Heat Stress! Growing cannabis is not as simple as caring for any other houseplant. Even with proper feeding, watering, and lighting, you may still find your weeds looking discolored and deformed, and this is commonly caused by heat stress.
Generally, cannabis is a tough and resilientplant. Many of its varieties originated from harsh regions like the Hindu Kushmountain range and Asian tundras. Despite the plant’s strength, growers need tokeep them safe from the damages of overheating.
Keep on reading to learn more aboutcultivating a healthy yield all year-long.
IdentifyingHeat Stress
One way to tell that your cannabis plants aresuffering from too much heat is when their leaves begin to curl upward. They’llalso look dry and withered. Look for large, brown spots or blemishes that maybe accompanied by yellow patches. These unsightly marks are usually along theedges of the fan leaves, which are the areas in direct line of heat. If you aresure that your cannabis plant is not suffering from any other nutritionaldeficiency, then you can ascertain that the problem is overheating.
During the flowering phase, you can detectheat stress if you notice that new buds are blooming on top of older ones.Growers call this condition as “foxtail.” It’s a plant’s survival mechanism tokeep reproducing and generating new seeds.
If you’re growing cannabis plants outdoors,heat stress is typically caused by brutally hot and dry weather. Indoors, it iscaused by several reasons. For one, you might be letting the weeds’ tops growtoo high to reach the light source. Climate still plays a huge role in yourindoor crops. During summer, grow tents can get very warm if you don’t haveenough fans and an adequate exhaust system.
Here are three tips to keep your cannabisplants healthy and happy even during summer:
1. Makesure there are enough fans in your grow space
Wherever you grow your cannabis plants—in acloset, tent, or basement—you need to make sure they’re getting a healthy flowof air. The cheapest and most straightforward solution is to place coolingfans. The wind generated by electric fans helps cool the area down and keepsair circulating. It will also ensure that the weeds will develop thicker andstronger stems.
2.Install air conditioning
The best thing about growing your plantsindoors is that you have total control over your space’s microclimate. If youlive in a hot environment, you may want to consider installing anairconditioning unit in your grow space. Though it’s a more expensive solution,it can save your crops from wilting and dying.
3.Change your lighting
Aside from the wind source, your lighting alsodramatically affects your yield. If your weeds start to show signs of heatstress, check how close they are to the light source. You can readjust theposition of your lights and keep them farther up. If the plants are stillwilting, it may be time to rethink your grow lights. High-Intensity Dischargelights may be too harsh for your sensitive crops. Try switching to LED lightsinstead, as they’re gentler to your plants, and also much cheaper.
For the new hobbyist, growing cannabisrequires a series of trial and error. You’ll gain experience as you go along,so make sure that you spend time getting to know your plants!
If you are looking for RQS, hemp, or CBD seeds to grow, get in touch with Coffee Shop Seeds to see how we can help.
