When you’re growing your own, you’ll want to know how to get a big cannabis yield.
Bigger is better. It may not be true all the time, but it applies to growing cannabis. Generally speaking, the bigger the buds, the bigger the plant, the bigger the yield. The goal may be easy to say, but achieving it requires the right strain, the right conditions, and the right know-how.
“Getting big yields is a mix of science and technique,” says Bill Hunt, the assistant manager at Progressive Growth Hydroponics in Courtenay, B.C. “Genetics, light, soil, and pruning all come into play.”
The first step is to pick the right type of cannabis. Professional growers have hybridized and selectively crossed sativa and indica strains for all kinds of attributes, including how much cannabis flower they produce. On the legal market in Canada the range and supply is limited, but websites operating in the grey market offer a startling variety.
We consulted numerous sites to find some of the highest yielding varieties:
– Cheese Quake: An indica-dominant hybrid, this strain grows best indoors and delivers an elevated mind and body buzz.
– Blue Dream: A good strain for outdoor gardens, it has a relaxing high and is full of flavour.
– Purple Trainwreck: This one is beginner friendly, both because it’s easy to grow outdoors and because of its mellow high.
– White Widow: A well-known variety that delivers a powerful euphoric high, this strain is resistant to pests and disease.
After you pick a seed, prepare the garden. Soil, lighting, space, and nutrients play a role in how well the plant will grow. Growing your plants indoors makes it easier to control and maximize yield, but some strains will grow best under the sun.
The biggest factor in how much bud a plant will produce, however, comes down to being a hands-on farmer. Left on their own, cannabis plants will produce one big bud. That bud may look impressive, but a plant with several buds will yield a larger harvest. Trim and train your plant’s branches to encourage it to spread out its resources to more flowers. Pruning to focus on a three our four buds, rather than many, will also help to ensure the biggest yield.
There are different training techniques, and some varieties respond better to one over another. Hunt’s advice is to talk to a cannabis expert and ask questions when you’re buying the seeds about getting a big cannabis yield.
“There is a learning curve, but it’s not rocket science,” says Hunt. “In the end, yield really comes down to how much energy you put into your plants. The more you give them, the more you’ll get.”
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