Yes, you can actually grow your own weed. If you are someone who benefits from weed on a regular basis, there are many reasons to consider growing your own.
From economic reasons to understanding the process on a deeper level, there’s no reason not to try your hand at growing weed. But if you are just beginning your research, you probably have a bunch of questions.
How long does it take to grow a weed plant? What do you do once the plant finally grows? Is it even legal to grow my own?
All valid questions. If you are looking for answers to decide if growing and creating your own weed supply is right for you, then keep reading.
Why Should You Grow Your Own Weed?
Most people wouldn’t argue about the idea of growing your own weed. It sounds too good to be true. Since it’s become legal in many states, more and more people are growing their own stash. Here’s why you should consider it too.
Save Money
One of the biggest, and most obvious, benefits of growing your own weed is the fact that it can save you money. While it costs a bit to acquire the necessary equipment upfront, it will start saving you money right away.
Due to regulations and high demand, buying weed from a dispensary can be quite expensive. But when you get a hang of growing your own, it becomes very cheap.
Enjoy a New hobby and Lower Stress
Growing weed is gardening. Gardening has been a popular hobby for hundreds of years. Whether you only grow a few plants indoors, or your yard is full outside, tending your crops is fun.
On top of that, gardening helps to lower stress. You already smoke in order to lower stress, right? You might as well grow your own plants for a bit more stress relief during the week.
It’s not all butterflies and roses, however. Learning new things, such as effectively growing plants, presents many challenges. But for most users, the challenges will be welcome and can produce personal growth.
Develop a Deeper Understanding and Appreciation
It’s one thing to buy and use a product from a store. It’s a completely different thing when you are involved with the process every step of the way.
Growing your own weed will give you a much deeper understanding of the plant and help foster a greater fascination and appreciation for these wonderful buds.
If you’re passionate about something, it makes sense to delve into the process of creating it. Even if you choose not to do it forever, it’s an experience worth having for at least a few years.
How Long Does It Take to Grow a Weed Plant?
So, your sold on the promises that come with growing your own weed. The next question you probably have is, “How long does weed take to grow?”
On average, it takes between 3 and 4 months to successfully grow weed indoors. Outdoors, it’s a different story, since it has to do with your local climate and seasons. But you can expect your harvest to be ready in mid-autumn.
It’s hard to give an exact timeline because there are too many variables that will affect when your plant is ready to harvest. What type of strain you use, what type of equipment and planting setup you construct, and how large you’d like your plants (and harvest) to be, all dictate the time it takes?
Plus, it might take you a long time to get all the equipment you need, or to find the seeds you’d like to plant. This can add weeks to the timeline as well.
The Plant Timeline
There are four main stages of growth for your new weed plants. Here’s what you can expect.
1. Germination
If you remember those childhood gardening experiments at school, they will finally come in handy. The first stage of growth is the germination stage. This is where your planted seeds first sprout.
If buried under the right amount of soil, kept moist and warm, the seedlings should sprout within a week.
2. Vegetative
The vegetative state is where your seedling becomes an actual plant. This can take between one and two months.
For the vegetative phase to prove successful, plants need to be given strong light for most of the day. And the pots need to be watered once the soil feels dry.
The resulting plant should have stems and leaves. This phase is complete once the plant is about half the size of the final intended size of your plants.
3. Flowering
The flowering stage is when the plants grow to their full size and produce a full range of buds. To produce the flowers, plants need consistent lighting. Use a timer to ensure plants spend half the day in full light and half the day in darkness.
Make sure to feed the plants blooming nutrients to produce the most flowers. This phase usually takes between 8 and 10 weeks.
4. Harvest and Cure
Once your plant reaches full size, it’s almost time to harvest. Don’t rush it. Make sure you wait until the buds turn a darker color and begin to curl.
Most people harvest too soon. After all this time and energy, don’t make this mistake on the final stretch.
Store the buds in a dark, cool place until the stems naturally snap off, which can take about a week. Once dry, they are ready to be smoked.
But again, those who can wait are rewarded. The longer you age them in jars, the more potent and better smelling they will be.
Is It Legal to Grow Your Own Weed?
Other than how long it takes to grow, the other most common question people have is if it’s legal to grow your own weed. Well, there also isn’t a simple answer.
It depends on where you live. In some states, it’s perfectly legal to grow weed inside your home or in your yard.
In other states and countries, it might be against the law. And where growing weed is legal, there are often limitations.
For example, in the state of Michigan, individuals can grow up to 12 plants at their homes for personal use. They also need to be away from public view, so no growing in the front yard.
If you grow too many plants, if the plants are publically visible, or if you sell weed that was grown for your personal use, you may receive a civil infraction. Penalties can range from a small fine or large fines and terms of imprisonment.
The country is very divided on the issue of weed usage, possession, and cultivation. Some states allow patients to grow their own. Some states allow possession, and many don’t allow possession or cultivation.
Make sure to understand your local laws before even buying seeds to get started.
Should I Grow Indoors or Outdoors?
Whether you should grow indoors or outdoors is a controversial subject. You can succeed in either choice, but it depends on the climate more than anything else.
Because indoors is a controlled environment, it can be done anywhere, in any climate, year-round.
But outdoors, it’s a different story. Your plants need lots of light and warmth in order to survive and thrive. While you can successfully grow weed outdoors in cold, wintery places, your crop will be limited.
In places with long winters, you’ll only have one growing season and one crop; summer and early fall. Plants generally produce fewer buds, but it can be done.
Plus, growing outdoors is much cheaper. Your light is totally free and the plants are in a natural environment. Some say that weed grown outdoors provides a much better experience.
Ultimately, it comes down to you and your situation. If you are in the city or tightly-packed suburbs, growing outdoors might not be an option. But if you have the land available and want to save money, growing outdoors is a good option.
What do You need to Grow Weed?
Wondering how to grow your own weed? Your first step is to get the right equipment. Since most people choose to grow indoors, here’s what you’ll need to source.
Depending on where in your home you’d like to grow, you may be able to keep your plants in the open, or you can buy a grow tent. Grow tents will house all of your plants and are lined with reflective material, making your light more efficient. They provide optimal indoor growing conditions as well as save money on energy costs.
Some tents come with lighting, while others don’t. You’ll need to invest in a lighting system, which is the most crucial piece of indoor growing equipment. You’ll want CFL bulbs, with enough bulbs for at least 200 watts. It helps to add a timer so your lights run on a consistent schedule.
An exhaust fan is ideal for circulating air inside your grow tent. Adding a carbon scrubber will prevent your home from filling with a strong weed smell.
You’ll need to have containers or pots, soil, and soil nutrients. Then all you need to do is buy your seeds, depending on which strain you’d like to grow. You can expect to pay between $50 and $100 for a pack of 10 seeds.
While you can buy everything online, your shipping times can vary dramatically. If you’re looking to get started sooner rather than later, it’s best to shop locally by visiting your local hydroponics shop.
How to Grow Weed?
So, you’ve got your supplies. Now you’re probably wondering how to grow weed indoors.
Getting started isn’t too difficult. But it’s important not to give up at the first sign of difficulty or failure. Considering the fact that thousands of normal people figure this process out, you can do it, too. Just try to be patient and follow these steps.
Germinate Your Seeds
Using a small growing tray, place each seed just under the surface of the soil or growing medium. Keep them moist, but don’t soak them.
Keep them warm and give them lots of light. You should seed the seeds sprouting within a week.
From Sprouts to Plants
Now you are in a vegetative state. Your plant’s goal is to get big and strong. You won’t see any flowers or buds for quite some time.
Transfer your plants to small growing pots. Keep them as warm as possible, around 75 to 80 degrees, and give them direct light for most of the day. The light should be within a few inches of the plants.
Only water the plants once the topsoil feels dry, but don’t flood the plants. Start out by feeding your plants a small number of nutrients, adding more as your plants get bigger.
Developing Buds
Once your plants are in the flowering stage, it’s time to let your plants sit in darkness for half the day. This is easy with a timer connected to your lighting system.
Once you swap to a longer nighttime schedule, your plants will reveal their gender. This is important because only female plants produce buds. Male plants are essentially useless to the home-growing enthusiast.
You can distinguish female plants by the whispy, white hairs that grow at the intersection of the stem and individual branches. Males, on the other hand, develop green pollen sacs. Once you see these, remove them from your collection so they don’t pollinate your female plants.
Harvesting
Once your flowers are fully developed, it’s almost time to harvest. This is a tricky process and comes down to trial-and-error. Wait until about half of your buds begin to curl for the best results. Remove with scissors.
Once harvested, hang your buds upside to dry them out. After that, store them in air-tight jars, opening once a day. Do this for at least two weeks and up to a month for best results.
What Else to Know About Growing Weed?
You might think you are just going to smoke all the time, now that you have a near unlimited supply of your own, fresh weed, right? The truth is, you need to be aware of your tolerance level.
As with many things, smoking a lot of weed, and other forms of THC such as Delta 8, can lead to higher tolerance levels. This means that you have to use more and more every time, burning through your stash quicker and quicker in order to feel the desired results.
Rather than upping your growing capacity and continuing to smoke constantly, you can take a tolerance break. These are intentional breaks or cutbacks in usage in order to lower your tolerance levels.
This can be a very effective process for those who depend on weed daily. If you want to learn more about how to execute a tolerance break properly, you can check it out here.
Trust the Process
So how long does it take to grow a weed plant? Quite a while.
Yes, it’s an in-depth process. It takes time, dedication, and upfront investment. But once you have your first full harvest of fresh weed ready to smoke, it will all be worth it.
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