There are many reasons one might consider growing plants from weed seeds indoors, including personal use, earning a profit commercially, or simply just passing the time with a new hobby. Indoor grows allow the plants to be cultivated year-round, instead of only during warmer seasons. They give the grower control over the smallest details, allowing them to produce a higher quality pot plant with denser buds.
Growing indoors is the ideal setup for getting a fresh, hands-on experience when first learning how to grow marijuana. Having an indoor grow operation is especially helpful for growers who live in colder northern climates such as Pennsylvania or Vermont, but whatever the reasons might be, growing indoors with soil is a fun and intimate way to see marijuana buds come to life.
Soil vs. Hydroponics
Hydroponic systems can be a costly and time-consuming investment, with a very steep and unforgiving learning curve. They use timers, pumps, and reservoirs with nutrient-enriched water to feed the cannabis plant. These systems need their own maintenance, oversight, and a unique foundation of knowledge to get them off the ground.
However, hydroponic systems can potentially cut out a lot of the daily routine required to care for these plants. They also discourage pests from making a permanent residence alongside the plant.
Working in soil is entirely hands-on, from seed to harvest. Since the earliest points of human civilization, people have been finding ways to grow crops in whatever land was available, mastering those techniques, and the history of growing cannabis isn’t much different. A vast wealth of experience, information, and knowledge is readily available through the internet and gardening publications when it comes to growing marijuana in soil.
Chronic seed growers can dive deep into the growing process, allowing them to learn from the experience and be better able to recognize and pinpoint mistakes. This will enable them to adjust for future grows, letting them improve their results continuously. Additionally, the upfront investment is less, making it a better value to new growers.
Whether it is hydroponics or soil you choose, you will want to have your seeds ready.
Luckily for you, we ship across the country from Oregon to North Carolina!
The Power of Soil
Soil allows growers to easily control and manipulate what nutrients are being taken in by the plant, the level of hydration, and the PH balance. All these small things can have massive effects on what a cannabis plant will ultimately produce, including bud size, potency, and flavor.
Nutrient Ratios
Finding the proper ratios for the plant’s needs, and adjusting those ratios depending on its stage of development, is a crucial step for a high yield grow operation. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, or N-P-K, are the primary building blocks for plant life. During the vegetative stage, the period where only the stems and leaves of a cannabis plant are growing, it is recommended to use a general-purpose formula that is higher in nitrogen, which aids in chlorophyll production.
During the flowering stage, when the plant’s buds begin to grow, a bloom formula that is lower in nitrogen is required. This feeds more potassium and phosphorus into the plant than before, which results in increasing bud growth and ensures that the buds do not end up with a bitter-tasting quality. The nutrient ratios can be found on the fertilizer packaging found at local gardening centers or online retailers. Other minor but necessary nutrients that the plants need include calcium, magnesium, sulfur, and micro-nutrients. Most of the time, these will often already be mixed in with a good, fertile potting soil.
Be sure to research your seed’s growing information on the online strain profiles before measuring out your nutrient solution—some strains require less supplementation than others.
Soil Type
Soil can come in many varieties, including sand-based, silt-based, and clay-based. A mixture of these three varieties will produce the best results. This mixture is often referred to as “loam soil.” Loamy soil is required to support proper growth. It absorbs water well, is not too heavy to have trouble “breathing,” tends to maintain higher oxygen levels, and will have an easier time retaining all added nutrients.
Sterilizing the Soil
Making sure that the potting soil is sterilized can be just as important as picking the right soil in the first place. Soil that is not sterilized can contain pests, molds, or other dormant seeds. These things can adversely affect cannabis growth. To sterilize the soil, bake it on a covered baking sheet, bringing its internal temperature to between 70°Cand 82°C (160°Fand 180 °F). Baking it at higher temperatures risks eliminating the beneficial nutrients and microbes that on which the cannabis plant needs to feed.
Proper Growing Conditions
The plant also needs to be exposed to the appropriate conditions to grow like it would in nature. When setting up for a grow operation, consider the following:
Temperature
For the best results, a controlled, steady room temperature of about 20°C (68°F) is needed at all times. If any outside air is used to ventilate a grow area, the ambient temperature must be monitored closely to ensure it keeps the indoor relative temperature above 20°C. If the plant is too cold, its metabolism will slow down, and growth can stop entirely. Even one night with a significant temperature drop can kill a marijuana plant.
Growers must also be sure to check the temperature near the top of the plants, where they are closest to the grow light. These lights produce their own heat, and extra ventilation and fans may be required to avoid ending up with a sweltering plant. Fans also help create airflow, which increases the amount of fresh carbon dioxide available to the plant.
Lighting
During the vegetative stage, a cannabis plant will require 18-24 hours of light every day. This can be accomplished through the use of grow lights set to timers, which will ensure the plant receives a precise number of light hours. To transition to the flowering stage, 12 hours of light followed by 12 hours of dark is required. As the plant grows more substantial, more light is needed to make sure all the buds are developing fully, and resources are not going to waste.
pH Balance
A pH level of 6.0-7.0 at the root level of the soil is the ideal ratio for a marijuana plant and is required throughout the plant’s lifetime. If the pH slips too far out of this range, the plant will no longer be able to take in the nutrients it needs to thrive. Click here to learn about checking the pH of your plants.
Products that are known as “pH up and down” can help with testing and maintaining a balanced pH level. They can be found easily through online retailers or at gardening centers. If a grower is unable to find this product, chalk or Epsom salt can be substituted to adjust the pH balance of the soil.
Water Absorption and Retainment
If the soil is not absorbing enough water, the plant will become dry, wilt, and not produce. Soil amendments can help change the density of the potting mix for better results. For example, pea gravel, vermiculite, and perlite can all help to increase water retention so that the plant stays hydrated. From seed to harvest, cannabis requires constant moisture.
It is critical to avoid over-saturation. If the soil can stay damp, the plant will get the water it needs. If it is too wet, it could create the ideal environment for fungus growth. Excessive fungus growth can be detrimental to a plant’s root structure and may ruin the harvest.
Plant Size
Planning and preparing the space needed before starting a grow can solve many issues before they even come up. Growers must consider how tall the plants are going to become when planning for their grow space and what pots to use. Will the plant mature to be about 2 feet tall or 4 feet tall? Too small of a space will crowd the root system and deprive the plants of light, which will inhibit their growth.
Generally, when switching from the vegetative stage to the flowering stage, the plant will double in height. This is true of most of our feminized seeds, but not necessarily the autoflowering plants which stay fairly small for the whole life span. The average pot size for a cannabis plant is 3 gallons, but anything between 1.5 and 5 gallons can work depending on the situation. The important thing is that the roots have enough space in the pot to develop fully. If there is no room left for the roots to expand, the plant will become pot bound, ruining the soil integrity and causing the plant to grow stunted or wilt.
If a plant is visibly drying out despite getting plenty of water, it might indicate that the roots have outgrown the pot. In general, the more space the plant must expand within, the faster it will grow, and the healthier it will be. Sometimes repotting may be necessary if the plant outgrows its original space.
Signs of a Potential Problem
- Lots of leaves becoming discolored, spotting, wilting, or completely dying off can be a sign that something is off. Occasionally, it is okay for this to happen to some leaves. At the end of the flowering stage, many leaves will lose their vibrant green color as the nutrients are being pulled from them and directed to the buds. However, it can indicate a severe issue if this happens before the final growth stages or if too many of the leaves are discolored.
- If the grower notices a musty or rotten smell coming from the plant, it is probably a sign of bacterial or mold growth. Growers must always be vigilant in checking leaves for any form of mold growth, as it will quickly destroy any potential for harvest. Mold spores can sometimes be identified as white spots beginning to form along the leaves.
- Insects and their larvae will harm a marijuana plant, and they need to be checked for and controlled by growers.
- When a plant is growing much slower than expected, it means at least one of the conditions is inadequate, and the grow setup will need to be evaluated and adjusted.
The Bottom Line
Growing marijuana plants from American seeds in soil is the simplest and most natural method. It has a larger margin for error than hydroponic growing, making it a perfect option for new growers who do not quite have the budget, setup, or nutrient knowledge for hydroponic growing. To get started on your grow project, select seeds from an online cannabis seed distributor like Kind Seed Co. Don’t be left without seeds, even if you live up by the border in Washington!
