The Basics of Indoor Marijuana Growing - You Know, Asking for a Friend, Just in Case

The Basics of Indoor Marijuana Growing

indoor marijuana growing basics

Starting your cannabis grow operation is a great adventure filled with an equal amount of work and responsibility; it is a fun and exhilarating ride that is guaranteed to ensure you great returns which means you no longer have to rely on others for supply again. Growing cannabis yourself indoors is somewhat easy because it grows fast in a short while (the entire process from planting to harvest takes about 12-16 weeks) and the methods and techniques involved are pretty straight forward especially for beginners to grasp.

What You Need to Grow Marijuana Indoors

For the successful growth of cannabis indoors, you will need essentials such as a grow-room or tent to cultivate your plants, good grow light, fan, your grow pots, seeds, fertilizer, microscope, hygrometer among other things. It should be noted that to ensure a seamless operation there are a few things among those listed above that you need to pay special attention to as the success of your grow operation depends on getting them right.

The Grow Tent

Before getting your grow tent or setting aside a grow room, you need to consider how much space you have, the lighting conditions, and ventilation of the space. This is because although you can create artificial lighting and ventilation, the positioning of the grow-area is quite important especially if you want to be discrete about your endeavor. Also, the space available in addition to the possible full-growth size of your plants are vital factors that will determine what size of grow tent you can get.

Grow Lights

Indoor growth needs artificial lighting as this is one of the most important determinants of the size of your harvest. Also, lighting plays a huge role in the transitioning of your plant from one stage to another and this is why it is important to get the right light for your plant. There are 3 main types of lights to be used for cannabis growing; first are the LED lights which are power and energy-efficient although a bit expensive, the CMH lights, and the High-Intensity Discharge (HID) lights which have been utilized by cannabis growers for quite some time. It is a cheap and power-intensive light.

Soil and Seeds

The soil type you choose goes a long way in determining the health of your plants and this is why you need to get the best soil type for the particular strain of seeds you wish to grow. For your seeds, there are a lot of things to consider before carefully selecting. Factors such as the size of the plant when it is fully grown, yield, flowering times, bud size, lighting needed and so on. These factors are quite important for you to know as the success of your operation hinges on them. It should be noted that based on conclusive results gotten from research and surveys it's highly advisable for beginners to get the feminized seeds as they are more efficient.

After getting all the above ready, you should now start setting up your grow area. This could be in a cellar, garage, attic, closet or a whole room depending on the space you have available as this will also determine the number of plants you can have.

Growing Your Plants

To start growing your plants, you need to place your seeds into moist peat pellets and cover them with soil and place them into containers for some days. While the pellets are in the containers, you should regularly add water to it until they sprout within 3-7 days. Next, you need to set your light timer to be on for 18 hours and off for 6 before placing your plants into the grow room. Once they start growing out of the pellets, its time to transfer them into pots by placing them in the middle of a soil-filled pot and adding some water before placing it back under the light. Ensure that half of the stem is buried in the soil and that you regularly water but not too much just whenever the soil is dry, probably with filtered water. This system should be kept up for about 3-4 weeks as this is when they are in the vegetative state.

In the fourth week, you can switch the lighting to 12/12 for about another 4 weeks to start the flowering phase of growth in which the plant starts producing seeds and buds. Your plants should flower for about 8-10 weeks before it can be ready for harvest. You can determine this when it stops growing, its pistils and trichomes turn brown and the buds become smaller and harden. All that is left is to harvest and trim your buds before drying and curing it to be ready for consumption.

You need to ensure that you regularly water and feed your plants with enough nutrients so they can grow healthy. These nutrients are usually available in the special cannabis fertilizer which you can dilute and feed to your plant once in a while to prevent overwhelming your plants with nutrients. Also, you need to keep an eye out for pests and diseases by regularly examining your plant with microscopes or the naked eye to enable you to catch and treat anything early.