Hi,
When people are growing marijuana plants, they have just one thing on their minds: how do I increase my plants’ yield?
It’s an age-old question that must have an answer. Lucky for you, I know that answer.
There are tons of ways to increase the yield of your marijuana plants. The following are just a few examples:
Removing yellow leaves (basic pruning)
Other pruning techniques
Optimizing nutrients
Optimizing lighting
Increasing carbon dioxide
Monitoring and controlling temperature and humidity
Timing the harvest perfectly
(Psssst...How much can you actually yield? Read this article to learn more.)
Today we’re going to dive deeper into increasing your yield through nutrients.
One of the trickiest and most important ways of getting your marijuana plants the resources they need is by feeding them the proper amount and ratio of nutrients. Hold on though...it’s tougher than it sounds!
Here’s why. Humans eat what they need because they crave it; marijuana plants, on the other hand, will try to take it all in. Unfortunately, this means they could end up with “nutrient burn” if it’s too much for the plant to handle.
Nutrient burn is fairly common because it’s easy to do accidentally. So avoid it by starting your plants with a nutrient solution that is at least half as potent as is recommended, if not less. It’s far easier to give plants more nutrients than to flush out a root system that’s surrounded by too much nutrient solution.
Ratio
The ratio of the nutrient solution is important.
If you want your buds to be fat and juicy, you are going to have to spoil them a bit. Take special care of them during the flowering phase of the plant’s life cycle.
What buds crave most of all is phosphorous, so try a mixture of 10% nitrogen, 30% phosphorous, and 10% potassium (commonly referred to as NPK 10-30-10) to curb those cravings. At the end your buds can use a boost of extra potassium
Start with: 10% nitrogen, 30% phosphorous, and 10% potassium.
This is often listed as “NPK 10-30-10” on a commercial nutrient mixture. Keep an eye on your plants -- if they’re exhibiting any strange behavior or growing oddly, you may need to adjust this ratio.
pH level
if you haven’t grown marijuana before, you may not know nutrients and pH level go hand in hand. This is because the pH level of the soil (or whatever grow medium you are using) at the roots will affect your marijuana plant’s ability to absorb different kinds of nutrients. Many times, nutrient deficiency or toxicity is actually caused by a pH imbalance.
One of the major elements that can affect your plants’ intake of nutrients is the pH level.
Often a plant will show signs of a nutrient toxicity (too much) or deficiency (too little) when really the root of the problem comes from a pH imbalance.
Be sure to frequently check the pH levels down where the roots are to make sure your plants can take in nutrients properly. Water that is neutral has a pH level of 7.
EC value
The EC (electric conductivity) value is also important. This measures the salt content. If water has an EC value of 0, it is completely pure -- no minerals or salts. Tap water almost always has minerals and salts in it, so if you live in the US, you can expect the EC value to be between 0.2 and 0.5. This is not enough nutrients for your plants (so be sure to add some yourself).
Happy growing