Are you looking to grow your own cannabis plants?
If you’re hoping to start growing marijuana in your home, you’re not alone. Approximately one-third of all marijuana is grown indoors.
An indoor grow room is where the magic happens. In a grow room, you can germinate your own plants and watch them grow until they’re ready to harvest.
There are a lot of options for purchasing marijuana–like a local seller or a medical marijuana dispensary. But growing your own gives more control over your supply and what you produce.
Having your own marijuana grow room comes with more responsibility too. Whether or not your harvest is successful depends mostly on how you build your room.
Before you start growing and cultivating your own marijuana, it’s important that you have a plan. To help you get off on the right foot, here’s a rundown on how to build a grow room.
How to Build a Grow Room
It definitely won’t be easy, but learning how to build a grow room is worth the investment. It might take a lot of planning, but if you follow these steps, you’ll be on your way to crafting the perfect grow room.
Step 1- Pick your space
The first step towards building a grow room is finding the right space.
The size of your room will depend on how much marijuana you want to grow and the type of cannabis you’re looking to cultivate. Some crops need to be grown in a full-size room, while others can thrive in a closet-sized space.
Put together a plan for how many plants you’re looking to grow and what sort of growing style you’re intending to use. With large plants, expect to get about four plants in per square meter. For smaller plants, expect about nine plants per square meter.
Here are a few things to think about when selecting a location:
- Light. Marijuana plants need complete darkness during the flowering cycle so our room should be able to block out light entirely
- Temperature. The best growing temperature is about 72 degrees. Depending on your location, it might be a good idea to build your grow room in a basement
- Air. In order to keep the temperature and humidity at the right level, you’ll need to have vents that connect your grow room to the air outside
- Subtlety. Make sure you pick a location in your home that is hidden from prying eyes. Even though you’re working in a legal area, you don’t want to be advertising to others that you’re growing
Step 2- Ventilate the room
In order to keep your plants free of mildew or mold, it’s important that your growing room is in a well-ventilated area.
You can place fans inside the room to keep the temperature between 70 and 75 degrees and control the humidity. Not only does this reduce the chance of infection, but it also reduces stress and helps your plants grow strong and healthy.
If you’re growing in a smaller area, like a closet or a cabinet, you can try cutting holes at the top of a closed door. If you can’t make cuts, you can leave the door slightly open and block the bulk of the entrance to avoid letting in too much light.
Step 3- Prep the walls
Even with a good source of light, putting a reflective material on the walls can help you take full advantage of your light source and your space.
You can use mirrors, reflective bubble insulation, or any white material like Panda Paper.
Putting up some kind of reflective material can help light bounce back on the plant. Any excess light won’t be absorbed by the surroundings, and instead, your marijuana plants will get the full benefit.
Step 4- Find a water source
The next step is to be sure that you have access to a nearby water source.
Unless you want to be hauling buckets of water to your grow room, it’s best to install a water hose to get the water to your garden quickly and easily.
If you’re going to be watering your plants from a hose, try using a watering wand with a flexible adapter to reach around plants without breaking any branches or leaves.
Step 5- Install lighting
Finding the right lighting for your room isn’t an easy task. There are a few different types that most growers prefer. Here’s a quick list:
- Fluorescent
- High-pressure sodium (HPS)
- LED
Fluorescent lights come in a variety of shapes and sizes. While a little less powerful than its two counterparts, fluorescents work great for indoor growing without using a lot of electricity.
HPS lights are some of the most powerful lights, producing over 140 lumens per watt. But keep in mind–they produce a lot of heat, so you might need better ventilation or more fans to avoid overheating your room.
LED lights provide a great balance–a good yield of light without producing too much heat or using too much energy. Learn more about the different LED grow lights on the market and which is best for your grow room.
Step 6- Adjust the climate
Even though ventilation and fans can help manage the temperature and humidity, there are a few other things you need to adjust the climate of your grow room. The most common tools include:
- Fans
- Thermometers
- Humidifiers
- Dehumidifiers
- Humidistat
- Light timer
The kind of tools you’ll need (and how often you’ll have to use them) depends mostly on the climate in your region. It’s important to keep an eye on the temperature and humidity in your grow room and adjust accordingly.
Keep in mind–a warm, humid environment can be a breeding ground for bacteria. It’s important to keep your tools clean and change humidifier water daily.
Step 7- Put in the plants
And for the last step, it’s time to put in the plants.
Once your room is prepared, the lights are hung, and you’ve adjusted the climate, you can set up the plants themselves.
It’s a good idea to keep plants about 3 or 4 inches apart at the base, although they may need more space if you’re planning on growing large plants. Make sure that the lights aren’t too close or too far away from the plants, and that you still have room to water each plant.
A good way to give plants more airflow is to put up a collection rack. These wire racks can keep your plants off the ground and give them a little more breathing room.
Putting It All Together
Knowing how to build a grow room takes a lot of planning and some serious investments.
There’s no shortage of benefits for marijuana consumption–whether it’s for medical or personal use. Learning how to build a grow room will give you more control over what you produce and when.
If you put the time and effort into a design with good lighting, ventilation, and climate control, you’ll be on your way to producing your own crop in no time.
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