If you want a good aroma and flavor profile in your buds, you can do this by increasing terpene levels in your grow. There are many ways to do it, and we’ll show you how.
Terpenes are natural chemicals that give your buds a strong aroma. They are produced in the trichomes (hairs). There are hundreds of different terpenes. Different cannabis strains produce different combinations of them.
Why Plants Produce Terpenes
In a nutshell, plants produce terpenes to attract beneficial insects like pollinators and to repel harmful pests. Cannabis doesn’t need to worry about pollinators because the wind takes care of that. One male plant can pollinate hundreds of female plants. The terpenes in weed are for repelling animals that would otherwise eat the plant.
Cannabis terpenes sure do attract humans. To humans, what matter are the aroma, flavor, and the psychoactive effects.
Yes, you read that right. It’s not just the THC that affects the high. Some terpenes boost energy. Others will reduce inflammation or anxiety.
10 Tips for Increasing Terpene Production
1. Don’t Use Nitrogen Near the End of the Flowering Stage
Adding nitrogen, or anything that increases it, can ruin terpene production during the final two weeks of flowering.
2. Use High-Quality Soil
You always want soil with lots of nutrients. Don’t use depleted soil.
3. Boost Nutrient Absorption
Anything that increases uptake of nutrients in the soil may help boost terpene production by encouraging the plants to produce sugars. There are some products you can add to soil to increase absorption of nutrients. When you get near the final couple of weeks of flowering, use something that is nitrogen-free.
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4. Keep an Eye on pH Levels
Good soil pH is between 5.5 and 6.5 and ideally between 5.8 and 6.2.
You can use pH Up or pH Down for this. Both are made by X Nutrients.
Grow Supply Shop doesn’t sell anything unless it’s tested by one of our expert growers in real life. We formed this company for the purpose of making sure growers have proper guidance and aren’t buying crap that’ll harm their grows. We also offer a lowest price guarantee.
5. Increase UVB Light During Flowering
This, of course, only works for indoor grows. Exposure to a lot of UVB light for two or three weeks during the flowering stage will help increase terpene levels.
If you’re growing outdoors, make sure sunlight exposure is high. This is where “social distancing” comes in. Don’t let your girls grow too close together.
6. Use Low Stress Training
Low stress training is a method of training your plants to grow in specific shapes so you get more branches and higher yields. The branches are spaced apart better when you do this. Your buds will typically have stronger aromas because they’re producing more terpenes.
Low stress training provides just enough stress to boost terpenes. It also allows for more light exposure.
7. Prune Your Plants
Proper pruning techniques will get rid of unnecessary leaves and open the plants to more light. They will also stress the plant just enough to produce more terpenes.
8. Lower the Temperature at Night
Depending on where your outdoor grow is, the temperature will likely drop at night. For an indoor grow, drop your temp at night and keep your plants as cool as possible without overchilling them. This will shock them into making more terpenes.
9. Flush Your Plants
Use good flushing techniques before harvesting. Not flushing your girls could give their buds a harsh smoke or even keep them from burning. Flushing not only helps your harvested buds burn properly, but it also helps the plants metabolize the nutrients they already have within them. This can lead to better aroma and flavor.
Better yet, stop feeding your plants two to three weeks before harvest so they have time to metabolize the nutrients they already have. Give them water only. Your flushing will be more effective that way. Normally, flushing time is about two weeks before harvest.
10. Harvest at the Right Time
Harvest your buds too early and there won’t be enough trichomes. If you wait too long, the trichomes will start breaking down. Either way, you’ll get lower terpene levels.
How do you know when to harvest? You may need a magnifying glass. When using one, and you see that some of the trichomes are developing an amber color, it’s a good time to start plucking.
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