How hard is it to grow weed? ⇒ Easy, difficult?
Growing your own cannabis isn't very difficult. The clue is in the name - given the right conditions, weed will grow, well, like a weed. However, growing good quality smokeable weed or weed with high levels of THC is another matter.
As with most worthwhile things in life, preparation is key. The more research you do, the more likely you will be to raise a successful crop of weed.
Let's dig into the question: how hard is it to grow weed?
Is it hard to grow your own weed?
Growing weed isn't hard at all but to make sure your (first) grow have the best chance of success there are four factors you cannot afford to ignore:
1. Genetics
Over three-quarters of good results are down to good genetics. A bad grower can ruin great seeds, but even the best grower can't turn rubbish into gold. This is why buying cannabis seeds from a reputable seller, such as WeedSeedsExpress, is the most important place to start. Make sure you're working with solid genetics.
If you don't want to grow from seed, you need to obtain good clones. When you have strong genetics, your female plants will be resilient with vigorous growth and good yields and produce buds that are frosted white with resin at harvest.
Plants with poor genetics will grow slowly and with reduced yields. They may show signs of deformities and generally be unattractively limp.
Have you never grown weed before and are you afraid that growing weed is difficult? No worries! Ensure yourself of a good harvest by choosing one of the varieties below. The strains below are great for beginner growers!
1. Gorilla Glue autoflower
2. Girl Scout Cookies autoflower
3. Bruce Banner autoflower
4. Blue Dream autoflower
5. Critical Purple autoflower
2. Flowering type: choose an autoflower
Growing cannabis is much easier if you choose an autoflower. This means the plants automatically switch from the vegetative phase to the flowering phase - you don't need to worry about altering the number of hours of daylight, which can get quite technical.
3. Choose a mold resistant strain - preferably Indica
Again genetics is key, and knowing which seeds are less challenging to grow is the key to success. Indica's have a well-deserved reputation for being easy to grow and produce great yields compared to the more temperamental Sativa's and Hazes. Read the description of the seed varieties before buying. Look for one that is quick to grow and mold-resistant to boost your chances of success.
Many people claim that growing cannabis plants is as easy as growing tomatoes, and this is undoubtedly true if you live somewhere hot and sunny like California, for example, or if you have access to a large greenhouse. Those who live in the Northern Hemisphere, however, and plan to grow weed indoors in a grow tent or similar, need to consider the needs of their plants a bit more. Having said that, growing indoors allows you greater control over the conditions. Outdoors, there can be lots of climate variables such as unexpected frosts, pests, or animals eating the plants/breaking off parts of it.
4. Don't overfeed or overwater
The majority of weed plants do not require a complex feeding schedule. Only base nutrients are required for them to flourish. Most of the problems new growers encounter are caused by overfeeding and overwatering, and issues caused by heat with indoor lighting.
Learning to be patient comes with experience. Cuttings/clones and sometimes seedlings, for example, can look a little light green or sick when they first start growing. Give them time, however, and in ten days they will look beautiful and have increased five times in size. Many new growers get worried on the third day and feed them again. This results in root burn when all they had to do was wait it out.
Environmental problems are more familiar with small grow tents due to excess heat from HID lighting. Controlling the temperature at the canopy is extremely important. A common mistake for new growers is the installation of a 600 watt light in a tent with inadequate ventilation/extraction. The results are plants with a disappointing yield.
The best way to find out how easy cannabis is to grow is to dive right in and get started. The more gardening experience you have, the better. It takes some time and expertise to see what a plant needs, such as does it have enough or too many nutrients; does it need more water, or is it too damp? (Plants that are over saturated can be susceptible to mold) Is it too warm or too cold? Does it need more ventilation?
Online communities and forums are invaluable for advice - although you may find conflicting information confusing.
Finally, it is worth investing in good quality equipment before you get started, especially lights and heaters.
To return to the original question, the answer is, no, it's not very hard to grow cannabis. The plant actually is a "weed" and is pretty resistant towards things like mold. If you put enough time and effort into it, you won't find it too hard, and, hopefully, will find the entire process rewarding in every sense of the word.