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Start Cultivating Cannabis for Personal Use

How to Start Cultivating Cannabis for Personal Use

VWB Blog 3 years ago 5

The United States has come a long way in how it views marijuana. Just over a decade ago, the drug was still heavily criminalized across the country, as it had been for decades before.

In the past several years, however, states across the country have begun to decriminalize it. Today, many allow people to use it for medicinal purposes and more and more are legalizing it for recreational use as well.

If the state you live in allows cannabis cultivation, growing your own plants for personal use could be a fun idea. In doing so, you get control over the entire process, as well as an immense sense of satisfaction when it comes time to harvest them.

Today we’re going to help you get started with small-scale cultivation.

Read on to learn more.

Check Your State’s Laws

The first thing you’re going to want to do is check your state’s laws to be 100% sure that it permits at-home cannabis cultivation. If it doesn’t, and you get caught doing so, the legal penalties can be steep.

While you might think that usage and growing go hand-in-hand, that’s not always the case. Today, you can grow medicinal or recreational marijuana in 18 states—19 if you can include Washington D.C.

Many states allow medicinal marijuana use but don’t permit cultivation. Illinois even allows recreational use but doesn’t allow its residents to grow it.

Get the Best Seeds

Once you’re certain that you can grow weed, your first step in the cultivation process is to find the right seeds.

Many people believe that seeds are seeds and end up going with the first option they find. That’s actually a mistake since seeds play a huge role in how your plants turn out later on.

Buy seeds from a reputable shop that tells you exactly what sort of plant you’ll end up with later on. Your goal is to find feminized seeds, as these plants will secrete resin and grow the flowers that everyone knows and loves.

Use High-Quality Soil

If you have a green thumb, then you know how plants respond differently to different types of soil. The soil a succulent needs to grow is different than that of a palm.

Keep that understanding in your mind as you start to grow cannabis.

Many weed lovers are shocked to discover how finicky of a plant marijuana is. It requires soil with the perfect balance of phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen. It also needs to be loose and not too tight, otherwise water won’t drain properly.

Different types of marijuana also prefer different types of soil. Check out this guide to learn about some of the differences between indica and sativa weed.

Don’t Overwater

All plants need water to survive, but it might surprise you how little water marijuana plants need. Overwatering your plants is one of the easiest ways to kill them through oxygen deprivation.

Keep an eye on how your plants look after you water them. If they start to sag down and look droopy, it’s a sign that you’re giving them a bit too much H2O.

Avoid watering your plants unless you’re certain that they’re thirsty. To know whether they are, stick your finger an inch or so into the dirt. If dirt sticks to you when you pull out, you can put off watering for the time being.

Add Nutrients When Necessary

Most plants also benefit from nutrients, and cannabis is no different. However, as is the case with water, you need to be careful with how much you add.

It’s easy to overfeed your marijuana plants, and doing so is another easy way to harm or kill them. You can even kill them if you follow a feeding schedule since the recommend doses tend to be too high.

The key is to start small.

Only give your plants one-fourth of the recommended dose. See how they respond to that, then go from there.

Invest in Proper Lighting

Some plants might survive if you stick them in front of the window and hope for the best, but marijuana plants won’t. If they do end up surviving, their growth will be minimal, and you won’t end up getting usable cannabis.

Make sure to invest in a set of quality lights that won’t let you down. Even a small or midsized LED light can keep your plants illuminated, warm, and happy throughout the day.

Lights that are too powerful can burn your plants, however, so watch out for that.

Be Patient

Many people are impatient when it comes to cannabis cultivation, especially when the buds finally start to appear on the plant. However, patience is key.

Plucking the buds off the moment you see them reduces the potency of the cannabis. If you plan on using your marijuana for medicinal purposes, it won’t offer the same extent of medicinal benefits.

To know when you can harvest them, look at the trichomes, or the hair-like parts of the plant that look frosty. You want them to be a milky-white color that contains a small amount of amber.

Cultivating Cannabis for Personal Use Made Easy 

If you’re looking for a hobby that lets you enjoy the fruits of your labor, look no further than cannabis cultivation. And, contrary to what you may think, growing weed for personal use is easier than you might think.

Use the tips mentioned in this article to help you get started.

Are you looking for more guides and tips on how to grow cannabis? If so, spend some time checking out the rest of our site for more great content.

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