Home Growers Corner
Third Edition of a Multi Part KISS Series
Part 3 by Jay Richardson , contributing writer
If you have been reading my articles in this magazine ’ s last couple of issues , you know that we are learning to grow marijuana plants from seed to maturity . If you saw last month ’ s issue , then you know that I gave all of our readers who are following along this at home an assignment — to try / test as many marijuana strains as possible and to approach it from a scientific angle , and actually take notes on the different types of flower that you tested . That way you can make an informed decision when it ’ s time to choose the strain you want to grow . For those of you who participated and smoked a great variety of cannabis in the last month , I hope you enjoyed it . For those who didn ’ t participate , I guess it sucks to be you . You can always do it this month . It ’ s better to be late than never .
Now that you have decided which type of bud ( strain ) you want to grow , you must find a place to grow it and buy grow supplies . Since we are doing an indoor garden , we get to control many of the environmental factors that will affect the health and quality of our plants . The location you choose to cultivate in can cause problems that need to be solved , so you will want to avoid certain situations if possible . Everyone ’ s home is different , and some of you may not have a lot of options . You ’ ll need to put your garden where you have the available space . If space is incredibly limited , you will want to use LED lights and grow tents . While affordable , the tents and LEDs are a little more expensive than the old-school , simple techniques I ’ m describing in this series .
As I said , the location of your garden can cause problems inherent to that space . If you choose an unfinished basement , you have a good place for heat control but a bad place for humidity and mold . You may need a dehumidifier . If you choose an attic , you will likely have to do something about ventilation and possible excessive heat , which creates hassles and expenses that are not necessary if a more suitable area is available . My personal favorite is a bedroom in a house with central heat and central air conditioning . We have temperature control and good air circulation . Plants need fresh air to thrive . Keeping plants in a place with improper ventilation will cause them to deplete their supply of CO2 .
Plants breathe the opposite of how humans do . They take in carbon dioxide and expel oxygen as opposed to us . We breath-in oxygen and exhale CO2 . That ’ s why plants and trees are so important in fighting climate change . They help eliminate excess CO2 . They actually like it ! Your vegetation also won ’ t like being too hot or too cold . If you can keep your temperature between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit , it will be in the range that most variations of cannabis prefer . During the hottest months of summer , well — good luck ! If you can keep the room temperature below 90 degrees with grow lights on , consider it a win . I run my grow lights at night ( close your window
shades ) and keep the garden dark from noon until 6 p . m . to avoid the worst heat of the day .
Now that you have selected the ideal spot to grow , let ’ s check out our electrical outlets . We are looking for the closest outlet to the plants without it being in our six-by-six-foot designated growing area . We don ’ t want any electricity anywhere near the water that we will invariably spill and splash when caring for our crop . Preferably you have safety outlets with three prongs . If you live in an older house as I do and have the kind with only two holes in the outlet , you need to purchase an adapter that accommodates three-prong cords . You also need to check your fuse box . You need to have at least 15 amps available . This information is available in your breaker or fuse box , whichever your house has . You also need to check to see if the grow room shares the same breaker or fuse as another room in the house . We will want 15 amperes for our garden . If you have no idea what I ’ m talking about , you need to stop immediately and contact an electrician for help .
If you do the electrical stuff incorrectly you can electrocute yourself , which means you could die or start a fire and burn your house down . Did I get your attention yet ? You need to make sure you grow your marijuana the same way that you use it . That means doing it safely and responsibly .
If you don ’ t know some basic skills in electricity , painting , and carpentry , don ’ t panic because you know someone who does . Everybody knows someone handy — “ The Guy .” It might be your neighbor or your brother-in-law , or in my case , if I didn ’ t know how to do this stuff already , I would call my sister . The cool thing about knowing handy people is that they know how to use tools and build things because they enjoy it — or been there , done that . If you can ’ t get them to work for free , they will usually at least be fairly cheap . I can usually get a few hours of labor by offering some combination of beer , pizza , and weed ( it ’ s legal now to gift for licensed cultivators ). A lot of people , including myself , prefer all three .
Time to Go Shopping
Now that we have an area and either understand how to do some basic home improvement tasks or have conned someone who does , we can go shopping . Our first stop is a big box hardware / lumber store or your local grow store . We are going to purchase a multiple-outlet surge protector . Prices and quality vary , and so do our budgets . In case you don ’ t remember , my goal was to get a decent marijuana crop that costs below six hundred dollars . This excludes your electric bill , which will increase when you turn on your grow light . A 25-dollar surge protector will work just fine .
44 April 2023