A simple garden growing hack to increase cannabis yield.

Cannabis has been growing in the wild for thousands of years. Before any human manipulation, this stuff grew as wild as it wanted with only the sun as its guide. There were no feeding schedules; no such thing as stress training of any kind. It’s crazy to think of the yields that wild cannabis produces on southern facing hills, brimming with buds without intervention. It’s a different story indoors, where space is limited, and plants cannot stretch their limbs as far. As an indoor grower, you might be wondering, if only there was a way to push our own grows to match their max yield in outdoor spaces, and maybe even surpass it. Lucky for you, there is and it’s called “trellising” your cannabis garden. Not to be confused with a wooden trestle, the trellis net can be the difference between a good yield and a “HOLY GUACAMOLE!” yield. It can also help in keeping a clean grow that is easy to manage, and makes for beautiful, evenly dispersed branches. Finally, and most importantly, it can be the tool that allows you to stress train your plants. This is how growers achieve maximum yield.  Learn how to trellis your cannabis garden from an experienced Denver grower by reading more!

To keep it simple, it’s a net used for growing plants in an organized way. This tool isn’t just for cannabis. Many growers use it for flowers and vegetables to keep things neat and encourage growth. More importantly, it gives plants a place to grow upward and outward. That is what they really love – unbound growth, just like their wild counterparts. Trellised cannabis plants growing side-by-side. Photo Credit: David Martin Most flowers aren’t terribly heavy, but think about a tomato or a cannabis flower. By the time that top cola is juicy with resin, the stem often struggles to support the tippy-tops. These top-heavy stems have a tendency to bend and pretty much appear to flop over. This is why you need the trellis net.  Let your babies grow tall and strong as they want by giving them a brace. It also opens the door for bending and stress-training for added light penetration and light disbursement. Using a trellis also allows for easy and clean understory (otherwise known as lollipopping); they go hand in hand. The difference in your yield could go from ½ pound per light to over 2 pounds per light. A grower doesn’t NEED to trellis their cannabis garden, but skipping out means passing up a lot of benefits.

Truthfully, your plants will be just fine. They will still grow and yield plenty of colas, just as they would in an unmanned, outdoor situation. Passing on the trellis cannabis net, however, can create unnecessary problems. Have you ever walked down an aisle of a commercial grow room that wasn’t properly trellised? It’s almost like walking through a crowd of people as a famous person. Each of your fans has their hand out and basically whaps you as you pass by. In addition to increasing yield, trellises eliminate a dozen other, smaller issues that when taken as a whole can really add up.

There are two types of trellis netting you can use. The first one is made of nylon and is similar to kite string. It’s very sturdy and stays taught without ripping. This type of trellis will be just fine in your cannabis garden, however, this type tends to stick to the cannabis resin a lot more. It gets caught on the colas and can make harvesting a sticky nightmare. The tiny fibers can be found later in trimming and are tough to remove. The most common trellis used are plastic or nylon. Photo Credit: Shutterstock The other popular type of cannabis trellis is plastic. This is by far the preferred method when it comes to harvesting the sticky stuff. It unrolls nicely, and stays intact, so won’t be found by trimmers down the road.

Younger plants in the vegetative state need to be carefully trellised to avoid improper vertical growth. Photo Credit: David Martin There is no “too soon” with trellis necessarily. The plants will grow and find the net in time. Wait until 2-3 weeks into the veg stage if you are not moving the plants into another room or tent to bloom. This gives the most space to work with your babies without netting in your face just yet. If you are transferring your plants to different spaces for flowering, go ahead and wait until then.

Here are the steps on how to properly trellis your cannabis. The technique may vary depending on where you are growing. These steps are best in commercial grows but can be applied to grow tents and even outdoor grows. Keep in mind, at least 2-3 people may be needed to accomplish a setup.

We hope this helps your future trellising endeavors that lead you to better yields and happier harvests.

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