Summer: Keeping Plants Happy
Summertime is crucial to the development of healthy strong branches that will support the weight of swollen buds later. Heat can become an issue and drought will kill plants before they have a chance to grow. Any time it doesn’t rain for more than 10 days or so, plants will need to be watered. If you chose a spot near a water supply, you can use a cheap manual pump to flow water to your crop. If not, be prepared to carry in enough water to saturate roots completely. Add some nitrogen-heavy nutrient such as liquid fish or seaweed to this water to supplement the nutes already in your soil-mix.
Other than watering, always check for pests on your plants when you visit your outdoor weed growing site. Look on the undersides of leaves and along stems for any damage and examine the whole plant thoroughly. Any infestations should be dealt with immediately – Don’t allow slugs or bugs to ruin your nugs.
If you planted seeds and not clones, they should be showing their sex towards the end of the summer. Remove all males as soon as they appear to avoid filling your female buds with seeds. Male flowers look like tiny banana pods and females show white hairs coming out from the nodes where branches meet stems. If leaves begin to turn yellow, add more nitrogen-heavy fertilizer diluted with your water.
This is the time to pray for rain. In fact, you should always celebrate summer rain showers in whichever way you choose. Those rains mean one less visit to your outdoor weed growing spot as well as bigger, stronger plants in the long run. Rain during the summer is your friend, come fall however…
