The Basics of Marijuana Cultivation

If you’re considering growing your own marijuana, especially medical marijuana, the first choice you need to make is indoor vs. outdoor growing. The legality of marijuana is disputed in many countries, which makes outdoor growing more of a challenge for most growers.

Like many people you may be inclined to grow indoors, but both options can be viable.

When deciding whether to grow inside or outside, you need to keep in mind the conditions that your plants will need in order to grow and thrive.

First and foremost are light and temperature.

Marijuana thrives in warm to tropical climates, and during its vegetative stage of growth it needs 16 – 24 hours of sunlight each day. Quality of light is important as well, and the proper grow lights for indoor use can be somewhat expensive.

The best grow lights are High Pressure Sodium (HPS) and Metal Halide (MH) grow lights. Compact fluorescent tubes can be useful in combination with HPS & MH lights, but fluorescent tubes yield poor results on their own. There are also newer LED units that are being marketed, but to get an LED setup with the proper lumen output is, on average, prohibitively expensive.

Marijuana is a hardy plant, but temperatures too low will result in poor growth and temperatures too high will result in burning the plant.

Ideal temperatures vary based on strain, but most marijuana thrives between a low of 65 degrees Fahrenheit at night and a high of 85 degrees F. in the day. If you grow indoors and you use the proper lights, you’ll need some way to cool your grow-room, and therefore some way to remove the smell from the hot air that you expel.

Filtration systems are a necessity for most indoor grow setups. At a minimum, most growers will use activated charcoal filters to filter the air being expelled from the grow-room. These filters need to be changed regularly, and more serious growers or those who are operating on a larger scale generally add an ozone filtration system to their air system.

Ozone filtration is far more effective at removing the distinctive scent of marijuana, especially during the 2 – 3 month flowering period when it gives off a very potent smell.

Nutrients and water requirements are the next most important factor. All plants need an array of micro and macro nutrients in order to flourish. When nutrient levels are too high or too low, your plants will suffer from deficiencies or from burn and can even die in extreme cases.

Marijuana loves humidity, especially during its vegetative stage. Be sure to keep the humidity somewhere between 40 – 70%, and watch your plants for any signs of under or over-watering. If you over-water your plants, you run the risk of developing root rot and other mealy grubs. When your plants are dehydrated, they will appear wilted and weak, their leaves and branches floppy.

The Basics of Marijuana Cultivation – Written by G

The Basics of Marijuana Cultivation

Trimmings: What to do with them

If you’ve ever heard the saying that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, when it comes to the trimmings you have left over after manicuring your buds this statement has never been truer.

Once you’ve completed your first grow and you’ve trimmed off your fan leaves, sugar leaves and other excess material, you may be left wondering what to do with it all. At first glance, this cast-off material may look like it should head straight to the trash can or the compost pile, but hold that thought because there’s actually a lot you can do with those valuable trimmings.

From making budder and canna-oil, to producing hash oil or bubble hash from your trim and shake, there are many, many uses for this material. The simple fact is that your trimmed material and shake is actually pretty high is THC and other cannabinoid content; but the problem is that those sugar leaves, fan leaves and woodier pieces of stalk just don’t smoke nicely.

No one like a harsh smoke, but plenty of people love them some edibles or a nice hash oil. Indeed, for the adventurous at heart you can even juice the leaves from your harvest and the green leaves from vegetating females and even male plants. Juicing the leaves not only gives you psychoactive benefits, but also many other benefits from the antioxidants and terpenes.

Once you’ve made budder or canna-oil you can then cook with your delicious new ingredients. Try using cannabis-infused olive oil to make a light vinaigrette dressing for salad, or cook your pancakes with some budder for an authentic wake ‘n bake session. When cooking with canna-oil or budder, try to avoid using too much heat because heat breaks down some of the cannabinoids.

Another tasty snack is to slow roast your favorite seeds or nuts in a light grease of canna-oil. Once you take them out of the oven, brush them lightly with budder and add a bit of salt. You can add dried fruit like cranberries, apricots and raisins to make this a delightful medicated trail mix, great for addressing chronic pain and keeping you mildly medicated throughout the day.

If you aren’t in the mood for hash oils, you can make a simple tincture with any strong alcohol. A grain alcohol such as Everclear is perfect for making cannabis tinctures, and stored in dark amber bottles in a cupboard or freezer, alcohol tinctures can last for years on end. With a bit of ingenuity, you can also make cannabis salves and balms for topical application.

In short, when you have the pleasure of harvesting your crop, don’t let all that unsmokable material go to waste. When there’s about a million ways to use cannabis, it seems unnecessary to let this wondrous plant rot on the compost heap or in a garbage bag. So get creative!

Trimmings: What to do with them