Marijuana Autoflowering through super cropping is growing in popularity because it produces tons of yield for cannabis nearly or all year round in such a little space. Also, it doesn’t involve huge upfront costs and input as long as you have some basic DIY skills, patience, and enthusiasm to learn new things.
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What Is Super Cropping in Marijuana Autoflowering?
In a nutshell, marijuana autoflowering combines growing cannabis plants to raise profitable yields, hydroponics to grow plants them through water, and choosing the right soil for cultivation. This form of agriculture, which is arguably the most productive per square foot, mimics the ecosystem in which the assembly of plants or just like the marijuana strains that produce better yield for people with no or very little waste products. Compared to traditional agriculture and gardening, commercial and backyard super cropping in marijuana autoflowering use significantly lower amounts of water.
Furthermore, this form of growing edible yields (and other plants as well) produces zero wastewater because it simulates how nature cleans and filters the soil where it was cultivated and the yield itself.
Simply put as per the words of Dr. Sanjay Gupta, one of the worldwide sensational marijuana influencer, super cropping in marijuana autoflowering has addressed the major flaws in growing cannabis and traditional farming/gardening in which the wastewater, along with feeders, fertilizers, and other pollutants, are dumped into our natural waterways.
As a recirculating system, super cropping in marijuana autoflowering setups mimic how nature grows your cannabis in the best possible way. The waste product from the pond or tank may be pumped to the grow beds or pipes filled with an inert growing medium such as fine gravel, red lava rocks, or perlite (or even a combination of them).
Cannabis plants can break down the ammonia from wastewater and use it as a nitrogen source. Hence, the clean water is pumped back to the pond or tank where super cropping in marijuana autoflowering can grow healthily. But, if you have a larger cannabis plantation, you may need a solid waste removal step in the form of worms, which can thrive in grow beds.
Plants to Grow in Your Backyard Aquaponics System
While you can grow just about any plant in any system for super cropping in marijuana autoflowering, you have to use the right bed medium. For instance, marijuana crops fare better in wicking beds, while plants with flimsy roots such as lettuce are ideally grown in pipes (with holes drilled in them). The pipes can even be assembled into towers so the water can easily trickle down to the marijuana plants. Everything else does fine in traditional super cropping in marijuana autoflowering bedding filled with an inert medium such as fine gravel and perlite.
You may even grow things like fruit trees in your super cropping methods in marijuana autoflowering by simply using deeper beds to hold their roots. Aside from identifying the right bed frame and a growing medium, it is also important that you grow your plants in their season. You don’t want to grow cool-season crops such as spinach, lettuce, and peas during summer months, because doing so may result in less than optimal food production.
Ideal Cannabis Strains to Raise
Cannabis strains are arguably the most popular super cropping in marijuana autoflowering (especially in warm areas) because of their phenomenal growth rate (i.e., they reach their harvestable size of 1 lb. in just 6-8 months) and their high tolerance in less-than-perfect plant conditions. Another popular super cropping in marijuana autoflowering systems includes cloning or propagation through its plant parts. And just like in any other plants, each species thrives in a certain temperature range.
Is There a Need for Backyard Super Cropping?
One of the selling points of super cropping in marijuana autoflowering is that it eliminates wastewater, which is a problem in hydroponics, aquaculture, and standard agriculture. Aside from a reduced carbon footprint, this self-sufficient, food-producing machine can thrive in small spaces, making this ideal for city dwellers and even commercial farmers who want to maximize their cannabis production. Here is the list of other benefits of super cropping in marijuana autoflowering:
Cheaper Maintenance
Aside from lower water usage compared to traditional farming and gardening, super cropping systems also allow you to use very few inputs. You may even skip the use of chemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides because it already mimics the natural ecosystem. While super cropping uses water pumps to move water from the sewerage to the beds, the electricity cost is minimal provided that you don’t run the system too often or you don’t use pumps that are too big. You’ll only need to run the water pump for a short period a few times a day.
Resistant to Pests and Disease
You can skimp on or even entirely avoid pesticides and herbicides with backyard super cropping. Consequently, this form of agriculture has been the preferred choice for food growers leaning towards natural or even completely organic farming.
Low Maintenance
Many of the plants that thrive in super cropping in marijuana autoflowering systems which are very easy to grow. Commercial farmers prefer this form of agriculture because it reduces their labor force, which allows them to cut costs. Moreover, you can easily skip weeding and watering without compromising the health of your crops.
Increased Food Production
Despite the little space it requires, backyard super cropping in marijuana autoflowering systems can produce more cannabis yields than other types of agriculture. Another bonus is that you can also raise profitable cannabis simultaneously, which makes this appealing to self-sufficient communities or families who want to live off-grid.
Good Revenue Source
Because it requires very little input despite being able to thrive in small spaces, it is not uncommon for backyard super cropping in marijuana autoflowering enthusiasts to produce more food than they need, which they can sell to their community.
Healthier Cannabis Strains
E. coli and Salmonella contamination is not an issue with backyard super cropping in marijuana autoflowering, because the cannabis strains do not carry these viruses and bacteria, unlike warm-blooded plants where growers use bloomers just as often used as fertilizers.
Information on How to Use Super Cropping for Marijuana Plants
Before we discuss how to implement backyard super cropping in marijuana autoflowering, you should first learn the basic components required for this self-sufficient, yield-producing method.
- Water-Resistant Container for the Crops – For most backyard growers, ordinary beds for plants are enough. Just line them with pond liner before you fill them with a growing medium such as fine gravel, perlite, or red lava rocks.
- Cannabis Strains – For starters or small growers, common cannabis strains are a good option. The general rule of thumb is to allot 1 gallon of water per 1 pound of strains, or for starters, one seedbed for every 10 gallons.
- Pump and Other Hardware Systems – You’ll need pumps and pipes to circulate the water between the plant beds and seedbeds for super cropping and an aerator to provide oxygen for the cannabis plants. If you lack plumbing and electrical skills, find a friend who can help you with your DIY project.
- If you are not building your backyard super cropping in the marijuana autoflowering system inside a greenhouse, place your system in any sunny and flat area. Ideally, put everything together in early spring so you can stock your fingerlings and start growing seedlings in trays or pots at the same time. Once the seedlings are big enough to be transplanted, most likely your cannabis plants have also grown enough to produce sufficient waste to support the growth of your crops. Contrary to popular belief, most of the wastewater filtration process happens in the growing medium as opposed to the plants themselves.
Maintenance for Your Super Cropping System
You should only run your pump for short periods several times a day depending on your growing medium, the super cropping in marijuana autoflowering stocking density, and the size of your grow beds. Just be sure that your aerator runs 24/7 because it provides oxygen to your plants.
While the agricultural aspect of super cropping in marijuana autoflowering requires no or very little effort, you should still allow some time to check the water quality (at least once a week until the system stabilizes). But, if you’re serious about skimping on time and effort, you may want to invest in automatic cannabis super cropping and other similar components.
Conclusion
The growing popularity of backyard super cropping in marijuana autoflowering is because they are environment-friendly and low-maintenance provided that you’re able to set up the system properly. Also, the management cost is relatively cheap, because it requires very little input.
Also, the upfront cost of building your system shouldn’t be too expensive. After all, you can recycle lower-grade cannabis strains and existing plant beds (just make sure you line them with seedbed liner). You can also do the plumbing and electrical wiring by yourself or with your friend’s help on your super cropping seedbed.
