When growing cannabis, it’s important to ask the breeder for the history of the seeds and which strains were used. Should the breeder not have the information readily available, you really can’t be sure what you’re getting. With legalization, breeding is understandably increasing in popularity but can be very technical. With a little research, and likely some trial and error, you can even try it on your own.

Breeding Basics

Cannabis plants can be either male or female. Consumers are most concerned with the female plants as they produce the floral, dank buds we’re looking for. The male plant however plays a crucial role in the breeding and pollination process which enables the females to produce those buds. A match made in heaven.

In order to cross- breed, you need a male plant from one strain to pollinate a female of another. Once this happens, the female will produce seeds that contain genes from both the male and female plants used. Seeds are then harvested and grown. This is how you create a hybrid.

 So how to know if you should choose a male or female of each strain? The traits of the female tend to carry over to the seeds more often than the male. Grower’s typically know the traits of the males they’re working with and will choose a male to best compliment the traits of the female.  If you’re knowledgeable about strains the possibilities are endless if you have an intentional breeding approach.

How to Guide to Breeding 

Once you’ve selected your two parent strains, a male and multiple female plants are contained in a breeding chamber to enable pollination. These chambers can be as fancy or as simple as your budget allows. It consists of a simple enclosed space using plastic sheeting to control the environment during pollination. A male plant is capable of upwards of 20 plants at once, not with just a few seed pods, covered with seeds. Best practice is to use one strain of male per pollinating attempt. If you like, you can also grow the plants vegetative for a few weeks, but it’s not required.  At this stage you’ll need to put them on a flowering light cycle : 12 hours of light, 12 hours of dark.

During the first weeks the flowering stage, the male will grow pollen sacs. This pollen will be released from the sacs into the air, land on the females and pollinate them. It’s crucial to have an enclosed, controlled breeding chamber to one contain the pollen and to prevent outside pollen from getting in. You can assist in the process of collecting the pollen from the pods and applying them directly to the female plant or by shaking pollen from the male directly onto the females. The females continue to grow and will produce both seeds and buds. These seeds will contain the genetics of both male and female.

Seeds are harvested and dried once they’ve become mature. The next step is to dry the seeds. This needs to take place in order for germination to happen. Typically flowers are harvested 3 to 4 weeks prior to the harvest of seeds. 

You’ve now created seeds- a hybrid of 2 parent strains – which can be grown on their own.

Phenotypes: 

In the same way that you and your siblings carry different physical attributes from each of your parents, this also translates to cross pollination as well from each parent strain. You have your moms nose and your dads eyes, but your sibling has your mom’s eyes and your dads nose. Each seed is also unique in its composition and carries different traits, and combinations of traits from each of the parent strains. Seeds expressing and carrying various traits are called phenotypes.

With cannabis, you usually want seeds that have the same set of genes, these are homozygous. Plants that produce phenotypes with a lot of variety are called heterozygous.

Homozygosity is what ensures the plant will  be consistent in producing the same genetic makeup of seeds, promoting uniformity of stock and that buyers and consumers alike will continue to get the same seeds and plants time and time again.

Backcrossing debunked :

If you’re a connoisseur, and are geared towards quality. You’ll understand that high-quality breeding doesn’t end there. Once the breeder is satisfied with the cross-strain they’ve created, next steps are typically to backcross the new strain with the parent , essentially inbreeding the strain. This in turn will render the strain to be more homozygous, ensure the genes continue to pass down through generations and strengthen its genetic makeup for congruency.

It’s important to understand that becoming a breeder requires a lot of time, patience, and most of all, passion. It’s a process like any other. There will be trial and error, crossing and backcrossing before you achieve the end result you’re after. But once you do, you can still expect to do a good chunk of backcrosses to replicate it in seed form. “Nothing good comes easy” they say. Effort usually equivocates reward. Good luck!

The Chemistry of Cannabis- Which Elements does it need?

There’s a unique composition of elements your cannabis plant wants and needs in order to fleurish to its full potential.This main group of elements are referred to as macronutrients. Below is a breakdown of required mineral and non-mineral elements your plant needs.

Mineral Nutrients absorbed from the Soil :

• Calcium (Ca)
• Magnesium (Mg)
• Phosphorus (P)
• Potassium (K)
• Nitrogen (N)
• Sulfur (S)

Calcium

Calcium’s role is to keep the composition and structure of the cell walls of a plant in tact. In the absence of calcium,new growth becomes less prevalent, sometimes stunted. A lack of this nutrient can also leave small rust-coloured spots and the leaves will tend to curl.

Magnesium

Magnesium enables the plants to generate glucose from photosynthesis. So without this element, no energy can be converted from the sun. It assists in metabolizing the glucose present to make it available for the growth cycle. Lack of this element can often result in yellowing leaves and discoloured veins.

Phosphorus

Phosphorus plays a key role. It’s primary function is to assist in making the nutrients available to the plant and is important to grow robust, healthy buds. It then uses those nutrients to build the structure of the plant. In its absence, a purple hue is often observed in the veins of the leaves and plants tend to have underdeveloped root systems and some may not flower at all. 

Potassium

Potassium is heavy hitter and has a number of jobs. It assists in regulating the systems of the plant on its path to healthy growth. It plays an important role in the passive regulation of water and salt concentrations in the plant which occurs through osmoregulation. Potassium also regulates the exchange of the C02, H20 and oxygen through the stomata of the plant.

Potassium works to store energy from photosynthesis into glucose, which is then converted and used as energy as the plant grows. Insufficient potassium levels can result in very weak plants that almost appear burnt as they are unable to regulate the exchange of elements.

Nitrogen

Nitrogen comes into play the most during the vegitative stage of the plants life. It is responsible primarily for development and allows the cells to control their use of energy. Without it, the plant is unable to convert sunlight into energy, rendering it incapable of growth. An essential ingredient in DNA or RNA is a nucleic acid, which Nitrogen creates and allows for growth and multiplication of cells.

Hydroponic Cannabis Nutrients  (no soil)

Many indoor cannabis growers are growing hydroponically. This is the practice of growing plants without the presence of soil. Soil substitutions can range from rockwool or clay pebbles or some sort of mix. The majority of nutrients sold for cannabis cultivation are hydroponic nutrients as this is the present demand.They are available in liquid form and sometimes a concentrated powder to be diluted in water.

Different nutrients are required to control different facets of the plant’s growth cycle. Some products are classified between “grow” and “bloom”. Grow solutions containing high nitrogen content for maximum vegitative growth, and bloom solutions containing high phosphorus content for maximum flower output. 

One should take precautions when first experimenting with hydroponic nutrients as this is not recommended for the beginner. Overfeeding can lead to plant damage which could result in your plant potentially dying. General practice is to start low and slow and monitor the results. According to the labelling, start with 25% of the recommendation of the product and work your way up. 

Organics and “Soil food” for Cannabis

The differentiation between soil and hydroponic is the composition of organic matter within such as compost, manure or worm casings containing a plethora of micronutrients all to be absorbed by the plant. Many of these nutrients are in a non-soluble form and are to be processed by fungi and other microbes in order to be absorbed. Non-organic nutrients are less popular in the grow community as they can build up in the soil harming it’s lifespan and preventing the absorption of water and nutrients by the roots. 

Organic fertilizers can be a bit more user friendly for first time growers. Recommendations in order to not completely blow your budget, are to use items such as fish meal for nitrogen, or bat guano for phosphorus, epsom salts for magnesium and sulfur as well as wood ash for potassium. You can purchase these items separately or there are also commercially available soil blends that contain the proper composition of these ingredients taking out the “guesswork” for growers. These can be  on the more expensive side, albeit you can simply follow the manufacturer’s feeding schedule to obtain optimal results and yield. All readily available at your local hardware store.

At the end of the day, there are many ways one can grow cannabis. Hydroponics can provide a bigger yield and faster bud production but requires much knowledge and attention to be successful. While organic soil can produce a smaller yield and slower growth process, but is the easier way to go for a beginner trying to learn the ropes.. Rule of thumb is to do your research prior to starting your cannabis grow operation to figure out what is the best option for you, and this will save you wasted money and likely time, which is of essence. Good luck!

With legalization comes a slew of research and development in every aspect of it’s vast composition and uses. The Canadian Government has released a lengthy ( 400 page !) document of Cannabis Act regulations. It covers literally everything. 

This includes; growth and cultivation, processing, cannabis sales, and even things such as colour and shape of barcodes on the packaging. There is only one barcode permitted per package which is mandatory to be square and in black and white only. Below are a few interesting points from the act worth noting.

1. Industrial Hemp Cultivators Can Grow and Sell CBD

Industrial hemp farmers have  been given the green light and are now legally allowed to cannabidiol (CBD) produced in their plant and bring it to a federally-licenced cannabis processor (LP) which will then make it into Cannabis oils for a variety of uses. 

2. Commercialized, Outdoor Cultivation Granted

Health Canada has decided to go ahead and allow outdoor cultivation on a commercial scale since legalization. Prior to the Cannabis Act, this could only occur indoors. This in turn could lead to lower production costs and over all lower end prices for consumers.

3. Cannabis Suppositories to Probe the Market

Orally-consumed medicinal marijuana are known and have been available to medical patients for some time. Recently the Cannabis Act is allowing new players to the game and broadening the range of products to include variations of not just oral products but will also now encompasse both rectal and vaginal suppositories. Hot off the press.

4. Simple Possession Convictions No Longer Ban Participation In The Industry.

If a simple charge of possession of a small amount of cannabis is the only flaw on a person’s criminal record, this cannot justify refusal for security clearance which is required for key cannabis-industry personnel. At the same token, past unlawful incidencences involving Cannabis will be taken into consideration while determining if security clearance is granted. 

5. Client Labels on Bottles -A Thing of The Past

In  the past, medical cannabis patients were accustomed to having their medications labelled with their pertinent information, full name, ship date and a separate document in the form of a paper receipt or card issued with their order. This is no longer the mandate. Health Canada has asked medical cannabis sellers to provide patients with a “registration document “ upon signing up, which will outline the terms and serve as proof of authorization.

6. New Cannabis Drug Licenses will Allow Prescription Cannabis Drugs

A new revelation in the regulations is the introduction of a new license class for “cannabis pharmaceuticals”. In hopes that this will ensue further development of cannabis based prescription medications, which would be exempt from the excise tax, which currently is not the case. This would then allow medical cannabis to be assigned drug-identification-number  ( DIN), which are required for a medication to qualify for insurance coverage. 

The federal government has made it clear that the goal of legalizing cannabis is to keep it out of the hands of Canadian youth, promote public safety and drive organized crime out of the cannabis business. It is evident throughout the Act and indeed the second sentence of the Act itself explicitly states that its objectives are to prevent young people from accessing cannabis, to protect public health and public safety and to deter criminal activity.

It is still so early in legalizing cannabis, that the outcome is unclear just yet.

Water stress occurs when the cannabis plant is not provided with the sufficient amount of water supply and undergoes something called “drought”, or when it is given too much water and cannot transpire properly. These actions may result in the stomata closing, and the leaves to collect high amounts of carbon dioxide in the cells. This kind of water stress also causes cannabis plants to create secondary metabolites as a defense mechanism. In this case, some people believe that a very small amount of this kind of stress is actually beneficial to the plant, because cannabinoids are secondary metabolites and therefore it may stimulate better cannabinoid production. The more cannabinoids there are present in the plant, the more benefits and effects one might receive from consumption. It is important in this case to monitor a healthy balance, and make sure you are not causing too much drought stress on the plant. 

Light

Light supply is a large environmental factor that must be considered for proper cannabis growth. Indoor grow facilities make it easier because growers can control 100% of the light supply for their plants. Outdoor facilities and greenhouses will serve as a harder task because of the light from the sun, however black out sheets can be purchased to solve this problem. 

The stomata of the cannabis plants usually open up their pores for transpiration at night time when the temperature is the coolest. If stomata open during the day, more water will be lost because of the heat that is associated with the light. This is why a proper balance between all conditions of the facility is necessary to achieve harmony in the environment.

Temperature and Humidity

When the temperature increases, the potential for water loss also increases. Just as humans typically sweat more in warmer weather, the same thing happens for plants. The ideal temperature for indoor growing facilities is between 25 to 30 degrees celsius for most of the life cycle. Drier temperatures with low humidity are typically the most harmful for a cannabis plant and will also cause higher transpiration rates. We recommend starting with around 75% humidity rates for beginner plants, and then eventually bringing this humidity to 55-60% during the floral growth or vegetative stages. 

Wind

Outdoor facilities will need to take protective precautions against wind as it can be a harmful factor towards your cannabis plant. However, cannabis plants grown in indoor facilities are also susceptible to forms of wind through ventilation equipment such as fans. Wind is responsible for moving water vapor away from the leaves of the plants, causing the plant to actually transpire more than what is needed. We suggest investing in circulating fans so that the wind is in a balanced, consistent movement and does not emit too much wind in just one direction because this can be devastating for the plants.