Home Growers Corner
Why Grow Your Own Cannabis?
Knowing What’ s in Your Weed!
by Gerry Donovan, contributing writer
Gerry’ s homegrown plants.
You’ ve thought about it, but you haven’ t quite decided to start growing. It seems too difficult, too costly, or too time-consuming. Let me stop you there— NO, NO, and NO!
First, it can be very easy. Today, genetics are easy to come by, whereas they used to literally require international smuggling, so I’ ve heard. Just visit your local grow shop, get some seeds, and plant them— it’ s that easy.
Homegrown $ aves Money in the Long Run
We discussed the necessary gear in my January 2025 article( if you missed it, you can find it on our website). For a very nice, mid-size complete grow setup, you will pay around $ 1,000. With“ Free Grow Consultation” from Emerald Garden Grow Supply, your very first harvest will cover your cost in money saved. You can easily harvest 500 grams from this setup in about two months. That is more than 18 ounces of cannabis. And it isn’ t bottom-shelf quality; rather, it will turn out far nicer than most anything commercially available. That quality of cannabis could easily command 300-500 dollars an ounce if you were to purchase it. Just think of the money that you will save by growing your own medicine.
NOTE: I entirely discourage any sales of your personal harvest— that is Illegal! Rather, bask in the savings of not having to purchase it anymore!
Growing your own is actually not very time-consuming, normally. Messing too much with your garden is a novice mistake. Just take a peek once a day to check on your babies, that’ s all.
Danger Level— Minimal
Gone with the old-style high-intensity light fixtures that could pose a fire hazard. New, safer, efficient LED technology is now affordable and readily available. It’ s legal to grow in Missouri now and is no longer taboo.
Know What You Are Putting into Your Body
Do you know what’ s in your cannabis? Absolutely Not! Unless you grow it yourself!
Clean Substrate / Soil and Nutrients
● Clean Media: You can use new soil every batch instead of trying to scale cost-cutting methods.
● Small-batch growing at home allows the utilization of new inputs for each grow without substantial cost— fresh pots and soil.
● I am not a big fan of the idea that residue from harsh cleaners could possibly get into my grow.
Clean Nutrients
● No growth hormones or added plant growth regulators.
● You know everything that goes into your plant. More importantly, you know everything that’ s not getting into your cannabis.
● You control how you feed your plants. You know they are not getting nasty pesticides, herbicides, or nasty chemicals.
No Mold or Mildew and No Pests
Funny thing about regulated, big industry cannabis: the government bans certain chemicals, but most others are up for grabs when trying to increase yields, mitigate bugs, or prevent mold.
In your own home garden, if you have any issues, you eradicate, clean, and
22 February 2026