I worked in the greenhouse business for nearly two decades. In my time, I grew thousands of different chrysanthemum plants. Is it possible to force cannabis plants like I forced the mum plants? I’m thinking of planting marijuana in 4-foot wide beds that are 50 feet long. I plan to start planting on April 15th, pinch the marijuana plants two weeks after that, and then use block cloth an additional two weeks later (this cloth would keep out light from 5 PM to 8 AM). I want to get rid of the males as soon as I can to provide more space for the females.
In theory, this is good, but, in practice, the technique might need to be adjusted. Space the marijuana plants closer and steer clear of pinching which will likely set the plants back by a week or so. Each plant will yield slightly less, but will have bigger buds. All in all, production is increased.
From April 15 to May 15, break up the dark period with periodic lighting (5 minutes per hour; incandescent lights will work). This staves off any premature flowering or sexual deviation produces by elongated night periods during germination.
Allow the marijuana plants to grow for about 6 weeks to 2 months before forcing flowering, and continue shading the plants throughout the flowering period. Even if you keep a close watch on the garden, it’s likely that you will get some seeding from stray males. For next year’s crop, you can use all-female clones to start it out.
Robert