Do you want to grow a bunch of (almost) free weed outdoors? Do you seek the satisfaction of growing cannabis plants in nature? If so, you’ve come to the right place. This beginner outdoor marijuana growing tutorial will walk you through the basics of growing weed under the sun. Just follow all the steps, and you will be holding your own homegrown weed by the fall.

Don’t you want cannabis growing in your backyard like these beautiful plants by LuckyAcres?

Why Let Your Cannabis Buds Embrace the Sun?

Why grow your cannabis outdoors?

• Free Light! (The Sun) – Cannabis plants “eat” light. Light is what feeds the growth of buds, and more light = bigger yields on average. Outdoors, the sun provides all the light a cannabis plant could use.
• Turn Outdoor Space into a Weed Factory – An indoor cannabis garden takes room in the house. If you’ve got a good space outdoors to grow weed, why not use it?
• Free Weed Every Year – Even if you also grow cannabis indoors, it’s nice for any grower to get a huge bumper crop of extra weed every year. If you set your outdoor grow up properly, it should be fun, straightforward, and lucrative.

This White Widow plant is growing big, beautiful cannabis buds.

Pros of Growing Cannabis Outdoors vs Indoor Growing

• Cheaper Than Indoors – Thanks to the sun, you don’t need electricity or grow lights to grow cannabis outdoors. Electricity is usually the highest cost for indoor cannabis growers. A free source of unlimited light dramatically cuts down costs. Outdoor weed is the cheapest weed to grow.
• No Extra Heat in the House – Outdoor growing doesn’t cause heat in the home, like a grow light. Though admittedly, a very small LED grow light won’t change the temperature of a room.
• Less Work – Depending on where you live, Mother Nature takes care of many of a cannabis plant’s needs, such as providing water through rain. With indoor growing, you typically water your plant a few times a week.

There’s something particularly beautiful about outdoor cannabis plants.

Cons of Growing Cannabis Outdoors vs Indoors

Cannabis Pests Want Your Plants

• Problem: Bugs and other outdoor pests are often the biggest challenge for outdoor cannabis growers compared to indoor growing.
• How to Deal: Bugs can be dealt with. This outdoor tutorial suggests a mix of pest management practices and safe insecticides (when necessary). But with extra care, outdoor growers can grow a clean cannabis crop of big beautiful buds.

Local Climate Might Not Be Optimal

• Problem: Cannabis plants need lots of direct sun every day. Harvest timing is also a factor for outdoor growers, because weather/light cycles are different in different parts of the world. Some growers may have to prepare for weather such as storms or heat.
• How to Deal: It helps greatly to learn a little about your local sunlight cycles and seasons. Most strains of cannabis are ready to harvest in mid-Autumn, which is still good weather for some growers. If not, some fast-flowering photoperiod strains are ready to harvest earlier. Luckily, you can also grow autoflowering strains and choose almost any harvest date (more info below). For weather, here are cold-resistant strains, heat-resistant strains, and extra tips for dealing with heat and humidity outdoors.

Artificial Light Can Cause Problems (Photoperiod Strains)

• Problem: Outdoor photoperiod cannabis plants need total darkness at night to make buds in late summer. Long nights tell the plant “winter is coming”. Artificial light at night can interrupt this process.
• How to Deal: Small lights in the distance aren’t enough, but artificial light close to cannabis plants at night can cause the plant to revert to the vegetative stage. Cannabis plants need their beauty sleep to make buds. Take a moment to think about nearby artificial lights. For example, don’t plant your cannabis right under a street light or bright window.

Note: Ignore this for autoflowering strains, as autoflowering cannabis plants don’t care about light cycles.

Stealth is Paramount

• Problem: It’s best no one knows about your cannabis plants besides you. Even if just to prevent a heart-breaking plant theft. The problem is cannabis plants have a potent aroma and plants given plenty of sun, nutrients, and root space can grow quite large.
• How to Deal: Even if it’s legal to grow where you live, and you’re not worried about thieves, it’s still good to be a considerate neighbor and not stink up the neighborhood. Here’s a helpful guide to stealthy outdoor cannabis cultivation.

Quick outdoor tip, while we’re here: These delicate floating white eggs are actually good eggs. They come from the green lacewing bug, a garden friend. Leave these eggs alone so they can hatch and eat cannabis pests in the area. Check out this guide to outdoor pest management.

Lacewing eggs make GOOD bugs.

Less Control

• Problem: You have much less control over your outdoor environment compared to indoors.
• How to Deal: Being more zen helps a lot. Part of outdoor growing is acceptance. If it rains for a week, that’s just what your plants are getting unless you can shield them. You can gain more control by growing in pots so plants can be moved, but to some extent, outdoor plants are at the mercy of the elements. Outdoor growers must accept that some bugs will crawl on your plants at some point. However, this tutorial shows you how to minimize the most common outdoor challenges, so you’re rewarded for your patience at harvest time.

Now that you know how to overcome these stepping stones, you are ready to join the wonderful exciting world of outdoor cannabis cultivation!

Overview: Timeline of an Outdoor Cannabis Plant in This Tutorial

Seedling Stage: The life of an outdoor cannabis plant starts as a seedling indoors. Seedlings get moved outdoors after it stops getting cold at night.

Vegetative Stage: Plants are nurtured with sunlight and regular watering. Autoflowering plants grow on a schedule, but traditional photoperiod plants follow the sun’s light cycles. Photoperiod cannabis plants typically reach about half of their final size by mid-summer, at which point you should see the first buds forming. This is the sign your plant is entering the “flowering” or budding stage of life.

Flowering Stage: Continue to water plants regularly. Since cannabis plants are nutrient-hungry when buds are forming, it’s recommended to give organic or synthetic “bloom” nutrients during the budding phase. This helps prevent nutrient deficiencies, which tend to reduce yields and slow down bud development.

Harvest: Wait until buds are ready to harvest. Then cut down the plant, hang each branch upside down to dry, and jar the buds.

Enjoy: An outdoor marijuana harvest can be huge if you follow all the steps below.

7 Steps to Grow Weed a Ton of Weed Outdoors: Easy Method

Whether you’re a curious newbie or a seasoned grower looking to switch from indoor to outdoor, we’ve got you covered with our fail-proof method.

Step 1: Source Quality Seeds

You have two main options, autoflowering or photoperiod strains.

• Autoflowering Strain – Autoflowering plants are ready to harvest on a schedule. For example, most strains are ready to harvest around 3 months from germination. With these, the main thing is to make sure you plant the seeds so they’re ready to harvest before it gets cold or rainy where you live.
• Photoperiod Strain – These can be a bit trickier. Photoperiod strains automatically start making buds when nights get longer in mid-to-late summer. Then they are ready to harvest in early to mid-autumn, depending on the strain. If your local climate gets cold or rainy before mid-autumn, you might want to consider auto-flowering plants to make sure they’re ready to harvest in time before the weather gets bad. If you do have a decently warm fall where you live, opt for a photoperiod strain that is listing as being a good choice for your climate.

Other factors to keep in mind:

• Avoid sensitive strains – When growing outdoors, it’s best to get cannabis strains that are known to be hardy against the elements, for example have some resistance to heat, high humidity, and bugs. You probably don’t want a particularly fragile strain outdoors, since you don’t have as much control to baby the plants.
• Ask locals – Sometimes the best cannabis strain for growing outdoors comes from local growers. If you can find someone who’s been growing weed in your area for a few years, they may even have some great tips or genetics to share about your local environment.

Recommended Outdoor Autoflowering Strains

• Blue Dream Autoflower – Easy to grow, nice “in-your-head” daytime effects that are not overwhelming. Ready to harvest about 9-10 weeks from germination.
• Blueberry x Mazar Autoflower – Excellent effects, easy to grow, ready to harvest about 3 months from germination.
• Durban Poison Autoflower – Robust, healthy plants that do well in many environments. Ready to harvest about 3 months from germination.
• LSD-25 Auto – Beautiful purple buds, potent effects, easy to grow. Harvest buds about 10 weeks from germination to get the highest potency and bud quality.
• Runtz Auto (MSNL version) – Big yields of sparkly buds, easy to grow, with an extremely fast flowering time, up to 24% THC levels, and a stimulating high.
• Purple Punch Autoflower (Royal Queen Seeds version) – Very fast strain that’s ready to harvest as soon as 7 weeks from germination, though an extra week or two tends to increase the potency and density.

Check out my recommended outdoor autoflowering strains for the 2024 season.

Recommended Photoperiod Strains for Outdoor Growing

• Apple Fritter – Super high THC levels and excellent bud quality. It does well outdoors and can handle heat and cold, a good choice for grower who want super high potency. Just be careful to protect it from bugs as it can be extra tasty to bugs (like caterpillars) compared to some other strains.
• Blue Dream – A classic for good reason. Hardy, high-yielding, and relatively easy to grow. Resistant to common molds and pests. Offers a balanced high and is generally a crowd-pleaser.
• Blueberry x OG Kush – A popular strain that’s well-suited for warmer climates. It requires some attention but rewards with high-quality buds. It’s known for its potent effects and complex aroma, blending earthy, pine, and lemon notes.
• Baldur’s Crepe – This photoperiod strain thrives outdoors even at northern latitudes, as it was bred to grow outdoors in northern Maine close to the Canadian border. New to the scene, it has proven to produce gorgeous fat round buds that belong on the top shelf, even if you make a few mistakes along the way. The same breeder also offers Skunch, which performs well in similar conditions, with buds that take on a “peanut butter” smell after they’ve been dried.
• Durban Poison – This pure sativa is great for outdoor cultivation, especially in warmer climates. It’s known for its resilience and can grow quite tall. It offers a clear, uplifting high and a sweet smell.
• Frisian Dew – Specifically created as an outdoor cannabis strain, Frisian Dew is known for its hardiness, mold resistance, and visually striking purple buds.
• Granddaddy Purple – Perfect for cooler climates. It’s a hardy strain that produces dense, resinous buds with a sweet, grape-like aroma. It’s great for pain relief and relaxation, and its stunning purple hues are a sight to behold.
• Gorilla Sherbet F1 FAST – This fast version of Gorilla Sherbert by Sweet Seeds is ready to harvest earlier outdoors
• Maui Wowie – A classic strain with unique effects. It grows well in various grow environments, and can tolerate a wide range of conditions and still produce excellent weed.
• Pineapple Express #2 – Designed to thrive in hostile climates and still give you sweet-smelling, delightful weed.
• Sour Diesel – Known for its pungent, diesel-like aroma, this strain is a favorite among growers for its strong, energetic high. It’s fairly resistant to mildew and pests, and thrives in a sunny, outdoor environment.

Frisian Dew is the quintessential outdoor cannabis strain.

Step 2: Set Up Your Grow Spot

What Supplies Do you Need?

Soil – I like Coco Loco because cannabis seems to grow faster for me in soil that uses coco instead of peat. Anything labeled as an “organic potting mix” usually works well for growing cannabis.

Other Thoughts on Soil: If soil looks rich and you see little white rocks in it (shows up as “perlite” on the ingredients list), that’s a good sign. I’ve had good luck with any soil by Fox Farm. Their Ocean Forest soil tends to burn young seedlings because it it “hot” with a lot of nutrients, but they get used to it and grow well after that (just don’t give extra nutrients for a few weeks). Their Happy Frog soil is made for seedlings, with great fast growth, though you need to start giving extra nutrients after a week or so because they’ll quickly use up everything in the soil. My local garden nursery offers “rich organic potting soil with coco and perlite” and that works amazing. If there are friendly garden workers near you, it can’t hurt to ask what soil they recommend for an outdoor vegetable garden.

What’s the best soil for growing cannabis?

Don’t skimp on soil. Give plants good cannabis soil like Coco Loco if you want good weed!

Bad soil results in sad, weak plants that don’t ever grow happy and fast.

This is bad soil!!!

Nutrients – Regular soils typically starts running out of nutrients before cannabis hits the crucial nutrient-heavy budding phase. For your first grow outdoors, I recommend doing what’s easy and proven to work great, which is to add cannabis-specific nutrients to your water when watering your plants.

• Easy, Cheap Nutrient Option: Dyna-Gro Grow & Bloom. Give 1/2 tsp/gallon of “Grow” with every watering at first, then 1 tsp/gallon after the first 2 weeks. When the new buds have started coming out, and you see little white “puffballs” all over the plant, switch to giving 1 tsp/gallon of Bloom with every watering. Learn more about using Dyna-Gro nutrients to grow cannabis.
• Higher End Cannabis Nutrients: Fox Farm Nutrient Trio – Give this to cannabis plants according to their schedule, but start at half strength as it tends to be a bit strong.

Check out more recommended cannabis nutrients.

Easy, cheap nutrient option for growing weed outdoors: Dyna-Gro Grow & Bloom.

Home for Roots: Plant Pots, in the Ground, or a Raised Bed?

• Plant pot – A relatively small plant pot can help keep plants smaller, while an enormous pot can support bigger plants. A 5-gallon or 10-gallon pot can support a big but not crazy cannabis plant. If growing in a fabric pot, don’t get anything smaller than a 5-gallon, and it can help retain water and protect roots from heat if you put the fabric pot inside of a hard-sided pot.
• In the Ground – This can be a good option if you have particularly good soil where you live, but typically you should either dig a hole and fill it with good soil, or get your soil analyzed and fix it so that it has the right properties to support a plant like cannabis.
• Raised Bed – Tends to grow bigger and more vigorous plants than using plant pots. A good choice if you want to grow big plants without having to rehabilitate a bunch of soil in the ground.

Starting multiple cannabis plants in different kinds of pots lets you decide what works best for you.

Some advice about pots from my outdoor growing friend LuckyAcres. “After 20 years of being around black “nursery pots”, airpots have become my number one choice. Better root growth, better access to air, massive root terminals…. day and night to what I was accustomed to. Grow bags can retain salts and pests if not dealt with properly between grows. My access to sun changes thru the season so I must be able to move my ladies as needed.”

Learn more about air pots vs regular pots.

Example of a Night Queen Auto by Dutch Passion that was grown in an air pot.

Outdoor grower Jim shows off his outdoor cannabis plants in raised beds.

You need big pots with lots of soil and tons of sunlight to grow huge cannabis plants outside. These are 200-gallon fabric pots!

Where should I grow cannabis outdoors?

Here’s what to consider.

• Hours of Sunlight – When it comes to growing outdoors, you want to maximize direct sunlight to your plants. Most importantly, your plants should be getting at least 6-8+ hours of direct sunlight every day during late summer. Cannabis plants need a lot of light to produce big buds. If they only get indirect light, or only get light for a few hours a day, the buds will never get dense or mature fully.
• Stealth – If possible, the grow spot should be easy to hide, so that no one will accidentally see the plants. If there are people around, you may also want to consider security to deter possible thieves.
• Water Access – It should be easy to get water there (a hose is ideal)
• Smell – What will happen if the smell of weed starts to get out of control? If neighbors will be able to smell your plants, you’ll want to think about this (for example grown in a greenhouse with a carbon filter to contain smells, or grow low-odor strains).
• Wind Exposure – Cannabis plants like fresh air, and don’t want to be planted in a humid or musty spot. Grow cannabis plants where there is a nice breeze if possible, but not so breezy it would make the stems wave around.
• Pests and Wildlife – Outdoor grows may attract pests and even wildlife like deer or rabbits. If possible, try to grow in a clean, tended, fenced outdoor grow area that doesn’t have a lot of bugs or wildlife.
• Overall Accessibility – Your outdoor cannabis garden should be located somewhere that’s relatively easy for you to get to. It should be convenient to check on your plants every day. If they’re in some Far away clearing you probably aren’t going to be able to tend to the plants much. But if it’s in your backyard, it’s easy to check on plants regularly.

A greenhouse makes it a lot easier to hide cannabis plant.

Keeping plants in pots helps keep them on the smaller side, and gives you more freedom to move the plants (at least until they get too big).

When planting straight in the ground, it’s important to dig a big hole and fill the hole with several gallons of good soil, like this grower did. It’s unlikely your local soil happens to naturally support happy cannabis plants (with some exceptions).

Step 3: Start Seedlings Indoors

Easy method:

Start in solo cups  if you plan to grow multiple seeds. This makes it easy to decide what you want to do until after you see which seeds have sprouted and how they start growing.

Don’t forget to label each cup with the strain you planted, or you will often forget which is which lol

Or if you don’t mind using some extra soil, it’s awesome to put cannabis plants in 1-gallon or 2-gallon nursery pots. They’re relatively cheap, let plants get pretty big, and are relatively easy to transplant into their outdoor homes.

Plant seed directly in the soil under a small grow light. A very bright household light kept close works too. Just use the “hand test” and make sure it’s not too hot for your hard where the seeds are located.

Step 4: Transition to Nature in Early Summer

Move seedlings outdoor to their final home in early summer. It should be after the last frost of the season, and not get too cold at night anymore.

Just transplanted to a 15 gallon pot.

This plant was planted strain into the ground in a bed of awesome soil.

A plant going out for summer in Australia.

Follow a Proven Watering Schedule and Nutrient Regimen

How to Water Plants in Pots

• Wait – Wait until the top inch is dry
• Nutrients – Add nutrients to water
• Get Runoff – Give enough water to get some runoff
• Remove Runoff – Don’t let your plant pots sit in water.

*Alternative: “Pick up the pot” method. Water when the plants start to feel light when you pick up the pot, as most of their weight actually comes from the water.

How to Water Plants in a Raised Bed or Giant Pot

• Check the Soil Moisture – Dig your fingers an inch or two down and see if it feels wet. It should be moist, not soggy or bone dry. Generally if the top inch is dry it’s good to water again.
• Water Deeply and Evenly – Water slowly and evenly around the plants to allow the water to penetrate deep into the soil.
• Watch the Weather – Plants drink more when it’s hot, dry, or sunny. THey need less water when it’s cool or cloudy. Make sure to adjust your watering accordingly.
• Mulch to Retain Moisture – If soil is drying out, add a layer of mulch to hold extra moisture and help keep an even temperature at your plant roots.
• No Waterlogged Soil – Overwatering cannabis is a common mistake. Soil should be wet but not muddy. Make sure your planter has good drainage so extra water isn’t trapped with the roots. If soil seems really really wet, give it a long while to dry out before watering again. Not only is overwatering bad for your cannabis roots and growth rates, it tends to attract unwanted pests like fungus gnats.
• Monitor Plants – Watch how they respond after getting watered. If they droop for days after watering, that’s a sign you’re giving too much water at a time or watering too often. Healthy plants stand upright with vibrant, green healthy leaves.

If height is a concern, you can force cannabis plants into the shape you want simply by bending stems and tying them where you want.

Mainly, your job is to keep plants watered and happy. Then let them do their thing.

How to Avoid Cannabis Nutrient Deficiencies

• Cannabis Nutrients – Give good cannabis nutrients in the water.
• Check PH – Check the pH of your water with a kit
• React to Symptoms – Use our Plant Doctor tool to diagnose your symptoms and quickly fix the problem.

Check our free cannabis plant doctor tool if you see nutrient deficiencies or bugs.

Step 5: Shield with a Midsummer’s Spray

Spray cannabis plants in mid-summer to prevent bugs in the flowering/budding phase. You can spray plants now without any consequences, but once they start making buds you don’t want to spray them with anything because it may leave residue on the buds. If possible, it’s good to spray your plants proactively for common local pests, especially caterpillars. Other common outdoor cannabis pests are aphids, grasshoppers, crickets, leafhoppers, and planthoppers. As your local garden center what the worst local pests are in the garden.

Note: If you live in a place with sparse vegetation, for example in a desert or at very high altitudes, plant-eating bugs like caterpillars are less common. In that case, you may not need to do any preventative spraying for cannabis pests. However, always stay vigilant for any signs of bugs and be prepared to respond quickly if they appear.

• 1st spray at first site of pistils/white hairs/buds: BT Spray for Caterpillars
  • This biological insecticide contains the bacillus thuringiensis (BT) bacteria which kills larva and prevents caterpillars from being able to eat. Make sure to get something labeled for caterpillars, as there is a different type of BT that’s good for killing mosquitos but isn’t as effective on caterpillars. BT is harmless to humans. Although BT spray almost instantly stops caterpillars from being able to eat, it doesn’t kill them directly. So, although you may see the caterpillars alive and apparently unharmed after spraying, the BT is still doing its dirty work because they’re slowly starving to death.
• 1 week later: Spray with a horticultural oil or insecticidal soap, which kills or deters many insects from being on your cannabis plants.
  • Neem oil is the most popular organic insecticide for cannabis plants, by far. It’s effective against many cannabis pests and widely available all over the world. However, some people don’t like the smell or have adverse reactions. Learn more about neem oil for cannabis pests.
  • Insecticidal soap works by weakening the outer shell of bugs. Not as long-lasting as neem oil but some cannabis growers like it because it doesn’t leave much of a residue. This version comes as a concentrate and needs a sprayer to apply properly.
  • Lost Coast Plant Therapy is ridiculously expensive, but really effective on cannabis plants when used with a sprayer.
• 2 weeks later: One more BT spray (be careful not to spray any developing buds, which likely look like little white puff balls by now).

Recommended: Monterey BT Spray – Any caterpillar BT product should work, but I know Monterey BT works from experience. You can save money in the long run by getting the BT Caterpillar Spray concentrate, and mixing it with water in a mister to spray your plants.

I know it’s a pain, but spraying plants now will save a lot of headaches and frustration later.

Caterpillars don’t just eat cannabis leaves. Some caterpillar species known as “bud worms” burrow into the stems and cause entire branches to die. Spraying your plants ahead of time with BT spray helps prevent this from happening. There is nothing more heartbreaking than losing the branch with your biggest cannabis buds because some caterpillar burrowed into the stem.

Step 6: Tend to Buds as they Grow

How do you tend cannabis plants to ensure the buds are taken care of?

Defoliation

If plants look leafy, remove extra leaves in the middle of the plant, especially during the first few weeks of the flowering stage. Learn more about strategic flowering stage defoliation.

This plant just showed its first white hairs where buds will be. In addition to defoliation, this plant would benefit from being transplanted to a new, bigger pot with fresh soil.

Speaking of transplanting… Once you see actual buds on your plant, it’s recommended not to transplant it, because that could stress it out and mess with bud formation. Luckily, as long as you water plants with nutrient water, they can typically handle being in a too-small pot.

Make sure buds are developing normally

Here are the first sign of buds growing on a plant. They are often called pistils and look like white hairs at first.

The white hairs soon turn into puffballs. These are cannabis flowers. Yep, your buds are coming in!

Start giving flowering nutrients at this point, when you see buds look like white puffs (“budlets” as I think of them). Flowering nutrients are characterized by being low in N (Nitrogen) while being high in P (Phosphorus) and K (Potassium). 

IMPORTANT! If you see male pollen sacs or “hermie” bananas where buds can be, you need to remove the plants or they may cause your other buds to get seeds. Learn why you need to get rid of male plants and hermies.

Throw away any cannabis plant that grows pollen sacs where buds should be. This is a male plant. Male flowers look like bunches of grapes and won’t turn into buds.

This picture shows a hermie banana, which looks like a yellow growth on your buds. These can cause seedy buds just like male plants, so any plants with bananas should be removed right away. What causes bananas on cannabis buds?

Inspect plants regularly for any symptoms or signs of unhealthy or unusual growth.

As cannabis buds form, check plants regularly to make sure all the leaves look green and healthy. React quickly to any symptoms on the leaves like nutrient deficiencies, holes, or bites.

Watch out for bud rot! If you see random buds dying on your plants, especially if it’s been wet or humid recently, investigate closer as it may be the buds are molding.

As you’re regularly inspecting your plants, don’t forgot to take a moment to admire how beautiful your plants are!

This cannabis plant shows what you can accomplish with amazing plant care, a ton of light, and getting flowering nutrients every watering.

If you plant cannabis in the ground with fertile soil and give it a ton of light every day, you’ll end up with monsters!

Smaller pots restricts the roots, which tends to keep plants smaller, on average.

Some plants grow purple buds. Pretty!

Frisian Dew picture by hamburger

Step 7: Reap the Fruits – Harvest and Cure

Harvest by cutting down plants, drying the buds, and putting dried buds in jars.

When to Harvest Cannabis

Harvest when all the white hairs on the buds have darkened and curled in. The buds should look solid. I’ve got some examples below, and check out more pictures of read-to-harvest outdoor cannabis buds.

Not Ready – This White Widow is not ready to harvest. Notice that all the hairs on the buds are still white and sticking out. This bud has about 4 weeks left before it’s ready to harvest.

Ready to harvest – The following buds are all ready to harvest. Notice that the white hairs have darkened and curled in. Additionally, the buds look solid. See more pictures of ready-to-harvest outdoor cannabis buds.

Solid buds with almost no white hairs – ready!

This outdoor cannabis bud is at the beginning of the harvest window as no white hairs are left. It’s normal for outdoor buds to be a bit more leafy than the same strain grown indoors.

It’s easy to tell when no white hairs are left when the cannabis buds are bright purple!

In this ready-to-harvest plant, the buds didn’t change color, but all the leaves turned purple. Some strains do this naturally, and it also often happens in response to big temperature fluctuations, especially hot days or cold nights.

Cut down plants and dry the buds by hanging them upside down. Trim off all the leaves. Then put the buds in jars, so they “cure” and improve for 2+ weeks to further increase the bud quality.

Read the full cannabis drying & curing tutorial.

Cheat Sheet to Prevent the Most Common Outdoor Growing Problems

Remember these principles to prevent most problems growing cannabis outdoors:

How to Avoid Bugs Outdoors

• Keep area clean. Don’t leave piles of leave around. Keep everything trimmed and clear. If you have other plants in the grow area, don’t let them get infested with bugs.
• React quickly at the first sign of bugs or bites in the leaves. If your plant leaves start looking unhealthy with spots, you see bite marks, or you physically see bugs on your plants, don’t ignore it! Diagnose your plant using our plant doctor tool, or identify the pests via this page. You can treat most bugs successfully as long as you spot it quickly and don’t ignore it until it gets worse.
• Learn about IPM (Integrated Pest Management) – Essentially, these are steps you can take to make your grow space less hospitable to pests, and a paradise for the types of bug predators that tend to eat common cannabis pests.
• Take time to learn about your local pests. See if your local gardening center offers any information or resources on common pests where you live. Often locals have some of the best insight.
• Don’t forget to spray plants with a safe insecticide right before they start flowering, or right after you see the first signs of buds. Especially a BT spray for caterpillars, and some kind of horticultural oil or horticultural soap to deter most other pests. It will save you so many headaches later from horrible pests that are hard to treat after buds start forming.
• Consider row covers if you struggle with insects that are eating your plants, such as caterpillars and grasshoppers.

How to Avoid Other Common Problems That Hurt Outdoor Yields or Bud Quality

• Don’t put out plants too early. Wait until 1-2 months after the Spring Equinox (when days are 12 hours and nights are 12 hours) to prevent plants from flowering immediately due to the long 12-hour nights. The reason you don’t want plants to flower early is they will start re-vegging as soon as the days start getting longer. When photoperiod cannabis plants go outside, day length should be about 13.5 hours (and nights about 10.5 hours long), whenever that is in the Spring where you live. In addition to making sure nights are short enough, the temperature matters too. When cannabis plants go outside, it should also be safely after the last frost, because freezing temperatures or frost can kill young cannabis plants. In the Northern hemisphere, the earliest time to put cannabis plants outside is typically late April or early May. In the Southern hemisphere, the time to put plants outside is late October or Early November.
• React quickly to nutrient deficiencies. If your plant leaves start looking unhealthy with spots or otherwise don’t look green healthy, react to it immediately! Diagnose your plant using our plant doctor tool if you’re not sure what’s going on. You can fix almost any problem as long as you don’t ignore it until it gets worse.
• Watch out for male plants and hermies. Watch your plants closely when buds start forming to make sure they all look like little white puffballs, without any signs of male pollen sacs or hermie bananas.This will maximize the amount of good buds you produce, especially by reducing the chance of harvesting seedy buds.
• Pay attention to the weather and try to protect plants from extreme heat or rain. Shake off the plants if there is rain or dew. Consider harvesting early if plants are close to harvest and the weather looks rainy or cold for the next few weeks.
• Know the signs of bud rot, such as random yellow/brown/red/purple or dying leaves that appear overnight on the buds, especially if the symptoms are in patches instead of affecting buds evenly. Also just make sure to just overall watch the buds for signs of healthy development. Remember, if buds or leaves look funny, or very different from what you see in pictures, oftentimes it’s a sign of something wrong. Take a little time to research and see what other outdoor growers say on the symptoms you’re seeing.

If plants get put out too early, they do something known as re-vegging (pictured here), which will stunt your plant’s growth.

Conclusion: The Rewarding Journey of Outdoor Cannabis Cultivation

If you’ve made it this far, you already have the knowledge you need to start growing weed outdoors and achieve a good harvest. The resources on GrowWeedEasy.com listed below can help ensure you stay on track, and help you deal with any issues you encounter.

Are you ready to turn your outdoor space into a thriving cannabis garden? The perfect time to start is now!

More helpful outdoor growing resources:

Getting Good Seeds for Outdoors

• Where to Buy Cannabis Seeds Safely Online
• Cold-Resistant Cannabis Strains
• Heat-Resistant Cannabis Strains
• Best Outdoor Autoflowering Strains for 2024

Dealing with Plant Problems Outdoors

• How to Deal with Heat and Humidity Outdoors
• Prevent Outdoor Cannabis Heat Stress
• How to Prevent Bugs Outdoors with IPM (Integrated Pest Management)
• Complete Guide to Cannabis Bugs, Mold, and Pests
• Cannabis Plant Doctor: Diagnose Your Symptoms

Outdoor Growing: Additional Tutorials

• Stealth Ideas for Growing Weed Outdoors
• Is it Time to Harvest My Outdoor Cannabis Plants?
• Outdoor Cannabis Growing Basics by LuckyAcres

The post How to Grow Cannabis Outdoors (Easier Method) appeared first on Grow Weed Easy.

1. Topping
2. Low Stress Training (LST)
3. Supercropping
4. Defoliation (Strategically Removing Leaves)
5. Lollipopping
6. Sea of Green (SoG)
7. Manifolding (aka Main-Lining)
8. Screen of Green (ScrOG)
9. FIMming
10. Monster Cropping

Bonus: Fluxing

Every Cannabis Grower Should Use Plant Training Techniques

As a cannabis grower, your goal is to get your plants to produce a lot of high-quality buds as efficiently as possible. A key tactic to increasing cannabis yields and bud quality is to “train” your cannabis plant when it’s young to grow wide and flat so that it produces a lot of fat top buds in the flowering stage.

The goal of all cannabis plant training techniques is to grow wide flat plants with many big top buds. Fill your grow space with top-shelf weed!

Cannabis Plant Training Benefits

• Bigger yields
• Denser buds
• Increased bud potency (higher THC)*

*In our side-by-side experiments, trained cannabis plants produce buds that have higher THC levels when tested at the lab.

Today’s cannabis plant training tutorial is all about showing you how to use free techniques to get more and better quality buds from your current setup.

Achieve better marijuana bud quality and increase THC levels with these free plant training techniques!

1.) Topping

Topping is the #1 most important, easiest, and most effective cannabis plant training technique. If you must choose only one technique, do this.

“Topping” means cutting off the growing tip (“top”) of the main stem to encourage the growth of two or more secondary stems. A grower typically “tops” the plant when it’s a few weeks old. The purpose of topping is to break the apical dominance of the cannabis plant (reduce the tendency to grow one main trunk) so it naturally grows with many branches. Topping a young cannabis plant helps encourage it to grow wide and bushy with many tops for buds to grow.

Topping means cutting off the top of a cannabis plant when it’s a few weeks old.

The result: plants naturally grow more bushy, even if you don’t do anything else.

Topped cannabis plants naturally grow wider and bushier.

The result is many tops on each marijuana plant, and each of those top stems becomes a main bud.

2.) Low Stress Training (LST)

Low Stress Training (often called “LST”) is a fancy way of saying “bending and tying down branches”. The goal of LST is to get the plant to grow in the shape you want, typically to create a more even and horizontal canopy so the plant produces many buds instead of just one. Training cannabis plants to grow flat and wide also helps deliver more light to more top buds, increasing overall yields and bud quality.

This is another technique, like topping, that can definitely be used by itself to increase yields without doing anything else.

Learn More: Low Stress Training Tutorial

Cannabis plant before low stress training.

A cannabis plant after low stress training. Branches were bent down and away from the middle of the plant, then secured with plant twisty tie.

At harvest, the cannabis plant has many big buds instead of only one. (Here’s the full grow journal)

3.) Supercropping

The main purpose of “supercropping” is to gain total control over the height of unruly cannabis plants by being able to bend even the stiffest of branches without breaking them. I’m not sure how it got its name (perhaps just because it helps make super harvests?) but the supercropping technique involves pinching and bending the stems until they break internally, but not externally. After the stem can be bent, the branches get secured where you want them to stay.

In addition to height control, supercropping causes the plant to form a knuckle at the bend point, which, as a bonus, may increase the flow of nutrients and hormones in some cases. This technique may also potentially increase the potency of buds by slightly stressing the cannabis plant in a “good” way. However, be careful to follow the tutorial to make sure you don’t accidentally break the skin and potentially kill the branch.

Learn More: How to Supercrop Plants to Control Height

Supercropping is a technique to safely bend branches at an extreme angle without “breaking the skin”. This gives you a lot more control over plant height.

4.) Defoliation (Strategically Removing Leaves)

“Defoliation” means removing fan leaves, and should be done in a strategic way to get the best results. The main goal is to remove big fan leaves that block light from reaching the bud sites early in the flowering stage. This helps the plants grow into a better structure, improves airflow, increases light penetration, and overall enhances bud development. However, this technique should be done with caution as over-defoliation can stress or stunt the plant, and works best if you follow our defoliation tutorial.

Learn more: Cannabis Flowering Stage Defoliation Tutorial

Defoliation means removing fan leaves in a strategic way during the early flowering stage. Strategic defoliation for cannabis plants is typically done on a specific schedule after flowering is initiated.

When done properly, strategic defoliation results in bigger, longer buds. In our cannabis defoliation experiment, defoliated plants also produced more THC!

5.) Lollipopping

The “lollipopping” technique involves removing the lower branches and leaves that receive little light and produce small buds. Essentially, you turn the plant into a lollipop with no leaves on the bottom. Removing the bottom leaves and bud sites that will never get light helps the plant focus its energy on the upper buds. As a result of lollipopping, the topmost buds typically grow bigger and denser.

Before and after lollipopping cannabis plants. The left plant was lollipopped, and the right plant has not been lolliopped yet.

This was done right as the grower initiated the flowering stage. Notice how all the leaves have been removed from the bottom of the plant and light now reaches the floor.

Lollipopped cannabis plants produce big buds that go deeper down into the plant. Notice how the bottom branches are bare.

Lollopopped plants tend to produce bigger and better top buds, with fewer small airy lower buds that typically are not that potent anyway.

Learn More: How to Lollipop Your Cannabis Plants

Useful Specialty Techniques

These techniques are useful in many situations, but unlike the tactics listed above (which are useful for every cannabis grower), these techniques may not be the best choice in every situation for every grower’s goals.

6.) Sea of Green (SoG)

“Sea of Green” (also known as “SoG”) is about creating a sea of buds with a bunch of little plants. Many small plants are grown together in close proximity, then forced to start flowering early. Since plants stay small, growing with the Sea of Green technique reduces the vegetative time, allowing for both quicker harvests and more harvests in a year. This technique works best for cannabis strains that have a dominant main cola, and for grow spaces where it is easy to reach all the plants including plants in the middle or back. Although Sea of Green is surprisingly efficient as far as the yields for the time and electricity used, it’s not suitable for growers with legal plant limits, and tends to take more work compared to growing fewer plants.

Learn More: How to Make a “Sea of Green” in Your Cannabis Garden

Grow many small cannabis plants for a “sea of green” and initiate the flowering stage when plants are still tiny (this size).

Each cannabis plant will grow one main bud and fill your space with weed.

7.) Manifolding (aka Main-Lining)

Originally called main-lining, this technique has come to be called “manifolding” because that is more descriptive, and also because “main-lining” has another meaning in the drug world. Manifolding involves topping the main stem multiple times when the plant is still small to create an even number of main colas that grow from a single manifold. This process creates a symmetrical and balanced plant where each main bud receives equal amounts of nutrients and light.

Note: Autoflowering strains cannot be manifolded because their vegetative stage is too short. Learn more about how to train auto-flowering cannabis strains.

The manifolding process is a neat way to learn about training cannabis plants and also ensures an excellent harvest of many big buds. In my opinion, every dedicated cannabis grower should try manifolding a photoperiod plant at least once, even if just for the experience. It’s not necessarily the most scalable or efficient plant training technique, but is definitely one of the most fun!

Manifolding is a training regimen that causes the entire plant to grow from one main “manifold”. Manifolds are fun and interesting to make!

Example of a manifolded cannabis plant at harvest.

8.) Screen of Green (ScrOG)

“Screen of Green” (often abbreviated “ScrOG” – no relation to Sea of Green technique despite the similar names) refers to using a screen or net to support and train the branches to grow flat and wide. The branches are woven through the screen as they grow, creating a flat and uniform canopy that maximizes light exposure and bud production. Creating a screen of green can be useful in some situations, but personally, I believe it’s often less work to use other techniques on this page to create wide flat plant canopies. Once a cannabis plant is woven through the screen, it’s stuck in place unless the screen also moves, which can be inconvenient. Also, if you use wire as part of the screen, it can be difficult to cut all the buds out at harvest.

Learn more: Screen of Green Tutorial

Create a screen (best to use string instead of wire to make it easy to cut away from plants at harvest).

Example of a cannabis plant growing in a screen.

(Less Useful) “Hit or Miss” Techniques

These cannabis training techniques are not consistent and should generally be avoided, or at least considered experimental.

9.) FIMming

“FIM” stands for “F*ck I Missed” 😂 Essentially, this technique is similar to topping, but instead of cutting through the main stem, a small portion of the top of the plant is left behind. FIMing was “discovered” when someone messed up while topping their plant. When done in just the right way, this can result in four or more secondary stems growing from the same node. The downside is it often doesn’t work as intended. While topping consistently splits one stem into two, FIMing can result in 1, 2, 3, or 4 final stems. If you want 4 main stems, it’s better to top the plant twice than FIM it.

FIMing means removing 80% of the top node and hoping it results in 4 main branches (inconsistent and not recommended).

10.) Monster Cropping

The “monster cropping” technique involves taking clones from a flowering plant and reverting them back to the vegetative stage (“re-vegging” the cannabis plant). A re-vegged clone often grows strangely, with multiple branches and bud sites, creating bushy and monster-like plants. Some growers think this can be an easy way to make the plant grow many buds, but in my experience, re-vegged plants grow slowly for a long time compared to seeds or regular clones. Almost any other technique on this page to make plants bushy gets faster and more consistent results.

Learn More: What is “Monster Cropping” a Cannabis Plant?

A “monster cropped” plant. Note: a cannabis grower will likely get better results with almost any other technique on this page.

Bonus: Fluxing

Similar to manifolding except more complicated and with more steps. This gets similar results as manifolding but takes more time so it’s best for growers who enjoy the process of training and experimenting with vegetative cannabis plants. Typically, you’ll get the same results for less effort by manifolding a cannabis plant instead.

Fluxing is essentially a more complex version of manifolding.

Fluxing gives similar results to other techniques on this page that take less time.

Learn More: What is “Fluxing” and How Do You Do It?

Start training your cannabis plants today using the techniques in today’s tutorial!

Grow many buds at the same time…

…and enjoy your bountiful harvest!

The post 10 Most Common Cannabis Training Terms: In Order of Usefulness appeared first on Grow Weed Easy.

See Other Examples of Cannabis Growing Setups

Table of Contents

• About the Spider Farmer 100W LED Kit Setup
  • Cost Estimate Breakdown
• Complete Supply List
• How to Grow Weed so it Stays Short

About the Spider Farmer SF-1000 LED Mini Tent Setup

If you want to start growing weed without spending a fortune, this small cannabis grow kit with a 100W LED is great. This cannabis setup is more forgiving than the tiny mini tent setup because it has extra height and yields a bit more. It also gives you more room to expand if you decide to go bigger in the future. This setup has been designed to produce several ounces of high-quality bud in a small 2’x2’x4′  grow tent without any sounds or smells to give it away. It will produce up to 4 oz every 3-4 months.

Total Setup Cost: $290 ($360+ with professional smell filtering)

Check out a grow journal in this setup with the SF-1000 LED grow light.

The Spider Farmer SF-1000 (dimmable 100W LED) produces several ounces of weed when you follow this tutorial.

• Yield: 2-4 oz per harvest
• Total time: 3-4 months from seed to weed
• Cost: $90

100W Tent Cannabis Grow Examples

Here are some plants I’ve grown in this grow tent (or check out a full grow journal).

This mini cannabis grow setup uses a 2’x2′ around and 4′ tall grow tent with a 100W Spider Farmer SF-1000 LED grow light.

The 2’x2’x4′ size tent is just tall enough that you can even squeeze a little hydroponic system in there.

I once had autoflowering plants that grew too tall because they took longer than expected to start flowering. However, the SF-1000 light is gentle enough that it won’t burn buds even if they’re close, as long as you make sure to give your plants proper nutrients. The SF-1000 makes this a perfect beginner grow light because it will still produce a lot of great weed even you if you make some mistakes.

Estimated Cost for entire setup: $290-360+

• Ultra budget (no exhaust fan or smell filtering) – $290
• Only the necessary stuff + cheapest exhaust fan + smell filtering: $360
• Get everything including the premium equipment and optional extras: $460
• Estimated Monthly Electricity Cost: $10/month (based on US average of $0.15/kWH)

Total Setup Cost: $290 ($360+ with exhaust fan & smell filtering)

Summary of what you need to get started with this SF-1000 LED Mini Tent grow setup:

Complete Grow Supply List

This marijuana mini grow tent setup list includes all the supplies you need to get to a bountiful harvest.

Spider Farmer SF-1000 LED Grow Light (100W LED)

• Plants tend to be less sensitive under this grow light than most other LEDs I’ve tried. Some other LEDs are harsher on leaves and more likely to trigger nutrient deficiencies.
• Keep about 10″ away to start. If plants start getting tall/stretchy, move the light closer.
• Performs best if plants are about 8-10″ away, but if plants get too close it still produces great weed (you’re just more likely to see yellow or discolored leaves)
• Simple to use. Works exactly as you’d expect. Dimmable.

Cost: $90

The Spider Farmer SF-1000 (100W LED) can produce several ounces of weed in this setup. Other LEDs would likely work, but I know the SF-1000 works great with cannabis plants in this tent.

Grow Space

• Grow Tent Recommended Sizes
  • I like this 2’x2’x4′ grow tent by MelonFarm, though any grow tent of this size will work.

Cost: $45

I like this cheap-yet-effective 2’x2’x4′ grow tent for growing mini weed plants.

Exhaust Fan & Carbon Filter (Optional Smell Filtering)

This LED grow light does not get very hot. But if you plan on filling your tent with plants like the pictures, you really should get a good exhaust fan to ensure that the humidity from all the plants doesn’t build up too much. An exhaust fan can also be hooked up to a carbon filter in order to filter smells from leaking out of the tent.

• Recommended:  4″ AC Infinity CLOUDLINE series of inline exhaust fans. These run quiet and have the ability to turn the speed way down if necessary.
  • S4 is the cheaper, simpler version – (21W electricity usage, 26 dB sound level) works well and gives you basic fan speed controls – $90
  • (My favorite) Programmable T4 version – (21W electricity usage, 26 dB sound level) has handy extras like a Temperature/Humidity Probe, auto-on and auto-off, ability to program a schedule, a display screen, and ability to check on the temperature and control the fan with your mobile phone – $120 (I got both versions and I wish I’d gotten two of this version – the features are worth the extra $30!)
• Budget choice: Vivosun 4″ Fan – 195 CFM (28W electricity and 42 dB sound level) – effective cheap fan, but runs louder than the AC Infinity fans – $27

Cost: $27-120

The programmable T4 AC Infinity CLOUDLINE fan ($120) runs at a quiet 26 dB sound level and can be controlled from your smartphone. Quietest exhaust fan this effective.

What’s all this about a carbon filter?

• Although a carbon filter is optional, if you don’t hook up a carbon filter to an exhaust fan, your tent may rapidly fill the surrounding area with a pungent weed smell as you get close to harvest. Normally it wouldn’t be such a big deal with such a small tent like this, but you are going to be growing a surprising amount of weed in here. Learn about growing low-odor cannabis strains.
• Recommended: 4-inch iPower Carbon Filter, 4″ x 12″ version – Note: these are 12″ long, which is likely bigger than you might expect. You can get a smaller one that is still as effective, but they’re hard to find and cost more than the standard size.
  • Duct tape – to connect the filter and fan together securely so no air leaks out. Another option is a 4″ duct connector but duct tape works great and many people already have a rolle somewhere.
  • (Optional – likely unnecessary) 4″ Ducting and Ducting Clamps – you might need this if you plan on venting the air somewhere, like out a window, but with such a cool-running grow light, that is probably not necessary.

Cost: $32

Plant Pots

• Growing medium: Coco coir or soil
• Containers: Stick to under 3 gallons in size to help keep plants a bit smaller. I grew with 1-gallon fabric pots, which worked well at keeping plants small, but plants needed to be watered daily towards the end of the grow because the plants drank the water so fast. The plants needed to be watered less often when I used 2-gallon pots, but the plants got a little bigger. 3-gallon pots were the easiest to water, but the plant really wanted to grow big and I had to do a lot of bending to keep the branches from growing into the light.

Recommended:

• One big bag of Coco Loco, a coco-based soil with perlite. This 2 cu ft bag should be enough to fill 14 gallons worth of pots (for example seven 2-gallon pots). You’ll have enough to last a few grows if you’re growing small, but luckily coco-based soils store well so you could use the rest later.
• 2-Gallon fabric pots (here’s an example of a 5-pack) – Any brand of fabric pot works great, in my experience.

Cost: $50

Coco Loco is a coco-based soil that makes thriving cannabis plants

 Example a 5-pack of 2-gallon fabric pots for growing cannabis (any brand of fabric pot works great)

Nutrients

Most nutrient systems will come with at least 2 bottles (one bottle for the vegetative stage and one for flowering/bloom stage). Many nutrient lines carry 3 bottles or even more that must be mixed into the water in different ratios over the course of your cannabis plant’s life. Whether it’s on the bottle or online, most nutrient lines come with a schedule on how much nutrients to give your plants. Start the schedule at half-strength in the beginning and only raise to full strength after your plants are healthy and growing fast.

Recommended Base Nutrients: Dyna-Gro Grow + Bloom nutrient combo is excellent, cheap, and easy to use for growing cannabis.

• Grow bottle: Give about 1 tsp per gallon of “Grow” during the vegetative stage.
• Bloom bottle: Give 1 tsp/gallon of “Bloom” during the flowering stage after buds start forming.

Learn about other recommended cannabis nutrients.

Cost: $20

Dyna-Gro Grow + Bloom is my recommended nutrient system for newbies. One bottle for the vegetative stage, one bottle for bloom (after buds start forming). 1 tsp/gallon. Super simple!

Other Supplementary Items

• Get your seeds – $10-15/seed on average, but can be more or less depending on the breeder.
• 24-Hour Timer (to put your grow lights on a timer so the plants get a day and night period on a schedule) – $10
• Water containers (I personally use a 3-gallon water jug to mix up nutrients as that’s as much as I can carry without difficulty, but any water container can work). Note: These are much cheaper at Wal-Mart or a water container store ($5-15) than online!
• Thermometer/Humidity Monitor with a probe so you can keep track of the temperature inside the tent (unless you got the really fancy Cloudline exhaust fan with a temperature and humidity probe built-in) – $15
• PH Test Kit – Prevent potential nutrient deficiencies by testing the water pH – $20
• Measuring spoons for measuring out your nutrients (many people already have these) – $10
• (Optional) Zip ties – the hanging apparatus that comes with many grow lights add several inches of height for no real reason. They just aren’t designed for height-limited growing. In a mini tent like this, height is at a premium and a few inches can make a big difference. When you need to get your light all the way to the top of your tent, nothing seems to work better than industrial zip ties. Once you start using zip ties you end up using them for everything. They’re weirdly permanent and strong for something so disposable – $10

Total: $55+

Estimated Cost for entire setup: $290-$460

• Ultra budget (no exhaust fan or smell filtering) – $290
• Only the necessary stuff + cheapest exhaust fan + smell filtering: $360
• Get everything including the premium equipment and optional extras: $460

Carbon filter and fan (how to cool tent, remove humidity, and stop smells)

Notice the configuration of the carbon filter and fan. Even though this is a very small carbon filter, just 10″ long, there’s not a lot of extra room at the top of the tent. The configuration below seems to be the only way I can find to fit the carbon filter inside while still allowing the grow light to get to the top of the tent. This is not as effective as exhausting from the top of the tent, but it will work in this small tent.

Your other option is to put both the fan and carbon filter sitting on top of the tent, exiting from the top port. In that case, you’d want the carbon filter to be the last thing before air escapes (carbon filters should always be at the ends of an exhaust system, either inside the tent at the beginning, or at the end on the outside).

You have to get creative to fit a carbon filter in a small cannabis tent like this.

When set up right, you can produce a surprising amount of bud in a tiny space!

But not much room at the top.

This is when I grew a single Pineapple Chunk plant in this setup. Here’s a step-by-step tutorial on how I trained this cannabis plant to stay so short (scroll to the bottom of the article to see each step with this plant as the main example).

This was a Pineapple Runtz Auto (highly recommended strain for this mini cannabis setup!). Learn how to train auto-flowering cannabis strains to stay short and still get big yields.

We’ve even grown in the 4′ tall tent with a mini DWC/hydro system! A tight fit but doable.

Another tiny cannabis plant grown in the hydro setup. Contact us if you want to see a tutorial to grow cannabis in mini DWC setups. If there is interest, we will make a full mini-DWC cannabis tutorial.

How to Make Cannabis Plants Stay Small and Still Produce a Lot of Weed

There are lots of great beginner grow tutorials on the site such as the 10-Step Cannabis Grow Guide. However, here’s a super quick overview of everything. Then I’ll explain how to grow cannabis in this mini grow tent setup so it stays the right size and produces as much weed as possible.

Basic process of growing of an indoor cannabis plant

Germination – there are lots of ways to germinate seeds but the easiest is just to put the seeds directly in the dirt just below the surface (about a knuckle down) and give some water and warmth from the grow light. Seedlings should appear in a few days.

Plants only need a tiny amount of water at first.

Here’s a day-by-day watering schedule for cannabis seedlings.

Vegetative stage – When cannabis plants are young, they grow branches and leaves but not any buds. Simply give plants water, light, and possibly nutrients. Nutrients are only necessary if you’re not growing in soil (for example in coco or hydroponics) but even in soil, providing nutrients makes plants grow faster. In the flowering stage, the right nutrients make buds get bigger.

Initiate the flowering stage (with a “12/12 light schedule”) when the plant is half the final size – Cannabis buds are actually flowers (isn’t that nice?), and you need to “tell” the plant to start making flowers by tricking it into thinking winter is coming. So once plants have reached about half the final desired size, a grower initiates the flowering stage by putting grow lights on a vacation timer so the light turns off for 12 hours a day. This 12/12 light schedule tricks the plant into “thinking” it’s the end of summer and it starts making flowers/buds. If you’re growing an auto-flowering strain, plants will automatically start flowering when they’re 3-5 weeks old, so you don’t need to think about this step or light schedules. This is a general overview. Read the tutorial below to learn exactly how to make cannabis plants the right size for this specific tent.

Flowering stage – Plants start growing white hairs (“pistils”) at the base of each fan leaf and at the tops of branches. These are are the first signs of buds. Plants will about double in height (more or less depending on strain) after the flowering stage is initiated. Auto flowering strains will double in height from when you see white hairs/pistils. But after about 5-6 weeks, the plant will stop getting any taller and the bunches of white hairs will start fattening into solid buds.

New buds look like white hairs

White hairs darken and curl in as buds mature. Buds often start to “sparkle” (depending on strain).

Harvest – The white hairs on all the buds will all darken and curl in when plants are ready to harvest. Check out pictures of ready-to-harvest buds or some people look at the buds under a magnifier to help decide when to harvest. When buds are ready, cut down the branches one by one and hang them upside down in a cool dark place with light ventilation. Often the place you grew the weed is also a great spot for drying it, for example the inside of a grow tent. There are also other ways to dry buds. Once buds are dry, they will easily pop off the branches. At this point the buds can be smoked but if you put them in glass jars the bud quality will continue to improve for several weeks. This process is known as “curing” and helps buds tighten up, smell better, be less harsh, and overall have higher “bag appeal” and be more pleasant to smoke.

Ready to harvest bud. Mature buds are solid with no white hairs. Leaves may turn yellow or purple like autumn leaves (especially directly under the LED grow light).

You can do it!

This infographic I made may be helpful as well (here’s a PDF version)

Now that you know the basics of growing weed, let’s get into the details of how to grow in this mini tent setup.

Bonus Tips for this setup: 

• Choose the right strains – Avoid choosing cannabis strains that naturally grow big plants!
  • Choose autoflower strains that are ready to harvest 10 weeks from germination or sooner (these strains tend to stay smaller than longer-flowering strains), especially if it’s specifically listed as tending to stay short. Recommendations: Blue Dream Auto, Creme de la Chem Auto (a personal favorite), Strawberry Cheesecake Auto.
  • Choose photoperiod strains with a 8 weeks or less flowering period (faster than average). You will initiate flowering when plants are about 3 weeks old for a total of 10 weeks just like with the autos. Make sure to choose a strain that says it’s short or medium size in the description. Even short strains can get tall, but they tend to grow more out than up, especially compared to other strains specifically listed as “tall”. Recommendations: Strawberry Cola Sherbet F1, Bruce Banner Fast, Tropicana Cookies Fast.
• Small pots help keep cannabis plants smaller. Use a 2 or 3-gallon pot (or smaller if you don’t mind watering more often) to help plants stay small enough for this setup. Plants can still get big in small pots, but they will be smaller than the same plant if it’s allowed to grow without any restrictions on its roots.
• Hard-sided pots tend to keep plants smaller, because it further restricts their root size compare to the same size container in hydro or a fabric pot.
• Follow the instructions below to get the most weed from this setup.

Main Idea: Train your cannabis plants to grow flat and wide like a table in the vegetative stage.

Tips

• Cut off the top of young plants – Cut off the top of young plants in the vegetative stage. Cutting off the top of a plant is often called “topping” in the cannabis growing world. Topping splits any stem into two, and a plant with two tops is easier to spread out to create flat plants than a plant with one main top
  • Beginner tip: Wait until the seedling has grown 6 sets of leaves. Cut off the top through the main stem above the 5th set of leaves (pictures below). Easy and simple, yet won’t stress plants. After being topped, your plant is easier to spread out and naturally grows more bushy and wide.
• Spread out stems so plant grows flat and wide – As the plant grows, spread out the stems by bending them down and away from the center of the plant. Don’t forget to tie branches down with something like plant twist tie or they’ll spring right back up the next day!
• Tall stems can be “topped” if they can’t be bent over flat – Cut off the ends of (“top”) any stem that’s growing much faster than the rest. Each new pair of stems grows slower than the original one. Topping is a great tool to curb fast-growing stems in the vegetative stage because each new stem grows half as fast.. If you don’t want to cut off the end, you can also bend the whole stem down so it’s not taller anymore. That accomplishes the same thing if you don’t mind tying down the stems.
• Supercrop (if necessary) – Cannabis stems get hard and woody as time goes on. If you find you need to bend a stem that’s already stiff, use the supercropping technique to bend even the toughest stems at any angle. This is a bit advanced because you can accidentally split stems. But don’t worry if you do. Simply tape broken stems back together like a cast and the plant can heal. One of the things I love about cannabis plants is it can recover if you make big mistakes in the vegetative stage.

Here’s an example of training plants to grow wide and flat for more bud sites and bigger yields.

Cut off the top of a young plant right above the 5th set of leaves (“top” the seedling above the 5th node)

When cutting through a stem, be careful not to damage the growing tips at the base of each leaf. These will become your two new stems.

Topping splits the main stem into two. You can see the two new “main stems” on each side of the cut.

Since you waited until the plant had several sets of leaves before cutting a small piece off the top, it will continue growing as if nothing happened.

As the plant grows, spread out the branches and cut off the top of any stem that’s getting bigger than the others. You don’t want your plant putting too much energy into any one branch.

The plant was transplanted to a mini grow tent under an HLG 65 4000k LED grow light and given a week to adjust to the new environment.

Training time!

Bend over all the stems down and away from the center until it looks flat from the side

I used plant twist tie to hook on to each branch and tie it down where I wanted. I attached the other end to the fabric pot.

How to attach to the pot? You can use safety pins or binder clips but I think this is easier. Poke holes in the fabric using sharp pointy Fiskars pruning scissors and thread the twist tie through.

Back to training. Here’s a top view. We’re trying to fill the entire tent with this plant.

A few days later the plant has filled in nicely. Repeat the steps until you’ve filled your entire grow space.

Initiate 12/12 when plants have complete coverage at the height you want. Look at all the bud sites on this 1 plant right as it starts flowering

Here’s a side view. At this point, the only thing to do is water the plant and give it nutrients until harvest.

At harvest, this plant was just over 18″ (46 cm) tall, yet yielded several ounces because it was trained to grow wide and flat. Talk about making the most out of one small plant!

Learn more about growing plants to be wide and flat.

Check out the results from a grow that followed this 4oz mini tent tutorial with many small plants instead of just one. This is actually only a 3′ tall tent, so if you got the taller version (as recommended in this tutorial), you would be able to grow even bigger plants with longer buds.

Example of a mini tent harvest

Purple Ghost Candy buds

Mandarin Cookies bud

Those Mandarin Cookies buds in hand.

The post Harvest up to 4 oz Cannabis in this 100W LED Mini Grow Kit – Complete Setup & Weed Growing Tutorial appeared first on Grow Weed Easy.

Ready to start growing weed for only $300? This tutorial uses the HLG 65 V2 4000k LED in a 3′ tall mini grow tent to produce up to 3 oz of top-shelf cannabis per harvest (at 65W it’s almost free to run this marijuana grow light after set up). This is my absolute favorite grow light for cannabis micro-growing because it produces great bud quality and yields, while the unique 4000k spectrum helps cannabis plants stay short. Essentially, this setup makes a lot of big buds on a little plant. I’ve included a supplies list with Amazon links for this marijuana mini grow tent kit, plus a complete cannabis growing tutorial below. Learn how to achieve these results (it’s easy!) by following the easy step-by-step instructions below.

Note: See Other Examples of Cannabis Growing Setups

Today’s easy growing tutorial is everything you need to get started and get to a bountiful cannabis harvest!

Check out a grow journal in this setup

Table of Contents

• About the Cannabis Mini Tent Setup
  • Cost Estimate ($300 to start)
• Complete Supply List
• How to Keep Cannabis Short and Still Grow Big Buds

About This 65W LED Mini Tent Setup for $300

For a micro cannabis grower, it’s all about getting the best yields in the smallest and stealthiest way possible. This mini-tent setup has been designed to produce several ounces of high-quality bud in a tiny 2’x2’x3′  grow tent without any sounds or smells to give it away. It only costs $300 for the bare-bones version without smell filtering and will produce a great harvest in 3-4 months.

• Yield: Up to 3 oz per harvest
• Almost free to run a 65W LED grow light
• 3-4 months from seed to weed

Total Setup Cost: $300 ($420-500 with professional smell filtering)

The HLG 65 V2 (4000k spectrum) can produce several ounces of weed in this setup. Almost free to run at just 65W.

It can support any strain when used according to the directions below, but this marijuana microgrowery setup tends to do best if you choose “short” cannabis strains as they tend to stay smaller.

See other examples of cannabis growing setups

Mini Tent Cannabis Grow Examples

Here are some plants I’ve grown in this exact setup or check out a full grow journal.

One photoperiod plant in a 3-gallon fabric pot

Side view of that plant not long before harvest. Look at all those buds! It ended up yielding about 3 ounces in total.

Three autoflowering plants in 2-gallon fabric pots produced a little over an ounce per plant

Estimated Cost for this Setup

• Ultra budget basic version (bare minimum with no smell filtering) – $300 plus seeds
• Only the necessary stuff + smell filtering: ~$420 plus the cost of seeds (I swear I didn’t do “420” on purpose, it was just meant to be)
• Get everything including the premium equipment and optional extras: ~$500 plus seeds
• Estimated Monthly Electricity Cost: $10/month (based on US average of $0.15/kWH)

Total Setup Cost: $300 ($420-500 with smell filtering)

Summary of what you need to get started with this HLG 65 Mini Tent grow setup

Complete Cannabis Grow Supply List

This cannabis mini grow tent setup list includes all the supplies you need to get to harvest.

65W HLG Quantum Board LED Grow Light

HLG 65 V2 (4000k spectrum)

• The 4000k (blue) spectrum helps keep plants short, which is helpful in this setup
• Keep about 10″ away to start. If plants start getting tall/stretchy, move the light closer.
• Simple to use. Works exactly as you’d expect.
• I’ve gotten some of the best yields per watt with this particular grow light than any other

Cost: $100

The HLG 65 V2 (4000k spectrum) can produce several ounces of weed in this setup.

Grow Space

A grow tent is an easy and cheap way to instantly create a perfect indoor cannabis grow space that can deal with water, light, heat, and smells. Learn more about grow tents

3 Foot Tall Mini Grow Tent

• 2’x2’x3′ (true microgrow) – I use this tent by CoolGrows but the brand doesn’t matter much.

Cost: $40

2’x2’x3′ grow tent by CoolGrows

(Optional to Stop Smells) Exhaust Fan + Carbon Filter

An exhaust fan brings in fresh air to the plants and helps vent extra heat/humidity from the plants. If you are only growing one small plant and don’t care about smell, you can get away without an exhaust fan because the HLG 65 LED doesn’t make much heat. However, if you plan on filling your tent with plants like the pictures, an exhaust fan helps ensure that the humidity from all the plants doesn’t build up too much, which is not good for bud development. If you want to stop smells, you need to get both the exhaust fan and the carbon filter and connect them together (instructions below).

• Recommended:  4″ AC Infinity CLOUDLINE series of inline exhaust fans. These are quiet at top speed and completely silent at lower speeds.
  • S4 is the cheaper, simpler version which works well and gives you basic fan speed controls
  • The programmable T4 version has handy extras like a Temperature/Humidity Probe and Display Screen
• Budget choice: Vivosun 4″ Fan – 203 CFM (good cheap fan but runs loud)

Cost: $65-120

The AC Infinity S4 is a quiet exhaust fan.

What’s all this about a carbon filter?

• If you don’t hook up a carbon filter to an exhaust fan, your tent may rapidly fill the surrounding area with a pungent weed smell as you get close to harvest. Normally it wouldn’t be such a big deal with such a small tent like this, but you are going to be growing a surprising amount of weed in here.
• Recommended: 4-inch Carbon Filter, 4″ x 10″ version (note: these are bigger than you expect)
  • 4″ Ducting and Ducting Clamps – to connect your fan and carbon filter together securely

Cost: $35

4-inch Carbon Filter, 4″ x 10″ version

Soil + Plant Pots

• Growing medium: Coco coir or soil
• Containers: Stick to under 3 gallons in size to help keep plants a bit smaller. I grew with 1-gallon fabric pots, which worked well at keeping plants small, but plants needed to be watered daily. The plants needed to be watered less often when I used 2-gallon pots, but the plants got a little bigger. 3-gallon pots were the easiest to water, but the plant really wanted to grow big and I had to do a lot of bending to keep the branches from growing into the light.

Recommended:

• One big bag of coco-based soil with perlite. This 2 cu ft bag of Coco Loco should be enough to fill 15 gallons worth of pots (for example seven 2-gallon pots with a tiny bit left over). You’ll have enough to last a few grows, but luckily coco-based soils store well so you could use the rest later.
• 2-Gallon fabric pots (here’s an example of a 5-pack) – Any brand works great.

Cost: ~$65

Coco Loco is a coco-based soil that makes thriving cannabis plants

   Example a 5-pack of 2-gallon fabric pots (any brand works great)

Nutrients

Most nutrient systems will come with at least one bottle for vegetative and one for bloom. Many nutrient lines carry 3 bottles or even more that must be mixed into the water in different ratios over the course of your cannabis plant’s life. Whether it’s on the bottle or online, most nutrient lines come with a schedule. Use the schedule at half-strength in the beginning as the recommended strength is typically too high for cannabis.

Recommended Base Nutrients: Dyna-Gro Grow + Bloom nutrient combo is excellent, cheap, and easy to use for growing cannabis.

• “Grow” bottle: Give 1 tsp per gallon of water during the vegetative stage
• “Bloom” bottle: Give 1 tsp/gallon of water during the flowering stage

Learn about other cannabis nutrients we recommend.

Cost: $25

Dyna-Gro Grow + Bloom is my recommended nutrient system for newbies. One bottle for veg, one for bloom. 1 tsp/gallon. Super simple!

Other Supplementary Items

• Get your seeds (lately I’ve been using Seed Supreme) – $10-15/seed on average, but can be more or less depending on the breeder.
• 24-Hour Timer (to put your grow lights on a timer so the plants get a day and night period on a schedule). Why do cannabis plants need to be on a day/night schedule? What about autoflowering light schedules? – $10
• Water containers (I personally use a 3-gallon or 5-gallon water jug to mix up nutrients, but anything can work) – Much cheaper at Wal-Mart or a water container store ($5-15) than online!
• Thermometer/Humidity Monitor with a probe so you can keep track of the temperature in different parts inside the tent (though less necessary if you got the really fancy Cloudline exhaust fan with a temperature and humidity probe built-in) – $15
• PH Test Kit – Prevent potential nutrient deficiencies by testing the water pH: https://www.growweedeasy.com/ph – $20
• Measuring spoons for measuring out your nutrients (many people already have these) – $10
• (Optional) Zip ties – the hanging apparatus that comes with many grow lights add several inches of height for no real reason. They just aren’t designed for height-limited growing. In a mini tent like this, height is at a premium and a few inches can make a big difference. When you need to get your light all the way to the top of your tent, nothing seems to work better than industrial zip ties! Once you start using zip ties you end up using them for everything. They’re weirdly permanent and strong for something so disposable – $10

Learn about other cool growing tools.

Estimated Cost: $300-500

• Ultra budget (no smell filtering) – $300 plus the cost of seeds
• Only the necessary stuff + smell filtering: $420 (I swear I didn’t do “420” on purpose, it was fate)
• Get everything including the premium equipment and optional extras: $500

Check Out Different Grow Setups!

Carbon filter and fan (how to cool tent, remove humidity, and stop smells)

Notice the configuration of the carbon filter and fan. Even though this is a very small carbon filter, just 10″ long, there’s not a lot of extra room at the top of the tent. The configuration below seems to be the only way I can find to fit the carbon filter inside while still allowing the grow light to get to the top of the tent. This is not as effective as exhausting from the top of the tent, but it will work in this small tent.

Your other option is to put both the fan and carbon filter sitting on top of the tent, exiting from the top port. In that cause, you’d want the carbon filter to be the last thing before air escapes (carbon filters should always be at the ends of an exhaust system, either inside the tent at the beginning, or at the end on the outside).

You have to get creative to fit a carbon filter in this tiny tent

When set up right, you can produce a surprising amount of bud in a tiny space!

But not much room at the top

Growing a single Pineapple Chunk plant in the 3′ tall tent

Pacific Punch bud grown under the HLG 65 in this setup

How to Make Cannabis Plants Stay Small and Still Produce a Lot of Weed

You may know how to grow cannabis already, and there are lots of great tutorials on the site such as the 10-Step Cannabis Grow Guide, but here’s a super quick overview before we get into the details of how to keep your cannabis plants the perfect height in this setup.

Basic process of growing of an indoor cannabis plant

Germination – there are lots of ways to germinate seeds but the easiest is just to put the seeds directly in the dirt just below the surface (about a knuckle down) and give some water and warmth from the grow light. Seedlings should appear in a few days.

Vegetative stage – When cannabis plants are young, they grow branches and leaves but not any buds. Simply give plants water, light, and possibly nutrients. Nutrients are only necessary if you’re not growing in soil (for example in coco or hydroponics) but even in soil, providing nutrients makes plants grow faster. In the flowering stage, the right nutrients make buds get bigger.

Initiate the flowering stage when the plant is half the final size – Cannabis buds are actually flowers (isn’t that nice?), and you need to “tell” the plant to start making flowers by tricking it into thinking winter is coming. So once plants have reached about half the final desired size, a grower initiates the flowering stage by putting grow lights on a vacation timer so the light turns off for 12 hours a day. This 12/12 light schedule tricks the plant into “thinking” it’s the end of summer and it starts making flowers/buds. If you’re growing an auto-flowering strain, plants will automatically start flowering when they’re 3-5 weeks old, so you don’t need to think about this step or light schedules. This is a general overview. Read the tutorial below to learn exactly how to make cannabis plants the right size for this specific tent.

Flowering stage – Plants start growing white hairs (“pistils”) at the base of each fan leaf and at the tops of branches. These are are the first signs of buds. Plants will about double in height (more or less depending on strain) after the flowering stage is initiated. Auto flowering strains will double in height from when you see white hairs/pistils. But after about 5-6 weeks, the plant will stop getting any taller and the bunches of white hairs will start fattening into solid buds.

New buds look like white hairs

White hairs darken and curl in as buds mature. Buds often start to “sparkle” (depending on strain).

Harvest – The white hairs on all the buds will all darken and curl in when plants are ready to harvest. Check out pictures of ready-to-harvest buds or some people look at the buds under a magnifier to help decide when to harvest. When buds are ready, cut down the branches one by one and hang them upside down in a cool dark place with light ventilation. Often the place you grew the weed is also a great spot for drying it, for example the inside of a grow tent. There are also other ways to dry buds. Once buds are dry, they will easily pop off the branches. At this point the buds can be smoked but if you put them in glass jars the bud quality will continue to improve for several weeks. This process is known as “curing” and helps buds tighten up, smell better, be less harsh, and overall have higher “bag appeal” and be more pleasant to smoke.

Ready to harvest bud. Mature buds are solid with no white hairs. Leaves may turn yellow or purple like autumn leaves (especially directly under the LED grow light).

You can do it!

This infographic I made may be helpful as well (here’s a PDF version)

Now that you know the basics of growing weed, let’s get into the details of how to grow in this mini tent setup.

Bonus Tips for this setup: 

• Choose the right strains – no cannabis strains that naturally get big!
  • Choose autoflowering strains that are ready to harvest 10 weeks from germination or sooner (these strains tend to stay smaller than longer-flowering strains), especially if it’s specifically listed as tending to stay short.
  • Choose photoperiod strains with a 6-7 week flowering period (you will initiate flowering when plants are about 3 weeks old for a total of 10 weeks just like with the autos) and also make sure you’re choosing a strain that says it’s short in the description. Even short strains can get tall, but they tend to grow more out than up compared to other strains.
• Small pots help keep cannabis plants smaller. Use a 2 or 3-gallon pot (or smaller if you don’t mind watering more often) to help plants stay small enough for this setup. Plants can still get big in small pots, but they will be smaller than the same plant if it’s allowed to grow without any restrictions on its roots.
• Follow the instructions below to get the most weed from this setup.

Main Idea: Train plants to grow flat and wide like a table in the vegetative stage.

Tips

• Cut off the top of young plants – Cut off the top of young plants in the vegetative stage. Cutting off the top of a plant is often called “topping” in the cannabis growing world. Topping splits any stem into two, and a plant with two tops is easier to spread out to create flat plants than a plant with one main top
  • Beginner tip: Wait until the seedling has grown 6 sets of leaves. Cut off the top through the main stem above the 5th set of leaves (pictures below). Easy and simple, yet won’t stress plants. After being topped, your plant is easier to spread out and naturally grows more bushy and wide.
• Tall stems should also be “topped” – Cut off the ends of any stem that’s growing much faster than the rest. Each new pair of stems grows slower than the original one. Topping is a great tool to curb fast-growing stems in the vegetative stage.
• Spread out – As the plant grows, spread out the stems by bending them down and away from the center of the plant. Don’t forget to tie branches down with something like plant twist tie or they’ll spring right back up the next day!
• Supercrop (if necessary) – Cannabis stems get hard and woody as time goes on. If you find you need to bend a stem that’s already stiff, use the supercropping technique to bend even the toughest stems at any angle. This is a bit advanced because you can accidentally split stems. But don’t worry if you do. Simply tape broken stems back together like a cast and the plant can heal. One of the things I love about cannabis plants is it can recover if you make big mistakes in the vegetative stage.

Here’s an example of training plants to grow wide and flat for more bud sites and bigger yields.

Cut off the top of a young plant right above the 5th set of leaves (“top” the seedling above the 5th node)

When cutting through a stem, be careful not to damage the growing tips at the base of each leaf. These will become your two new stems.

Topping splits the main stem into two. You can see the two new “main stems” on each side of the cut.

Since you waited until the plant had several sets of leaves before cutting a small piece off the top, it will continue growing as if nothing happened.

As the plant grows, spread out the branches and cut off the top of any stem that’s getting bigger than the others. You don’t want your plant putting too much energy into any one branch.

The plant was transplanted to a mini grow tent under an HLG 65 4000k LED grow light and given a week to adjust to the new environment.

Training time!

Bend over all the stems down and away from the center until it looks flat from the side

I used plant twist tie to hook on to each branch and tie it down where I wanted. I attached the other end to the fabric pot.

How to attach to the pot? You can use safety pins or binder clips but I think this is easier. Poke holes in the fabric using sharp pointy Fiskars pruning scissors and thread the twist tie through.

Back to training. Here’s a top view. We’re trying to fill the entire tent with this plant.

A few days later the plant has filled in nicely. Repeat the steps until you’ve filled your entire grow space.

Initiate 12/12 when plants have complete coverage at the height you want. Look at all the bud sites on this 1 plant right as it starts flowering

Here’s a side view. At this point, the only thing to do is water the plant and give it nutrients until harvest.

At harvest, this plant was just over 18″ (46 cm) tall, yet yielded several ounces because it was trained to grow wide and flat. Talk about making the most out of one small plant!

Learn more about growing plants to be wide and flat.

Check out the results from a grow that followed this mini tent tutorial with many small plants instead of just one.

Example of a mini tent harvest

Purple Ghost Candy buds

Mandarin Cookies bud

Those Mandarin Cookies buds in hand.

The post How to Grow 3 oz of Cannabis in a $300 Mini LED Grow Kit – Shopping List & Grow Tutorial appeared first on Grow Weed Easy.

Grow Journal is Finished! Go to the final entry.

April 9 – Extra mom plant put in a 2’x2’x3′ grow tent under HLG 65 LED and trained to be flat

I had a few extra plants (they were moms for clones for my defoliation side-by-side grow experiment). I also have an HLG 65 LED grow light (4000k) and a 2’x2’x3′ mini grow tent.

This HLG 65 LED grow light (4000k) only uses 65W and has a spectrum to help keep plants short.

A 2’x2’x3′ mini grow tent is pretty small for cannabis plants, but a fun challenge and easy to hide for stealth purposes. I’m using a tent by CoolGrows.

The HLG 65 puts out so little heat that unless your space is naturally hot you can get away using it in the mini tent without any kind of fan to vent heat. Here’s a picture of the last plant I grew in this setup. Big shoes to fill.

Grow Medium

• Mother Earth Coco plus Perlite grow media

Nutrients

• Vegetative Stage – Dyna-Gro Foliage Pro
  • 1/4 tsp per gallon for seedlings
  • 1 tsp/gallon after that
  • 6.1-6.3 pH
• Flowering Stage – Dyna-Grow Bloom
  • 1 1/4 tsp per gallon for the first 4 weeks after plants start flowering
  • 1 tsp/gallon after that until end of grow
  • 6.1-6.4 pH
  • Give plain water for 1-2 waterings before harvest

I decided to take one of the extra plants and train it to grow extremely short like the example I just shared. The 4000k light has a lot of blue which reduces yields a bit but helps to keep plants short, which is the toughest part of growing in this tent. I thought it might be fun to see if I could break my old yield record for this 65W LED (a little under 4 oz).

Here’s the mom plant

I bend all the branches over and tied them down. This plant had an odd structure because it was a mother plant that had many clones taken from her. To make things easier to spread out, I removed a bunch of extra branches that didn’t seem to fit the shape of the inside of the tent.

I tried to fill the entire grow tent in a flat table shape. This plant structure tends to increase overall yields because it helps produce many big buds that are all about the same size throughout the grow tent. That way all the buds get lots of direct light.

This above-view helps you see how I bent everything to fill the space.

April 10 – The next day I initiated 12/12

This is what the plant looked like the next day after all the leaves turned back up toward the light.

Today I initiated 12/12 to get the plant to start flowering (making buds). My goal is to try to get to harvest as quick as possible so it doesn’t have any time to get tall 🙂

April 15 – Starting to see flowers

This plant was germinated a little over two months ago, had many clones taken, and here she is. Plants that are older tend to start flowering fast and this one is no exception.

I can already see flowers (buds) popping up everywhere. Cannabis buds start out looking like little bunches of white hairs.

April 29 – Buds are developing nicely

I’ve just been giving this plant nutrient water and other than that I’ve left it completely alone. It’s developing perfectly. It received vegetative nutrients for the first 2 weeks after initiating 12/12 and in week 3 I switched to flowering nutrients. The extra nitrogen and potassium in the vegetative nutrients help cannabis plants develop well during the flowering stretch with lots of bud sites, but from now on until harvest the plant needs much lower levels of nitrogen.

I’ve noticed over the years that cannabis plants tend to need lower levels of nutrients overall when they’re growing under a smaller/weaker light like this little HLG 65. Less photosynthesis requires less nutrients. The leaves on this plant look a little dark in natural light so I’m now giving nutrients at 1/3 strength. I’ve been giving enough nutrients for one gallon, but mixing it in 3 gallons of water so the plants are receiving 1/3 strength compared to what’s on the official schedule. I’m growing a clone of this plant in another tent under a bigger 300W LED grow light and that plant can handle much higher levels of nutrients.

I’ve started to notice sparkly trichomes forming near the bud sites. The next post will include closeups of the buds. See you soon!

May 6 – Wow, lots of bud growth!

Buds have fattened quite a bit since the last post. I haven’t done anything but give nutrient water every few days and let the plant develop.

Here’s a closeup of a bud. I’m pretty pleased with the trichome development so far. I initiated 12/12 about 4 weeks ago and nearly all the pistils (hairs) are still white, which means this bud is still young. But I see a few hairs starting to darken and curl in, which is a sign that the buds are maturing. Inside the bud, the plant is ramping up THC development. Buds will get steadily more potent until harvest time. Based on appearance, I’d guess we’re about 5 weeks out from harvest.

That’s it for now. Stay tuned for the next update!

May 20 – Buds are thinking about harvest + experiment time!

These buds are starting to look ready for harvest. I am always so amazed when I grow with this 65W LED grow light in this tiny tent. They are a perfect combo.

I thought you might think this was interesting. The buds directly under the grow light are taking on purple tones, while the buds on the edges are staying the more standard orange/green color of buds.

Buds directly under light have hints of purple

Buds on the edges getting less direct light are staying “standard” bud color

Experiment: How does 3-day dark period before harvest affect THC percentages?

I decided to do an experiment with these buds to test how THC changes during the last few weeks before harvest, as well as test whether a 3-day dark period significantly changes the THC percentage of buds.

So today I’m taking a sample of buds and drying them. I’ll take another sample in 1-2 weeks when these buds are ready to harvest, put the plant in a 3-day dark period, and take one more sample. Then I’ll get it all tested in that lab!

Check back for the results!

May 28 – Harvest day (before 3 day dark period)

I took a few samples for lab testing last update, but most of the plant is still here. Here’s how it looks before being put into a 3-day dark period.

I took a few more samples for lab testing. I’ll check back in 3 days!

June 1 – Harvest day (after 3-day dark period)

Half of the plant is gone from the first half of the harvest, but after 3 days in the dark, the parts of the plant left don’t look any different that I can tell.

I took the opportunity to take some bud pictures.

I love how all the buds are not just sparkling but super dense and heavy.

Check back in a few weeks for…

• Pictures of dried buds
• THC and Terpene lab results (including samples from before and after 3-day dark period)
• Dry yields
• Final thoughts!

July 30

I just realized I never updated this journal on the website so here are the belated results of this grow journal!

Total Dry Yield: 83.87g (2.96 oz)

That’s about 1.3 grams per watt for a 65W LED grow light. Not too shabby!

Lab results

• Before 3-Day Dark Period: 19.83% THC (20.45% total cannabinoids). Terpenes were 13.65 mg/g.
• After 3-Day Dark Period: 21.86% THC (22.5% total cannabinoids). Terpenes were 13.25 mg/g

Wow! Although this is just one test (and it’s important to remember that the THC varies naturally between buds on the plant), it’s pretty stark how much higher the THC tested after the 3-day dark period.  Frankly, this is such a big difference I am absolutely going to have to run more side-by-side experiments to see if this is a fluke or not. The terpenes seemed about the same before and after, so I don’t think they were affected much by the dark period.

Final Thoughts

I absolutely love this little HLG 65 4000k grow light. I truly believe it’s the answer to a lot of growers who are looking to make a true microgrow. I want to try growing with it again, but this time with no fan or carbon filter. Just the tent with the light in it. I’m curious how well that would go since that seems like the ultimate in easiness and I think the light puts out so little heat it would work well.

When it comes to the effects of the 3-day dark period, it’s hard for me to even believe how much the THC increased after the dark period. I am already planning the follow-up experiment, which will be much more detail-oriented and based purely on testing this one thing. For example, I will grow separate clones so I can harvest one plant fully and then the other, as opposed to having to cut off buds from the same plant, which could affect the results. For example, what if it wasn’t the dark period but harvesting half the plant that caused it to increase THC in the other buds? Such an exciting time to be a grower!

Check out more side-by-side cannabis growing experiments.

The post HLG 65 LED Grow Light – Nebula’s Mini Tent Grow Journal appeared first on Grow Weed Easy.

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You may be asking yourself these common growing questions:

“How do I grow marijuana indoors?”

Read this guide on how to grow marijuana indoors. Or check out this article to learn what materials you need to get started growing your own marijuana!

Luckily, it’s really easy to get a cannabis seed to sprout!

“How much money will it cost to get started?”

If you’re considering growing weed, it costs as little as $300 to get started growing or a bit more for a semi-automatic, high-yielding bubbleponics grow system. See examples of yields to expect, electricity use & startup costs for different setups. Read this article to see even more growing styles with different price ranges.

“Where can I get marijuana seeds?”

Check out our How to Buy Marijuana Seeds Online Guide (with delivery to every state of the USA) to safely get your hands on good genetics. Starting with good seeds lets you choose the looks, smell, and effects of your buds!

Learn where it’s safe to buy cannabis seeds online (2026 update).

What do good cannabis seeds look like?

Learn about the best marijuana beginner strains and how to research and find the right strain.

Cannabis buds are generally green, but can also be pink or purple with certain strains.

“How much will electricity cost each month?”

If you’re just growing a few marijuana plants for personal use, it will cost you $20-$100+/month for electricity, depending on what grow lights (electricity) and nutrients you use. On average, I’d say a hobby-size grower might pay about $50/month to grow, but it depends greatly on your setup and local electricity costs! How much will electricity cost each month?

“How can I increase my marijuana yields?”

We have quite a few techniques to choose from or combine! See some of our most popular pages:

• Super Cropping – A simple technique to bigger yields
• Simplest Guide to Growing Short & Bushy Marijuana Plants
• LST (Low Stress Training) – Training your plants can easily double your harvest!
• Or check out our page on the controversial defoliation technique

Even More Ways to Increase Cannabis Yields

1. Increase Light Intensity (plus choose right light for desired yields & possibly add CO2)
2. Manipulate How Plants Grow (a free way to yield more bud indoors)
3. Provide Right Nutrients (low Nitrogen in the flowering stage, and remember sometimes less is more!)
4. Control Growing Environment (let the growing environment work for you)
5. Harvest Plants Properly (most importantly, don’t harvest early!)
6. Lastly, it’s important to remember that the strain has a major effect on yields!

Two small cannabis plants can yield several ounces of premium weed!

“How can I grow weed privately?”

Read guide on growing weed indoors without anyone knowing. But remember the most important factors to stealth growing: “No tell, no smell, no sell.” Never tell anyone, not even your best friend, that you’re growing. Be on top of preventing smells, and never ever sell cannabis. Breaking one of those 3 principles is how 99% of growers get found out!

“What if my plants get sick?”

The most common issue a grower runs into is a pH imbalance. Barring that, your marijuana plants likely either have a nutrient deficiency, heat or light stress, or are being attacked by some sort of marijuana mold, pest or bug. Whether you call it weed, cannabis, sinsemilla, skunk, pot, marijuana, or something else, the plant known as Cannabis Sativa is a hardy weed in the wild and can actually be easy to grow indoors at home when you know what to do.

Growing Medical Marijuana

“Medical marijuana” has become a household name. The body of evidence for medical marijuana in the treatment of cancer and other illnesses is growing every day. And for those who need medical marijuana, growing weed indoors is the perfect way to ensure a safe, regular supply of buds, for cheap.

In fact, when you grow weed indoors for personal use, you often end up with way too much. If you catch the growing bug like I did, and if you start enjoying the process of tending your cannabis garden just for the sake of gardening, you’re going to have to find a way to press, cook, freeze, and concentrate all your extra buds. 🙂

As you probably know, both medical marijuana and recreational cannabis have been decriminalized or legalized in many places around the world and weed is becoming legal in more places every day! Yet there still aren’t many simple indoor “how to grow weed” guides for beginners (even for those who legally grow, such as medical marijuana users and those who live in places where marijuana is legalized for personal use).

If so, I know how you feel. It can be hard to weed out all the bad information on the internet and find well-researched, free tips or instructions on how to grow your own cannabis. That’s why Grow Weed Easy.com aims to be a simple online resource that explains from start to finish what you need to do when growing cannabis so you can learn how to grow cannabis with great yields and potent buds, even if you only have a small grow space like a closet or even a computer case.

We’ve grown cannabis out of closets and have gotten ounces of buds and you can too. Grow Weed Easy.com covers many popular cannabis cultivation topics, including:

• A comparison between different cannabis grow lights including experience-based information about LED grow lights
• A page that teaches you the basics of how to grow weed
• Detailed how-to weed growing tutorials
• How to start growing weed tomorrow  (simplest cannabis growing guide!)
• Grow 4 oz with a 100W LED <– An Easy Way to Start Growing!
• Our famous grow guide that teaches you how to grow weed using bubbleponics (hydro).

Start Growing Weed Today!

Grow Weed Easy is run by a panel of experienced cannabis growers, including the founders Nebula Haze and Sirius Fourside, who originally teamed together to bring you GrowWeedEasy.com. Due to the demand for more marijuana growing information, we’ve also started an inbox magazine all about how to grow weed, with additional tutorials, tips, and tactics sent to you each week. Simply sign up to start getting free expert growing articles delivered to you! All the information available at GrowWeedEasy.com is completely free and we regularly update the site and make new additions.

Looking for a growing book?

If you are interested in doing a bit of reading or would like to know more about the science behind marijuana hydroponics or horticulture, I strongly recommend viewing our page of Marijuana Grow Book Reviews. Read reviews of marijuana grow books. We would love to hear about your experiences with growing cannabis. Whether you are a pro grower already or are just starting your first plant, we have learned so much from our readers both beginners and masters! If you have any suggestions, comments, concerns, or just want to ask some questions about your marijuana grow, please contact us!

Happy Growing!
Nebula Haze & Sirius Fourside

Get our fool-proof harvest system.

Home Grow Masterclass – FOR SERIOUS GROWERS ONLY

The post Grow Weed Easy – Learn How to Grow Cannabis Tutorials appeared first on Grow Weed Easy.

This article is all about how to hide your marijuana plants when growing weed outdoors. First, here’s a quick summary of the stealth ideas for outdoor cannabis growers. Click the links to jump right to outdoor tutorial of your choice, or just keep reading the outdoor stealth tutorial from beginning to end. By the end of today’s article, you’ll know the most common tactics and techniques for hiding cannabis in outdoor cultivation. Let’s go!

How to Hide Sight of Cannabis – Visual ways to hide cannabis plants outdoors

• Hide Plants from View
• Camouflage Your Plants
• “Stealth Strains” (Funny-Looking Leaves)
• Grow Cannabis Plants in a Greenhouse
• Change Natural Growth Patterns with Bending
• Watch Out for Anyone Taking Interest of Your Plants

How to Hide Smell of Cannabis – How to hide the fragrant odor of cannabis outdoors

• Low Smell Strain
• Plant Other Fragrant Species of Plants
• Physical Barrier
• Strategic Planting Times
• Wind Direction Awareness

Growing Outdoors in Remote Spot Away from Home

• Scope Out the Spot
• Far from a Visible Path
• Test the Spot for Potential Visitors
• Camouflage Plants
• Low Odor Strain

Bonus: Outdoor Cannabis Growing Tips

• Easy to Visit
• Access to Water
• Lots of Sunlight
• Gentle Breeze
• Consider the Heat
• Consider the Cold
• Provide Your Own Soil
• Don’t Forget Nutrients

Always consider stealth when growing cannabis outdoors! Not only is law enforcement a consideration, it’s common for thieves to steal plants right before harvest time! 

Outdoor growing has some incredible benefits, including the availability of free light. Light is like food for cannabis plants and in the flowering stage, the amount of bud produced is directly proportional to the amount of light received by the plant (especially at the bud sites). The plant is converting light energy into buds.

Sunlight provides free energy for growing cannabis plants. No need to spend money on electricity to power your grow lights!

Indoor growers have to provide all their own light, typically by using specialized grow lights. However, grow lights produce heat and use a lot of electricity (how much electricity does it take to grow weed indoors?), and indoor grow rooms need a space that’s easily hidden to visitors yet has easy access to water.

When it comes to outdoor growing, instead of setting up a grow room, your job is to pick the perfect place to grow weed. This is one of the most important things you can do not only for plant health, but also for stealth and security!

Not only is this extremely not stealthy, light from the window will likely prevent the plant from flowering (making buds). Light pollution is a common problem when growing outdoors on your own property. Plants need complete darkness at night to start making buds!

Outdoor Stealth – Growing on Your Property

Visual ways to hide the sight of cannabis plants

Growing on your own property is much more convenient than hiking to a remote grow spot, but the stakes are much higher because if the plants are spotted it’s easy to determine that you are the owner. Make sure to take every precaution!

Hide Plants from View 

Think about looking into your yard from outside the grow space. You want to go outside and make sure that plants are not visible from someone’s window, from the street, a neighbor’s yard, etc.

Keep plants shorter than your fence to help hide them from neighbors or thieves.

Camouflage your plants!

In addition to making sure no one can see your plants, it’s still a good idea to try to camouflage them so that if someone is on your property for some reason, the plants don’t obviously stick out.

This grower actually cuts the tips off all the leaves of their plant in order to make them look less like typical leaves. This is pretty effort-intensive, but there’s no doubt they look less like cannabis plants!

Plant bright flowers nearby, so it looks like the cannabis plant is producing the flowers.

Consider planting your cannabis in a decorative planter or container that causes it to grow in non-typical growth patterns. Adding flowers to some of the empty pots would complete the illusion.

This marijuana plant has been placed in the middle of an area that naturally has lots of trees and other types of vegetation.

Even having a few plants nearby will make a big difference compared to growing the cannabis plant all by itself.

One cannabis plant peeks up above many other types of plants.

Stealth Strains with Funny-Looking Leaves

There are some interesting “stealth” strains that naturally don’t look like typical cannabis plants, which can also help increase the illusion.

Learn more about “Ducksfoot” and other “Duck” and Stealth Strains.

This is a Frisian Duck plant in the vegetative stage. “Duck” or “Duckfoot” strains have 3-finger leaves which makes them look less like cannabis leaves. As a result, these strains can look like other types of plants at first glance.

Grow Cannabis Plants in a Greenhouse

Some growers put plants in a greenhouse or other outdoor structure that lets light in but obscures the inside from view.

A greenhouse can not only help keep plants warm in cool climates, they help obscure the plants. Some greenhouses are built opposite this one, with opaque sides and a clear top so sunlight comes from above yet plants can’t be seen from the sides.

However, consider that a greenhouse might look suspicious if it’s all by itself in the middle of the yard, especially if you don’t typically do a lot of yard work or gardening

This outdoor cannabis grower used tarp to allow sun to get to these autoflowering plants, while also hiding plants from view.

Change Natural Growth Patterns with Bending

Consider bending or otherwise altering the overall shape of the plant so it has less of a “Christmas Tree” shape, which is the most typical shape for cannabis plants grown naturally. This change of shape can cause the plant to look less like cannabis overall. You can also use bending to prevent plants from getting too tall.

Low stress training can be used to grow marijuana plants in any size or shape. This grower trained his outdoor cannabis plants to grow flat like hedges by training stems to grow along a ScrOG net.

Watch Out for Anyone Taking Interest of Your Plants

Be aware of anyone looking over the fence or otherwise spending time hanging around your property.

Even if it’s not someone who will report you to law enforcement, they may still be a problem. They might tell a friend who reports you. Or even worse they may be a thief. Nothing is more heartbreaking than growing plants all summer and then losing them to thievery…except jail.

Remember, even if a person doesn’t take your plants right away, many experienced thieves who understand the life cycle of cannabis plants will wait until just before harvest before they steal your plants.

This plant does not have any buds to steal now, but thieves may take note of your plant and come back in the fall when they know it’s getting close to harvest time. Stay vigilant!

How to Hide or Mask Cannabis Smell – Be a good neighbor!

Consider that people might be able to smell your plants. Some plants smell a little “weedy” in the vegetative stage, but by the time your plant is flowering and getting close to harvest, the smell can be overwhelming, especially with certain “high-smell” strains.

Grow Smaller Plants

I know that many growers want to get the biggest yield possible. But at least for your first grow outdoors, sometimes it can make things a little easier on your to grow somewhat smaller plants. For example, if you keep plants in 5-gallon pots, they can still produce many ounces, but won’t grow into giant monsters.

You can still get excellent yields on smeller plants with careful planning. This grower used manifolding to get his plant to grow like this.

This beautiful purple outdoor cannabis plant of LSD-25 didn’t smell much, in part because it’s small. Additionally, it doesn’t have the traditional “cannabis” skunky smell, which further helps keep it from immediately giving away the presence of weed to the neighbors.

Low Smell Strain

Choose a low odor strain for outdoors that stays small if you’re looking for something very stealthy. Auto-flowering strains can be a good choice because they’re easy to grow, won’t get very big, have a quick time-to-harvest and there are several stealthy looking and low-smell varieties that are suitable for growing outdoors. Auto Duck is an example of an auto-flowering strain that is great for outdoor stealth growing due to its smell (or lack thereof), growth patterns and quick time-to-harvest. Some examples of photoperiod strains that stay small and low-odor include Northern Lights, Papaya (smells tropical), Jock Horror, Ice (smells like jet fuel), and Blue Mystic. Smells are usually more intense when things get hot and humid.

Read about Low Odor cannabis strains.

This Chem Dog cannabis plant was surprisingly low smell.

Plant Other Fragrant Species of Plants

Plant lots of other types of plants nearby, especially ones with bright and smelly flowers. Some companion plants are smelly and may even help cannabis plants grow better. This may detract attention away from both the appearance and smell of a typical cannabis plant.

Physical Plant Barrier

If you plant a row of tall, dense plants that act as a physical barrier, it not only helps hide cannabis from view, but acts to help contain the smell within your yard.

Greenhouse with Carbon Filter

A greenhouse isn’t just great at hiding plants from sight, it also helps you contain the smell of plants. If you put a carbon filter inside of a greenhouse, it’s possible to have a smell-free grow right in your yard.

This DIY structure was meant to protect these cannabis plants from the rain, but it also helped to contain the smell. Add a carbon filter in there, and you would further reduce the smell.

Strategic Planting Times

Align your growing season so buds don’t develop during the hottest part of summer. This is easiest when growing autoflowering strains, as they let you time your outdoor harvest. Cannabis plants tend to smell the most when it’s hot, and also heat tends to lower the quality of buds (maybe partly because their smell is evaporating away into the air). However, if you have a warm spring where you live, you can time your harvest to happen in late Spring or early summer where it tends to be cooler.

Wind Direction Awareness

Be mindful of the wind directions in your area. If possible, plant your cannabis downwind of your neighbors to direct the odor away from their homes.

Growing Outdoors in Remote Spot Away from Home

What if you can’t grow on your own property, and need to grow in a more remote spot? A good outdoor grow spot has a few important factors….

This remote outdoor cannabis plant is living its best life.

Outdoor Stealth – Choosing a Safe Place to Grow Outside Your Property

Scope Out the Spot

Check out any possible grow spot at least 3 different times, and on both weekdays/weekends to make sure you never see hikers or other people in the area.

Far from a Visible Path

Stay far away from any path, and make sure not to leave tracks or marks when visiting plants – if you make a visible path, other people might follow it to see where it goes.

Test the Spot for Potential Visitors

I‘ve heard a grower say to securely leave a twenty-dollar bill in a few places around the chosen area, where they can be easily seen by a human but won’t blow away. If they are still there when you get back after a week or two, it’s unlikely there are many people passing by because they would have picked up the money.

Camouflage Plants

Even if you’re certain no one will be around except yourself, you should still try to camouflage your plants as best you can by using the tips given above.

Bonus: Outdoor Plant Health Tips

These factors are important to making sure your outdoor plants grow as fast and healthy as possible. They don’t necessarily contribute to stealth, but you must make sure to consider these factors if you want your outdoor marijuana grow to be successful! Since this article is all about picking the right spot for your cannabis plants, I thought it was important to also touch on this.

Easy to Visit 

You should be able to visit the spot at least once a week to tend to your plants.

Access to Water

Plants need to drink, but water is way too heavy to carry long distances. Therefore, you’re looking for a spot with easy access to fresh, clean water. If there’s no hose, you’re looking for a brook or stream with moving water. Some growers collect rainwater near the grow site. Don’t use water that looks or smells bad to you.

Lots of Sunlight

The spot gets 8+ hours of direct sunlight each day (the less direct the light, and the fewer hours a day, the smaller the plants and buds will be).

Gentle Breeze

A gentle breeze provides airflow and cooling, which helps prevent heat stress, mildew, bud rot and bugs compared to the plant living in stagnant air. You’re looking for leaves that are rustling. There shouldn’t be enough wind that plants are waving around.

Have a Way to Protect Plants from Rain

One simple way is simply to make a barrier. Another option is to plan your harvest time (especially with autoflowering strains) to get it so buds are ready to harvest before your local rainy season.

This grower made a makeshift greenhouse for his plants protect his plants from the rain.

Consider the Heat

If it gets very extremely hot where you live, you want to consider making sure there’s a way to at least partially shade your plants on the hottest days. Learn how to care for heat-stressed outdoor marijuana plants.

Consider the Cold

Will your plants be ready to harvest before it starts getting cold and/or rainy where you live? High humidity, rain and temperatures under 60°F (15°C) are the leading causes of bud rot, which can take out an entire harvest in just a day or two! Frost and freezing temperatures will actually kill some plants (though some strains are more resistant than others). Make sure that you can protect your plants from cold or rainy conditions, or even better, make sure you get a strain that will be ready to harvest before your local bad weather begins!

Auto-flowering strains can be a good choice for growers with short summers because they are typically ready to harvest just 3 months from germination. However, there are also many ‘standard” (non-auto-flowering) strains with short flowering periods that only need 3-4 months before they’re ready to harvest.

Provide Your Own Soil

Even if the ground soil appears to be a good quality, you’ll often get the best results by providing your own soil which has been formulated for a plant like cannabis. This will contain the right ratio of nutrients so plants grow fast and buds get as big as possible. Many growers put their plants in containers with soil, which makes it so plants can be easily moved around. Some growers will dig a hole in the ground and fill it with good soil, though raised beds often perform better because the plant will use the “good” soil for longer, and it can be easier to water the plants.

What kind of soil is good for growing cannabis?

Don’t Forget Nutrients

Cannabis plants should have an adequate amount of nutrients. Although high-quality soil will typically provide everything your cannabis plant needs for nutrients during the vegetative stage, it’s typically a good idea to provide the plants with extra plant food during the nutrient-intensive flowering/budding stage! Plants need a surprisingly high amount of nutrients to produce the biggest buds!

Learn everything you need to know about cannabis nutrients.

The post Stealth Ideas for Growing Weed Outdoors appeared first on Grow Weed Easy.

In order to smoke or process our buds, it’s usually necessary to break up the buds first, especially if they’re really dense!

Most growers chop or grind their marijuana buds so they are easier to use!

When smoking, grinding help your buds go further by “aerating” the buds (make them fluffy) so they burn more efficiently. This is can make buds feel stronger and last longer compared to breaking it up with your fingers!

Dense buds like this are extremely difficult to break up properly with your fingers

Most common tools for grinding or chopping cannabis:

1. Hands/fingers – just okay
2. Scissors – a little better than using your hands
3. Grinders from Around the House – tools that are meant to grind herbs, coffee and tobacco all do a pretty good job with cannabis, too. However, these usually don’t have any way to catch kief that falls off your buds.
4. Specially Made Cannabis Grinders – these can go from terrible to great, depending on the model!

There are a millions ways to chop up your cannabis, and many work well, but if you are serious about getting the most from your buds, there’s a style of grinder that rules them all.

Grinders that are made for marijuana come in many different colors and models….

But which grinder works the best for weed?

4-Piece Cosmic Case – The Best Cannabis Grinder!

Important Note: Unfortunately, production of the Cosmic grinder seems to have halted. We’re devastated by the loss of this first-rate grinder, but we’re currently testing dozens(!) to find the next best thing. For now, we’re using our old Cosmic grinders and the Santa Cruz Shredder, which has been a good backup. If you have a grinder for us to try, let us know here!

I’ve used dozens of grinders over the years, and some are definitely better than others! Many of them can be a really great choice, but there’s one to rule them all.

Now-a-days, I will only use a 4-piece Cosmic Case grinder. It may not look like anything special (though they do come in various colors and sizes), but that’s not what makes it great. Its greatness lies in the fact that it is has been designed by cannabis connoisseurs from the bottom up.

First, let me warn you about the price… They’re realllllllly expensive. I’m talking up to $90 for their large models!

That may seem obscene, and it honestly is an obscene price for a grinder (which are normally closer to $15).

But if you grind up a lot of bud in your life, I think it’s worth it to invest in a Cosmic Case. I only got one because a guy at a head shop convinced me, but I’m glad he did because I’ve used them ever since.

About the Cosmic Case Grinder

It’s a sturdy piece of metal with good weight to it, and it has an overall very solid design.

The 4-piece “Large” version looks like this when you open it up.

Like all high-end grinders, it comes with a kief trap to collect all the kief/trichomes/glitter that naturally comes off your buds during the grinding process. That way you have kief for later!

Note: When a grinder is labeled as a “4-piece” grinder, the 4th piece is the kief trap (often called a “pollen trap” by sellers).

Kief/trichomes collect in the pollen trap so you can use it later!

It also has a very strong magnetic top that lets you easily open it up, yet the magnet is strong enough that it won’t fall off on its own even if you hold it upside down or keep it in a purse or backpack all day. This may seem like a small thing, but it’s a huge improvement over grinders with weak magnets (where the top comes off all the time) or screw-on tops (which get all gunked up after a while and won’t screw off easily anymore).

Those are great features that you should get from any high-quality grinder! However, the Cosmic Case has something else that makes it special….
What Makes It the Best Grinder?

The thing that makes this grinder so great is the weird holes it uses. They look like they’re going to let all your bud through in huge pieces because they’re so much larger than standard holes, but it doesn’t actually do that.

For whatever reason, these oddly shaped holes are just plain better (in my opinion) than the regular round ones. They shear the buds into a different consistency than normal grinders, and buds never get ground to dust.

The uniquely shaped holes shear your buds instead of grinding them into powder

The shearing makes any buds kind of fluffy, even if you’re using dense buds that are tough to break up.

I have found that buds actually seem stronger/more potent compared to not grinding them because the ground bud burns all the way through evenly in just one breath. This makes buds last longer since you use less at a time (though it can give you a head rush!).

The buds become fluffy due to the shearing action – this extra air makes buds burn better and they’ll often actually feel more potent!

It works great even with extremely dense buds!

Check out the 4-Piece Cosmic Case on Amazon! 

When you use a great grinder like this, your buds will feel more potent and as a result, your buds will last longer. Despite the cost, these are a good investment! It’s a top-notch present for a fellow enthusiast, or as a present to yourself, and I know you’ll become a believer as soon as you try one the first time!

Star Wars Themed

Treat your weed with a great grinder!

Jump to….

How Long Does It Take to Grow Weed?

7 Tips for Growing Top-Shelf Buds

5 Ways to Increase Yields (with any strain)

Where is the best place to buy marijuana seeds online?

The post What’s the best cannabis grinder? appeared first on Grow Weed Easy.

Are you looking for a no-stress, short, and simple marijuana grow guide? Maybe you just want a quick overview of the home growing process. This super condensed version of the 10-Step Quick Start Grow Guide may be the shortest cannabis home grow guide that actually teaches you everything you need to know.

Learn how to start strong!

And harvest tons of big buds!

The following tutorial is basic yet covers everything that matters most. If you follow just these steps you will be harvesting your own weed in 2-5 months! Quick Tip: Choose an auto-flowering strain for the fastest harvest (harvest is 2-3 months from germination, depending on strain). 

Easiest Cannabis Grow Tutorial Ever

Table of Contents

Step 1: Choose Your Place to Grow

Step 2: Choose Your Light

Step 3: Choose Your Growing Medium

Step 4: Get Cannabis-Friendly Nutrients

Step 5: Where To Get Cannabis Seeds

Step 6: Germinate Your Seeds

Step 7: Vegetative Stage – Only Stems and Leaves

Step 8: Flowering Stage – Buds Start Growing!

Step 9: Harvest Your Cannabis

Step 10: Dry & Cure Your Buds Like a Professional

You may also enjoy our marijuana life timeline or complete beginner’s guide to growing cannabis.

Cannabis Growing 101: Fast, Easy & Effective Beginner Guide

Step 1: Choose Your Place to Grow

Indoors or outdoors? A spare room? A closet? Learn more about different places to grow weed indoors. One simple way to get started is to put your plant inside a cheap grow tent.

I personally think grow tents are a cheap (under $100) and easy way to set up the perfect grow environment, but there are lots of great places to grow!

The main thing to remember about your growing environment is that when the temperature, humidity and overall airflow feels nice to you, it’s probably good for your plants, too! Learn more about setting up the perfect environment.

Step 2: Choose Your Grow Light

If your goal is to harvest…

1-4 oz – Small LED grow light
4-9 oz – 250W HPS
7-14 oz – 400W HPS
10-21 oz – 600W HPS

1-4 oz (Small)

• Ultra short edition – 3′ tall
  • 65W – HLG 65 LED Grow Light
  • 1-3 oz per harvest
  • $300 to get started
• Room to grow – 4′ tall
  • 100W – SF-1000 LED Grow Light
  • 2-4 oz per harvest
  • $430 to get started

Example of a small grow.

5-16 oz (Medium)

• Standard Power – 5′ tall <--Amazing option for beginner growers!
  • 200W – SF-2000 LED grow light
  • 5-11 oz per harvest
  • $555 to get started
• Max Power – 6′ tall
  • 300W – Mars Hydro SP3000 LED
  • 7-13 oz per harvest
  • $575 to get started
• Over Power – 6′ tall
  • 300-400W range (dimmable) – for growers who go crazy with power
  • Up to 16 oz per harvest
  • $495 to get started with a 400W HPS
  • $745 to get started with 315 LEC
  • $890 to get started with HLG 350R (Massively overpowered LED)

The SF-2000 LED grow light is one of the best LED grow lights for home growers. It yields up to 11 oz of potent, top-tier weed, yet is low on heat and electricity.

11-22 oz (Large)

• 1+ lb LED Producer – 6.5′ tall
  • HLG Blackbird 600W LED grow light
  • 11-22 oz per harvest
  • $995 to get started
• 1+ lb HPS Producer 6.5′ tall
  • 600W HPS (dimmable)
  • 10-21 oz per harvest
  • $495 to get started

The HLG Blackbird 600W can easily yield a pound of dense, potent, sparkly weed! Perfect for a 4’x4′ grow tent.

Compare different grow lights for growing cannabis.

Step 3: Choose Your Growing Medium

There is no best way to grow pot! Each option has its own pros and cons.

• Soil – Close to nature, especially if growing in amended and composted soil without any liquid nutrients. Slightly slower growing but buds tend to have a stronger and more complex taste/smell.
• Coco Coir – Coco is a hand-watered medium that looks and acts a lot like soil, but is actually made out of broken up coconut husks. Plants grown in coco grow a little bit faster than in soil, and coco has properties that soothe plant roots. As a result, coco tends to be more forgiving than most other grow mediums, and plants are more resistant to heat. Another advantage is pests are much less likely to attack plants in coco because many bugs need soil to live. If you’re not sure which medium to start with, I highly recommend starting with coco! That’s what I did and I’m so happy because it was also a perfect way to train for moving on to either soil or hydro 🙂
• Hydroponics – Setting up a hydroponic reservoir takes more work than soil or coco but hydro grown plants get the fastest growth of all grow mediums, meaning you get to harvest more quickly with the same amount of electricity. Hydro-grown buds tend to be very potent.

Step 4: Get Nutrients

If you’re starting in composted, amended soil, you don’t need to worry about adding extra nutrients. For regular soil growers, you want to supplement your plant with extra nutrients after it starts using up the nutrients in the soil. For coco and hydro growers, you provide all your nutrients directly to your plants from the beginning. Luckily all quality nutrients come with an easy schedule to follow, so you don’t have to think about it!

What Nutrients to Get for Each Stage of Life

• Vegetative Stage – In this stage you should use nutrients that are high in Nitrogen (N). Almost any general plant food will work. The extra nitrogen will provide what your marijuana plant needs in the vegetative stage
• Flowering Stage – Plants need a low-Nitrogen (“Bloom”) formula that is high in Phosphorous (P) and Potassium (K) in the flowering stage. In a pinch you can use cactus or succulent nutrients, because they use a similar nutrient ratio.

Learn more about cannabis-friendly nutrients.

Examples of Great Cannabis Nutrients

Dyna-Gro Grow + Bloom – Easy, cheap, effective cannabis nutrients. Use “Grow” in vegetative stage, “Bloom” in flowering stage. 1 tsp/gallon from seed to harvest.

Fox Farm Soil Nutrient Trio – Mostly organic, perfect for growing in soil. Follow their recommended nutrient schedule for best ratios for weed.

General Hydroponics Flora Trio – Professional-grade nutrients for serious cannabis growers. Fast-growing plants and top-shelf weed. Here’s my custom guide to using these nutrients for cannabis.

Step 5: Get Your Cannabis Seeds

If you don’t have access to live plants or seeds, the best way to get started growing is to order seeds online. You can get seeds delivered anywhere in the world, including Canada, Australia, the UK and every state in the USA.

Learn more about researching strains to figure out which one you might like best! Choose an auto-flowering strain for the fastest harvest (harvest in as quickly as 2 months).

Step 6: Germinate Your Seeds

One of the simplest ways to germinate your seeds is to plant them in a starter plug like a Rapid Rooter. These already moist when you get them and are designed to give your seed everything it needs for the first few days of growth. Just put your seed in the pre-cut hole and leave in a warm place until your seedlings appear! (Here’s more info if you would rather germinate the seeds first, and then put them in the Rapid Rooters). Add a few teaspoons of water if they start to dry out but don’t add so much water the rooters actually look shiny wet. You don’t want to drown your seedlings! Unless your air is really dry, seedlings like the open air and don’t need a humidity dome like clones do. They get all the water they need through their roots.

Simply put your seeds in the pre-moistened plugs and wait for seedlings to appear 🙂

After germination, you place your Rapid Rooter directly into soil/coco, or insert into a net pot if you’re in hydro. The Rapid Rooters make it so you can’t really mess up transferring seedlings!

If you see roots out the bottom, it’s time to transfer plant into its next destination!

There are other ways to germinate seeds if you don’t have or don’t want to use Rapid Rooters. For example you could use the popular “paper towel method” or even plant your seeds directly into the growing medium! Learn about other ways to germinate your seeds here.

Help for common cannabis seedling problems.

Step 7: Vegetative Stage

Your Main Duty: Water Plants & Adjust Grow Light

In the vegetative stage a marijuana plant really does grow like a weed! It can recover from a lot even if you mess up. You can almost even think of it as a regular houseplant, just a really fast growing one!

At this point your main job is to water your plants and check the pH regularly (to prevent nutrient problems). If you are using high levels of nutrients and supplements, try to give plain water sometimes to prevent nutrient build-up.

When it comes to nutrients, follow the nutrient schedule or recommended dosage for “vegetative” growth. However, it’s a good idea to start at half-strength at first since most nutrient recommendations are often a bit too strong for marijuana right away.

Lean how to water plants perfectly every time!

When the top inch feels dry to the touch, water your plants well and remove runoff water. Avoid watering too often! You should be watering vegetative plants every few days. If they’re drying out in less than a few days, transplant to a bigger pot or give more water at a time. If they’re taking more than 3 days to dry, give less water at a time until they’re drinking faster.

During the vegetative stage your plant only grows new stems and leaves, and overall the plants will keep getting bigger and bigger.

Many indoors growers choose to train their plants in the vegetative stage to grow in a flat, table-top shape, as this will increase your yields under indoor grow lights in the flowering stage. But even if you don’t do anything your plants will still grow just fine.

Try to make sure you keep your grow lights a good distance away so they’re not burning your plants, and other than that just wait until your plant has reached half the final desired size.

Plants in the vegetative stage only grow stems and leaves, no buds!

Plants in the vegetative stage can grow several inches a day after they get going!

pic by Froctor Dankenstein

If you don’t watch out, your grow space can get out of control 🙂

Get help with common vegetative stage growing problems

If want to know more about what to expect (and what to look out for) in the vegetative stage, check out the complete vegetative stage tutorial!

Step 8: Flowering Stage – Buds Start Growing!

When your plant has reached half the final desired size, it’s time to tell it to start making buds! After you do this step, your plant on average will about double in size (more or less depending on the strain), so don’t wait too long!

Switch to the flowering stage when your plant has reached half the final desired height. Your plant can double in size after the switch!

You “tell” your plant to start making buds by putting your grow lights on a timer that is set on a 12/12 light schedule. This means the grow light is on for 12 hours, but the plant spends the other 12 hours a day is in uninterrupted darkness.

This daily dark period is like a message that tells your plant winter is coming. Plants will typically start growing buds within 2-3 weeks after the switch to a 12/12 light schedule.

The first few weeks after the switch to 12/12, your plant will be growing fast! This extra fast growth period is known as the flowering stretch.

Here are two plants right after they are given a 12/12 light schedule. Notice how both get taller, but one gets far taller than the other. The amount of “stretch” after the switch  is determined by strain/genetics. Hopefully this animation gives you an idea of how plants develop in the flowering stage from 12/12 to harvest. Learn more about growing different strains together.

Male vs Female 

When your plant starts making flowers, you need to double check that they’re all making buds (female) and not pollen sacs (male). Learn where to look on the plant to figure out the plant gender as soon as possible.

You can skip this step if you started with feminized seeds (since all plants will be female and make buds).

If your plants are female they will start growing wispy white hairs that eventually turn into buds. If your plant is male, it will grow pollen sacs that look like little bunches of grapes, and these will open up into flowers that can pollinate your buds and make them full of seeds.

Learn more about male vs female plants!

It’s important to identify any male plants as soon as possible and remove them from your grow room so your female buds don’t produce seeds from being exposed to pollen.

Around 6 weeks after the switch to 12/12, your plant will stop growing bigger and focus completely on bud growth. Although that’s true for most strains, some long-flowering or Sativa strains can continue growing taller for longer.
Your Main Duty After Week 6: Watch Buds & Leaves Closely For Problems

It’s hard to be patient for harvest after week 6 because eventually the plant stops making much new vegetative growth while buds fatten and mature. You usually aren’t seeing a lot of new growth any more, so it might seem like buds are done. But even though you might not see it, your buds are getting bigger and more potent each day!

Although plants mostly stop growing around Week 6, buds still need time before they’re “ripe” enough to have reached peak potency. Buds will continue to fatten and get more dense right up until harvest.

Watch plants closely so you can react to any problems quickly so you cruise to the finish line 🙂

• What to Expect Week-By-Week in the Flowering Stage
• 7 Common Flowering Stage Problems

Most plants are ready to harvest about 9-13 weeks after the switch to 12/12 though some strains take more or less time.

Next, learn how to determine when your plant is ready to harvest!

Step 9: Harvest Your Cannabis

When plants are ready to harvest, the white hairs on the buds will have darkened and will have mostly curled in. What if my plant keeps making new white pistils over and over?

Here are examples of marijuana buds that are ready to harvest

You can choose when to harvest your buds based purely on looks, but if you want to get scientific about it you can use a magnifier to look at buds closely and determine whether they’ve reached peak potency.

Learn how to look at trichomes with a magnifier to determine when to harvest

This is done by looking at the “trichomes” or glitter that grows on buds. When buds have reached the highest levels of THC the trichomes turn milky white. Waiting until a few trichomes turn amber can give buds more of a body or relaxation effect.

Step 10: Dry & Cure Your Buds Like a Professional

Making sure to actually dry your ganja slowly and cure them in jars can increase their quality by up to 50%! When buds are ready to harvest, start cutting down one stem at a time.

Trim off the extra leaves and hang buds upside down in an enclosed space like your grow tent or a closet.

After drying buds for a few days to a week, the small stems will snap and most buds should pop off on their own without being bendy or leaving strings behind.

At this point put the buds in quart-sized glass mason jars, filling them about 80% full. Open jars daily and make sure the buds don’t feel wet or stick together. After the first 2 weeks you can open jars just once a week or less.

The process of sitting in glass jars is known as “curing” and increases the quality of your buds considerably! The quality (and perceived potency) will continue to improve for up to a few months!

Read the complete drying & curing tutorial

Jump to…

Complete Basics Guide: How to Grow Cannabis!

How To Get To Harvest As Fast As Possible

The Life of a Marijuana Plant (timeline)

How to Improve the Overall Quality of Your Bud

The post Simplest Cannabis Grow Guide… Ever! appeared first on Grow Weed Easy.

Get a Cannabis Strain with that “Regular Plant” Look!

Did you know that some strains don’t look like traditional cannabis plants? These plants take advantage of a leaf mutation that causes leaves to grow in a different shape than standard cannabis plants. As a result, if you’re growing cannabis outdoors a strain like this may make things just a little less suspicious at first glance!

Cannabis leaf with Ducksfoot mutation – it almost looks like the webbed foot of a duck!

Here are examples of the legendary Ducksfoot strain (the original). These plants don’t look like cannabis at first glance!

Ducksfoot Plants

For reference, this is what a “standard” cannabis leaf looks like

Unfortunately, the original Ducksfoot s a “clone-only” strain which means you cannot purchase it as a seed. However there are variations of Ducksfoot with similar leaves that are available as seeds (more info below).

~pop22 (check out his full thread on the Autoflower Network!)

Here’s what the grower pop22 said about the strain: “I was fortunate to acquire some clones of Ducksfoot. And I’m glad I got them. This is SOME GREAT WEED! Very potent and a very productive plant. It has a brain numbing Sativa high, an unusual taste and smell ( hard to describe ). It’s a shame this strain is almost impossible to get.”

In this next picture by kamyo only two of the four seedlings have Ducksfoot-style leaves. The two seedlings on the left have the Ducksfoot mutation, and the two seedlings on the right have standard marijuana leaves despite being the same strain.

Variations on the Ducksfoot Strain

Some strains are descended from the Ducksfoot strain, retaining the original leaf shape while giving growers additional variations on the qualities of the buds themselves, and allowing growers to get a version of this strain in seed form. Most of these options are bred by Dutch Passion. Otherwise the main way to get a “duck” strain is to find someone who has one and take a clone.

Frisian Duck

One of the most popular variations of the Ducksfoot (Ducksfeet?) strain is called Frisian Duck by Dutch Passion. This strain thrives outdoors and grows with the traditional stealthy leaves. This strain also often makes bright, beautiful purple buds (with cold enough temperatures) that have a fresh scent that is sometimes even a little fruity.

Frisian Duck plants react really well to growing in a living soil that’s been composted and amended with slow release organic ingredients.

This is a Frisian Duck plant in the vegetative stage

This Frisian Duck plant was grown outdoors in a greenhouse. More than half of Frisian Duck plants grow bright purple buds!

Frisian Duck is based on the famous Frisian Dew strain which also produces purple buds and has been bred for generations specifically for growing outdoors. The Frisian genes thrive under sunlight, and buds are resistant to bugs and mold!

This Frisian Duck plant is just about ready to harvest!

Duck Auto

An autoflowering version of Frisian Duck, again by Dutch Passion. Dutch Passion is one of my favorite auto-flowering breeders, so this comes highly recommended!

Get Duck Auto by Dutch Passion

However, even with stealthy strains, be aware that they still smell like cannabis in the budding stage! 

What About Other “Stealth” Strains?

There is another strain that is also known as being a “stealth” strain…

Dr. Grinspoon

The buds of Dr. Grinspoon plants don’t “clump together” like most cannabis plants. Although the buds look a little different, they are just as effective! Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to cross a Dr. Grinspoon plant with a Ducksfoot plant. Could you make the ultimate stealth strain?

Dr. Grinspoon grows buds that don’t stack on top of each other like standard cannabis plant

This is what these buds look like when the plant has been grown out – it doesn’t look much like a cannabis plant at all! Still, this growth pattern is a mutation which means that not all seeds will grow like this. This is an important fact to keep in mind with any of the current ‘stealth’ strains.

Now that you’ve learned about some stealthy strains, why not check out the following stealth-related articles…

• Stealth Growing: How NOT to Get Caught Growing Weed
• 7 Rules You Must Follow If You Want to Grow Weed and Never Get Caught
• How to Grow Like a Ninja

Setting up a stealthy environment…

• Choose the Best Part of Your House to Grow
• How to Set Up a Grow Tent for Better Yields (and Stealth)
• Controlling Smells and Odors in the Grow Room

The post Where Can I Find the “Ducksfoot” Strain? appeared first on Grow Weed Easy.