Whether you're beginning pot production or looking to improve your existing harvest, following this complete guide will help you produce big, high-quality yields right at home. With the right gear, methods, and care, cultivating pot indoors can be an extremely productive and cost-effective endeavor.
Choosing Marijuana Strains
The first step in planning your indoor grow is picking the right pot varieties to grow. The three main types of cannabis plants each have their own characteristics.
Energizing strains
Known for their invigorating intellectual effects, sativas spread tall and slender with narrow leaves. They flourish in hotter equatorial climates and have a longer blooming time between 2.5-3 months indoors. Top energizing strains include Sour Diesel, Durban Poison, and Jack Herer.
Indicas
These strains provide relaxing full-body effects and spread short and bushy with broad leaves. Adapted to colder mountain climates, they bloom faster within 8-9 weeks. Popular relaxing varieties include Granddaddy Purple, Northern Lights, and Bubba Kush.
Mixed strains
Mixed strains mix traits from both energizing strains and indicas. They offer blended effects and have moderate flowering times around 9-10 weeks. Well-known mixes are OG Kush, Girl Scout Cookies, and Blue Dream.
Setting Up Your Cultivation Space
Cannabis plants need the right controlled environment to succeed. Key factors for indoor grows are lights, ventilation, layout, and finding the ideal discreet spot.
Location
Choose an unused space with quick access to irrigation and electrical outlets. An empty extra bedroom, unused closet, basement corner, or cultivation tent locked away in a garage all make great hidden grow room spots.
Lighting
Pot requires intense light for all vegetative stages. LED grow lights are energy-efficient and come in broad spectrum options mimicking real sunlight. Cover 250-400 watts per square foot for the vegetative stage and 400-600 watts per square foot for bloom.
Airflow
Proper airflow and exhaust systems keep ideal temp, humidity, and fresh CO2 levels. Set up quiet 4-6 inch blowers or carbon filters to refresh old air and eliminate odors.
Layout
Optimize your space by positioning plants strategically under the lamps and allowing room to access and work around them. Set up separate zones for growth, flowering, curing, and propagation.
Growing Substrates
Marijuana can be cultivated in various substrates, each with pros and cons. Pick a suitable option for your specific setup and growing style.
Soil
The classic substrate, soil is cheap and simple for new growers. It provides excellent taste but needs more watering and fertilizing to nourish plants. Amend soil with perlite or coco to improve drainage.
Coco Coir
Made from coconut husks, renewable coconut fiber holds water but still lets in air to the roots. It's more sterile and more consistent than soil. Use coir-specific fertilizers to prevent accumulation.
Water systems
In water systems, plant roots develop right in fertilizer irrigation solution. This enables quick development but needs careful observation of solution properties. DWC and irrigation systems are popular methods.
Sprouting Seeds
Sprouting activates your marijuana seeds to begin sprouting taproots. This prepares them for planting into their growing medium.
Paper Towel Method
Place seeds between damp paper towels and keep them damp. Inspect after a week for emerging taproots indicating germination is complete.
Direct Planting
Plant seeds directly into wetted cultivation medium 6mm deep. Gently water and wait 7-14 days until seedlings break through the surface.
Rockwool Cubes
Presoak rockwool cubes in balanced water. Place seeds 6mm deep into the cubes. Keep cubes wet until sprouts emerge within 1-14 days.
Transplanting Young plants
Once sprouted, pot seedlings need to be transplanted to prevent crowding. Move them into proper sized containers.
Preparing Containers
Fill large containers with cultivation medium amended with slow-release nutrients. Let pots to soak up water overnight before transplanting.
Carefully Transplanting
Carefully loosen seedling roots from germination medium using a spade. Put into pre-soaked container at same depth as before and lightly water in.
Vegetative Stage
The growth stage encourages leafy growth and plant structure through 3/4 to full day of continual light exposure. This stage usually lasts 1-2 months.
Using 18-24 Hours of Light
Use lamps on a 24 daily cycle or cannabisgrowguide.net natural sunlight to initiate nonstop photosynthesis. Light output influences size and internodal spacing.
Nutrients
Use grow stage nutrients higher in N. Make sure pH remains around 5.8-6.3 for proper fertilizer uptake. Feed 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 concentration after 2 weeks and increase slowly.
LST and topping
Topping, LST, and trellising manipulate shoot shapes for even foliage. This boosts yields.
Bloom Stage
The flowering stage grows buds as plants show their sex under a 12 hour light timing. It lasts 8-12 weeks based on variety.
Changing Light Schedule
Change lamps to 12 hours on, 12 hours off or place outdoors for outdoor 12/12 timing. This triggers plants to start blooming.
Stop Fertilizing
Flushing flushes out nutrient salts to enhance taste. Feed lightly the first weeks then just use pH'd water the final 2 weeks.
Flushing
Maintain 12 hour photoperiod but leach using neutral pH water only. Resume clean watering if buds aren't mature after two weeks.
Reaping
Knowing when cannabis is fully ripe delivers maximum potency and aroma. Cut down plants at peak ripeness.
Signs of readiness
Look for fading pistils, swelling calyxes, and 10-15% cloudy trichs. Inspect buds across the plant as they won't all mature evenly.
Cutting Plants
Use sterilized, razor-sharp trimming scissors to carefully slice each plant at the base. Keep several inches of stem attached.
Curing
Hang whole plants or colas upside down in a dark room with moderate temp and humidity around 50-60% for 7-14 days.
Curing
Aging keeps drying while aging the buds like aged spirits. This technique smooths bitterness and intensifies cannabinoid and terpene profiles.
Curing containers
Manicure dried buds from stems and store into sealed containers, filling about 3⁄4 full. Use a sensor to monitor jar humidity.
Opening jars daily
Unseal jars for a few hours daily to gradually reduce humidity. Remoisten buds if humidity goes under 55%.
Long term storage
After 2-3 weeks when moisture levels off around 55-65%, perform a final manicure and keep forever in sealed jars.
Common Problems and Solutions
Even experienced cultivators run into different cannabis plant problems. Identify issues early and fix them correctly to keep a healthy garden.
Nutrient Deficiencies
Yellowing leaves often signify inadequate nitrogen. Anthocyanins and leaves show phosphorus deficiency. Check pH and increase fertilizers slowly.
Bugs
Thrips, aphids, fungus gnats, thrips, and root aphids are common pot pests. Use neem oil sprays, ladybugs, and sticky traps for natural control.
Mold
High moisture promotes botrytis and root rot. Increase circulation and circulation while lowering humidity below 50% during flowering.
Conclusion
With this complete indoor weed cultivation guide, you now have the knowledge to grow plentiful strong buds for private grows. Follow these steps and techniques throughout the germination, growth, and bloom stages. Invest in quality equipment and closely check on your plants. In time, you'll be compensated with sticky fragrant buds you grew yourself under the loving care of your green thumbs. Good luck cultivating!