Whether you’re growing indoors or outdoors, the impact of different types of trellising can make a difference on your yield. Adding a few posts or plastic nets can help your plants grow into monster buds that are worth every extra effort you put into them.
The most popular method of trellising is to use a horizontal trellis, usually called a ScrOG or screen of green. Using this method, growers carefully top their cannabis plants and drape a plastic trellis net over them.
1. Height
The height of your cannabis plant has a lot to do with how successful you’ll be growing it. If you’re looking to maximize yield potential, you want to control the height of your plants to ensure they receive enough light.
One way to do this is by trellising the plants. Many growers use trellises to support plants such as beans, peas, cucumbers and melons, but trellising can also be used to train larger strains of cannabis to grow taller.
There are multiple types of trellises, which can be made from different materials. You can choose a simple, elegant trellis that criss-crosses against a wall to train fast-growing vines or you can make a more substantial one from cedar, redwood or treated lumber.
A trellis can be used to contain a large plant that is prone to sprawling out of control, such as a tomato plant or a pumpkin. Using a trellis also prevents your crop from getting tangled in vines and other plant life, which can be harmful to your harvest.
In addition to supporting plants, trellises can help with air circulation. If you’re growing a crop with a high water content, such as tomatoes or melons, a trellis can help keep the water from collecting in the leaves and causing mould or mildew.
Another way to control the height of your cannabis plants is by training them in a specific direction. This can be done by bending their growing stems in the direction you’d like them to grow and gently tying them in place.
Some growers prefer to train their plants to grow horizontally using a screen, net or trellis, which allows more buds to be exposed to light and creates an even canopy. This is an efficient way to control your plants’ height and can increase your yield potential.
2. Vigor
There are many different factors that impact cannabis growth. One of the most important is genetics. Each strain carries a unique set of genes that influence its effects, flavor, and vigor. These traits can be inherited through a strain’s lineage, or they can be passed down through hybridization.
Another factor that can impact your plant’s vigor is pathogens. These viruses and viroids can reduce a plant’s vigor or kill it outright.
While there are a variety of ways to protect your plants from these pathogens, the most important thing is to keep them at bay. This can be done through proper screening, observation, and regular microscopic and molecular studies.
For example, you can screen your mother plant before using it for propagation, and also regularly check it to observe symptoms such as root rot, leaf wilt, or slowed flowering. With these preventive measures, you can keep your bud healthy and thriving, which will lead to increased cannabinoid yields in the end.
In addition, mycorrhizal fungi have been shown to increase a plant’s ability to absorb nutrients and water. This can decrease fertilizer costs and increase your yield by around 25-30% compared to a standard 100% fertilization program.
These fungi also provide protection against pests, especially those that can damage your crops. Some common pests are weed hoppers, leafhoppers, and aphids.
Having these fungi on your side also increases the amount of cannabinoids produced by your plants, as well as reduces pesticide use and your overall cultivation cost. In addition, it can help you avoid a number of other issues like soil salinity and nutrient deficiencies.
3. Light
Trellising is a type of support system that is used to train tall, vining or sprawling plants. Commonly made of wood, plastic, metal or rope and often used for vertical gardens, trellising can be very effective at ensuring that the plant grows in the direction you want it to grow.
There are many different types of trellising, but each has its benefits and disadvantages. For example, a wire trellis might be easier to work with than a more substantial trellis that uses wooden struts. Also, a trellis that is used for growing a high-density crop can be more durable than one that is used to grow smaller crops.
The impact of different types of trellising on cannabis growth is important, as it can affect the amount and type of light that the plant receives. For this reason, many growers choose to implement a lighting strategy that incorporates LEDs.
In addition to enhancing a grower’s ability to control the quality and intensity of the light, LEDs are also more energy efficient than HPS lamps. That said, it is important to remember that LEDs still require an appropriate amount of electricity to operate.
This may increase the total cost of production for growers, but it can be offset by lower electricity bills and reduced energy consumption during flowering. Moreover, LEDs can be controlled through the use of a computerized meter that tracks the amount of power being consumed.
This is a valuable tool for growers who want to improve the yield of their plants without having to increase their lighting budget. Using this metric will allow them to monitor the effectiveness of their lighting strategy and to make adjustments as necessary. Additionally, they can track the impact of various lighting spectra on plant morphology and terpene content throughout the growing cycle.
4. Air Circulation
Air circulation is essential to cannabis growth. It allows plants to breathe and use oxygen as a source of energy to photosynthesise glucose and water into food and grow stronger. A lack of air circulation can cause the oxygen levels in a grow room to dip, which slows plant development while promoting pathogen growth and mould.
In addition, a lack of air circulation can also make plants less resistant to rot and pests because their immune system is weaker. Having good ventilation also allows growers to spot and remove potential pests and illnesses before they become major issues.
Trellises are criss-cross structures that can be used to support and guide the growth of cannabis plants. They are inexpensive, simple to create, and effective in growing cannabis.
When trellising outdoors, stakes are placed in the ground and cannabis plants are hung from them with plant tape. The goal is to keep the plant straight and prevent it from becoming top heavy, which can lead to its stems snapping or entire plants falling over when strong winds come.
The process is easy to perform in indoor environments as well. A trellis can be built using a combination of wire and plastic, or you can choose to buy a ready-made one.
A trellis can help to boost even light distribution by opening up the canopy and spreading the branches out to expose more bud sites to light. This can result in more uniform buds and larger yields.
5. Space
The impact of space on cannabis growth is important in determining how much bud a plant will yield. It is also important to understand how the type of trellising used affects plant growth.
Outdoor growers often prefer to use vertical trellising. This method supports the stems of heavy crops and keeps them off the ground, which reduces the likelihood of vegetable diseases.
Indoor growers use horizontal trellising, which extends parallel to the ground. This method allows plants to vent and promotes bushy growth.
This trellising technique is preferred by many growers, but it may not be the right choice for beginners. However, if you’re experienced in marijuana manipulation and have the proper equipment, it can be an excellent way to increase your harvest.
Another great benefit of trellising is that it can help you grow more plants in a smaller space. Whether you’re growing in a backyard or in a commercial operation, you can use this technique to maximize the space you have available.
A trellis can also be used to improve your flowering and fruiting plants, which will ultimately produce more buds. This technique is a great way to boost your yields and keep your garden healthy.
One of the most common types of trellising used by cannabis cultivators is the SOG (scrogging) method. This is the standard method for horizontal trellising, and it’s favoured by seasoned professionals who want to take their yields to the next level.
The SOG method uses a grid with holes that are typically 6”x6” to support plants. These trellises allow a single bud to form on each hole, and they are usually placed at least 1m apart. This is an effective way to maximize the amount of buds a cannabis plant produces, and it can be incredibly simple to set up.
