Low Stress Training (LST) is a method of training your plants that involves the bending of branches to allow maximum light penetration to all areas of the plant evenly.

There are a few different ways to allow light to reach the inner areas of the plant. Low stress training will help create an even canopy with buds that are more uniform in shape and size, while also reducing the amount of “larf” or less desirable material. It also gives you more control over your plants size, shape, and height.

The most common method of low stress training is tying branches down laterally. You can do this by taking some wire or string and tying it directly onto your pot. If there’s nowhere to tie it down, you can use any sort of clip to clip the string to your growing medium.

The LST Method

Below are some photos that demonstrate the LST method of tying the branches down.

Big thanks to ,@rubysautogrow & ,@eazycannabis for letting us use their photos!

LST Clips

Another common method that has become more prevalent is using the LST “clips.” Low stress training with the LST clip method involves simply bending the branches in the direction you want them to go and placing the branches into these neat little clips.

These clips can take a little getting used to, sometimes the branches can kind of “snap,” and that is definitely not what we want to accomplish when using the LST clips. What we do want to accomplish with light stress training is allow light into the lower branches of the plant. This can help provide a more even canopy, allow the lower branches to stretch, and it does not negatively affect the plants ability to grow. Amazingly, the plant will grow around the LST clips, basically adopting them as a part of its branch. If you use these clips and you feel like the branch is getting too wide for the clips, you can always remove them.

Examples

Here are a few examples of low stress training with clips.

Big thanks to ,@tombstones.trichomes & ,@the.ganjaranger for letting us use their photos!

These methods of low stress training essentially help with the same issues, and can help increase your yield while also decreasing the amount of stress you would normally run into with other methods of training. The only difference in these two methods is that one connects the pot to the plant’s branches with wire or string, and the other is located only on the branches itself and does not involve attaching your branch to the pot’s exterior.

Defoliation

In contrast to low stress training methods, another common method of training is defoliation. Defoliation is known as high stress training. Defoliation is defined plainly as removing above ground plant material. This method of high stress training often comes with many questions like “Do I do it?” “How much do I do?” “When do I do it?” It’s completely normal to ask these questions, considering if high stress training is executed improperly – then it could cause stunted, malformed, or even dead plants.

When defoliating, you want to keep in mind that the leaves are the batteries of the plant, and they are needed to carry out the photosynthesis process. We have a rule of thumb in the multiverse when it comes to defoliation: if the leaf is causing more harm than good, it should be removed. What causes more harm than good? The determining factor is whether the leaf is covering a budsite or not. If a fan leaf is covering a main budsite that is lower down the plant and it is not getting adequate light, it will cause that budsite to be underdeveloped from the rest of the budsites.

Having too much biomass or foliage can cause humidity issues that lead to bud rot, mold, and mildew. Thinning out an abundance of leaves can improve air flow to the buds and branches, while also decreasing the chances of getting a mold or mildew issue. When thinning out your biomass, keep in mind: less is more – you can always take more off but you can never put it back.

Contact Multiverse Beans

If you’re interested in learning more about how relative humidity affects your beans, check out our blog post titled “MultiverseBeans Seed Storage Guide.”

Leave a comment below and let us know how low stress training has improved your crop! You can also reach out to us with questions or comments via our online contact form. Check out our online cannabis seed bank to buy cannabis seeds online today.

pH is something that is crucial to your autoflowers and its importance cannot be overstated. pH is an abbreviation for potential of hydrogen. It is important when growing autoflowers because it is how your plant uptakes nutrients. In this post, we will go over what you need to do to understand pH a little more and how to apply your newly gained knowledge to grow your autoflowers and photoperiods alike!

Defining pH

Without getting too boring or “sciency,” let’s take a little crash course on pH. pH is the scale that determines how basic or acidic something is. This is key to growing autoflowering cannabis because if a soil is too basic or too acidic, it will not uptake nutrients properly from the soil or hydro medium you grow in.

******THIS ARTICLE IS FOR SOIL, NOT COCO OR HYDRO!******

Adjusting your pH is something that you need to stay on top of and maintain. It is not a hard thing to do – and I cannot stress this enough – it’s very important. This is especially true if you are working with “bottled” or “salt based” nutrients. For soil mediums, you want to maintain a pH between 6.5 and 6.8. That is the ideal range of which most micro and macro nutrients are absorbed into a soil medium.

Here is a chart that shows which different nutrients are absorbed at different pH levels.

Maintaining Proper pH

The following are the proper steps to take to ensure that your root zone maintains a proper pH. If you are using “bottled” or “salt based” nutrients that you will be adding on a regular basis, these steps need to be taken EVERY SINGLE TIME. There are no exceptions to this process.

1. Get a pH meter – or at a bare minimum, litmus test strips. The latter will get you within a range, a meter will get a more specific and accurate reading.

2. Test the pH of the water BEFORE watering your autoflowers. This will let you know what your water is all the time. We like to call it a baseline. If your water is way outside the range of acceptable nutrient uptake (like above 8 or below 6), you will need to test the pH of your water every time you water your plants.

3. When you add nutrients, microbes, recharge, etc. to your water, add them to your water first, THEN check the pH. This will let you know if you need to adjust your pH up or down to achieve the range from the chart above.

4. Get something to adjust the pH level of your water. There are plenty of cheap solutions on the internet when you do a quick google search. There are also many organic “around the house” type of options. For the sake of this article we will assume you have one of those methods available to you. If you have a reading of 4.8 you will need to add a small amount of pH UP, then recheck the pH, based on this reading you will again go up or down. Keep in mind that less is more with pH adjusting solutions. Adding small amounts and rechecking is the best way to avoid adding excess to your water.

5. Once you have gotten your solution of water and you added nutrients etc. to within the range of 6.5 – 6.8 let it stand for 12 hours, then recheck the mix. If the solution has drifted to outside the acceptable range repeat step 4 from above.

In Conclusion

This is a way to give your plants the best ability to get those nutrients we spend so much money on! Multiverse Beans is your one stop shop for the best beans in the galaxy! Stay tuned for our next educational article. We’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback! Follow us on Facebook and let us know some article topics you would like to see us write about.

Have you ever had trouble getting your autos to “look like the ones online” or are your autos “small” compared to others you’ve seen? Most folks have, and we here at Multiverse see it much more often than we would like. So, we want to try and address the absolute most common issue we see when it comes to growing great autoflowers.

Watering: Challenges and Solutions

That main issue is watering! Watering autos, especially at first, is by far the most important thing when it comes to getting them to grow to their full potential. With autoflowering cannabis, less is more. These plants don’t need a lot of water. In fact, they can very easily have too much water. That is the most common issue we see – overwatering! Overwatering can cause so many issues, especially with young plants.

Optimal Hydration

Let’s talk a little about how the root(s) grow and how to have optimal hydration for your autoflowering plant throughout its entire life. When the plant is young (its first few weeks of life), its roots are in a constant state of “searching.” The roots are searching for optimal nutrition and optimum hydration levels. If there is too much water present in the medium, the roots have no need to seek out that moisture. They basically drown because there isn’t enough oxygen to allow them to do their thing. The roots grow in the humid space between the very moist soil and the very dry soil, therefore giving them the proper amount of water at the beginning is essential. Unlike photoperiod cannabis, autos only have a certain amount of time to establish a large root system prior to the flowering phase of life.

Watering Your Autoflowers: Best Practices

Here is a good rough guide to get your autos to start on their best foot forward when it comes to watering.

Step 1

You always want to “water in” your new seedlings. This is basically just the process of pre-moistening your soil before placing the seed or seedling in the pot. To water in, you want to take a handful or so of soil out of the pot and make a hole. In this hole, you want to pour enough water until you get a kind of mud soup in the hole. A slurry is what you want. After the water has drained, you can place your seed or seed plug in the pot.

Note: ** If sewing your auto straight into the soil, take some of the dirt that was removed from the hole and place it back in the hole. It should suck that wet soil up through osmosis and provide a perfect place for your Multiverse Beans seed! ** This should provide enough water in and around the seedling for at least 3 days, in most cases it will be 5 days (this is dependent on your temperature and humidity).

Step 2

After the medium has gone through a “dryback” period (which means the soil has been drying out) of anywhere from 3-7 days, you can water. Again, keep in mind that less is more! I have always used a medicine cap (like the ones that come on a bottle of NyQuil or Pepto Bismol). Fill this with regular water (no nutes), and pour it in a circle about an inch away from the stem. You don’t want the area right around the stem to be too moist. Too much moisture can cause dampening off, so give an inch or two of dry soil in the center of your water ring.

This will last approximately 3 days, but again this depends on your environment. If you have a very humid environment with little airflow, it will take longer than if you have a very dry environment with high airflow.

Step 3

Once your leaves reach the outer edge of the pot, saturate the entire pot moving forward. When watering your autos, slower is better, and less is more. When you saturate your entire pot for the first time, do it slowly. The slower, the better. Remember that the soil acts like a sponge or piece of paper towel. When you water slowly, you water totally and evenly and more efficiently. Watering too fast can lead to dry pockets of soil that have become hydrophobic; this prevents root growth to those areas. You don’t want your soil too dry, and you don’t want it too moist at any stage throughout its lifetime. Finding out what is too wet or too dry is something that you will get an understanding of as time goes on and more auto grows are under your belt. It is a learning process.

Contact Multiverse

Contact us to learn more. We look forward to helping you out with all your growing needs. Don’t forget to follow us on our socials and join our Facebook Group!

Hey everyone! We have gotten a lot of questions about the best way to store seeds. This is great because it means the MVB fam is buying lots of seeds! In this article, we will go over the best way to store your beans from the Multiverse.

Cannabis Seed Storage Considerations

Something to keep in mind about cannabis seeds, is that they are inherently hearty! They have evolved to withstand lots of different kinds of environments.

Moisture and Darkness

One thing cannabis seeds are not designed to withstand is moisture! In this article, we are going to be very redundant on a couple of things. Those things are moisture and darkness. Temperature is important, but its importance lies more along the lines of maintaining a steady temperature versus a certain temperature. The best way to store cannabis seeds is in a very dry and dark place that has a steady temperature.

Ideal Storage Methods

There are many of different methods for achieving this. Let’s go over a few of them.

Light Proof Container

Your first step is to get a light proof container. This is easy! Basically, the only thing that the container needs to be is light proof. A quick Google search for “cannabis seed storage containers” will provide plenty of options. They can range from jars, to bags, and even to a locking safe. Keep in mind that your container should be able to fit either one specific strain, or you can get a container that allows for multiple strains. When you place the seeds in a lightproof container, place some cotton swabs or cotton balls in the container, this provides a barrier layer for protection against moisture.

Relative Humidity

The next step is making sure that the moisture, or relative humidity (RH), is in the proper range. Too little humidity can cause pest issues, but too high humidity can cause your beans to rot. Here is a RH chart to explain the different relative humidity levels and how they affect cannabis seeds and cannabis seed storage.

Below 8% RH:
At these levels, any pests or insects around the seeds become active, may start reproducing, and thus damaging the seeds.
8–10% RH:
The risk of pests still exists, but it’s the optimal relative humidity (RH) for long-term storing of cannabis seeds.
12–14% RH:
Fungi flourish in these conditions, which harms the seeds and affects their ability to germinate later.
18–20% RH:
The seeds may sweat in this condition, and the moisture (and any heat) can cause them to rot.
20–30% RH:
These levels are ideal for storing cannabis seeds for short-term use.
40–60% RH:
When you increase the RH to 40–60%, seeds may start germinating. These are the optimal levels for cultivating most strains of cannabis.
70–100%
These levels are too high for storing cannabis seeds.
Within 12 hours, they’ll start drowning, wilting, and dying.

Controlling RH Levels

There are a couple of different ways to control your RH levels. You can use desiccant packets – also known as silica gel packets. These are the little bag things that come in new shoes, beef jerky, etc. You know you found one when you go to pull up a piece of jerky but instead get a packet that says DO NOT EAT. A quick google search for “seed storage desiccant packs” will provide you with plenty of options to buy them. PLEASE REMEMBER: store the packets in a sealed container with a desiccant pack that will absorb moisture, but please DO NOT PLACE THE DESICCANT PACKET DIRECTLY IN THE SEED PACKETS. For some, this is overkill. To many people, storing seeds usually isn’t a long-term process, but instead just a few months or weeks.

Freezer or Refrigerator

If storing your seeds for the short term, the easiest and most foolproof method is going to be to store them in a refrigerator or freezer. We recommend storing in a fridge instead of a freezer. Temperatures that are too low, like in the freezer, can cause the seed to thaw as it warms up to room temperature. This may lead to issues with germination. Moisture is the enemy here!

In Conclusion

For 95% of people, setting the seeds in a lightproof container in a dark drawer is plenty enough care for them to last until they are ready to be used. Sometimes, we in the “industry” can over-complicate things. Storing your seeds is one of those things that doesn’t need to be overthought. If your cannabis seeds are in a dark, dry, and stable place. They will be good for a long, long time. With that being said, storing cannabis seeds is easy. If you maintain those three things: DRY, DARK, and STABLE, your cannabis seed storage should be a breeze!

Contact Us

To learn more about cannabis seed storage, or to buy cannabis seeds online, contact Mulitverse Beans. We’re here to help you make informed decisions and grow the best buds possible.

What is CBG?

CBG is shorthand for cannabigerol. This compound is one of many that are known as cannabinoids. In general, most commercially available cannabis strains are high in THC (the psycho-active compound in cannabis) but low in all other cannabinoids, including CBG. However, some breeders have created high CBG strains, such as Royal CBG Automatic, which possesses an average of 6-8% CBG.

How Is CBG Produced?

During the flowering stage, cannabis plants produce small structures on the exterior of flowers, called trichomes. These structures play many different roles for the plant, such as pest prevention and management, moisture retention, and UV ray protection. The ability to accomplish these tasks can be attributed to the physical structure of the trichome, but is more often attributed to the cannabinoids that they produce.

At the beginning stages of cannabinoid production, the cannabinoid CBGA (cannabigerolic acid) acts as the precursor for THCA, CBDA, and CBCA, among many other cannabinoids. CBGA starts as the most abundant cannabinoid, then eventually becomes minor as it gets converted. To obtain high amounts of CBG in the final product, the grower can go down two routes; either harvest very early in the flowering stage, which will stop the CBGA conversion from happening, but will result in poor yields, or grow seeds such as seedsman CBG #1, or CBG force, which have been genetically selected to avoid the conversion of CBGA.

How Does CBG Affect The Body?

CBG is a non-psychoactive substance. This means that when used (smoked, ingested, or applied topically), it will not get you ‘high’. In most cases, the effects that come from cannabinoids are due to how they react with the endocannabinoid system. The most commonly reported use for CBG is for depression and anxiety management. As CBG reacts with the body, it has the ability to help regulate mood and stress. Another widely reported use for CBG is management/ reduction of chronic pain.

CBG Over CBD

Currently, CBG is considered to be a better option for anti-inflammatory purposes compared to CBD or THC. Those affected by glaucoma have reported a reduction in intraocular eye pressure. CBG is also a great option for fighting insomnia. Taken before bed, CBG can have a powerful relaxing effect that can help put you to sleep and keep you asleep until the morning.

Recommended Strains

Growing your own CBG can be a rewarding and cost effective way to get your daily dose. Whether you grow for medicinal purposes or for recreational use, Multiverse Beans has a few strain recommendations for you:

  • CBG Force Photo – Known for large yields and a stealthy terpene profile, this strain is an all around well balanced CBD strain.
  • CBG#1 – With a profile of 16.9% CBG and flavors of tangy berries and a hint of citrus, this strain is a great choice for anyone needing something that can really knock out symptoms of pain while having a great and unique taste.
  • Royal CBG Automatic – This strain contains about 6-8% CBG, but has only 0.08% THC. If you’ve tried cannabis for pain relief in the past, but the high THC content caused unwanted effects, then this is the strain for you. All of the benefits with none of the drawbacks that are caused by THC.

Contact Multiverse Beans

To learn more about CBG, or to buy cannabis seeds online, contact Multiverse Beans now.

Marijuana might be federally prohibited, but the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has effectively acknowledged that the plant’s seeds are generally uncontrolled and legal, regardless of how much THC might end up being produced in buds if those seeds were cultivated.

Recent Legislation

The DEA recently carried out a review of federal statute and implementing regulations in response to an inquiry from attorney Shane Pennington regarding the legality of cannabis seeds, tissue culture and “other genetic material” containing no more than 0.3 percent THC.

The agency affirmed that while it used to be the case that marijuana seeds were controlled—full stop—that’s no longer the case because of the federal legalization of hemp, as Pennington discussed in an edition of his On Drugs newsletter on Substack on Monday.

Following the enactment of the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp has been excluded from the Controlled Substances Act’s (CSA) definition of marijuana, making it so all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L. are uncontrolled as long as they don’t exceed 0.3 percent THC.

“Accordingly, marihuana seed that has a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis meets the definition of ‘hemp’ and thus is not controlled under the CSA,” Terrence L. Boos, chief of DEA”s Drug & Chemical Evaluation Section wrote in the letter, dated January 6. “Conversely, marihuana seed having a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis is controlled in schedule I under the CSA as marihuana.”

Because both hemp and marijuana seeds generally contain nominal THC levels that wouldn’t exceed the legal threshold, DEA is essentially conceding that people can have cannabis seeds no matter how much THC the resulting plant might produce, as long as the seeds themselves contain less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC. Of course, it continues to be federally illegal to use any cannabis seeds with the intent of growing still-prohibited marijuana.

“In my view, the letter is significant because we continue to see confusion over the source rule—the argument that the legal status of a cannabis product hinges on whether it is ‘sourced’ from marijuana or hemp—influencing legislative proposals even at the federal level,” Pennington told Marijuana Moment.

“Now that we know that the legality of the ultimate ‘source’ of both hemp and marijuana plants (their seeds) hinges on delta-9 THC concentration alone, reliance on the source rule is much harder to defend,” Pennington said. “I’m hopeful this will clear up a lot of confusion in this area of law.”

Beyond Cannabis Seeds

The new DEA letter also clarifies that “other material that is derived or extracted from the cannabis plant such as tissue culture and any other genetic material that has a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis meets the definition of “hemp” and thus is not controlled under the CSA.”

Pennington and Zorn are no strangers to DEA. The attorneys have an extensive history of litigating against the agency on cannabis and broader drug policy issues, helping to break the federal monopoly on marijuana cultivation for research purposes, for example.

Zorn is also involved in a separate challenge to DEA’s proposal to ban five psychedelic compounds. Researchers and advocates scored a procedural victory in that case in February after the agency’s own administrative court agreed to hold hearings on the matter before the prohibition can be enacted.

Meanwhile, DEA officials last year clarified to state regulators that an increasingly popular, psychoactive cannabinoid known as delta-8 THC is not a controlled substance under existing statute.

The agency officials said that only products containing more than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC—the most commonly known intoxicating cannabinoid—is controlled, but the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp does not explicitly ban THC isomers.

Psilocybin

Separately, a bipartisan group of members of Congress sent a letter to DEA in January, urging the agency to let terminally ill patients have access to psilocybin. Lawmakers said DEA is “obstructing access to psilocybin for therapeutic use consistent with the letter and intent Right to Try (RTT) laws.”

Congress and 41 states have adopted right-to-try laws, which allow patients with terminal conditions to try investigational medications that have not been approved for general use. Lawmakers said that DEA “has failed to abide” by the law.

DEA has increased production quotas for the production of certain psychedelics like psilocybin in an effort to promote research, but its scheduling decisions have continued to represent obstacles for scientists—a point that’s been repeatedly echoed by the head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.