The Indica flower is one of the oldest flowers known to man, with a record of its usefulness dating as far back as over 2,000 years
As you read this, you can learn the following;
* Tips for Growing Indica Flower
* How to Effectively Prepare Indica Buds
* How to Recognize an Indica plant
* Pests and Diseases of Indica Flower
Tips for Growing Indica Flower
Start with the Right Strain: There are lots of strains of indica seeds in the market, and you have to select the right one for the environment you want to plant the flower. Here are some strains of indica flower that you can start with;
* Blueberry
* White Rhino
* Sensi Star
Trick to Vegetating Indica: You can determine how big your indica plant gets by altering the time it stays in a vegetative state. If you expose it to 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness daily, the indica flower blooms faster, and the plant grows taller.
Grow Small, Fast, and Full: If you want your indica flowers to have quality buds, then you need to grow your plant small and fast. This means growing as much as possible and allowing the indica flowers to spend a limited time vegging. There are two known methods for achieving this yield, they are the sea of green (SOG) and screen on the green (SCOG) method.
* Sea of Green: This method involves allowing your indica plant to veg for a few weeks, and then switch on the lights for the flowers to start blooming. The aim of this method is to create the perfect environment for the plants to stay small so that you can grow lots of them.
* Screen of Green: The aim of this method is to make your indica plants to grow horizontally rather than vertically. This is done by using a screen to train your indica flower.
Train for Higher Yields: Generally, indica plants don’t grow tall. However, you can train them to reach a tall height than they’ll naturally reach.
Give them Access to Cool Breeze: If you check the native regions of indica, one thing common to those regions is that they’re places where they can have access to a cool breeze. If you want them to thrive, you must plant them in a place where the temperature is between 10 degrees C to 15 degrees C every night.
Protect from Mold: A distinguishing feature of indica strains are their resinous, hard buds. Since they are a native of a region where there is often a scarcity of water, it means that they usually don’t have any resistance to bud root and molds.
Proper Drying and Curing: You still have some work to do after harvest. For a top-notch bud, they should be adequately cured.
How to Effectively Prepare Indica Buds
Here are some tips to prepare indica buds
* Put the bud in a dark environment
* Ensure that the dark environment is well ventilated
* Blowing artificial air directly to the indica buds only makes them dry outside, and this can result in your plant having molds.
* Remove any sugar leaves from the indica plant
* Cure the indica buds in a transparent container, and monitor the process
* Open the jar regularly so as to prevent moisture build-up. You can do this three times daily and for fifteen minutes each time.
How to Recognize an Indica Plant
This plant is usually short, and has dark greens leaves that are wide and stocky. The pure indica heirloom that’s native to the middle eastern country of Afghanistan is probably the most influential cannabis in the market. The bud that is usually associated with premium cannabis is from the indica.
9 out of 10 weeds in South America are from the indica lineage. The pure indica sativa is very rare in the market, as such, most of the cannabis in the market is a hybrid.
Indica is a very branchy plant that has a short intermodal spacing which makes them very perfect for planting indoors.
The most noticeable feature of the Indica plant is the shape of the leaves. Indica plants don’t grow more than 2m outdoors, and 1m indoors.
Pests and diseases of Indica Flower
One of the biggest problems with growing an indica plant is its diseases and pests. Here are some diseases any indica flower grower should be wary of:
Spider Mites
They are the most prominent pests for all indica flower growers. If this insect should affect your plant, and you leave the plant un-treated, it can kill your plant.
Mites are dot-like pests that can leave your plant with some yellow colored dots on its leaf.
You can easily detect these pests when you sprinkle clean water on its stems and leaves. You can then use a magnifying glass to look for mites and their eggs.
This can be treated by praying indica plants with pyrethrum or neem oil. You can also kill these pests by introducing ladybugs into the room where indica plant is being grown.
White Flies
Whiteflies also kill the indica plant gradually. These pests kill the plant by reducing the chlorophyll in the plant, thus, limiting the way it grows.
These pests live at the back of the leaves, and they can make a leaf to lose its green color. You can treat this problem by spraying your plant with pyrethrum on a weekly basis.
Fungus Gnats
The larvae of a fungus gnat attack the roots and seedling of your indica plant. You need to keep an eye for this infestation as they can spread very fast. Since their primary point of attacking the plant is the root, you should keep an eye out for the larvae at the base of the plant.
If you discovered that your plant has been suffering from the infestation of fungus gnat, you should apply gnatrol or bactimos. If you noticed the infestation at the medium, then you should dip the plant in a solution of insecticidal soap, or in neem oil.
The best way to prevent an infestation by fungus gnat is by ensuring that the soil where the indica plant is planted is not soggy.