Continued....

Pruning may also be needed at this stage. Pruning the plants will promote branching and keep the plants shorter and harder to spot. Pruning may not be needed for some strains. Other strains concentrate more growth around the stem and pruning may be needed to develope more bud producing branches. Some growers argue that pruning will stunt the plants growth and may even produce more males do to the stress of removing branches. However, pruning has shown itself to be a helpful technique in increasing yeild and keeping plants short and out of sight If you choose to prune use sharp, clean scissors to snip the branch. Where you cut the branch two new branches will grow from that point. Never take off more than six inches when pruning.

Flowering stage of a marijuana plant

Flowering is triggered in marijuana when the length of un-interupted darkness reaches a certain length. The actual time varies from plant to plant but a guideline is 12 hours light and 12 hours dark. Be careful if you visit your garden at night. Any light, even that from a weak flashlight will destroy the hormone that induces flowering and the plants will revert back to vegative growth. If you must visit at night don't use any light, or better, visit during the day. If you removed the males earlier than you have little more to do but wait. However if the males are still present than keep a close eye out for them. As soon as you can determine it's sex a male should be removed to keep it from pollinating the females. Once the males begin to appear it won't be long before the females begin to show. Don't spray with bug spray during flowering or you will taste it in the smoke. Also, fertilizing should be minimized or cut down to 1/4 strength. Marijuana uses large amounts of phosphorus during flowering so 15-30-15 should be used at 1/4 strength if needed at all.

Harvesting and drying marijuana plants

Now is the time when all the hard work pays off. By now the buds and resin should be forming at a rapid rate. The time to harvest the plant is when 3/4 of the white pistil hairs have turned brown. Use a magnifying glass to examine the resin crystals on the leaves. They should appear amber right before you cut the plants. If they are clear the resin has not reached full potency. If they are brown then the resin has already peaked and potency is declining rapidly. When you go to harvest bring back packs to carry the plants. Cut the branches off and place them in paper bags. Remove the large lower leaves right there because they are unsuitable for smoking. Try not to shake the plants too much because the resin glands will fall off.

When the plants are home put them in rubbermaid containers and let them sit. Stir them around twice per day and check for mold. If mold appears take the plants out immediatley and spread them out to dry. They can be put in the microwave to kill the mold. Keep the buds in the dark. Light degrades THC. After about three weeks the buds should be taken out and the leaves should be removed except for the ones with lots of resin. Place the almost dry buds in some newspaper and put them in a warm dry place. After a week the stems should be brittle enough to snap with your fingers. Now the weed should be totally dry and ready to smoke!