How To Tell When Your Cannabis Plants Are Hungry

[0:06] What's up you amazing listeners. I'm your host Chronic from the Cannabis Chronicles on Instagram and YouTube, and I'm back with an all-new episode of the "Homegrown" podcast, brought to us by Homegrown Cannabis Co. Be sure to check out top-notch cannabis seeds over at www.homegrowncannabisco.com to start your cultivation journey today. In today's episode, I'll be covering what the
 

[0:28] ideal cannabis feeding schedule is. So be sure to sit back and relax, pack a big fat bowl, or drop a hefty dab, and let's break into some amazing cannabis content for you growers to learn from. Let's begin. In this first segment, I'm going to begin with discussing the fundamental understanding of how to tell if your plant is hungry, full, deficient, or
 

[0:48] toxic from nutrients, and also, I'll tell you listeners when I prefer to begin feeding my cannabis plants. First and foremost, cannabis does not need to be fed for really up to the first three to four weeks of life. Some growers wait the full month. But I do a smaller, lighter feeding at week three to help my plants and roots
 

[1:06] develop and begin a quality microbial life within the grow medium. Now, how much to feed is the ultimate question, and this question truly can't be answered by really any other type of growing method or medium except hydroponics and soilless nutrient regimens, and even those won't be exactly dialed in for each strain. As many of those formulas are
 

[1:28] announced for each week and really do a great job. However, that's not to say nutrients like Homegrown Cannabis Co.'s organic nutrient line can't do the job. However, with granular or many other organic blends, the feeding amounts are going to vary per plant, per grow medium, and depending on how much microbial life you have developed in that particular grow pot. Along with that, genetics will always make
 

[1:50] a massive difference in a garden. Which is why it's advised to mother out a strain, take clones for a SOG or SCROG type veg and flower cycle, and dial in nutrients for that specific mother or mothers you're running. This way, you can accurately gauge which plants need which food at which times as every single plant will store, eat, and flush out nutrients at varying amounts and at
 

[2:13] varying times. So to really understand what the ideal feeding schedule of cannabis is, it takes understanding signs your plant tells you about what it needs. For instance, Kyle Kushman and I have an amazing interview on this podcast where we talk about nutrients, and he brings up greenhouse burn or tip burn, which I would like to start there. Greenhouse burn is essentially the act of pushing a plant to its
 

[2:36] nutrient limit, and when the tip burn begins to show, that is your plant letting you know, "Hey, I'm really full, so please don't feed me. I could use some water and simple sugars and carbs for the next few feedings only. Thanks." Now why would our plant be telling us that? And if you use simple sugars and carbs, are you not feeding?
 

[2:55] Well, on a small scale, if you use a quarter dose or half dose feeding, such as one teaspoon of molasses to a gallon of water, you allow your plant to flush out the excess nutrients it's showing you signs that it's toxic from. But since you fed simple sugar and carbs, you still allow the microbial life in your grow medium a food source so they
 

[3:14] don't starve. And that's very vital to those growing in organics, building up a microbial life, and even those using all-natural blends in hydroponics or soilless, as you want to make sure you do not kill off the microbial life in the act of flushing. Which is why many organic farmers don't traditionally flush or use plain water that's pH. Instead, they just lower the dosage and
 

[3:36] remove specific nutrients to induce fall fades, cleaner terpenes, clearer aromas, and many qualities thought to be brought out only by flushing for many years until science has shown us that whatever nutrients used in developing bud, those chemicals or solvents, if any, were used, will be already developed inside bud and cannot be flushed from already developed plant matter. Which is why growing all-natural or organic is
 

[4:03] really the top two methods, with organic being the best and veganic following those two methods for creating the smoothest, cleanest, and most organic medicine you can cultivate. So now that we discussed greenhouse burn, let's jump back and teach you all how to get to that point. Well, I told you growers that around week three to four of the plant's life, with autoflowers
 

[4:25] being different in that matter, as you might want to start a quarter dose to half dose feeding around week two, as they grow much faster through veg and have a shorter period of life to grow. Now that doesn't mean photoperiod plants won't vegetate fast or vigorous, this just means the seed pods and plants generally don't need too much food from
 

[4:45] the start of life. So you'll begin feeding around week three to four for photoperiods and generally week two for autoflowers. Now, this does not mean photoperiods won't vigorously eat food like you've never seen, as I've had plants that barely eat anything, and then I've had some just straight up consume nutrients like you've never seen. So it's best to always start feeding your plants a
 

[5:07] quarter or half dose of what your formula recommends until you reach the full dose, and you'll continue feeding until your plant is a nice green tone. Now once you have a nice dose or feeding, you can push your plant to its max intake or cause greenhouse burn. This is where you would feed a water and simple sugar and carbohydrate mix to
 

[5:30] begin the next sign that your plant will show that you want to look for, and that's fall fading. These fall fades come in, and it's generally due to calcium or magnesium deficiencies, or potassium and phosphorus being removed, or one or the other from those leaves. So when that fade begins, it's time to do half dose feedings until your new growth on the plant is healthy and green
 

[5:55] without any burning or showing signs of toxicities or deficiencies, and from there it's a matter of feeding water, carbs, and sugars for the majority of the feedings, and using your preferred feeding methods like compost teas or top feeding in between those normal water feedings with sugar and carbs to keep your plants a healthy green color You're aiming for that
 

[6:17] darker green color versus the lime green color tone that can happen when nutrient blends aren't full formulas, such as missing micronutrients like copper, boron, zinc, manganese, and many others. So to recap, start feeding from weeks two to four, depending on if you're growing autoflowers or photoperiods. And once your plant is fully in the vegetative phase, it's time to begin feeding your vegetative formulas, which should consist
 

[6:44] more heavily of these nutrients: nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, manganese, and many other micronutrients that are important for various processes such as cellular wall development, vegetative processes like creating a strong and developed root system, and varying other photosynthetic processes. Now, if you enjoyed this first segment on how to feed your plants throughout veg, be sure to follow along on whichever platform you're listening from and stay
 

[7:12] tuned, as when we get back from this short break, I'll be explaining how to feed your plants during flower. Pack a fat bowl or drop a hefty dab and stay tuned. Hey, Kyle Kushman here. Sorry to interrupt such an amazing podcast, but I got to tell you about one of Homegrown's latest cultivars. We call her Purple Jazz. She's a cross of Granddaddy Purple
 

[7:44] and Dosido, so you know you're getting your hands on some genuine cannabis royalty. As blue-blooded and aristocratic as it gets. She's great for beginners and delivers anything up to 19 ounces per plant outdoors, the same per meter squared indoors. Great yields, sure, but what I love about Purple Jazz is the colors, the smells, and the flavor. It's a totally sensual plant, as
 

[8:07] in all your senses will be going wild. Her 22% THC is awesome for seasoned tokers, but newbies might want to wait a few minutes between rips. You know what I mean? Jump on Homegrown, type in Purple Jazz, and may your next few months be euphoric. I'm Kyle Kushman. Never stop growing. And we're back from that amazing break.
 

[8:32] If you haven't already, be sure to pack a fat bowl or drop a hefty dab, and let's get back into how to feed your cannabis plants during flower. Now, in the first segment, I discussed how to feed your plants during vegetative phase and included some signs to look for, such as greenhouse burn or fall fading, to gauge your feedings by
 

[8:51] and when to feed. In this segment, let's talk about how to feed your plants during the flowering stage. This segment really won't be too lengthy, as this portion is relatively similar in that you will want to feed the same quarter or half dose feedings until very early signs of tip burn, but you really want to aim more towards exact feedings and less
 

[9:13] lockouts during flower stage. With flower stage as well, you'll be aiming at feeding more towards the potassium and phosphorus nutrients for your plants, as flower development takes more of those specific nutrients instead of the micronutrients like calcium and magnesium. So you'll want to swap over to your flower formulas during this entire stage. Now, during the final stages of
 

[9:36] flower, which I recommend every grower to have a jeweler's loupe or magnifying lens to check trichomes to tell when this stage is, during the period where 80% or more of your trichomes are cloudy, that's when you want to feed heavier simple sugar and carbohydrate feeds and reduce potassium and phosphorus, as well as nitrogen, to about a quarter of their original dose to induce fall fades.
 

[9:59] Along with that, you'll help the plant to use up 100% of its internal nutrient storage that's within the fan leaves. These are all the nutrients that you fed the entire grow, and this is how you maximize your nutrients to the fullest and not waste any excess nutrients or overspend on nutrients. So generally, the entire lifespan of my plants, I let them tell me the signs
 

[10:20] of needing water and sugars or food, especially during the flower stage. Another tip to note is when your plant's leaves are droopy or sad. That's another major symptom that your plant needs water. This does not mean that your plant is hungry, however. It just means it's thirsty. This is a major misconception that most growers make, which is the fact that
 

[10:40] every time your plant's thirsty, you have to feed it as well. You don't. You just need to offer water, simple sugars, and carbohydrates, and if they're droopy and have a fall fade, that's when you would want to offer some NPK or PK or various foods that you're feeding. Generally throughout the flower stage, many organic growers will simply feed simple sugars and carbohydrates in
 

[11:04] varying amounts to their plants through these weeks. Now, I say weeks as many growers go by a week-to-week basis to increase feeding, increasing the PPM of their feeds during vegetative stage, reaching that greenhouse burn or tip burn, which is generally 1,100 to 1,800 PPM. Now, this is about the max that you ever want to feed a plant, especially
 

[11:28] in flower, as you do not want to overdo any type of feeding in flower. Locking your plant out of nutrients in flower can cause weight loss, trichome production loss, and terpene degradation. So it's important to feed less and dial in your feedings to a perfect amount for this stage of the plant's life. Traditionally, the last two weeks are the flush weeks, which I personally
 

[11:51] use the last month of harvest to feed simple sugars, carbohydrates, and pH water only. This makes it much more simple and I find a lot more resin production, clearer terpenes, and cleaner smokes using this method. I've also gotten a lot more density within my herb. Now, these are all really the best tips I can give you all for feeding your plants on an ideal feeding schedule without
 

[12:14] being on the exact nutrients I'm growing with. The best way is to go week by week, watching when your leaves show you signs or symptoms, and to diagnose from there, adjusting or feeding what you need based on what your plants individually tell you. I hope many of my tips and tricks are helpful. I do recommend going through some of the older podcasts on various signs of
 

[12:36] deficiencies and toxicities to also help you know what to look out for, so you can really read your plants and understand what they tell you instead of just guessing or feeling like you're in the dark on what's wrong with your plants. Remember to follow along on whichever platform you're tuning in from, so you never miss out on any of these amazing episodes of the
 

[12:55] "Homegrown" podcast, brought to us by Homegrown Cannabis Co. Remember, if you need top-notch cannabis seeds, head over to www.homegrowncannabisco.com and start some new plants today. You can check out Homegrown Cannabis Co.'s Facebook page for free seed giveaways and follow @homegrownworld on Instagram for daily updates. If you wish to join an amazing community of over 5,000 cultivators, head over to
 

[13:19] www.homegrowncannabisco.community and sign up for free today. You can also document your grows for free at www.homegrowndiary.com and see what other growers are cultivating as well. I am Chronic from the Cannabis Chronicles on Instagram and YouTube, and I'll be back every single Wednesday to teach you amazing listeners all about cannabis cultivation. I hope you all have an amazing day.
 

[13:44] Much love, happy growing, and peace. If you enjoyed this video and want to learn more about growing your own cannabis at home, hit that like button, subscribe, and turn those notifications on to keep up to date with the amazing marijuana content Homegrown Cannabis Co. has to offer. See you next time.