Tips for Cannabis Vegetation Stage 2019

The Vegetative Growth Stage of Cannabis Plants

This chapter assumes that you have germinated your seeds and now have little marijuana seedlings starting to grow. If you took our advice and have some nutrients in the soil (or water), then this stage can be a fairly easy stage to get through.

Temperature & Humidity: Room temperature should stay between 72 - 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Yes, I could say 78 is ideal, but if you can retain your room temperature in this range, you should be fine. Sometimes, being exact will drive you nuts, and sometimes you NEED to be exact.

Your humidity is good if 45 - 65 percent can be maintained in your vegetative grow room. Oh, and yes, your room can get to 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit at night (lights out) without any problems.

Lights: Your lights should now be ON for 16 to 20 hours per day (24 hour period) - Light timers or outlet timers control this for you. When your lights come on we'll call this dawn (4:00 a.m. or whatever) - remember this for later.

Watering: You should only water your marijuana plants when they are dry... not damp, let the top of the surface actually get crusty dry.

Be sure to let your plants get dry before watering again. Besides appearance, you can "lift" the plant and check it's weight. When really light - you know the plant is dry.

Air Circulation: Be sure to keep fresh air moving through your grow room. This is critical in keeping healthy plants. This also helps you keep a stable temperature and humidity level.

Be sure you have an exit area for air to escape and replenish the room (even at night).Do not blow constant wind on any plants, keep it moving, not blowing ON the plants.

Lighting During Vegetation

In the vegetation stage, you will want about 18 hours of light for your plants. Use full spectrum grow lights. More Light = Faster Growth.

First things first: if your plant is in good condition, the factor that will limit or support your plant's growth the most will be light. Don't let them search for light while sitting in a dark spot. Also, don't let your plants get burnt by the lamps if they're too tall.

The goal of vegging cannabis is to grow a strong and healthy plant. We will want the buds to be exposed to the light because this will get them to grow much more once transitioning to the flowering phase.

Vegetative Stage Light Cycle used to Grow Cannabis

Choosing the proper lights and hours to imitate the sun's spectrum is crucial for vegetative growth. Using a metal halide light will give the plants the spectrum they need to grow healthy. Vegetative growth is maintained under 18 or more hours of light per day. I personally choose 24 hours of light to promote faster growth, as I need hundreds of plants weekly to maintain my warehouse grow operation. The best way to promote healthy, vigorous growth is to use a 250w halide to grow for the 1st week, 400w halide for the 2nd week and a 1000w halide for the remainder of time you choose to keep the plants growing prior to flowering. This method helps promote even growth without shocking the plant. I personally prefer Hortilux Eye Blue Metal Halide grow lights for Vegetative Growth as they have always worked the best. See pics below showing you the 3 different metal halides for vegetative growth. 

Vegetative Stage Nutrients

There are 3 main components to plant fertilizers; Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), and Potassium (K). Depending on what stage of growth your marijuana is in, determines the nutrients. If you use in-water nutrients, be careful of how much and how often... reading the label could help prevent harm to your plants. I only water nutrients every-other watering.

During this vegetative stage of growth your plants will like a few things like Nitrogen. If you have used a potting soil with nutrients or plant food enhanced soil, then it probably has a good concentrate of Nitrogen already.

Use a nutrient solution with high nitrogen, medium phosphorus, and medium-to-low potassium. Look for fertilizers with NPK ratios of 2-1-1, 4-2-1, 6-3-2 or similar.

You'll want to change up your nutrient mix for each stage of growing from seedlings/clones, to vegging, to flowering. Your plants have different needs as they go through these stages and you need to feed them differently to keep them healthy.

Many nutrient manufacturers such as General Hydroponics, Advanced Nutrients and Fox Farm make this easy for you by selling nutrient "trios" with a pre-planned mixture for each stage of the grow cycle. For more info on picking your nutrients, check our our guide on the Best Nutrients For Growing Weed.

Get The Right Weed Grow Pots

As a rule of thumb, 5 gallon fabric pots will work for most at-home setups, but for commercial applications or very large plants you may need to go up to 7 or 10 gallon weed pots.

 The size of your plants will be determined by their roots. The amount of roots will be determined by the pots or net pots you are using. Give the roots room to grow and the plant will grow as well. If you plan to grow in soil, your plants will need to be watered frequently, especially if growing in a small container. In addition to more root space, larger containers will afford you a bit more leniency here as well. Lastly, breathable fabric pots (rather than plastic) will help ensure your plants get the aeration they need.

One of our favorite options for the best pots for growing weed are the 5 Gallon Fabric Aeration Pots from iPower, which you can usually find on Amazon in a 5-pack or 10-pack for under $20.

Low-stress Training 

Low-stress training (LST) is the process of bending the limbs and new growths of the plant in order to force them to grow in particular directions or orientations. The goal of low stress training is to develop a flat, even and consistent canopy with multiple tops, whether from multiple plants, or a single plant that has been topped. We'll cover topping in the high-stress training section below.

There are a number of ways to conduct your low-stress training. The best tool for the process, for a beginner, is the twisty-tie. If you eat bread, you probably know exactly what these are, even if you know them by a different name. Using twisty-ties is simple, cheap, and effective for most any LST goals. They can be purchased in rolls of various length that can be cut to size for your needs. You will need more as your plants get larger, but a single roll can easily last multiple grows, especially if you re-use the sections and use consistent training methods (using the same size pot and tieing the same limbs during each grow cycle). Twisty-ties are also available in a variety of thicknesses, with thicker types generally having a rubber coating which will not cut into the plant.

Another common tool for low-stress training is a trellis or net through which the limbs of the plant are woven in order to restrict their grow space. This tool is often referred to as a "scrog," or "screen of green." The scrog is ultimately more effective, even if somewhat less versatile, than the twisty-tie. I don't recommend scrogging for beginners as it can be difficult to water your plants and drain their trays due to the presence of the screen. Scrogging restricts your ability to move your plants, and is best suited for hydroponic, aeroponic, or drip-fed media.

High-stress Training

High-stress training (HST) is an umbrella term for a number of processes that introduce significant stress to the plant. We will cover a few of these techniques: topping, fimming, and supercropping.

• Topping is the process of cutting off a growth tip just above a node. As a result of topping a single limb, that limb will (usually) grow two new growth tips. These new tips will eventually grow to the size of the original tip, and eventually they will even surpass the original in size. Thus, topping a limb results in twice as many tops of similar size; it is easy to see how this can improve yield!
• Fimming (FIM stands for "fuck, I missed") is a similar process to topping. Instead of snipping the tip right above a node, instead you snip the new growth tip at the very top, stressing the young fan leaves. I do not personally use this method, but it is supposed to work very similarly to topping, while introducing less stress and having a faster recovery time. The result of the process should be multiple new growth tips from what was previously a single tip.
• Supercopping is the process of tenderizing a small section of the limb. This is usually done on smaller sections of stem on younger plants by pinching a rolling the stem between your fingers. As a result of the tenderization, growth will be temporarily stunted. As the plant recovers, it will develop a large knot at the stressed area which is believed to improve nutrient flow, and thus growth beyond that part of the limb. The goal of the process is to make the firm stem softer and fleshier- it should hang limp, but not be torn, and not have insides exposed to the air at all. This technique, admittedly, is difficult to perform correctly because it is easy to overdo it, or underdo it.

LST and HST may seem complex for a first-time grower, but I recommend trying at least one or two of these techniques on your first grow. The only way to learn how to master these techniques is to practice them! With each grow cycle lasting 12 weeks or more, it is crucial to learn as much as you can from every cycle. Don't be afraid of stunting a seedling or clone, or pushing your harvest a week or two back in order to allow for more vegetative growth and training time. It is almost always worth spending more time training instead of flowering as soon as possible- the extra time is made up for by larger harvests.

Growing the Perfect Shape

In this phase, you are looking to grow your baby weed plants into big, healthy, bushy cannabis plants. If you have the space, it is best to grow your plants into a horizontal sea of buds that can then be beautifully exposed to light in the flowering stage and will create the best yield for you. Vegging cannabis is really a preparation for flowering stage. It sets the standards for your yield because now you are going to make the changes and tweaks that will later accelerate your yield in the flowering stage.