If you live in an area where home growing is legal, making a decision to grow your own legal cannabis will make you a part of a culture that is rapidly increasing across the world. Retail sales for medical and recreational cannabis in the United States will probably be around 12 billion dollars by the end of 2019, according to Marijuana Business Daily.
Cannabis is a plant that can grow in diverse temperatures, such as greenhouses or indoors, all year long. In order to be successful at growing cannabis, you must first understand the basic fundamentals. Learning basic gardening techniques will maximize your results. Let’s start with a few beginner tips.
1. Lighting
At least 12-13 hours of light in a 24-hour period is needed to produce healthy (leafy) cannabis. If you’re choosing to grow cannabis indoors, then set the thermostat to higher temps (between 80-90 degrees). If choosing to grow cannabis outdoors, a young plant cannot be exposed to more than 12 hours of daylight and must get at least 10 hours of direct sunlight. Using a fluorescent lighting panel indoors is essential in this process. With new technology comes the LED grow light. This has changed the industry in a huge way. With less power consumption, less heat and longer lasting, LED lighting is a great way to go.
2. Soil
Loam soil is a common potting soil for cannabis. This soil retains water efficiently, drains easily, has high oxygen levels and is very fertile. Investing in this soil can be expensive, but using it also should provide a decent size yield of cannabis. Other soil types used for growth of cannabis are silt soils and sandy soils.
3. Proper Air movement
Cannabis requires an adequate flow of moving air. Outdoor growth is easier because exposure to a fresh breeze is constant in a 24-hour span. When growing cannabis indoors, a fan will be needed. Indoor environments must be constantly checked for mold and other pests that can inhibit growth.
4. Water
All living things need WATER! Cannabis growth requires a lot of water. If growing outdoors, rain water is great, but more water will still be needed daily. At least 10 bottles of water will be needed to provide the cannabis with proper nutrients. Adding compost tea and other organic supplements (i.e. molasses) will improve the quality of soil, thus assisting with more plant growth.
5. Nutrients
Adding nutrients is not necessary, but can help the yields you get from your plants in addition to keeping the plants healthy. The most common nutrients are sulfur, magnesium, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen. Don’t worry if this is confusing, there are many companies that combine all these into a formula you just add to your soil.
When embarking on this cannabis growing journey, always remember the germination of the seeds is critical to growing healthy cannabis. Each small seed has all the DNA needed to grow the plant. Following these steps will begin the life cycle. In order to yield great results, follow three basic steps: maintain temperature, add lots of water, and place the plant in a good location. There are no guidelines that will give the exact regimen to grow cannabis, but this guide to growing weed is a pretty good one. Be persistent and you will find the correct gardening technique that works for you.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for information and entertainment purposes only and is not intended to reflect the specific views of the publication.
