Home Growers Corner
Sweet Spots, Get in the Happy Range
How to keep your home grow easy to maintain and happily thriving.
by Gerry Donovan, contributing writer
There are a few variables that many people will try to keep constant when they are growing cannabis: pH, temperature, humidity, growth time, and water. These are all very important factors to consider when growing cannabis to keep your plants as happy and productive as possible. This month, I’ ll guide you through some environmental elements so that your home grow will be easy to maintain and happily thriving.
I do not have a social media cannabis degree, meaning I did not learn how to grow from TikTok, nor am I sponsored by any company. My happy and productive methodology has been developed over 22-plus years and has awarded me two trophies, including First Place in the American Auto-flower Cannabis Cup. I love growing happy plants!
Let’ s start with the basics. What gear will you need to monitor, maintain, and adjust your various environmental factors?
● pH: pH Tester, pH up, and pH down additives
● Test Types: Liquid, digital, paper
Water( with just your hands) – get a moisture meter if you want( the soil meter is usually a combo pH and moisture meter).
● Simply lift your pots and feel whether they are heavy( no water needed) or light( add water) will do the trick.
Growth Time – use your Eyes – no gear needed whatsoever! There is no specific time that a plant is“ finished.”
● Just look ‒ the eyes will know.
TDS / PPM tester, if desired
● Utilize feed charts and clean water; this should never be an issue.
● I only mention this because it is so common to monitor. However, I will say that I have never regularly used a ppm tester in all my years growing, including growing with hydro, soil, soil-less, and DWC, and using both liquid and powder nutrients.
Think of nature, a seed falls to the ground in late fall, sits through winter, and germinates in early spring, and ultimately grows through summer.
For testing and adjusting the reservoir and feed water.
● Analog soil meter
● Digital soil meter
For monitoring soil pH( and moisture) levels.
� Frozen baby plants, early morning � Same Happy Plant later that day with warm sunshine.
● It sees every temperature, pH, and humidity fluctuation that you can imagine.
● Frozen baby plants, early spring morning, and the same happy sunbathed baby plants later that day.
● Hygrometer for temp and humidity monitoring.
● Air ventilation( hanging in grow tent) for humidity and temp control.
If you were a commercial facility with millions of dollars on the line per harvest and had invested in systems to maintain exact parameters, cool! But this is not the case for a home grow, nor
22 April 2026