Growing flowers and plants at home, has recently become an art, and is not just about having green fingers anymore but rather carefully curated practices to keep the plants alive, happy, and healthy. One such plant that has also become a popular option to grow in the home has been the hemp plant. And why not? There is nothing better than having your very own vegetable and herb garden in your back yard, so why not this magnificent plant, that holds the key to numerous health benefits?
The best part is, we are going to show you how, so that you can harvest some fat and lush green, red or purple strains of buds, that you can use for various reasons including making some exquisite caked and brownies for tea time or giving it to your friends and family as gifts.
A little side note, one thing to note is we are talking about growing the smokable variety of hemp, rather than the popularly known marijuana. These are two different species but of the same family. In other words, in legal terms, hemp plants have less than 0.3% of the THC compound that has mind-altering effects and is a strain of cannabis that has flowers and buds.
The majority of the smokable version has more of the other compounds in it such as CBG, CBD, and CBN, the dominant ones and you can view this link, for instance, to find out more about these varieties. The lovely thing about growing this is you can do it just about any season, whether in a greenhouse or indoors using LED lights. The yields however may differ accordingly.
So, what’s the first step?
First Some Basic Information to Note
Growing it indoors is perfectly fine, as mentioned you don’t need to be in any season to do it. Growing it outdoors, however, may need some knowledge of the right season to grow the flowers. Our recommendation is indoors and you do not need any special equipment or machinery besides the right type of lights, which we will get into later. This kind is grown much like any other perennial types of plants are grown. One could say an orchard type of cultivation is required with industrialized farming, methods.
Temperatures and Soil
The idyllic temperature for growing it outdoors is typically between 60–80 °F (16–27 °C). In this case, your best bet is to do it in late spring, once all the frost from the season before, has melted and there is none on the horizon. Before you begin planting your seeds, measuring the soil temperature is also something to keep in mind. About 1 inch deep should suffice for this gauging. It will need to be a minimum of 50 °F (10 °C) and above, but never less.
Feel free to use a soil thermometer to do this, it looks very similar to a baking thermometer and is a simple device to use https://blog.lawneq.com/what-is-and-how-to-use-a-soil-temperature-thermometer/. If you plant anything in cold soil, the plants will die. This practice needs to be done for a few days consistently before you begin.
Smokable flower strains have specific needs, for its soil, so it is a vital step to first and foremost prep the area you will be using, and choose a place where it is open and there are no disturbances or risk of damage. In the garden, the place with the optimum soil will be the one where plants have been growing already, or have been known to grow properly. It will save you a lot of time and effort in trying to make the conditions right.
Things such as mineral content Ph values and consistency all play a part in this and need to be thoroughly checked. By breaking up any large particles of soil stuck together, you can introduce some aeration to the soil, which is needed. Use your hands or a garden tool such as a hoe. Once that’s done water the soil and make sure it is well-drained throughout, so to provide areas where water can be drained is important.
Soil that does not drain well can damage or rot the root systems. This is the same with any plants you grow, they must not stand in puddles of water. To figure this out, dig a trench or a hole on the surface of the soil, about the size of 1x1x1 inch, fill it up with water and see how long it takes to seep through, if the water is still in the hole for longer than an hour maximum, it is not a well-drained soil. In which case you may need to replace the soil on the top layer with a more porous one and a lot of it.
Plant Your Seeds
Next, you need to plant your seeds about a three-quarter-inch deep into the soil you prepared, using your hands or a seed drill. This should be done properly, so each one is spaced correctly. If you have the right equipment to use such as a lawnmower that has a drill attached to it, perfect. If not use your discretion or measure with a string and markers. For hemp, one would usually plant the seeds closer together. This will also help them to get taller due to the closeness leading them to competition between themselves.
Lastly, always check the moisture levels and be sure to water them regularly. Gauging this takes putting your thumb or finger about an inch into the soil, if it’s dry it needs water. One can use fertilizers as well but stick to the organic kind preferably.
If your growing indoors, lighting, humidity levels, and temperature can be adjusted using LED lights hung from the ceiling or stand-alone ones. Give it 4 weeks for them to bloom!