7 Tips for Setting up a Cannabis Home Grow

If you’re new to cannabis cultivation and wondering how to grow weed at home, have no fear! We’ve compiled a list of our top seven tips to guide you through your exciting first grow and our recommendations on cannabis home grow kits. Follow these tips and you’ll be on your way to smoking your own homegrown weed in a few short weeks! 

1. Choose your grow space carefully

From basements to spare rooms, garden sheds, garages and even cupboards, you can grow cannabis wherever you have extra space. 

If it’s your first time, start small. This has two benefits:

• A smaller grow is a smaller investment on your part
• With small weed home grow kits, it’s way easier to learn the ropes

Plants in a cupboard or pots on a window ledge are good places to start. 

If you grow indoors, you’ll need to buy lights and provide good ventilation. It’s also a good idea to invest in a carbon filter to neutralize any smell that might arise. 

If you’re wondering how to grow weed at home without equipment, the best choice is outdoors. This could be either outside in a garden or on a terrace where your plants can grow with natural sunshine. Make sure to use autoflowering seeds, which we cover in our next tip!

2. Source plants from seeds or clones

Germinating seeds is easy and affordable. Feminized seeds are best for first-timers because with these, your plants are guaranteed to be juicy bud-producing females.

Sourcing cannabis clones is also a great idea and will give you a head start, since you can purchase a six-inch cutting and hit the ground running instead of waiting for seeds to germinate. 

Growing from clones also means your plants should all grow to approximately the same height and be ready to harvest at the same time. 

Auto-flowering seeds can be the best choice if you want to grow weed at home without equipment. These can be planted outside and will flower independently of the natural light period. 

3. Choose your growing substrate

Most of us are familiar with soil as a plant substrate, but did you know it’s not the only thing plants can grow well in?

Rockwool, coco coir and even soilless media like hydroton pebbles are all substrates you can find online and at your local grow store. 

Beginners should choose a substrate like coco or soil, as these are the most forgiving substrates available. Pay close attention to the size of your pots too, as this can impact how your plants grow and stretch their roots. 

You may be able to pick up bags of ready-mixed soil that have all the nutrients your plants need. This means you’ll only need to stay on top of watering and nothing else!

4. Keep plants well-fed

Keeping your plants fed with well-balanced nutrients is essential for guaranteeing healthy growth and a bountiful harvest.

Like other heavy-feeding fruiting plants like tomatoes, cannabis needs different nutrients during its vegetative and flowering stages.

Bottled nutrients are the easiest option if you aren’t growing in fully fertilized soil. 

Often, these come labeled things like “grow” for the vegetative stage and “bloom” for the flowering stage. Follow the recommended application rates for your specific substrate and resist over-applying. 

Also make sure to pH your water to between 5.5 and 6.5 for coco and 6.0 and 7.0 for soil so your plants can take up nutrients effectively. 

5. Start a grow diary

Keeping track of your watering and feeding schedule, pest management applications and the number of weeks your plant spends in veg and flower are all important for understanding the growing cycle. 

Having a grow diary is a great idea for novice and expert growers alike. Your grow diary serves as a personal notebook on how to grow your own weed at home! 

Your diary is the first port of call if something goes wrong with your grow. It can help you identify potential reasons for the issues you encounter and keep you on track for success by showing you what your plants responded to best. 

6. Check your plants daily

Although this one might sound obvious, many first-time growers underestimate the importance of checking on their plants every day. Making a habit of checking your grow room means you are more likely to catch things before they get out of control. 

Most importantly, check if your plants need water at least every morning and evening. 

7. Cure your flowers effortlessly

Curing is a stage after drying. In this stage, harvested buds are stored in airtight containers and slowly reach the proper moisture content for smoking. The curing process continues to break down compounds in the plant like starches. This improves the overall smoothness of the buds when smoked.

At FreshStor, we’ve developed our airtight Cvault containers to be the smartest curing and storage containers on the market. The Cvault takes the guesswork out of curing. Made from food-grade stainless steel and designed to be used with Boveda two-way humidity control packs, FreshStor products enhance your bud’s taste and make it possible for you to store it safely for way longer.

Wrapping up on cannabis home grow kits

Growing cannabis at home is easy. Just about anyone can do it! Remembering these seven tips will help you avoid common pitfalls and ensure you’re on the path to success. However, keep in mind whatever the result from your first crop, that no one gets it perfect the first time. You might make mistakes and your first batch might not be perfect, but that just means you’ve got to use what you learned and make your next crop better. Have fun and enjoy the unbeatable satisfaction of smoking your own homegrown cannabis. Learn more about and shop our weed home grow kits.