I’m lazy. I’m also cheap. -and my first cannabis home grow was an overwhelming success — Once I realized this I began studying to prepare for the cure … –some of the most reasonable, experienced growers will agree that 75% of first grows come out epic -less than 50% get the cure right.
In my first Weed home grow I learned -Three main elements to growing:
- Light: to much is still not enough -more blue than red in the light spectrum to encourage tighter buds.
- Airflow: helps prevent mold in the buds -makes stronger stalks and branches -constant moving air supply -they like C02 .
- Temperature: cooler temps can contribute to tighter buds -can also stunt the growth and produce smaller plants.
-This article is a list of the minimal amount of equipment w links to the ones I use/have used.
The Right Plant for the Right Place: Match Your Strain to Your Grow Space.
Try to grow to the environment rather than try to change the environment to your grow. Before you go all out to create the “perfect” growing environment for your first cannabis home grow -think about the environment there going to be in.
-Keep the three basic elements in mind when setting up your grow space. This can help you pick the strain you want to grow. Some strains grow better in cooler environments, some in more dry climates etc.
Pacific Seed Bank has a huge selection of well known strains. Choices from categories like ‘Grow Difficulty –Easy-Intermediate-Expert”. -The prices are right.
All three seeds germinated and are doing very well! I’ll be purchasing my next grow from here as well.
Three cannabis home grow strains selected based on their ability to thrive in extreme conditions related to lighting, airflow, and ambient temperature:
- Best for Low Light vs. Intense Light:
Low Light: Northern Lights – A resilient indica strain that thrives in lower light conditions, making it ideal for indoor growers with limited artificial lighting or shaded outdoor spots.
Intense Light: Durban Poison – A pure sativa that loves strong, direct sunlight, making it perfect for outdoor growth in bright, open spaces. - Best for Poor Airflow vs. High Ventilation:
Poor Airflow: White Widow – Known for its mold resistance, this hybrid can handle more stagnant air conditions and still produce well, making it great for smaller grow spaces.
High Ventilation: Sour Diesel – A sativa-dominant strain that thrives in breezy environments, benefiting from strong airflow to prevent moisture buildup and encourage robust growth. - Best for Cold vs. Hot Temperatures:
Cold: Blueberry – An indica strain that can handle cooler climates and even slight frost, making it ideal for northern regions or colder months.
Hot: Amnesia Haze – A sativa known for thriving in hot, humid climates, making it a great choice for warm outdoor grows or greenhouses in hotter regions.
Knowing the baseline environment for your first cannabis grow
-Take a look at the humidity, the ambient temperature and overall area for growth/spread. Remember, “if you cant grow tall -grow wide”. This guy is who I watched for LST (Low Stress Training) that helped me learn to grow wide. Has a lot of growing tips in short easy to follow animated clip
This is my second grow. Plants on the left are Jack Herer auto flower – the rest are clone from photo periods harvested in October 2024 -cat litter jugs make great watering jugs.
The rest is basic growing. And for what its worth, Ive killed many regular-ass house plants. But this cannabis home grow seemed -easier? Or maybe because I kept looking at them every day (its weed).
I started indoors with photo period plants regular growing time seeds/plants.
The light cycles (hours lights on/hours lights out)
- Jan 10 – March light 16/12.
- April n- June light 18/6.
- June 22 moved outside – Sunlight 14.3 hours and diminishing every day.
- October 30 Harvest.
- Nov -thanksgiving was first smoke of the cure.
When I started my cannabis home grow, I didn’t want it to seem like a job
Its no secret -there’s enough info out there to get as nerdy as you want. -its easy to get lost in the tech specs of soil nutrients, hydro nutrients.
I wanted to be a simple as possible. -Miracle Grow was the ticket. Naysayers will scoff “-oh your gonna get a chemical taste-” -ok, good -Ill call it a Diesel.
I even add that blue granular, Miracle grow fertilizer mix every couple waterings. You soon realize the plants are taking more water-faster as they grow -and you get that proud “my kid groin so tall” kinda proud feeling- go with it, you deserve it!
Now talking about the watering -I didn’t have holes for drainage.
I felt the weight of the buckets. I simply used my fingers to lift a side. Doing this daily told me when to add water. Its easy to fix under watering -not easy to fix over watering. Now let it be known, when I put them outside for the last 4 months I drilled a few holes in the bottoms. Its going to rain outside -now we need drainage.
If your like me -you have a ton of friends that stop by to smoke -and like all good friends they like to give advise; no matter what your doing. I harnessed that quality in my friends and encouraged it. I learned enough in a short period to filter the advice. Then I apply it to individual plants just to see the outcome (we had six plants).
Sharing the process of my Cannabis Home Grow
I would ask -“what do you think of this” -and the rest of the visit is filled with “What you should have done -what you need to do – etc.” Then later after everyone has gone, I get high again and wonder around the plants -thinking about the advice -once in a while I put some advice to use.
The benefit was hearing from old timers who grew outdoors in the 80s -90s and the current kids getting super tech nerdy about it. If you don’t have a bunch of high chatty friends These YouTube Channels helped me out as well –
- https://www.youtube.com/@CannabisGuy
- https://www.youtube.com/@MrCanucksGrowGuide
- https://www.youtube.com/@OldSchoolGrowing
-some of the most reasonable, experienced growers will agree that 75% of first grows come out epic -less than 50% get the cure right. -that’s equates to months of proud growing, tending, friends in awe. -then the crushing blow that takes all the wind out of your sails when you realize it turned to dead cow hay, -choking the shit out of you. Ill light up this link for the Curing here when I put that page together.
