The idea of ​​managing the conditions in which plants grow and flower is nothing new, of course. But crop steering is different from so-called “training” techniques, which push for results by physically stressing plants (bending branches, damaging or removing parts to boost growth). Crop steering is less invasive towards the plant organism and is relatively simpler. Sure, there are also more facets (you have to think about climate, humidity, lighting and so on) but it is worth it.

Unlike training, which cannot be applied too early and risks excessively stressing a young plant, crop steering can be done both in the vegetative and generative phases.

Here's what to do to apply crop steering to cannabis in the vegetative stage:

• Lighting: plants that receive blue spectrum light in the vegetative phase, similar to that which occurs naturally in spring, grow more robust. So in this phase, if you grow indoors, you can focus on metal halide lamps or special LED lamps that have the “veg” option.

• Temperature and humidity: in the vegetative phase, temperature and humidity are decisive factors. To push your seedlings to the maximum, a temperature of 25-30 degrees with humidity between 65 and 80% will be necessary.

• Fertilization: equipping yourself with an EC meter, which is the electrical conductivity value of the irrigation water, allows you to regulate the value of the nutrients that are introduced (because too much is bad, even with regards to fertilizers). In the vegetative phase the EC level should be around 2–4dS/m.

• Watering: The humidity present in the substrate for best growth should be 55–70%. With a moisture meter it will be easy to understand if it is necessary to water more or let the soil dry out.

Here are the values ​​needed to give a “boost” to the generative phase:

• Lighting: if before, in the vegetative phase, our cannabis wanted low intensity blue light, now that it is flowering it prefers the red light spectrum and a higher intensity. If you have specially designed LED lamps, just insert the “bloom” command. Otherwise replace the metal halide lamps with HPS lamps.

• Temperature and humidity: To maximize flowering, crop steering, like training, involves creating a certain amount of stress in “adult” plants. This can be achieved, for example, by lowering the temperature and humidity. Lowering the temperature to 15-25 degrees and humidity to 40-70% tells the plant that it is time to flower!

• Watering and fertilizing: during the flowering period the substrate must be watered more but left to dry longer. It is time to water when the humidity has dropped to 25% and to stop when it has reached 70%, allowing the substrate to dry at its own pace. The ideal EC value is instead 5–12dS/m.

These are the basics of crop steering and, as mentioned, they help cannabis plants grow better and produce healthier buds. Each grower, with experience, is then free to create his own personalized “recipe”. It is important not to stop at theory but to frequently check the health of the plants to verify that everything is proceeding well.