Growing marijuana in the benefit of your homes is a very smart move to take since it brings forth convenience. Most of all, you will be aware of what goes into the weed that you’ll be taking. It is definitely more fulfilling compared to buying weeds from reputable stores and dispensaries.
If you’ve finally decided that you’ll be growing your own strains of marijuana then remember that it requires some knowledge and skills to perfectly pull it off. Whether you will try to grow some indoors or outdoors, we listed down some tips on how you can achieve that optimum growth for your marijuana plants.
If you’re a beginner grower, the best option you can do is to start with just one plant. In this way, you can basically learn all the needed techniques and methods needed to grow a marijuana plant. Once you’ve unlocked those, you can now freely add more plants and different strains on your indoor or backyard farm.
Starting Off
The first thing you need to do is to get rid of the notion that growing marijuana is a hard task to do. Don’t forget why it is called “weed” in the first place. It can grow flawlessly anywhere it likes to grow.
Marijuana is a flowering plant. With this in mind, don’t expect it to produce buds more than twice per year. This information is very important since it dictates when you must set up and adjust the lightings for your plant especially when it is grown indoors. The necessary lighting duration for this kind of plant is about 12 hours per day and having it flower before its actual flowering cycle will result in a smaller yield.
You must keep in mind that before letting the marijuana plant to go through its flowering stage, it must have undergone a full 1 to 1 ½ month of vegetative stage. During its vegetative period, allow at most 16 to 20 hours of exposure to light or sunlight per day. This is where the need of a lamp comes in.
Lighting management
Natural lighting is really beneficial for your marijuana plant but it is not enough to allow it to grow successfully. Usually, you need an aide from artificial lighting coming from lamps. Unfortunately, desk lamps are not reliable in providing the sufficient lighting needed for your plant instead you need a lamp that is made for plants.
If there’s no available window for your plant to bathe on a nutritious sunlight then we suggest that you install an HID light bulb with a power of 250 watts. At this rate, your plant will extract the right amount of lighting even if the sun has already set.
A plant that doesn’t receive the right amount of lighting will tend to grow its branches in an upward direction rather than in an outward direction. This is not the desired outcome since an outward growth will allow it to be bushy which produces more potent buds.
The specific type of lamp depends on what kind of outcome you will like to achieve. A VHO lamp, for example, will cause your plant to grow three times faster compared to using a standard lamp. The only downside with this type of lamp is that it costs more than what is expected.
Providing a timer for your artificial lights will make it convenient for you since it can help promote consistent lighting schedules. This will help you make adjustments whenever something went wrong or such instances so that it will never happen again on your next plant.
Proper ventilation
Ventilation is another thing that should be included in your list. It is very important to allow proper ventilation present for your marijuana plant to prevent the formation of fungi, molds, and other diseases linked to the unhealthy circulation of air.
Clogging of the pores of the leaves of marijuana is caused by poor ventilation. This leads to the death of the plants since the leaves are an important part where essential nutrients and energy from the sun or lighting is absorbed.
This is extremely important especially during the flowering period of your marijuana plant wherein buds are susceptible to the growth of molds.
When keeping your plant inside a cupboard or a closet, make sure to place a fan inside it to allow good air circulation. It is definitely a plus if the fan can draw out some fresh air from the outside of the enclosure.
Humidity and temperature
Other key factors you must consider in raising your marijuana plants are the humidity and temperature of the surrounding that it thrives in.
Temperature and humidity during the day and night are quite different. During the day or when exposed to artificial light, the recommended temperature for your plants is around 68°F to 78°F. On the other hand, during the night the expected temperature should be between 53°F to 63°F.
Always keep your area dry. This will allow more resin to flourish on your plant’s surfaces since a more humid environment can cause the leaves to dry out and decrease resin production. Just remember to keep it in an optimal temperature that is not too hot or warm and not too wet.
Humidity can cause leaves to grow broader and larger which is not good for weed consumers. In case the area where you are planning to grow your marijuana is humid, make sure to install a dehumidifier to allow humidity to decrease to a suitable level. It may be a bit costly especially if you’re only planning to plant one plant.
Watering
Just like common plants, water is also an essential part of the proper growth and management of marijuana plants. Make sure that the quality of water that you feed your plant with doesn’t contain too many chemicals.
Chlorine is a common chemical found in water coming from faucets and such since it is part of the water treatment process done by your city. It is actually easy to remove the chlorine from the water. All you have to do is to let the water sit for about 24 hours or more and then it is good to go.
Make sure to observe even distribution of water to your plant and soil. It should reach the bottom part of the pot. This is why it is more suitable to provide water in large amounts rather than with minute amounts in intervals. Remember to water your plants once the soil doesn’t feel moist.
Learning is a Continuous Process
Observing the mentioned factors will allow your marijuana plant to bloom into a perfect and healthy plant. Once you got the hang of it, you can add more plants to your farm and apply necessary adjustments that you’ve noticed during the duration of care of your first plant.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes or feel down when your plant dies. The best thing about growing marijuana is that it becomes a big learning experience and a great achievement once you successfully grown a perfectly healthy and problem free plant.
