Cannabis grow guide for beginners

Growing cannabis is not an easy task, and many doubts may arise during the process. To facilitate your initiation into this fascinating world, we have created a cannabis grow guide for beginners; it will help you to better understand the plant and achieve top-quality harvests.

Steps to follow for growing cannabis

To successfully grow cannabis, follow the steps detailed below:

Type of seed

First, choose the cannabis variety that meets your needs and preferences. It is important to note that the variety available on the market is huge, so it is advisable to research characteristics such as flavor, flowering, or effects, whether for seeds or seedlings. Each strain offers different flavors and effects; find your favorite at GB The Green Brand, an online grow shop.

How and where to grow

The second important decision is to choose whether to grow indoors in grow rooms or grow tents, or outdoors. Not all cannabis plants are the same and do not behave the same way; some prefer to be grown under lights and others in the open air.

Sativa strains grow much more than indica-dominant plants, which are better suited for indoor growing. We advise you to read the seed descriptions carefully, which always highlight the flowering period duration and the size indoors or outdoors.

Outdoor growing can involve minimal investment but is highly dependent on external factors. Indoor growing can be a bit more expensive but has several advantages. First, you will have full control over the elements. Additionally, you can provide your plants with parameters that would be impossible to achieve in nature. Furthermore, indoor growing allows you to grow varieties that might struggle in your region.

Choosing the best soil

Choosing the best soil is also a fundamental aspect as it is the medium where the roots will develop, and cannabis is a relatively demanding plant that does not like clayey and too compact soils. In fact, plants will develop to their fullest potential with airy and spongy soil.

If you grow in pots, you just need to fill them with quality soil. For outdoor growing, you can either plant your cannabis directly in the ground if the characteristics of your soil allow it, or you can dig a hole in the ground and fill it with cannabis plant soil, or use large pots.

Each brand has a different composition and properties. They can retain more or less moisture; if you place a plant with soil that retains a lot of moisture in a very hot environment, the substrate will dry out faster, and vice versa.

Both indoors and outdoors, you need to control parameters such as temperature and humidity, because one of the long-term consequences of using poor quality soil is a reduction in the final harvest.

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Germination

Once you are clear, you can start germinating, a process that is the same for all seeds, whether CBD seeds or feminized seeds.

To germinate the seeds, you can use the tupper method, which is safe and easy to do, and gives excellent results. Once our seeds have germinated, they can be transferred to the soil. It is best to germinate them in a small pot, then transplant them into a larger pot so they can start growing.

An alternative is to start with cuttings, which are small seedlings that come from another cannabis plant.

The stages of cannabis cultivation

Now that you have germinated, you need to recognize the different phases of the plant. If you distinguish them, you will have completed 80% of the cultivation process, as you will only need to provide the nutrients it needs.

Cannabis growth

This is the phase where the plant prepares to flower. Plants depend on the photoperiod, which means the hours of light they receive. If they notice that there are more hours of light each day (spring), the plant grows, and when the hours of light start to decrease in summer, it begins to flower.

Indoors, it lasts about 20-25 days with 18 hours of light and 6 hours of darkness if grown from a seed, and outdoors, it can grow naturally from spring until early summer. On the other hand, if planted from winter in a greenhouse with artificial light at night to prevent flowering, it can be left to the normal photoperiod in spring and have a large plant when others start to germinate.

At this stage, use growth fertilizers, which are usually nitrogen-based, and root stimulators to enhance nutrient assimilation.

Cannabis flowering

During this phase, the fruits begin to appear. Usually, most people choose feminized seeds to ensure female plants, but if you have selected regular seeds, check all plants carefully to detect and separate the males.

The generative phase requires mainly phosphorus and potassium, it is important to provide a natural or synthetic fertilizer a month after the beginning of this phase. The plants gradually form flowers and once all are formed, they start to grow larger and denser.

Bud fattening stage

When the plants already have all the flowers formed, they fatten in an accelerated way to try to receive the pollen that they have not achieved, so their nature forces them to become bigger, more visible and thicker so that the pollen arrives more easily.

At this stage our plants need a large amount of phosphorus and potassium, so what is provided with the base fertilizer will not be enough. A natural or chemical fattening must be provided, but it is necessary to use it more or less a month after the beginning of flowering, when we already have flower tails.

If organic fertilizers are used, it is advisable to use bat guano, which is very easy to use and effective in terms of results. Only two tablespoons of guano will have to be contributed for every 7 L of substrate when they begin to bloom indoors or outdoors. The difference is that indoors you do not add more and outdoors you repeat the dose a month after having applied it.

When chemical fertilizers are used in the cultivation of marijuana will have to choose from PK 13-14 that is used throughout the week, or a 50-30 such as Big Boo, that is usually used only once a week. Regardless of what is used, sugars should be added throughout the flowering period so that it weighs what it should weigh, since sugars fill the cell nuclei that form our plant. With them a better flavor and more quantity of resin is obtained. Products such as Bud Candy can be used for this purpose.

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Watering and light

The proper watering and lighting schedule is crucial for healthy cannabis plants.

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It is vital to water according to the size of the plant and the climate, ensuring proper soil drainage to avoid waterlogging. For indoor growing, providing the right amount of light at each growth stage is essential, with the photoperiod being a key factor in plant development.

Remember, cannabis plants need different light cycles during growth and flowering stages. A timer can help maintain a consistent lighting schedule.

Pests and diseases

Be vigilant about pests and diseases, which can significantly impact your plants. Regularly inspect your plants for signs of pests or diseases, and take action as necessary to ensure a healthy growth cycle.

For more information on preventing and treating common cannabis pests and diseases, refer to our guide on pest and disease management.

With these tips and the right care, you can enjoy a successful and rewarding cannabis cultivation experience. Happy growing!