How Cultivating CBD Hemp Plants Differs from Industrial Hemp Cultivation

How Cultivating CBD Hemp Plants Differs from Industrial Hemp Cultivation

Tue, 05/05/2020 - 16:00
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There is a lot of misinformation everywhere about CBD hemp and Industrial Hemp. Most articles online state that CBD is also derived from industrial hemp. It’s true that industrial hemp has thousands of different uses but CBD hemp is a totally different species of the hemp plant. In this article, we get rid of this confusion by showing you how cultivating CBD hemp differs from Industrial hemp.

Cultivating industrial Hemp

When you think of industrial hemp, think of land patch with plants that are tall, skinny and almost-leafless. The industrial hemp is cultivated mainly for its fiber and seeds.

The extent to which industrial hemp is used is very broad. It ranges from the food ingredients to making of biodegradable plastics. You can also use it for manufacturing of biofuels, textiles, cosmetics and even animal feeds. The leaves are usually narrow and elongated. Many industrial hemp plants grow crowded together, their leafless, skinny stalks exposed.

This method of cultivation is great when you are looking to produce seeds and fiber. However, when you are looking to produce CBD, the process becomes more complex.

The difference between industrial hemp and CBD hemp

The major difference between the CBD hemp and industrial hemp is in their purpose. Industrial hemp is cultivated mainly for its seeds and fibers. CBD hemp is grown exclusively for its flower. CBD hemp is mainly cultivated for its cannabinoids. Care must be taken to ensure that the flower is not fertilized, male or hermaphrodite.

Because CBD should be grown from female seeds only, there are some things you will need to consider when cultivating a good CBD hemp crop.

Make sure that each plant has enough spacing. CBD hemp grows short and thick. Depending on your types of seeds, climate and soil, the spacing varies from 4 to 6 feet between two plants. The depth of planting should be about half an inch deep with only one seedling going into each hole.

CBD hemp grows well in slightly alkaline soils with a pH scale ranging between 7.0 to 7.4. Do not use chemicals when planting. If you put in chemicals or pesticides, these will be absorbed into the plant and eventually passed down into the flowers, reducing the quality and possibly the potency of the bud.

How to select seeds for your CBD hemp

Getting quality, strong and robust CBD hemp starts from seed selection. When doing seed selection, you should always adhere to the potency and THC levels.

Plant only fem seeds in your farm. Male seeds drop the potency levels when they fertilize fem resulting in a poor quality plant. If male plants are identified, they should be removed immediately.

As a federal regulation, all delta-9 THC levels should be lower than 0.3%. If your levels are higher than this, you cannot legally sell your product. That’s is why you should get seeds that guarantee this THC quantity to prevent loses from occurring.