Home Growers Corner
Part 3
How To Clone
The Old School Way
Tried and True Methods to Grow Big Plants . by Jay Richardson , contributing writer
Welcome back to the garden . For those of you who are joining us for part three , we are growing six marijuana plants in real-time . As I write this , we are about six weeks into our project . If you missed parts one and two in the March and April issues , you can find them at www . TheEvolutionMag . com . This is the boring part of being a cannabis gardener . There isn ’ t much to do at this point except sit around and wait . We have plants in the vegetative state and more that are in flower . There are beautiful plants in all the stages of development except for the only one that counts . Nothing is ready to harvest and consume quite yet . There ’ s water , water everywhere , yet there is not a drop to drink –– pun intended ! it can take several weeks or even up to a month or two for the excess fluid to evaporate . While a larger plant can use a gallon or more water daily , a small clone or seedling will only need to be given an ounce or two every few days .
Many people recommend inserting your finger into the soil to check the moisture . I have found that the best way to judge the amount of water in a container is to check its weight . This requires you to pick up the pot and judge whether it is heavy or not . A gallon of water weighs around seven pounds , and the difference between a pot full of dry potting soil and a plant that has water is easily noticeable . With a little practice , you will instantly know if it ’ s time to water . Don ’ t try to judge what is going on just based on the appearance of the soil . The surface can look like the Mojave Desert , and the dirt down in the pot can still have plenty of H2O to sustain the plant quite nicely . Learn to do it by picking the pots up and weighing them with your mind .
I have found through experience that it is better to let the soil go completely dry and have the plants wilt a little than it is to keep them in a state of constantly being over-saturated . While allowing plants to wilt can cause stress and is not recommended , it is amazing how quickly they recover when they get watered . Too much water will , at best , inhibit your plant growth and , at worst , cause root rot or a condition known as “ damping off .” Damping off is when the stem begins to decay at its base , where it is in contact with the dirt . The stem will completely rot away , and the plant will die . This is most common with young plants that are just starting .
Grow plants like this . This is one plant . I originally called this Goliath plant “ Barbara Bush ,” but now I call it “ Budzilla .”
Our main function at this point is to make sure that the plants have the proper growing conditions and to leave them alone . When you are starting out , you feel like you need to be doing something , but that is not generally the case . The nickname for marijuana is “ weed ,” and it ’ s an apt moniker . It is very adaptive and hearty . I will concede that some strains are a bigger pain in the ass than others , but for the most part , all you need to do is feed it , water it , and let it do its thing .
When I left you last month , we had rooted six clones and transplanted them into Solo cups . The reason I put them into small containers , as opposed to a full-sized flowerpot , is to avoid over-watering . While it is obvious that a lack of water can damage and kill plants , too much moisture can have the same result . If you overwater a large container ,
I know people who water on a regular schedule , Monday , Wednesday , and Friday , for example . To me , this makes no sense . Different conditions , such as heat , humidity , and plant size , will affect evaporation and the amount of food and water plants use . Pick up the pots every morning and see how much they weigh . When they get light , it ’ s time to water ; otherwise , just let them grow . When I pick up my plant to check for moisture content , I also turn it so that the other side of the plant is exposed to the light . By rotating their position and moving them to different parts of the grow area , I am helping the plants to have even growth on all sides .
Something else I do to my plants to ensure even growth is to tie them down . Whatever type of grow light you use , the majority of the light will be on top of your indoor plants . Using a reflective surface will redirect some of the light to your side branches , but the majority will still go to the top of the plant . There is an area of the garden that I call the “ Goldilocks Zone .” It is not too close to the light , causing your crop to get burned leaves or flowers , and it is not too far away , causing your garden to have inhibited growth . It is much like Baby Bear ’ s porridge –– it is just right .
36 May 2024