Grubbycup's First Grow

Space

To start with, you need a place to grow your weed. A closet, a good sized cabinet, or an unused bathroom are all possibilities. You want a space large enough to be a little taller than your plants and lights are going to be, wide enough to hold the number of plants that you want, and preferably, someplace where you can section off a segment for a second space in the future (for cloning and/ or vegetative and flowering sections). I’d recommend an area large enough to fit a couple (or a few) fluorescent lights.

You must be able to control the amount of light in the space so that during the dark periods, it’s dark. Not sorta dark, or dark with interruptions, but completely dark, and exposed to no more light than moonlight. This may mean hanging a blanket inside a closet to keep light from getting under the door, etc.

Plastic soda bottles make great plant pots

Other things to consider are possible water damage in the area (mistakes do happen, and ruining your wife’s wedding dress isn’t going to help your image), how accessible the space is to visitors, how inconvenient it may be to stay away during the dark periods, proximity to water and electrical outlets, etc.

If you have frequent guests, make sure your garden is safe from the “I was looking for the bathroom” sort of faux pas that could lead to uncomfortable conversations. The biggest threat to your garden walks on two legs, and secrecy is the best defense against them.

The Plant

Be sure to create drainage holes in the bottom of the ‘pots’ Optimally you should start with some cheap or free seeds. While it may be tempting to start with expensive high-end seeds, things do occasionally go wrong – especially when you are first learning – so start with seeds that you won’t cry over if it doesn’t work the first time. For the same reason don’t use up all your available seeds on the first try; save some for at least a second try.

On the other hand, keep in mind that about half of the plants will be male, with male flowers, so try to start twice as many seedlings as lady plants you want to wind up with. Start the seeds by placing them in a damp paper towel for a few days until they start to sprout. The key is to keep them moist. Not soggy, not dry, but moist. When they send out a root, it’s time to plant them. Once you know that you have a fair chance of harvesting something from them, you are ready to start being pickier about what seeds you use. The finest and most expensive Cannabis seeds in the world won’t be of use if they die before harvest.

Light

Incandescent lights (normal house lights) generate way too much heat, for the amount of light they give off, to be used. Get a couple of cheap fluorescent lights, bulbs, a timer, and a tray to put your plants on. Are a couple of cheap lights the best way to light your plants? No but it will work, it is cheap, and to start with, just try to get ‘around the block’. It’s likely the lights will be the first thing you will want to upgrade as you get more experienced and adventuresome. Plants should be close enough to the light to benefit, not burn Start pricing and saving up for the light upgrade well in advance, which will most likely be a high intensity discharge (HID) light, either metal halide (MH) or high pressure sodium (HPS).

There are other lighting options to choose from so research the different choices before spending your money. Lighting is the most expensive part of indoor gardening, both in cost of equipment and cost in electricity to run. The reason that outdoor growing is so much cheaper than indoor growing is that sunlight is free. Y

ou want the cool running fluorescent light bulbs to be within a few inches of the plants. Since the plants will be getting taller, you should set things up so you can either move the lights closer to the plants, or move the plants closer to the lights. Set your timer to light the plants for 18 hours for the vegetative stage, 12 hours for flowering. Keep in mind that the plants will grow an additional 50 – 150% in height during the flowering stage, so leave some room when you make the switch. If height is an issue due to cramped quarters, growing tips pinched off during vegetative growth encourage a shorter, bushier plant.

Containers

Save a bunch of two-liter (or better yet three-liter) soda bottles. Cut the tops off the bottles, and punch a couple of holes into the bottom. A heated soldering iron can be used to make the holes neat and round. I like soda bottles because they are cheap; home gardeners tend to have a bunch of them around, and they have decent depth – which many plants care more about than width.

The bottles go in a tray, which should catch the water that comes through the holes in the bottom. If outdoors or if a larger light is used, the plants can be grown large enough to need a bigger container. Five-gallon buckets are an inexpensive choice, and the soldering iron trick works to make drainage holes in them as well.

Growing Medium

Get a nice clean pre-fertilized potting soil. Growing in soil is more forgiving than hydroponics. Hydroponic media give you more control, but also more harshly punish mistakes. Get a fair-sized bag, as you will go through it faster than you think. Homemade potting soil can be made by mixing compost (which can be made at home), and perlite with sand, dirt, or coir. After a harvest or two in soil, you may want to change to a hydroponic medium such as coir or perlite.

There are several media choices, each with their own characteristics. Coir is a hydroponic medium made from plant fibers that is very similar to growing in a soil environment. Perlite tends to dry out quicker than soil, but is less prone to over-watering or insect infestation. A plant can be grown in perlite even if the pot sits in a tray filled with water. Rockwool tends to stay very wet and cannot sit in water for too long before getting soggy, and some media, like clay balls, need frequent watering to stay wet enough. For this reason rockwool and many other hydroponic medium choices are better suited for ‘active’ (powered) hydroponic systems.

Water

Fill your watering container each time just AFTER you have watered. That way the water can sit, and any chlorine has a chance to dissipate. Eventually you may want to check the quality of the water as you fine tune things, but tap water will usually work well for an early run. Keep in mind that you are better off under-watering than over-watering. If you under-water, the plant will usually give you a sign (by getting droopy) before it is too late. If you drown your plants, don’t give up – just try to learn from the experience and try again. If your tap water is of a very poor quality, you may have to filter it before use, or use drinking water to water your plants.

Fertilizer

Save money by mixing your own soil at home Since the potting soil already has some fertilizer in it, don’t be in any rush to add more. Let the plants get started first, and when you do start to add, only use quarter- to half strength. Like water, too little is less likely to kill your plants than too much. Too little usually means the plant doesn’t grow to its potential; too much and you will burn your leaves, and possibly kill the plant. Stop using fertilizer a week or two before you plan to harvest, or it can leave a chemical taste to your products. If using hydroponic media, care must be taken to supply the plants with the micronutrients that the plant would normally get from the soil. There are several hydroponic additives on the market designed to meet these micronutrient needs.

Air

Plants need air to survive. The plant must be able to take up air from the roots, which is why over-watering can kill. The roots (or at least part of the roots) must be able to ‘breathe’ on a regular basis. While you don’t want the plant to completely dry out between waterings, you do want it to be able to get some air. Plants need carbon dioxide (CO2). For the budding gardener, you are in luck, for you are a source of CO2. If you check your plants every day – which you should, so you can observe how they are doing – you will inhale some of the oxygen, and you will exhale CO2 for your plants. If you bring a friend, and both of you do some heavy breathing together, all the better.

Temperature

Plants like a temperature a little warmer, but not much, than you do. Heat problems can start showing up after you pass 90º F (32º C). One reason I suggest you start with fluorescents is that they give off an okay amount of light for their heat. MH or HPS both give off more light but they also give out more heat, which has to be dealt with, usually with a ventilation fan to carry the excess heat away.

Wrapping it up

This article only scratches the surface of the possibilities of space, the plant, light, containers, growing medium, water, fertilizer, air and temperature. All aspects can be improved upon once you get bitten by the gardening bug. There are products on the market that can help your plants not only live, but also thrive. Once you are successful with the basics, you can take a look at improving your space, genetics, cloning, advanced lighting, hydroponics, pH metering, advanced fertilizers, fans and CO2 generation, climate control – and a host of other tweaks to make your garden one to be proud of. Start by making it ‘around the block’, and you will be salivating over new toys and techniques for your babies soon enough. Peace, love and puka shells, Grubbycup