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Growing Guide
Welcome to the Grow Guide
Greetings and welcome to our complete comprehensive guide for growing cannabis. This guide will help new growers understand the principle basics of growing cannabis in the safety and comfort of their own home. While this guide is meant to help beginners and first time growers, this also acts as a full resource for those who have experience and simply require a second resource.
As grow experts in California, we have been able to give beginners the opportunity to learn how to grow. We now help some of California’s top leading cannabis medical schools. The advice that we have learned along the way is meant to give a full, in-depth guide so that you have no issues from germination to harvest.
This guide is designed to help you succeed for both medical and recreational purposes in the most fun and enjoyable way. We hope what you learn from this will help you develop the required skills and knowledge so you can thrive in the DIY cannabis space.
Growing at Home & Legality in the United States
As states continually move away from the green prohibition, the prospect of cultivating from home is becoming increasingly popular. Each state has their own laws and restrictions surrounding cannabis. It’s imperative to understand and adhere to the specific laws and regulations where you are. We encourage everyone who is looking to start a home grow to understand their state’s guidelines before beginning the process!
Cannabis is an extremely durable plant, able to grow in diverse climates which give them the natural ability to grow without human intervention. However, if you’re looking for optimal results, your plant should be grown in optimal conditions. While mother nature gives us little control over the environment, setting up your grow indoors gives you complete control over your cycle, as well as the conditions your plant will grow in. Fortunately, our kits allow you to adjust every variable of the equation, such as temperature, humidity, light cycle, and pH levels. Not only this, but your plant will also be protected from animals, pests, and other contaminants, such as spores of mold.
In order to effectively grow from home, you need a pretty good set up. It can be difficult to source your supplies online or even locally. Luckily, we not have full growing kits to help you begin and successfully complete your grow, perfectly, from seed to harvest!
Types of Cannabis
Cannabis is extremely versatile. For large scale, industrial development, the use of the male plant, also known as hemp, can be used for textiles, ropes, and many other resources. Not only is hemp good for production purposes, but can also contain CBD which has many therapeutic properties.
The female plant is preferred for smoking and ingestion. Much higher concentrations of THC found in female plants are responsible for the psychoactive effects associated with cannabis. THC is one of many molecules found in cannabis, known as cannabinoids. Female plants have both recreational and medical qualities; typically the reason why someone would choose these to grow in their home.
Generally, the different strains of cannabis will have different qualities, depending on the profile of cannabinoids present in the flower. With this in mind, you’ll want to find a strain that has a profile which is complimentary to your needs, whether it be a specific sensation or quality that will alleviate a specific medical symptom.
Indica – Indica plants are more sedative in nature. They provide users with relaxation, pain relief, and are widely used for anti-anxiety. This will relax the muscles, alleviate pain as well as it helps with sleep and can create a full body high. These qualities often make Indica strains a popular choice amongst those who are using cannabis medically.
Sativa – This strain works to stimulate the brain, generally associated with an uplifting effect; good for those who are looking to have energy throughout the day or maybe boost creativity. Users will often experience increased sociability and clear headedness, often referred to as a “head high.”
Hybrids – Hybrids are created by mixing two strains together. They are often found to be a good center point – not too head high, not too body high – and act as a good middle ground. Depending on the hybrid, the spectrum can sway to one side or the other, but most try to find that happy medium.
The THC Levels in each plant will be different. For many, medium-strength levels of THC (usually between 18-25%) can be the best option. For others who are looking to max out their experience you will find THC levels 30% or more.
The human body has thousands of THC receptors – and not everyone’s the same. A strain that you like might not be favorable to someone else and vice-versa.
It’s also key to keep your plant unpollinated. This results in a larger yield and will produce more potent buds. Our kits provide the optimal conditions to grow high quality 100% organic buds.
AutoFlowers are the best choice for beginners.
Finding the right seeds might take some time. The best type of seeds for beginners is something called “Autoflowers.” These are great due to their ability to grow in a short amount of time. Another reason so many beginners choose autoflowers is their ease of grow. While many other types of seeds require a little more effort, the auto flower seed can pretty much take care of itself.
There are two main stages in the cannabis lifecycle. Both of which we will go into later. The first is Vegetative and the last is Flowering (or Bloom). With autoflowering seeds – it’s just that. These plants will automatically start to flower. While regular seeds require more time, these seeds are the “Speed Queens” of cannabis.
Now, there is a downside to these seeds, which is the level of production. While they have the fastest grow times, they obviously do not produce the same levels as regular feminized seeds. Still, they will provide enough for your personal grow and gives you the core knowledge of growing on your own.
In the end, the principle remains. Autoflower seeds are the best way for beginner growers to learn the core value and knowledge to grow. Once you solidify the basic growing methods, you will be able to move into more complex growing techniques.
LED Light Chart
Soil and Nutrients
Our experience as growers has allowed us to find the right soil to help beginners on their first try. Where there are a lot of variables that come from soil nutrients – we worked and researched the best options to make it even easier to grow than ever before. Our California Super Soil provides the most nutrient enriched blend from valleys throughout California.
Where many other grow kits require you to do some research on your own – our grow kits are specifically formulated for the beginner in mind. No need to adjust pH levels or add nutrient chemicals. It’s all there.
Germination
So now that you understand your kit, it’s time to go through the growers process!
The first step is to germinate your seeds. Now, there are a couple of ways that you can do this and we will go through them both.
The first way is the paper towel method. This involves placing your seeds into a wet paper towel and letting them sit in a warm dark place, temperature recommended to be about 75%. The process can take up to 7 days, but you will notice your seeds starting to crack and split open to unveil a taproot.
The second is the jar of water method. In this method, you simply leave your seeds in water until you notice the taproot forming.
What is the taproot? The taproot is the part of every seed that sprouts and will immediately search for the nearest source of nutrients. Once you notice that the taproot is starting to poke out of the seed, then you know that it’s time to start planting! From here, all you need to do is insert your seed into the rapid rooter.
*Important note – place the seed into the rooter TAPROOT FIRST.
Again, the seed wants to find the most nutrient rich area to grow – in the natural world, this is DOWN.
Once that is done, simply put the rapid rooter in your germination dome COVERED and under the lights 24/7. Make sure that there is water setting in the grow dome so that the rapid rooter stays moist.
This process will then take another 4-7 days OR until you notice roots sticking out of the rooter approximately 2-3 CM.
You will also start to see a seedling start to sprout out of the top. Once these requirements are noticed, it’s time to plant in your soil buckets!
The Vegetative Stage
The vegetative stage is where your plant wants to become big, tall and strong. Again, your light cycle should be 18 hours on, 6 hours off and watering should be 16 ounces every other day. Refer to previous light distancing chart on page 17.
The fundamental basics for you to look out for are as follows:
Light Time: 18 hours on, 6 hours off
Temp: 75-85 degrees Fahrenheit
Humidity: Between 40-70% – gradually lower humidity toward flowering
Watering: 16 oz. every other day – adjust as needed.
The process should take between 2-6 weeks before moving into the flowering stage to ensure that your plants are big and strong. At this stage, there will be no flowering and only stems and leaves. Continue to check on your plants and make sure they are not wilting, browning or yellowing. If they are, they could be experiencing an oxygen deficiency.
When your plant is ready to bloom, you can now switch the light times from 18 hours on, 6 hours off to 12/12. This will let your plant know that it is time to flower!
Planting in Soil
So now that you’ve started to see your little seedling sprout it’s time to plant it in the live soil!
The first thing to do is grab your 5-gallon cloth bucket and fill it 1/3 with our California Hot Soil. THEN fill the rest with the Fox Farm.
I like to leave a small hole in the center where I will be putting my rapid rooter approximately 4 inches down. The top of the rapid rooter should be just below the soil line.
Congratulations! You have now entered the Vegetative Stage
Blooming/Flowering Stage
The blooming stage is the phase where you start to notice your buds growing. You can feel a moment of success that you have done everything right! When your plant is ready to start growing those lovely buds, simply continue the process from vegetative but change the light times.
Light Time: 12/12
Temp: 75-85 degrees Fahrenheit
Humidity: 25-50% – make sure below 60%
Watering: 16 oz. every other day – adjust as needed.
The process will take place during week 8 – week 12.
Typically, by week 12, your plants should be ready to harvest!
Harvesting
Harvesting is yet another exciting moment for you as a grower. Your patience, dedication, and hard work are paying off as you are now able to successfully harvest your first plant(s). This final step also requires those attributes, it’s easier knowing that the light at the end of the tunnel is real close.
The first step in knowing when to harvest is taking a look at your trichomes. The trichomes are the small sticky hairs that grow on the cannabis plant. They also contain high levels of THC. A good eye will catch that your plant will have amber trichomes versus the clear and or milky white trichomes. When you notice the amber high on top of your plant, you know it’s time to harvest.
Cutting The Bases
The first step is to cut down those large and tall trees! Take your cutters and cut them off at the base. Don’t worry, you’re not hurting your precious plant! In fact, we bet you’re eager to do so! Once this is completed all you need to do is hang them upside down in a dry environment.
The Harvesting Process: Drying
This is one of the more time-consuming parts of this section. But don’t worry, it’s nowhere near the time it takes to actually grow your plants! After you have axed those trees like Paul Bunyan, simply grab a piece of string and hang them upside down in your tent. If you have one, a dehumidifier works great and keeps the moisture out. If not, that is okay too! Simply keep your tent in an area that has little to no moisture. Stay away from your attic or basement as that is where a lot of moisture resides in your house.
Keep the plants strung upside down until you notice that the branches are brittle and frail like kindling. It’s just a matter of waiting! The overall time will be 7-12 days!
Trimming
Trimming is the rewarding process of finally getting to see the end results. All you need to do is carefully cut all the buds from the stem of the plant. It’s best to go from largest to smaller so that you put the best parts of the plant first. Start from the top – that is where the largest buds have developed on the plant. From there, move down to the small buds. Every bud is special so you don’t want to skip over any goodness!
Curing
The curing process is a little more tricky to navigate. We’re not going to sit here and stress you out by saying it’s “hard” so don’t sweat it! Once you have trimmed your buds and put them in jars, make sure the jars stay humid. This is where walking the lines can be difficult. If you make it too humid in the jar, you risk black mold. If you keep your buds too dry then, well, they’ll dry out and lose their aromatic properties.
The best practice is to *burp* your jars a couple of times a day. To keep things well regulated, a good rule of thumb is to take a damp paper towel and place it over the opening of the jar. Then simply tighten the lid over it
It’s Time to Enjoy Your Plants!
Harvesting is the last step in order to enjoy your first ever home grow! Congratulations! You’ve followed all the steps and are ready to kick back, relax, and enjoy the fruits of your labor! You earned it!
If you have any questions, feel free to call or text our customer service team at 1-800-889-0366 or email at support@thebudgrower.com.
The info in this Grow Guide belongs to TheBudGrower.
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