A growing number of countries, such as Canada, now permit adults to legally grow their own cannabis – we’re looking at a real money-saver here.
Outdoor growing can be as simple as putting a seed in the ground. For indoor growing, you must replicate growing conditions such as light, air, and nutrients – if you want to be successful.
Thankfully this is a lot easier these days with so many intuitive products available online.
This is an essential guide for anyone with little-to-no gardening experience who wants to grow their own cannabis discreetly and effectively.
What You Need
Whether you grow cannabis in your room, the attic, or in the basement, there are certain basic essential items you must have in order to be successful, they are:
Portable Grow-Rooms / Grow Tent
A portable grow-room is like a walk-in tent that has been purpose-built with brackets and vents to allow you to put up lights/vents etc without the need for any drilling tools. Ideally, you want one that is at least 5-6 foot tall to accommodate the plant and the lights.
Benefits
- Protect the plants from bugs
- Increase light intensity
- Portable
- Allows easy set up of equipment
- No tools required
Price Range
£100 – £1000’s
Seeds
Choose a feminised seed to guarantee seedless female plants. Seed choice determines the effect, flavour, yield, and flowering times. Indica strains are smaller and will grow faster than Sativa strains.
[table id=3 /]How to Germinate
To germinate your seed simply wet a kitchen towel and place on a plate. Place seeds on the towel and cover with another wet kitchen towel and finally place another plate over it. Keep in a warm room (70-90° F). Wait 2-3 days for seeds to sprout before moving to a tall pot.
Price Range
1 seed £9, 3 seeds £20, 10 seeds £65
Lighting
Cannabis requires a different spectrum of light depending on its stage of growth – Blue light for the vegetative state or red light for flowering. There are loads of options to choose from (HID lighting, CFL’s etc) but the simplest option is Full Spectrum LED Lighting which is easy to use and has a low heat output.
Lighting should be hung between 12-30 cm above the plant but this changes depending on the stage of growth. On an unrelated note – lights left on during the day can often be confused with natural lighting by thermal image scanners.
[table id=4 /]Price Range
£120 – £1000’s
Vents, Fans, & Dehumidifiers
Your plants will need fresh air coming in and stale air removed. Grow tents will have two holes/vents, one at the top of the tent where you can fit ducting (like on a dryer) together with a carbon filter and equal-sized exhaust fan that will remove air, while the bottom hole will allow fresh air to enter.
Having a standard office fan on the ground will also help air circulation and a dehumidifier will control the moisture in the air.
Price Range
Ducting £20+
Carbon Filter & Exhaust Fan £150+
Dehumidifier £50+
Standard Fan £20+
Soil Nutrition
Soil quality is very important as this is where the plant will get most of its nutrients. Mix your common soil with nutrient-rich compost and organic fertiliser. Cannabis does best in a soil with a PH of around 6.5.
Grow seedlings in tall containers to improve the length of roots before moving to larger containers.
Price Range
£10+
Steps to Growing
- Set up grow room tent
- Insert Ducting into the top vent and connect to exhaust fan and carbon filter. The ducting will push odourless stale air back outside.
- Attach LED lighting panel to the roof of the tent – this can be easily adjusted.
- Remember Blue lighting for vegetative state. Red lighting for flowering.
- Place the germinated seed into a tall pot filled with quality soil and transfer to a larger pot after four or five leaves have grown.
- Germinate seeds 1-3 days. Vegetation stage 3-8 weeks, flowering 5-16 weeks, Curing 2-4 week. Timing all depends on the strain used.
- Dry (cure) your buds upside down for 2-3 weeks before use.
Total Cost
(Excluding electricity costs) for a 6-foot tent with everything included will set you back around £500
