If you grow your own cannabis at home, but you’ve been disappointed with the overall potency in the past, then you’ve come to the right place. The simple reality is that growing cannabis is not nearly as easy as some people might like to think.
There are many different factors that one must consider when cultivating cannabis at home. For instance, the lighting, nutrients, growing medium, the strain, and so much more, can all have huge impacts on the overall potency of your final product.
Yes, a part of the potency issue lies with the strain itself, but there are many variations within specific strains. For instance, two different crops from the exact same strain could have greatly varying potencies, with one having less than 10% THC and one having more than 25% THC.
This is because many growth factors that you can control at home influence the potency of cannabis. Today, we want to take a closer look at what exactly cannabis potency is, what factors affected, and how you can increase the potency of the cannabis that you grow at home. For all cannabis growers out there, the name of the game is how to increase THC.
What is Cannabis Potency?
The potency generally refers to its cannabinoid content. Now, as you might know, there are well over 100 different cannabinoids that cannabis plants may contain. However, as far as potency is concerned, there is really only one that that most people are concerned with, and that is THC. THC or tetrahydrocannabinol is the number one psychoactive medium contained in cannabis.
This is the good stuff that people look out for when they purchase marijuana at their local dispensaries. It’s generally the THC content that determines just how intoxicating and psychoactive a specific strain of cannabis is.
For the record, anything under 10% is generally considered fairly weak, between 10% and 20% is considered moderate, between 20% and 25% is considered high, and everything over 25% is considered extremely potent. The more THC a strain of cannabis has, the stronger its overall effects on your mind and body will be.
The vast majority of THC and other cannabinoids are developed during the flowering stage. THC production happens primarily when those buds start to grow big and tall, with the vast majority of THC production happening within the cannabis flowers, specifically within cannabis trichomes.
For those of you who don’t know, trichome production is essential to having potent cannabis, because this is where all of the THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids are contained.
The trichomes are also known as the resin glands, which is why you might hear a lot of people talking about resin production. The more healthy trichomes a cannabis plant has, the more resin it produces, and the more potent cannabis will be. To produce more resin and to increase THC, many growers refer to a variety of methods, all of which we will discuss below.
The bottom line, however, is that if you can manage to create the ideal conditions for plant growth, then THC levels should be maximized. It’s all about increasing trichome production. How to increase THC and increase trichome production to produce potent cannabis flowers is therefore exactly what we’re here to teach you today.
What Factors Affect Cannabis Potency
The reality is that there are plenty of different factors that affect cannabis potency.
Just some of the factors that affect cannabis potency include your lighting system and the UV rays which your cannabis plants get, the temperature and relative humidity levels, the drying process and curing process, pruning and training, PH levels, pests and diseases, the timing of harvest, and more.
When it comes to indoor cultivation of weed, if you are looking for more potent cannabis, then you need to find a way to maintain optimal plant health, to produce more trichomes, and to do whatever you can in terms of increasing THC levels.
If you follow all of the tips that we’re going to provide you with below, you can provide your weed plants with their maximum potential to help boost trichome production, with the ultimate result being more potent cannabis.
How to Increase THC in a Cannabis Plant
Let’s now take a look at all of the most important tips for you to follow so you can create high THC cannabis strains which other growers will be envious of. Remember, the more energy you put into this process, the more you’ll be able to boost trichome production.
As experienced growers will be able to tell you, each of the points we are about to discuss below are extremely important when it comes to your ability to grow plants with maximum potential psychoactive effect and the highest THC levels.
Choose the Right Strain
One of the best ways to create the most potent cannabis plants possible is to choose the right strain in the first place. What many people growing cannabis might not know is that different strains can vary greatly in terms of their overall potencies. Some strains have more THC than others.
If you want to increase THC levels, finding the right strain to begin with is therefore very important. This is one of the leading factors that many growers pay attention to when first choosing their cannabis strains.
There is plenty of information out there about THC produced by different cannabis strains, so we recommend doing a bit of research on this front first. Remember, there are plenty of cannabis strains out there that have both high and low THC contents, plenty of CBD, and much more. Choose to grow cannabis strains with as much THC as you can handle.
Choose the Right Seeds
More than just choosing the right strain, you also want to choose the right cannabis seeds. This is because even if you there are two producers that are selling the same strains, the cannabis seeds from both producers might be very different. If you expect to have the highest THC levels possible, choosing seeds that come from reputable sellers is very crucial.
You want sellers that use only the plants that have the best possible genetics, and nothing else. In other words, you need to choose retailers that sell cannabis seeds that have genetics that are known for having as much THC and cannabinoid production as possible. More often than not, this often means going with medical marijuana.
For the record, medical marijuana strains are well known for having maximum production of THC and other cannabinoids, because they are specifically designed to have medical benefits. Growers swear by medical marijuana when it comes to getting plenty of those glandular trichomes for high THC levels.
Use the Best Lights for the Flowering Stage
Perhaps one of the most important factors when it comes to having your cannabis plant produce as much THC as possible is the type of light you provided with.
The simple reality here is that your lighting system can make a huge difference. While there are many different types of grow lights out there, including HPS, HID, metal halide, LED, fluorescent, and more, LED grow lights tend to produce some of the best results of all.
One of the reasons for this is because you can get LED grow lights that feature full spectrum outputs. This means that they provide your cannabis plants with all of the different light wavelengths they need to grow properly.
This is especially important during the flowering stage. If you provide your cannabis plant with plenty of red light during the flowering stage, you should see great plant increases in terms of THC levels.
Furthermore, keeping the light at the proper distance from the plant is also very important. Remember however, during the flowering stage, you want to provide your plants with complete darkness for at least 12 hours during the night, and much more light during the day.
Provide the Right Nutrients
Something else to remember here is that to grow properly, cannabis plants require many different nutrients. Three of the main nutrients that cannabis plants need to grow include nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, the big three nutrients, otherwise known as the NPK nutrients. During the flowering stage, your cannabis plants will require virtually no nitrogen, but a lot of potassium and phosphorus.
Furthermore, there are other the so-called micronutrients that cannabis plants need to survive, with iron, zinc, magnesium, calcium, manganese, boron, and several others all being very important. Therefore, we recommend doing a good bit of research in terms of ideal nutrient levels for all growth stages of cannabis.
Choosing High Quality Soil is Key
Another important factor to consider here is your growing medium, which is likely going to be soil. Yes, you may also grow cannabis hydroponically, but depending on your situation, this might not be a good idea.
It’s actually easier and more reliable to grow in soil, but this means that you do need the right growing medium three choose a very high quality potting soil that has the right nutrient ratio for cannabis plants.
You may also choose potting soil or other substrates that are loaded with things like vermiculite, perlite, peat Moss, and more, all of which have their own benefits for cannabis growth.
Defoliation and Pruning Help
A great technique to help increase overall cannabis potency is pruning and defoliation. Now, many people think of defoliation and pruning as ways to increase the yield, but this also helps increase potency.
If you remove leaves from the bottom that are not serving any purpose, and you prune your cannabis plant back, it helps the cannabis plant focus its energy on the buds during the flowering stage. The more you can force the cannabis plant to focus its energy on the flowers, the more potent your cannabis will end up being.
Manage the pH Level
You also need to manage the pH level of both the nutrient mix and the growing medium that your cannabis is in. If you expect the THC content to be as high as possible, then your plants need to be able to absorb as many nutrients as possible.
If the pH level is off, which generally means that it is outside of a 5.0 to 7.0 range, cannabis plants won’t be able to properly absorb nutrients. When pH levels are off, something known as nutrient lockout happens, which can be detrimental to the health of cannabis plants, especially in terms of THC content and overall potency.
Engage in Proper Watering Techniques
If you expect to boost production of trichomes and THC, something that most growers will tell you is that overwatering and underwatering your plants can be detrimental.
If you overwater your plants, you’ll most likely end up rotting the roots and killing the plant in general, and if you underwater the plant, it won’t get all of the energy and nutrients it needs to grow big and strong.
Therefore, you should engage in proper watering techniques if you expect to increase THC production. Generally, this means sticking your finger down to the second knuckle within the soil, and if it comes out dry, then it’s time to water.
Manage Diseases and Pests Effectively
A variety of pests and diseases can quickly take a toll on your cannabis plants. Therefore, if you expect your weed plants to have the most possible THC and the highest psychoactive effects possible, you absolutely need to keep all pests and diseases under wraps.
There are plenty of substances and chemicals out there designed specifically for this purpose, as well as other methods that growers find which help to reduce pests and diseases present in any grow space.
Time the Harvest for Cannabis Plants
To increase potency of your cannabis, finding the right time to harvest is essential. Generally speaking, the trichomes should be relatively cloudy comma but not yet too dark.
Furthermore, also pay attention to the pistils, which are those white hairs on the outside of the cannabis buds. About 70% of them should have started to turn amber or red, but they shouldn’t be completely brown yet. This is when the THC content will be at its highest.
Proper Drying and Curing
Drying and curing, and especially the curing process, are very important for the overall potency of your cannabis buds. A lot of the THC develops during the curing process, so this is something that you should absolutely not ignore. Not only is curing important for boosting THC potency, but also for bettering the flavor and decreasing the harshness of the smoke.
Keep Environmental Factors Ideal
Temperature and humidity levels, as well as other environmental factors are also important to keep in mind. We recommend doing some research in terms of what the proper temperature and humidity levels for cannabis growth are. If cannabis is grown in temperatures or humidity levels that are either too high or too low, it can greatly affect their overall growth and levels of psychoactive compounds.
Increasing Potency for Cannabis Growers – Final Thoughts
The bottom line here is that it’s not very hard to grow potent cannabis as long as you follow all of the tips and steps that we provided you with above. Generally speaking, as long as you follow popular cannabis growing methods, you should be able to produce very potent buds.
