Did you know that growing weed at home is now legal in Canada? As long as you’re of legal age and keep your plants out of public view, you can grow mass amounts of marijuana, keep it in your house, and have a huge stash ready to smoke or vape at any time. With that said, there are a few things you need to know before you start your home grow.
Growing marijuana can be a tricky and timely process. Usually, the entire process can take from 3-6 months and you’ll need to pay special care to your plants for the whole time. However, if you’re willing to take on the project, you can grow all of your favorite strains and end up with some incredible buds. Here are five important tips for growing weed at home.
1. Know Your Local Growing Laws
Although growing your own weed is federally legal in Canada, the laws on growing differ from province to province. Most importantly, growing your own marijuana is still illegal in Quebec and Manitoba. Growing laws can also differ between areas in Nunavut. In every other province, you’re legally able to grow and harvest your own marijuana providing you’re 19 or older (18 in Alberta).
You can grow weed either indoors or outdoors. However, if you choose to grow outdoors, you must keep it out of public sight. You may also need to provide some form of fencing or protection. For instance, New Brunswick cannabis laws state that you must have an enclosure at least 1.52 meters around your outdoor plants. You must also keep plants out of reach of children whether you grow indoors or outdoors. This may mean using a locked room or grow space.
Landlords can also restrict you from growing on their property if you rent your home. Growing laws may change over time, but for the most part, they’re fairly unrestrictive and providing you keep to a few simple rules you can grow and keep as much marijuana as you want.
2. Pick the Right Seeds
To grow weed at home successfully, you’ll need the right seeds. Marijuana seeds are available in many seed banks and online stores, but they come in a few different varieties. Picking the wrong seeds can be a total waste of time, especially as some will result in plants that don’t contain enough THC to get high.
Regular seeds can be male or female, but growers generally avoid these. It’s the female plants that produce the THC which provides users with the psychoactive effects of cannabis. Not only will male plants not get you high, but they can also impact the cannabinoid content of other plants.
Feminized seeds are the preferred choice for growers. These are enhanced to produce female plants almost all of the time, meaning you’ll get a nice yield of potent marijuana to use. Alternatively, you can buy autoflowering feminized seeds. These will also give you the kind of plants you want, but with the added benefit of growing much faster. Autoflowering seeds can take 8-10 weeks to grow, whereas usual feminized seeds will generally take 12 weeks or more.
3. Temperature and Light Control
Two of the most important factors for growing your own weed are temperature and light. Generally, your plants should be given a temperature of around 70-85°F and 18 hours of light when they’re beginning to grow. Once they start to flower, this should be dropped to around 65-80°F and 12 hours of light.
Naturally, you won’t have much control over this if you grow outdoors. Nonetheless, if you grow during the spring or summer the process will usually take care of itself. Make sure you keep your plants moist during hot weather and keep them in an area that has a good amount of shade in the evening.
Many growers prefer to grow indoors as it gives you much greater control of the growing conditions. Using artificial lighting and ventilation allows you to ensure your plants are in the optimal growing conditions at all times. Some users buy home grow kits to make the whole process easier.
4. Feed Your Plants
In addition to the right amount of light and temperature, your plants will also need a few nutrients. Generally, nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous are the main nutrients which help plants grow faster and healthier.
The easiest way to feed your plants the nutrients they need is to plant them in nutrient-enriched soil, also known as super soil. Using super soil is a good way to ensure your plants grow healthy from the get-go, and all you’ll need to add is regular water.
Alternatively, some growers use nutrient-enriched water to keep their plants healthy. While this method is also easy and convenient, make sure you don’t overdo it with the nutrients- too much can be counteractive.
5. Harvest and Cure Your Weed
Your plants usually take around three to six months to grow to the point they’re ready to harvest. However, your work isn’t done here. You’ll need to dry your plants and cure them before they’re ready for use.
You can usually tell when your plants are ready to harvest when around 60-70% of the hairs have darkened and the trichomes have become cloudy. At this point, your weed will have high levels of THC, although waiting longer can result in higher CBD levels.
Once you’re ready to harvest, you’ll want to trim away the buds and hang them on a dry rack or an indoor washing line to dry. After around 3-10 days, your plants should be dry and you can then place them in an airtight jar to allow them to cure for some extra time. Store your jars in a cool, dry place and after a few extra days, your weed will be nice, dry, and ready to smoke.
Conclusion
Growing can take a while, and you’ll need to pay a lot of attention to detail. However, it’s a fantastic project for any cannabis lover to take on. Plus, once you get the hang of it, you can end up with huge amounts of homegrown marijuana without having to pay anything.
Keep these tips in mind and you can end up with rewarding home grows. Of course, if you don’t want to go through the whole process, you can always just buy weed online.
