If you live in a state in the US where medical marijuana use is now deemed legal, growing weed indoors is a viable business opportunity for anyone who is looking into creating an employment opportunity for himself.
Thanks to medical marijuana advocates, people who grow marijuana could now legally do so within the bounds of the law.
Although always be careful to read the fine print to know the limitations and the possible risks that you might be putting yourself into when you do.
Remember, state law is different from federal law and according to the federal law called the Controlled Substances Act, marijuana, is for all intents and purposes among the substances that are still classified as illegal.
How to Grow Cannabis Indoors: A Beginner’s Guide.
You should start by figuring out the kind of lights and the genetics of your plant. You should determine the kind of plants you would like to grow, the place you want to grow and all you require.
Choose Your Stain.
Choosing a stain is the first thing you should do if you are planning to grow cannabis at home. There are different plants which require different various growing environments and nutrition. You should do proper research on the strain you are interested in and select the one best that can grow under your conditions. You should look at the following key aspects:
The overall size of the plant. They are two main reasons why you should know the overall size of a strain.
- Garden size – The size of your garden will determine how many plants you can grow and also approximate the size of your yield.
- Lighting – You should figure out the length of your plant to determine the amount of light it requires. If the lights are too strong, your plants will fry off, and if the lights are too weak, your plant won’t grow. The length of the plant is used to determine the number of lights that you need.
Average yields. You should approximate your yield in terms of quantity, quality, and size. You ask yourself the following questions:
If the harvest will consist of big or smaller buds? If the buds are bigger the more nutritious, they are. Ensure you give your plants all the nutrients and time it requires for the best harvest.
The amount of yield you are expecting. You should have realistic expectations which should be based on how well you take care of your plant. Choose a strain that gives you the yield that you want.
- Short day plants Vs. long day plants – Short day plants (SDP’s) requires short periods of light and a right amount of darkness. Long day plants (LDP’s) requires shorter periods of darkness and more extended periods of light. It’s important to understand this as each plant type needs its own specific lightening, feeding and environmental requirements.
- Flowering times – This is very important for cannabis growers. You should know how long your plants take to flower to avoid underwhelming harvest.
They are two ways you can start a plant life: Clones and Seeds.
- Clones – They grow faster and are simple to plant. They are preferred because you can know the sex of the plant as compared to seeds. Using clones, there is no need to pop seeds and wasting them. Clones are identical to the plants they have been cloned from. If you like a quick turnaround, clones are the best option.
- Seeds – They are the best for beginners. The seeds are the source of genetics. Seeds are important in enhancing strains and breeding. Using seeds ensures you have stronger plants as compared to clones.
How to choose your greenhouse.
After you have decided on the kind of plant, you are looking for, and how you want to begin your garden, the next step is to choose where you are going to house your plants. You should ask yourself the following questions:
The amount of space you need to allocate for growing plants. Before you purchase seeds or clones, you need to know your space limitations. Measure out the area that you want to use for planting to determine how many plants that can be accommodated in your space.
The number of plants you want to grow. If you are not sure the length of your plants, you can give plants around 2-4 square feet to the place that you have measured.
Grow Tent or a Greenhouse:
- Grow Tents – the tents are convenient for growing indoor plants. Grow tents comes in various sizes hence they can be put in any place including garage and your room. They come in various sizes and styles which makes them suitable for growing any kind of indoor cannabis. If you use tents, there is no need to mount/ drill vents or hooks for fans and lights. If you use tents, you will have superior control over your plants.
- Grow Room – You can use your own space which is more convenient than purchasing a tent. Using grow rooms, you don’t need to buy a new tent but only reflective materials and fans to convert your room into grow tents. Grow rooms use the space that you already have which includes window and power outlets. You do not require a lot to convert your room into a grow tent.
- Greenhouse – If you use greenhouse you have the same benefits as growing plants outdoor with added advantages of ventilation and lighting. Using greenhouse, you will save a lot on lighting by using the sun’s light. If you need extra lights, you can use T5s or HID.
How to choose your Medium?
The soil is the best medium for growing your plants. This is because the soil doesn’t require a lot of nutritional supplement. It’s the best for beginners because it retains nutrients. One of the main disadvantages of soil is that they take longer to grow.
Hydroponics is a soilless medium of growing medium. In case you run into a nutrient problem, they are simple and faster to fix as compared to soil. The plants take less time to harvest. The nutrients are absorbed faster as compared to soil. You should check moisture content to avoid molding and root-rot and fungus.
Coco medium requires less water compared to any type of other types of medium. You will require less water. Coco plants take less time to grow.
Tools that you will require:
Hygrometer, Shears, pH/PPM meters, Microscope, and Heat Thermometer.
Prepping nutrients.
It’s essential to prep your water and mix the nutrients properly before watering them to your plants. You should test the pH and PPM to make sure it’s safe for your plants. Make sure you don’t use hard water.
Research about your nutrients. The plants tend to be well taken care of because they are very susceptible to fungal diseases hence you should not over water your plants. You should not wait until your plants are too dry so that you can water your plants.
As you do more indoor cannabis, you must alter your equipment and grow room to fit your particular growing techniques for specific strains that you choose. Always remember that growing cannabis at home needs a lot of labor so you should spend more time with your plants and have fun!