If you have ever grown marijuana before, you probably remember what it was like trying to figure it out for your first time. The amount of information found online and elsewhere is absolutely overwhelming if you don’t really know what you’re looking for. Additionally, there are many complex aspects to growing.
This article is written for all the beginners out there who are trying to sort through the complexities and the confusion and simply learn how to grow. The fact is, it becomes easy if you have accurate and clear information.
If I could go back and do it all over, there are a few things I wish anyone would have told me when I was a beginner. So that you won’t need to say the same in the future, we have compiled a list of the 5 most important things we think every beginner should be told.
1. Choose the right strain (and be willing to pay for it).
Many new growers aren’t ready to commit a lot of money to their growing operations because they aren’t sure it will pay off. They are also unsure they will want to continue growing from year to year. Sometimes, they are afraid of being ripped off. Or maybe they just don’t realize the importance of starting off with a really good strain.
The fact is, however, that the strain accounts for at least 50% of your success as a grower. The most successful growers — especially the most successful new growers — will have done the proper research into buying the exact type of strain that will fit their unique lifestyle and preferences.
If you live in a particular climate, for example, you are going to need the right seeds for that particular climate. Any strain simply will not do. It should be a good fit for your situation. There are even strains that are specifically designed to be easy for beginners, so check out all the options available.
2. Don’t underestimate the power of light.
In other words, light is the number one element that will have the strongest effect on how your marijuana plants grow. If you need to pick one aspect of your indoor growing setup to invest the most money on, you can’t go wrong with some decent led grow lights. The same applies to choosing a location for outdoor plants so they get the perfect amount of light. Water, nutrients, and other aspects are also important, but light remains the head honcho.
3. Good ventilation is essential.
Many growers make the mistake of creating an indoor setup, without factoring for proper ventilation or air flow. Newbies aren’t fully aware of what is at stake here, so let’s clarify. If your plants develop mold, they will be rendered useless very quickly. Once mold forms, it is very difficult to contain and eliminate. The number one thing that can prevent mold from developing is proper airflow. The majority of plants in a well-ventilated setup will simply not develop mold. That will save you a lot of trouble, time, and money.
4. Excessive nutrients do not produce better growth.
Seriously, do not overload your plants (especially your young plants) with tons of nutrients. This does not help them grow. Many new growers see nutrients and think of them simply as something good for their plants. Wrongly, they presume the more, the better. That is not the case. Keep it simple. Just provide your plants with the basics, without getting into the confusing finer details of micronutrients. With nutrients, less is more. Marijuana plants are excellent at growing. They are a weed, after all. So give them just enough to support them doing their natural job, which is to grow.
5. Time your harvest correctly, and don’t rush drying and curing.
No matter how hard you work to grow your plants and try to develop massive, juicy buds, timing the harvest of these buds will make an incredible difference in the actual outcome of your crop. It’s sometimes difficult to time, but generally, you have between two and four weeks to harvest, when you start to see white, hair-like pistils.
The same goes for drying and curing. It’s at this point that many new growers lose patience and rush through processes. This results in a sub-par smoking experience. Do yourself a favor – allow plenty of time to dry and cure your weed properly.
by Robert Bergman, founder of ilovegrowingmarijuana.com.
Robert has been growing cannabis passionately for over 20 years and shares this insight to educate growers avoid mistakes and to fully capitalise on a bud’s potential.
