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The Strength & Potency of Grass

the potency of marijuana, trichomes and potency

Marijuana has always been cultivated mainly for its trichomes. These are partly processed into hashish or extractions. The goal in cultivation is the production and harvest of THC-rich trichomes. Besides taste, appearance, shape of the buds and other criteria, one of the most important is and remains the effect.

Trichomes and resin

Trichomes occur in nature in plants in many different shapes and sizes and serve different purposes. Cannabis also uses its trichomes for different purposes. The primary purpose of the cannabis plant is to produce seeds, thereby maintaining its genetics and ensuring future growth of new plants. The trichomes protect the seeds from desiccation, insects, animals and fungal diseases.

Cannabis Trichomes

One important thing is that a strong resin production does not automatically have to be related to a very high potency of the plant. In many cases, very resinous plants are also particularly potent, but there is no guarantee. This is because the flowing resin on the flowers can hold THC and other cannabinoids better or worse, depending.

Indicastrains usually have a thicker resin layer on the flowers and appear more crystalline than sativas, at the same time they offer a different effect than the sativas. Even if a clone of a resin-rich cannabis plant is used, the weed that comes out later can be different in strength just because of different environmental conditions. This means that even clones will not be equally strong and potent if they do not have exactly the same environmental conditions.

Cannabis is able to form or convert various effective cannabinoids. For this purpose, it is important to create the appropriate conditions to promote and enable the formation of these cannabinoids.

The environmental influences

It takes high quality genetics to grow high quality marijuana and get the best weed. But this is only half of the story. Genetics (genotype) only play a 50% role in the appearance and quality (phenotype) of an existing plant. The other 50% is determined by environmental factors such as light, temperature, humidity, soil, nutrient supply, etc. Both factors, genetic and environmental, are crucial and of great importance for the physical as well as the chemical appearance of the marijuana trichomes.

Marijuana grows scattered across our planet in many different regions. The most potent cannabis strains with the highest THC content are found on earth around the equator and at high altitudes in the mountains (Nepal, India, Kashmir...). Both regions have one thing in common: a high light intensity and a large amount of ultraviolet (UV) light. There is a correlation between altitude and increased potency. This correlation in turn suggests that the cannabis plant produces resin to protect itself and its seeds from the ultraviolet light and the associated damage.

Cannabis resin production

As mentioned above: A genetically high THC variety will achieve at most medium THC results in a "lean", less optimal environment. Humidity also plays a big role in a plant's resin production. Although some potent cannabis strains in the equatorial region also grow in higher humidity, most THC-rich marijuana strains occur in dry areas such as Afghanistan or India. In these dry areas, the flowers of the cannabis plants become very firm, dense and resinous (-> Indicas) whereas in the more humid areas around the equator they become more airy, permeable and puffy (-> Sativas), otherwise they would quickly become mouldy.

Marijuana grown in a more humid environment will very often have longer stems on the trichomes than the same strain grown in drier conditions. While a more humid environment will often make the flowers look very crystallised, the resin from these plants will only contain less THC than that of the same plant grown in dry conditions. Another problem is that longer trichome stems break/fall off more easily during handling and processing.

Some studies have shown that a high potassium level has a negative influence on THC production. While industrial hemp strains have a high demand for potassium, especially before harvest, the opposite is true for potent marijuana strains. Besides the taste and the health aspect, this is another reason for flushing the plants for 2 weeks.

Cannabis in mixed cultivation

Plants can interact within a grow system and influence each other negatively or positively. Clearly positive results could be documented when certain plants were grown next to each other. In the context of cannabis, little is known about this so far, but long-time growers and researchers have found that for cannabis, especially the neighbourhood with stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) has a positive effect and increases the formation of essential oils.

My personal experience and that of other growers has shown that it is best not to grow cannabis plants together with geraniums, vines, cucumber plants.... These transmit all kinds of diseases and pests very easily and in a very short time, and are themselves far too susceptible to them. You are not doing yourself any favours.

Garlic, onions and chilli peppers, on the other hand, are excellent for mixed cultivation and also help to keep bugs away. Chilli peppers between cannabis plants can also be a nice and even helpful thing indoors. Chillis help to repel mould and keep pests away.

Cultivation for potency

Decades of cultivating cannabis strains indooor under artificial light have resulted in individual strains adapting to the changing conditions and genetically altering accordingly. Some experts in cannabis research and development believe that the long use of sodium vapour lamps in cultivation has led to weaker THC levels in strains because NDLs cannot provide a sufficient and comprehensive light spectrum like the sun.

The best way to obtain highly potent and uniquely good plants indoors and to harvest them permanently is to choose the Selection genetically particularly valuable plants among many quality seeds. According to the motto among the queens there is a queen again and you have to find her. Even seeds from the same seed bank of the same variety can only be similar to each other like siblings, these are not clones. Out of 10 seeds one will be the best, out of 100 seeds also....

Over the many years of private cannabis cultivation, growers have experimented and tested countless methods on how best to increase resin production. Some of these were more reminiscent of hippy-dippy randomness than true grower knowledge. In the meantime, knowledge about cultivation is increasingly taking on a more professional and scientific character.

Increase resin production Cannabis

The best resin production with the highest THC level can be achieved indoors if a metal halide lamp (150W-1000W depending on the growing area, blue light) is used for the growth phase of the cannabis plant and a sodium vapour lamp (250W-1000W depending on the growing area, red light) is used for the flowering phase. This can be further increased by the (additional or sole) use of high-quality and specially developed lamps for the cultivation of cannabis plants. LED plant lamps. In this way, the plants receive the widest and best light spectrum that is currently feasible in the indoor growing sector for private use.

LED Cannabis Grow, Great Resin Production

NDL dual-grow lamps (with blue and red spectrum at the same time) also lead to very good and high resin production (e.g. Sunmaster), as they can deliver both blue and red light. Many growers therefore swear by the use of dual lamps. These can also be used during the growing phase as well as during the flowering phase. Most crystalline buds are produced when the 2 light spectra overlap.

Harvesting in the morning ensures that the cannabis plant will have its maximum THC content. Research has shown that marijuana plants have the highest THC levels in the morning and then this drops during the day. Some experienced growers turn off the lights completely three days before harvest to increase the potency, the fan will of course continue to run as normal. THC can basically be produced by the plant even in the dark. Thus, in its last three days of life, the cannabis plant continues to produce THC in the dark, but this is no longer broken down and reduced in any way by light or converted into too much CBN.

Of course, the strength of the weed always depends on the right time to harvest on the plant. Only when the cannabis plant is ripe does it have its greatest strength. After a certain point in flower development, this strength can no longer be exceeded, and the plant loses active ingredients and THC when it becomes overripe. Observing the trichomes and their colour change with the help of a small microscope makes it possible to determine the correct harvest time (see also correct harvest time).

Many growers harvest when about half of the trichome heads have turned opaque and milky to ensure maximum THC content in the buds. Opinions differ, others prefer to harvest when several amber trichome heads are already visible. The total level of THC in the flowers can be increased by allowing half of the resin glands to become opaque and milky, but at the same time the marijuana flowers will then also have a greater amount of THC breakdown and degradation products, e.g. CBN. That's why some prefer to harvest earlier and others later. It's a matter of taste and each grower has to find out for himself what his ideal harvest time is.

milky trichomes cannabis

Indica strains usually have a 1-2 week window in which they can be harvested. Sativas and hybrids, on the other hand, can have a much longer window to work with.

With the growing popularity of making your own hash through precision screens of various sizes (e.g. Bubble Bags), many growers are now placing more emphasis on trichome head development. By using clones, growers have an excellent opportunity to test different techniques and parameters over several harvests. After all, it is the environmental conditions that will mainly determine the strength and quality, not the plant itself. One should always keep in mind that different strains can react differently to different cultivation methods and techniques. Therefore, general and sweeping conclusions do not always lead to the best result.

The marijuana gardener must pay much closer attention to his plants and their development than the ordinary vegetable grower would. The most beautiful and glittering plants are of no use if they do not have THC-laden trichomes, the object of joy.

With this in mind, keep an eye on the trichomes, they are the key to happiness 😉

Sources:

  • Starks, Michael. 1977. Marijuana Chemistry Genetics, Processing and Potency. Ronin Publishing, Inc., Berkeley, CA pp. 17-86.
  • McParland, Clarke, Watson. Hemp Diseases and Pests; management and biological control, CABI Publishing, New York, NY
  • Pate, DW, 1994. Chemical ecology of Cannabis. Journal of the International Hemp Association 2: 29, 32-37.
  • Kutscheid, 1973. Quantitative variation in chemical constituents of marihuana from stands of naturalized Cannabis sativa L. in east central Illinois. Economic Botany 27: 193-203.
  • Hoffman, Dr Silke. 2001. Ultraviolet radiation in the greenhouse. Floraculture International, May 2001. Ball Publishing, Batavia, Illinois. pp18-27.

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