a female that you’ll keep in a permanent vegetative state. Managed properly, most marijuana plants can be kept alive for up to five years or more in a vegetative state.

This requires regular pruning to keep the mother plant’s growth in check, but if you’re cloning regularly from her then you should be more than able to keep up with the pruning. Cloning is also an invaluable tool for cannabis cultivars who wish to reproduce a plant with a rare phenotype, as is the case with many CBD-rich cannabis strains.

When you grow from seed, even from well-bred and reputable seed, the results can vary and often include males. Some growers like the experience of experimenting with new seeds, but for those who like to ensure an entirely female, reasonably uniform crop cloning is an attractive alternative to growing from seed.

Follow our tips for the basics on cloning cannabis.

Choosing the Clone

To clone a plant you’ll want to use a female that is in the peak of her vegetative cycle. Try to avoid cloning from a plant that is already flowering; although it can be done, cloning from a flowering plant takes much longer because the clone has to kick back into vegetative mode after being cut from the mother, a process that takes additional time and slows down new root growth.

You’ll want to choose a branch from the female that is at least 1/8th of an inch thick and has two sets of nodes (the junctures of new branches) or more. Most growers will take a cutting from the plant that is a minimum of 3 inches, but preferably closer to the range of 4 – 7 inches long. Cuttings from the lower areas of the plant are preferred, since the lower growth is the newest.

When selecting a limb to use as a cutting, you’ll want to look for the newest growth, where the stalk of the cutting is still tender and green rather than tough and woody. You want the softer, fresh green growth from your plant because the woodier growth has a much harder time rooting.

Once you’ve selected the cutting you want to clone, you’ll harvest and prepare it properly. The precise method of preparation will vary slightly based on the rooting method you choose and the medium you use, such as rock wool, peat moss, soil or aeroponics and hydroponics systems.

Proper preparation will involve making another cut at a 45 degree angle, generally while underwater so as to avoid the possibility of an air bubble killing your clones. Balancing the pH of your rooting medium and trimming excess foliage from your cutting are a few of the next steps.

When cloning your cannabis plants, you’ll also need to pay special attention to the temperature and humidity of your cloning area. A good lighting schedule (typically 18/6 or 16/8) and the proper lights (cloning is one area of growing where you can benefit from the use of CFLs) will also help ensure that your clones take root and grow into glorious new plants in their own right.

Make sure to read: Caring for Your Marijuana Clones

Cloning Cannabis 101: The Basics

Containing the Skunk: How to Decrease Marijuana Smell

Decrease Marijuana Smell in Your Grow Room

Smell is the number one giveaway for your indoor grow, so you should take precautions to decrease marijuana smell associated with your grow.

Depending on what strain you choose to grow, the smell coming from your grow can vary from mild to overwhelming. More people are caught, and their grows busted, simply because someone walking past on the street smelled their plants than for any other reason. So naturally you should do everything you possibly can to contain and eliminate any smell long before it reaches the street outside.

That means you need a good air-purifying system, and the fact is that charcoal filters usually don’t cut it. While you might be able to get away with activated charcoal filters for a very small grow area, such as a closet set-up, the fact is that if you have more than a few plants they will produce so much smell that your filter is overwhelmed.

This requires the use of more stringent air-purification, which is where ozone filtration comes in. A good ozone filter will totally strip and cleanse the air, leaving no discernible trace of your growing plants. The problem is that ozone filtration systems can get expensive to set-up and to maintain, so you’ll have to decide how the benefits weigh against the cost for yourself.

The Importance of Good Air Circulation

Good air circulation is vital in decreasing marijuana smell.

Maintaining good air circulation is also vital to the health of your plants. While they are in the vegetative stage, setting up an oscillating fan to blow air through your plants can do wonders to strengthen the stem and other vegetative growth. The fan will mimic natural wind currents, and in response to the mild stress, the plant will strengthen its stalk and become more rigid, and is therefore capable of bearing a heavier load of bud during the flowering stage.

Finally, don’t try to decrease marijuana smell with incense, perfumes or scented sprays like Lysol. These methods absolutely do not work; all you do is make it smell like whatever you sprayed plus your plants, and no one on your block is fooled. So don’t mess around, get yourself some decent air filtration, you’ll save yourself a world of trouble.

Containing the Skunk: How to Decrease Marijuana Smell

Marijuana Trimmings: What to do with Them

What to do with Your Marijuana Trimmings

Marijuana trimmings have a multitude of uses.

If you’ve ever heard the saying that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, when it comes to the marijuana trimmings you have left over after manicuring your buds, this statement has never been truer.

Once you’ve completed your first grow and you’ve trimmed off your fan leaves, sugar leaves and other excess material, you may be left wondering what to do with it all. At first glance, this cast-off material may look like it should head straight to the trash can or the compost pile, but hold that thought because there’s actually a lot you can do with those valuable trimmings.

From making budder and canna-oil, to producing hash oil or bubble hash from your trim and shake, there are many, many uses for marijuana trimmings. The simple fact is that your trimmed material and shake is actually pretty high is THC and other cannabinoid content; but the problem is that those sugar leaves, fan leaves and woodier pieces of stalk just don’t smoke nicely.

No one like a harsh smoke, but plenty of people love them some edibles or a nice hash oil. Indeed, for the adventurous at heart you can even juice the leaves from your harvest and the green leaves from vegetating females and even male plants. Juicing the leaves not only gives you psychoactive benefits, but also many other benefits from the antioxidants and terpenes.

The Next Step for Your Marijuana Trimmings

If you are a marijuana chef, once you’ve made budder or canna-oil you can then cook with your delicious new ingredients. Try using cannabis-infused olive oil to make a light vinaigrette dressing for salad, or cook your pancakes with some budder for an authentic wake ‘n bake session. When cooking with canna-oil or budder, try to avoid using too much heat because heat breaks down some of the cannabinoids.

Marijuana Trimmings are often used to make edibles, especially cannabutter.

Another tasty snack is to slow roast your favorite seeds or nuts in a light grease of canna-oil. Once you take them out of the oven, brush them lightly with budder and add a bit of salt. You can add dried fruit like cranberries, apricots and raisins to make this a delightful medicated trail mix, great for addressing chronic pain and keeping you mildly medicated throughout the day.

If you aren’t in the mood for hash oils, you can make a simple tincture with any strong alcohol. A grain alcohol such as Everclear is perfect for making cannabis tinctures, and stored in dark amber bottles in a cupboard or freezer, alcohol tinctures can last for years on end. With a bit of ingenuity, you can also make cannabis salves and balms for topical application.

In short, when you have the pleasure of harvesting your crop, don’t let all that unsmokable material go to waste. When there’s about a million ways to use cannabis, it seems unnecessary to let this wondrous plant rot on the compost heap or in a garbage bag. So get creative!

Marijuana Trimmings: What to do with Them

Marijuana Nutrition: Macro & Micro Nutrients

Understanding Marijuana Nutrition

To grow the best marijuana, you need a good understanding of marijuana nutrition. You will also need a good nutrient mix with a blend of the macro- and micro-nutrients your plants need. There are 6 macro-nutrients and 6 main micro-nutrients that your plant will need, depending on its stage of growth, to produce the best bud. Understanding the basics of cultivation is vital, and marijuana nutrition is one of the most important aspects of growing marijuana.

Macro-nutrients:

Marijuana Nutrition is an important aspect of the cultivation process.

• 
  Nitrogen (N) is needed to produce chlorophyll (the green pigment of leaves), which the plant needs for photosynthesis; nitrogen is a key compound during the vegetative stage since it promotes the development of broad, leafy foliage


• 
  Phosphorous (P) is absolutely essential for proper flowering, it is also used by the plant for photosynthesis, root development and as an aid in using nitrogen


• 
  Potassium (K) is integral for the plant’s photosynthesis (the process of turning light into energy), and the creation of proteins and carbohydrates; potassium is also used by the plant to fight diseases and it is integral to the movement of fluid throughout the plant


• 
  Calcium (Ca) is used to build cell walls and to facilitate new growth, especially in the roots, it is also used in some enzyme reactions by the plant


• 
  Sulfur (S) is used by the plant in enzyme and amino acid production


• 
  Magnesium (Mg) is essential to form chlorophyll and is also used to make certain enzymes, magnesium also helps with phosphorous uptake by the plant

Micro-nutrients:

• 
  Iron (Fe) is used by the plant to make chlorophyll and aid with some enzymes


• 
  Boron (B) is vital to water uptake, seed production and cell formation in your plant


• 
  Zinc (Zn) is used by the plant to activate certain enzyme reactions


• 
  Manganese (Mn) is used in chlorophyll production and in many enzyme reactions


• 
  Copper (Cu) is used in building strong stems and branches, as well as cell growth


• 
  Molybdenum (Mo) is used in the production of enzymes and in creation of proteins

Commercial and Natural Fertilizers

If you fail to pay attention to marijuana nutrition, your plants could suffer.

There are many commercial fertilizers available to choose from, including liquid and powder forms. Most fertilizers will be marked with a percentage of N-P-K. The N-P-K stands for Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium, the three most important macro-nutrients. There are also specialized fertilizers available specifically for vegetative growth and blooming.

For the fans of doing all things the organic way, you have alternatives available to you for nutrients as well. One great marijuana nutrition option is rotted horse manure, especially if you are growing outdoors. Another wonderful option is worm casings or even bat guano. These are great to make sure your marijuana nutrition is top-notch.

Natural fertilizers often release nutrients over a longer period of time, so you don’t have to fertilize as often. The downside is that you may need to do some personal experimentation to get the ratios just perfect, and because the nutrients are released more slowly it will take longer to correct nutrient deficiencies with natural fertilizers. On the upside, nutrient burn is less likely.

Marijuana Nutrition: Macro & Micro Nutrients

CBD Production vs. THC Production

Understanding CBD and THC Production

Although research has been limited by the ongoing illegality and prohibition of cannabis, decades of anecdotal evidence and an increasing number of scientific studies have demonstrated that cannabis THC production has immense potential as a healing and medicinal agent.

While THC is known to be the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, and has been shown to have neuroprotective effects of its own, there are many patients who do not like the ‘high’ feeling that accompanies THC. Unfortunately for such patients, most cannabis has been selectively bred and grown for decades to produce higher THC content.

In a marijuana culture of recreational use, as opposed to medicinal use, it was easy for breeders and growers to forget about what else might be in their plants. With the increasing use of cannabis as a legitimate medicinal herb by patients suffering from chronic pain, inflammatory conditions, cancer treatments, HIV and a host of other ailments, however, the value of the other cannabinoids has been receiving more attention and research.

Understanding CBD andTHC Production

The most well-known and actively researched cannabinoid (other than THC) is Cannabidiol (CBD). While research is ongoing, CBD has been

shown to have marked anti-inflammatory affects and strains that have long been popular among patients with chronic back pain, missing, slipped or herniated discs and even multiple sclerosis are now being tested and found to contain higher level of CBD than average (anywhere from 4 – 12% or more).

Some of the marijuana strains that are currently being developed and have good potential for producing high-CBD containing buds are:

•  Sour Tsunami is a hybrid with Sour Diesel and NYC Diesel genetics, among others, that has been cultivated by the California-based grower Lawrence Ringo over the last several years. Considered to be a stable high-CBD strain, starting your grow with Sour Tsunami seeds will give you roughly 1 in 4 plants with high CBD content (10 – 12% or more).

• Jamaican Lion is the beloved strain of another California grower known as Shadrock. With more than a half a dozen tests done on it, Jamaican Lion is known to reliably produce 8 – 9% CBD with anywhere from 4 – 7% THC content based on harvest time. Despite its high CBD content, JL is a sativa-dominant strain that is good for daytime use.

• Cannatonic is a strain that is available as seeds from Resin Seeds in Barcelona, and it presents a bit of a mixed bag of goodies. With at least 4 distinct phenotypes, the plants you grow from seed can end up being very high in CBD (11 – 13%) with about half as much THC, or they can turn out at super sativas with hardly any CBD, but 20%+ THC.

Since testing for additional cannabinoid content is still a fairly new developing, growers and breeders are only beginning to take advantage of this technology. As research into cannabis continues and more advanced testing methods are established, there is no doubt that breeders and cultivators all over the world will begin breeding strains for highly specific traits.

CBD Production vs. THC Production

Avoiding the Pitfalls of Cannabis Cultivation

6 Pitfalls to Avoid when Cultivating Marijuana

As a new cannabis grower, there’s a lot of things you have to learn and keep in mind at every stage of growth, from seed germination through to harvest, trimming and curing. Quite understandably, it can get to be rather overwhelming, so here’s a quick review of some of the common pitfalls of cannabis cultivation and how you can avoid them.

#1 Don’t Tell ANYONE You Grow Pot

Don’t tell other people: this is the number one pitfall of cannabis cultivation, and it’s sad because it is truly so easy to avoid. It’s easy to get excited when you first start your grow, and you may wish to tell your closest friend(s) or family, but resist this temptation at all costs. Keeping the knowledge of your grow to yourself not only protects you against unwanted disclosure / exposure by other people, but also protects you from theft or being targeted by criminals who may learn about your grow and target your crop as a result.

Over / Under-watering Your Plants

Use a soil moisture meter to measure the moisture content in your soil are available in most garden supply stores, and are a great tool for keeping track of your soil moisture. Under watering will cause your plants to wilt and could even kill them, while over watering will cause waterlogged plants that are more susceptible to rotting and drowning.

Wrong pH Balance

When the pH of your soil is too acidic or too basic, the roots of your cannabis plants can no longer take up and make use of the nutrients in your nutrient blend. If you start to notice issues in your plants’ growth, such as yellowing leaves or signs of nutrient deficiency, do a quick check and make sure the pH of your soil is somewhere between 6.5 – 7.0; this represents a neutral pH zone, ideal for your plants. Use a soil test strips to check your soil levels

Not Enough / Wrong Type of Light

Although you can get away with growing cannabis under fluorescent lights and other weak light sources, your results and yields really won’t compare to the use of professional marijuana grow lights like high pressure sodium (HPS) and metal halide (MH) lights. Metal halide are great bulbs for use during the vegetative stage of growth, while HPS bulbs will give you superior bud growth and yields during flowering. Also make sure that you have enough lumens per square foot; cannabis flourishes with 4,000 – 7,000 lumens of light per square foot but should have an absolute minimum of 3,000 lumens to grow well.

Overheating

Indoor or outdoor, small or large – learning the basics of marijuana cultivation is the first step in successful growing.

Your plants are sensitive to the temperature in your grow room, just like you are. As a general rule of thumb, spend some time in your grow room and under your grow lights; if you find it uncomfortably hot, then chances are good that your plants are too hot as well. Daytime temperatures for cannabis should stay between 70 – 80 degrees. Hotter temperatures will cause your plants to lose more water, thus they will drink more and can become susceptible to nutrient burn as a result.

Nutrient Burn / Nutrient Deficiency:

While nutrient burn is more common, you can also wind up with nutrient deficiency if you don’t give your crop enough of what it needs. To avoid nutrient burn, always introduce nutrients in very small quantities and gradually increase the amounts. Also, only use nutrients in your water every 2 – 3 times you water, at most. If your plants start showing signs of nutrient burn, stop all nutrients and water them with pure, pH-neutral water.

Avoiding the Pitfalls of Cannabis Cultivation

Ideal Strains for Total Beginners

Ideal Strain

While all cannabis plants are renowned for their hardiness and general resiliency compared to many other plants, it’s still true that some strains are harder to grow than others. So if you’re just starting out, and you want to increase your chances of harvesting a decent crop, or if you’re someone who is notoriously bad with plants, here are some ideal marijuana strains that are practically fool-proof.

Northern Lights

First and foremost is Northern Lights #5, commonly referred to simply as Northern Lights, NL, or NL#5. This strain won the Cannabis Cup for several years running and has been a go-to strain for beginners the world over ever since hit the market in 1989.

 Resilient, forgiving of your amateur growing mistakes, and generous in its yield of sticky, dense, resinous buds, you can seldom go wrong with Northern Lights. An indica-dominant hybrid, Northern Lights has a flowering period of 7 – 8 weeks and also produces much less smell compared to other cannabis varieties, making it ideal for indoor stealth-growing. Well-grown plants can be expected to yield as much as an ounce or more per plant, so for a starter’s grow that is a very nice haul.

White Widow

Another exceptional strain for beginners is White Widow. Resistant to bugs and pests, as well as dehydration and nutrient imbalances, White Widow can withstand reasonable mistakes and still produce a worthy crop for your smoking pleasure.

Famed for its dense, resinous buds that are sticky to the touch, White Widow is another hybrid strain that is well-adapted to indoor growth. Properly grown, White Widow will be covered in thick crystals, giving it almost a sugared appearance, and will carry a distinct, lightly-fruity aroma. With high THC-content on average, White Widow is a good strain for the beginner who wants to ensure a stronger, more potent crop.

Ideal flowering time for this strain is generally 8 – 10 weeks, and as a hybrid strain with strong indica characteristics, you can count on White Window to remain manageable throughout its growth cycle. Be prepared for strong scents during flowering, generous yields under decent growing circumstances, and a potent high when you finally cure and smoke your bud.

Ideal Strains for Total Beginners

How to Root Stubborn Marijuana Plants

Some cannabis plants may seem to resist all your attempts to clone them. This can be frustrating, particularly for breeders who use a lot of clones or who are accustomed to having easy success with their cloning techniques. Before you tear your hair out, though, just accept that some strains just give you a hard time, but they can be tamed.

One popular method of rooting stubborn clones is to use the good old-fashion potato graft. To use the potato graft, simply prepare your trimming as you usually would. Select a potato that has at least 2 or 3 eyes, and carve a small hole in it for the cutting. Once you’ve prepared it properly and used the rooting hormone of your choice, insert your cutting into the potato and plant as normal.

The potato graft will keep your cutting moist, and provide it with necessary nutrients to encourage root growth. As your plant grows, the potato will either be used up entirely or may start to grow itself. If you notice potato leaves growing around the base of your cannabis plant, simply trim them away.

Potato grafting also works with older, harder or generally woodier stems and stalks. To root a woodier, harder stalk, you should cut it at roughly 45 degrees and also scrape away the outer bark / skin of the cutting for about ½ inch of the stem. This will expose more of the inner bark (where the cells for root growth are located) to the rooting hormone and soil.

Another method for harder-to-root clones is known as air layering. It requires a bit more finesse and some practice, but the results are that when you take your clone from your plant, it will literally already be a plant on its own, complete with roots and ready for planting.

To develop roots via air layering, select the limb you wish to clone. Choose a spot under a node, just like you would for regular cutting, and prepare the intended root-site by using a sterile razor blade or another suitable sharp object to carefully cut the outer layer of bark off a ½ – 1 inch section of the branch. The goal here is to remove the outer layer of bark, known as the phloem, without damaging the inner layer of bark known as the xylem.

You can also scrape the outer bark away, but scraping is more likely to cause damage to the inner bark, including the xylem and the inner cambium where the roots will grow from. Once the root-site is prepared, apply your rooting aid of choice and then attach a rock wool cube, or secure a pocket or soil or peat moss around the wound site. Keep your rooting area moist and breathable, and roots should form within 1 – 2 weeks at which time you can cut the new clone from the mother plant and put it directly into soil for further growth.

How to Root Stubborn Marijuana Plants

Trimmings: What to do with them

If you’ve ever heard the saying that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, when it comes to the trimmings you have left over after manicuring your buds this statement has never been truer.

Once you’ve completed your first grow and you’ve trimmed off your fan leaves, sugar leaves and other excess material, you may be left wondering what to do with it all. At first glance, this cast-off material may look like it should head straight to the trash can or the compost pile, but hold that thought because there’s actually a lot you can do with those valuable trimmings.

From making budder and canna-oil, to producing hash oil or bubble hash from your trim and shake, there are many, many uses for this material. The simple fact is that your trimmed material and shake is actually pretty high is THC and other cannabinoid content; but the problem is that those sugar leaves, fan leaves and woodier pieces of stalk just don’t smoke nicely.

No one like a harsh smoke, but plenty of people love them some edibles or a nice hash oil. Indeed, for the adventurous at heart you can even juice the leaves from your harvest and the green leaves from vegetating females and even male plants. Juicing the leaves not only gives you psychoactive benefits, but also many other benefits from the antioxidants and terpenes.

Once you’ve made budder or canna-oil you can then cook with your delicious new ingredients. Try using cannabis-infused olive oil to make a light vinaigrette dressing for salad, or cook your pancakes with some budder for an authentic wake ‘n bake session. When cooking with canna-oil or budder, try to avoid using too much heat because heat breaks down some of the cannabinoids.

Another tasty snack is to slow roast your favorite seeds or nuts in a light grease of canna-oil. Once you take them out of the oven, brush them lightly with budder and add a bit of salt. You can add dried fruit like cranberries, apricots and raisins to make this a delightful medicated trail mix, great for addressing chronic pain and keeping you mildly medicated throughout the day.

If you aren’t in the mood for hash oils, you can make a simple tincture with any strong alcohol. A grain alcohol such as Everclear is perfect for making cannabis tinctures, and stored in dark amber bottles in a cupboard or freezer, alcohol tinctures can last for years on end. With a bit of ingenuity, you can also make cannabis salves and balms for topical application.

In short, when you have the pleasure of harvesting your crop, don’t let all that unsmokable material go to waste. When there’s about a million ways to use cannabis, it seems unnecessary to let this wondrous plant rot on the compost heap or in a garbage bag. So get creative!

Trimmings: What to do with them

Aeroponic Systems and Marijuana

Whether you’re looking for a more reliable system for use in cloning your cannabis crop, or you’re interested in producing the maximum number of clones possible, aeroponic systems are a great resource for the serious grower. Aeroponic systems are especially useful when you want to root clones from a strain that doesn’t usually respond well to traditional cloning methods. Properly managed, most aeroponic systems require little or no oversight after initial setup, and they can produce viable roots in as little as 6 – 8 days.

One of the best aeroponic systems available, and admittedly one of the more expensive, is the EZ Clone system, available from many online retailers including Amazon. The EZ Clone system comes in several sizes, with room for 30, 60 or 120 clones accordingly. For optimum results with the EZ Clone system, be sure to clean it thoroughly between uses and maintain a pH balance of roughly 6.0 – 6.3 for the water / nutrient blend.

The EZ Clone 30 has room for up to 30 clones and comes with a 12 gallon reservoir, so it’s a fairly sizeable setup, and the larger EZ Clone systems come with bigger reservoirs. But if you aren’t ready to invest ~ $250 – $300 in an aeroponic system like the EZ Clone setups, you can still experiment with aeroponics on an affordable scale.

The Bloom Brothers Cloner Bucket, for instance, comes with everything you need to get started with up to 18 clones in a compact 3.5 gallon bucket, and it costs as little as $65. Cuttings should start showing roots in 5 – 10 days, and the Bloom Bucket comes with neoprene inserts to use in lieu of net pots or other cumbersome materials, as well as a decent pump and 15ml of Clonex rooting gel to help get your clones started on the right track.

Whether you opt for a larger system or a smaller aeroponic bucket or bubbler bucket-style system, the results of aeroponic rooting and even full aeroponic growth through the vegetative and flowering cycles, can be quite rewarding. Certainly, as a method for quickly and reliably establishing robust roots, an aeroponic system seems to win hands-down over its competition.

Remember to use a good rooting gel (Clonex is far and away the most popular) in conjunction with your aeroponic system. While you can certainly get good results from an aeroponic system with no extra help, the rooting gel will speed up root production by an average of 2 – 4 days, depending on your specific circumstances.

Aeroponic Systems and Marijuana

The Basics of Marijuana Cultivation

If you’re considering growing your own marijuana, especially medical marijuana, the first choice you need to make is indoor vs. outdoor growing. The legality of marijuana is disputed in many countries, which makes outdoor growing more of a challenge for most growers.

Like many people you may be inclined to grow indoors, but both options can be viable.

When deciding whether to grow inside or outside, you need to keep in mind the conditions that your plants will need in order to grow and thrive.

First and foremost are light and temperature.

Marijuana thrives in warm to tropical climates, and during its vegetative stage of growth it needs 16 – 24 hours of sunlight each day. Quality of light is important as well, and the proper grow lights for indoor use can be somewhat expensive.

The best grow lights are High Pressure Sodium (HPS) and Metal Halide (MH) grow lights. Compact fluorescent tubes can be useful in combination with HPS & MH lights, but fluorescent tubes yield poor results on their own. There are also newer LED units that are being marketed, but to get an LED setup with the proper lumen output is, on average, prohibitively expensive.

Marijuana is a hardy plant, but temperatures too low will result in poor growth and temperatures too high will result in burning the plant.

Ideal temperatures vary based on strain, but most marijuana thrives between a low of 65 degrees Fahrenheit at night and a high of 85 degrees F. in the day. If you grow indoors and you use the proper lights, you’ll need some way to cool your grow-room, and therefore some way to remove the smell from the hot air that you expel.

Filtration systems are a necessity for most indoor grow setups. At a minimum, most growers will use activated charcoal filters to filter the air being expelled from the grow-room. These filters need to be changed regularly, and more serious growers or those who are operating on a larger scale generally add an ozone filtration system to their air system.

Ozone filtration is far more effective at removing the distinctive scent of marijuana, especially during the 2 – 3 month flowering period when it gives off a very potent smell.

Nutrients and water requirements are the next most important factor. All plants need an array of micro and macro nutrients in order to flourish. When nutrient levels are too high or too low, your plants will suffer from deficiencies or from burn and can even die in extreme cases.

Marijuana loves humidity, especially during its vegetative stage. Be sure to keep the humidity somewhere between 40 – 70%, and watch your plants for any signs of under or over-watering. If you over-water your plants, you run the risk of developing root rot and other mealy grubs. When your plants are dehydrated, they will appear wilted and weak, their leaves and branches floppy.

The Basics of Marijuana Cultivation – Written by G

The Basics of Marijuana Cultivation

Trimmings: What to do with them

If you’ve ever heard the saying that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, when it comes to the trimmings you have left over after manicuring your buds this statement has never been truer.

Once you’ve completed your first grow and you’ve trimmed off your fan leaves, sugar leaves and other excess material, you may be left wondering what to do with it all. At first glance, this cast-off material may look like it should head straight to the trash can or the compost pile, but hold that thought because there’s actually a lot you can do with those valuable trimmings.

From making budder and canna-oil, to producing hash oil or bubble hash from your trim and shake, there are many, many uses for this material. The simple fact is that your trimmed material and shake is actually pretty high is THC and other cannabinoid content; but the problem is that those sugar leaves, fan leaves and woodier pieces of stalk just don’t smoke nicely.

No one like a harsh smoke, but plenty of people love them some edibles or a nice hash oil. Indeed, for the adventurous at heart you can even juice the leaves from your harvest and the green leaves from vegetating females and even male plants. Juicing the leaves not only gives you psychoactive benefits, but also many other benefits from the antioxidants and terpenes.

Once you’ve made budder or canna-oil you can then cook with your delicious new ingredients. Try using cannabis-infused olive oil to make a light vinaigrette dressing for salad, or cook your pancakes with some budder for an authentic wake ‘n bake session. When cooking with canna-oil or budder, try to avoid using too much heat because heat breaks down some of the cannabinoids.

Another tasty snack is to slow roast your favorite seeds or nuts in a light grease of canna-oil. Once you take them out of the oven, brush them lightly with budder and add a bit of salt. You can add dried fruit like cranberries, apricots and raisins to make this a delightful medicated trail mix, great for addressing chronic pain and keeping you mildly medicated throughout the day.

If you aren’t in the mood for hash oils, you can make a simple tincture with any strong alcohol. A grain alcohol such as Everclear is perfect for making cannabis tinctures, and stored in dark amber bottles in a cupboard or freezer, alcohol tinctures can last for years on end. With a bit of ingenuity, you can also make cannabis salves and balms for topical application.

In short, when you have the pleasure of harvesting your crop, don’t let all that unsmokable material go to waste. When there’s about a million ways to use cannabis, it seems unnecessary to let this wondrous plant rot on the compost heap or in a garbage bag. So get creative!

Trimmings: What to do with them