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Missouri Cannabis Education
Can I Home-Grow ?
And , What Is a Cannabis Plant ’ s Growth Cycle ?
by Leah Maurer , contributing writer
Leah
Leah Maurer , a native Missourian , is now a canna-journalist and activist living in Portland , OR . She is a co-owner of
www . TheWeedBlog . com , a top national cannabis news and information publication , where she serves as the Editorial Lead . In 2014 , Leah founded Moms for YES on Measure 91 through grassroots efforts alone , it proved pivotal in the passage of the Measure , successfully legalizing recreational / adult-use cannabis in the OR . Leah is a social justice and cannabis activist at the core and hopes to see an end to the prohibition of cannabis globally .
22 October 2022
With Missourians voting on adult-use legalization on the November 8 ballot as Amendment 3 , consumers should consider that , if it passes , all adult residents can grow up to 18 cannabis plants at home , not just medical marijuana patients . In my opinion , one of the most incredible things about growing cannabis is watching the plant ’ s entire life cycle . While it can be a long and arduous process , the result is hard to quantify in terms of selfsatisfaction . If you have gardened vegetables or other plants before , you probably already know this ! But there are distinct changes to the cannabis plant representing the individual growth cycle stages . Let ’ s break down the basics so everyone can feel comfortable growing cannabis at home .
The cannabis growth cycle depends primarily on whether you grow indoor or outdoor . Indoor growing allows you to manipulate the growing conditions and therefore “ trick ” a plant into flowering earlier than it usually would outdoors . Outdoor cannabis works on the sun ’ s time clock and relies on hot , long days to reach its full potential . Greenhouse cannabis is somewhere in between since you can use light deprivation technology to control the growth stages . Overall , it takes between four to eight months to grow marijuana from seed . However , you can shorten this life cycle with auto-flower strains or by starting with clones . Many growers refer to October as “ Croptober ” since this is the most popular time of year for harvesting outdoor marijuana .
Of course , all marijuana plants start as seeds . These seeds are the product of the male plant fertilizing the female plant . Seeds can become unusable if exposed to temperatures below 20 degrees Fahrenheit for any length of time . If you manage to prevent your seeds from freezing , the next stage is germination . During this phase , the seed is exposed to moisture and light to coax it out of its shell . It doesn ’ t necessarily need soil to sprout , but it will need some kind of nutrient value once it starts to grow . The germination phase is usually indicated by two cotyledon leaves appearing above the soil . The germination stage takes place over three to ten days , although some seeds will germinate in as little as 24 hours or as long as two weeks . During this time , the seeds generally require 16 hours of light per day .
As soon as the seed has germinated , the seedling stage begins , when real leaf growth with the classic ridges begins to show . During the seedling stage , the plant will develop a sturdier root system that entrenches itself deep into the soil . It also sets the stage for producing chlorophyll that will be necessary for growth later in the cannabis growth cycle . Experienced growers say that the seedlings need to be kept warm and fed with nitrogen-rich nutrients at this time . Keep the lights on for 16 hours per day . The seedling phase lasts between two and three weeks , though some strains have stretched this phase up to six weeks .
As the cannabis plants begin to take shape , they enter the vegetative growth stage . A big growth spurt takes place , so don ’ t be surprised to see them stretch up to two inches per day ( wow !) as the baby plants gobble up nutrients . During the vegetative phase , plants become increasingly responsive to light , which is why indoor growers can manipulate lighting conditions so much during this time . Male plants will grow pollen sacs , and female plants will also produce two white pistils during this phase . Be sure to remove these pollen sacs ( or remove the male plants altogether like most of us do , so you don ’ t end up with any pollination problems .