by Nebula Haze
Happy New Years 2023! It’s hard to believe we’re moving through the 2020s, and boy, does the world seem to be changing every day. One thing that helps ground a lot of people, myself included, is to make resolutions for the new year. I try to use New Years as a reason to make a fresh start and build my life the way I want going forward.
As a cannabis grower, I decided to put together some growing resolutions for 2023 about my plants and garden. I thought I’d share them with you, and if any of them inspire you we can do them together.
Nebula Haze’s 2023 Growing Resolutions
1.) Set up timelapse cameras in the grow space
My main goal with this resolution is to pay better attention to my plants. I used to use remote access cameras (Wyzecams) but I got lazy and stopped setting them up for new grows. I’m going to start using them again in 2023 because it’s way easier to pay close attention to plants when I can check on them from a smart phone. The Wyzecam’s night vision also lets me check on plants at night without interrupting their dark period.
Comparing how plants look now compared to the past helps me tell whether they look more droopy or less happy compared to yesterday. As a bonus, I’ll be able to release time lapses of my grows after the fact, which I think would be pretty neat especially for experiments so you can easily see how the two sets of plants compare to each other as they grow.
A Wyzecam lets me check on my plants from my phone.
I plan to hang a thermometer down in front of the camera so I can track the temperature and humidity, too.
A camera like this also allows me to make timelapse videos. I plan to make some cool timelapses for this year’s experiments, so I can show you how the different sets of plants grow compared to each other.
2.) Try new things (hydroponics, LEDs, new nutrients/supplements, etc.)
New growers tend to try new things all the time, but us old-timers often get stuck in a groove where we use the same nutrients, grow lights, grow styles, etc. I do a lot of side-by-side experiments and plan to do that more, which does shake things up. However, this year I plan to try grows in different grow setups, new LED grow lights, try new nutrients and supplements, and also grow a few hydroponic plants. I actually used to grow with hydroponics almost exclusively, but I switched to doing coco and/or soil around 2015 because that’s the most common grow method and I’m making tutorials just for you. However, I want to go back to my “roots” and grow some hydro plants in different systems so I can make new hydroponics tutorials and have fun doing it. Hydro is so cool.
I last grew hydroponic cannabis in DIY 10-gallon storage containers in 2015.
These homemade hydroponics containers were designed by Sirius Fourside (here’s the tutorial). This time I’ll probably try pre-made buckets (either this kind or this kind, maybe I’ll try both) because that would make it easier for new hydro growers to follow along than having to cut holes in the lid of a 10-gallon container (it’s easy with a hole saw, but difficult without proper tools).
Growing in a hydroponic setup is surprisingly easy once it’s set up, and the results are amazing. I can’t wait to try it again this year in 2023.
3.) Respond quicker to symptoms
I’m pretty good about checking on my plants, but sometimes I’ll ignore some discolored leaves, or not check on them every day. The time lapse camera helps, but it can be easy to forget especially when you get in a groove it’s easy to do the bare minimum instead of take some time to gaze at the plants and try to assess how they’re doing. This year I’m going to commit to checking on my plants every single day, seeing what the thermometer says, and actually examining some of their leaves/buds closely to spot problems early. Along the same lines, I think it’s common to sort of “look away” from plant problems and hope they go away on their own. In my experience, they rarely do. And often you will save yourself a lot of heartache to react quickly and stop a problem before it spreads to new plants.
- Check the pH if I see nutrient deficiencies
- Don’t ignore when getting hot or cold in the grow space
- Overall pay attention to the environment (especially in the flowering stage when buds are forming)
Example: These spots were caused because I ignored it getting cold at night in the grow space. If I’d reacted to the cold immediately, my plant leaves would have stayed pristine. I fixed this issue by switching my grow lights to turn on at night when it was getting chilly in the grow space, and the spots stopped.
No ignoring problems in 2023!
4.) Always keep learning
There are three main ways I learn about cannabis cultivation: general experience (growing tons of plants in various setups), side-by-side grow experiments, and learning directly from other growers. As long as I’m growing and doing experiments, I know my knowledge will grow, but often the best pieces of knowledge have come as random pieces of advice or tips from other growers. This year I plan to dive in more by talking to growers and learning about any new tips, equipment, or techniques that need to be shared with the world. Let me know if there’s anything you think I should know about growing.
5.) Enjoy weed in more ways
There are so many cool things you can do with weed, yet I often find myself getting in the pattern of just smoking it. After a long day, maybe try a cannabis tincture, or edibles, or gummies, instead of just the same old thing. Also, I think it’s worth experimenting with different times of day to enjoy weed. Some people have never smoked weed in the morning, but I think that’s an experience every cannabis enthusiast should try at least once (on a day off). Sometimes it’s helpful to take some time off from weed to see how that makes you feel. And, in my experience, weed always seems the best if I’ve taken a little break from smoking. It’s always a good idea to shake things up if you fall into a routine. So this year I plan to make fun stuff out of all the extra weed jars sitting in the back of my closet, and enjoy weed in more ways!
Firecrackers may be the easiest edible you can make with weed. Plus you get strong potency even if you only have a little weed to work with.
What are your growing resolutions for 2023? Do you have any growing tips to share that you’ve learned and believe more people should know? Contact us and let us know!
GrowWeedEasy.com has hundreds and hundreds of pages!
Check out some articles you may not have seen…
It Happens To Every Grower! – Running into problems is a natural part of becoming better at any task, and growing cannabis is no exception. Many growers beat themselves up for things going wrong with a plant, but we all have to learn to treat ourselves better when we run into momentary failures.
Avoid this Weird Nutrient Problem (Curse of the Measuring Spoons) – This article is surprisingly helpful for how simple the problem is. It’s surprising how a small problem (like a weird spoon) can end up diminishing the results of months of work. Learn this lesson from us and take a minute to make sure your spoons aren’t sabotaging your efforts.
[HLG Blackbird] 600W Premium LED Cannabis Grow Setup & Shopping List (up to 1.5 lb yield) – HLG makes beastly LED lights, period. And now that one of my favorite LEDs (ES300) is no longer on the market, HLG lights have become even more desirable than they already were. I’ll be doing a grow with this bad boy in a 4×4 so stay tuned in 2023 for pics of larger-sized LEDs.
