This article is sponsored by Super Closet. Super Closet is the world’s leading manufacturer of automated SuperPonics grow systems and grow boxes.
For a plant that’s so widely cultivated and consumed, cannabis can be a tricky to coax into full bloom, especially when growing at home. Myriad factors influence the final product: lighting, temperature, air circulation, nutrients, growing methods, and many more among them. This can be intimidating for beginner growers who want to get started but aren’t quite sure how. If tools and terms like TDS pens, NPK value, pH stability, and “nutrient burn” make you want to wilt, don’t worry – for one thing, you’re not alone, and for another, you can still grow cannabis indoors like a pro.
In the interest of providing a gateway for aspiring growers to plant their first cannabis crops, Super Closet, which offers a variety of customizable and award-winning grow cabinets, hydroponic systems, and grow rooms to suit DIY growers’ needs, has developed a comprehensive series of instructional videos covering everything you need to know to grow. In these first four episodes of the Grow Like a SuperPro series, Rory will cover everything you need to know in order to set up your own indoor cannabis garden and make the most of your space as you get your seedlings started.
Episode 1: Choosing Your Setup
In Episode 1, you’ll learn the difference between closed loop growing systems and high CFM growing systems, figure out how to choose the right lighting for any given system or space, and understand the differences between hydroponic and soil growing. You’ll also learn about each of the individual elements that your growing space requires: adequate lighting, reflective walls, suitable water supply, cleanable surfaces, an organizational area for tools, ample growing space, consistent air circulation, and a device to monitor temperature and humidity. Intimidated? Don’t be – let Rory walk you through how to set up a grow.
Episode 2: Germinating
Episode 2 introduces the steps of successful germination, breaking down the materials you’ll need to turn your seeds into cannabis sprouts. You’ll need a medium for the seeds, a pH testing kit, a TDS pen, a water basin, a seedling tray, a humidity dome, and a seedling heat mat. With your materials assembled, you’ll then learn how to alter the pH in your water supply to achieve stability, how to inspect your seeds and weed out the bad ones prior to planting, and how to ensure that your environment is actively encouraging seedling growth. In a few days, you’ll check back on the seeds to see how you’ve done.
Episode 3: Transplanting
Now that you’ve successfully germinated your seeds, Episode 3 covers the transplanting process that will take your plants from toddlers to teens. You’ll understand why germinating and transplanting saves water, nutrients, and supplies as compared with planting in a single location. Additionally, you’ll learn how to scale a setup to accommodate what will eventually become full-grown plants. From pH balancing to creating makeshift plant stands out of twist-ties, Rory takes us through transplanting tips, tricks, and more.
Episode 4: Nutrients
Episode 4 gets into the nitty-gritty of nutrients. Sixteen different chemical elements are known to affect a plant’s growth and survival: among them are non-mineral nutrients (carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen), and mineral nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, boron, copper, iron, chloride, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc). In addition to explaining differences between soil and hydroponic systems’ nutrient requirements, Rory takes us through what each nutrient does for your cannabis plants, how to diagnose nutrient deficiencies, how temperature affects nutrient uptake, why cannabis requires varying amounts of nutrients at different stages of growth, and why you shouldn’t follow the nutrient company’s instructions to the letter.
Ready to learn more? The next installment of How to Grow Cannabis in Your Closet will cover the remainder of the indoor growing process: from the vegetative state through cloning, flowering, and harvesting.