How To Grow Weed?

Growing Marijuana is a skill that could be a hobby or a business in the making. It might be easier to buy from someone who sells it, but it would be even more fulfilling to grow it yourself. Regardless of its purpose, growing Marijuana is one of the things a stoner could learn for their convenience. Here are the steps in growing Marijuana!

What Are The Types Of Marijuana?

The first thing to understand before growing a garden of your own is to know the species of Marijuana. In doing so, it is easier to choose the species along with the variant you want to grow and produce. There are three species of cannabis available: Indica, Sativa, and Ruderalis.

Although there are three species, only two species are mostly used in the market as they produce more Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC along with other cannabinoids.

Indica and Sativa are the species that are produced commercially because of their potency and THC content.

Indica can be identified through their short and wide leaves. Its color is also darker compared to the other two species. Meanwhile, Sativa is known for its long but thin leaves. It tends to grow taller compared to Indica.

Ruderalis, the other species is not used for its THC content. It does not have much of an effect on humans because of its potency. However, this species is often used in cannabis-infused food products like baked goods.

Where Do I Buy Seeds?

After deciding on which species to plant, the next thing you should know is where to buy seeds. Seeds are the carriers of weed but it’s not as easy to find those in the public. Most of the time, seed buying or selling is illegal.

Canada and The Netherlands are two of the countries that allow sales of seeds in the world. Other than that, it is illegal. Added to that, planting and growing cannabis is also considered illegal.

Seeds could be sourced from a lot of places. It could be from a cannabis grower or somebody who is in the business of growing, too. They have seeds from their own harvest so the seed’s quality could be trusted.

Another option is from a dealer. Most of the time, a dealer works in the black market. This is a bigger risk compared to getting direct contact with a grower.

The last option could be through a seed bank. Tapping in seed banks could be done online since most seed banks are in Canada and The Netherlands since it’s legal to sell seeds in those countries.

PART I: GERMINATION

What Do I Need For Indoor Growing?

Lights

A light source in indoor farming is a grower’s best friend. In Science, light is an element used by plants to produce their own food through photosynthesis. Knowing what light source works best for your plants is supporting your plants to healthier growth.

There are three types of light often used in indoor gardens; fluorescents, incandescents, and high-density lamps (HID). Out of the three, HID lamps are what’s most preferred since they emit the amount of light needed by plants efficiently.

Germination

Germination is a process of letting seeds crack open from their shell to become seedlings in preparation for their vegetative growth. There are four germination methods to choose from as preferred by weed growers: soil, paper towels, germination kits, and soaking in water.

To germinate a seed using soil, leave the seeds in soil with 3mm holes for a week. In the whole week, the soil should be kept moist. This process has a 70% to 80% chance of success.

Meanwhile, if you prefer to use paper towels, all you need to do is to keep the paper towels moist. Place the seeds in between a fold of moist paper towels to kickstart germination. After the seeds sprout, it is time to transplant the seedlings into pots filled with soil.

A germination kit can also be used since its success rate is equal to the paper towel method which is 80% to 90%. Each kit contains nutrients that are needed by the seeds until it becomes a seedling. Soaking in water is also a good method as it has the highest success rate and it can be done by any growers regardless of their experience.

What Type Of Soil Should I Use?

If you prefer the soil method in germinating, the type of soil to be used is important too. Choosing the right soil is a make or break process in germination as the soil itself supports healthier growth. In supply shops, a soil labeled as “germinating soil” is usually sold.

This type of soil is composed of nutrients not found in regular soil but found in composted soil. Oftentimes, growers prefer to use a soil type called NPK. It is a type of soil that contains a high concentration of Nitrogen and a few parts of Phosphorus and Potassium.

PART II: SEEDLING STAGE

How Often Do I Light Up My Plants?

In a controlled environment, it is easy to tweak the lights as they are from an artificial light source. Use this to your advantage. In the earlier stages, weed doesn’t require much light yet.

But as its growth progresses to the vegetative stage, it will absorb more light as it will produce more food for itself. Growers allow 18 hours of exposure to light every day. This is enough time for the plant to absorb its needed dosage for the day.

How Often Do I Need To Water My Plants?

Unlike most plants, cannabis plants don’t appreciate getting overwhelmed with moisture. Marijuana is most vulnerable during its germination period. A few spritzes of water can come a long way. The idea is to keep the soil moist but not muddy. Too much water could change the soil’s texture and could affect the plant’s growth in the long run.

STEP III: VEGETATIVE STAGE

The Indoor Vegetative Growth

This period is the most important part as it is the time where the plant grows into maturity. It is a phase wherein a plant grows thicker stems or more leaves. Through this stage, cannabis will look like the cannabis you know.

Transplanting is a crucial step in the plant’s vegetative growth. It is a process of transferring the seedlings from where it was germinated into where it will continue growing.

Transplanting a seedling is tricky as it puts stress on the plant itself. Stress is one of the factors which contribute to how a plant grows. Transplant shock is something a grower should look into to ensure that the plant stays safe during the process.

How Do I Determine The Sex?

Determining the plant’s sex is important as it dictates the amount of THC potency. In general, female plants are more potent compared to male plants. In some cases, male plants are only used to pollinate female plants if the grower aims to produce seeds instead of buds.

A quick way to determine a plant’s sex is to observe them in their vegetation period. As soon as the vegetation period is over, male plants would normally grow bigger and taller compared to female plants. During this time, they would start flowering too. The flowering in male plants starts earlier than in female plants by two weeks.

It is important to know the plant’s gender as it would play a vital role later on in producing buds or seeds. Male plants need to be separated from female plants if you want seedless buds. However, if you aim to grow seeds for next season or for selling, leaving the male plants to pollinate female plants would be a great move.

What Do I Need For Outdoor Planting?

There is not much of a difference between indoor and outdoor planting. Tweaking the knowledge you have from indoor planting would make adjustments for the outdoors would make everything easier for you.

Soil

Compared to indoor farming, the soil is readily available in outdoor farming. All you need to do is to check the soil’s quality. Its pH levels should neither be acidic nor alkaline. There are tools you can use in checking the soil’s pH levels.

Aside from that, the soil should not be too dry or too moist. Regardless of planting inside or outside, moisture is still Marijuana’s biggest enemy. Make sure that the soil you will be planting in has enough moisture to support the plant during its growth.

Sowing the Seeds

A way to sow your seeds is through broadcast seeding. It is scattering seeds on top of the soil to ensure spacing in between them. This method allows the plants to germinate in preparation for the planting period. Another way is to put them in mounds or rows. Using this method is how most growers plant outdoors.

But Marijuana growers do not prefer this method as it makes it obvious that some plant is planted in the area. If you are going to plant outdoors, you wouldn’t want to draw much attention to your cannabis as it is illegal to grow them. It is for your safety too.

Weeding

Weeds are parasites that take all the nutrients and water away from your plant. It is important to take them out by the time they are starting to grow around your garden. It also helps to remove them before even starting to till your soil. Keeping an eye out in your weeds means keeping an eye out on your weed.

Light

There is an abundance of light outdoors. All you need to worry about light outdoors is if it becomes too much. Remember that one factor that affects cannabis is high temperature. The sun, as the main light source outside, oftentimes produces heat.

You can put a shade over the garden if ever the sun gets too hot and if it gets too dry for the plants to survive. Aside from an abundance of light, there could also be a lack of light. Blockages could be caused by trees or any other plants that are taller than a Marijuana plant.

If that’s the case, transplanting the plants could be the answer. If that’s not something you would want to do, you would have to deal with plants not getting enough dosage of sunlight for the day. Inefficiency could result in a plant growing weak and not producing enough THC and other cannabinoids.

STEP IV: HARVESTING YOUR WEED

Harvesting

It is always advised to harvest at a time it isn’t too early or too late for the plant to be harvested. The plant’s potency is highly-dependent on how early or how late it gets harvested. Too early or too late could affect the taste and effect of weed.

To harvest a plant, all you need to do is to pull the plant from the soil. Avoid cracking the stems and branches as it makes it harder to deal with the plant. It would help to wet the soil around the roots so it would be easier to pull it out. If your plants are in a pot, tip the pots over to extract the plant from it.

Curious how juicy your harvest yields really are? Chuck them buds on a scale. If you don’t own a scale yet you should go and check out my post!

There are a lot more things to look out for when growing weed. But the amount of information would exceed the format of this post. If you would like to know more simply download the free e-Book.