Can Marijuana Plants Survive Heavy Winds?

While marijuana plants are adaptable, they can only withstand moderate wind. Too much air movement, such as strong gusts, can physically damage plants, especially during the flowering stage, where branches overloaded with flowers can break. Keep in mind, a cannabis plant’s stem strength can vary widely between cultivars, but even the sturdiest plant can suffer damage if exposed to heavy winds. Where can i buy marijuana Online  in Kansas city

Marijuana needs plenty of fresh air to flourish. A moderate breeze will enhance overall growth and help strengthen plant stems with steady wind resistance, similar to how humans increase muscle mass and strength with regular exercise. It’s important to protect weed plants. You want them gently dancing in the wind, not struggling to keep upright! Where can i buy marijuana Online  in Kansas city

When wind damages crops, they are more susceptible to pests and diseases. Lesions on your plant tissue create entry points for pathogens, increasing the chances of infections. This affects the plant’s ability to thrive, leading to stunted growth, smaller harvests, and plant death. Where can i buy marijuana Online  in Kansas city

The Impact of Wind on Cannabis Plants

Excessive wind, specifically, disrupts the delicate balance of moisture within the cannabis plant by causing elevated rates of transpiration and water loss from inside the leaf as well as evaporation from the soil surface. This phenomenon is called “wind burn”. Where can i buy marijuana Online  in Kansas city

When growing outdoors, your plants are susceptible to wind damage and, subsequently, wind burn during all stages of growth. When wind burn occurs, it affects their overall health and, ultimately, yield. Where can i buy marijuana Online  in Kansas city

Symptoms and Damage Caused by Wind Exposure

Good air circulation and a mild breeze are essential for your outdoor plants. However, too much wind can be detrimental. If your plants have to use most of their energy to stay upright, they will be over-stressed. There won’t be much leftover energy for other functions, impacting the overall result.

• 1. Stunted Growth: Strong winds disrupt the plant’s natural growth factors by bending and breaking stems and branches. This damage can lead to a decrease in plant height, strength, and yield.
• 2. Leaf Damage: High winds can tear and shred leaves, leading to a reduction in the plant’s photosynthetic capacity. This causes smaller leaves, decreased nutrient absorption, limited energy production, slow growth, and smaller plants. Cannabis wind burn speeds up the internal transpiration process, quickly dehydrating plant tissue and weakening cell walls. Prolonged exposure will result in plant tissue death (necrosis). Plants in warm, windy conditions can dry out faster than the rate at which water can be replaced, causing the foliage to burn, dehydrate, and wither.
• 3. Root Damage: Excessive wind can also harm the plant’s roots by drying or dislodging them and creating soil erosion. Damaged roots can hinder the plant’s ability to absorb water and nutrients efficiently, leading to slow, sluggish growth
• 4. Flowering Disruption: During the flowering stage, wind can cause flowers and leaves to dry out, damage or dislodge trichomes, and break flowering branches on female plants, resulting in losses and reduced yields.
• 5. Dirt: Wind can carry dirt, sand, or even pollen and other particulates that could damage or pollute your end result, especially if you grow in desert areas. Medical Marijuana Dispensary in Kansas City

Strategies to Protect Marijuana Plants from Wind Damage

1. Find The Right Place:

Choosing the correct location for planting marijuana outdoors is crucial to protecting your plants from nature (and other humans). Look for safe areas with natural windbreaks such as hillsides, tree lines, shrubbery, walls, fences, or buildings, always ensuring the windbreak does not shade your plants.

2. Greenhouses and Polytunnels

One of the most effective ways to shield outdoor marijuana plants from wind damage is by utilizing plant structures like greenhouses and polytunnels. These shelters create a semi-controlled environment, protecting the plants from strong winds and allowing ample sunlight. Where can i buy marijuana Online  in Kansas city

Polytunnels are fairly inexpensive (compared to a greenhouse) and can be constructed of a wood base (like a raised bed) and flexible PVC tubing arched over for support. The structure is then wrapped in a clear poly wrap or flexible poly panels to deflect the wind. Access (at one end) and ventilation (at both ends) of the tunnel must be built into the design to allow for airflow and ventilation.

Greenhouses are a sturdier, costlier version of a polytunnel made from a metal skeleton overlaid with glass or rigid poly panels of various thicknesses and opacity. Properly ventilated greenhouses can prevent wind burn and provide additional benefits like temperature regulation and protection from pests, but they also have higher construction costs. Where can i buy marijuana Online  in Kansas city

3. Topping and Trimming Plants

Scheduled topping (top pruning) and trimming of marijuana plants during the vegetative growth cycle reduce plant height and increase their ability to withstand wind. Topping involves pruning the main stem’s top, encouraging the plant to branch out horizontally rather than vertically. Recreational Marijuana Dispensaries in Kansas City

This method creates a more compact and sturdy plant structure that is lower to the ground, making it easier to protect from high winds. Where can i buy marijuana Online  in Kansas city

4. Using Trellises

Trellises are a practical way to provide structural support to marijuana plants and reduce wind damage. By securing the plants to trellises, growers reduce the risk of breakage and bending caused by strong winds.

This method increases airflow around the plants while promoting ventilation and reducing the likelihood of moisture-related issues. Securing your cannabis plant to the windward side of the trellis can reduce the amount of wind blowing through the trellis, preventing wind burn.

5. Relocating your cannabis plants in pots

In extreme cases, when severe wind events are expected, growers may temporarily relocate their plants to a more protected area. If you use portable containers or pots, carefully move them to a more sheltered spot until the wind subsides. It is essential to minimize disruption to the plants during the relocation process.

6. Construct a windbreak for your cannabis plants

Using various materials and objects that absorb and deflect the wind it’s easier than you might think to create an effective windbreak. In the section below I’ll give you some tips and step-by-step instructions to do just that.

Constructing Windbreaks to Protect Marijuana Plants

Windbreaks are specifically designed barriers that protect plants from strong winds. They can be constructed using readily available materials and methods. Weed Dispensary in Kansas City

Remember, a windbreaker, as the name suggests, “breaks” the wind, lowering its intensity. It shouldn’t completely block the wind out, so use a relatively porous material or ensure there are small gaps. Your plants need some air movement to grow healthy and strong. Recreational Marijuana Dispensaries in Kansas City

Step by Step list for constructing a windbreak

Step 1: Preparation

Poles: These can be wooden or bamboo or any sturdy pole that you will place in the soil.

Windbreak Material: Professionals use textile materials or specific meshes that reduce the intensity of the wind, but any material you can attach or place in between poles will do fine. Weed Dispensary in Kansas City

Tools: Shovel, hammer, zip ties, nails.

Step 2: Study your space

Ask yourself where the wind blows from (prevailing winds) and where your plants will be placed. It is important to study and reflect on the best position for your windbreaker before building it! Recreational Marijuana Dispensaries in Kansas City

Step 3: Build a Supportive Structure

After you have found the placement of your windbreaker, dig holes and position the poles (these could be wooden or bamboo poles or pipes). Remember to place them deep enough to achieve stability. Marijuana Dispensaries Kansas city area

Step 4: Attach your windbreak material

Professional windbreaks use meshes and textiles as the windbreak material. They are available in an array of synthetic materials such as Nylon, Polypropylene, polyester, or polyethylene. If you use a textile or mesh, use zip ties to attach the mesh to the poles, creating a protective but porous sail, thus decreasing the wind intensity to create a mild breeze.

Be creative: Some growers use poles with garden waste wedged between them, creating a compostable windbreak; these can be a cheap and useful way of using garden waste! 

Step 5: Assess the wind breaking ( Where can i buy marijuana Online  in Kansas city?)

Hopefully, you have created a strong and effective enough barrier to reduce the wind. Remember, the idea isn’t to eliminate wind but to lower its intensity, as air circulation and movement are essential to a healthy growing plant. Marijuana Dispensaries Kansas city area

Other options for windbreaks:

Bamboo fence:

Bamboo poles can be placed side to side, leaving small gaps for some air to pass through. You can also plant bamboo and willow to create living windbreaks! Medical Marijuana Dispensary in Kansas City

Willow fence:

Weaved willow can create garden walls that are effective at reducing wind.

Living Windbreaks:

If you have a spot you want to garden for years to come, then planting some shrubs or trees that are good natural windbreakers is worthwhile. You will be creating a living hedge that will not only protect your plants but you could also harvest fruits and berries and provide ecosystem services for birds, insects, and other living beings! Marijuana Dispensaries Kansas city area

Small to medium shrubs useful for windbreakers: Chrysopogon Zizanioides, Acca sellowiana, Arbutus unedo, Callistemon viminalis, Elaeagnus umbellata, Eugenia uniflora. Weed Dispensary in Kansas City

Taller edible plants: Inga edulis, Persea americana, Phyllostachys bissettii, Phyllostachys viridis, Phyllostachys aurea, Phyllostachys edulis, Saccharum officinarum, Syzygium australe, Syzygium paniculatum. Weed Dispensary in Kansas City

To summarize our story about windbreaks

Protecting your marijuana plants from the wind is essential to ensure a successful harvest. Finding sheltered spots, using greenhouses, polytunnels, or trellises, topping and trimming plants, and relocating can greatly mitigate wind damage. Where can i buy marijuana Online  in Kansas city?

Remember that it is less work to grow in a location that offers some natural protection from the wind than one that must be altered or adapted for managing difficult conditions. In these cases, building windbreakers to protect your plants so they dance in the breeze rather than struggle in the wind is necessary! Choose your location wisely, and be sure to use Robert’s Grow Bible to give you a head start with your grow! Marijuana Dispensaries Kansas city area

Keep it Breezy!