Everything You Need to Know About Growing Your Own Cannabis

You’ve decided to grow your own cannabis.

Congratulations! This is a smart way to ensure you never run out while controlling how it’s made.

As you begin this journey, it may actually surprise you how straightforward the whole process is. And while it may seem like a lot to get started, don’t fret.

We have everything you need to know about growing your own cannabis right here.

Indoors or Out?

First and foremost, you need to pick your growing environment, as in indoors or outdoors.

If you live in an apartment, you probably have little or no outdoor space all your own and must grow your cannabis indoors. Homeowners, on the other hand, have a choice to make.

You can grow a higher yield when you have an outdoor cannabis garden. But unless you live in a tropical climate, you likely only have one harvest a year, starting in the spring and ending in the autumn.

If you choose to start your cannabis farm indoors, you can harvest year-round.

Pick Your Strains

What type of cannabis to grow is another tough choice to consider.

If you’re a recreational marijuana user, you likely want to grow strains with the highest THC, which you can research here.

If you’re most interested in cannabis’s medical benefits, you’ll want cannabis strains with plenty of CBD. You can read all about CBD and its uses here.

Choose Your Mediums

Next, you must choose your growing mediums.

Outdoor growers can add composted or organic soil to their outdoor soil and deep irrigation, top-fed watering, or wick watering methods.

Indoor growers will utilize a hydroponics method. Deep water culture hydroponics allows for faster growth as each plant’s roots are submerged in its own tub of water.

You can also opt for coco coir hydroponics, which uses coconut husks instead of potting soil. It allows your plants to ingest more nutrients and oxygen, thanks to the lighter texture of the coconut husk.

Tools

There are a few primary tools every cannabis grower needs.

These include:

A pH meter (no matter your medium, these are essential) to test your soil’s acidity levels and for feeding cycles
A temperature gauge with a humidity meter
Fluorescent, HPS, or LED lights for growing indoors (don’t forget a pair of grow room glasses to protect your eyes!)
A magnifying glass for identifying pests, rot, and maturity levels with ease
An irrigation kit to automate your plants’ hydration
Trimming scissors to prune and remove your harvest
A drying rack to dry your harvested cannabis leaves

Temperature Control

There is not a whole lot outdoor growers can do about air temperature. But indoor growers must stay on top of this number to ensure their cannabis plants grow healthy.

Ideally, your air temperature should be about 75℉ to 85℉ when your grow lights are on, and about 10 degrees less when they’re off.

Adding Enzymes

Along with fertilizer, enzymes are an important soil booster that helps your cannabis plants thrive.

Learn more about enzymes and which to use in your cannabis garden here.

Know Growth Stages

If growing cannabis is your first garden, you may be understandably hazy on the plant growth cycle.

You will master these over time of course, but for now, here are the basics to watch for:

Germination: when your plant is first sprouting from the seeds you planted.
Seedlings: the second growth phase wherein your plant starts to develop leaves. You’ll only need to water seedlings every few days and do not need nutrients yet.
Vegetative: It’s time to transplant your plants at this exciting stage! Your cannabis plants’ roots will need more space to expand, so give them a larger home. After transplanting, add nutrients and water more frequently. Add support like a trellis or scrog, get to pruning, and add more light in this phase as well.
Flowering: When your cannabis blooms, it’s time to stop pruning and add lots more water. Ensure you are adding the right bloom nutrients, too, which you can learn about here.

At this point, it’s time to harvest, dry, and enjoy your cannabis!