What Data Should You Record When Cultivating Cannabis?

When growing cannabis, you need to pay attention to various elements and conditions to ensure proper growth and cultivation. However, losing track of what’s happening is easy if you’re not organized and detailed. So, data collection needs to be an integral part of your grow operation. Otherwise, it’s virtually impossible to improve your crop yields every time, meaning you’ll struggle to collect as many high-quality buds with each growth cycle. 

But while data collection is essential for success with cannabis cultivation, which pieces do you need to record and why? This article will break down the most valuable data points that can help you improve your operation with each new cycle. Whether you’re a newbie or a veteran who wants to upgrade your tactics, here’s everything you need to know. 

Why Data Matters When Cultivating Cannabis

Because cannabis is a biological plant, it requires various elements to thrive. These elements include heat, humidity, sunlight, oxygen, and soil nutrients. Even something as simple as a container can make or break your plants, so it’s imperative to know what works and what doesn’t. 

Further complicating the situation is the fact that there are so many cannabis strains available. Since each strain requires slightly different environmental elements, you must pay close attention to these factors when growing your crops. 

If you’re planning to breed your cannabis to produce new seeds, organization and data collection are even more critical. Realistically, you’ll choose several female and male plants, so you need to know your pairings, which traits you’re trying to keep, and which ones to breed out. Overall, producing seeds is a lengthy and complicated process, so you must collect data to ensure it goes smoother. 

So, with that in mind, let’s review the various data points to collect when growing marijuana. 

Environmental Conditions

First and foremost, you must ensure that your plants get all the environmental elements necessary to thrive. Otherwise, aspects like pot size, low-stress training, and harvesting won’t make much difference. Here’s an overview of the various environmental data to collect. 

Heat and Humidity

Cannabis is native to African countries and the Hindu Kush region of northern India. So, this plant requires lots of sun and humidity. Strains from Africa will require more humidity, while those from India will need less. 

As we mentioned, each strain has individual needs, so you need to know what those are and verify that your equipment holds those settings at all times. 

Lighting

The amount of light your cannabis plants need depends on where they’re at in the growth cycle. For example, during the vegetative stage, you should have them on a 12 to 12 schedule. In this case, you should shine the light for 12 hours and keep them in darkness for another 12. Doing this helps them grow more efficiently. 

Also, keep in mind that moonlight can play a significant factor in shortening the time until harvesting. So, if you’re growing outside or in a greenhouse, you must record how the moon affects growth. 

Soil Nutrients

While cannabis is a pretty hardy plant, it needs various nutrients to survive and thrive. If your soil doesn’t contain these elements, you could risk losing entire crops before they have a chance to mature. 

The types of nutrients you need and their doses depend on individual strains and plant species. So, knowing this information will help you get the most from your nutrient-rich soil. 

Growth Cycle

There are six unique stages to growing cannabis, and you need to collect data every step of the way. Here’s a rundown of each step and what you need to pay attention to the most. 

• Germinating – Several germinating methods are available, and some are more effective than others. For example, having your seeds germinate in pure water can speed up the process. Alternatively, germinating them in the soil with a light watering can make it take much longer to see results. In either case, you need to record the success rate to tell which method works the best. 
• Seedling – Seedlings exist as soon as the plant breaks out of its shell. These pieces are fragile and looking for a stable home. During this stage, you should mark down their dimensions and growth rate. By recording these numbers, you can tell if your plants are on track to grow full size or if they’re stunted. 
• Vegetative – Cannabis grows the most during the vegetative stage. So, you should record elements like height discrepancies, leaf density, and more. Also, it’s crucial to stay consistent with what you record so you can track progress more efficiently. 
• Flowering – As your plants start to bloom, you should pay attention to the number of buds and their placement. You should also notice how long the trichomes take to turn from clear and glassy to white and opaque. The shorter this period, the faster you can harvest your cannabis. 
• Harvest – As you collect your buds, you can keep track of their size, shape, coloration, odor, and feel. If some plants are giving suboptimal buds, it could be because they’re not ready to harvest. If you’re dry trimming, keep track of how long it takes for the plants to dry thoroughly before you can harvest them. 

Stress Training Techniques

If you want to maximize your crop yields and speed up the cannabis growth cycle, you should implement low-stress and high-stress training methods. Both options can make your plants more efficient in bud production, but high-stress training can upgrade your cannabis to the next level. 

If you’re interested in doing either training technique, you should record the specific methods you use and how effective they are. Also, pay attention to any damage you may cause the plant, so you know to avoid it with future crops. 

Quality Seeds

Having the best cannabis means having the best seeds. We offer a wide array of seeds from feminine, autoflowering, and regular cannabis seeds. No matter the size and age of your operation, our cannabis seeds can help you get to the next level. Check out our strains today!