Growing CBD Buds
A growing trend in the Cannabis breeder’s world is that of the high Cannabidiol (CBD) strains. This particular chemical was neglected for a long time due to it not having the psychoactive properties associated with high tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) plants, but CBD’s time to shine is finally coming. For these reasons many growers are opting to get into this trend by creating their own stock of high CBD strains of Cannabis. The techniques for this are vast, and the aspects involved are all of importance.
First off, why is CBD getting so popular? CBD has some interesting functions on the human brain and body. Notably are its effects on anxiety and depression, it tends to mute the racing and spiraling though processes associated with these mental disorders and gives the users and sense of calming that they cannot otherwise find outside of intense therapeutically sessions or sometimes dangerous pharmaceuticals. Originally, THC was seen to be the cause of these effects but studies have shown that, although sometimes helpful, the THC’s psychoactive properties could also cause a worsening of these symptoms. Many doctors and researchers refused to see the medical benefits of Cannabis due to this.
Now, with the popularization of Cannabidiol many of these researchers are changing their tune and seeing that not everything in Cannabis is about the psychoactive high. Other famous uses for CBD include its use in epileptic patients whose symptoms are diminished to miniscule levels while taking CBD. This is caused by a similar effect by that which eases the anxiety symptoms, it calms certain sectors of the brain that would otherwise be misfiring and causing a seizure. CBD also has a profound impact on pain in the body, as it decreases inflammation at a very impactful rate. Those suffering from skin problems such as acne and eczema have seen massive improvements through the topical use of CBD while people with internal problems such as fibromyalgia and Chron’s disease see their pain levels and quality of life improve drastically once using CBD for a time. All of this through the use of a substance as simple as CBD, which carries almost zero side effects –physical or mental—while also being so safe that overdoses of it are completely unheard of even in laboratory tests on animals.
When it comes down to it, it’s easy to see why many are opting to increase the CBD levels in their plants. One more benefit of growing strains with a high CBD ratio is that it also counteracts the potentially negative effects such as paranoia that can be found in strains with high THC in them. For the same reasons it works on anxiety, it calms these sectors of the brain that are stimulated by THC allowing for a much more relaxing strain than would be otherwise available. What this means is that the total content of THC or CBD in the plant does not matter so much as the ratio between the two. A nearly even CBD to THC ratio results in a plant that has much less psychoactive properties than a plant with a higher THC to CBD ratio while maintaining the medical benefits of both. Basically, the higher the CBD is in the plant compared to THC, the less the psychoactive side-effects occur.
Growing for high CBD, then, relies mostly on the genetics of the plant. Since around the mid 90’s Cannabis has been bred almost exclusively for high THC content. This has led to many popular strains having a very low CBD content, and this downward trend has continued since then. However, preservationists of the old strains luckily have kept the original strains these high THC strains came from and the CBD content in them is still intact. These are the strains that have been neglected for years, but are now coming back into popularity as CBD gains more ground and more people are looking for something different out of Cannabis.
The Cannabis Ruderalis started to be bred again partially for this reason, as it a strain with miniscule amount of THC and high CBD levels. The Ruderalis also has another interesting benefit when it comes to growing, in that it is the only strain of Cannabis that is non-photoperiod. What this means is that even if light is low and unchanging the plant will still flower at a set amount of time. The breeding of these into the Cannabis Genome created the, now popular, Auto-flowering strains we see today. But, the added benefit that was overlooked is that it also brought back higher CBD levels into the genome that were previously bred out.
There are also a large amount of CBD strains available for purchase, in areas where you can buy clones these tend to be your best option as the levels of CBD have already been tested. But, for the vast majority of people this is not an option. Cannabis breeders have recently been making seeds of their high CBD strains available for purchase online so that those seeking the benefits can now grow their own genetically superior CBD strains bred for the specific purpose of negating the potentially negative side-effects associated with THC.
To ensure the highest CBD levels in a plant are available remember Genetics are the indeed the key factor here with the plants that have been bred from the old strains to increase the CBD levels and the Auto-Flowering Ruderalis Hybrids having the highest Cannabidiol levels out there. Other ways to make sure that these levels are at their peak is to make sure to harvest at the right time, this will vary dependent on the strain but the seedbank or breeder you get it from will let you know how long they typically take. General good care of the plant is needed as well, as a sickly plant will not produce the levels of CBD desired in most cases. Cannabidiol is a very promising way to reap the Medical Benefits of Cannabis without worrying about being high all the time, if one does not desire to do so. Growing your own CBD plants is a worthy endeavor for many reasons.