Your First Home Grow
We commonly answer questions about growing marijuana from home, so we put together this resource for our customers that have questions regarding how to get started.
We recommend starting small and getting it right before taking on a more extensive grow operation. There are a couple of reasons to start small—some of which include containing expenses, ease of workload, minimizing mistakes, and greater opportunity to learn.
Even though the first grow will be small in scale, you’ll still need to think big when it comes to all of the other things going into a thriving home grow, including electricity, fans, ducting, lights, and other equipment. Be sure to leave sufficient room overhead as cannabis plants double in size from the end of vegetation through flowering.
1. Pick an area for your grow
A spare room, closet, garage, or basement, are excellent areas to grow marijuana. Things to keep in mind when choosing an area; local laws, space to work, ability to control climate, and availability of electricity. We will explain the need for each in further detail through the steps below.
2. Arrange your grow lights
You will need lights to grow flowers in your home. Select grow lights that match your strategy and will fit in your space. There are three primary options regarding lights: high-intensity discharge, fluorescent, and LED. Although high-intensity discharge lights continue to be very popular, full-spectrum LEDs are now taking the industry by storm as they can deliver intense light with less electricity and heat.
For those wanting to harvest a personal supply of a few ounces per month, we recommend investing in LEDs. LEDs use less energy and will cost less at this scale. They require almost no setup and have been shown to provide better yields. They also run at a lower temperature than alternatives, which reduces fire risks.
3. Control your climate
You need to keep your grow room at a comfortable temperature range of 70-85°F when your lights are on and between 58-70°F when they are off.
Also, cannabis plants need fresh air to thrive. You will need a steady flow of air through your grown room at all times to achieve peak harvest.
You can control your temperate and the airflow in your room with an exhaust fan and a regular household fan. An exhaust fan can be placed near a floorboard or anywhere external access is available. Your household fan should be placed on a swivel setting if possible and not point directly at your plants as that would cause windburn. The size of each fan depends on the size of your room and the climate where you live.
Keep in mind, lighting systems tend to put out heat, so when you run your lights, be aware of the temperature. Those that live in warmer climates, like us here in Cali, can run your lights at night when temperatures are milder.
For specific climate preferences of the plants you will be growing, please contact our budtenders.
4. Chose your growing medium and container
When selecting a container, be sure to choose something that will allow for roots to grow and excess water to drain. Drainage is crucial because cannabis plants are susceptible to logging water.
We recommend you use a suitable flower pot for your first grow, but if you choose to repurpose something for your container (five-gallon buckets are popular), be sure to drill holes in the bottoms and set them in trays.
5. Need additional nutrients?
Soil is the best option for a first-timer or smaller grow. We recommend choosing a pre-fertilized organic soil or making soil on your own by mixing a good base soil with worm castings or other organic fertilizer.
Growing potent cannabis requires additional fertilizer that includes nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Cannabis also benefits from micronutrients, including calcium, magnesium, iron, and copper. If you didn’t select a pre-fertilized organic soil mix, you’d need to supply your plants with additional nutrients.
6. Watering
Cannabis requires water just like any other plant. How often? A tried and true rule-of-thumb is to water your plant when the first two inches of soil are dry. Water, allow drying, and repeat. Cannabis suffers when the soil is too wet, so be sure not to fall into the #1 first-timer mistake of overwatering your plants.
California’s Home Grow Laws
California law outlines that adults 21-years of age or older can grow up to 6 plants for recreational use and up to 12 plants for medical. Plants must be grown in a secure area, no matter if you’re a medical or recreational consumer. Learn more about marijuana laws in the state of California here.
