Now that hemp is legal across all fifty states here in the US, a lot more people are looking to grow it in their own homes or backyards. How difficult is doing that though, really? Is it worth the time, energy, and money to do so?
In truth, it depends on how much you want to “get your hands dirty,” so to speak. For some, it will be easier to continue buying from an approved distributor. However, those with a green thumb will likely have an easy time raising a plant like cannabis. They are fairly low maintenance, after all.
For anyone who is looking to try it out, this article is for you! I will be covering some of the details about how to grow it, as well as the complications you could potentially experience. Be sure to stick around!
What is the Cannabis Plant?
Before you can start to cultivate it, you have to know what it is in the first place! So, let us briefly cover it. You can look at some academic articles like this one, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3736954/, if you want the scientific definition of it. For our purposes, though, I will not be focusing on that too much.
Instead, let us consider it in a cultural context. Most of us know it as weed, marijuana, or hemp. Chemicals such as CBD and THC are the main draw of the plants for humans, which are what gives us the effects of calm and/or euphoria (the “high”).
It serves many purposes, of course. From recreational to medical uses, we have discovered many uses for the marijuana plant. Certainly, it is no wonder that so many people are looking to grow it at home now!
How it Works
To a certain extent, you can apply most of the tenets of gardening to growing these plants and be at least moderately successful. With that being said, though, there are certain techniques that we can take to improve our yields and the health of our crops.
What is the first thing to consider? Well, it will probably be where you want to source your seeds. An example of a vendor is the official OG Seeds site, although you should explore the options on your own as well. Research what sorts of additional characteristics you want such as customer service or discreet shipping. Likely, this will influence your decision considerably.
Once you have that sorted out, what comes next? Typically, you will want to initiate the germination process. Certain sellers say that all of their seeds should successfully germinate, but how can we tell if that is the case or not? Unsurprisingly, it works similarly to other types of seeded plants.
First, you will want to soak them in room temperature water for approximately twelve hours. The ones that float are duds, and the ones that sink have successfully germinated. After that, get a plate or dish and line it with a wet paper towel. Rest the seeds there for a few days and then you can plant them in their more permanent home!
Now what? Well, you will want to consider what you would do for any other garden as well. Cannabis itself is what we know as an annual plant when it is grown outside. It requires warm temperatures, so the natural cycle is being planted early in the year and then it dies out once the cold weather blows in. However, when you are growing inside, you typically will not have to worry about that.
Other Considerations?
Now comes the big question – is it legal to have these plants at home? Thanks to their classification as hemp, the answer is yes. You can read about that on this page, if you want a bit more evidence to back up that statement.
As long as you are not selling what you harvest, you should be more than fine. Get out there and start growing, if that is something you are interested in! Since we can use it for all sorts of purposes, it can even be utilized as a way to soothe symptoms of depression or anxiety.
Hopefully, this article has helped you to understand how this works a bit better than before. Now, as I said, it may not be the right move if you are looking for complete ease and a lack of stress. However, when it comes to these crops, there is little to fear. Their maintenance is not overly taxing.
In fact, so long as you keep them warm and watered, you should be able to harvest your cannabis or hemp fairly quickly! For anyone just looking to have a bit of fun and do this at home, you may want to utilize the resources that I provided above. Finding a good vendor truly is half of the battle.
Honestly, the worst stage is the germination one considering how uncertain it can be. It sucks to buy an expensive packet of seeds for only half of them to successfully complete that stage of the life cycle. That is why some people prefer to go with a retailer who can provide a higher rate than that.
Just remember that inevitably, there will be some duds amongst the seeds. That is a perfectly natural part of gardening. While it can be frustrating at times, do not let it discourage you from trying your hand at this!
Barry Lachey is a Professional Editor at Zobuz. Previously He has also worked for Moxly Sports and Network Resources “Joe Joe.” He is a graduate of the Kings College at the University of Thames Valley London. You can reach Barry via email or by phone.
