The Complete Guide on How to Grow Weed

Growing weed, whether indoors or outdoors, is an enjoyable and rewarding experience. However, it also has the potential to present some challenges and requires a certain amount of patience, time, and resources. Despite that, growing weed may be therapeutic and peaceful, and there is nothing better than smoking a weed plant that you have grown yourself. This guide will walk you through every stage of the weed cultivation process.

How to Grow Cannabis Plants

Since growing the plants was prohibited for a long time, a lot of cultivation information has been handed down through word of mouth. There are many traditions in growing weed, so it can be challenging to differentiate between reliable sources of information and rumours.

Growing cannabis is almost the same as following any given recipe. First, you need to run through a list of the ‘ingredients,’ which are as follows:

• Light
• Growing medium
• Air
• Temperature
• Nutrients
• Water
• Seeds

Below is the step-by-step guide on how to grow weed plants:

Consider Your Growing Environment

Indoor growing environment

Growing weed indoors is a more affordable alternative. Even if you have to make an initial investment right away, the total cost will not be relatively as high as you might have imagined. You can even build your own cannabis growing system to put more thought and effort into it. Ensure adequate grow space and room for air circulation and that the humidity and temperature levels are not exorbitant.

Controlling the amounts of ‘ingredients’ that your plants receive and their access to other variables is much simpler when growing marijuana indoors instead of in an open space.

However, keep in mind cannabis plants that are grown indoors are also more dependent on the grower. You will want extra ventilation equipment like fans and exhaust systems when working in confined spaces.

Outdoor growing environment

Humans first run into cannabis plants growing around nature. The fact that these plants were growing in the open air is the most important thing to note here. That indicates that outdoor growing operations can be successful. You only need to locate an area with the appropriate weather, which is not too cold, hot, dry, or humid.

Growing plants outside are much more cost-effective than in a greenhouse because the sun does most of the work for you. This eliminates the need for considerable investments in lighting accessories and decreases monthly energy costs.

However, growing weed outside is riskier, less reliable, and offers less privacy than growing them indoors.

Choose Between Natural or Synthetic Lighting

If you have already decided where you want to grow your plants, then you have selected the kind of lighting you will use by default. However, choosing the appropriate lighting for an indoor grow operation differs greatly from selecting one for an outdoor grow space.

The following are the several alternatives from which you can choose:

• Sunlight
• LEDs: Although compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are an option, using LEDs will yield superior results.
• CFLs: It is not suggested to use fluorescent lighting for cannabis, but it is possible to use it successfully with proper temperature management.
• Growing LEDs: Since these are designed specifically for your needs, it just makes sense that they should be your top choice.

Even though you will always want to go with growing LEDs, the best one may not be the best option for your wallet. Therefore, you will have to calculate your budget and see if it fits the price of the grow lights you want.

Pick a Soil or Growing Medium

Given the nature of the work, the use of a medium seems a bit out of place. We are discussing the soil, but recent scientific discoveries and industrial developments have made it possible for us to use various substitutes for traditional soil. You can choose from one of these three alternatives:

• Soil
• Soilless Mix
• Hydroponics (directly in water)

The use of potting mixes and other alternative mediums is an option that is worth considering and has the potential to be quite successful. Compost and natural soil will continue to be the superior choice, though.

Purchase Essential Nutrients (If Any)

Adding nutrients to your growing medium is an excellent way to give it a boost and make it more effective. If you add nutrients to the soil, potting mix, or water in the case of hydroponics, you may achieve better results.

The amount of nutrients you need to use will be determined by the kind of nutrients you buy and the strain you are cultivating. When it comes to the nutrients you buy and the amounts you should dose at each stage of the plant’s development, a knowledgeable budtender can guide and help you make the right decisions.

Pick Your Desired Strains

If you do not have weed plants to grow your own cannabis, you can get around this problem by purchasing seeds from a reliable source.

Start the Cannabis Seedling Stage

If you are a fully mature plant, you won’t have to worry about germinating the seeds on your own. The germination process is where a seedling emerges for the first time from the parent seed. Once the seed has germinated, that is when you will move the seed to the growing medium.

If you are beginning from scratch, then you will have two options to choose from for the germination process:

Germination trays

Germination trays are standard plastic trays with small openings on the sides to accommodate a seed and a minimal amount of soil. These trays are used for easy irrigation. Some trays come equipped with heating systems, which increase their flexibility and make them easier to use. In other circumstances, you need to use lighting to generate heat.

In three to seven days, you should be able to observe the first seedlings that have germinated from your seeds. When the seedlings have sprouted, you can remove the entire cube of soil from the tray and plant it where you intend to cultivate the mature flower.

Paper towel method

The strategy with paper towels is something that you could have already tried when you were in the fifth grade. Even if you haven’t tried it yet, you probably have had a good idea that it’s not too difficult.

Just put a few seeds in the middle of a wet paper towel, and they will germinate faster. After folding the paper towel half lengthwise, place it on a plate, and then place a second plate on top of the entire thing. If plates do not sound like something that a professional grower would use, then you should try looking for something to work with at the hardware store that is most convenient for you.

Check the germination process frequently. Once the seedlings have emerged, remove them from the container and place them in your chosen growing medium.

Prepare for the Vegetative Stage

At this stage, you must pay attention to how the plant is ‘talking to you.’

The cannabis plant is transitioning from the seedling stage to the phase where they grow into young plants. Leaves are starting to grow, but there is not yet a flower for you to trim.

You have to determine the plants’ health based on their appearance. Plants may want a change in the water, nutrients, or temperature you provide them.

Watch Out for the Flowering Stage

After the plants produce buds, their development is the most exciting part since this is when you start seeing the fruits of your labour. You will realize your hard work once you see strong-yielding plants in your harvest. Keep in mind that you will want to reduce the temperatures to between 18°C and 26°C at this stage.

The flowering stage is distinguished by two primary responsibilities you need to fulfill:

Light schedule adjustments

If you are growing weed indoors, you will need to change the schedule of your grow lights so that there is a total of 12 hours of darkness followed by 12 hours of light. This should be a simple task in an indoor growing environment.

On the other hand, if you plan to grow cannabis outside, then grow lights schedules are not something you can accomplish right away. You will need to start preparing for it as early as the germination stage. If you carefully plan out your plants’ growth cycles, you can get them to the flowering stage right when the days start getting shorter, which should be sometime in the fall or autumn.

Gender classification

The gender of the marijuana plants is significant because it will determine whether you are growing cannabis flowers that can be smoked. Female cannabis plants can produce buds, but male cannabis plants do not. Thus, the only plants from which you can harvest smokable flowers are female cannabis.

Since females will begin sprouting pistils on the joints of the upper branches, it is simple to identify them. Pistils, also known as calyxes, are delicate structures that resemble white hair and will continue to develop into bushy flowers at some point in the future.

It is possible to recognize male plants because their pollen sacs do not sprout pistils. Thus, you will be unable to find any pistils on the male marijuana plants.

Should you keep male cannabis?

It is entirely up to you whether or not you want to eliminate any male plants in your garden. Since there is a greater possibility of the female plants in your collection being pollinated by the males, male plants are typically disposed of by professionals. Female plants pollinated by male plants are weaker and have fewer potent flower buds.

Pick and Trim Your Outdoor or Indoor-Grown Plants

The key to success in harvesting cannabis is an accurate understanding of when is the best time to pack and trim them. When the flowers no longer produce new white hairs, it is time to pick them. From that point on, you will have three alternatives to choose from when it comes to cutting down the flower buds:

1. Roughly half of the white hairs have acquired a darker colour due to exposure to low potencies.
2. When little more than half of the hairs have changed, the THC content will be at its highest.
3. When most of the hair has become darker, you will experience significant soothing effects with lower levels of THC.

Picking and pruning are simple tasks to complete. You only need to use scissors to take your flower off the plant.

Dry and curate the flower buds

Curing and drying your buds is a part of the finishing touches you will do when you grow weed indoors or outdoors. After the buds have been selected and trimmed, turn them upside down and hang them in a cool, dark area.

You can place them in the closet if the area has sufficient ventilation and low humidity. Avoid placing them in kitchens and bathrooms, where the humidity level is typically higher. You will know that the buds have reached the appropriate dryness level when the thinner stems break and the thicker stem becomes bendable.

Curing cannabis plants

Prune the stems so they are as short as possible, then store them in mason jars. The jars need to have a secure lid on them and should be filled to only about three-quarters of their capacity.

During the first three weeks of the curing process, you should open the jars regularly for a brief period each day. Feel your buds to see whether or not they are holding onto their moisture. You might try using moisture packs to assist the buds in controlling moisture.

Once the buds have felt dry for an entire week, you can reduce the number of times you open the jars until you visit them once per week. The curation process can take up to one month, but the exact length of time required will be determined by you and your preferences.

What Are the Essentials for Growing Cannabis Indoors and Outdoors?

• Light: A marijuana plant is a photoperiod plant, which means that the quantity of light it receives each day will decide when it begins to produce buds. When grown outdoors, the daily light naturally decreases as summer turns to fall. Indoor gardeners may regulate this by reducing their plants’ exposure to artificial light from 18 to 12 hours daily.
• Water: Healthy plants need adequate water, which varies depending on how much they have grown and the climate and weather in your area.
• Nutrients: To thrive and develop to their full potential, weed plants require nutrients.
• Temperature and humidity: For the weed to flourish in the environment, you will need to ensure that it has the ideal temperature and humidity levels. Generally, the relative humidity might range from 50% to 70%.
• Wind and airflow: Weed plants require wind or airflow, which can be created artificially indoors by using fans and which will occur naturally outside in the open air.

How to decide the type of marijuana strain you want to cultivate

You should try to cultivate a strain that you enjoy using. Since a single weed plant may produce between a half pound and a full pound of dried buds, depending on how large your plants become, you will have a significant amount of it whenever it is time to harvest it.

If you put a lot of time and effort into growing weed, the last thing you want to do is wind up with a strain you don’t like. Other considerations to take into account when selecting a strain for cultivation are:

• Availability: Whether or not you can purchase cannabis seeds or clones depends on their legality in the area you live. Even if possible, you will be restricted to using only the genetics created in your area because seeds and clones are not allowed to cross state lines.
• Climate & Environment: Some cannabis strains thrive in wide open spaces and are easier to cultivate outside, while others are ideally suited for growing indoors. In addition, certain strains require additional care, are more vulnerable to pests, and might perform better in an environment that is temperature and humidity controlled.
• Garden space: Weed plants can be successfully grown in small or ample spaces. But before beginning the process of building out a garden, it is vital to have a good idea of how much space you have available to work with. If you have limited space, you might consider growing Indica strains because they tend to be bushier and more compact.
• Growth period: Some cannabis strains take longer to mature. If you want a speedy turnaround, go for those that take 8-9 weeks to flower instead of 12. Auto-flowering plants will be a lot shorter.
• The difficulty of growing: Difficulty of growing can involve a more complex nutrient regimen and perhaps paying more attention to environmental elements. Becoming proficient in these aspects requires time, patience, and research.

Not Up For Growing Your Own Cannabis?

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