By Luke Sumpter


What is it exactly that makes cannabis strains differ? At the very foundation are genetic variances that result in differences in growth pattern, shape, and speed of growth. The uniqueness of a cannabis strain is also determined on what comes out of the trichomes—small mushroom-shaped glands that inhabit the flowers and leaves of plants. These glands secrete a resin that is loaded with cannabinoids such a THC and CBD. Differences in the ratio set many strains and their effects apart. But cannabinoids aren’t the only substance swimming within this resin; terpenes are created in the trichomes too.

Terpenes are aromatic compounds found all throughout nature and give plants and fruits their signature scents. For example, the terpene pinene is responsible for the pleasurable aroma associated with walking through coniferous woodland, and limonene is the terpene that gives citrus peel its refreshing smells. The terpene profile within a strain influences its taste and smell, making it an important consideration for breeders when growing and cannabis connoisseurs when selecting a strain to smoke.

Trichomes Full Of Terpenes

However, terpenes have been found to play a much larger role within cannabis plants. Not only do they have their own series of medicinal effects, but they have been found to influence the psychoactive effects of the high through what is known as the entourage effect.

The additional advantages offered by terpenes have made their production all the more important, and many cultivators are now focusing on enhancing their production during growth. Here are some tips to maximize terpene levels to achieve the smelliest weed possible.

IT ALL STARTS IN THE GENES

There are many reasons growers want to maximize terpenes for scent purposes. For casual growers, it means having some heavenly scented buds to enhance smoking sessions and impress fellow smokers. For commercial growers, it means having a more appealing end product at the end of the harvest. For both, there is the potential to enhance effects. When looking to grow the smelliest weed around, seed selection is an important factor. Starting out with strains that have been specifically designed for terpene production will give you a huge head start.

Carefully read the strain description of the seeds you are planning on buying, and select a terpene profile with the characteristics you are looking for.

Cannabis Soil

QUALITY SOIL IS A GAME CHANGER

If you are growing your crop in soil, it’s worth the extra work to make sure it's of prime quality. You can easily purchase high-quality soil, or make your own. Many of the nutrients your plants will use to survive and thrive are found within the soil, and higher soil quality is associated with smellier and more flavourful weed. Growing weed in depleted soils will end in disappointing results.

STRESS YOUR PLANTS, BUT NOT TOO MUCH

Stressing a biological organism can go one of two ways. If just the right amount is applied, the organism will adapt, become stronger, and survive. If too much stress is applied and the organism isn't capable of adapting, it will die. When looking to grow terpene-rich cannabis, just the right amount of stress is required.

Methods such as low-stress training are a great option when seeking buds loaded with terpenes. This technique involves the gentle bending, morphing, and manipulating of branches to force plants to grow in a certain shape. It ultimately creates more main branches that are more spaced out. The end result is a smaller plant that produces larger yields and very smelly flowers.

Defoliation, otherwise simply known as trimming leaves, is another technique that boosts terpene content. Removing additional leaves will open up space in the canopy and allow more light to reach the flowers while simultaneously stressing the plant, boosting trichome production.

Ready to turn stress into scent? Download the Pro Growing Guide for exact nutrient mixes, defoliation steps, UV-B dosing, and environmental targets (PPM/pH, temperature) that elevate your terpene game.

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BE MINDFUL OF LIGHTING

Lighting is one of the most important factors when it comes to growing, and plays an especially critical role in terpene production. Trichomes produce resin in nature partly to protect plants from excessive light exposure, a behavior that can be taken advantage of by growers. Exposing plants to UV-B lights for around 2–3 weeks during flowering can easily boost trichome production.

UTILISE TEMPERATURE PROPERLY

Almost all environmental factors can be controlled to manipulated optimal terpene production, with the temperature being an important one. Lowering the temperature at night time will get the trichomes working overtime. Ideally, reduce the temperature by approximately 5 degrees Celsius during the night time. Obviously, be careful not to chill your plants too much that other aspects of growth suffer.

Flushing Cannabis Plants

ALWAYS FLUSH YOUR PLANTS

Flushing your plants can add to their scent and flavour by removing excess nutrients. Nutrients can build up in the flowers and overpower the natural flavours produced by the strain. Provide your plants with the purest water possible around two weeks before harvest time to flush the plants.

BE ACCURATE WITH HARVESTING

Terpenes are volatile compounds and it really doesn’t take much for them to degrade and breakdown. If you leave harvest time even a little bit too late, you may start to lose precious scents and aromas. Use a magnifying glass to carefully observe the trichomes on your buds as a basic indicator. Be sure to read up on more in-depth harvesting to learn and refine exactly when it is needed.

Dry Cannabis Buds

DRY AND CURE YOUR WEED CORRECTLY

Although it seems like the work is over after the harvest, there are still tasks to be done. Making sure you dry and cure your weed correctly will ensure the smell and flavour are not reduced. Dry your marijuana over a 2–3 week period in a cool environment. Excess heat will begin to degrade the valuable terpenes. Attempt to maintain a humidity of around 50%.

It’s time to cure after drying it over. Aim for low temperatures, no lighting, and a humidity of around 55%. This process will greatly enhance the taste and smell of your buds.

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Privacy Policy - Royal Queen Seeds

To ensure a safe online environment and guarantee adequate data protection, we strictly comply with all legal requirements. In this privacy statement, we provide information about how and for what purpose data is collected, safety measures, storage periods and contact details.


COMPANY NAME: SNORKEL SPAIN, SL (hereinafter ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS)

C/ Vilar d'Abdelà, 5 (nave 1) CP: 08170 de Montornès del Vallès

+34 937 379 846

support@royalqueenseeds.com


The present Privacy Policy sets out the terms on which we will treat personal data at ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS; this includes any personal data collected through our website https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/ as well as any other data we process in the course of our business activities.

ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS collects the following personal data for the purposes listed below:

SECTION 1 – PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

1.1 Account purchases

Account purchases can only be made if you are in possession of a personal account. When you create an account or purchase something from our shop, as part of the buying and selling process we collect the following personal information that you provide to us:

This information is required for delivery. In addition, when you browse our shop, we automatically receive the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer. Based on this information, we can optimise your online experience and at the same time protect our online environment.

Purpose of data collection

We collect and store account-related data for the following purposes:

(a) to carry out obligations arising from any contracts between you and us, and to provide you with information, products and services that you may request from us;

(b) to set up, manage and communicate with you about your account and your orders;

(c) to conduct market research and analysis;

(d) to confirm your age and identity, and to detect and prevent fraud.

1.2 Newsletters

With your explicit permission, we may send you newsletters about our shop, new products and other updates. We send newsletters based on your explicit consent. In the event that you purchase a product, and in accordance with current regulations, we may send you commercial communications in accordance with the legitimate interest of our company, always about products or services similar to those you have purchased or contracted. In any case, you may exercise your right of opposition through the channels announced in this Privacy Policy. The following information is collected in relation to the newsletter:

We do not need to know the sex of the person in order to send the newsletter (data minimisation: by law we must ask for data that is strictly necessary to provide the service, and in this case knowing the sex is not necessary to send the newsletter).

Purpose of data collection

The data collected is used to:

(a) personalise our emails, including your name and gender;

(b) provide gender-specific content.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the link provided in the newsletter or the contact information provided in section 2.

1.3 Customer service and contact form

In order to provide appropriate support, our customer service employees have access to information related to the account. Consequently, their support will be highly effective and friendly. The data provided in our contact form is used by our CRM provider, SuperOffice. We will only use your details to respond to your message.

SECTION 2 – LEGITIMATE INTEREST

If you have purchased any of our products, please note that we may process your personal data for promotional purposes, based on Royal Queen Seeds' legitimate interest only to offer you products or services from our company and about products or services similar to those you have purchased. You may exercise your right to opt out of future messages by the means set out in this Privacy Policy or through any notification you receive.

2.1 How do you withdraw consent?

If you change your mind, you can withdraw your consent for us to contact you for the purpose of collecting, using, or disclosing your data at any time by reaching out to us at: support@royalqueenseeds.com.

SECTION 3 – DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law or if you breach our Terms of Service.

SECTION 4 – HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR DATA?

At Royal Queen Seeds, we will not retain your data for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of data; however, the longest period we will normally hold any personal data is 10 years.

4.1 Account information

Data relating to the account remains relevant for as long as the consumer is in possession of an account. Therefore, the data remains documented for as long as the account exists. When our customers delete an account, the associated data will be deleted within a reasonable period of time. Requests regarding the inspection or correction of stored personal data or the deletion of an account can be sent to support@royalqueenseeds.com.

4.2 Newsletters

In the event that you give us your consent to inform you about our products or services, we will keep your data until you express your wish not to receive any further communications from us. However, we regularly (every month) carry out a relevance check. Registered customers (and their personal information) will be deleted whenever customers do not reply to our request. In addition, our newsletter mailing has an opt-out feature. Consumers can withdraw their consent by using this opt-out feature.

SECTION 5 – COOKIES

Cookies are small information files that notify your computer of previous interactions with our website. These cookies are stored on your hard drive, not on our website. Essentially, when you use our website, your computer displays its cookies to us, informing our site that you have visited before. This allows our website to function more quickly and remember aspects related to your previous visits (such as your username), making your experience more convenient. At Royal Queen Seeds, we use two types of cookies: functional and analytical.

5.1 Functional Cookies

Functional cookies are used to enhance your online experience. Among other things, these cookies track what is added to your shopping cart. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

5.2 Analytical Cookies

Analytical cookies are used for research and market analysis. The data collected with these analytical cookies is anonymous, making it unusable for third parties. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

SECTION 5 – THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

Third-party services are required to conduct transactions and provide our services. In general, the third-party providers we use will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to enable them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide to them for your transactions.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these providers so that you can understand how these providers will handle your personal information.

In particular, certain suppliers may be located or have facilities located in a different jurisdiction than yours or ours. Therefore, if you choose to proceed with a transaction involving the services of a third party, your information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

Once you leave our website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service of our website.

Web analytics service (anonymous data)

On this website we have integrated an element of a web analytics service (with anonymisation functionality). Web analytics can be defined as the gathering, processing and analysis of data about the behaviour of visitors to websites. An analytics service collects, among other things, data about which website a person came from (the so-called referrer), which sub-pages they visited or how often and for how long they visited a sub-page. Web analytics is mainly used for website optimisation and for a cost–benefit analysis of internet advertising.

Courier service

To complete deliveries we use a courier service. This courier service carries out the delivery between our company and the consumer's home. To complete these logistics, the company requires access to the consumer's name and address information.

Mailing service

Royal Queen Seeds uses a third-party mail service provider to send its newsletter. This provider has access to limited account information related to opt-in consent (e.g. email address).

Marketing services

Royal Queen Seeds has the support of a company that specialises in marketing and communication activities. Their access to personal information is very limited and mostly anonymous.

Payment services

At Royal Queen Seeds we use external payment services to handle our transactions (e.g. credit card payments).

SECTION 6 – SECURITY

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry standard best practices to ensure that it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored using AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional industry standards that are commonly accepted. Information related to the account is protected with a hashing method. This method transforms the information into a generated hash. As a result, confidential information is protected and invisible, even to us. In addition, our databases are exceptionally protected against unauthorised access. For example, access to the database is only possible and permitted via approved IP addresses (e.g. from Royal Queen Seeds headquarters). Other attempts and addresses are rejected at all times.

Furthermore, data is anonymised as much as possible, so it cannot be directly linked to a specific consumer. With this data, however, we may be able to carry out market research and analysis. In addition, the third parties concerned (e.g. mailing service) are examined prior to our collaboration, comply with the GDPR from the EU and receive a processing agreement. Within Royal Queen Seeds, employees are assigned different access permissions. Specific permission provides access only to information that is strictly required to perform a task. Digital security measures are subject to change and must meet high requirements to ensure the safety of online customers. That is why, at Royal Queen Seeds, we appoint a security officer. Regular verification and improvement of security measures (where necessary) are part of the role.

SECTION 7 – CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please check back regularly. Changes and clarifications will be effective immediately upon being published on the Website. If we make substantial changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated so you will know what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we use and/or disclose it.

SECTION 8 – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: