What Is Indica And What Is Sativa?

Indicas originally come from the hash producing countries of the world like Afghanistan, Morocco and Tibet. They are short dense plants, with broad leaves and often grow a darker green. After flowering starts they will be mature in 6 to 8 weeks. The buds will be thick and dense, with flavors and aromas ranging from pungent skunk to sweet and fruity. The smoke from an Indica is generally a body type stone, relaxing and laid back. Indica's higher CBD than THC equals a much heavier, sleepy type of high.

Indica plants heavy, sleepy high is relaxing and can help different medical problems. Indica yield is usually higher than Sativa, and has a shorter growing season. They are better for indoor growing because they don't get as tall. Indica plants are short, bushy, mature early, and have more chlorophyll and less accessory pigments (accessory pigments protect the plant from excessive sunlight).

As indica strains have more chlorophyll than sativa they grow and mature faster. Combining different indicas, different sativas or a combination thereof creates hybrids. The resulting hybrid strains will grow, mature and smoke in relationship to the indica/sativa percentages they end up containing.

Sativa

Sativas can be found round the equator. Sativas are usually larger plants and often don't smell as much as indicas. Sativas keep growing during the flowering period, which usually lasts 9 to 12 weeks. The effect is more of a 'high', which is usually energetic and cerebral high. 100% Sativas are Royal Thai (bronze), Citral Sativa (bronze)

Sativas are just about the opposite of Indicas. They are tall, thin plants, with much narrower leaves and grow a lighter green in color. They grow very quickly and can reach heights of 20 feet in a single season. They originally come from Colombia, Mexico, Thailand and Southeast Asia. Once flowering has begun, they can take anywhere from 10 to 16 weeks to fully mature. Flavors range from earthy to sweet and fruity.

Sativa's higher THC than CBD equals cerebral, resulting in a more energetic soaring type of high, which can stimulate brain activity and may produce hallucinations. Sativa plants have less chlorophyll and more accessory pigments, protecting the plant from excessive sunlight. As Sativa strains have less chlorophyll than Indica, they take longer to grow, mature, and require more light. Sativa typically takes longer to germinate and flower, and grows taller and ganglier than Indica breeds. The yield is usually lower than Indica, but is very potent.

Thai Sativa grows taller and has a longer flowering period, so they are better suited for outdoors.

Preferred method is: Place the tissue in between two plates (one upside down on top of the other). Put the seeds in between the tissue and moisten it. Keep it moist continiously, have a room temperature of 20 to 25 degrees centigrade and check this daily. Usually after approximately 2 to 3 days the seeds will germinate and show a white root. Place the seedling in a small pot or rockwool just beneath the soil's surface (2-3 mm). Moisten the soil with a spraycan using just lukewarm water or water with a startbooster or rootstimulator. Check if it's moist enough daily.  

Humidity (> 80%) is essential for the seedling to grow into a small plant. Use either a small progator with perlite and water in it or cover the pot with plastic foil with some holes punched in it. In this growth stage the plant needs 18 hours of light, using preferably a tl 33 lamp (white light) or something similar. After about a week or if the plant is 5 to 10 cm in height transplant the plant into a bigger pot. In the growing stage you should use as little as possible fertilizer since the soil already contains fertilizer and the plant is small and doesn't require too much nutrients.

There are two known, proven methods to feminize seeds. Both have their advantages. In general using acid provides more stable seeds, but it is much more difficult. To be able to work with GA3 you would have to have a solid chemistry background. Gibberellic Acid-3 (GA-3) is a naturally occurring plant growth regulator which may cause a variety of effects including the stimulation of seed germination in some cases. GA-3 occurs naturally in the seeds of many species and is produced commercially by growing Gibberella fujikuroi fungus cultures in vats, then extracting and purifying the GA-3.  

A great deal of research needs to be done to determine which species benefit, and the proper concentration of GA-3 for each type. This was the first method to feminize crops, also used in the orange industry.   

The introduction of the STS method proved to be a revolution. Now everyone could easily make feminized seeds. Seed banks started cropping up like mushrooms. The one thing most of them forgot was to take time to produce seeds. The time factor is often ignored by seed banks. They just want to bring the seeds onto the market as soon as possible.  

Plants used to produce seeds should ideally be 5^th or 6^th generation. It is a long and arduous process of selecting the best mother and ‘father’ plants to produce seeds. Fathers off course, being female plants (mother plants), which will later on in their flowering period be sprayed with either STS or GA3. This will stress the plant and these female plants will form male flowers, small balls at the internodes, which hold pollen. The pollen will be used to pollinate the mother plants (female plants). These female plants will eventually produce the seeds.  

The process of selection goes like this: you start off with regular seeds, growing them and taking clones from the best female plants in the first two weeks of the flowering period. These plants are selected by looking at; the roots, strength, health, uniformity, stability and progress of flowering of the plant. You take several plants, which are in an identical condition. After taking clones you again repeat the selection process,   until you have reached 5^th or 6^th generation clones. This is when the plants genetics are at their prime and are stable and uniform enough to start to produce seeds.  

Not all plants respond accordingly to the treatment with GA3. There are varieties that can only be feminized by using STS (Silver Thiosulfate). Moreover there are plants which simply cannot be feminized successfully. They show a too high occurrence in hermaphrodites or male plants per 1000 seeds. Per variety it differs if this incidence results in either a male or a hermie plant.  

Therefore you should always pay extra attention to your plants in the first few weeks of the flowering. Hairs at all internodes mean this is a female plant. However, if you see balls forming at the internodes you either have a male plant (only balls) or a hermie. A Hermaphrodite plant displays both female flower (small hairs at the internodes) as well as male flowers (small balls at the internodes).  

You can either remove these plants. Else they will pollinate the female plants after opening. Or you can just keep track of these plants and squeeze off the balls with a pair of tweezers. Repeat this process as long as necessary. Eventually the plant will stop producing these male flowers and continue growing into a female.

White widow is regarded as head of the “White” family. It often has been used to form other ‘white strains’ or shares genetic material with other ‘white’varieties.  Common denominators are that white strains share genetic material, are covered in trichomes, have a high THC level and have a powerful high.  

White strains are: AK, Blue Berry, Bubblegum,  Crystal White, Power Plant,  Snow White and White Widow.

You might see a crack in the outside bark, but this will heal. Leave the plant for a few days to minize stress. Elbows will start to form where the branch has been bent. Allowing the branch to grow laterally first, before growing up again. Exposing the lower nodes and buds to full light. And to provide space for them to become big buds. Rather than sitting in the shade of leaves and big buds. It also helps strengthen the main stalk. This should only be done during the vegetative period.

Plant requires 2 to 3 weeks to change its metabolism, so change from growing to flowering. Then no more enzymes. When flowering starts cut some branches. Start at the bottom. This is beneficial to the plant because:
1) Improve the airflow under the plant.
2) When growing outdoor animals will not be able to climb the plant
3) Focus growth on the main bud

Flush once with a flushing solution of 5.5 PH and 1.2-1.3 EC level to keep salts from building up. PH 5.8.

Clones EC 0.4-0.6
Young plants 1.2-1.8
Flowering plant 1.8-2.2