Ideally, we recommend feeding mother plants with organic fertilisers (like vermicompost or compost teas) to promote healthy microbial life in the soil, which in turn will help clean the plant’s medium and prevent salt buildup in the root zone. You can feed your mother plant like you would any normal vegging plant.
Full Answer
What is the best food for marijuana plants?
Your marijuana plants need the following primary nutrients, collectively known as macronutrients:
- Nitrogen (N)
- Phosphorus (P)
- Potassium (K)
When should you start feeding your cannabis plants fertilizer?
When to Fertilize Marijuana at 3 Different Growth Stages
- Seedlings. Technically, your seedlings are part of the vegetative stage however, I feel because newly sprouted seeds are very fragile, they need a slightly different type of care (and possibly ...
- Vegetative Growth Stage. The vegetative growth stage is the cycle of the weed plant before it starts to flower then bud. ...
- Flowering (budding) Stage. ...
What is the best fertilizer for cannabis plants?
The key fertilizer elements:
- Nitrogen: The growth of all flowering things depends on Nitrogen. Natural sources include blood meal, guano, and manure. ...
- Phosphorous: They refine phosphorous from phosphate, process it from bird and bat guano, and grind it from bone meal. ...
- Potassium: An alkali metal, potassium markets as potash to avoid unstable reactions with water and air. ...
When to start feeding cannabis?
“People who are interested in being in the business and having a license should start to prepare themselves,” said Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes. “You need to get prepared because when you apply for a license, with any level of state government you’re going to have to have all your T’s crossed and I’s dotted.”
What Should I Feed My mother plants?
It is better to feed a mother plant minimal nitrate nitrogen, and then if you notice a general yellowing of the leaves, feed the plant a little nitrogen boost fertilizer. Another essential element in a mother plant's fertilizer regimen is calcium.
How do I keep my mother plant healthy?
You can keep it manageable by keeping your mother plant small. Pruning branches regularly will encourage new branches to grow. The more branches your mother plant sprouts, the more clones you have to replant in your garden. Pruning the top will also keep the plant from growing too large.
What nutrients do mother plants need?
Nutrients for your mature mother plants Plenty of nitrogen is essential for vegetative growth. Other important nutrients include calcium, which is important in maintaining hormonal balance, and magnesium, which facilitates photosynthesis and production of sugars vital for growth.
What Should I Feed My mother plant before cloning?
Clones need sturdy, carbohydrate-rich fuel. When a plant is fed nitrogen, it will use up to 25 to 30% of its energy to convert those nitrates into a form of nitrogen that plants can use for vegetative growth. Using the plant's energy for growth results in fewer sugars, or carbohydrates, in the stems and leaves.
What is mother plant fertilizer?
MotherPlant nutrients are a two-part nutrient line that provides the ideal diet for mother, or stock plants. Mother plants do not need excess nitrates, and MotherPlant nutrients account for this. They contain the nutritional needs of mother plants without excess nitrates.
What light should I use for a mother plant?
Mother Plant Lighting Mother Plants need to be maintained with light periods long enough to keep them from going into their flowering/bloom phase. Long light periods are recommended, for many species an 18/6 (on/off) lighting schedule maintains vegetative growth.
How long can you have a mother plant?
You can keep a mother plant for anything between 6 months and 3 years before the plant starts to break down and lose its vigour, yield, smell or other characteristics. At this point you need to find fresh, new, vigourous stock from seed and start the process all over again.
How many hours of light does a mother plant need?
18-24 hoursIt is more important to provide a full-spectrum light than a very intense light. The goal is to maintain health, not make the mother plants vegetate vigorously. The duration of light for mother plants should be 18-24 hours of light.
Do mother plants need CO2?
Healthy plants need a supply of carbon dioxide (CO2) just as they need nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, or any other required nutrient.
What kind of nutrients do clones need?
There are four main ingredients in cloning solutions: gel/water/dry base, vitamins/minerals, the active ingredient, and antibacterial/antifungal elements.
Should you foliar feed clones?
Clones and plants in the vegetative stage will greatly benefit from foliar feeding. Since clones have no roots, they will extremely benefit from foliar sprays as it will aid the rooting process.
Should you water plants before cloning?
For the serious grower that wants to successfully clone their favorite strain, or just keep their garden going, this is an important step. Water your mother plant a few hours before you plan to take cuttings. This ensures that the cuttings will be well nourished and hydrated, preparing them for successful cloning.
How long does a mother plant last?
You can keep a mother plant for anything between 6 months and 3 years before the plant starts to break down and lose its vigour, yield, smell or other characteristics. At this point you need to find fresh, new, vigourous stock from seed and start the process all over again.
How long can you keep a mother plant in veg?
Permanent Vegetation Cycle Mother plants need to be kept in the vegetative phase of growth indefinitely. This means they need to receive more than 12 hours of light every 24 hours.
How do you trim a mother plant?
Grab your chosen clone or clones and top them, which is essentially pruning the top of the plant. Once they grow out their branches you'll need to cut the tips off the branches just once, leaving two other sprouts underneath wherever you prune to make sure that two more branches can grow from where you've cut.
How big should a mother plant be?
Growing space requirements for keeping mother plants A 80x80cm grow tent is perfect, although we can also use built-in closets, etc. It all depends on the number of plants we want to keep. A lighting system.
🌱 How Many Clones Can You Take From a Mother Plant?
This depends on the size, health, and age of your plant. We recommend taking only 2–3 clones at a time from small, young mother plants. Large, bush...
🧫 How Many Clones Can a Mother Plant Produce?
Mother plants can produce a virtually unlimited number of clones. However, it is important to allow a plant at least two weeks of rest between clon...
🌲 Can You Clone a Plant Too Many Times?
The genetic profile of a mother plant won’t change over time, so there’s no real limit on how many times you can clone her. As long as she’s health...
💡 How Many Watts Does a Mother Plant Need?
Mother plants don’t need much light. We recommend giving around 150W of light to keep her growing healthy. Some growers opt to give their mothers l...
How to feed cannabis plants?
Just follow these steps: Prepare your water. If possible, heat your water to about 22°C to increase absorption by the roots. Add your nutrients according to the instructions on your fertiliser, and stir. Use a PPM or EC meter to get exact readings.
How do cannabis seedlings get nutrients?
Cannabis seedlings get all their nutrients from their seed, and absorb water via their leaves as their root system develops (that’s why it’s important to keep them in a warm, humid environment).
How many nutrients does cannabis need to grow?
The higher the number for each value, the higher the concentration of that particular nutrient. However, cannabis needs more than just three nutrients to survive and thrive. It also counts on secondary nutrients like calcium, magnesium, and sulfur to play vital roles in plant growth:
What happens if you overfeed your plants with nutrients?
Going overboard with nutrients can result in chemical interactions or nutrient burn, which can significantly impact the size and quality of your yield. Once you’ve nailed feeding your plants with these core nutrients, feel free to move on to a more complex feeding schedule to produce bigger, more potent harvests.
What are the macronutrients in cannabis?
UNDERSTANDING CANNABIS MACRO AND MICRONUTRIENTS. Cannabis plants require three nutrients in large quantities. These macronutrients are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), and they form the cornerstone of cannabis plant health. As such, these three nutrients usually feature front and centre on fertiliser products in the form ...
How to adjust pH of feed?
If necessary, adjust the pH of your feed using a nitric or phosphoric acid pH down supplement. Once your PPM, pH, and temperature are right, feed your plants and measure your runoff using your PPM or EC meter to ensure your plants are taking up their nutrients properly.
When to use 7:7 fertilizer?
Most growers use a 7:7:7 fertiliser in the last week of the vegetative phase. N. N.
How to grow a mother plant?
Topping is essential for managing the size of your mother plants. Top your mothers early on, roughly two weeks into their vegetative phase. As its new branches grow up towards the light, use pinching and LST to bring them down towards the soil and create an even canopy. Continue topping the plant regularly to train it to grow within the confines of your grow room/tent.
What to look for when choosing a mother plant from seed?
Here are a few things to look for when choosing a mother plant from seed: Stress threshold: After taking cuttings from your plants, keep tabs on which were the best or worst at dealing with the stress of pruning. Rooting potential: Check to see which of your cuttings rooted the quickest.
What to look for in a cannabis plant?
Vigour: Pick plants that germinate quickly and show vigorous, healthy growth during both their seedling and vegetative stages. Root health: A healthy root network is the heart of a healthy plant.
How many clones of a plant can you take from a mother plant?
This depends on the size, health, and age of your plant. We recommend taking only 2–3 clones at a time from small, young mother plants. Large, bushy mother plants, on the other hand, can easily tolerate having 6–8 clones taken from them at a time.
How much light does a plant need to grow in a permanent vegetative cycle?
Mother plants need to be kept in the vegetative phase of growth indefinitely. This means they need to receive more than 12 hours of light every 24 hours. If they are in a vegetation chamber, they will be getting the standard 18/6 day/night vegetation cycle.
What happens when you germinate cannabis seeds?
When you germinate a batch of cannabis seeds, the plants you end up with in your garden or grow room will likely show a wide variety of phenotypic variation. Despite being sold as the same strain, some plants might grow large with wide internodes, while others grow smaller and bushier.
What is the benefit of cloning mother plants?
The Benefits of Using Mother Plants. When timed right, cloning mother plants can mean harvesting one day and having more plants ready to go the next . With overlapping growing schedules, you can always have plants in flower—with more ready at a moment’s notice.
What is the best fertilizer for cannabis plants?
Phosphorus - Alongside Nitrogen, Phosphorus will aid in healthy root development and allow the plant to grow thick branches that will support the weight of the flowers to come. Phosphorus is one of the main requirements when flowering Cannabis plants.
Why flush cannabis?
There are many benefits to flushing Cannabis and they are: Dramatically improves the flavor of the flowers once dried and ready to smoke. The ash will become a light, fluffy, and soft grey quality when smoking. The plants will have the opportunity to have used up all reserve nutrients.
What are the elements that are needed for plants to grow?
Cobalt - A trace element that is required by the plants, however, many nutrient brands do add a great amount. Copper - Acts as a fungicide and also benefits the root zone with enzyme production. Molybdenum - A major player in the enzyme production and function of plants.
What is nitrogen used for?
Nitrogen - Used to develop foliage, leaves, stems, and branches. Nitrogen is also responsible for the production of chlorophyll, which is used in the process of photosynthesis to convert energy, amino acids, and enzymes. The use of Nitrogen should be reduced once flowering has commenced.
What does the N-P-K value show?
The N-P-K value will display the amount of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium present in the organic or hydroponic medium. For instance, you may have noticed on your organic feed the numbers 5-1-4. This will inform you there are 5 parts Nitrogen, 1 part Phosphorus, and 4 parts Potassium.
What is the role of boron in plants?
Boron - Helps with Calcium uptakes as well as many other functions. It is an essential trace element that should be present during the entire life cycle of the plant. Chlorine - Chlorine in the form of Chloride aids in photosynthesis, root production and functioning of the stomata.
What is the right ratio of trace elements?
The right ratio of trace elements is extremely important and can be the difference between an imbalance and deficiency or lush healthy growth. Magnesium - Responsible for the function and production of plant enzymes, auxins, and stem growth. Works in conjunction with Manganese and Magnesium.
What is mother plant protection?
Mother plant protection. Pruning mother plants. When growing a pack of seeds , it is not rare to find a plant that stands out over the rest, with a number of desirable traits difficult to find in the same phenotype. That's when growers ask themselves...
How much light do you need to grow cannabis indoors?
Hi Richard, Cannabis plants grown indoors need a daily photoperiod of 18 hours of light and 6 of darkness to grow. We switch it to 12/12 when we want them to start the bloom period. You can do as you say and put your plants under 18/6 phoroperiod. Remove any bud and the plant will soon start to grow again.
Why is it important to prune mother plants?
Pruning mother plants. Pruning and even training our mother plants is very important in order to keep their height under control. Even if we don't need cuttings, we should prune the tops of our plants regularly, otherwise they'll grow too much and compete to reach the light, stretching and producing less clones.
What type of lamp is used to keep plants?
It all depends on the number of plants we want to keep. A lighting system. Normally, fluorescent tubes or low consumption lamps (blue spectrum) are used to keep mother plants and root cuttings. Several models (W) of these lamps are available, being the 100W lamps the lower ones.
Can you take cuttings from cannabis?
The answer is, of course, positive. Taking cuttings or clones from cannabis plants is easy and the way to go if we want to keep a specific plant for years, even decades. We could try to replicate the plant genetics through seeds, although this method is difficult and takes a lot of time.
Can you keep a mother plant from a landrace?
Hi david, Keeping a mother plant from a landrace can be complicated, since these plants are not adapted to indoor environments. Sometimes they find 600W lamps too potent, so they grow better with more distance between the lamp and the plants (or with 400W bulbs).
Should we have a clone of the mother plant?
Different mother plants. First of all, we should have a clone of the plant we want to keep . This is the easier way to start, since we dont have to germinate seeds and select the best female from all plants.
What is the basis for selecting mother plants?
Selecting your mother plants. The basis for selecting your mothers should always be health, strength and vigour. Beyond that, you may have various considerations such as terpene and cannabinoid profile, flavour and aroma, yield, drought-resistance, and height and branching characteristics.
How long can a mother plant live?
This means they must consistently receive more than 12 hours of light per 24 hours. If you would like your plants to vegetate quickly to maximize the number of clones, mother plants can be left in an 18/6 day/night regime.
What is the most important nutrient for vegetative growth?
Plenty of nitrogen is essential for vegetative growth. Other important nutrients include calcium, which is important in maintaining hormonal balance, and magnesium, which facilitates photosynthesis and production of sugars vital for growth.
What is the best light for vegetative growth?
The best light for vegetative growth is in the blue spectrum. For this reason, metal halide lamps are preferable for mother plants. This mimics the natural daylight in spring, when plants are typically undergoing vegetative growth.
Why is it important to prune your mother plants?
It is always important to prune your mothers regularly, and to be selective about how you approach the task so that the maximum number of healthy, vigorous new branches are produced. It is very important to ensure that your mother plants grow short and bushy rather than tall and spindly.
Can you cultivate mother plants?
With good genetics and basic equipment, you can cultivate healthy mother plants that will spawn many generations of great cannabis. Any cannabis grower interested in perpetuating good genetics must have a good selection of mother plants. If they are kept well maintained, clones can be continually taken from mother plants for years.
Can you harvest mother plants all year long?
Benefits of cultivating mother plants. If you can get your timing right, you can be planting and harvesting all year long, especially if you are growing indoors. Essentially, by the time you harvest, it will be time to take new clones from your mother plant. Clones taken from mother plants are homogenous in terms of size, ...
What are the best additives for mother plants?
Other beneficial additives for mother plants include amino acids, humic and fulvic acids, and bio-stimulants like kelp or seaweed extracts . Amino acids can open absorption pathways in roots, allowing for increased absorption of elements such as calcium, which can increase absorption a thousand fold.
How to ensure mother plant provides vigorous cuttings?
Customize the Feeding Schedule of a Mother Plant. To ensure your mother plant provides vigorous cuttings, you must customize the fertilization schedule. Many growers feed mother plants a standard vegetative fertilizer, which is not ideal for a donor plant. Mother plants should be on a nutrient program that minimizes the use of nitrogen, ...
Why do annuals need to be kept as mother plants?
Keeping annuals as mother plants for extended periods of time can result in less robust cuttings that are more susceptible to diseases. As plants grow, they keep track of their cellular age with an internal clock based on their circadian rhythms.
How to preserve a plant's genetics?
There are several ways to preserve your plant’s particular genetics, but the best way is to clone it. To give your clones the best start possible, you’ll want to ensure your mother plant, or the plant you are taking cuttings from, is healthy and happy. Here are some tips to help you maintain your mother plants. Source: Marcio Eugenio/Dreamstime.com.
Why are mother plants raised?
Mother plants are raised solely to provide cuttings. Since cuttings take time to develop roots, the clones must use stored carbohydrates and water to provide the nutrition necessary to grow a new root system. Consequently, the health of the mother plant is critical in ensuring the most healthy and vigorous clones.
How does calcium help plants?
The calcium in your fertilizer is moved through the plant via the xylem from the roots to the leaves and stems, where it helps produce thicker stems and stronger cell walls. More robust cell walls and thicker stems translate to stronger clones with less disease susceptibility.
How to keep plants alive for extended periods of time?
A second option is using tissue culture to keep plants alive for extended periods of time without the risk of attack by insects or diseases (when done correctly), although this process requires expensive equipment, a lot of time and some training.
What Is a Feed Chart for Growing Weed?
A feed chart for growing weed is a handy scheduling calendar provided by nutrient manufacturers. Growers can refer to the feeding recommendations that breakdown how much and when to feed each nutrient type to your plants.
Reading a Feed Chart for Growing Weed
Cannabis feed charts may vary in looks and format depending on the manufacturer, but generally have a similar structure that outlines how you should apply the nutrients.
Adjusting the Nutrient Schedule
When growing cannabis, there are tons of variables that influence the way you grow your plants. When it comes to the feed chart recommendations, there is no one-size-fits-all guideline for every type of plant. A company's recommendations are general guidelines that can be adjusted to fit the specific needs of your plants.
Cannabis Plant Feeding Schedule
Cannabis plants’s nutrient requirements vary depending on this strain, growing environment (soil or hydroponic), and stage of growth. Here's a general guideline for feeding plants throughout their seedling, vegetative, and flowering stages.
Regulating PPM and pH levels
When it comes to feeding your plants the right nutrients at the right time, there are a few other considerations to keep in mind:
Learn the Art of Cultivation
Cannabis Training University’s online learning platform provides new and seasoned growers with a complete curriculum covering every major aspect of the industry. Learn everything you wanted to know about starting your first garden and optimizing your set-up for bigger and better yields.
Home Grow Kits for Growing Cannabis
For easy to use and inexpensive home grow kits for growing cannabis check out a pot for pot.
What is a Cannabis Mother Plant?
A mother plant is a female cannabis plant primarily maintained for ongoing clone production. It is kept in a static vegetative state, on a strict light schedule.
How To Maintain a Mother Plant
There are several important steps to keeping a mother: genetics, light schedule, light spectrum, specialized nutrients, and space considerations. With these considerations, maintaining a mother is a breeze.
Maintain a Healthy Mother for Healthy Clones
If time and space allow, it pays off to grow a mother plant. An in-house source of clones gives you the ability to run a tight schedule for never-ending harvests. Plus, if you have stumbled on perfect genetics, it means you keep those going for years to come.
