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Grow Hemp - Comprehensive Guide to Cannabis Cultivation
Table of Contents
-
Growing hemp - an overview
- Cannabis Basics
-
Choosing the right cannabis seeds
- Indica, Sativa, Hybrid - what's the difference?
- The advantages of feminized cannabis seeds
- Autoflowering cannabis seeds - fast, small, uncomplicated
-
Basics of growing hemp
- Getting hemp seeds to germinate - a guide
- Growing hemp indoors
- Equipment for indoor cannabis growing
- Growing hemp outdoors
-
FAQ
- How many grams of flowers does a cannabis plant produce?
- When to plant hemp?
- Can you grow hemp in the garden?
- What soil is suitable for growing hemp?
- What kind of lamp is suitable for growing hemp?
Growing hemp means you have to take care of a plant for at least 8 weeks - is it worth the effort? We clearly say YES! If you grow cannabis plants at home, you have the possibility to choose the cannabis seeds yourself. You can expect flowers with exactly the genetics, THC content, effect and taste of your choice. In order for your cannabis cultivation to be successful, there are a few things to keep in mind. In this article, we'll give you the basic knowledge you need to make growing cannabis fun from day one and produce a fat harvest.
Cannabis Basics
Cannabis is a special plant because it can be male, female, or hermaphroditic (hermaphrodite). Depending on the gender, the use of cannabis differs. As a hobby grower, you only want female, unfertilized plants, as they produce the most potent and largest flowers without seeds (sinsemilla). The tricky part: in the seedling and growing stages all plants look the same, you can't tell the sex of the plant until it enters the flowering stage.
- Female cannabis plant: A female cannabis plant in the flowering phase develops female flowers, also called buds, which are covered with sticky trichomes and contain cannabinoids, such as THC, CBD and terpenes. Female, unfertilized flowers are used for medicinal and personal consumption and to make extracts.
- Male cannabis plant: Male cannabis plants develop pollen sacs filled with pollen during the flowering phase, with which they fertilize female flowers to enable the production of new seeds. They are mainly used by breeders to cross different strains to produce new cannabis varieties.
- Hermaphrodite cannabis plant: Hermaphrodite cannabis plants develop both sexual organs. During the flowering phase, they produce both flowers and pollen sacs and can self-pollinate. This is bad for home growers as it affects the quality of the flowers and results in high seed production.
Both pollen sacs and flowers form on the nodes, the part of the plant where the branches meet the main stem. To avoid accidentally pollinating female plants, it is important to identify the sex of your plants as early as possible. This way you ensure high yields and high quality buds. It is even easier to buy feminized cannabis seeds directly.
Cannabis plants have a vegetative growth phase and a flowering phase. There are photoperiod strains that require a change in light cycle to initiate flowering, and there are autoflower strains that start flowering on their own due to their age.
Choosing the right cannabis seeds
Finding high quality cannabis seeds is not a problem, the supply on the market is huge. It's all about finding cannabis seeds that fit your needs and conditions. There are two main factors to consider:
1. Your growing situation
Where and how do you want to grow? Indoors or outdoors? How much space do you have available? Are you already familiar with hemp cultivation and related methods, or do you need a strain that is as resilient and uncomplicated as possible?
2. Your wishes
What effect do you want your cannabis plant to have? Would you rather relax or get a motivational kick? What flavor profile do you like?
Indica, Sativa, Hybrid - what's the difference?
Properties Cannabis Sativa:
- Effect: euphoric, stimulating head high.
- Long growth and flowering phase &rarr Late harvest, outdoor grow only possible in warm regions
- Large, delicate plant, with long, narrow leaves &rarr needs a lot of space and light
- Very high yields of fluffy buds &rarr less susceptible to mold
Properties Cannabis Indica:
- Effect: calming body-stoned
- Compact and robust plant with broad, dark leaves &rarr needs little space and is forgiving of mistakes
- Insensitive to temperature fluctuations &rarr outdoor grow possible in northern hemisphere countries with changeable summers
- Short flowering phase &rarr harvest before onset of winter, when grown outdoors in northern hemisphere
- Dense, heavy flowers
Properties of hybrids:
To take advantage of the best features of both cannabis strains, breeders cross them together to generate hybrid varieties, with varying proportions of sativa and indica genes. So you can choose between indica-dominant, sativa-dominant or 50/50 hybrids, depending on your growing situation and preferences.
The advantages of feminized cannabis seeds
Cannabis seed breeders can use a certain technique to manipulate cannabis plants to produce feminized cannabis seeds that only produce female plants. They tend to be a bit more expensive than regular cannabis seeds, but also save a lot of work for hobby growers who are only interested in female flowers.
With feminized cannabis seeds, you won't have to worry about having to identify male cannabis plants so they don't pollinate the female ones. Also, you can be sure to spend your resources (e.g. soil, nutrients, electricity) only on cannabis plants that will reward you with delicious and potent buds in the end.
We recommend the following feminized cannabis seeds:
Autoflowering cannabis seeds - fast, small, uncomplicated.
Growing autoflowering cannabis seeds is ideal for beginners, growers with limited space or people who just like to see results quickly. Unlike photoperiod cannabis plants, autoflowering cannabis plants do not need an external stimulus (change of light cycle/simulation of a seasonal change) to switch from the growing phase to the flowering phase, they do it automatically after a certain time, due to their age.
Autoflowering cannabis seeds have this characteristic thanks to their autoflowering genes from the Cannabis Ruderalis family, a cannabis variety from Eastern Europe and Central Asia that had to adapt to cold environmental conditions and short summers. Therefore, autoflowering cannabis seeds produce particularly hardy plants that can be easily grown even by beginners.
The life cycle of an autoflower is short, it takes only 8 - 10 weeks from germination to harvest, with a constant light cycle of 18 h light and 6 h dark. Automatic Strains are very space-saving with 60 - 100 cm height and also suitable for a discreet outdoor grow. There are countless fantastic autoflowering cannabis seeds that produce high yields and are easy to grow. Taste, effect and THC content can be chosen to your liking.
We recommend the following high-quality and feminized autoflowering cannabis seeds:
Basics for growing hemp
Instructions on how to grow weed vary greatly depending on whether you are cultivating your hemp outdoors or indoors. However, there are general factors to consider in order to successfully grow hemp:
- Light/Lighting: For healthy and rapid growth, hemp plants need plenty of light, well over 12 hours per day in their seedling and growing stages. Lamps connected to a timer, as linked below, are the ideal light source indoors. Even if you want to grow hemp outdoors, you should light your seedlings indoors until they get enough daylight outside.
- Water: The water you use to rinse, water and nourish your cannabis plants should not be too hard. In most areas, both rainwater and tap water are sufficient. The optimal pH of the water is 6 - 7.
- Suitable growing medium and nutrients: popular growing media for hemp plants include organic potting soil, coconut fiber or peat. Organic soil already contains many of the nutrients your hemp plant needs, but if you are using a neutral medium like coco fiber, you'll need to add a nutrient mix from the start for healthy growth.
- Air: To ensure that the cannabis plant does not grow mold and it grows strongly, it needs permanently fresh circulating air. Outdoors, the wind takes care of that. Indoors, you need fresh air supply, exhaust air and a fan to create the ideal conditions.
Climate (temperature and humidity): Cannabis is resilient, especially indica-dominant strains can't be affected much by temperature fluctuations. Extreme temperatures, however, such as frost and heat waves, can have a major negative impact on your yield. Your cannabis plant can handle temperatures between 12°- 30° C, the ideal temperature is 27° C. Use a thermo-hygrometer to keep track of temperature and humidity. Too much moisture in the air can lead to mold.
Getting cannabis seeds to germinate - a guide
Even if you are planning an outdoor grow, it makes sense to germinate your cannabis seeds indoors. Hemp seeds need a lot of humidity and a room temperature between 22° - 25 °C to germinate. There are countless germination methods with varying success rates, one of the most common and successful is the kitchen towel method.
You wet a kitchen towel, place your seeds on it with 2 - 3 cm distance and put another wetted kitchen towel over it. The kitchen towel should only be damp and not wet. Within 12 - 48 hours, a white root tip will sprout from the seeds. Once the root tip is 2 - 3 mm long, you can carefully place the seedling in a pot with soil, peat swell pot or a nutrient medium of your choice in a hole that is about 1 - 1.5 cm deep. With enough moisture and light, the germinated seed can grow healthily.
In order for you to successfully plant hemp, we recommend the following products:
Indoor Hemp Growing
Indoor growing is the term for growing hemp in an enclosed space where you can provide the optimal growing environment. This can be a closet, a grow box, a grow tent or a whole room. Especially for beginners, indoor hemp cultivation offers the possibility to generate high yields regardless of the weather.
As a beginner in indoor growing, however, you must first invest in accessories to be able to create an optimal growing environment with the help of lamps, a ventilation system, a hygrometer, etc. It's worth it, because what is there? It's worth it, because what better way to fill your storage jars than with top quality weed that you've nurtured yourself.
Before you buy your accessories or a complete grow box, you should clarify how much space you have available, which strain and how many cannabis plants you want to grow. If you have limited space, we recommend indica-dominant strains for indoor growing, as they are smaller, more compact and easier to maintain.
One of the great advantages of indoor growing is the discretion it brings. You're in your own home and you decide who gets to see your cannabis plants. But what if they change into flower and start spraying their delicious but noticeable scent? This requires a good ventilation and exhaust system with an activated carbon filter.
The advantages and disadvantages of growing hemp indoors summarized:
Advantages Indoor Grow:
- You control growing environment (temperature, humidity, light, etc.)
- Year-round and constant harvests possible/weather independent
- High quality end product from your own hand
- Private and discreet cultivation
Disadvantages Indoor-Grow:
- Odor formation during flowering (solution: activated carbon filter in ventilation system)
- Limited space available
- Investment for basic accessories (lamp, timer, grow box, etc.)
- Costs for water and electricity
Our indica-dominant cannabis seed recommendations for indoor cannabis growing:
Equipment for Cannabis Indoor Grow
To be able to create the optimal growing environment for indoor cannabis cultivation, some equipment is necessary. As a beginner, you should expect to invest between €300 and €500, depending on how much space you have. This sounds like a lot at first, but almost all of it is a one-time purchase that you can reuse for any of your growing projects.
1. grow tent
- Size depends on the space you have available
- Height min. 1,60 m
- Fixed grow space
2. lighting system
- Height adjustable grow lamp with certain intensity and color spectrum (the higher the wattage of the lamp, the more distance is needed to the plant)
- Timer (lighting cycle imitates day-night cycle)
3. ventilation and exhaust
- Supply and exhaust fan for fresh air supply and adequate humidity to prevent mold growth
- Recirculation fan (wind simulation for strong plants)
- Aluminum pipe
- Activated carbon filter to prevent odor formation
4. measuring devices
- Thermo-hygrometer to measure the temperature and humidity of the air
- pH test kit or pH meter to monitor the pH value
- EC meter to monitor the EC value
5. substrates and fertilizers
- Soil with balanced nutrient ratio (growing soil/ light mix)
- Substrate with higher nutrient concentration for the vegetative growth phase
- Fertilizers suitable for the growth phase (root stimulator, fertilizers for growth, for flowering and a booster)
- Insecticides
So that you don't have to buy everything separately, there are grow tent complete sets that contain almost everything you need. Depending on the space you have available, you can choose a size. Here are our grow tent complete set recommendations, for a worry-free and cost-effective start to indoor cannabis growing:
- Complete Set V.2.0 (60x60x160) - Pure Tent
- Complete Set V.2.0 (80x80x180) - Pure Tent
- Complete set V.2.0 (100x100x200) - Pure Tent
- Complete set V.2.0 (120x120x200) - Pure Tent
Grow hemp outdoor
If you grow hemp outdoors in your garden, under ideal conditions (good weather, few pests, etc.) you can exploit the full potential of your hemp plant and harvest massive yields that you can only dream of indoors. But there are some things to consider if you want to grow hemp outdoors. You need suitable outdoor hemp seeds and a suitable place.
You can grow cannabis on your balcony, on a roof, your terrace or in your private garden. No matter which place you choose for your cannabis plants, the outdoor growing location should meet the following criteria:
- Many hours of sunshine (optimal south-facing cultivation site with 6 - 8 hours of sunshine daily).
- Moderate temperatures (12° - 30° C)
- Sufficient space in height and width
- Protection from heavy rain, hail or heat waves (possibility to install a protection device, e.g. a tarpaulin is sufficient)
Advantages Outdoor-Grow:
- Peak yields (due to longer growth, larger plants and more space).
- No costs for electricity or water
- Fresh air and wind (natural ventilation)
- No complicated lighting plan
Disadvantages Outdoor Growing:
- No control over growing environment (temperature, humidity, etc.)
- Pests and animals in direct environment
- Lack of privacy (if plot/ balcony/ terrace etc. is visible from outside)
Keeping pests at bay is important to allow your cannabis plant to grow healthily and to secure your harvest. There are several ways to do this. You can plant companion plants, like lemon balm or basil around it to keep pests away. You can also use predatory insects, like ladybugs or parasitic wasps, to protect your plants. To keep larger animals from damaging your plants, a protective barrier like a fence can help.
Rain will help you water your cannabis plants in outdoor areas. Always water your cannabis when the top inch of soil is completely dry. If you water too much, you risk root rot.
Which cannabis seeds are right for you for outdoor growing depends on your growing conditions. How long is your growing season? How much space do you have available? Autoflower cannabis seeds are especially suitable for beginners for the first outdoor grow. You can grow them without time pressure during the warmest summer months. They grow fast, are robust and small.
If you want to harvest as much weed as possible and have enough space available, we recommend photoperiod hybrids. In the northern hemisphere with short summers, photoperiod cannabis seeds with a short flowering time (6 - 8 weeks) are especially suitable and are ready for harvest outdoors by the end of September at the latest. Easy to grow, with XXL yields - we recommend the following photoperiod cannabis seeds for your outdoor grow:
FAQ
How many grams of flowers does a cannabis plant produce?
The genetic potential of a cannabis plant determines how high its maximum yield will be under ideal growing conditions. How many grams of flowers your cannabis plant will actually produce in the end depends on several factors (lighting, available space, pot size, length of the growing season, weather, etc.). A cannabis plant can produce 20 grams to 2 kilograms of flowers.
When to plant hemp?
Indoors, you can plant your hemp whenever you want, as indoor growing is weather-independent. If you are growing outdoors in a cold climate zone, germinate your hemp seeds indoors in March and move them outdoors between April and May.
Can you grow hemp in your garden?
Yes, if your garden has enough space and sunshine hours, you can grow hemp in your garden.
What kind of soil is suitable for growing hemp?
Potting soil is a good substrate for growing hemp. If it is additionally mixed with coconut fiber or perlite, this improves water retention, drainage and airiness of the soil.
Which lamp is suitable for hemp cultivation?
LED grow lamps are good for growing hemp because they are energy efficient, have high light intensity and the necessary color spectrum. Your lamp should have a beam power of at least 500 - 600 watts per m².