How to Grow Cannabis Indoors Like a Pro

How to Grow Cannabis Indoors Like a Pro

Joshua M. Riley • February 8, 2023 • 5 min read

Knowing how to grow cannabis indoors is a must for most people as more states and countries legalize the herb. Regardless of where you live, you may have unique reasons to set up an indoor cannabis grow system. For instance, you may need more flexibility or control over the plants. Also, you may want to grow cannabis indoors discreetly because it’s illegal in your state or country. This blog post shares valuable tips and tricks for growing cannabis indoors.

How to Grow Cannabis Indoors for Beginners

Most people consider growing cannabis indoors cheap because bugs and deer are unlikely to infest or damage their plants. Also, growing marijuana indoors helps you avoid the finger-pointing game of judgmental neighbors. However, most beginners want to know how to grow cannabis indoors using outdoor soil. But besides the cannabis growing medium, there are other requirements.

What You Need to Grow Cannabis Indoors

Before delving deeper into the “How to Grow Cannabis Indoors guide, ensure you have the following:

  • Grow medium: You need quality potting soil or any other suitable cannabis grow medium.

  • Grow light: Invest in the best lights for growing cannabis indoors because brightness will affect your yields.

  • Air: Ensure your indoor space has adequate fresh air or a slight breeze.

  • Water: Ensure you have an adequate water supply with the correct pH.

  • Temperature: Marijuana requires a temperature that is not too cold or extremely hot.

  • Nutrients: Cannabis requires proper nutrition to deliver optimal yields.

These points summarize what you need to grow cannabis indoors. However, if you plan to cultivate this herb in your hydroponics, you may need other things, such as the best EC meter for hydroponics. Also, you might want to invest in an indoor cannabis grow kit if you’re unsure about everything necessary for your cultivation.

How to Grow Cannabis Indoors Step-by-Step

Once you have the above requirements, start the growing process. Follow these steps to maximize yields when growing cannabis indoors.  

1.    Buy the Best Cannabis Strain to Grow Indoors

The current market has numerous cannabis varieties to consider when cultivating marijuana indoors. Therefore, choosing the best marijuana strain is the first step in our guide on how to grow cannabis indoors. Here are some of the best cannabis strains to grow indoors:

  • Blueberry

  • Skunk

  • Northern Lights

  • OG Kush

  • Blue Dream

  • Sour Diesel

  • Master Kush

Besides the variety, ensure you get the best cannabis seeds for growing indoors. As a starter, look for dry, hard, dark-colored seeds. Ideally, you will get quality marijuana seeds from a reputable seed store. Also, consider feminized and non-feminized cannabis seeds. Feminized cannabis seeds will save you time. Non-feminized cannabis seeds are ideal for breeding purposes. However, they primarily remove the male plants when not breeding.

Feminized or auto-flowing cannabis seeds are the best for starters. Experts cross auto-flowering strains with other cannabis types to boost THC production. These are squat, short cannabis varieties that grow in colder climates. Also, they mature upon reaching a specific age instead of adhering to a light cycle.

Another option is the hybrid cannabis strain. This variety is resistant to pests, mold, mildew, and diseases. Its cultivation is straightforward, yielding higher yields than non-hybridized cannabis strains or landrace.

2.    Setup Your Cannabis Grow Room

You require a suitable indoor cannabis grow room to maximize yields. While some beginners choose bedrooms when cultivating cannabis indoors, these spaces are not ideal due to their limited air circulation. Therefore, pick a room with the correct humidity and temperature.

Maybe your question is, what are the optimum humidity levels for indoor cannabis growing? Cannabis requires humidity ranging from 55% to 70%. Some of the spaces to factor into your indoor cannabis growing plans include the following:

  • Basement

  • Garage

  • Attic

  • Grow tent

  • Closet

  • Custom cannabis grow room

Consider possible limitations or restrictions when choosing where to grow cannabis indoors. For instance, loft growers are unable to grow throughout the year. To maximize your cannabis indoor grow commercial yield, consider hiring experts to prepare an elaborate cannabis indoor growing facility floor plan.

3.    Prepare the Cannabis Grow Medium

How you prepare indoor cannabis grow medium will depend on your preferred medium. Here’s how to prepare your marijuana grow medium.

Soil

Selecting the best soil shows you know how to grow cannabis indoors. Soil is the most popular cannabis grow medium. That’s because of its availability and high nutrient level. Your weed will be more aromatic and tastier if you choose the best soil for indoor cannabis grow since the medium will have ready nutrients for the plant.

High-quality potting soil makes growing weed indoors more straightforward. However, you may add some nutrients to hasten marijuana growth. Alternatively, compose super soil. Nevertheless, choose top brands if you decide to purchase soil. The best soil cannabis grows indoors has things like alfalfa meal and earthworm castings, making it ideal for the herb.

Soil-less

Knowing how to grow cannabis indoors without soil is impressive. This option can lead to bigger yields and faster growth. The only difference between growing cannabis indoors using outdoor soil and going soil-less is that you provide essential nutrients from scratch. Some soilless cannabis grow mediums include vermiculite, coco coir, and perlite.

Hydroponics

You can also set up an indoor hydroponic system for growing marijuana indoors. The primary benefits of growing cannabis indoors with hydroponics include fast growth, better weed potency, and terrific yields. However, this option requires the correct setup and proper maintenance to achieve a bountiful harvest. Therefore, take some time to learn how to grow cannabis indoors with hydroponics.

4.    Germinate Your Cannabis Seeds

You can’t claim to know how to grow cannabis indoors if you don’t know how to germinate the seeds. This process involves soaking cannabis seeds between paper towels or on paper plates and waiting for the emergence of the taproots. Marijuana seeds take a few days to germinate, and you can transfer the seedlings to your growing medium once they emerge. Ensure you plant cannabis seedlings about 10 mm deep in your growth medium. Ensure it remains damp while avoiding overwatering the plants.

5.    Regulate Humidity and Temperature

Among the top tips on how to grow cannabis indoors is regulating humidity and temperature. These two are vital for indoor marijuana growth. Ensure your indoor cannabis receives a comfortable temperature, between 70- and 85-degrees Fahrenheit, with beginner lights for indoor cannabis growing. If the lights are off, keep the temperature between 58- and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. However, this may vary depending on the cannabis strain.

For instance, the Indica strain requires a cool temperature. On the other hand, Sativa prefers warmer conditions. Also, you may vary temperatures depending on the development stages. For instance, indoor marijuana may require temperatures between 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit during the cloning or seeding phase and 70% relative humidity.

During vegetation, cannabis needs 70-85 degrees Fahrenheit and relative humidity ranging from 40 to 60%. Your indoor weed will require a temperature ranging from 65 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit and 40 to 50% relative humidity during flowering.

You can control indoor cannabis grow room temperature by manipulating airflow, lights, heaters, and air conditioners. Also, use dehumidifiers while controlling airflow to manage humidity. Remember, humidity and temperature relate closely. Thus, changing one of them affects the other. Perhaps, that’s why this is a vital tip on how to grow cannabis indoors.

6.    Train Your Cannabis Plants

Another tip you may miss in most guides on how to grow cannabis indoors is about training the plant. You can use Sea of Green (SoG) or Screen of Green techniques to train indoor cannabis and maximize yields.

The Sea of Green technique keeps the mother plant vegetative while taking the cuttings from it for propagation. You may put the cuttings straight into the 12-light/12-dark flowing cycle to shorten the growing times while increasing the possible annual growth. Sea of Green is the best technique for short, squat cannabis plants or creating a dense growth space.

The screen of Green entails using a wire grid to weave the plant’s branches via a mesh. It lets you redirect individual plant branches lengthwise to achieve a horizontal, flat canopy. It’s suitable for large cannabis plants that can outgrow the room or where you want the plants to have a similar size.

Learning SOG and SCROG techniques should be part of learning how to grow cannabis indoors for beginners. It will help you determine how to train indoor cannabis to achieve maximum yields. Also, this knowledge will save you the trouble of hiring somebody.

7.    Monitor Indoor Cannabis During Flowering

Flowering is a vital phase when growing organic cannabis indoors. It’s crucial to learn know the characteristics of this plant during flowering when learning how to grow cannabis indoors. The female plants develop heavy-scented buds since they focus more energy on bud formation. The buds will get larger as resin glands, hairs, and trichomes mature. At this point, switch to 12 dark hours and 12 light hours. This is a crucial tip on how to grow cannabis indoors because light affects marijuana yields.

Also, quit training your cannabis plant and supplying more nutrients as the flowering stage nears the end. However, continue watering the herb. The flowering phase ends between 6 and 14 weeks, depending on the cannabis strain. Sativa finishes flowering from the 10th to the 14th week while auto-flowering and Indica cannabis strains take between the 6th and 9th week.

You can look at your plant’s glandular hairs or trichomes to decide when to finish flowering. That way, you can know when the plant has formed the terpenes and cannabinoids fully. Usually, trichomes change from clear to cloudy and then amber. Mastering these changes is vital when learning how to grow cannabis indoors because it helps you determine the ideal harvesting time.

Most cannabis growers harvest their indoor plants when most trichomes get an even mixture of cloudy and amber. Your experience may be uncomfortable if you gather too early when the trichomes are cloudy. On the other hand, harvesting when most trichomes turn amber can provide a less overwhelming and more relaxed experience.

8.    Harvest and Cure Your Indoor Cannabis

Harvesting is last step in our guide on how to grow cannabis indoors, and it is relatively easy. Cut the plant’s main stem and hang it to dry. The last step involves trimming and curing the harvest, taking up to 5 weeks.

Tips on How to Grow Cannabis Indoors for Optimal Yields

While the above steps can help you with your indoor cannabis grow process, these tips on how to grow cannabis indoors will enable you to maximize yields.

Choose the Most Ideal Space to Cultivate Cannabis Indoors

Maybe you found this blog post after searching for the phrase “how to grow a cannabis plant indoors without lights” online. Whether you grow marijuana weed indoors or outdoors, the space you choose will impact the yield. Avoid areas with exhausted air vents because this plant requires proper air circulation. Rooms measuring 1.2m by 1.2m or 4ft by 4ft are sufficient for typical home growers. Here, you can grow 4 to 5 large plants and harvest around 400-600g, depending on lighting, cannabis seeds, your experience, and veg time.

Buy Quality Cannabis Seeds

Cannabis genetics determine the quality of the harvest. Even with proper care, your crop won’t produce high THC outcomes if you plant low-end cannabis seeds. Therefore, buy your cannabis seeds from reputable suppliers that provide detailed explanations of plant size, potency levels, effects, and yields. Perhaps, learning about various cannabis seeds or strains is a crucial tip on how to grow cannabis indoors.

Learn How to Setup an Indoor Cannabis Grow Room

Consider the available indoor spaces where you can grow cannabis indoors. Research each option carefully to determine its limitations or strengths and how they will affect your indoor cannabis. Remember, you can upgrade the grow room as you acquire more experience.

Choose the Best Cannabis Growing Containers

The best containers for growing marijuana indoors allow extra root aeration levels. Therefore, consider felt sacks and air pots when shopping. Extra root oxygenation leads to increased root system growth. Consequently, you get healthier and larger cannabis plants and more potent buds or heavier harvests.

Have an Elaborate Watering System

Your indoor cannabis watering system will depend on the automation you need, the complexity you can tolerate, and your budget. Consider setting up a hydroponic system if you want your plant to grow faster. Other considerations include:

  • Cannabis ebb and flow.

  • Deep water culture.

  • Cannabis aeroponics.

  • Cannabis dripper system.

  • Wick.

  • Nutrient film technique.

Regardless of your watering system, ensure your cannabis plant receives the correct nutrient amounts. And this is another crucial tip on how to grow cannabis indoors because it helps you explore more nutrient sources for the plant.

Maintain a Suitable Climate

Unless you optimize your indoor cannabis grow climate, you won’t achieve your desired yield. Therefore, optimize temperature and humidity levels at various growth stages. Also, ensure your indoor cannabis receives adequate light. You can use 400-650W LED light when growing cannabis indoors. LED light is the best option for growing marijuana indoors. Nevertheless, choose an LED grow light that supplies sufficient light depending on the size of your indoor cannabis grow room.

Maintain a Clean Environment

Keeping your indoor cannabis grow room clean prevents disease outbreaks and pests. That way, you save the money you would otherwise spend on pest and disease control. Therefore, avoid leaving dead leaves or soil in the grow room. Also, use carbon filters to control indoor cannabis odor. This tip on how to grow cannabis indoors is essential because you don’t want the smell of weed to welcome visitors to your home.

Benefits of Growing Cannabis Indoors

Since you know how to grow cannabis indoors, you may want to know the benefits of this practice. Here are the advantages of growing cannabis indoors.

Safety

Thieves and judgmental neighbors can lurk around your property to point fingers at your practice, even if weed is legal in your state. You can avoid this by growing marijuana indoors.

Growing Throughout the Year

When you know how to grow cannabis indoors, you can cultivate the herb throughout the year. Since you control your indoor environment, your seasons won’t tie you like growers producing it outdoors.

Control Over Flowering

You can adjust the light cycle to influence your cannabis plant to flower anytime. That way, you can have several harvests depending on your frequency of triggering the flowering stage.

Quality Buds

Growing weed indoors may cost you more than cultivating it outdoors. However, you can manipulate the grow environment to get high-quality buds. For instance, you can achieve your desired bud quality by adjusting supplies like grow medium, nutrients, and lighting. Manipulating the growth environment is an essential tip on how to grow cannabis indoors.

Final Word

Learning how to grow cannabis indoors can help you cultivate this herb, whether legal or illegal, in your state or country. While the cannabis indoor growing list of things to buy initially can make this option expensive, it can save you money since you will grow the plant throughout the year. Also, it’s an excellent option to grow medical cannabis indoors since it helps avoid buying heavily taxed products from the local marijuana dispensary. Moreover, it enables you to cultivate various cannabis strains, which may be unavailable at your local dispensary. Furthermore, you can be sure that you will use marijuana that you have produced without using harmful chemical pesticides. So, what is holding you back? Invest in a complete indoor cannabis grow kit and follow this guide on how to grow cannabis indoors to get started!

FAQ

How much does it cost to grow cannabis indoors?

Most growers spend between $325 and $650 per square foot to start an indoor cannabis grow. The operating costs vary depending on the grower’s decision and their chosen products.

What do you need to grow cannabis indoors?

You require cannabis grow medium or soil with a pH ranging between 6 and 6.8. If you choose soil-less grow, ensure the pH ranges from 5.5 to 6.5. Cannabis requires varying nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus concentrations during its life cycle. Also, it requires a rich micronutrients balance, including calcium, iron, Sulphur, manganese, and more.

How much room does each cannabis plant need?

3-4 square feet is sufficient for a cannabis plant. This space can accommodate a single cannabis plant’s outward growth and leave some leeway. Also, ensure you have several feet for the plant to grow upward. You can grow marijuana indoors in a cannabis grow tent, unused closet, or a spare room.