Growing Cannabis – Things That Every Beginner Should Know!

As more and more states and countries are legalizing marijuana, people are now finally allowed to grow their own cannabis supply legally!

Growing cannabis seems like a daunting task, especially to novice growers, but often it only looks that way because you might not have got the right information. Growing weed is a process that needs attention to detail and a significant investment of money, time, and effort.

In this brief cannabis growing guide, we’ve tried to cover everything related to growing marijuana.

Cannabis Growing Essentials

Understanding the growing cycle of your weed plants is very important. It keeps you on track so that you don’t end up ruining your harvest. Here is the natural growing cycle of cannabis plants.

Germination – 24 hours to 2 Weeks

Seedling Stage – 2 to 3 Weeks

Vegetative Stage – 3 to 8 Weeks

Flowering Stage – 6 to 14 Weeks

Time to Harvest (Once your plant is mature enough)

You must remember that this is a typical growth cycle. Each strain takes a different amount of time to yield. Other factors that you need to take care of are as following:

  • Light – Whether you’re using grow lights or sunlight, you must understand the light requirements of a cannabis plant to get a high yield of the best flowers.
  • Air – A well-ventilated area with good air-conditioning and a slight breeze is ideal for marijuana growing.
  • Growing Medium – The soil isn’t your only option when you think of growing material for your plants.
  • Water – Like all plants and living beings, weed plants need water to survive and produce resinous buds.
  • Temperature – A rule of thumb for cannabis plants is if it feels too warm for you, it’s apparently burning for them too. Just like people, cannabis plants can die if exposed to extreme temperatures.
  • Nutrients – You can get pre-formulated fertilizers that you add to water, or you can compost your own super soil so that it already carries all the nutrients you need.

Cannabis Cultivation – Indoors, Outdoors, or Greenhouse – Which is Best?

Each option has its benefits and limitations. Most growers start off cultivating indoors as indoor growing typically has fewer issues to be worried about.

Outdoor growing is fun and can provide high yields and need a bit more knowledge of the biology of the cannabis plant. You also need to pick the right place for your plants to grow, which can take some time and effort. While many large-scale growers prefer greenhouse growing as it offers an excellent harvest.

You can choose the option according to your growing space and requirements.

Choosing the Right Strain

Once you decide on your grow space, it’s time to pick the strain and buy marijuana seeds. When ordering seeds, the key is to buy them from a trusted source. You will need to choose one that is manageable for beginners to grow and flourish in your atmosphere.

What You’ll Need to Grow Cannabis Indoors

The first thing you should decide if you want to grow cannabis indoors is an ideal spot. This place doesn’t even need to be a standard room—it can be a wardrobe, tent, cabinet, storeroom, or a corner in an undeveloped cellar. Just keep in mind that you’ll need to pick a place that fits growing equipment and plants. Here’s what you need for indoor growing:

Containers – small net pots, nursery pots, or smart pots

Grow Medium – hydroponics or soil

Grow Lights – Induction lamps, LED grow lights, Fluorescent grow lights or HID grow lights

Plant Nutrients – Phosphorus (P), Nitrogen (N), Potassium (K)

Proper ventilation system

Climate monitors

Things You Should Take Care Of While Growing Cannabis Outdoors

Your small outdoor marijuana garden can produce loads of quality buds without a substantial financial investment. If you have access to a bright spot in a separate yard or even a porch, terrace, or rooftop, you can successfully plant cannabis there.

Here are some factors you need to understand when you grow your weed outdoors:

Understand the climate pattern

Pick a container

Feed your plants with sufficient nutrients

Shower your love through water

Protect your cannabis plants from rain, high winds, heat stress

What About Greenhouse Growing?

The greenhouse can combine the benefits of both indoor and outdoor marijuana growing. Growers can cover the greenhouse to create a proper dark environment and keep the cannabis plants in a protective habitat, reducing the risks of bugs.

On top of this, cannabis plants get enough sunlight in a greenhouse, which allows the full growth of the cannabinoids and terpenes. Greenhouse cultivation also uses far less growing equipment than the indoor method, so you have to pay less for lights and fans.

The enclosed surrounding can also make it more manageable to protect from spying eyes, and you can use other plants to cover the weed.

Greenhouse structures vary from inexpensive polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes, often named “hoop houses,” to thoroughly designed, fully automatic, and purpose-built steel greenhouses. Due to their efficiency, greenhouses are rapidly becoming the preferred growing system for many large-scale cultivators.

Pest Control and Management

As with any garden, when growing cannabis, pests are a constant threat. For anyone new to weed growth, it is necessary to master bug control. The worst thing you want is for your marijuana crop to be destroyed by a pest infestation.

One easy way to avoid creepy crawlies is to choose mold-resistant cannabis strains. By growing such potent strains, you’ll have at least one less thing to worry about.

Drying and Curing

After harvesting and pruning, hang your flowers in a dark place with sufficient air circulation and relative moisture of about 45–55%. You should dry your nugs slowly (nearly for 7-12 days) for best effects. Some breeders trim after drying, which increases drying time but may result in a better flavor.

When you successfully dried the buds, store them in mason containers or jam bottles with a lid. Fill the pots about ¾ of the way, so there’s scope left for some air. Put the jars in a dry, dark atmosphere like a closet.

Bottomline

As you gain expertise and knowledge, you will change your grow room, tools, and growing methods to better suit the environment. You can then experiment with the new strain as well.

Till the time comes, we hope this article would have given you a solid base of information to get started on the right foot.

You’ll make your fair share of blunders in the beginning, but trust us when we say it’s all worth it in the end.

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Ajay Deep

Ajay Deep is a young enthusiast who Loves Chandigarh and is always eager to make this beautiful city even more beautiful. A Mechanical Engineer By Chance and Working in an IT MNC by Choice. A Writer, Photographer and a Budding Entrepreneur. A Designer, Developer and Digital Marketing Expert. In brief : A Jack of All Trades and Master of Few :) You may reach Ajay Deep at ajay@chandigarhmetro.com
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