Are you excited to grow cannabis for the first time? Do you need to find out all the ways, environmental factors, and tools required in your indoor cannabis cultivation?
Well, you have come to the right place indeed. However, it can be troublesome to grow cannabis without a proper guide, and we understand that. So, we have consulted with Homegrown Cannabis Co. and taken their tips and suggestions for the best guide to you all.
In this article, you will get all the in-depth essential information regarding your cannabis growth. With proper knowledge about all factors related to your healthy cannabis growth, there’s no stopping. So, gather your determination and grab all details from this article.
Environmental Factors Needed To Grow Cannabis Indoors
To achieve the best outcomes from your cannabis indoor cultivation, you have to meet all the environmental requirements of your plants. Some of them are:
- Lighting
If you want a healthy growth cycle of your cannabis plants, you will need good lighting. This lighting will be necessary for your plant’s health and photosynthesis.
You have to look for the availability of optimum light sources for your plant’s indoor cultivation. For instance, having white-painted walls in your grow room will reflect utmost light into your cannabis plants.
- Water
Water is one of the essential environmental requirements for indoor cannabis cultivation. Many growers tend to overwater their plants, which is, in fact, harmful at times.
If you provide excessive water with an unbalanced PH level, your plants may affect their growth and quality. So, you can use distilled lukewarm water with a PH level of 5.8-6.2 for a balanced source of water in plants.
- Air-Quality
You have to ensure a controlled environment in your grow room to avoid any signs of pests or pollutants.
For example, if you buy a commercial grow tent, you will get the facility of in-built air-ports and vents. This will help you to regulate the air quality with an addition of an exhaust fan.
So, finally, the fresh air index for your cannabis growth will keep pollutants outside.
- Temperature
It is crucial to monitor and maintain the metrics and ranges while growing cannabis indoors. You will have to keep the temperature of your growth room within the suitable range for your healthy cannabis growth.
Depending upon your cannabis strain, you will have to determine the temperature range. For instance, most cannabis plants need 70°F-85°F of temperature in light and 58°F-70°F in darkness.
- Grow Space
One of the most critical environmental requirements for indoor cannabis growth is the growing space. Well, you can always start with a small space, as it will be easier for you to monitor and maintain.
In addition, you can slowly progress into a bigger space once you achieve excellence as a grower. So, ensure to choose a room that best fits your light, fans, and ducting equipment.
- Humidity
It is essential to control the humidity of your indoor environment for efficient cannabis growth. You have to maintain the humidity of your grow space within 40%-60% for faster and effective development.
- Growing Medium
You can choose soil as the growing medium for your cannabis growth. Well, there are always other options available to you. For instance, you can select soil mix, coco coir, perlite, vermiculite, etc. However, if you’re a new grower, prefer to buy soil or soil mix from trusted online stores.
Tools Needed For Your Indoor Cannabis Cultivation
Without proper resources and tools, growing the best quality cannabis plants can be troublesome. So, look out for these tools and make sure to use them efficiently for your cannabis growth.
- Proper Lights
If you want the efficient growth of your cannabis plants throughout all stages, you’ll need three types of lights. These lights are Metal Halide (MH), Light-Emitting Ceramic, and High-Pressure Sodium lights.
For the vegetative stage of your plants, you can choose the metal halide lights. They produce a bluish-white light with high-powered energy.
For the flowering stage of your plants, you can use high-pressure sodium lights. They produce a reddish-orange color light with optimal energy required by your plants, especially in this stage.
If you’re looking for lights that will serve your purpose, from seedling to harvesting, choose light-emitting ceramics like LEC or CMH.
Moreover, you can use air-cooled reflector hoods for controlling the temperature of your grow room by the lights.
- Fans
You have to ensure plentiful fresh air to your cannabis plants for their healthy growth. So, you can install oscillating or exhaust fans at the tip of your room to regulate the air. In addition, it will also help you to maintain the temperature and humidity of the room.
- Mechanical Timer
You have to maintain the timing of light cycles for your growing cannabis. It can be troublesome to remember turning the lights on and off, so keep a mechanical timer.
- Thermometer And Hygrometer
If you want to ensure the optimum maintenance of temperature and humidity in your grow room, you can use a combination of a hygrometer/thermostat.
Processes Involved To Grow Cannabis Indoors
Growing cannabis indoors involves a lot of steps and processes. If you want to get the best high from your cannabis plants, ensure to follow every process carefully.
Process 1: Germination Stage
In this stage, you have to maintain the humidity by about 70% and keep the lights on for about 18-24 hours. In addition, maintain the temperature range within 70-85°F in this stage. You have to keep the paper towel moist by watering the seeds. Also, you can place the seeds in a seedling plug.
So, you have to wait until your cannabis seeds start sprouting. You have to wait for at least one or two weeks to get visible seedlings. Then, if your seeds turn dry, brown, and hard with a sprout, you can expect the germination to be completed.
Process 2: Seedling Stage
In this process, your cannabis seeds will start showing sprouts. Now, you have to transplant the seeds into a growing medium. You have to use abundant light and balanced levels of water for the seedlings in this stage. So, try to maintain the humidity for about 70% and temperature range within 70-85°F.
Here, your seeds will start developing cotyledons, so keep the lights on for 18-24 hours. After that, you have to cool off things and equipment at night. Then, finally, wait a week or so until the vegetative stage begins.
Process 3: Vegetative Stage
In the vegetative stage, your cannabis plants will need dry air along with a warm water supply. In this stage, your plants will require high nitrogen levels and low levels of potassium and phosphorus in their nutritional feeding.
Moreover, you have to maintain the humidity around 50% and temperature range within 70-85°F. Also, keep the lights on for 12-18 hours. Thus, you can maintain 18 hours of light and 6 hours of darkness in this process.
If the air circulation and your room condition are good, this stage will last for two to eight weeks. After that, your plants will start developing flowers, which is the flowering stage.
Process 4: Flowering Stage
In this stage, you have to proceed with the reduction of light exposure, say 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness. This will help the plants to develop their medicinal qualities. In addition, you have to maintain the temperature range within 65-80°F and the humidity level within 40-50%.
In this process, your plants will need low nitrogen levels and high levels of potassium and phosphorus. Moreover, you can use extra fertilizer or supplements to boost the formation of buds with better quality and taste. Finally, you have to wait for 6-8 weeks until the stage gives its results.
Process 5: Harvesting Stage
In the last stage of harvesting, you have to trim the plants and dry out the buds to cure them on glass jars. In addition, you must harvest when the buds have turned from white to orange.
With this complete guide, we hope that your indoor cannabis cultivation would be easier.