How do I grow weed easily indoors? It is one of the most frequently asked questions. This weeks blog explains how YOU can do it, and if you have never grown your own weed before you will be amazed how simple it is. There are lots of different methods to grow cannabis but we will focus on one simple and quick way.
2012 was an amazing year for the cannabis community. Cannabis use is slowly becoming legal and accepted especially for medical use. The American states of Washington and Colorado legalized pot in 2012 and where the Americans go, the rest of the world usually follows when it comes to drug laws. So if you have always wanted to grow an endless supply of top quality cannabis then read on. Why pay street prices for cannabis when you can grow better quality yourself, more-or-less for free.
Step 1
Get an area to grow in, the easiest way is to buy a small grow-tent online. It should be around 1.5m tall or more if possible, and perhaps a metre wide and a metre deep. But you can grow cannabis indoors in spaces smaller than that. One of the most convenient ways to get started is to buy a small purpose built grow tent. Check out companies like Hydrolab, Secret Jardin, Roof Qube etc. There are many tent manufacturers that will provide a starter-tent for around €100 or less. The beauty of the tent is that it is the simplest way to start, it takes 10 minutes to erect the tent. The inside lining is usually a reflective silver, the outside is usually black, it will have zips to open/close and ready-made openings for electrical cables etc. If you can’t afford a tent you will be able to use a small closet or perhaps you could build a grow-cabinet yourself.
Step 2
Get a light. Cannabis needs intense light to grow. The cheapest lights to start with are 250W sodium (‘HPS’) or 400W HPS lights. The lights can be bought from any grow-shop in your nearest city, or online. The light is connected to mains electricity via a ‘Ballast’ which controls the electrical supply. You will also need an electrical timer to switch the light on and off automatically, you will be able to buy this at the same time as your light.
Step 3
Get an extraction fan, carbon filter and some ducting online or from your local grow shop. Cannabis plants need a supply of fresh air to grow well. The extraction fan will suck air out of your tent through the carbon filter. The carbon filter is very important because it removes the strong cannabis smell. The waste air is usually vented outside through the flexible tubing which came with the fan.
Step 4
Buy some plant pots and soil. The soil should be light and contain perhaps 30% perlite which will help keep the soil light. The easiest way to start is to order some pre-prepared bags of quality soil from your local grow-shop, these are purpose designed soils and will keep life simple for you. First-time growers often buy pre-mixed soil to keep life as simple as possible on the first grow. Suppliers include companies such as Canna, Biobizz etc. Cannabis can be grown in other ways, with coco fibre and hydroponics. But growing in soil is a great way to start. Your pot size should be around 7-10 litres. Bigger pot sizes allow better root growth and bigger plants.
Step 5
Buy some cannabis seeds. You can get these online or from your local head-shop. You have 2 choices – either traditional varieties or AutoFem varieties. For first time growers we recommend AutoFem seeds. The seeds produce a harvest around 70 days after germination. The light should be connected to the electricity via a plug-in standard timer. For AutoFem seeds the timer should be set to turn the lights on for 20 hours followed by 4 hours of darkness. AutoFem seeds are perhaps the easiest for the beginner to start with, they grow under the same lighting hours throughout their life and they are famously easy, even for first-time growers. Seeds should be planted under 5-10mm of earth and the surface kept moist until they germinate. Some growers use transparent kitchen foil to seal the plant pots and retain moisture. The transparent foil can be removed once the seeds germinate and the seedling emerges. The light can be kept a metre above the seedlings initially, closer later. You may wish to start by growing perhaps 4 plants. Each plant might eventually yield 30-60g of dry cannabis, maybe more. In 2012 a first time grower called Billy Wu got 157g from a single Dutch Passion Think Different AutoFem.
Step 6
Wait 70 days! You will need to water the plants and progressively introduce plant feed into the water as the plants get larger. The plant-feed bottle will have recommended dosage rates on it. Your hydro store will have a range of plant feeds to recommend. To begin with just get a ‘Bloom additive’, keep it simple. Resist the temptation to over-water and over-feed, these are the biggest mistakes made by most first time growers. Initially plants will need watering just once or twice a week and will not need feeding for perhaps 3 weeks. At 70-75 days you will be able to chop the plants down, remove the leaves and allow the plants dry in your tent for a week. They should be dried in the dark but leave the extraction fan running to help drying. After around 1 week of drying the cannabis will be ready to try, taste and flavour may improve further if ‘cured’ in glass jars or Tupperware containers for a few more weeks. Dutch Passion AutoFem’s have a great reputation, and we have numerous customer grow reviews on each variety. Just browse our webshop for a variety you are interested in, and click the ‘related’ option next to product information and you will see them.
These days there is plenty of good advice on the internet on grow forums, and good books too. Once you have grown your own cannabis you will never want to buy it again!
From: dutch-passion.nl
