Professional Marijuana Grower November-December 2018 Issue

Greenhouse Heat the soil to hold more water than normal. Soil testing kits should be used to determine soil quality, pH, etc.. The most successful greenhouse cannabis growers know that a small amount of time spent optimizing the soil condi- tions will encourage outstanding cannabis plants with heavy harvests of potent buds. Electric fan heaters are particularly good for moving the air around the structure which helps to prevent cold spots and reduce the risk of disease. If the greenhouse doesn’t have power then a paraffin heater is a bet- ter option. Save money and energy by only heating greenhouses when necessary. Most electric greenhouse heaters come with a built in thermostat that can be set to come on only when the temperatures drop below a cer- tain point. Heat circulation is important when using an electric heater. Moving the warm air around will prevent hot spots (and their contrasting cold spots) as well in reducing condensation that heating encourages. Most greenhouse cannabis growers prefer to grow cannabis directly in the soil. This allows unrestricted root growth and the potential to grow massive cannabis plants which can be eight to ten feet high and just as wide. A single plant like this can often produce over two pounds of cannabis. However some cannabis growers prefer the flexibility of growing their plants in containers, allowing them the flexibility to move the plants if re- quired. The biggest problem with growing in containers is the need to continually water/feed them while plants grown directly in the soil need much less attention. PMG Large, commercial-sized greenhouses are finding wood as an alternative to compensate for expensive gas and petroleum products. When installing a wood stove in the greenhouse be sure to follow all your local code require- ments. Standalone pellet stoves are especially easy to load and operate and most come with some kind of tem- perature control. Some have blowers to circulate heat. Growing Tips Optimize the soil. This can mean replacing all the soil with quality compost or just adding some manure, or- ganic fertilizers, bat guano etc. In dry areas some peo- Sunmaster_SeptG&G_HalfPage_ad_v1:Half Pg ad - Horizontal 8/20/18 ple add water absorbing crystals to the soil which allow Victor Krantz is a master grower for The Bucket Company. He has been involved with the agriculture industry for 30 years producing a wide variety of food crops and setting up commercial greenhouses in many different states. You can find them on Instagram @thebucketcompany or @cookiesandcreamfarm. Vic- tor may be contacted directly at 727.424.0132. 8:46 AM Page 2 Robust design 1,550 µmol IP 65 rated 50,000+ hour life Spectrally tailored for full-cycle growth Healthy, leafy biomass Tight internode spacing Propagation through flower Commercial Grow Luminaire T A I L O R E D © 2018 Venture Lighting International, Inc. 42 • Professional Marijuana Grower S PECTRUM SunmasterGrowLamps.com November/December 2018

Professional Marijuana Grower November-December 2018 Issue | Page 42