Grow cannabis indoor with and without grow tent

Table of contents

• Growing cannabis indoors with and without a grow tent
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of growing cannabis indoors?
  • Important preliminary considerations: What do I need to consider when growing on a windowsill?
  • At what time of year can a windowsill grow be started?
  • Where is the best place to grow weed at home?
  • Which seeds are best for growing cannabis indoors?
  • What is the right temperature and humidity to grow cannabis at home?
  • How often should you water cannabis plants?
• Growing cannabis indoors without a grow box: 4-step guide for beginners
  • 1. Step: Selecting pots and soil for cannabis cultivation
  • 2. Step: Germinate cannabis seeds in the pot
  • 3. Step: Observe the development of the plants and water as needed
  • 4. Step: Harvesting and drying
• Growing cannabis indoors with a grow box: here's how it works
  • What needs to be considered when growing cannabis indoors with a grow box?
    • Space and size of the growbox
    • Ventilation
    • Activated carbon filter
    • What is the best lighting for a grow box?
    • Timers
    • Temperature and humidity meters

Growing cannabis indoors is not witchcraft, but to be able to grow high-quality weed in your own four walls, you definitely have to pay attention to a few things. In this article, we will explain exactly how you can become a professional indoor grower, both with and without a grow box, and successfully grow cannabis in your room.

It doesn't take much to get started, because you can easily grow your own weed at home without expensive equipment. Of course, a cannabis plant grown indoors on your windowsill or balcony won't have as much yield as a professional grow box. But still, with simple means and a little effort, you can look forward to a solid harvest. And let's face it, weed that you have grown yourself simply tastes and works best.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of growing cannabis indoors?

To start, let's discuss what are the advantages and disadvantages of growing cannabis indoors. Generally speaking, cannabis plants grown outdoors grow the largest and, accordingly, yield the highest harvest per plant. Thus, depending on the variety, the plants of outdoor growers can grow over 2.5 meters high and easily yield more than 500 grams. In indoor cultivation, on the other hand, marijuana plants rarely reach a height that exceeds 1.2 meters.

However, few people have a large garden of their own, which is also well protected from the eyes of neighbors. Thus, growing cannabis indoors is the only discreet option for many growers. In addition, an indoor grow is much better protected from pests and the elements. When growing outdoors, a storm or insect infestation can cost you your entire crop. With a windowsill grow or indoor growing with a grow box, you don't have to worry about such things.

Important preliminary considerations: What do I need to consider when growing on a windowsill?

To successfully grow cannabis indoors, you need to think about a few factors as a first step. We will now explain what these are and how you can find the optimal place to grow cannabis in your room.

At what time of year can a windowsill grow be started?

In order for your weed plants to grow optimally, they need a lot of sunlight, which is why it is best to start your windowsill grow in spring or at the beginning of summer. This is because the sun shines for a particularly long time, which means that cannabis plants on the windowsill or balcony get enough light. This applies to both autoflower and photoperiod weed varieties.

Of course, only if you use a professional growbox set with grow lights, the season does not matter to you and you can grow cannabis indoors all year round. You can find inexpensive growbox sets, like the complete set V.2.0 (120x120x200), on Linda Seeds in the Growshop.

Where is the best place to grow weed at home?

The most important criterion to determine the ideal place to grow cannabis at home is light exposure. In other words, you should choose a place that gets a lot of sunlight. In order to grow well, cannabis plants need at least 4-6 hours of direct sunlight and even more indirect sunlight. So usually the best place is near a window, on a windowsill or on your balcony, facing south.

Of course, if you live in a country where private cultivation of cannabis is prohibited, you'll also need to make sure the spot is protected from the eyes of neighbors and passersby when choosing a place for your plants.

Which seeds are best for growing cannabis indoors?

Once you've found a good spot for your plants, you still need to think about seed selection.

If you want to grow cannabis indoors with as little effort as possible without a grow box, you should choose autoflowering plants. This is because they will start to flower automatically after a certain amount of time, regardless of how much light they get. Moreover, they are ready for harvest after only 2 to 3 months. However, autoflowers also have a lower yield than photoperiod cannabis plants.

Some of the best autoflower strains that are particularly easy to grow and therefore ideal for beginner growers are Auto Cookies and Cream, Auto Fast Ryder II, Auto Wedding Glue or Auto Grapefruit.

For photoperiod strains, the light/dark cycle is crucial for optimal growth as well as the onset of the flowering phase. This makes growing them without a grow box and artificial light a bit more complex. This is because to get the weed to flower, it usually needs 12 hours of light and 12 hours of absolute darkness. If you choose to grow a photoperiod strain, you will need to protect your plants from light for 12 hours a day after the 3- to 5-week growing period. You can do this by placing them in a closet or a large cardboard box. For this extra effort you will be rewarded with larger plants and a higher yield.

So if your goal is to harvest as much weed as possible, you should opt for photoperiod plants. On the other hand, if you want to grow cannabis at home as quickly and easily as possible, autoflowering plants are the best choice. Can't decide on a strain? Then get inspired by our top 10 photoperiod and autoflower seeds.

What is the right temperature and humidity to grow cannabis at home?

You don't have to worry about things like humidity and temperature for a windowsill grow. This is because weed grows best at 21 to 27 degrees and humidity between 40 and 70%, which fortunately is a given in most rooms. Generally speaking, indica plants grow better in a cooler environment, while sativas prefer higher temperatures. Therefore, you should also base your seed choice on how warm or cold the place you want to grow your weed is.

How often should you water cannabis plants?

Many indoor growers make the mistake of watering their weed too often, which can reduce growth or even cause mold to develop. With a windowsill grow, evaporation is much lower than when growing in a grow box with artificial light. Therefore, you usually only need to water your windowsill plants every other day.

If in doubt, stick a finger 1-2 cm deep into the soil, if it feels moist, you can postpone watering until the next day. But you can also tell if your plant needs water or not by its leaves: if they look a bit floppy and droop, it's time to water.

Growing cannabis indoors without a grow box: 4-step guide for beginners

So, you've bought your cannabis seeds and know when and where you want to grow your weed? Then now it's time to get to the most important part: A guide to growing cannabis plants on your windowsill or in your living room.

Because even without a professional grow box, you can grow weed in your own four walls. Of course, you won't be able to get the full potential out of your cannabis plants with a windowsill grow, but you will also save yourself some expenses and have significantly less effort. With the instructions presented here for your indoor grow without a grow box, you can expect a harvest of 15 to 50 grams per plant.

1. Step: Selecting pots and soil for cannabis cultivation

How big your cannabis plants will grow depends primarily on how much space their roots have. So the bigger pots you buy, the bigger your cannabis plants will grow. If you want to harvest as much weed as possible, opt for the largest pot possible for the space you have available. To be able to grow cannabis in the window, 2l pots are the absolute minimum.

Then, of course, you need to fill the pots with a suitable soil for growing cannabis. You don't necessarily need to buy special soil for cannabis, but you can also use high-quality potting soil from the trade. For the cultivation of cannabis plant soil is perfect suited. Prepared and feritlized soil is a bit more expensive, but a good, nutrient-rich soil is the key to healthy and strong cannabis plants. In general, your soil of choice should contain as many of the following ingredients as possible:

• Peat
• Guano
• Worm compost
• Compost
• Lignite
• Coconut fiber
• Perlite

2. Step: Germinate cannabis seeds in the pot

Once you have filled your pots with soil, it's time to germinate your cannabis seeds. There are many different methods for this. The simplest, however, is to simply germinate the seeds directly in the soil in a peat pellet pot (Jiffy7). To do this, use your little finger to make a hole in the middle of the pot deep enough for the soaked peat pot to fit in. Then place a seed in it and cover the hole loosely with soil. Then moisten the spot regularly with a spray bottle. After 7 days at the latest, your seedling should be poking through the soil.

3. Step: Observe the development of the plants and water as needed

From this point on, you don't have to do anything but watch your plant grow and water it as needed. Usually, this will be every other day, but depending on the temperatures, your plant may need more or less water. Also, make sure that your cannabis plant gets enough fresh air. Also, rotate it a little every now and then so that all sides get the same amount of direct sunlight and it grows straight up.

4. Step: Harvesting and drying

The optimal time for harvesting is when the trichomes of the flowers start to turn milky. Unfortunately, you still have to be patient before you can light up your first joint with your homegrown weed. Finally, the cannabis has to be dried and fermented.

Cut the stem of your plant and remove all the larger leaves. Then hang the plant upside down in a light-protected place, like your closet, to dry. This process can take between 1 and 2 weeks. When the shoots of the plant start to break when bent, it is time to cut off the buds and ferment them. This last step is very important and should not be skipped in any case! Because it has a big impact on the taste and the general smoking experience of your weed.

To ferment the individual buds, put them in a sealable container for at least 2 weeks. Canning jars are best for this. Open the jar once or twice a day to allow fresh air into the jar and prevent mold from forming. Once the fermentation process is complete, you can finally enjoy the blossoms of your labor - enjoy!

Growing cannabis indoors with a grow tent: here's how it works

If you're willing to shell out some cash to get the most potential out of your cannabis plants, growing indoors with a professional grow tent is the perfect way to go. In our growshop you will find everything from grow tents and lamps to rooting hormones that you will need for professional indoor growing.

What needs to be considered when growing cannabis indoors with a grow tent?

Indoor cultivation of cannabis with a growbox is significantly more complex than a simple windowsill grow. Therefore, let's now go into all the things that need to be considered when growing indoors with a growbox, one by one:

Space and size of the grow tent

Before you buy a grow box, you need to know exactly where you want to put it. The best place for this is a room that is not usually entered by guests, such as your bedroom. But also a closed basement compartment can be suitable, as long as it is not too cold or damp. If you only receive people in your home who know that you grow cannabis in your room, you should still choose a place for your grow box that is not immediately visible when your front door opens. Also, keep in mind that for certain reasons, tradesmen, or heating meter readers may come to your home from time to time.

Once you have decided on the place where you want to place your grow box, you also need to think about how big it should be. The height should be at least 1.60 meters. This is because large plants can grow over a meter tall indoors and then you still need enough air upwards for the lighting.

The size of your grow box depends on the space you have available and on how many and which cannabis plants you want to grow at once. Basically, indica strains need less space than sativas. But also the pot size and growing method has a significant influence on how big or small your plants will become. You can grow between 4 and 10 plants per square meter in a grow box. You can expect a proud harvest of 500 to 700 grams per square meter.

By the way, you can discreetly buy grow boxes in different sizes online at Linda Seeds and have them conveniently delivered to your home.

Ventilation

The next important point to consider when buying a grow box is its ventilation. For your cannabis plants to grow vigorously, they need sufficient oxygen and air movement. Therefore, you will definitely need an exhaust fan for your indoor grow box.

Normally, each box already has an opening in the back wall and one in the ceiling. The exhaust fan can then be connected to these with an aluminum hose. This ensures a continuous exchange of air by sucking the fresh air through the hole in the back wall and transporting the stale air outside through the opening in the ceiling.

In addition, it is advisable to place a small fan in the grow box. This is because the additional air movement stimulates the growth of the cannabis plants.

Activated carbon filter

Unless you live in a lonely cabin in the woods, you will also need an activated carbon filter (ACF) for your growbox set, so that your whole neighborhood doesn't smell like cannabis when your plants come into flower. This can conveniently be connected directly to the exhaust system, filtering out the pungent weed smell from the air that flows out of the growbox.

What is the best lighting for a grow box?

Lighting is at the heart of a growbox kit. Meanwhile, LED lights, which were ridiculed by many growers just a few years ago, have become the most popular light sources for indoor growing.

This is because LED technology has improved rapidly and so nowadays they offer several advantages over conventional artificial lighting for growing cannabis. For example, LEDs consume almost half the power of a gas discharge lamp (HID) and generate hardly any heat to boot. In addition, the light spectrum of the LEDs can be precisely adjusted to the current stage of your plants. Blue light with high UV values is ideal for growth and red light with a high infrared value is perfect for the flowering phase.

Another advantage of LEDs is that they can have a lighting duration of up to 50,000 hours and their light spreads optimally in the grow box even without reflectors. That's why we strongly recommend you to use LEDs for indoor cannabis cultivation. Just make sure that the LED panels have a distance of 30 to 45 cm from your plants, so that their light is not too intense for them.

Top modern full spectrum LEDs in different strengths (e.g. 200, 300, 465 and 600 W) can be found at Linda Seeds in the grow store.

Timers

If you want to grow photoperiodic strains in your growbox, you should definitely get timers. With these, you don't have to manually turn your lights on and off, but can automate the light cycle for your plants down to the second. During the 3- to 5-week growth phase, your lights should burn for 18 hours a day. To send your cannabis plants into flowering afterwards, the exposure needs to be reduced to 12 hours per day.

Temperature and humidity meters

The temperature and humidity must be checked regularly in a grow box to ensure optimal growth of the cannabis plants and to prevent the development of mold. Therefore, you must also equip your grow box with measuring devices for temperature and humidity.

So-called thermo hygrometers are best suited for this purpose. With them you can measure both values at once. Particularly practical are models that are attached to the outside of the tent and can measure the temperature and humidity inside with a probe, such as this thermo hygrometer from Cornwall Electronics. So you have these important values conveniently in view, without having to open your tent again and again.

While your cannabis plants are in the growing phase, a temperature of 20 to 30 °C with a humidity between 40 and 70 % is optimal. In the flowering phase the temperature should be 18 to 26 °C and the humidity 40 to 50 %.