How to Make Weed Taste Better
One of the most important factors that heavily influence the preferences of many cannabis users is the smell and taste of the weed. While strains like Strawberry Cough and Blueberry offer naturally sweet and fruity flavors, their primary flavors will still be a weed. So, how to make weed taste better?
When growing cannabis, many cultivators strive towards massive harvests and getting the most buds out of each plant. However, as cannabis users, we look at the potency, the taste, and the smell of the end products as critical factors that are high up on the priority list. Thus, any expert cannabis grower understands the importance of these factors when cultivating plants as they will only add to the overall quality of their harvests. In this article, we will discuss how we can improve the taste and smell of your marijuana buds throughout the plant’s growth cycle.
How to Make Weed Taste Better
One of the often-overlooked methods to make weed taste better is simply learning how to grow cannabis plants. While it may be quiet easy, and straightforward to grow marijuana, maximizing the flavor and aroma takes a couple more steps.
1. Purchase only from well-known seed banks
Always start with a good seed strain from a well-known cannabis dispensary to ensure that all the plant’s terpene profiles are still complete. Terpene profiles are key players that help improve the taste, flavor, and basically the essence of cannabis strains. No matter how good the genetics of the strain is, if the taste does not pack a punch, it would seem that you have just ordered a box of fake cannabis from a local street dealer.
2. Use organic fertilizers
Another sure way to ensure you achieve great-tasting organic flavors as a grower is to select a medium that is charged with living organisms. You can optimize any growing medium by using fertilizers that come from organic sources such as vegetable waste and animal byproducts. The argument between synthetically charged soil vs. organically filled ones have been going on for decades, but several recent studies have proven that going organic improves airflow and prevents nutrient run-off, leaving you with better soil micrology over time.
When creating your own organic fertilizer, it is important to always put an end goal of “how to make weed taste better?” In order to achieve this, you need to create a balance of all the needed macro- and micronutrients for your soil. The macronutrients include the big three: N-P-K (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium). Micronutrients, on the other hand, include copper, iron, manganese, and zinc, among many others. Some of the organic elements that you can add to your fertilizer are wood ashes, bat poo or guano, and, believe it or not, human urine that has been diluted to a ratio of at least one part urine, ten parts water. These ingredients contain ample amounts of nutrients for your cannabis plants to allow them to produce much better flavor profiles.
3. Apply low-stress training
As mentioned above, terpenes are the absolute key when it comes to cannabis plants, flavors, and aromas. And in order to increase the number of terpenes in your plant, you might want to apply LST (Low-Stress Training) on them. The process is somewhat delicate, but once applied over a period of time, it will definitely help make the end product taste better. At its simplest, this technique requires gently bending and tying down the branches and stems to manipulate the plant to grow sideways and grow at the same height. By doing so, you are exposing more of the plant to the light source, instead of the light simply hitting the top layers only.
The best time to start this training is when you start to see the first true leaves grow at around week three. During this time, the young stems are still supple and flexible as compared to older stems that will become too rigid to bend. There are several options to secure the stems in place and, as growers, you can be creative as you want. This can include twist ties, soft-coated wires, and even pipe cleaner wires. Just make sure to avoid sharp wires that might cut into the plant as it grows.
A popular method to apply LST on your plants is the SCROG (Screen of Green) technique. It is not only the most productive grow method, but it is also the easiest. As the name suggests, the SCROG method requires the use of a type of screen or net to hold back the growing canopy. The material used should be sturdy enough to help flatten and maintain the branches at the same height. You can use a volleyball net or a chicken wire, which has enough hole sizes to allow the plant to grow through it easily.
4. Do not forget about flushing before harvest
Lastly, flush your plants using a quality flushing agent for a couple of days or weeks prior to harvesting. Flushing involves watering them with the agent without any needed nutrients. The purpose of this method is to allow your plant to fully utilize the nutrient, salts and other compound loads it needs and dispose of any surplus compounds from the plant. This simple process ensures a final product that is better tasting and smelling. Flushing is a method affirmed by many serious cannabis growers as not flushing out nutrients before harvest can also compromise the quality of your harvests.
It is important to note that flushing should not be done with just plain water as this can rob your plants of the needed nutrients. Another important thing to consider when flushing is the growing medium – if you are growing your cannabis plant in soil, flushing should be done within one to two weeks before harvest but if you are growing in a hydroponics system, flushing only needs to be done one to two days before harvest.
Understanding how to make weed taste better is crucial as enhanced flavors and aromas in weed are critical factors that many cannabis users look for in a plant. The good news is that these can be achieved or influenced during marijuana’s growing stages. In fact, simply knowing the basics of how to grow marijuana plants properly and diligently will help you achieve those desired flavors.
