How To Grow Weed?
To grow cannabis indoors, you will still follow the same steps in growing weed outdoors. The only difference is that you will be using an artificial light source in a limited grow space to grow cannabis plants. However, the process will still yield quality yields if performed correctly. Here are the steps on how to grow weed!
Steps in Growing Marijuana
Designate a Cannabis Grow Room or Space
Determine where you would want your grow space to be. It doesn’t have to be vast, and it doesn’t have to be a room; it doesn’t have to be outdoors. It can be a closet, tent, cabinet, spare room, or a corner in an unfinished basement. Keep in mind that you will adjust your equipment to fit the space. The smaller space, the less upfront costs it will be. It will be easier to monitor, and of course, it will cost you less if you cause an error moving forward.
Aside from the number of plants that can fit in your grow space, consider the other things that need to be in the space, such as lights, vents, ducting, and other equipment. You also need some space to move around the area to utilize most of the space. Last, consider the height of your grow space as the headspace will accommodate the tall cannabis plants.
Choose Your Cannabis Grow Light
Regardless of whether it’s an indoor or outdoor grow space, plants will be highly dependent on a light source to make their food. It will affect plant growth and yield, which are the most important goals of growing your own plants. If you’re planting outdoors, of course, the sun is the best light source out there. It can provide a full light spectrum that will benefit the plants as they grow and mature.
But for those planting indoors, we wrote about the best grow lamps for indoor growing. Through research, we have uncovered that LEDs are the best grow lights to use indoors since they produce the same amount of light but use less power. In recent times, it can now produce a full light spectrum that the plants need through continuous development.
Provide Ventilation To Your Plants
Another important factor for plant growth is air. Plants need fresh air to thrive, and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is essential to photosynthesis. Using an exhaust fan can easily provide ventilation to the grow space. Placing it on a higher level in the room will help remove the warmer air, supported by a filtered air inlet on the opposite side near the floor.
How warm should a grow room be? The temperature should remain within the comfortable range for plants, between 70-85F (21-29C) when lights are on. Meanwhile, the temperature should be around 58-70F (14-21C) when the lights are off. Growers should adjust the temperature in a grow room depending on the cannabis strain they are growing. Indica strains prefer a cooler temperature compared to Sativa due to their place of origin.
Maintain Climate Within The Grow Space
After choosing the lights and climate control equipment, you’ll want to automate their functions. While there are sophisticated (and expensive) units available that control lights, temperature, humidity, and CO2 levels, the beginner will generally need a simple 24-hour timer for the light and an adjustable thermostat switch for the exhaust fan.
For light timers, we have collated the best light timers to help you decide on which one to get. They are either digital or analog light timers that automatically cut off power to the connected devices to turn them off. Growers can set them up depending on the light cycle needed by the plants. Aside from lights, light timers can also manipulate other devices such as exhaust fans and ducts.
Decide On A Cannabis Grow Medium
Growing indoors means you have many different media to choose from. Whether it’s old-fashion pots full of soil, or a Rockwool slab in a hydroponic tray, every medium has its benefits and drawbacks.
Soil and hydroponics are the most common planting media for indoor growers. Soil is the most traditional medium for growing cannabis indoors and the most forgiving, making it a good choice for first-time growers. There is pre-fertilized soil available in the market for purchasing. With this type of soil, there is no need for additional fertilizers and nutrients. The cannabis plant will grow on its own, with little supervision.
Soilless setups like hydroponics are becoming more popular with indoor growers due to their faster pace. The plants absorb the fertilizers and nutrients directly through their roots, promoting faster uptake, faster growth, and bigger yields.
Pick Out The Containers
A good plant container should allow proper drainage, promote root growth, and allow enough space as the plants grow. Most people grow their first cannabis plants in five-gallon buckets. Inexpensive options include disposable perforated plastic bags or cloth bags, while some choose to spend more on “smart pots,” containers designed to enhance airflow to the plant’s root zone.
Keep in mind that drainage is key, as cannabis plants are susceptible to water-logged conditions. For repurposed containers, make sure to drill holes in the bottoms and set them in trays to provide good drainage.
Feed Your Cannabis Plants Nutrients
If you are not using a pre-fertilized soil mix, you will need to feed your plants at least once a week using an appropriate solution. A good combination of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium is the ideal mix for a healthy and well-fertilized plant. Called macronutrients, they are the primary nutrients needed by a plant to survive. Aside from that, another group of elements called micronutrients also supports plant growth. Although optional, the group consists of Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, and Copper.
Water Your Cannabis Plants
Keep in mind that overwatering is one of the reasons why plants die. Cannabis plants are susceptible to fungal root diseases when conditions are too wet, and overwatering is one of the most common mistakes made by the beginning grower. How often you water your plants depend on the media used, size of the plants, and ambient temperature. Some people will wait until the lower leaves start to droop slightly before watering.
PART I: GERMINATION
What is 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. Germinating in soil has a 70% to 80% chance of success.
Meanwhile, if you prefer to use paper towels, all you need to do is 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.
Using a germination kit will produce the same results since its success rate is equal to the paper towel method, 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 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 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 when 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 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!
STEP V: Drying and Curing
Harvesting
It is always advised to harvest when 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 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!
Benefits of Growing Weed Indoors
High-quality weed
Although growing indoors is more resource-intensive and more expensive upfront than growing outdoors, its main advantage is that you get to control every factor in the growing space, such as light, temperature, and humidity. In return, indoor growing setups can produce the highest quality of weed according to the plant’s potential.
Adaptability
Growing weed is possible anywhere. As long as you have space, even if it’s limited, it will allow you to grow your own plants. Indoor growing eliminates the need for an outdoor space for you to cultivate.
Multiple harvests
Unlike outdoor growing, you aren’t tied to the sun and the seasons. Getting control of the light source practically gives the growers the power to alter the duration of cannabis plant growth. Getting that advantage also allows the plants to get as big as you want, signal their flowering stage, harvest, and begin the cycle again.
Privacy and security
Even if growing and using weed is already deemed legal in most states, people still consider the idea of it as taboo. Growing indoors will provide security and privacy for your neighbors and potential thieves. It also allows you to grow discreetly behind a locked space.