There are many reasons why you may think of starting to grow cannabis at home. Maybe you’re a fan of a certain strain or a sort of control freak, or just want to save money (and if so, it makes a lot of sense). If you’re new to this, you may have heard about tents, humidifiers, or stuff. But now let’s have a definitive list of what you may need for getting the best results from home growing.
Is Growing Herb Different From Growing Other Plants?
Well, you may have some experience with flowers or microgreens. But does it apply to everything floral? To understand this, you may start with the following.
- It needs heat. What regions come to mind when you say “weed”? California, Jamaica, India, maybe Afghanistan; they all have a very specific climate. That’s what you need to emulate under the tent. With other greens, it’s simpler.
- The humidity level needs to be sustained, so a humidifier for grow room is a must. Unlike microgreens and flowers that can be watered manually, weed is demanding.
- While most other plants are good with natural lighting, weed needs a more elaborate approach, sometimes up to 24 hours a day of light. It’s also recommended to use different lighting for different phases: say, cold blue light for vegetative growing and red light for flowering. That’s why you may also consider a controller necessary.
But what all sorts of growing have in common is that experience is the best teacher. The lifespan of a plant is short enough for you to experiment with several generations of it and come to the right conclusions soon. So read what others share but do your thing and use your brain.
What You Need for Growing at Home
If you have a yard, you can just have its name – weed – completely justified. But as a civilized person, you may prefer more efficient ways. In addition, if you’re living in an apartment, wild growing is no option. So, let’s list it.
- No seed, no weed. Just make sure you buy them from a well-known provider. If you are a beginner, you may opt for auto-flowering seeds which require less fiddling around with lightning necessary to trigger flowering.
- There are special sorts of soil optimized for this plant, but decent generic ones (like loam) are also good. The pH level should be between 5.8 and 6.3, 6.0 is considered the golden mean.
- The most important elements are phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen.
- The container. The size of the container depends on the number of plants you’re about to grow, each plant requiring about 4 square feet.
- The grow tent. This is an extremely important tool for creating and maintaining the right microclimate.
- A humidifier. The right humidity is crucial for growing quality weed.
- A ventilation device (usually a cooler or an exhaustion fan)
- The lights. There are many light options, but what you’ll definitely need is either an automated timer or a constantly working reminder on your phone.
Growing is just a part of the process, of course. You’ll also need trimming tables, drying equipment, and storage that grants certain conditions, like dryness. But that’s a totally different story from growing.
The Right Stuff
Not only should you buy the right equipment and assemble it. First of all, you need to know what you want. How much space you can devote to growing? Will you be able to watch it regularly? Got anyone to trust with it while you’re away? All of these things and more should help you decide. Of course, you should only follow our recommendations if recreational cannabis use is legal in your state.
