How to grow your favorite strains at home

Huynh NguyenAugust 27, 2022

Cannabis is loved by everyone. People like smoking different strains to try something new. And if you are a regular cannabis user, then the thought of growing your cannabis would have crossed your mind at least once. But you probably you would have thought it would be too hard to grow your cannabis strains at your home. It’s not, and one can grow it at their home. To help you we bring you the complete process for growing your favorite strains at home.

Also, you can read about one of the popular strains- the Squirt strain.

How to grow your favorite strains at Home?

We will take you guys through a step-by-step process, following which you can grow your favorite strain at your home-

1. Germinating your seed

First of all, as soon as you acquire the seeds of strains from dispensaries near you that you would like to cultivate. You would need to start by taking a Ziploc bag with a damp paper towel and folding your seed in the paper towel. Then close the bag and put it somewhere slightly warm. After about 1-3 days you will see a tiny white tail coming out of the seed. If you don’t see the tail growing within five days, you would have to start the process again with new seeds.

Tip- It would be better if you use female plants as only female plants bear flowers. So, it would be better if you buy feminized seeds. If you don’t know any place then you can buy Feminized seeds from the below-given website.

2. Plant your seed

For this process, you can use standard potting soil mix and a container with drainage holes would be preferred. Now plant your seed in the soil about 1 inch deep, with the tail pointing down, now sprinkle some water on the soil. And place the container somewhere it can get direct sunlight, or you can even use grow light (compact fluorescent light [CFL]). After 2-3 days you can see baby leaves emerging from your soil.

Tip- don’t directly pour water on the plant for the first week. It would be better if you sprinkle water.

3. Bring to the light

There are tons of options out there when you are looking for indoor light. But as you are a new grower, I would suggest you go with inexpensive LED lights. They require low initial investments and give great quality light for all stages of growth.

Tip- Stay away from “Blurple” colored lights. They are cheaper but are hard on the eyes.

4. Vegetative growth

Before your plant is all set to grow flowers, you would need to grow it a little bit more and let it get big enough to bear those flowers. This step is personalized, it depends on how much space and watts of light you are using. But a rule of thumb suggests that one should have 75 watts of lighting for every square foot of gardening area.

You would have to let your plant grow for at least three weeks, and if you wish, even longer. You would need to provide it at least 18 hours of light and if you keep your light on for 24 hours, then it would also be great. As for nutrients, potting soil already has initial nutrients mixed up in the soil and is sufficient for your plant to grow.

Tip- Don’t try to save money by using cheap quality soil. Buying adequate quality soil would help you get better growth and quality flowers.

5. Transplant into a flowering container

Now it’s time to shift your plant to its actual home, where it would grow for the rest of its life. The space is a personalized choice, but it is suggested to use a container that holds roughly one gallon of soil per foot of expected plant growth.

But before you transplant your plants, add a quarter of granular bloom fertilizer and mix it with your soil. It has a lower mix of nitrogen and higher levels of phosphorus and potassium often listed as NPK (5-10-10).

Tip- Be gentle while transferring the plant as the roots are delicate and can be damaged easily.

6. Forcing it to flower

Marijuana is a photosensitive plant, and you would need it to force it into a flower. For adequate growth, it would need equal light and dark times. So, if you have a 12/12 cycle: then 12 hours of light and 12 hours of uninterrupted dark time. It would be better if you invest in a small closet or tent, to assure uninterrupted dark time. And you would need a 24-hour appliance that would provide light for 12 hours and then set off for 12 hours.

7. Let it grow

For the next 8-9, you need to let them grow. You would just need to water the plant with tap water, whenever you find that the top 3-4 inches of the soil have dried out. You would also need to make sure that you shift the light above as the plants grow. Make sure the light is 12-24 inches above the tallest part of the plant to avoid light burn. Flowers begin to start forming at week 3 of this stage and complete around 8-9 weeks. When your plant is ready, you will find larger leaves turning yellow and 75% of the pistols have turned red or brown on the flowers (also known as buds).

8. Harvest Time

This is the time you have been waiting for so long!

You would just need to simply cut your plant and hang it upside down in a cool dark area. After letting the plant dry for about 7-10 days, you would need to trim off all remaining leaves and trim around your buds’ sites.

Remove any leaves that are not connected to bud and even those that don’t look frosty. Now you are done. Now for the best taste and smoothest quality, major cannabis review platforms like Hempercamp advise packing them in an airtight container and opening them once or twice a day. You would need to do this at least for 10 days, some people often keep it for 3 months as well.