how to grow weed at home

How to Grow Weed at Home – A Comprehensive Guide

As an enthusiastic cannabis lover, we often come to a point where we’d like to bring our ‘joint rolling’ skills higher, and wonder about growing weed at home. First, we have to remove our fears that this process is going to be difficult because the truth is it isn’t.

Marijuana is called ‘weed’ since it grows easily, almost in any climate just like a real weed. Having that said, you just have to understand several aspects in order to succeed in growing cannabis, as well as produce a rewarding harvest of massive and potent cannabis buds.

Cannabis plants are flowering plants. This means that they flower only once a year in the wild as the fall season enters when the hours of daylight are generally shorter. This is an important consideration as an indoor grower since you will rely on an artificial lighting and this is needed to keep from flowering.

But before you begin growing weed at home, here are the things you have to consider.

Consider your Grow Space

Growing marijuana at home is safer than growing outdoors. However, you need to allot a specific room or space where you can keep your grow. You will need a window, or a vent to eliminate used air, and there must be a way where fresh air can enter your grow space.

Furthermore, in allotting a space for growing cannabis, you also have to consider the following:

  • Number of plants you intend to grow
  • Size of containers
  • Time your plants will stay on vegetative period
  • Type of seeds (Indica, Sativa or Hybrid)

Temperature and Humidity

Having the right temperature and humidity inside your grow room is crucial to keep your marijuana plants healthy. When the room is too hot, your plants lose their ability to absorb oxygen and will start to droop or lose its color.

Marijuana plants love warm temperatures between 70oF to 83oF (21oC to 28oC). When kept at this temperature range, your plants will grow better and will develop strong root growth.

When growing marijuana at home, heat buildup from powerful grow lights tends to be a common problem that’s why your grow room needs to have an efficient ventilation. You will have to use both an intraction and extraction fans to maximize gas exchange and to facilitate airflow inside the grow room.

Some commercial growers also use carbon dioxide to improve the yields of their grow. However, for beginners with a small grow, this action may not be worth all the expense.

Odor Control

Another essential aspect to consider when growing marijuana at home is to control the odor generated by your grow. All marijuana has some distinct smell, although there are strains that are especially aromatic and could spread its smell across the neighborhood if not properly controlled.

Fortunately, this problem can be easily managed through the use or ionizers, carbon filters, and ozone generators. These odor control systems will help cleanse the air inside before it exits the grow room.

Additionally, if you worry about odor control, try following these tips:

  • Choose low odor strains.
  • Use low cost odor neutralizers for a small grow.
  • Carbon filters are the most effective solution for controlling the smell on your grow room.

Growing Medium

When growing marijuana at home, you have to decide if you will be using soil or soilless medium. Using soil is the most natural and environmentally friendly method of growing cannabis, however using soilless mediums and hydroponics surely have benefits when it comes to growing marijuana.

Benefits of using hydroponics

  • Lowers the risk for plant diseases.
  • You have proper control over the nutrients your plants eat.
  • Yields better harvest.
  • Less mess inside your home.

Cannabis Nutrients

Most marijuana home growers shop for nutrients from a hydroponics shop or at the web. Marijuana plants need nutrients like other plants and they basically need Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K), as well as other trace nutrients.

Almost all nutrient packages found in shops are labeled with N-P-K ratio. For example, 10-5-5 means that the package contains 10 parts of Nitrogen and 5 parts each of Phosphorus and Potassium. For a successful grow, you have to ensure you’re giving the right amounts of nutrients for every stage your plants are in.

Lights

Of all the aspects of home growing marijuana, the most important thing to consider is the artificial lighting you will use. There are several options you can choose depending on your type of grow and the availability of resources.

For most, LED lights are the most practical and energy efficient option when growing marijuana at home and they don’t release too much heat inside your grow room. LED lights are a costly investment however, they are said to become more efficient than other grow lights in the long run.

Another option includes HID grow lights. They are less expensive and common for indoor grows. But, they do release a lot of heat so you have to set up a very good ventilation system in your grow room to avoid heat buildup and burning your plants.

But to top it all, the very basic thing to consider when growing marijuana at home is about choosing the right type of marijuana seeds. You can order them online in different marijuana seed banks and you’ll have to choose whether to grow auto-flowering, feminized or regular seeds.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *