Growing cannabis: what is combination cultivation and what are the benefits?
Do you already know what combination cultivation is when growing cannabis and what the benefits are? Cannabis growers would ideally like to place as many cannabis plants as possible in the space that is available. But that's actually not the best option. By placing the right neighbours next to your cannabis plants, such as herbs and other plants, you can get much more out of your harvest. This is called combination cultivation and in this blog you can read exactly how it works.
Companion planting when growing cannabis: plants that help each other
One plant is not the same as the other. As a cannabis grower, you know that, too. Each plant has its own unique properties, this applies to cannabis, but also to other plants. By using these properties, plants can help each other. This technique is very old and is called combination cultivation.
You may know that in the past, all kinds of plants grew together in fields. Nowadays, you don't see that anymore: endless fields full of spinach and potatoes and not a tuft of weeds is allowed in between. This is called monoculture. Although you have so many of the same plants together, which makes harvesting easier, these plants are also much more vulnerable to diseases and pests and the soil is depleted more quickly.
That is why combination cultivation offers so many advantages when growing cannabis. By putting different plants together, a symbiosis is created. At the cannabis cultivation, you can choose plants that have useful properties. These good neighbors of cannabis ensure more biodiversity and enrich the soil. They can also help protect your plants against pests and attract beneficial insects. By choosing the right neighbours for your cannabis plants, they can often grow better, have more food and are better protected against pests. Ultimately, you will benefit from this a lot.
Which plants go well with cannabis?
You can therefore benefit greatly from combination cultivation when you grow cannabis. But now you would also like to know which plants go well with cannabis. There are several, and each has special properties that bring certain advantages.
For attracting beneficial insects
When beneficial insects visit your cannabis plants, that can only be a good thing. This way you can place dill nearby. This herb attracts beneficial predatory insects, such as hoverflies, parasitic wasps and ladybugs. These help control pests such as aphids. But this herb is also very attractive to pollinating insects that are important to nature, such as butterflies and bees. And of course you can also enjoy the taste and aroma of dill yourself, on a tasty piece of salmon or a piece of lamb.
Fewer problems with pests
There are also various plants and herbs that you can place next to your cannabis plants that help repel insects. Geranium does this in a special way, this plant is often visited by insects that normally like to sit on cannabis. But if you plant geraniums, they will settle there, and they will not cause any problems for your harvest. Geranium also produces an oil that helps repel insects such as spider mites.
Other herbs that are useful against insects are basil, lavender and garlic. Basil helps fight mites, whiteflies and aphids. And if you are often bothered by mosquitoes, planting basil is also a good idea. An additional plus is that this well-known fragrant herb actually attracts beneficial insects. Lavender not only smells wonderful (and has relaxing effects), it helps repel pests such as mice, fleas, moths and ticks. Garlic is also a useful plant to use in combination cultivation with cannabis. It prevents spider mites and repels snails and maggots. All you have to do is peel the garlic cloves and string them on a string. Hang this chain on the lower branches to benefit from the insect repellent effect.
A better nitrogen balance through combination cultivation when growing cannabis
A healthy and rich soil is important for a good cannabis harvest. By choosing yarrow in your garden, you help promote healthy soil. The roots of this plant enrich the soil with substances that serve as nutrition for nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
Plants that are normally seen as weeds can also have very useful properties. An example of this is the dandelion. Place this near jFor cannabis plants, the long root spike of about 30 cm can help to bring up minerals. This gives your cannabis plants access to more nutrition. After harvesting, you can place the dandelions on the compost heap (without the yellow flowers), which will enrich them with nitrogen.
The best neighbors for growing weed
As you have read, it is a good idea to put between and next to your weed plants, other plants. In addition to helping protect your weed, enrich the soil and attract beneficial insects, these friendly neighbors also promote greater biodiversity in your garden (and the environment in general). These plants are attractive to insects and small animals, which in turn attract more birds and other animals. And we could use some more greenery in the neighborhood. It is a nice idea that plants can work together. And you as a grower ultimately have healthier cannabis plants with rich, full buds. And the great thing is that with combination cultivation you need fewer (or no) pesticides when growing cannabis. You just use what nature has to offer.
