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Growing Cannabis

How To Start Your First Garden

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How I Started My First Garden With Less Than $60

Sometimes starting a garden can be quite  expensive and overwhelming. I remember 7 years ago when I was starting out on my gardening adventure I did everything on a budget. I Started my garden for less than $60. Not knowing if I was going to be good at gardening or like gardening I did not want to sink a whole bunch money into my first garden. Fast forward into my today’s garden I have over $10,000 to $15,000 worth of equipment and is still growing strong. So for this article I’m going to discuss how I started my first garden with less than $60.

Starting Your Garden

Lights

The first thing that I needed when starting my garden was to figure out what kind of lights I would be using and where to get them from. Keeping my decision simple wasn’t my main objective but not knowing how complex gardening can be I was oblivious to how complicated the decisions could be . I bought my first set of lights from HomeDepot and they were T8’s lights. The fixture cost around  $17 dollars and the bulbs cost around $10 for a 2 pack from HomeDepot. A little more pricier today then when I bought mines but we should still be under budget.

T8 Light fixture

T8 Light Fixture $17

T8 Light Bulbs $10

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Total Cost $27

So far just for the lights we’re at $27 dollars. Now keep in mind that these lights are not the best for the full grow cycle but will still get the job done! My first grow yielded me a little bit more than an ounce. I wasn’t growing pounds and pounds like I do now and just using these lights you might never grow a pound. But will still always have a use for them, for example I use T8’s now for my seedlings sprouts. I even still use the fluorescence bulbs instead of leds bulbs at this stage. I found that the Leds don’t produce enough heat for seedlings and would require a heating mat. Adding extra cost and breaking our $60 budget.

Soil

Buying soil will be one of the highest recurring cost associated with growing along with nutrients. As you advance in your grow garden the type of soil you use can be the difference between top shelf and mid shelf. Example:When I started out I was using a cheap bag of Miracle Grow that had premixed nutrients into the soil. As time progressed I realized that each strand of cannabis or type of plant required different combinations of nutrients and that a all in one bag of soil and nutrients wasn’t ideal for advancing my grow skills to the next level. But for beginner purposes all in one bags of soil are more cost effective and entry to barrier is easier because most big box retailers carry those brands. 

When starting my garden 7 years ago I knew nothing about soil and amendments. I originally grabbed soil from my yard but had no success. I bought one those cheap bags from Walmart that’s always sitting outside. Note to self, “there’s a reason why they’re super cheap.”  The bags worked for my first garden but buying soil that has been sitting outside  is a boiling pot for pest!

Cannabis Seedling

For this article we’ll be bypassing the mistake of buying outside soil or not treating your outside soil. A brand that I have used in the past was Kellogg Organic Garden Soil. It’s not the best soil on the market but gets the job done. For the price you can get a decent harvest from it. A bag of this soil normal cost about $10 dollars and can fill close to 2 five gallon buckets.

T8 Light Fixture $17

T8 Light Bulbs $10​

Soil $10

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Total Cost $37

Containers

If your planning on growing outdoor then this step isn’t needed. For the most part you can get used garden pots for free from a nursery. Believe it or not I actually picked up dozens of used flower pots from my local Walmart. I went to the nursery department and asked what do they do with the pots when plants die. And pretty much in a bunch of words they said they throw them away! Now if free isn’t your style then you can always pick up 5 gallon buckets for about $4 at the most from big box retailers. Note if you go to a grow specialty store you can expect to pay around $10 -$15 dollars for a 5 gallon grow pot. For this exercise we’ll budget for two 5 gallon buckets at $4 duckets a piece.

T8 Light Fixture $17

T8 Light Bulbs $10​

Soil $10

5 Gal Buckets $8

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Total Cost $45

Nutrients

Starting out I knew nothing of organic and inorganic nutrients. The only thing I knew was that a few people suggested Age Old Grow to me, and that is the only bottle of nutrients I used for my first grow! If you would like to know what each nutrient is used for read this post!

T8 Light Fixture $17

T8 Light Bulbs $10​

Soil $10

5 Gal Buckets $8

Age Old Grow $15

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Total Cost $60

Special Consideration

This guide is meant to be the first steps of action and  to simplify complicated decisions. Everything in this post is the same way I began minus a few mistakes along the way.  When asking people for advice when starting out I was always told that growing cannabis is close to growing tomatoes. If you would like a more complete grow guide visit my 14 step guide to growing Cannabis!

How To Grow Cannabis In 14 Steps

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How To Grow Cannabis In 14 Steps!

In this article I’m going to walk you through the complete 14 step process for growing cannabis. I won’t be using any fancy terms such as lumens, lux, ppm, and etc. I want to keeps this as basic as possible so any body can comprehend it. So lets dive right on into this.

Step 1: Germination Of Seeds 

Wk 0

There are 2 main methods that I use to germinate my seeds. 

Method number 1 is to place my seeds into a paper towel and spray it with a spray bottle until the paper towel is real moist but not dripping. Then place the moist paper towel into a zip-lock bag. Wait for 1 or 2 days and check to see if you got a root.Method number 2 is to get a cup and fill it with water then place your seeds into the cup.  (Almost all your seeds should float ) Wait for a few hours and check to see if your seeds sunk to the bottom of the cup. Ones that didn’t sink try to push them down with your finger. ( Remeber not to keep your seeds under water for too long or they’ll drown. 12hrs max! )

Step 2:  Plant Germinated Seed

Wk 1

After your seed has been germinated and you got your tap root it’s time to figure out how you want to grow.        ( But for this tutorial we are going to stick with good old fashion dirt. )  To save pace when I plant my seedlings I use a 4 oz Styrofoam cup.  When I plant my seedling I create a hole just long enough for the root to lay in, and the shell to sit right above the dirt. Then I sprinkle dirt over the hole and shell covering up everything.

Step 3: Water Seedlings   

( Use PH Water  6.0-7.0 )

Wk 1 to Wk 2

When your cannabis plant is still in its seedling stage the roots are not established enough to use a watering can. If you water with a watering can the water run off could take your plant with it. The recommended way to water your plant is to mist it with a spay bottle or mister. ( At this stage your plant does not need food)

Light Cycle 18hrs


When your plant first pop out of the ground!		Cannabis Seedling
After about week your plant will begin to look this!

Step 4: Begin To Feed Seedlings  ​

( Use PH Water  6.0-7.0 )

Wk 2

At This stage your plants used up all the stored nutrients from the seedling phase and needs to start sending roots out to gather nutrients. Now is the time when you should start feeding your plants, but don’t go all out. Start with a light dose of nutrients then gradually increase your dosage to where you want to be at. ( Tip your plant could use way less then the recommended dosage. )Here the plants are still pretty small and a watering can could still take your plant, what I use is a condiment bottle.Cannabis in veg
Cannabis Early Veg Phase

Light Cycle 18hrs

Step 5: The Beginning Of Vegetative Growth    ​ 

(Clones Normally Start Here )

Wk 2 to Wk 3

The first sign that your plant is in vegetative growth is when your seedling leaves fall off, and your plant begins to look like a little cannabis plant. You’ll start to notice that your plant is growing faster and your leaves would start to resemble the actual cannabis leaf. At this stage your plant will need the most nutrients( mainly a nitrogen heavy feed ). 

Light Cycle 18hrs

Step 6: Plant Training ( Optional )

Wk 3 or Wk 4

This technique is a little more advance, but if done right you can double your harvest, if done wrong you could kill your plant. At this stage you’ll want to top your plant to produce multiple main colas at the top for flowering.

Light Cycle 18hrs

How to train cannabis
Cannabis Plant Training

Step 7: Transplant Into A Bigger Container 

Wk 4 or Wk 5

After your plant starts looking like a cannabis plant, you’ll need to transplant your plant so that your roots can continue to grow. ( If you don’t transplant your plants, after awhile your roots will begin die ) ​

Light Cycle 18hrs

Step 8: Ending Vegetative Growth Phase

Wk 5

This is the last week to do specialize plant training, before you flip your lights into a 12 hours on 12 hours off cycle.Light Cycle 18hrscannabis veg growth
Cannabis End Veg Phase

Step 9: Flowering 

Wk 6      (First wk of flower )

At this phase you would want to transplant your plant into it’s final container.  (Normally those containers are 3-5 gal pots/ buckets. )  You would also want to switch your nutrients from a vegetative growth nutrient into a flowering heavy nutrient. 

Light Cycle 12hrs

cannabis transplant
I typically transplant my plant 2 days before flowering!		Cannabis roots

Step 10: Feeding During Flowering  ​       

( Use PH Water  6.0-7.0 )

Wk 7 thru Wk 9     

( Second wk up to the third wk of flowering )

While it’s still in the beginning phase of flowering you would want to provide a feed that promotes flowering.
( While in this phase I tend to feed heavier then normal. ) 

Light Cycle 12hrs

Step 11: Minor Plant Training 

Wk 10    (Fourth Wk of flowering )

By now your plant is thriving and you have all kinds of insane growth. This is when you’ll want to cut a lot of that under growth off, every part of the plant that you don’t think would get enough light or places that you feel is too crowded.

​Light Cycle 12hrs

Spliffseeds

Photo By ​spliffseeds

Step 12: Cut Back On Nutrient Feed        ​

( Use PH Water  6.0-7.0 )

Wk 11 or  Wk 12       

( Fifth and sixth wk of flowering )

At this point you can see the finish line and want to start letting the plant use all the nutrients that is in your soil.
I typically only add approximately 1/4th of the recommended dosage at this stage.

​Light Cycle 12hrs

Step 13: Flush

​( Use PH Water  6.0-7.0 )

Wk 13 and Wk 14       ( Last Wks )

Water with water to get rid of the nutrient taste!

​Light Cycle 12hrs

Step 14: Harvest

The End! Enjoy!

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List Of Everything I Use

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