Whether you call it weed, ganja, marijuana or whatever, the plant known as Cannabis Sativa is easy to grow at home if you know what to do. The hydroponic method allows you to get a higher yield than growing on the ground, but it can be a bit difficult for a beginner. When it comes to the "hydroponic technique" many think that plants grow in water, but your seedlings will enjoy many benefits as you add the necessary nutrients directly to their water supply. However, thanks to the superior air / water ratio, hydroponics remains the industry standard technique. This article will show you step by step how to grow your own marijuana in 3-4 months using the hydroponic method: manually adding water in a soilless system.
Steps
Part 1 of 5: Preparing the Bases
Step 1. If you haven't already, consider growing marijuana the traditional way before doing it with hydroponics
This technique is a little more complicated than on the ground: you have to optimize nutrients, light, ventilation, and it can be difficult if you've never managed these plants before. Don't think you get results without a hitch. Although cultivation is easy, if you have the right knowledge and information, it still takes some time for this type of thing.
- On the other hand, other circumstances may force you to choose hydroponics. If you are a beginner and want to try, know that you may succeed. Do your research, but avoid talking to your friends and acquaintances about it. Nothing will make you stop growing faster than chatting around your hydroponic unit.
- Consider growing other plants this way, in addition to marijuana. Hydroponic growing doesn't necessarily mean you only have to grow weed. You can grow tomatoes, lettuce and mushrooms. Experiment with these crops to learn how to proceed with marijuana.
Step 2. Buy all the necessary materials
If you go shopping with a keen eye, you will be able to get everything you need for five plants by spending 300-500 euros. Eventually expect a yield of 30-90 grams per plant. You will need (see the "Things You Will Need" section for more details):
- Marijuana seeds or clones.
- White paint or tereflated polyethylene.
- Hydroponic nutrients.
- Vases.
- A growth medium such as coconut fiber.
- Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL).
- A timer.
- A pH test.
Step 3. Prepare the room
Light plays an important role in plant growth. If you grow them indoors, this is a problem. Many crops are done in dark houses where light is absorbed rather than reflected. For maximum success, and to produce the best weed, the walls of the grow room must be painted a glossy white or covered with tereflated polyethylene.
- Painting the room with a semi-gloss white paint is the simplest solution. The more uniform the white the better it will be, because it will reflect about 55% of the light coming from the lamps. Titanium white might be the best choice.
- Tereflated polyethylene is highly reflective. It has a 90% reflectance index and is much more efficient than an aluminum cladding. Since tereflated polyethylene is also highly efficient in diffusing heat, you will need to make sure to ensure adequate ventilation in the room.
Part 2 of 5: Lighting and Ventilation
Step 1. Arrange the lamps
They should stand a little higher than the pots, and have enough space that they can always be moved according to the height of the growing plant. There are millions of ways to organize or hang lights, and you will need to choose the one that best suits the growing room. The simplest method is to attach them to a hanging bar or place them on something nearby that is positioned at the right height.
Reflective spotlights are great for using compact fluorescent lights. The socket is already connected, it is not necessary to wire a special electrical system, and the dish helps to reflect as much light as possible. Remember that any excess light that doesn't hit your plants is wasted light
Step 2. Make sure that the lamps produce at least the minimum (but the theoretical one would be better) amount of lumens per square meter
The lumen is the unit of measurement of the total amount of visible light emitted by a source. In addition, it is useful to know how many lumens a lamp emits, as well as how many lumens plants need to grow. On average, in a day, the sun emits 55,000-111,000 lumens per square meter.
- The absolute minimum needed for the average growth of plants is 33,300 lumens per square meter. Note that the actual amount that reaches the bottom of the plant fluctuates in relation to the distance from the light source and the reflectivity of the environment.
- There ideal quantity for cultivation it is between 778,000 and 111,000 lumens per square meter.
- To figure out how many lumens you have per square meter, simply divide the total amount of lumens by the area of the room. Suppose you work with two 300 watt lamps, each of 40,000 lumens, in a 3x3x2m room. The total amount of lumens is 80,000 and your area is 18m2. So your lumens per square meter will be 80,000 ÷ 18 ≈ 4,400 per square meter.
Step 3. Take care not to burn or overheat the plants with the heat source
Having enough light makes marijuana grow well and healthily. But what to do about overheating? The ideal temperature is between 26 ° C and 29 ° C and in any case never above 32 ° C. If the temperature drops below these values, consider adding a small heat source. If the temperature rises, a fan may be needed to regulate the growing climate.
Step 4. Keep the room ventilated
Adequate air circulation is absolutely necessary for healthy plants. If your grow room is in a closet, for example, there isn't much you can do other than add an oscillating fan. In a box, on the other hand, you can insert a channeling system that proves to be very efficient.
- To make a duct system, you can simply take a wheel from the squirrel cage (or anything that looks like a hamster wheel) and attach it to 6 '' ducts to mitigate the temperature and pungent odors.
- Like any other operation, including installing the oscillating fan, this strengthens the stem of the marijuana as it grows.
Part 3 of 5: Germination and Plant Growth
Step 1. Sprout the seeds
To do this, wet a large piece of kitchen paper and wrap it around the seeds. Place the paper with the seeds on a plate and cover it with another plate to make sure it doesn't dry out. Alternatively, put the wet paper in a sealable plastic bag and let it sit in the dark and warm for 24 hours.
Step 2. Once sprouted, transfer the seeds to a rockwool block
Rockwool is a great way to grow marijuana in the early stages of growth. Once the seeds have begun to build a significant root system, you can plant them in coir.
Step 3. Start feeding the plants with water (filtered or tap) mixed with nutrients
Adjust the pH of the water between 5.5 and 6.0 for best results.
- In the beginning, give the plants a quarter of the nutrient concentration and work this way until it reaches its maximum within a week or two. One of the biggest mistakes a grower can make is overfeeding plants and damaging them. Many nutrient brands have a hydroponics nutrition program that must be followed to the letter.
- After adding nutrients to the water, adjust the pH between 5, 5 and 6.0 to ensure proper nutrient absorption.
Part 4 of 5: Plant Care
Step 1. Wet the plants with water with the correct pH and nutrients whenever the coir begins to dry out
Start by watering the plants every other day when they are small, then move on to once a day during the flowering period.
Make sure some water comes out of the bottom of the container when you bathe the plants, to make sure that unused nutrients don't build up in the growing system. Coir and perlite can tolerate any excesses or shortcomings, but be sure to adjust your watering schedule accordingly if you notice wilting or drooping leaves
Step 2. Keep your plants in a vegetative state until they reach about half the desired height
You can leave them in the vegetative state by giving them light for 18-24 hours a day.
- Your marijuana has two different main phases after planting: that vegetative is that of flowering. You have to treat the plant differently depending on what stage it is in. In the vegetative state, the plant only has to worry about growing and becoming big. To keep the plants in this phase, you need to give them light for at least 18 hours a day. This way you simulate "summer", when the days are long. You can also leave the lights on for 24 hours during the vegetative phase, but you will still be successful if you stick to the 18-24 hour range.
- The height of the plants is often the most important factor in choosing to keep them in the vegetative phase. Plants can double their height in the flowering state, so you may want to keep them in the vegetative stage until they reach half of their desired final height. If they are growing in a closet it is a great solution to keep them in a vegetative state until they reach 15-45 cm.
Step 3. Begin The flowering phase begins when the plants reach the right height
Cannabis blooms when a 12-hour light / dark rhythm is triggered and bud production begins. This alternation of light / dark simulates the onset of autumn and winter.
As they bloom, your plants stop growing and turn their energies into producing flowers and buds. You will have to induce the plant to bloom. In nature, marijuana enters the flowering phase when the days get short as winter approaches. To simulate this condition, you have to turn off the light for 12 hours a day
Step 4. Check the sex of the plants and get rid of the male plants
Check this 1-2 weeks after changing your lighting schedule. Remove male plants as soon as you see the cluster. If the males pollinate the females, they will channel the energies, previously used for the production of THC, into the development of the seeds. Pollinated grass is not impossible to smoke, but it is less strong.
1-2 weeks after changing the light / dark rhythm, you should start seeing the characteristic signs of sex. Female plants will begin to be covered in white hair, while male plants will develop clustered sacs full of pollen. To maximize the amount of buds you can get from the females, remove the males to prevent them from being pollinated
Step 5. Wait patiently as your plants mature
This is often the hardest part for beginners. The flowering phase lasts from 6 to 12 weeks or even longer, depending on the strain of the plant you are growing
Step 6. Begin feeding plants with plain water and a suitable pH about 1-2 weeks before harvest
If you don't, you may taste the nutrients in the buds (and your smoke may have a chemical aftertaste).
Towards the end of the flowering cycle, you may notice that older leaves turn yellow and fall off. This is completely normal and a sign that the plants are channeling the hydrogen from the leaves to the buds / flowers. It is also a sign that harvest time is approaching, and you should stop putting nutrients into the water for the last 1-2 weeks to ensure the best possible flavor
Part 5 of 5: Harvesting and Drying
Step 1. Harvest the plants when they are ready by cutting the whole plant or just the buds when it is time
- There are many ways to determine the right time to harvest. It is usually harvested when 50-75% of the white hairs / pistils have turned brown / amber.
- Another way is to observe the trichomes (also called crystals or resin glands); when they are all milky white or half amber and half white it is the right time to harvest.
- An early harvest will produce more heady marijuana, a late harvest will give a more relaxing weed. Experiment to find which one is right for you.
Step 2. Trim the plants so that no leaves remain on the stem and buds
The leaves will make the smoke sour and don't contain a lot of THC, so keep them from mixing with the final product. However, you can use them to make butter, tincture or to mince them.
Step 3. Hang the pods upside down in a cool, dry place and let them dry until the buds come apart with a little pressure
Step 4. Place the pods in an airtight container and leave them in a cool, dark place for at least 2-4 weeks for them to "ripen"
Open the container once a day to let some air in and make sure any residual moisture comes out. Moisture is the enemy of your weed during preparation, as it causes mold, so make sure the pods are perfectly dry when you put them in the container.
Advice
- If you notice that only the tips of the leaves are starting to turn yellow or brown, it means that your plant is showing the first symptoms of an excess of nutrients. If this happens, feed the plants with a half-strength solution for about a week before returning to normal. Some marijuana species can absorb a lot of nutrients, while others don't handle them as well. A plant can show signs of burns even if you use water with the wrong pH, so remember to check and adjust if necessary!
- As the plants get taller and start blooming, you may need an extra couple of lamps on the sides. If you see dark areas, put more lights in those spots.
- There are many benefits to growing your marijuana plants indoors in a landless system, such as a mix of coir and perlite (which offers great aeration and drainage). None of these systems attract insects, and because the roots have better access to water and oxygen, your plants grow much faster and offer a bigger yield than growing in the ground. Additionally, plants produce more and grow faster when they get nutrients from the water (hydroponically) instead of filtering them from the soil.
- Most novice growers have a tendency to harvest sprouts too early due to excitement. Sprouts grow to 25% of their final size in the last two weeks, so it's important to be patient and wait for the right time. Sprouts harvested too early will have a particular effect on people. As the sprout develops, it will start producing chemicals with a more relaxing effect. Many people decide to cut only a few shoots and let the rest of the plant grow. This way you can experiment with the different stages of maturation.
- In many countries, you can purchase marijuana seeds that are delivered directly to your home. However, it is your responsibility to know if it is legal to grow marijuana in your country. In recent years, many countries have been legalizing it, or at least its use for medical purposes, so make sure you are familiar with the laws that apply to your specific case.
