**these terms have been added by various users. feel free to edit the definitions to make them better or add other terms that you see fit, thanks.** "Glossary of Terms"18/6: Time normally associated with the vegetative stage of growth i.e. 18 hours of light to 6 of darkness.
12/12: Timing used to initiate the flowering stage of the plant i.e. 12 hours light to 12 hours darkness.
" A "
Abiotic Stress: Stress caused by non-living environmental factors. E.g: Frost, Wind, Hail, Drought.
Absorb: To draw or take in; Rootlets absorb water and nutrients.
AC (alternating current): An electric current that reverses its direction at regularly occurring intervals; Homes have AC.
Acid: A sour substance; An acid or sour soil has a low pH. (See Also: PH)
Active Hydro: A hydroponic system that actively moves the nutrient solution.
Adobe: Heavy clay soil that drains slowly; Adobe is not suitable for container gardening.
Aeration: To supply soil and roots with air or oxygen. Air stones etc. are various ways to do this. This term also refers to loosening or puncturing the soil to increase water penetration.
Aeroponics (Aero): Amethod of growing that utilizes a hydroponic solution vaporized into anaerosol solution with misters.This nutrient fog envelopes the rootsystem of the plant, allowing for maximum absorption of both oxygen andnutrients. As th
e vapor condenses, it is channeled back to a central reservoir and re-vaporized.
*Is said to be 10x more efficient than standard soil and 30% more efficient than standard Hydroponic systems* (Citation Required)
Aggregate: A substrate that is of nearly uniform size and used for the inert hydroponic medium.
Air layering: A specialized method of cloning a plant which is accomplished by growing new roots from a branch while the branch is still connected to the parent plant.
Alkaline: Refers to soil, or any substance, with a pH over 7.
Alternate host: One of two kinds of plants on which a parasitic fungus must develop to complete its life cycle.
Annual: Completing life cycle in one year
Aphids: Are small plant-eating insects. They feed on
sap and phloem, somewhat intravenously, and are prey to a multitude of
larger insects. Depending on the type of aphid, they could be
disastrous. Many carry viruses that are susceptible to plants;
sometimes it can kill the plant.
Usually, they are harmless and
just "graze", looking for more sap. Ants are often nearby, moving them
to areas where the aphids might produce more food, since ants eat the
byproducts of aphids. It's very much like the relationship between man
and cow.
Awn: A slander bristle-like appendage usually at the end of a structure.
" B "Bacteria: Very small, one-celled plants that have no chlorophyll.
Bactericide: A chemical compound that kills or inhibits bacteria.
Bag seed: The common term given seed of unknown origin that was found in a bag of cannabis
Ballast: A transformer used to supply current and power to HID Bulb. Ballasts come as either a HPS or MH ballast, and has a Watt rating of usually either 250, 400, 600 or 1000 Watts. Each Watt rating requires a
bulb of an equal rating to run. E.g: One 600 Watt HPS Ballast must run one 600 Watt HPS Bulb.
BHO (Butane Honey Oil): A method of extracting the trichomes from plant matter. Butane gas strips the trichomes from the plant matter, and collects on a dish. The butane is evaporated away, leaving a very high potency oil.
Biennial: Completing the life cycle in two growing seasons. Cannabis is not biennial.
Biological Control: insects or organisms introduced as a
"Biological control" to the grow area to treat or avoid an infestation of
harmful insects or organisms.
Bleach: Household laundry bleach is used in a mild water solution to sterilize grow rooms and as soil fungicide.
Blight: Rapid death of a leaf
Blood Meal: This organic fertilizer is very high in nitrogen and is very soluble in water (unlike most other dry organic fertilizers). It also contains plant growth regulators. All this together means that its effect is strong and quick, but its power will only last a short while, especially in wet weather. When applying blood meal, take care, as it will easily burn a plant's leaves.
Blossom booster: Fertilizer high in phosphorus and potassium that increases flower yield and weight.
Blotch: A disease characterized by large irregular spots on a leaf.
Bonsai: A very short or dwarfed plant. A great tutorial is located
CLICK HERE by Dr.Penguin if you are interested in this sort of thing.
Bract: A small leaf or scale-like structure associated with and subtending an inflorescence or cone.
Bubble (also bubble bags): A method of making hash that separates the trichomes from the plant matter using ice water and gentle agitation. The water is then filtered through bags that contain a fine mesh screen which collects the trichomes.
Bud blight: A withering condition that attacks flower buds.
Buffer: A substance that reduces the shock and cushions against fluctuations; Many fertilizers contain buffer agents.
" C "Calyx: The round, outer portion of a female plants sex organ, usually has two pistils coming out of one calyx.
Cambium: The thin membrane located just beneath the bark of a plant.
Canopy: The top branches of a plant, usually shading the lower branches, except when branch training methods are used. (See LST,SCROG, and SOG)
Carbon dioxide (C02): a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas in the air; necessary for plant life.
Carbon filter: A method of deodorizing air coming from or inside a grow room, by passing the air through a layer of activated-carbon that absorbs and eliminates odors.
Caustic: A substance that destroys, kills, or eats away by chemical activity.
CBD/CBN: Byproducts of the main psychoactive ingredient in pot, THC. these byproducts are created when the THC degrades, due to over exposure to heat/oxygen(some THC will naturally do this while the flowers ripen). it is believed that they are responsible for the stoney part of the high, and known to have a direct effect on the psychoactive effect THC has on the "user". it is only needed in minimal amounts, comparison to THC.
Cellulose: A complex carbohydrate that stiffens a plant; Outdoor stems contain more stiff cellulose than plants grown indoors.
CFL (compact fluorescent light): A fluorescent light about the size of a standard incandescent light bulb that can be used in any standard light socket. Used most often for starting seeds, clones, and in micro grow applications. Note that the wattage to go by is the actual wattage, not the equivalent wattage ie, a 42 watt CFL that says equivalent to 150 watt incandescent would be counted as 42 watts, not150.
CFM (Cubic feet per minute): Measures air velocity. Ventilation or extraction fans are measured in the cfm of air they can move.
Clone (also Cutting): A branch or shoot of a plant that has been removed and rooted independently, producing a new plant with the exact physical characteristics of the original plant (aka mother).
CO2: The chemical formula for carbondioxide; next to water, the most important basic material for the growth of plants.
Colas: "The female flowers develop tightly together to form dense clusters (racemes) or buds, cones, or colas"- Mel Frank MarijuanaGrower's Guide
Curing: Preparing the buds for long term storage by allowing them to age in an area that equalizes the moisture in the bud.
" D "
Decarboxylation: This occurs after buds are harvested, during the curing process. The THC loses a CO2 molecule, which then makes the THC psychoactive. This process is why drying and curing buds after harvest is crucial to the high that the bud produces. (Citation required)
Deep Water Culture (DWC): Hydroponic growth method which involves suspending the plant over an aerated nutrient solution in a way that the roots are constantly submerged.
Edit: Deep Water Culture. A style of hydroponic growing that utilizes a deepresvoir of nutrient aerated by an air stone. Generally the reservoir is a five gallon bucket. The plant rests in a netpot*, filled with hydroton*or another inert media. The roots grow through the netpot into the nutrients below, allowing for very large root systems. RDWC connects the buckets in a continuous system with a pump and an additional reservoir, known as a recirculating DWC. MDWC refers to either Mediumless or Modified DWC. Mediumless referrs to using a collarinstead of a medium filled netpot to hold the plant in place over the nutrient solution. Modified means the basic DWC design has been modified, and will likely be explained in the post. Also known as Bubblers, bubbling buckets, and Tubblers (the use of Rubbermaid stylestorage tubs instead of buckets). Often used with ScrOG.
Drip line: A line around a plant directly under its outermost branch tips; Roots seldom grow beyond the drip line.
Dry ice: Cold, white, solid substance formed when C 02 is compressed and cooled: Dry ice changes into C 0 2 gas at room temperatures.
" E "
E&F (Ebb and Flow): A hydroponic style of growing that utilizes tables, a shallow pan or table for the plants and medium,and a separate reservoir of nutrient solution. Using a pump connected to a timer, the nutrient solution is pumped into the table until it fills, then allowed to drain. The 'flood' of nutrients soaks the roots and medium, then 'ebbs' back into the reservoir, allowing the roots a chance to dry out and breathe.
" F "Fan Leaves: These are the large leaves that grow off of branches, and while not rich in THC, they play an important role in photosynthesis. They usually have 5 - 14 fingers per leaf.
Feminized Seeds: Seeds that have been created through various methods without the use of male pollen, resulting in seeds with no male DNA, resulting in all female plants. However, feminized seeds are generally seen as more prone to become hermaphrodites.
Flushing: The process of removing nutrients from your plants.In soil this is achieved by running plain water through the soil(usually double your soil volume). In hydro, it is achieved by removing the nutrient solution and replacing it with plain water.
Foliar Feeding: Application of a nutrient solution to the leaves and above ground portions of the plant, as opposed to the roots. Foliarfeeding should not be done while the plant is exposed to high intensity-light, as the drops can act as magnifying glasses and burn the leaves.
" G "Garlic: (Apologies to any vamps out there) Planted in the same pot/area as your plants will act as a natural systemic insecticide togreenfly and blackfly the plants absorb it from the growing garlic itDOES NOT affect the plants scent or taste, can also be used for same reason with other plants.
GPH (gallons per hour): The rating of a pumps capacity to move water. Check the pump information carefully, as the GPH falls as your distance from the pump increases.
" H " Hermaphrodite (also Hermie): A female plant that has produced male flowers, allowing self-pollenization.
:High Intensity Discharge (HID): A high-intensity discharge lamp is a type which produces light by means of an electric arc between tungsten electrodes housed inside a translucent or transparent fused quartz or fused alumina arc tube. This tube is filled with both gas and metalsalts. The gas facilitates the arc's initial strike. Once the arc is started, it heats and evaporates the metal salts forming
a plasma,which greatly increases the intensity of light produced by the arc and reduces its power consumption. (See also: HPS, MH, & Ballast)
High Pressure Sodium (HPS): A HID lamp that produces a spectrum favorable to plants at all stages of growth but especially flowering. One of the most common lights found in indoor grows, HPS lamps are extremely efficient (up to 150 Lumens/watt). (See also: HID, & Ballast)
Honeydew: A sticky honey-like substance secreted onto foliage by aphids, scale, and mealy bugs.
Hybrid: Often refers to a plant or variety that has been developed by interbreeding two or more varieties, species, or genera
Hydroponics (hydro): Plant cultivation method in which the roots of the plant are suspended and exposed only to a water and nutrient mixture without the aid of soil. (See also: Aeroponics, DWC, E&F)
Hygrometer: A meter with which the relative humidity can be established<
" I "Indica: The Indica plant is recognized by its fat, rounded leaves. It has a shorter growing season than a sativa plant and is good for grows with height restrictions because indicas grow bushy, but not very tall. The indica high is characterized as being heavy, tiring, or "stoney." Indicas are good for treating medical conditions like chronic pain.
ISO (Isopropyl alcohol): Used to extract trichomes from plant matter. The Isopopyl alcohol strips the trichomes from the plant matter, and is then evaporated away, leaving a high potency oil.
" K "K: Abbreviation for potassium, which is, next to nitrogen and phosphate, one of the primary nutrients for plants.
" L "Light-burn: When the heat from a light burns the plant.
Light Schedule: The amount of light and dark the plants experience per day. Normally for vegging, anywhere from 18 hours of light and 6 hours of dark (18/6) to constant 24 hours of light (24/0) is acceptable. For flowering, a(12/12) light schedule is recommended to force the plants to mature (this way indoor growers can "fool" their plants into thinking winter has come).
LST: Acronym for Low-Stress Training, the technique of manipulating the branches in order to reduce plant height, expose certain branches to light, and/or distribute hormones to lower branches of the plant to encourage larger buds.
Lumens: One lumen is equal to the amount of light emitted by one candle that falls on one square foot of surface one foot away.
" M "
Macronutrients: For a plant, there are nine major elements essential for healthy growth; these are called macronutrients. They're: carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen (which are all three derived from air and water); and nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, sulfur, and magnesium (from the soil).
Metal Halide (MH): A HID lamp that produces a spectrum favorable to plants at all stages of growth but especially vegetative. One of the most common lights found in indoor grows, MH lamps are extremely efficient (up to 100 Lumens/watt). (see HID, & Ballast)
Micronutrients: There are about eight nutrients essential to plant growth and health that are only present in very small quantities.These are manganese, boron, copper, iron, chlorine, cobalt, molybdenum,and zinc.
" N "
Negative Pressure: Negative building pressure results when a [blower] inside a building expels more air from the exhaust ducts than is provided by the supply ducts. A building can be wholly under negative pressure, or exhibit zones of negative pressure in certain areas (e.g. a room contains an exhaust air grille and no supply grille).
Node: The location on a plant where branches and new growth are produced. The area between nodes is referred to as inter nodes. Inter nodal spacing is often used as a cue to determine light distances.
NPK: Abbreviation for nitrogen (N),phosphate (P), and potassium(K), the three primary nutrients for plants.
" O "Organic: Nutrients that are developed from naturally occurring substances.
" P "P: Abbreviation for phosphate, one of the three primary nutrients.
Perlite: A unique volcanic mineral which expands from four to twenty times its original volume when it is heated similar to popcorn. The surface of each particle is covered with tiny cavities which provide an extremely large surface area. These surfaces hold moisture and nutrients and make them available to plant roots. In addition, because of the physical shape of each particle, air passages are formed which provide optimum aeration and drainage. Because perlite is sterile, It is free of disease, seeds, and insects. Perlite has been used for many years throughout the world for soil conditioning and as a component of growing mixes with materials such as peat moss or bark.
PH: is
a scale from 0.0 to 14.0. Pure water has a pH of 7.0 and is considered
pH neutral. pH below 7.0 is considered to be acidic and pH higher than
7.0 is considered to be basic or alkaline.
Pheno (phenotype): Certain unique characteristics of a plant thatset it aside from other plants of the same genes. Plants grown from the same seed stock often show unique characteristics like smell, coloring,and flavor.
Photoperiod: AKA lighting schedule, it is the number of hours of light and darkness the plant is exposed to. Usually expressed as a fraction. Ex: 18/6 = 18 hours of light, and 6 hours of darkness
Phosphorus (P): one of the macro-nutrients that promote root and flower growth
PPM (Parts Per Million): Measurement of the amount of nutrients in a solution. (May be expressed in multiple values (PPM, TDS, EC -consult your meters manual);
Example: The amount of material in the air, of CO2, for example, is expressed not only in percent, but also in ppm. 0.03% CO2 in the air is equivalent to 300 ppm.
" R "Reveg: Returning a plant to a vegetative state after it has begunflowering. Normally used in reference to a plant that has completed itsflowering cycle and been harvested, but can also refer to a clone thatwas taken from a flowering mother. Generally used to preserve geneticsafter harvest.
Root Bound: A condition where a plant or seedling's roots havegrown compacted and entwined in the pot and has no room to grow. Thiscondition results in stunting the plants growth and potential. Thesolution is a larger pot or transplanting outdoors.
Ruderalis: Ruderalis is not a very good choice for flower production, indoors or out. Despite maintaining a short stature,growing only one to five feet tall, and maturing rather quickly, Ruderalis just doesn't produce the yield or quality one looks for intheir flowers. A slight light cycle reduction can trigger a sprout withas little as 2 to 3 leaf sets to flower. Ruderalis spontaneouslyinitiates flowering a few weeks after sprouting, and will not producedecent flowers unless the photoperiod provides around 18 to 19 hours of light. Even then, the yield and quality are less than desirable,incomparable to that of the Sativa or Indica sub-species.
" S "Sativa: The sativa plant is recognized by its thin, jagged-edged leaves. It has a longer growing season than an indica plant, and grows very tall and thin. The sativa high is often described as cerebral,energetic, and sometimes even psychedelic.
Screen of Green (Scrog): Growing method involving the training of plants with the aid of a wire grid (approximately 2"x2") in order to achieve a flat canopy of foliage. This flat canopy allows for maximum light use and improved yield.
SoG: Sea of Green. A method of growing that uses several small plants as compared to fewer large ones. The plants are kept small, and encouraged to grow only one main cola. This allows more plants to begrown in the same area. The phrase comes from the impression you get from looking at a garden grown this way, ie just a sea of green buds.Also known as the plant-let method.
Super bloom: A common name for fertilizer high in phosphorus and potassium that promotes flower formation and growth.
" T "Taproot: The main or primary root that grows from the seed: Lateral roots will branch off the taproot.
Taxonomy: Classification of plants and animals according to their family relationships.
Toppped (or topping): Pruning the plant by cutting off the top to encourage lateral branching.
Trace-element: Another name for micro-element, nutrients the plant needs in only minute quantities, such as boron and manganese.
Transplanting Shock: When transplanting seedlings from one place to another, the roots are often disturbed and occasionally the change in climate can cause the plant to slow down or appear to stop growing. This is transplant shock. It is really redirecting it's energy to re-grow lost roots and to get accustomed to a change in temperature that it hadn't experienced before.
" V "Vermiculite: An additive that helps retain water in the medium.
" W "Worm Casting: (Vermiconversion) or using earthworms to convertwaste into soil additives, is a biologically active mound containingthousands of bacteria, enzymes, and remnants of plant materials andanimal manures that were not digested by the earthworm. The compostingprocess continues after a worm casting has been deposited. In fact, thebacterial population of a cast is much greater than the bacterialpopulation of either ingested soil, or the earthworm's gut. Animportant component of this dark mass is humus.
