How to Get Multiple Harvests When Growing Marijuana

Wouldn’t it be nice to get a perpetual harvest of bud? Whether you are simply growing a few plants for your personal stash or are a serious commercial pot farmer, this can be a reality rather than just a pipe dream. Read on to learn some great marijuana growing tips for extending your enjoyment of this amazing plant. DripWorks is happy to share with you the basics of how to get multiple harvests when growing marijuana.

Basically, a good way to ensure a constant supply of bud is to use two types of cannabis plants. Because these two varieties have different planting and harvest times, you can ensure more than one harvest. Of course, this method won’t work outdoors during winter in most regions. The two types of marijuana you should consider are Cannabis indica and Cannabis ruderalis. Let’s look at indica first.

Indica

Indica plants typically begin to flower around the summer solstice, or June 21, when the days begin to shorten. They fully flower in late summer and autumn.

Start indica from seed or as clones in small containers or flats. Later, you can move them to one-gallon containers or grow bags in a nursery where they’re protected from extreme weather, especially frost.

Once the danger of frost is past and the plants have at least three or four sets of leaves, you can put them in their permanent growing area. Some growers prefer to set these plants 10 to 12 feet apart so they don’t shade each other. Drip irrigation tubing runs by with branches to water and fertilize each plant.

Another method is to create a “high tunnel”, where plants are put closer together to create a sea of green inside and maximize production.

Ruderalis

Cannabis ruderalis, or a hybrid cross of indica and ruderalis, is becoming popular because it can be planted earlier than pure indica. These early-maturing plants can be planted in late April or early May in many places. Ready for harvest by mid-July, they can bring in some badly needed revenue mid-season. That can help legal growers pay their employees and other expenses, especially when the time for intensive trimming comes.

Ruderalis plants are auto-flowering. They start flowering 21 to 30 days into the growth cycle. Growing only to two to three feet, they are shorter and have fewer leaves than other types of pot plants.

Grown three to four feet apart, they can be raised in the same beds as the larger and later-harvested indica plants. Although ruderalis THC levels are much lower than those of indica, this type has significant amounts of CBD. It also can handle a wide range of weather conditions.