There’s never been a better time to consider personal cannabis cultivation as a hobby. As more states legalize recreational marijuana, homegrowing is becoming a popular alternative to buying weed at a dispensary or on the streets. In fact, some states like my home in New York, allow for a certain number of plants to be grown by individuals seeking to save money and become more self-sufficient. The limit is typically on the amount of plants—but not the size of the plants.
In trying times, people yearn to turn back the clock toward the survival practices of our ancestors: raising livestock; growing edible plants; canning and fermenting foods; collecting rainwater— generally providing many of their home’s staples themselves as supermarket prices rise.
And here’s the thing—dispensary weed can’t compare to well-done homegrown in quality or price.
And it’s never been easier to get started. For less than $1000, you can begin growing today and be harvesting, drying and curing your first crop in about three months. Modern innovations and technologies have simplified the process, and products are now accommodating spaces big and small. If you’re successful, you’ll be hard-pressed to finish consuming what you’ve grown in time before your next crop rolls in. The important thing is to do some research before getting started so you avoid the pitfalls of buying off-brand grow equipment or following bad online advice.
Many hydro stores are struggling these days as people shun brick and mortar shops in favor of ordering from Amazon, Temu or AliBaba. Instead, make the choice to support your local store and get to know the proprietor and staff; you’ll be rewarded with personal treatment and feel like part of a community. You’ll be able to get some great recommendations for gear, lights, nutrients and IPM (Integrated Pest Management) from people who’ve made mistakes and fixed their problems.
What You Need To Get Started
Grow Tent: These come in a variety of sizes for different needs, but I recommend a 3’x3’ or 4’x4’ for beginners. Light-tight and purpose-built, a tent will simplify the process and contain light, sound and odors.
Grow Light: LED (Light Emitting Diode) or CMH (Ceramic Metal Halide) technology is best for small spaces as they’re more efficient in energy usage and create less heat than traditional HID (High-Intensity Discharge) lighting.
Exhaust Fan and Carbon Filter: This pulls hot spent air out of the tent and pushes it through activated charcoal to eliminate odors.
Thermometer/Hygrometer: Controlling the environment is the single-most important factor in successful indoor farming and a digital monitor for temperature and humidity will tell you if you’re within proper parameters.
Oscillating Fan for Circulation: Moving air around helps plants obtain the necessary CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) for proper growth and reduces stale pockets of air that can encourage mold and disease.
Containers, Growing Medium and Watering Can: My recommendations for beginners are grow bags or beds that allow oxygen to get to roots and discourage overwatering. Use a loose and airy soilless mix and allow for at least a gallon of container size for every week of vegetative time you plan to grow.
Seeds or Clones: Nothing is more essential than proper genetics: You can’t grow great cannabis with weak genes, so always do your research on where you get your seeds. Also, clones can come with diseases and pests so always quarantine any outside genetic material you bring into your space.
Automation: These days, tents can come with built-in or supplemental automation that controls the environment, feeds and waters your plants on a schedule and monitors any fluctuations in temperature, humidity or air pressure. This can be very convenient, as you can run it from your smartphone, but it shouldn’t replace human contact and the power of your eyes. Look at your plant’s leaves up close and in person to check for any deficiencies, diseases or pests.
Genetic Advancements
Feminized Seeds
In recent years, improvements and additions have been made to the gene pool that can simplify the growing process. Feminized seeds, or seeds that produce only female plants, save growers from wasting time growing male plants until their sex is determined. The important thing is to source your female seeds from breeders with intention who know what they’re doing, use reliable breeding material and follow through with the work necessary to stabilize properly.
Mr. Soul of Brothers Grimm Seeds, responsible for cultivars such as Cinderella 99, Apollo Eleven and Rosetta Stone tells me, “There’s no longer a need to breed with males now or in the future. Breeding with true females gives more predictability of the offspring and also avoids hermaphrodism. To the growers: Learn to read your plants and understand how green green should be. This is the key to understanding your plants’ needs.”
Autoflowering Plants
Since their commercial introduction in 2003 by The Joint Doctor with his Lowryder strain, autoflowers have taken a firm place in the pantheon of ganja genetics. These plants will flower when they reach a certain size, regardless of photoperiod, providing several advantages to cannabis farmers. Over the last two decades, autos have been developed by breeders to be more potent and with bigger yields than ever before.
Max Majot, technical manager and grow expert at Royal Queen Seeds, says growers can take advantage of these modern innovations in two primary ways: “First, for outdoor growers, it can offer multiple crops per year without the need for blackout periods,” he says. “Second, for indoor cultivation, you can push the DLI (daily light integral) more than 18 hours and easily reach the plant’s maximum potential compared to traditional photoperiod strains.”
Triploid Genetics
Another very recent boost to the yield and potency of modern weed, triploid genetics are changing the game for homegrowers and commercial farmers alike. Cannabis normally exists as a diploid with two sets of chromosomes, but triploids are developed to have three sets of chromosomes which can enhance robustness and vigor and shorten flowering time.
Humboldt Seed Company is at the forefront of triploid breeding technology, and I spoke with Chief Science Officer and Owner Benjamin Lind who said, “A triploid cannabis plant contains extra genetic information in each cell, essentially giving it access to a larger ‘library of stored knowledge.’ This can potentially lead to bigger plants that flower faster and are higher potency.”
This story was originally published in issue 52 of the print edition of Cannabis Now.
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