TOPICS > GROWING MARIJUANA > GROWING MARIJUANA: ADVANCED TIPS > THE PERPETUAL CANNABIS GROW & HARVEST
THE PERPETUAL CANNABIS GROW & hARVEST
vIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Hi, I’m your prof from Indica Institute, and this is my advanced cannabis growing course entitled “Growing Cannabis 201: Advanced Grow Tips.” I’ve designed this course to help and instruct people on how to grow cannabis plants to obtain better results in terms of overall plant health, yield, taste and more.
Visit me at Indica Institute or my YouTube channel for a list of cannabis related courses, tips and more. I hope you find the video useful, and please like and subscribe so I can continue making more videos like these!
Hi and welcome to my guide on how to set up a perpetual harvest for cannabis plants. The objective of this lesson is to learn what strains are best for a perpetual cannabis harvest, how to set up your grow space layout, what equipment you’ll need for a perpetual harvest and the steps involved in a proper perpetual harvest.
All links mentioned in this video can be found in the video description, along with a link to Indica Institute where you can find a growing list of cannabis related courses and recommendations on the best products for purchase. I’d also like to give a special thanks to my partners at FourBudz grow equipment for supporting free cannabis education. You can check them out at www.fourbudz.com.
First off I wanted to thank all of those that recommended this topic, it has long been one of the most highly requested topics on my channel. Knowing that I have many medical cannabis subscribers I tried to get this one out for you as soon as I could.
So the first thing you need to consider for a perpetual cannabis harvest setup is what kind of strain you want to use. As some strains, especially sativas, take a long time to come to maturation during the flowering stage and thus throw off the timing necessary for a perpetual grow. While it is still possible to do with sativas, the simplest route is to choose a strain that has an 8 week flowering cycle. For simplicity’s sake, I will focus on plants with an 8 week flowering cycle for this video, and add some notes at the end for those that wish to attempt a perpetual harvest with sativas or strains that have longer flowering stages.
There are a few ways to set up your grow space for a perpetual harvest, though in this video I will only focus on one way. It is cheaper in terms of equipment, and is the simplest alternative in terms of steps.
Break up your grow space into three zones. There will be a seedling/cloning zone, a vegetative zone and a flowering zone. The important piece here is that the flowering zone be light proof so the vegetative lighting does not disrupt the plants 12 hours of slumber. The flowering zone should be roughly double the size of your vegetative zone, and the cloning zone does not need to be large at all. Enough for one or two cloning chambers. Separate grow tents can be used to achieve this, or you can turn one or two rooms in your house into grow rooms.
There are perpetual grows that branch out into 4 zones, and even ones that take place within the same grow tent, though there are too many combinations of this technique to cover in one video. Therefore we will cover the basic 3 zone method.
Utilize as much space as you are willing and able, then determine how many full grown plants you are able to fit in your flowering zone. For instance if your flowering zone is a 4x4 tent, you are likely to only fit 4-6 flowering plants in this space, depending on strain and training style.
Each zone will require a different spectrum and intensity of light, as well as differing lighting schedules, so at least two lighting setups will be necessary. The seedling and vegetative stage will have similar lighting, albeit different power intensity levels. Both will need full spectrum lighting favouring blue light though. Best for these stages would be an LED light that favours this spectrum, or a T5 light kept close to the canopy to avoid plant stretching. For all of your zones you will need a thermo hygrometer and lighting timer. As well, you will need a ph testing kit and various sizes of fabric potting for easy transplanting. During the seedling stage or while your clones are rooting, it is not necessary, but definitely optimal to have a cloning station kit that will allow you to control temperature and humidity with greater ease. These kits normally come with a dome, rooting tray, and heat pad. Additional rock wool cubes for cloning or germination pods for seeds will be needed as well.
For the vegetative zone you will need a grow light, pots or a hydroponic system, preferably a grow tent to keep the space contaminant free, oscillating fans for good airflow and an inline fan and filter system for both proper airflow and the smell. While most cannabis plants smell much less during the vegetative stage, having a carbon filter is still a benefit to keep house and home clean and smelling fresh. The lighting in the vegetative stage will need to be full spectrum leaning in favour of a blue range of light. For more on the best lighting for the vegetative stage of growth, see my Advanced Tips video on Light Spectrum for Cannabis Plants.
For the flowering zone you will need to double down on the equipment you purchased for the vegetative stage, with some minor alterations. Your pots will obviously be larger as your plants will be larger, and your lighting should be full spectrum but this time in favour of red spectrum lighting. To promote greater bud site production. T5’s will no longer cut it during this stage, you will need to opt for the stronger lighting found in LED or HID options.
Once you have chosen the 8 week flowering strain you plan to harvest perpetually, and you’ve set up your zones in preparation for your grow, it is time to begin cloning. For the sake of time I will review the process of a perpetual harvest, though for any environmental, lighting or growth stage questions refer to my videos on environmental conditions, light spectrum or the beginner series of videos on how to care for your plants during each stage of development. Links for these videos are in the description below.
For the sake of simplicity in the following steps, let’s say that your flowering zone can hold 4 fully grown flowering plants effectively with the lighting and space you were able to afford.
Step 1, of a perpetual harvest is to germinate your seeds, or clone your mother plant and take double or even triple the clones needed to fill your vegetative zone. Care for your clones or seedlings as you would normally for 14 days. If you want 4 plants at harvest, take 12 clones.
Step 2, after 14 days examine your clone or seedling roots, vegetation and overall growth. Either move them all into the vegetative zone, or choose those that look the healthiest and dispose of the rest. Mistakes happen, so I would still recommend you move more seedlings than needed into the vegetative zone. Care for your plants and let them veg for 6 weeks.
Step 3, after 6 weeks in the vegetative zone chances are you have already disposed of most unhealthy or slow growth plants. If you have not, now is the time. Take clones from your healthiest and strongest 4 plants and place them in the cloning zone, then move the 4 plants into your flowering chamber. Care for your flowering plants for 8 weeks in the flowering zone.
Step 4, with your new clones, repeat steps 1-2.
Step 5, After 8 weeks your flowering plants are ready for harvest. Harvest them, then repeat steps 1-4 perpetually.
During this process, there is a 14 day time frame where the vegetative zone is not being used for plant growth. My suggestion would be to use this zone for drying your recently harvested cannabis in order to control both humidity and smell. The buds should be dry just in time for the rooted clones to be transferred into the zone.
Using this process is pretty simple and will allow you to harvest buds every 8 weeks. Keep in mind that this generates a ton of weed, which is great for medicinal users though will be quite unnecessary for most recreational growers. You will end up with way more buds than you will know what to do with. If you plan to use this technique for your own purposes I would suggest only harvesting 1-2 plants every 8 weeks, though keep track of your consumption rate and make the best decision for your lifestyle. If the flowering stage takes a bit longer than 8 weeks, don’t worry. Your vegging plants can stay in this state as long as it takes for your flowering plants to mature.
So in Review, when planning for a perpetual harvest grow setup, choose a strain that has an 8 week flowering stage. Set up your space in a way that allows for the maximum space possible for flowering while factoring in how much you have to spend on lighting. Your vegetative zone should be roughly half the size of your flowering zone. The cloning or seedling zone will be even smaller. Expect to spend double the amount of money on lighting, tents, pots, fans, exhaust fans and filters and temperature and humidity gauges. The vegetative and flowering zones will each need their own set of equipment, while the cloning station will need a humidity dome kit. Follow the steps provided, moving clones in the vegetative zone after 2 weeks and eventually into the flowering zone after 6 weeks of vegetation. Repeat the steps as needed, and enjoy a new harvest every 8 weeks!
I hope you found this installment of my course “Growing Cannabis 201: Advanced Grow Tips” useful. For more cannabis related courses or recommendations on the best grow products out there, visit me at Indica Institute or subscribe to my YouTube channel. If you have any comments or suggestions for a new video, be sure to join the discussion in the comment feed below. Please like and share this video, and as always, thank you for listening!
Visit me at Indica Institute or my YouTube channel for a list of cannabis related courses, tips and more. I hope you find the video useful, and please like and subscribe so I can continue making more videos like these!
Hi and welcome to my guide on how to set up a perpetual harvest for cannabis plants. The objective of this lesson is to learn what strains are best for a perpetual cannabis harvest, how to set up your grow space layout, what equipment you’ll need for a perpetual harvest and the steps involved in a proper perpetual harvest.
All links mentioned in this video can be found in the video description, along with a link to Indica Institute where you can find a growing list of cannabis related courses and recommendations on the best products for purchase. I’d also like to give a special thanks to my partners at FourBudz grow equipment for supporting free cannabis education. You can check them out at www.fourbudz.com.
First off I wanted to thank all of those that recommended this topic, it has long been one of the most highly requested topics on my channel. Knowing that I have many medical cannabis subscribers I tried to get this one out for you as soon as I could.
So the first thing you need to consider for a perpetual cannabis harvest setup is what kind of strain you want to use. As some strains, especially sativas, take a long time to come to maturation during the flowering stage and thus throw off the timing necessary for a perpetual grow. While it is still possible to do with sativas, the simplest route is to choose a strain that has an 8 week flowering cycle. For simplicity’s sake, I will focus on plants with an 8 week flowering cycle for this video, and add some notes at the end for those that wish to attempt a perpetual harvest with sativas or strains that have longer flowering stages.
There are a few ways to set up your grow space for a perpetual harvest, though in this video I will only focus on one way. It is cheaper in terms of equipment, and is the simplest alternative in terms of steps.
Break up your grow space into three zones. There will be a seedling/cloning zone, a vegetative zone and a flowering zone. The important piece here is that the flowering zone be light proof so the vegetative lighting does not disrupt the plants 12 hours of slumber. The flowering zone should be roughly double the size of your vegetative zone, and the cloning zone does not need to be large at all. Enough for one or two cloning chambers. Separate grow tents can be used to achieve this, or you can turn one or two rooms in your house into grow rooms.
There are perpetual grows that branch out into 4 zones, and even ones that take place within the same grow tent, though there are too many combinations of this technique to cover in one video. Therefore we will cover the basic 3 zone method.
Utilize as much space as you are willing and able, then determine how many full grown plants you are able to fit in your flowering zone. For instance if your flowering zone is a 4x4 tent, you are likely to only fit 4-6 flowering plants in this space, depending on strain and training style.
Each zone will require a different spectrum and intensity of light, as well as differing lighting schedules, so at least two lighting setups will be necessary. The seedling and vegetative stage will have similar lighting, albeit different power intensity levels. Both will need full spectrum lighting favouring blue light though. Best for these stages would be an LED light that favours this spectrum, or a T5 light kept close to the canopy to avoid plant stretching. For all of your zones you will need a thermo hygrometer and lighting timer. As well, you will need a ph testing kit and various sizes of fabric potting for easy transplanting. During the seedling stage or while your clones are rooting, it is not necessary, but definitely optimal to have a cloning station kit that will allow you to control temperature and humidity with greater ease. These kits normally come with a dome, rooting tray, and heat pad. Additional rock wool cubes for cloning or germination pods for seeds will be needed as well.
For the vegetative zone you will need a grow light, pots or a hydroponic system, preferably a grow tent to keep the space contaminant free, oscillating fans for good airflow and an inline fan and filter system for both proper airflow and the smell. While most cannabis plants smell much less during the vegetative stage, having a carbon filter is still a benefit to keep house and home clean and smelling fresh. The lighting in the vegetative stage will need to be full spectrum leaning in favour of a blue range of light. For more on the best lighting for the vegetative stage of growth, see my Advanced Tips video on Light Spectrum for Cannabis Plants.
For the flowering zone you will need to double down on the equipment you purchased for the vegetative stage, with some minor alterations. Your pots will obviously be larger as your plants will be larger, and your lighting should be full spectrum but this time in favour of red spectrum lighting. To promote greater bud site production. T5’s will no longer cut it during this stage, you will need to opt for the stronger lighting found in LED or HID options.
Once you have chosen the 8 week flowering strain you plan to harvest perpetually, and you’ve set up your zones in preparation for your grow, it is time to begin cloning. For the sake of time I will review the process of a perpetual harvest, though for any environmental, lighting or growth stage questions refer to my videos on environmental conditions, light spectrum or the beginner series of videos on how to care for your plants during each stage of development. Links for these videos are in the description below.
For the sake of simplicity in the following steps, let’s say that your flowering zone can hold 4 fully grown flowering plants effectively with the lighting and space you were able to afford.
Step 1, of a perpetual harvest is to germinate your seeds, or clone your mother plant and take double or even triple the clones needed to fill your vegetative zone. Care for your clones or seedlings as you would normally for 14 days. If you want 4 plants at harvest, take 12 clones.
Step 2, after 14 days examine your clone or seedling roots, vegetation and overall growth. Either move them all into the vegetative zone, or choose those that look the healthiest and dispose of the rest. Mistakes happen, so I would still recommend you move more seedlings than needed into the vegetative zone. Care for your plants and let them veg for 6 weeks.
Step 3, after 6 weeks in the vegetative zone chances are you have already disposed of most unhealthy or slow growth plants. If you have not, now is the time. Take clones from your healthiest and strongest 4 plants and place them in the cloning zone, then move the 4 plants into your flowering chamber. Care for your flowering plants for 8 weeks in the flowering zone.
Step 4, with your new clones, repeat steps 1-2.
Step 5, After 8 weeks your flowering plants are ready for harvest. Harvest them, then repeat steps 1-4 perpetually.
During this process, there is a 14 day time frame where the vegetative zone is not being used for plant growth. My suggestion would be to use this zone for drying your recently harvested cannabis in order to control both humidity and smell. The buds should be dry just in time for the rooted clones to be transferred into the zone.
Using this process is pretty simple and will allow you to harvest buds every 8 weeks. Keep in mind that this generates a ton of weed, which is great for medicinal users though will be quite unnecessary for most recreational growers. You will end up with way more buds than you will know what to do with. If you plan to use this technique for your own purposes I would suggest only harvesting 1-2 plants every 8 weeks, though keep track of your consumption rate and make the best decision for your lifestyle. If the flowering stage takes a bit longer than 8 weeks, don’t worry. Your vegging plants can stay in this state as long as it takes for your flowering plants to mature.
So in Review, when planning for a perpetual harvest grow setup, choose a strain that has an 8 week flowering stage. Set up your space in a way that allows for the maximum space possible for flowering while factoring in how much you have to spend on lighting. Your vegetative zone should be roughly half the size of your flowering zone. The cloning or seedling zone will be even smaller. Expect to spend double the amount of money on lighting, tents, pots, fans, exhaust fans and filters and temperature and humidity gauges. The vegetative and flowering zones will each need their own set of equipment, while the cloning station will need a humidity dome kit. Follow the steps provided, moving clones in the vegetative zone after 2 weeks and eventually into the flowering zone after 6 weeks of vegetation. Repeat the steps as needed, and enjoy a new harvest every 8 weeks!
I hope you found this installment of my course “Growing Cannabis 201: Advanced Grow Tips” useful. For more cannabis related courses or recommendations on the best grow products out there, visit me at Indica Institute or subscribe to my YouTube channel. If you have any comments or suggestions for a new video, be sure to join the discussion in the comment feed below. Please like and share this video, and as always, thank you for listening!
