This guide is intended to be a basic reference for all those who have questions about how to set up a plantation indoors. The first thing to do is to talk about what aspects we need to take care of, and what materials we will need:
Seeds
The first thing we need to have are the marijuana seeds. They can be purchased seeds, seeds from other crops or seeds that a friend has given us. To begin with, you can try with seeds that someone gives us (don't accept any seeds either and try to know what kind of variety they are). Why? Why? Very easy. In the first few crops we will make many mistakes and learn what we should and should not do. So it would be a shame to spoil or not get enough yield out of quality seeds that we have bought at a high price. If we don't have the possibility of getting seeds, or these aren't quality seeds, or we just want a certain type of marijuana, we can always buy some that aren't too expensive. But let's not be shy about discarding the specimens because of their weakness or because they contract a disease that could endanger the rest.
Growing Media
We have to put the seeds in some growing medium so that they can germinate and end up being beautiful marijuana plants. For indoor cultivation, a commonly used method is hydroponics. This consists of inorganic, nutrient-poor mixtures, which will eventually be supplied in the irrigation water. This method is more complicated than the traditional method of growing in organic media (such as the vegetable substrate that can be found in any specialized store). So if this is your first culture, I advise you to start with the simple, and use organic media. Among them we can find the vegetal substrate, the humus of worm, coarse sand, rock wool, organic fertilizers, etc. Some of them, like the humus of worm, it is necessary to mix them with others for not having capacity to retain water nor air.
Containers or pots
The best containers for growing marijuana are those that are taller than wide. Cannabis roots tend to grow downward rather than sideways. Normally the plant goes into the soil as deep as its size outside of it. This is why I recommend using taller, narrower containers than the typical pots used for other plants. They also take up less space.
The capacity of the pots must be a maximum of 12 litres. We have to think that if we are going to grow many plants, the containers are going to take up a lot of space. Larger containers can be used for outdoor cultivation, but for indoor cultivation we need to limit the size of the containers more. Also taking into account that we will have to move and rotate the pots so that the plant receives light from all sides. Lightweight containers will help us in this task. It is true that clay pots are better for their ability to transpire, remove excess moisture from their walls, and for their characteristic insulation against high ambient temperatures. But indoors it is advisable to use plastic pots, resistant but light in weight, because they are more manageable and easy to handle.
The pots should have drainage holes in the bottom. And the more the merrier, as long as there are not too many of them and they can cause the container to break at the bottom. And without making it easier for the soil to escape underneath each time it is watered. To avoid this we should put arlita or stones at the bottom of the pot to facilitate drainage, but to prevent soil from being lost through the holes.
Light
Plants need a lot of light for their growth and proper development. And inside we must be the ones to provide them with enough light to ensure that we have a productive harvest. There are a whole range of light bulbs and reflectors on the market that we can buy to obtain good cannabis. Sodium vapour lamps and mercury halide lamps are best suited for this task. The former had an orange colour at first, the latter a whiter colour. But now we can find both types that give a bank color of different shades. There are some that call them cool white because of the characteristic light they emit.
On the power, we recommend that they have at least 400W. Lower rates than this will provide us with less abundant harvests, and even problems when it comes to growing our beauties.
We must also take care of the height at which we put these bulbs. Normally it gives off too much heat, and this can cause the tallest leaves of our plants to burn. For the power of the lamps we have recommended, the distance between the tip of the marijuana and the bulb should not be less than half a meter. If we observe that the tips of the leaves begin to darken or they start to bend upwards, if we have not gone too far with fertilizers, it is a good indication that the lamps are too close. A ventilation and extraction system is usually installed in the cultivation cabinets, and the lamps are usually connected to the tubes that make up this structure so that they dissipate the heat produced by the bulbs.
The times of the light-dark cycles usually vary for each grower. In the growing phase, it seems to be proven that a continuous supply of light for 24-hour plants usually leads to increased production in the end. If the lamps cannot be kept switched on 24 hours a day, the minimum number of hours must never be less than 18 hours of light. When the plants reach the size we wanted, we change the light-dark cycle to match it, with only 12 hours of light a day. This will cause our plants to enter the flowering phase and begin resin production.
Controlled climate
Plants need an adequate temperature range to be able to grow without problems. The ideal temperature for marijuana is about 25º C. We will choose a room that has a constant temperature throughout the year, and is not a room that we have to visit often to do other tasks. In the beginning we must take special care of the temperature range that the plant must withstand, because it is at this stage when they are weakest. The limits beyond which cannabis stops its growth are less than 10ºC and more than 40ºC.
Air is also very important. By means of the wind, fungus can enter our crops, which will certainly not be welcomed by our plants, and can cause diseases that can ruin our crops in the worst case scenario. Continuous renovation of clean air will help prevent plants from becoming malnourished. In addition, they develop a larger trunk and branches that will allow them to better support the weight of the buds and make them more resistant if they are frequently moved and balanced by a thin breeze. We can put fans in our room to simulate this effect that wind has on plants.
A possible problem of discretion if we live in a community of neighbors or have frequent visits is the smell of marijuana plants. In the market we can find different models of filters with active carbon that are able to effectively cushion the olos that impregnate the air that we expel from the room of culture by means of the extraction system that we have installed. These filters can be used in various crops, before having to buy new spare parts to ensure their proper functioning.
CO2 is absolutely necessary for plants. They can easily die indoors if they do not receive sufficient support. With an adequate ventilation and air renewal system we can be reassured in this regard. It is true that by forcing the plants to receive a greater contribution of CO2 we can increase production. For this there are several tricks that we will discuss in future articles.
Moisture can also be a problem, especially in the early stages of germination and growth. Excess moisture can cause fungi to grow in the growing medium, and we find ourselves in the middle of a bad nursery environment that causes the roots to rot or the seeds to not germinate.
To know more about the choice of the site, you can read the article about the cultivation rooms.
More tips
The first thing we need to know is that our indoor plants should not become as large as they would be if we were growing them outdoors. The effectiveness of indoor lamps does not exceed 80 cm or the meter. And when the plants are in bloom, the vegetation can be so dense that the light does not reach the bottom of the plants properly, preventing them from developing to their full potential, which would be wasting time and money on fertilizers and care. The maximum size of the plants we can advise you not to exceed one and a half meters.
Indoor pests are lethal. If any of the little bugs that can ruin our harvest manage to colonize our plants, they will reproduce at will. You will not find in our crop the natural predators that keep them at bay as they do outdoors. That is why continuous observation, a habit we always recommend, is crucial. At the slightest hint of a possible unexpected visitor, we must apply the appropriate measures in each case and use the appropriate biological insecticides. In the meantime, we will not forget about prevention with the help of other products designed for this purpose. In the market we can find a wide variety of products that we can use to care for our plants.
For beginners, be careful with the sex of the plants. At first it can be confusing to distinguish between males and females, but once we have seen some specimens, we will see that it is a very simple task to perform. The sooner we separate the males from the females, the better, if we want to get the maximum production from a seedless crop.