Ever since cannabis was legalized in Canada and other countries, several people are looking for studies about its benefits. Some are also growing their cannabis supply legally. Things may be complicated as they were for someone new, and many may think that growing cannabis is complex and challenging. But no, it only takes ten easy steps to grow cannabis.
How long will it take to grow and harvest the cannabis plant?
When you ask a grower, he may say that it takes about 3 to 5 months to grow, harvest, and cure the buds. It may also become shorter if the cannabis plant is grown indoors, since you will have more control when the plant starts budding. And a growers cannabis strain preference will vary.
It can also be as short as 2 to 3 months with an auto-flowering strain. These strains start to flower in about a month automatically. They are unlike most strains that don’t start flowering until they receive sun signals of approaching winter and require particular light schedules to bud.
10 Easy Steps on How to Grow Cannabis
1. Setting Up a Location
The following steps show how easy it is to grow cannabis in or outside the house. Let’s start!
If you are planning to grow only a few plants, then this is the option for you. It is cheap, private, and it is easy to start and maintain. You can also have more control over your plants’ growth, and they carefully rely on you. You can start with a spare room, your garage, and even in a closet. Just don’t forget to cater to your plants’ needs regularly.
You should take note of the temperatures and the lights you are going to use. When your plants are still young, they will grow fast in the 70-85 F range. When they get older and are in the flowering stage, the temperature must be slightly cooler of about 65-80 F.
If you have extra space in your yard, then you should consider outdoor growing. It is cheaper than indoor growing since you will rely on sunlight instead of using grow lights. Although with this kind of growth, it may be hard to keep it private, and there are environmental factors to worry about. If it is too hot, you will need to water your plants more.
If it is rainy, you have to protect your plants from being overwatered. You might want to set up a small greenhouse to protect your plants from the weather and other factors such as insects and bugs.
2. Choosing a Grow Light
You can either use the sunlight or an artificial grow light depending on where you chose to grow your plant.
Sunlight
It is best to place your plants under direct sunlight for about 8 hours. It is recommended that your plants receive the 10 am to 4 pm sunlight. The lighter, the better. Remember, the cannabis plant has higher light needs than other plants.
Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) Bulbs
Fluorescent T5/T8
Light Emitting Ceramic - Ceramic Metal Halide (LEC – CMH)
LEDs
Metal Halide (MH) and High-Pressure Sodium (HPS)
Most indoor growers use this light combination since it is cheap and is easy to set-up. These lights are robust and produce consistently excellent results. However, using these lights maybe give you a higher electric bill.
3. Choosing a Growing Medium
Soil
When planting comes to mind, the soil may be the first thing to go in mind. To have remarkable results, it is best to compose your soil or buy organic composted super soil. The Fox Farms ocean Forest Soil is one of those pre-made mixes and is very popular amongst growers. It will surely give your plant plenty of nutrients.
Soilless Mix
Since there is no soil, it is considered as hydroponic (water-based plant growing). This soilless mix includes perlite, coco coir, vermiculite, etc.
Completely Hydroponic
The plants are directly placed in water. It is proven that hydroponic produces the fastest growth and biggest yields.
4. Choosing Nutrients
The nutrients your plant will need varies on what growing medium you are using. When you grow cannabis in soil, you will need to add more nutrients when your plant reaches the flowering stage since it may already use up the nutrients in the land. When the plants are grown hydroponic, there are specific nutrients available depending on how you grow your plants.
Dyna-Gro is well-recommended for starting growers. Just make sure to read the instructions on the bottle before applying it to your plant. Give gradual doses to avoid getting nutrient burn (burning of a plant due to overdosage of nutrients).
Some nutrients can be found in the water you will use. You may think that tap water will be the one you will use. It is safe to use tap water if their PPM is about 200 to 300. In big cities, the PPM level of tap water is very high, and growers tend to use purified water instead.
It is also important to maintain pH levels of the root to avoid complications and have a successful grow. You can ignore this if you are using organic composted super soil since the microbial properties take care of the pH level. However, if you are not using this, it is a must to test and maintain the pH level. If the levels are too high or too low, the plants may not be able to absorb the nutrients properly, especially in the flowering stage. There are pH test kits available, and you can do it in less than 3 minutes every time you water your plants. The pH levels should be maintained at:
Soil: 6.0 to 7.0
Hydroponic: 5.5 to 6.5
5. Getting a Plant
What cannabis strain do you prefer? It is easy to obtain one if you already know a grower. But you can still purchase cannabis seeds and clones from trusted cannabis dispensaries. However, it may be challenging to obtain the seeds since they tend to be less generous. They may provide you plant clones instead. You should be careful in choosing where to get them. Order only in trusted sources so that you can also trust the plant genetics you will be receiving.
6. Germinating Cannabis Seeds
Using a specialized starter cube may be the easiest way to germinate seeds. It works by keeping it moist and placing it in a seedling heat mat. You can expect to have your seedlings pop in just a few days. Once they emerged, you can put the cube in your growing medium.
There is also a cheap way of doing this. All you need is a paper towel. Simply place the seeds inside a folded moistened paper towel. Place it over a plate on the cover it with another plate. Once done, check if the seeds have sprouted, and then you can transfer them into your growing medium.
7. Growing the Plant Bigger
Once a set of leaves started to appear, your plant is on the vegetative stage. It is essential to take note that the plant’s goal in this stage is to get bigger and more reliable. Flowering only comes next to it. You should carefully diagnose your plant if it is lacking nutrients or receiving too much. Be wary of the nitrogen deficiency- when the leaves turn yellow and fall off, it may be a sign of the plant not getting enough nutrients.
The light needs of your plant also increase. If growing indoors, they should be placed in a grow light for at least 18 hours a day. If growing outdoors, stronger, direct sunlight is needed.
8. Reaching the Flowering Stage
Reaching the Flowering Stage is a stage where the plants start to produce buds. But before this, you should know the gender of your plant. Yes, they have genders, and it is essential to know them. Often, the seeds produce half male and half female plants. The difference between the two is that only the female has the ability to bud. Meaning about half (the male plants) cannot be used for smoking. Also, the males tend to pollinate the female plants causing bud problems. That is why many serious growers tend to dispose of male plants.
In this stage, you will also have to practice the 12-12 light schedule if you are growing indoors. It is 12 hours of light and 12 hours of uninterrupted darkness at night each day. After a week or two, the plants will reveal their gender. For outdoor growers, the flowering stage will come naturally when the days are shorter. These are the few months before winter. The appearance of wispy white hairs on the female plants is a good sign that the budding is doing well.
You should also give more attention to your plants to this stage. The temperature must be slightly cooler at about 65 to 80F. You should also keep track of the nutrients your plants are receiving. They tend to use up more nutrients due to budding.
The light needs of your plant also increase. If growing indoors, they should be placed in a grow light for at least 18 hours a day. If growing outdoors, stronger, direct sunlight is needed.
9. Harvesting
Have a good pair of scissors ready! You will know that it is time to harvest cannabis when the female plants stop producing white hair, and the buds are fragrant. You should keep track of the appearance of the white hairs depending on what you want to harvest.
If about 40% have darkened and curled in, the buds have a speedy effect but not at full potency.
If about 50 to 70% have darkened and curled in, the buds have high THC levels.
If about 80 to 90% have darkened and curled in, they have a greater couch-lock and anti-anxiety effects.
If you are unsure of when to harvest, using trichomes can be a method to be more precise when you harvest.
10. Drying and Curing
After you have trimmed your buds, you have to place them in a well-ventilated, calm, and dark area. You have to dry these buds slowly and regularly check if there are molds. You will know that the buds have dried when the thin stems snap, and the thicker stems are bendy. When they are dried, it is now time to cure them.
Curing the buds will produce good taste and smell as well as the best effects. All you have to do is simply put them in tightly-closed quart-sized mason jars. Fill these jars about ¾ full and place them in a cool dark place. For the first two weeks, open the jars once a day to release moisture and get fresh air. If the buds are moist, keep the jar open until they dry. It will prevent molds from appearing. After two weeks, if the moisture on the bud stopped, you can begin opening the jar for just about once a week. While some only cure their bud for about a week or two, it is recommended to cure the bud for at least a month. It will produce more potency. However, avoid curing for more than six months since they can become less potent over time.
Conclusion
If you are unsure of certain things, try to do research on it or ask an experienced grower. Don’t try it without asking for tips first. Remember that you don’t want to ruin your plant. You want to obtain the best bud results. Make sure that you follow the steps on how to grow cannabis as accurately as possible and regularly provide the needs of your plant. In return, your plant will give you a top-notch harvest that you deserve.