How to grow cannabis at home

Dec 20, 2022 Fausto Conter

The best way to always have quality cannabis available is to grow it yourself, even at home. Growing cannabis can be a fun activity and can teach you about the various uses of the plant. To grow cannabis at home, the steps to follow are these:

Choose the type of cannabis you want to grow
There are many different strains of cannabis, each with unique characteristics. Choose a strain that suits your needs and is suitable for your growing experience.

Prepare your growing space
You will need a protected environment, with an artificial light source and a ventilation system to maintain adequate temperature and humidity.

Choose your substrate
You can grow cannabis in pots or in a specially prepared area of soil. In both cases, you will need a suitable substrate: cannabis prefers “loamy” soil, a mix of silt, sand and clay. Don't worry, you can easily find the right substrate commercially.

Plant cannabis seeds
Follow the manufacturer's instructions to plant the seeds correctly. Make sure to keep the seeds moist and maintain an adequate temperature for them to germinate. Remember that cannabis is a tropical plant and needs a lot of heat: the temperature during the growth phase should be at least 21 degrees, during the flowering phase at least 18 degrees.

Take care of your plants
Once your plants have started to emerge, you will need to make sure you provide them with adequate light, water, and nutrients to keep them growing healthily. You may need to prune your plants to encourage growth and remove any dead or damaged leaves.

Collection and storage
Once your cannabis plants are mature, it will be time to harvest and store the leaves and flowers.

In addition to traditional cultivation, which requires a soil-based substrate, in recent years it has become increasingly fashionable hydroponic cultivation, which does without a solid substrate and allows cannabis to grow directly in water, which must be enriched with fertilizers natural products to make the plant lush. The advantage of hydroponic cultivation lies in the greater control that can be made on nutrients and in the increased growth rate of plants. It is definitely easier for novice growers. Here are the steps:

Choose a substrate
Even if you don't have soil, to grow cannabis, the roots will need something solid to grow around. Purchase expanded clay or rock wool; you can find commercially available ones specifically designed for hydroponics. Find out what the perfect soil is for growing hemp.

Choose an irrigation system
From the classic “drip” system to the popular NFT technique to the wick system, there is truly an embarrassment of choice. All of these systems require the purchase or construction of an irrigation system that can be complex. For beginners, we suggest the so-called “deep water” technique: this involves immersing most of the root extension in water. The only thing to add is an air pump that constantly brings oxygen into the water.

Make sure the plant gets plenty of light
(the artificial one specifically for plants is also fine).

Use specific fertilizers
These are essential for growing plants well in hydroponics, allowing for optimal cannabis cultivation. Choose only fertilizers specifically formulated for this type of cultivation. Follow the instructions on the label, and pay attention to the timing!