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Bob Marley
Growing Marijuana at Home
This text will outline how cannabis is grown at home and what is needed for this procedure. There is nothing super complicated about cultivating marijuana in an apartment! The only way in which cannabis is different from any indoor plant is that the grower desires the highest quality and yield possible. So, let’s take a brief look at the details of growing cannabis indoors and how to approach your tasks in the right way.
This information is provided for educational purposes only!
Parameters of the Grow Room or Grow Box
One one hand, marijuana has to be protected from drafts, on the other hand it needs fresh air just like any other living being. So, a grow box is placed in a warm room with a proper ventilation. A box of sufficient size or a closet, an enclosed corner of the room or even a former refrigerator will do fine.
What about the height? Growing lights need to be placed at a distance of 30-40 cm from the sprouts. Further, the bush will grow, and the lights will have to be lifted. Let’s try to do some calculations to have an example. Imagine that you’ve bought Auto Big Demon seeds. Their average indoor height is 140 cm. You’re going to need a pot 15 liters big. The pot has a height of itself, too! That’s about 40-50 cm. So, a full-grown Auto Big Demon plant in such a pot will be up to 180-190 cm. Now add 30-40 cm to this figure (the lights have to be at a distance, remember?). It makes 210 - 230 cm in total. However, if the bush is trained by bending / LST or ScroG, it will not exceed 100 cm. In this case, the whole construction needs height of 190-200 cm.
Growing Lights: HPS or LED?
To grow a high-quality bud, you must provide a perfect substitute for sunlight – not quite possible, but trying as hard as possible does pay. People used to achieve wonderful results with HPS (high-pressure sodium lamps). That’s especially good for a huge plantation in winter – HPS provides additional heating – take this into account when controlling the temperature.
Another option is LED lights, a modern way to grow cannabis or tomatoes at home. LED lights consume less electricity and give off less heat – or hardly any. Their price is higher, but the electricity bill will be lower.
A Socket Timer – Is it Really Necessary?
Shortly: yes, it is! Light regime has to be regular for a properly developed cannabis plant. A timer socket should be bought together with the lights, so that the lights turn on and off automatically at a preset time.
What will happen if you set an alarm clock for everyday and hope that you will always be at home to turn the lights on / off? One day the alarm will find you out of home, and you’ll be 10 minutes late to switch the light on. The other day the phone will be muted for some reason, making you half an hour late. And even when you try to follow the clock sharp, you will still do it at a different time everyday – with 2-7 minutes difference at least.
Irregular lighting stresses cannabis plants, impairing their growth and yield. It may also cause hermaphroditism.
Air Сirculation: How Many Fans?
To cultivate marijuana at home, at least 2-3 fans are needed:
- one blows at the plants;
- one pumps air out of the box (through a pipe);
- one blows at the grow lights if you have a hot lamp like HPS.
Without pumping air out, not only will the cannabis be hot, but it will also suffer from excessive air humidity. As for the fan blowing at plants, they need to sway a bit. Otherwise, cannabis will not grow strong stems and the yields will be reduced significantly. As for HPS lamps, they need air cooling so as not to burst.
Roots Environment: Size of Pot, Soil Types
For an average autoflowering plant a pot at least 10-15 liters big is needed. The bottom and side need to be equipped with drainage holes – 5-6 in the bottom, 5-6 in the side part. Another thing about drainage is that water will, naturally, be getting out through these holes. That’s why pots with plants are usually placed in trays or basins, and excess water is poured away.
If choosing between soil and substrate is difficult for you, go with the soil – that’s more recommendable for novice users. Advanced growers can benefit from using coco fiber: faster yielding, more bud. Marijuana needs soil with a neutral pH level (6.0 - 7.0). Buy it in a florist’s shop. Using soil from your neighborhood is a bad idea! Not only will you have to measure its pH (if you buy soil, the package will say), but there’s also a chance that insect parasites laid eggs into that soil. There might be seeds of other plants, too.
Air Filtration and Neighbors: What’s the Connection?
If cannabis is grown at home, the air from the grow box has to be taken outside through a charcoal filter. What if we don’t? Cannabis smells during its whole life period. Even one single bush will give everything at your home a characteristic aroma. And if there are 2-3 bushes, your plantation will be smelt from a few blocks’ distance! The charcoal filter will make the scent not noticeable. If growing cannabis is legal in your country, concealing the smell might not be a dire necessity, but in most cases it’s still preferable to keep your hobby a secret.
Hydro or Soil – Which is Better?
Shortly, it depends on your expertise. In terms of convenience, hydroponic installation is even easier than growing in the ground! Less playing around with soil and watering, no excess moisture. The advantages of hydro (especially in commercial cultivation) are obvious: fast maturation, huge concentration buds with an astonishing potency.
But for inexperienced growers organic soil is more advisable. If you make a mistake with plant that grows in soil, it will gradually show you that it feels unwell. There will be more time to correct the situation. A hydro plant is affected (sometimes fatally) by any mistake immediately. You may miscalculate the nutrient portion and ruin the whole garden, noticing it in 2-3 hours when the marijuana is dead already.
A Home-Made Hydroponic Setup – Possible?
It is not very difficult to assemble a hydroponic setup with your own hands. However, buying such a device will save you effort and time. If you choose to make it on your own, here are some general points that you need to know:
- Apart from a pot for the plant, you’ll need a bucket (about 20 liters). In that bucket the pot is placed, with free space for the solution.
- At the bottom of the bucket there has to be compressor to make the liquid bubble.
- Your mixture of substrates has to be well aerated and able to retain moisture and nutrients. The bubbling water from below will soak it up, and the roots of the plant in will get the liquid from the substrate.
The bucket should be refilled once every 2-3 days. Light is not allowed inside the bucket, otherwise that algae will breed in the water fast. In such a hydroponic system (unlike automatic devices) nothing can go wrong – in provided that you pay attention and monitor the condition of your plants.
Possible Harms for Home Cannabis
Regardless of your growing method, it is important not to stress the plants. What should be taken into consideration?
Temperature. Be sure to keep a thermometer in the grow area. Air temperature beyond 15-33°C destroys cannabinoids.
Light regime. When it is “night” for your cannabis, complete darkness is absolutely necessary! Even the light getting inside from under the door can ruin the floral growth process.
Bacteria and pests. Never go inside the growing area in your outside clothes or footwear. Make sure to wash your hands before that.
Train your plants. Read about LST, ScroG, FIM / topping and decide which technique is perfect for you. Training enhances productivity and potency of cannabis and helps to manage your space more efficiently.
Advantages of Indoor Cultivation
Under certain climatic conditions indoor growing may be the optimal or the only option to get your own marijuana. Unlike an outdoor plantation, here you have more technical control: adjusting the lights, influencing the direction of growth and thus editing their structure, use carbon for more active photosynthesis – there are scores and hundreds of ways to make life better for your garden. And everything you do right will make the bud more potent and prolific.
Undoubtedly, indoor plants are also less in danger of being attacked by pests or rodents. Another thing is, outdoor plantations often get pollen from male plants growing in the area. Somehow indoor plants may get pollen as well, but that’s less frequent. And, the best thing of all: you control the weather for your indoor cannabis!
16.02.2017
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