If you’re a cannabis enthusiast, perhaps you’ve considered growing your own plants from home. Even you’ve never thought about it before, this is as good a time as any to test out your green thumb – and we’re not talking about homegrown tomatoes here.
Growing cannabis from home offers a lot of benefits, like no more trips to your local dispensary, only to head home with overpriced under-quality products. When you grow from home, whether it’s in Canada with an ACMPR medical license or you’re just growing a few plants for fun in your backyard, you have complete control over strains and growing methods. The best part of all is that it will save you money in the long run.
That said, harvesting a successful crop isn’t always easy, especially if you’re trying to go big with a high plant count or you’re testing out your luck with hydroponics for the first time. The good news is that there are tons of resources like blog posts and weed-growing forums to get you through. But the thing that will help most of all is investing in easy to use growing kits.
Some grow kits are more useful than others, so when you start browsing, make sure that you choose one that includes these essentials.
Seeds
Many grow kits don’t actually include seeds because grow kit manufacturers often assume that growers will invest in their own seeds from another source. If this is the case for you, it’s obviously not essential for your kit to include seeds. But if you want to make it as easy as possible, find a kit with quality feminized seeds included.
Soil/Potting Mix
Unless you’re growing hydroponically without soil, you’ll obviously need a kit with some sort of soil or potting mix included. There are a lot of factors to consider when deciding on soil, including pH, water retention, texture, nutrient makeup, and drainage.
If you prefer to build your own soil, this is an option, and it means that you can choose a kit without soil included. But the easier alternative is to use pre-mixed soil that focuses on all of the considerations mentioned above.
Pots (or Another Type of Container)
There are several types of containers for weed plants on the market, but you can’t go wrong with the standard pot with saucer included. There’s also something called smart pots that are made from fabric and allow more oxygen to reach the plant roots. Trays are another great tool for watering many small plants at once, especially for clones and seedlings.
What’s even more important than the type of pots you choose is the size. A good rule of thumb to follow is to have at least 2 gallons per 1’ of plant height. It’s not a perfect rule since plants grow differently based on environment and genetics, but it’ll get you off on the right foot.
Fertilizer/Nutrients
There actually aren’t many grow kits that come with fertilizer and nutrients includes, so consider this an added perk if these come along with your kit. Pay close attention to nutrient ingredients and the ratios of these ingredients (the N-P-K value).
Waterproof Plant Markers
If you’re growing one strain and one strain only, it’s not entirely necessary to use plant markers/labels. But if you’re trying out several different strains in your crop, you’ll need to label them accordingly. There’s nothing more frustrating than harvesting the plants, only to be confused whether you’re handling a Gorilla Glue #4 or a Train Wreck.
Grow Light
Many grow kits these days comes with an LED light, so be sure to pay close attention to wattage and features like size and weight. If you prefer to go with a high-intensity bulb like an HPS or CMH, then you might need to purchase your grow light(s) separately since the trend now is more energy-efficient LEDs.
Tent
A complete grow kit will always include a tent. Tents come in all shapes and sizes, but the standard size for a small operation and growing a few plants is the 4’ by 4’ tent. If you’re planning on a larger operation, you’ll need to go with a larger tent. Aside from size, looking into material and zipper quality.
Grower’s Guide/Instruction Manual
If you’ve been growing for decades, this last item isn’t essential, but it’s still helpful to have a grower’s guide on hand – especially for new growers.
There are quite a few more tools that you’ll need to make your cannabis crop as successful as possible, like a temperature gauge, humidifier, and AC depending on the size of the operation. But choosing a grow kit with these essentials is a great starting point.
