Maximum Yield Cannabis USA August / September 2017 | Page 28

grow
by Will Tremblay
WANT HEALTHY, PRODUCTIVE
PLANTS? Dial in your potential
hydrogen and you’ll be on your
way to a thriving crop. William
Tremblay discusses the importance
of achieving the right pH balance
with a seasoned growing pro.
T
he potential hydrogen (pH) and
nutrient concentration of a cannabis
plant’s medium is a lot like a transistor
radio; you have to dial in the right
numbers to unlock its full potential.
Whether you are growing with a soil
or soilless set-up, pH measures the
acidity and alkalinity of the medium,
which in turn controls the nutrients the
plant can absorb.
Students enrolled in the Cannabis Pro-
fessional Series at Kwantlen Polytech-
nic University, based in Surrey, British
Columbia, learn about the importance
of ideal pH levels early in the course.
“It’s something that’s misunderstood,
often overlooked, and it’s highly
important,” says Nico Haché, one of the
program’s instructors and a horticultural
consultant with Root to Shoot Solutions.
“People talk about nutrient lockout,
that’s generally pH related.”
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grow. heal. learn. enjoy.
“Water is a big factor that can affect
your pH. City water, pond water, or river
water, whatever set-up you have, every
water source is different,” he says.
Cannabis plants prefer a slightly
acidic environment for its roots.
Growers using soil as their medium
should adjust their pH to a range of
6-6.8. For a soilless garden, pH should
sit between 5.5-6.5.
Allowing a pH range, regardless of the
medium, ensures the plant is able to
absorb the variety of nutrients required
for optimum growth. For example, the
plant’s ability to absorb manganese
increases with a more acidic medium.
Numerous pH and nutrient uptake
charts are available online to illustrate
the ideal pH for each element needed
throughout the vegetative and
flowering stages of growth.
“A range allows marijuana to absorb
what it likes,” says Haché. “Your pH
doesn’t change your concentration of
nutrition, it changes the availability of
nutrients. Even though the nutrients are
there, they might not be up-taken, or
they may be absorbed in excess.”
While many nutrient companies add
pH stabilizers to their products, Haché
recommends frequent water testing to
ensure pH remains in the ideal range.
Whether or not different cannabis
strains thrive under distinctive pH
levels is an area that has undergone
little scientific scrutiny. Haché doubts
that exploring specific acidity levels
based on cannabis species would
produce noticeable improvements in
yield or quality.
“When you’re talking about changing
your acidity like that, it’s complex.
Often, they’re hybrid plants, so they’re
not true indicas or sativas,” he adds.
“It becomes difficult to start playing
with that too much.”
However, matching pH to the plant’s
natural environment could help
promote native characteristics, like
terpene profiles.
“When you think of the regions of
the world where these plants come
from, they’re complete opposites.
All the factors would be different,”
Haché says. “You can treat them
exactly the same, they’re both
marijuana plants, but you
could probably be a little
more efficient by fine-tuning
indicas or sativas.”
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