Growing marijuana indoors has become an ever growing trend among marijuana enthusiasts as it is a way better option than buying your marijuana buds from your local dealers.
You can save a lot of money in the long run if you grow your own as you have full control of the quality of your weed. You don’t need to pay for high-priced weed.
Aside from that, you don’t have to worry about running out of buds supply.
Were you get ripped off from high priced low quality buds sold by the underground dealers? If your answer is yes, then growing cannabis indoors should be your best alternative to avoiding that incident from happening again.
Is it possible to grow marijuana indoors even if I am a beginner?
This is a very valid question if you are a first time grower.
Well, yes, it is highly possible, and it can also be learned. You may have already heard of other people talking about how painstaking the task involved are, but reality is that, growing your own marijuana is relatively easy to do, for as long as you have the right information in your hand.
What you need is the willingness and determination to go with this project, some time every day for learning, and a grow space ready for your indoor marijuana setup.
Before You Start to Grow Marijuana Indoors
Before starting, it is very important to learn the basics of marijuana. For one, marijuana has several other names. It is often called cannabis, pot, weed, ganja, bud, and several others. All of these names point to the cured and dried buds of the female marijuana plant. These types of plants can thrive in different environments, and there are even types that grow naturally anywhere. Marijuana is also available in several different strains. You can select the particular strain that you want to grow by choosing the seeds accordingly. The flowers of the plants are grown for a particular period of time, usually depending on the type of strain, harvested, and go through a drying and curing process in order to turn into buds that are now ready to smoke, vaporize, eat, or even processed for medical or recreational purposes.
Advantages Knowing How to Grow Marijuana Indoors
If you are torn into deciding which type of growing environment is best for your marijuana plants, it is recommended to look into the advantages of each one. However, since this is a guide for indoor growing, let us focus on the advantages of indoor marijuana growing.
Ensured Hygienic Environment
With an indoor setup, you have ultimate control of the environment, which is great especially if you are focused towards taking care of your grow space. As a result, you can come up with a hygienic, clean space as compared to the different potential variables that are involved in an outdoor growing setup. This is generally important for marijuana growers who would like to use their plants for medical purposes.
Multiple Expected Harvests
True, there may be certain benefits involved in outdoor growing; however, being under the mercy of nature, as well as the seasons may turn out to be a challenging experience, most especially if you live in an area somewhere in the northern latitude. Keep in mind that marijuana is considered an annual plant. This means that it only has a few periods for flowering every year. Therefore, if you do not have the perfect conditions for your growing project, you may not be able to achieve the best harvest to be expected.
On the other hand, with an indoor growing setup, you can artificially alter the harvesting and flowering time of your plants. Hypothetically speaking, you can expect up to six flowering periods every year because it can only take your plant 2 months for maturing and flowering. With this kind of schedule, you can expect to grow marijuana at any time of the year. At the same time, you only need two different rooms, one for your plants’ vegetation phase (one which needs 18 hours of light), and another one for their flowering phase (which needs 12 hours of light).
Fun of Growing Marijuana
At this point, it is best to set expectations appropriately. Cultivating marijuana plants in an indoor environment can take a whole lot of work. After all, it is considered as a craft, and it may even take an entire lifetime to learn all of the tricks of this trade. However, as a craft, it can also turn out to be fun. At the same time, it can also be a great learning experience, and may even be considered as a healthy and stimulating hobby. For example, individuals who choose to grow marijuana for medical purposes can divert their attention on other useful things, and not just on their health condition.
You can Control the Climate
After completing the installation, you can expect great conditions for your marijuana cultivation. This only means that enough light will be given, and at the same time, the temperature is also expected to be perfect. With this, you can control different aspects in order to make sure that the plants are nurtured sufficiently at all times. For example, there are elements that you can easily adjust such as ventilation, temperature, CO2 levels, fertilizers and substrate quality.
Since climate control is entirely in your hands, you can provide your plants with the right sources that they need. At the same time, you no longer have to worry about high humidity or that you might end up seeing your plants completely covered with mold. You can also say goodbye about worrying about drought periods that can pose danger to your plants’ growth, as well as storms which can easily eliminate your production in just a single day.
Growing your marijuana plants in an indoor environment can provide you with the assurance of a high quality product guarantee, as well as good profit. This is unlike growing outdoor crops with fluctuations in terms of amount and quality, dependent on the conditions outdoor.
Basics in Growing Cannabis Indoors
In reality, marijuana plants are just weeds with very simple needs. As a matter of fact, you can expect your marijuana plants to grow as long as you provide them with the right amount of resources. In order for your marijuana plant to grow and thrive healthily, your plant needs certain things, with six as their basic needs, including light, a growing medium, air, right temperature, nutrients, and water.
Light
One thing that needs to be understood at this point is this: The light and brightness of the environment can have an impact on the yield. Since, you are growing in an indoor setup, you are expected to use alternative light. Keep in mind that the type of grow lights you select may not be the only factor that you have to consider, but it can greatly impact your growing yields and success.
Compared to other house plants, marijuana plants need more light. This means the actual light that reaches your plants. Increasing the brightness will not necessarily increase the yields if your plants are unhealthy and sick. However, it can improve the yields to a good degree. There are specialized types of grow lights that you can use. There are several options that are currently available out there. However, one thing is for certain. Incandescent light bulbs are generally not suitable as a growing light.
While brightness is important for overall growth, keep in mind that darkness is also as important, especially when it comes to the creation of buds. After all, marijuana is a “photoperiod” type of plant, which only means that the actual amount of overall uninterrupted period of darkness will ultimately determine the time in which the plant goes through the flowering phase. Most of the plants will not enter the flowering phase until they receive long, complete nights (more than 12 hours).
This rule does not cover auto-flowering marijuana strains, however. These groups of plants are special in a way that they only grow from seeds. They do not need to focus on photoperiods. As a matter of fact, these plants will be ready for harvesting in just an average period of 3 months regardless of the number of darkness hours that they receive every night.
With an indoor growing setup, you are in full control of the flowering phase, that is, when the plants begin to form buds. As a marijuana grower, you can easily do this by adjusting the daily light schedule of the plant, typically by connecting your grow lights to an auto timer. The timers may be plugged in to any outlet and can automatically turn the grow lights on and off.
Options on the different types of grow lights may include Metal Halide, High Pressure Sodium, Compact Fluorescent Lights, and several other options. You may want to educate yourself first with the different options available in order to see which options would be perfect for you.
Grow Medium
There are different medium that you can take into consideration when it comes to growing your marijuana in an indoor setup. Basically, you can choose whether you would like to grow your plants in soil, hydroponics, or a fusion of the two.
Soil Growing
By far, growing in soil is the most natural type of growing that you can give to your plants. While natural soil, (yes, the natural soil that you can get outside your home) can be used, it is highly important to check on its quality first to ensure success in growing. Other growers, on the other hand, choose to use formulated soil for their setup. A note however, it is not suitable to use soil with extended release nutrients for your marijuana project.
Hydroponics Growing
There are several benefits that can be achieved in growing marijuana indoors using the hydroponics setup. For one, you can expect less time for harvesting. This is due to the shorter vegetative phase that can allow you to harvest faster. At the same time, you can expect to harvest consistent and bigger yields compared to soil growing using the same setup. Also, a lot of indoor marijuana growers report that marijuana grown through the hydroponics setup are generally more potent compared to those that are grown in soil.
Soil-Hydro Fusion Growing
This includes the use of coco coir as well as other soilless mixes. Even though technically speaking, any type of growing medium aside from soil is already considered as hydroponic, growing on medium such as coco coir as well as other types of medium can turn out to be similar to growing in actual soil. There are several advantages that can also be expected. One is faster growth, since it can achieve faster vegetation compared to actual growing in soil. It is also less likely to be prone to pests, even though it may still be possible. At the same time, it is also easy, just like growing in soil.
Air
For an indoor setup of marijuana growing, the air should be fresh. The best condition is that of a slight breeze that can freely flow through the plants.
Right Temperature
In general, marijuana plants prefer a room temperature that is comfortable, especially in an indoor growing environment. In fact, they even prefer a little warmer, not too humid, not too dry. If the grow space is cold or warm, dry or humid, it is already a sign that you may have to change the humidity and/or temperature of the growing environment. Generally speaking, marijuana plants love temperature between the 70-85 degrees Fahrenheit (20 – 30 degrees Celsius) range at daytime, especially when the lights are on. On the other hand, when the lights are turned off, marijuana plants prefer cooler temperature.
Nutrients
At this point, it is very important to make sure that you only grow marijuana friendly nutrients. There are certain types of nutrients that may not have the right substances for both bud development and plant growth. Unless you have created your own compost for your marijuana soil, you definitely would want to support your marijuana growing with nutrients that can ensure the healthy growth of your plants. At this point, it is very important to remember that you need to consult the nutrient feeding chart which usually comes with the nutrients as it can provide you with the information regarding the maximum amount that needs to be provided to the plants.
Water
If you choose to grow marijuana in soil or a different type of growing medium such as coco coir, you definitely need to hand water your marijuana plants. After all, water is very important in the growing process. Understanding how to do so properly will save you from being frustrated.
When watering your marijuana plants, it is best to wait until the top part of the medium is already dry by about an inch. After, you can add water until you finally see about 10-20% of the extra water draining out of the pot bottom. You can wait again until the medium becomes dry before adding more water. If you notice that the water takes longer to drain out, you may have to check on the quality of your drainage.
Common Mistakes Among Beginners in Growing Weed Indoors
As a craft, growing marijuana is something that is perfected through time. However, with the experience of other growers, you do not have to go through the same mistakes they have committed in order to learn. In fact, you can learn from those mistakes.
One of the considered as most common indoor marijuana growing mistakes is conducting impulsive experiments which may end up hurting, or even killing the plants. If you have in mind a particular technique, it is often best to do a quick search first. For instance, you may find it possible to use nutrients that are easily available or cheap. However, some formulas of these nutrients may not give you the right ratio which is needed in growing marijuana, most particularly during the budding stage. This may not just hurt your plants, but it can also reduce your overall yields.
Another problem that is common among beginners in indoor growing is skipping vital steps such as making sure that proper pH is maintained, or choosing the right type of nutrients. While you may get that lucky strike and become successful in growing marijuana without having to take the steps needed, you may end up with cultivating plants that will just die eventually, or may not produce buds. Growing marijuana in an indoor environment can be effective given that you implement the right information for the process. The procedures involved are just like cultivating other types of plant. You just need to follow and implement a tested set of steps. Before you even know it, you will already be harvesting your first healthy buds.
Choosing the Right Indoor Marijuana Strain
Before discussing ways in which you can determine the right marijuana strain to grow for an indoor setup, it is important to know where you can possibly get your seeds or clones. These days, you can either meet up with a local seller, or through different seed banks online.
If you want to avoid uncertainties and ensure the growth of high quality marijuana plants, it is very important to focus on genetics. Just like animals and humans, the way in which your marijuana plants will grow will be associated with their genetics. Each plant is a combination of the traits coming from its two parents. Since genetics often have a great impact on the actual results, it is vital to understand more regarding the genetics of your plants.
There are three main types of strains that you can choose from: sativa, indica and hybrid. Most of the time, you will encounter strains that are hybrid. Some of them have more indica content, while others may have more sativa features. There is also a particular type of marijuana that you can look into – the auto-flowering, or ruderalis strains.
Indica Strains
Indica strains usually grow plants that are bushier and shorter. The effects that they give are usually of a body high.
Sativa Strains
These types of strains are the ones that usually give more mental or cerebral high. These strains are often expected to grow taller, with higher requirements for light, and may even take longer to mature compared to indica strains. For this reason, these plants may need specialized training in order for them to be suitable for indoor growing.
Hybrid
Most of the time, as agreed upon by many growers, hybrid marijuana plants are the easiest to grow because they have been particularly designed to bring along the best traits of both indica and sativa strains.
Auto-Flowering Strains
Auto-flowering strains mean that they enter the flowering phase regardless of the actual light schedule. These types of strains are usually famous because of their characteristics. In growing these strains, you may opt to give your marijuana plants with about 18 hours of light every day during the entire duration of growth, and you can expect harvesting to come in just 3 months. Also, since they only have a shorter life cycle, these strains often do not grow higher than 1 to 2 feet.
Selecting the Marijuana Seeds
Seeds are often considered the best way to start growing since they can be readily accessed online and discreetly delivered in various places all over the world. High quality cannabis seeds are generally dark-colored and hard. If you have marijuana seeds which are white and small, they may be immature, and may not be expected to germinate.
Seeds that are healthy may be stored inside your refrigerator until the time that you are ready to use them However, keep in mind that it is not suitable to freeze the seeds. Whenever the situation permits you, make sure that you only get your seeds from a trusted online seed bank. It is generally reliable to purchase your seeds from these different seed banks online. Most of the high quality seed banks are located overseas. This means that you may have to be patient when it comes to waiting for your order. The advantage of this type of purchasing is that you are given the assurance that the shipment will be discreetly delivered. By purchasing your seeds from an online source, you can decide to get feminized seeds, as well as in choosing the specific strain that can match your time requirements and grow space.
All in all, the option to grow your marijuana plants in an indoor setup is not a bad idea after all.