Start With the Best Genetics
Whether you want marijuana for medical or recreational purposes, it’ll be only as good as the genetic material it was grown from. So go to a reliable store that sellsmarijuana seeds or clones and try to do your homework by figuring out what type of weed—Indica, Sativa, or Hybrid—will best suit your needs.
Different cultivars also perform better or worse in different environments and setups: in a closet, on a rooftop, or in your backyard. But at least you don’t have to worry about climate conditions—the weather in California is perfect for any strain.
A Quick Word on Outdoor Cultivation
There is a difference between photoperiod and autoflowering strains. Photoperiod strains will wait for the end of summer before they start to flower and will finish a couple of months later, getting huge in the process. If you buy clones, this is exactly what you’ll get.
Autoflowers (they’re only available in seed form) don’t depend on the season. They start to flower after a few weeks from seed and will be ready for harvest in about 70 days on average. You can plant them any time of the year.
Otherwise, cannabis is not unlike any other garden crop. Water it regularly and feed it occasionally, and it will thrive.
How to Set Up an Indoor Garden
The art and science of home cultivation of cannabis are so far advanced now that even a newbie can grow perfect buds almost on cruise control. Start with going to a hydro store and buying a complete kit that includes a grow tent, a grow light, an exhaust fan, and a carbon filter. Some stores include a set of grow bags, a couple of bottles of nutrients, and a timer into the kit.
Of course, you don’t have to buy a turnkey solution. You can also purchase every item separately, but then you have to do all the calculations yourself: how much light for your space area you need and what capacity your exhaust fan should have, etc. It’s not hard, but we can’t cover all the details in a short article.
We’ll just tell you about the grow tent size. A 1’x1’ tent will be enough for a small autoflower, a 2’x’2’ will conveniently house one medium-sized photoperiod plant. However, such small spaces tend to get hot, and they are not convenient to tend to your plants. So a 3’x3’ tent will be a better option. Please note that you can harvest 1–2 ounces per square foot.
And a word of advice: steer clear of hydroponics for the first couple of cycles. It’s a rewarding cultivation method, but the learning curve is steep.
Germination And Vegetative Phase
Put your seeds between wet paper towels and plant them in soil as soon as they show taproot. Use a simple potting mix as a medium: it contains enough nutrients for the first week or two. Water sparingly as cannabis doesn’t like constantly moist soil. When the plant is big enough for its leaves to reach the edges of the container, it probably needs extra nutrients. Buy some nutrient formula that has more nitrogen (N) than phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) because N is essential for vegetative growth.
Flowering and Harvest
For photoperiod strains, it’s up to you to decide when the plant is big enough to switch it to flowering. Please note that it will continue to grow and can double in size. To induce flowering, reprogram your timer to 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness.
With autos, you don’t need to change the light cycle: the flowering will start automatically. The flowering stage can take about 50 to 70 days. At this point, cannabis needs a lot of light (or sunshine) and will benefit from a nutrient formula that has more P and K than N.
The buds will swell, get covered in resinous trichomes, and produce an intense smell. When white hairs sticking out of buds have all turned orange, it’s time to cut down your lady and hang her upside down to dry.
After a week of drying and another two of slow curing in closed jars (which you should “burp” daily), your first batch of connoisseur-quality buds will be ready. Happy growing!
