Bigger Buds

1. lighTing
The point of indoor growing gear is to
mimic nature as closely as possible, or
improve upon it when possible. And just
like everyone learned in grade school, one
of the basic foods any plant needs is light.
Obviously in nature this comes from the sun.
Indoors, you have a couple of customizable
options that will do just about as good a job
if you get the right equipment.
The two most important considerations
you have when planning your lighting are:
1. How much light you need for the plants
you're growing.
2. Where you are in the process of growing.
1. Uno
2. MelonHead®
3. Custom Hood
Advanced Nutrients makes three types of
shades: (1) Uno, (2) MelonHead and (3)
Custom Hood. Each is designed specifically
for the space that you have to grow with.
WhaT size bulb should
You use?
It all depends on how many plants you're
growing, and how much space you have to
grow them.
ScrOG growers, for example, brag about
growing with insane efficiency using little
250 watt lamps. (ScrOG stands for “Screen
of Green” and is a way to maximize your
yields using a very small space. Excellent
for closet growers. In very simple terms,
ScrOGing is using a net to carefully manage
the distance between your plants and the
lamp they feed from. This distance is very
important for optimal growth, which we'll
talk about in more detail below).
Growers with more space and more
plants will need larger lamps, anywhere
from 600 to 1000 watts.
This is a very important part of setting
up your grow space and should be discussed
in person with a hydro store professional.
They’re helpful, knowledgeable people and
you’ll want to explain to them what you’re
trying to do in order to get the best advice.
Also, when you make friends at the
hydro store, you’ll be making your way
into the community, which looks out for
its own. These are people you can count
on when you have questions, and as time
goes on, you’ll be very glad to have them
on your team when the real challenges
come up.
WhaT sTage are You aT?
Your plants will go through two distinct
stages of growth: the vegetative phase,
where they grow their stems; and the
flowering phase, where the attention
moves from growing stems to blossoming
flowers or fruits.
To maximize your yields, you’ll need
to plan your lighting strategy for these
distinct stages ahead of time. There are a
couple of decisions to make.
12 Section 1 - Setting up a Room | Advanced Nutrients: "How to Grow Bigger Buds"
decision #1: Which lights will
give you the most bang for
your buck?
Here’s what we mean: your plants can
only use certain parts of the spectrum
of light. Remember the colors of the
rainbow, ROYGBIV (Red, Orange, Yellow,
Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet)? Well, as far as
photosynthesis is concerned, your plants
are focused on the reds and the blues.
To grow truly awe-inspiring flowers,
your lights will need to deliver optimal
photons in the red and blue color spectra.
A term you should become familiar
with, if you’re not already, is PAR, or
Photosynthetically Active Range. This
range (between 400 and 700 nanometers)
is used to measure the amount of the
specific photons your plants use to grow
big and healthy. When you go to buy a
light, you want to make sure the light emits
optimal PAR watts to your plants.
decision #2: When will you
trigger the flowering stage in
your plants?
Your plants know it’s time to start blooming
when you make a specific change in the
lighting. This is known as a “photoperiod,”
or the contrast between how many hours per
day your plants are receiving light, versus
the time they are in the dark. Eighteen hours
of light per day will feed your plants all they
can handle during the vegetative phase.
After your plants are about eight weeks
old, it’s time to switch your lighting to 12
hours on, 12 hours off. This will let your
plants know it’s time to blossom, and you’ll
see signs of budding on your stems in
approximately one to three weeks from the
time you make the switch.
Having lights, and power sources for
your lights (called “ballasts”), that are well
designed for effective photoperiods, is
crucial to your success.