Cannabis Ruderalis is the 3rd family member, ruderalis genetics have allowed the creation of modern autoflower seeds.

Cannabis is a dioecious species, meaning it can be male or female. In the different life stages of cannabis, life begins as a seed - either an autoflowering seed or a photoperiod feminized seed.  

Some growers also keep mother plants and grow cuttings, rather than seeds. The young seedling will undergo vegetative growth. During ‘veg’ growth, branches, roots and leaves are formed but no buds/flowering is seen. Bloom, or flowering, follows vegetative growth. In bloom you will see large numbers of resin-covered buds produced by female plants.

Following the invention of feminized cannabis seeds by Dutch Passion in the 1990’s, male plants are rarely seen by home growers. If they are, they tend to be quickly discarded. The life stages of cannabis in hydroponics are the same as those in other grow methods, but with hydroponics, cannabis can achieve growth rates that are rarely seen with other types of grow methods.

HYDROPONIC VS SOIL GROWN CANNABIS.   

Soil grown cannabis is one of the more popular growing methods. In the wild, cannabis grows naturally in soil. The cannabis roots slowly and progressively creates a strong root network in soil, which remains a popular and easy way to grow cannabis. If you grow in large containers of soil, perhaps with slow release organic nutrients, such as those from BioTabs, the soil grower may not need to worry much about ongoing plant nutrition, pH or EC readings. Instead the grower would mainly add water, sit back and enjoy watching the cannabis plants grow through their various life stages.

Healthy hydroponic think different root system.

Hydroponic cannabis may often be a grow method preferred by more experienced growers. No soil is used in hydroponics, instead the cannabis plant can be grown in an inert grow medium such as clay pebbles, glass wool, coco fiber or water. Without soil, the hydroponic grower takes full responsibility for control and supply of nutrients. Nutrient management skills are of key importance for hydroponic cannabis growers.

The hydroponic grower will need to be proficient in the use and calibration of pH meters and EC meters.In hydroponic systems such as Deep Water Culture (DWC) the cannabis roots grow in a large (e.g. 25 liter) bucket of water. Normally, cannabis roots would simply rot when left in water, but when large amounts of root oxygenation are provided from an air stone the roots thrive and grow rapidly. Often, the 25 liter DWC bucket will be full of white cannabis roots at the end of bloom.

Hydroponic cannabis growers often see their cannabis plants grow faster and larger vs. soil grown cannabis. For the home grower, hydroponics may mean larger harvests, often in a shorter time frame compared to soil grown cannabis.

HYDROPONIC GROWN CANNABIS LIFE STAGES

Careful control of cannabis nutrients is essential for hydroponic growers. That’s why hydroponic often best suits those growers who already have a basic grasp of the various cannabis life stages and the growth cycle of cannabis.

When it is done properly, hydroponics can allow cannabis to go through the various life stages with rapid growth. But conversely, when nutrient management is not controlled, hydroponics can also allow plant health to decrease with alarming rapidity.

The expert hydroponic cannabis grower is able to keep their plant in the nutrient ‘sweet spot’ with neither over feeding nor under feeding from germination to harvest. When done well, hydroponic cannabis growing can outperform just about every other grow method in terms of the speed of growth. Below are the various cannabis life stages that hydroponic growers will have to manage.

Seedling and germinationThe first stage of life for the cannabis plant is to successfully make the transition from seed to seedling. In soil, the cannabis seed is softened by moisture which allows the tap root to emerge and grow downwards into the soil. In hydroponics, the grower will have to germinate the seed and establish the seedling in the hydroponic grow system. The easiest and most reliable way to germinate cannabis seeds is in between two moist (but never soaked!) cotton pads.

Many soil growers also germinate their autoflower seeds/feminized seeds between moist cotton pads. After a couple of days the tap roots have usually emerged. At this point, the freshly sprouted seedlings can be placed in the soil or in the hydroponic system. With hydroponics, cannabis seedlings are often supported with a few clay pebbles in a DWC system. In a Nutrient Film Technique (‘NFT’) hydroponics system, rock wool cubes are sometimes used.

Young Sugar Bomb Punch seedling in a DWC (deep water culture) starter pot 

Vegetative phaseIn hydroponics, vegetative (‘veg’) growth is rapid. You may see plants growing quicker than they would do in other systems. This can allow larger final plants and heavier subsequent harvests. With feminized cannabis seeds, veg conditions are maintained while the plants are grown under 18-24 hours of daily light. During this time the hydroponic nutrients are usually slowly and steadily increased. If nutrients are too concentrated the roots will be unable to cope with the mineral overload and the plants will see ‘nutrient burn’, with brown leaf tips. In the worst cases the seedling will die or have permanently stunted growth.

However, if the seedling can grow with nutrients of the right strength, vegetative growth in hydroponics will be very fast. Hydroponic growers can choose between short periods of veg growth if they are growing with the SOG (sea of green) method. Or they may prefer long periods of hydroponic vegetative phase if they are growing in a SCROG (screen of green) method.

Flowering phaseWhen growing autoflowering cannabis seeds bloom begins after approximately 4 weeks following seed germination. The flowering phase (or bloom phase) begins automatically without any adjustment to the light hours, that’s why they are called autoflowering seeds.

With feminized seeds, the flowering phase begins when daily light hours are reduced to 12. The plant senses the shortened daylight. In the wild, the reduction of daylight hours signals the approach of autumn/fall and this triggers the plant to bloom.

In the flowering phase, cannabis will start stretching upwards and develop light emerald-green foliage near the eventual bloom sites.

The plant will also start requiring less Nitrogen-based feed and increasing amounts of Phosphorus and Potassium. Optimized lighting levels will allow the heaviest yields. Many modern growers prefer the optimized light spectrum and reliability of LED grow lights. Light provides the energy which drives photosynthesis.

Often the best hydroponic growers also invest in the best plant lighting they can afford. This way, the hydroponic grower can optimize all aspects of their grow room from the nutrients, to the hydroponic grow system to the lighting. The results can be spectacular.

Flowering phase with hydroponicsSmall pre-flowers will appear on the plants which indicate sex.The female plants will often show a couple of small white hairs (pistils) emerging from a nodule between stem and branch.

This indicates the start of the flowering phase.The length of flowering will depend on the variety, but it is usually around 8-9 weeks.Some sativa genetics can take around 13-14 weeks of bloom.During the flowering phase, the cannabis plant puts all its energy into laying down the thick layers of buds and resin - a process which growers love to see.The ultimate goal of the cannabis plant in nature is to be pollinated, however the home-grower will remove any male

  Hydroponic Kerosene Krash harvest.

Hydroponic Auto Ultimate tent grow

Plants to prevent the buds being filled with seeds. Everyone prefers sinsemilla, which means seed-free cannabis.

Although many people will claim hydroponics is somewhat harder to master than soil growing, hydroponics offers superior growth rates. In the flowering phase, hydroponics can deliver faster bud/bloom formation and heavier yields. As the cannabis plant continues to bloom the appearance changes dramatically and rapidly in a well maintained hydroponics system.

The best cannabis seeds produce plants that are covered with heavy blooms. These can cause the branches to bow down under the weight of their own buds.

The cannabis plant will also start to produce a sticky coating of resin, the resin is rich in cannabinoids that produce the desired medical/recreational benefits. Many hydroponic growers will support the heaviest branches to prevent collapse/breakages.

Harvesting, drying and curing hydroponic cannabis When growing with hydroponics, cannabis plants often reach harvest a little faster than they might have done with other growth techniques/systems. That’s an inherent benefit of hydroponics over other techniques, along with possible yield improvements.

At harvest point many hydroponic growers will check their trichomes under a magnifying glass. Personal taste dictates the precise harvest point, for many it is the point at which the trichomes are generally starting to transition from cloudy to amber.

The longer you leave flowering to continue, the ‘heavier’ the effects can start to feel.Other growers will also look at the color of the pistils (hairs) on the buds. If the pistils are mainly white, they may choose to wait until they are orange. Other growers will make a personal judgment of harvest point based on general plant/bloom appearance.

HOW TO CHOOSE BETWEEN HYDROPONIC VS SOIL GROWN CANNABIS?

You can grow great quality cannabis with either soil or hydroponics. Of course, the final bud quality (and yield) is determined by several factors. Your initial choice of feminized seeds or autoflower seeds will play a major part in determining the final harvest quality. So will your choice of grow light, LED will deliver superior results to HPS. Nutrient management and environmental conditions will also play a large part, but when all these factors are optimized so is your final harvest quality/quantity.

Soil has the benefit of simplicity, especially when growing organically with slow release organic nutrients in large containers. Using this approach there is little for the grower to do and therefore little to go wrong. For most of the grow you will only need to add water, with perhaps just some general purpose nutrient feed supplied later in bloom. This makes soil cultivation of cannabis a popular choice with less experienced growers or with growers that simply have limited time.

Hydroponics does come with certain extra ‘hands-on’ complications and it doesn’t suit everyone. You will need to understand nutrient management and be in touch with your plant nutritional requirements at each phase in the cannabis life cycle. You will need to be comfortable using, calibrating and (if necessary) replacing your pH and EC meters. But the reward for this extra complexity is the faster grow rates seen with hydroponics, in both veg and bloom phases of the cannabis life cycle.