So you’ve always wanted to grow your own cannabis instead of buying it?
Then you’ve come to the right place.
Growing your very own ‘ganja’ is quite simple and the success rate is fairly high, even when you’re just starting out.
Want to know more?
You can grow cannabis in two different ways:
1) Setup a grow room
2) Setup a grow box
In this guide, we will walk you through every step you need to take in order to successfully grow your own cannabis with a grow box!
Let’s get started..
Weather conditions have a significant effect on your cannabis production in case you plan to keep your grow box outside.
This could be a major disadvantage and might limit your yield. However, a grow box is relatively small and perfect to keep indoors. When you want to grow cannabis in a grow box, you want to pay attention to: lights, water, humidity, ventilation and temperature. All mentioned factors are in your control and can be optimized in order to perfectionate production conditions, resulting in quality cannabis!
What do you need?
Obviously, you don’t need a whole lot of equipment to build a grow box. When it comes to a grow box, you have three options:
- Build a wooden box yourself
- Buy a “grow tent”
That’s all? No….
You’ll also need a grow lamp, a fan, and a clock. Based upon your own situation, you might have to consider buying a filter against the smell. You also want to measure a thing or two with a thermometer and hygrometer.
What do you want to accomplish?
The fundamental goal is to optimize the photosynthesis of your plants. By creating a perfect environment for your plants to grow, you can positively influence this process. In other words: better photosynthesis is better quality. We call this optimizing the yield. The better you do this, the better your joint will be!
1. Grow Box
The dimensions of your grow box are variable. Just build one that’s big enough to house all equipment but isn’t too big for your place.
Make sure to create air holes. It would be best to have separate locations for incoming (fresh air) and outgoing air. Then you want to locate a thermometer and hygrometer on a spot where you can clearly see determine temperature and humidity.
Important: When you install and place the required electronics on your grow box, do not just attach it to the wooden outside of the box. Installing the electronics has to be done with precision and care in order to minimize the risk of fire.
2. Grow Lights
Your plants need light in order to produce chemical energy, hence the grow lamp you’ll need. With a grow lamp you can establish control over the “day and night”, which is very important as your plants need hours of light and darkness: 18 hours of light and 6 hours of darkness in the vegetative stage, 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness in the flowering stage.
At this point you have two lighting options:
- LED
- HPS (High Pressure Sodium)
For the first stage, mentioned above, you will need 400-Watt HPS lamps. For the second stage, you will need 600-Watt HPS. Due to sodium in HPS lamps, lifespan is limited. Only when you can afford LED lamps, go for it. LED lamps have a significantly longer timespan. However, if this is your first grow experience, forget about LED and get yourself a HPS lamp.
Extra tip:
It’s best to have reflective walls, preferably white. Very dark or black walls absorb light which affects the quality of the yield. Simply paint the inside of your grow box white or even better, use white foil for optimal reflection.
3. Ventilation and Air Circulation
When you can’t allow to have smell around, make sure your box is impenetrable of smell. A must-have is a carbon filter for all outgoing air to pass through in order to sustain proper air circulation and fresh air. You can regulate temperatures by installing a fan.
Plants live and grow by consuming sugar. Plants produce sugar through converting CO2 into oxygen and sugars. Therefore, make sure to create some openings for fresh air circulation.
4. Watering and Humidity
In order to maximize yield, you want to have the right humidity level. When the humidity level is too high, mold and fungus will appear on your plants and equipment causing damage. Both seedlings and cuttings require unique humidity levels all the way till the growing and blooming phase. In addition, there’s variation between plants in regards to humidity so conduct some research so you know what’s best for your plants.
(Source: http://www.thenug.com/sites/default/pub/041214/pic1.png)
5. Temperature
As mentioned before, installing an air extractor enables you to regulate temperatures. This is important in order to avoid your plants from being overheated.
Temperature control is an important factor for the quality of your yield. It’s an essential factor for optimal photosynthesis and ultimately successful growth of your plants. Pay attention to the combination of temperature and lighting. As for most of us in daily life, temperatures are higher during daytime in comparison to nighttime.
Apply an identical environment for your plants. You ideally want to maintain a temperature of 77 °F / 25°C during daytime. Never have box temperature under 64°F / 17.8°C during nighttime.
It’s important to remember that you will gain more and more experience along the way as an individual production grower, and have a better understanding of the unique needs of your plants over time.
6. Carbon Filter (Optional)
In order to prevent the smell of cannabis spreading around your house, it is recommended to buy the earlier mentioned carbon filter. Anticipate on any scenario that could bring harm to your plants or facility.
Establishing your very own grow box brings many challenges but also provides a unique experience. It’s also a perfect learning opportunity! A perfect environment and combination of temperature, humidity, air circulation and lighting will have an immense impact on the quality and quantity of the yield.
Are you ready to start growing?
Let us know below in the comments if you have any problems! We are here to help you!
Happy growing 🙂