Is wind bad for growing cannabis plants?
The answer to this question is yes, and no. Air movement is essential for cannabis plants because it can help prevent fungal growth and pest infestations. Unfortunately, if the wind is too strong there is a chance that your plant can be injured and suffer from malnutrition.
As with most crops; cannabis does well, and produces a good yield when sufficient airflow is present. Air circulation is essential for the health of your crops. A good breeze can encourage higher yields and boost the quality of marijuana buds. It does this by assisting the plant in achieving its best potential by removing potentially destructive factors (weak stems, pests, and mold).
A lack of sufficient airflow will make your plants weaker, and thinner, and they will dwindle. When there is a healthy amount of wind, the plants will sway and bend. This causes your cannabis plant to adapt by increasing growth. This growth usually produces stronger and thicker stems, with increased resistance to future stresses.
On the other hand, if the wind is too strong, you are likely to bring substantial damage to your crops. Let’s look at what can happen if you sit back and do nothing to protect your crops from the effects of winds that are too strong:
Effects of strong winds on cannabis plants
Good airflow is crucial for the growth of your cannabis plants. However, most plants cannot stand fierce winds and can suffer severe damage. High winds can shred your plants’ leaves, break the branches, bend the plant, and in the worst cases, it can uproot your precious plant completely. Read on to find out what can happen if you don’t protect them against this:
Injuries and abrasions
According to expert growers, strong winds can carry stones, sand, and hard particles that can injure, and even break, your marijuana stems. This will definitely affect the health and production of your cannabis.
Strong winds remove trichomes
Trichomes are tiny crystalline structures that coat your plants’ leaves, buds, and branches, making them appear whitish or “frosty”. They provide potency to cannabis plants by providing resin and cannabinoids. Strong winds can take away this vital part of the plant, decreasing its potency and leaving it with little CBD, THC, and several other cannabinoids.
Introduction of stress
Extremely strong winds can stress your cannabis plants, and they can even get sick. Such plants can grow weak, resulting in withered leaves, stalks, and stems that are unhealthy, stalks and stems that can break, and very poor bud production.
With all the issues that too much wind can cause, I am sure you are eager to know how to protect your cannabis plants.
How to protect weed plants from wind
There are several proven methods how to protect weed plants from wind. Most of these methods are highly effective and easier than you may think.
1. Erect a fence around your crops
The number one way you can protect your cannabis plants from damage by wind is to put up a fence around your marijuana plants. It is highly important that the fence is firmly set in the ground. It is also important that it does not allow much wind to get to your plants. When you are planting outdoors, you can easily check your weather and climate conditions online. Once you do that you can figure out the direction your strongest (and most damaging) winds are coming from. You can set up a windbreak fence – a fence that is between your crops and the wind. Alternatively, you can surround your cannabis plants with a fence. The advantage of a fence that surrounds your plants is that it acts as a barrier to animals that may want to investigate your crop.
If you do not have enough resources available to erect a modern fence, you can still go old school and erect a fence made out of sticks and reclaimed materials. Basically, you can intertwine the materials around each other and place them in the direction of the wind. While this does not afford the protection of a modern fence, it will still break up the wind.
2. Plant trees or crops around your garden
Another way to protect your crops from the wind is by planting trees or other crops around your marijuana plants. Although this can be limited by many factors including how much space you have available, the type of trees or crops, the amount of space they need, and how long you plan on keeping them in the area. Obviously, you don’t want to plant a redwood forest solely to protect one season’s crop of bud. ☺
3. Plant your cannabis closer to a wall
Planting, or transplanting, your marijuana closer to a wall is another effective way to protect your plants from the harsh effects of wind. This is especially effective if you have your plants in pots or containers that can be moved. The wall or building can act as a windbreak and minimize the damage that can be caused by high winds. Just remember to plan the placement of your plants to avoid the wind.
4. Staking
You must be very careful when staking your cannabis plants. Using a single stake, or tying too tightly can cause more harm than good. When you have high winds, the plant can snap at the tie-off point. You will need to erect at least two stakes and tie off your marijuana plant loosely. When you tie it off you can use a worn-out bicycle tire tube or some thick rope.
5. Wrapping your plants
Alternatively, you can wrap your plants in canvas or plastic wrapping. You do not want to do this tightly. If you have sticks to push into the ground as support, this is better. You will want to create an area around your cannabis plants using sticks. Then wrap that area in canvas or plastic. Canvas will allow more air to pass through, while plastic will allow for more light to pass through. I personally prefer the canvas method, but it is all dependent upon what you have available to you. Using this method is similar to erecting a makeshift fence, but it is different enough that I thought I would add it as another method. Wrapping your cannabis plants in canvas or plastic can help prevent wind damage. Some people have gone as far as wrapping the plant itself in canvas. I do not fully recommend this as an inexperienced grower can actually cause more harm than good.
Final thoughts
Is wind good for your weed plants? The answer to that question is yes! While it is vital to the health and growth of your marijuana plants that they have constant airflow, harsh winds can be dangerous and devastate your crop completely. “Feminized weed” refers to cannabis plants that have undergone genetic modification to ensure exclusive female plant production. The key advantage of using feminized weed seeds lies in their remarkable ability to yield predominantly female plants, negating the need to identify and remove male plants during cultivation. This efficiency can significantly boost your yield, as every nurtured plant contributes to bud production. However, it’s important to note that feminized seeds may require more careful attention to thrive under environmental stress compared to regular seeds. “Feminised seeds” is just another term for these specially engineered seeds.
The good thing is that now you know five ways to help control wind damage to your marijuana plants. Use this information to your advantage and happy growing!
