Home Growers Corner
Now We GROW in this Edition of a Multi Part KISS Series
Part 4 of 4 by Jay Richardson , contributing writer
I do my best to simplify cannabis production , but that ’ s not always easy . I find teaching more difficult than learning . Growing marijuana can become complicated as new equipment and science becomes available . I must be careful not to give new growers too much information too early . That ’ s why I developed the idea of K . I . S . S . — Keep It Simple Stoner .
If you ’ ve been following this four-part series , you ’ ll remember that it ’ s time to set up our grow room in the simplest way possible . In the old days , I got in the habit of making the garden easy to disassemble quickly . That way I could conceal everything if a landlord or someone was coming around . Now that growing a few plants is entirely legal , my garden equipment is still minimal . There is no reason for the extra time , work , and money . I get way more buds than I need with a basic setup , and now because of new changes in the law , I can share with my friends .
You only need light , water , and food to grow healthy plants . The water and food need to be applied to a growing medium that provides good root support and drainage . The light needs to be applied both directly and indirectly , meaning the plants will need to be surrounded with a reflective material . The best reflective surface is mylar , but while it ’ s not super expensive , it is difficult to apply properly . If it has any wrinkles or other imperfections , it will refract the light instead of reflecting it , which will make it worse than having nothing . The second best is flat white paint , which is easy to apply and works very well . Do not use glossy because although it seems that the shine would be better , the science says no .
Last month we went shopping and got two sheets of 4 by 8-foot plywood . We had the people we bought it from cut it into two sections , each 4 x 6 feet , and we saved the scraps for later . You will now paint one side of each piece of wood with flat white paint . You only need to cover the bottom three feet because growing plants taller than that is a waste of time and space . Tall plants grown indoors only get light to the top of the plant unless you put in supplemental lighting .
Now that the wood is painted , you will install your hinges so that both lumber pieces will be attached along their edges , allowing you to fold them into a single piece that is 4 x 6 feet or fold them out to an angle of 90 degrees . If you place this in a corner , you now have an enclosed area that measures 6 x 6 feet . Our grow light will cover 8 x 8 , so our smaller area will receive a very healthy amount of light . You can now swing your plywood open for easy access . You will also want to paint the wall in the corner so that the entire garden will have light reflecting on the backsides of the plants . You might also use a couple of L brackets to attach the side of the plywood that won ’ t be used as a door to the wall and / or floor . This will make our simple structure more
stable , but I think you will find that when the hinged plywood is at an angle of ninety degrees , it will stand by itself .
Your grow area is assembled , now it ’ s time for your grow light . I recommended purchasing an iPower 1000-watt metal Halide / high-pressure sodium dimmable light . Since it can be set at 600 , 750 , or 1,000 watts and has bulbs for both the vegetative stage and flowering it is six lights in one — it can do anything you need for a nice little home garden . Follow the instructions in the box ; you won ’ t need any tools for assembly .
You should also find ratcheting hangers and a timer for your lights . The hangers will allow you to adjust the height of the light as the plants grow . Put two hooks in the ceiling so the light will hang in the middle of the garden while ensuring that both hooks go into a ceiling joist . Failing to do this will mess up your ceiling and break your light , not to mention how much your plants will be damaged when the light falls on them unless it falls on you , which would be much worse than if it fell on the plants .
It ’ s finally time to plant our marijuana .
The most important part of all this is selecting the right genetics . You can grow bad marijuana as well as anyone , and you will still end up with something that nobody wants to smoke . Starting with seeds or clones with proven results is your primary objective . Otherwise , you will just be wasting your time . Getting your hands on clones is better because you will have a consistent yield of predictable buds . If we start with seeds our first crop will have a variety , as each seed , even from the same strain , will have its own characteristics .
If you have seeds , we will start with 12-ounce Styrofoam coffee cups . If lucky enough to find some clones , put them in Solo cups . I always want the size of my plants to match the size of my containers .
40 May 2023