With the rise in legality, many people in the US, Canada, and other countries have become increasingly interested in growing their cannabis. If done carefully and correctly – the whole planting process proves to be fun and gives you a good reward, i.e., your self-grown cannabis.
However, many articles are circulating the internet that has ultimately made planting cannabis seem like a huge and complicated task. We have made your work easier by bringing all the relevant information about growing and planting your cannabis right to you.
A Novice’s Guide To Growing Cannabis
It is important for every novice to not follow completely in someone else’s footsteps when planting your seeds. Your growing process cannot be the same as someone with more space or different growing conditions. The following are the basic steps you need to take care of when planting your cannabis.
- The first step is to decide whether your planting process will be indoors or outdoors. Both these approaches have their pros and cons, as well as growing methods.
- Make sure you have researched the strain of cannabis you want to plant. Furthermore, extensively read through the descriptions of the cannabis seeds you buy to ensure that they fit your requirements.
- The lighting needs to be controlled. If you are growing your cannabis indoors, ensure that you have the optimal grow lights required for that strain. Proper aeration is also as important as light control.
- Germinate your seeds properly and have a good medium in which you are growing them. Germination of the seeds is important. Some people prefer to directly place the seeds into the medium and germinate while other people prefer to use warm moist paper towels for this purpose. There are germination stations available for this purpose as well.
- Keep the conditions optimal – nutrients, water, air, light, etc. – and your seeds will start to vegetate and produce leaves.
- The vegetative plants will begin to bloom, and flower patterns will start to appear. Ensure that you control the photoperiod if you are growing indoors and are not using auto-flowering strains.
- The harvesting process begins when your buds have matured. Changes in appearance signal this part, i.e., the buds’ color becomes milky and then amber. The clusters of buds also swell significantly. If you are looking for a high concentration of THC, harvest your buds at a stage when they have just started to turn amber. However, for a varied concentration of cannabinoids, including CBD and THC, wait till your buds have majorly turned amber.
- Dry your harvested cannabis buds for the perfect result. Dry them gradually and slowly in a cool, dry place and wait for them to cue properly before using your buds.
- Store them properly and enjoy your carefully grown treasure.
Legal & Other Problems That Come With Growing Cannabis
When venturing into any new area, you are sure to encounter problems. It is important to have knowledge of these problems and tackle them before you can properly grow your cannabis.
1) The Legal Problems
It is illegal in the US to grow cannabis in your home according to federal law. However, many states enforce state law and not federal law, and hence these laws vary from state to state. Some states in the US allow the planting of cannabis only for medicinal purposes, while others allow planting for recreational purposes.
If you are from the US or any other country – make sure to check your cannabis legality laws before planting your seeds.
2) Improper Conditions
It would help if you had the perfect growing conditions for light, air, warmth, etc. Both too much or too little can adversely affect your plant’s growth and throw your hard work away.
3) Too Much Nutrition
Do not over-fertilize your cannabis plants. Doing so can result in them not budding properly and even in the plants wilting and dying. To avoid this, research on the nutrients you are using and fertilize your plants properly.
4) The Wrong Seeds
This problem is perhaps the most common error that novice cannabis planters face. There are a huge number of cannabis seeds in the market. Please read up on them and find the seeds perfectly matching your needs.
Make sure that your planting practices match with the seed type you have purchased.
There are different types of seeds depending upon the conditions of growth available to you. Even the cannabinoid profile can be controlled by choosing the right seeds i.e., CBD-rich cannabis seeds.
What Conditions Does Cannabis Need to Grow?
There are certain conditions and optimal environment that the planter needs to control to have the best cannabis. These include a light period of twelve hours if you are growing indoors. If outdoors, optimal good sunlight is necessary; hence, you should always plant during the summers to begin during fall.
Aeration is also required for proper planting. Indoor planting requires vents, exhausts, and fans for proper aeration. Nutrients, water, and a constant eye for molds and pests are also important.
Growing Cannabis Outdoors Vs. Indoors
One of the biggest choices to make when growing cannabis yourself is figuring out where you want to grow it. Both choices of growing it indoors or outdoors will have their own set of advantages and disadvantages.
Indoors
Growing cannabis indoors means you will designate an entire room/location for this very purpose. At the same time, you will monitor and engineer the internal environment according to the plant’s requirements. That is to say, the temperature of the room, the amount of light that enters it, fertilization of the soil, and maintenance of the plant’s water intake.
Advantages
- A comparatively shorter grow time.
- You can control every attribute of the environment to make things go according to plan.
- You can harvest crops even in the off-season of winters.
- Cannabis plants are less susceptible to bugs or pests.
- No matter where you are located, this process will work if done right.
Disadvantages
- A lot of space will be needed if you want to grow cannabis successfully.
- The maintenance cost will be quite a lot since you create an artificial environment fit for a plant. Nutrients, electricity, and infrastructure all will be costly.
- Growing cannabis indoors will require a lot more effort from your side to make sure the plants don’t die.
- For beginners, a lot of study and research is required, or else they are sure to fail.
Outdoors
Outdoor plantations entail that you allow cannabis to grow in a natural climate and environment, all the while aiding the growth of the plant with fertilizers and maintaining their water uptake.
Advantages
- Far less effort is required as most things are left up to the environment.
- Cheap start-up and maintenance costs as you aren’t investing in building a fully functional artificial environment.
- It is argued that naturally grown cannabis often has better yields and better quality.
- More space available so you can grow a comparatively larger amount of cannabis.
Disadvantages
- Grow area needs to be easy to visit as weekly inspections are necessary.
- An accessible water source in the vicinity is essential to make this process work.
- In most instances, only one crop can be grown in a year at certain times during the year.
- Plants are vulnerable to pests, bugs, animals, thieves, and flooding.
Do the pros outweigh the cons?
When it comes to whether or not you should grow cannabis yourself, it all depends on your requirements. However, whether you grow it indoors or outdoors, there is a lot of effort and monetary, physical, and mental investment that goes into growing cannabis yourself.
If you are looking to make a business out of this or are genuinely passionate about growing cannabis yourself, this is ideal for acquiring it. On the other hand, if you think this will give you easier access to cannabis for personal use, you are mistaken.
Not only will this cost more than buying cannabis yourself, but it will also require years of consistent effort to bear some fruit. While there are some benefits to growing cannabis yourself, the cons will always outweigh them if you aren’t truly passionate about doing this.
Conclusion
Conclusively planting and growing cannabis isn’t as simple as maintaining a garden in your home. It requires you to study and research every aspect of the plant.