Growing Your Own Medicinal Cannabis

[MS?MJ!]

One of the most important things we can do as medi-users is become self-sufficient by growing our own cannabis. As well as being an extremely rewarding and empowering activity, it also means that we do not have to rely on others to supply us with the cannabis that we need. Furthermore, growing our own meds means that it is possible to grow the specific types of cannabis that best relieve our particular symptoms, resulting in a truly personalised medical cannabis garden.

If you are a medi-user who is not yet growing, sites like uk420 can seem quite overwhelming - the sheer volume of information and unfamiliar terminology can be somewhat confusing at first (I know, I’ve been there!), and so I wanted to put up a few pointers to help those who are considering growing their own meds get the best out of the resources available on uk420.

The first thing to think of is where you will be growing your cannabis. You basically have two options; either indoors in a room, wardrobe or other space or outdoors in your back garden using a greenhouse or similar. While an outdoor grow is cheaper and easier to set up, you will only be able to grow one crop per year, and there is the added risk of other people being able to see or smell your cannabis growing (growing cannabis is of course still illegal, no matter what it is to be used for). If you want a few ideas on this kind of outdoor growing you will find some useful information in the Growing Under Glass section.

Most medi-users however will elect to go for an indoor grow set up, as it has numerous advantages including security, accessibility and a totally controllable environment. The size of the area that you grow in will of course depend on the room you have available, but I would suggest that the minimum size you should be looking at is a wardrobe or equivalent size cupboard, you will also need to bear in mind that whatever space you use will need to be lightproof when you come to flowering your plants.

It is possible to grow in even smaller areas but it is more difficult and unlikely to produce the quantity of cannabis required, whereas a wardrobe is an ideal size to grow 2 or more plants for medicinal purposes. You can of course go larger and devote a whole room to growing but bear in mind that the larger the room the more expensive the equipment needed to produce a good growing environment, and the more maintenance that will be needed, which can be difficult for those with mobility problems or who tire easily. You can find some ideas for setting up a grow room, including how to adapt wardrobes/cupboards in the Growroom Design and Location forum, there are also some pictures of completed grow rooms in the Growroom Photos section if you need some more inspiration.

Once you have decided on a space to grow in you will need to work out your equipment needs. The two most important requirements for cannabis growing are good lighting and ventilation. Getting the lighting right is vital as this is your plant's main energy source, and for a small medi-grow you will probably want to use either an HPS (high pressure sodium) light or an envirolite. HPS type lights are usually the cheapest lights available and are good for growing cannabis but can also be very hot, which can cause problems in smaller spaces.

If you are growing in a wardrobe or cupboard you may wish to use envirolites instead, these are basically giant versions of household energy-saving lights and have the advantage of being the coolest-running type of light, so can be the best option for small or confined spaces. The main disadvantages of envirolites is that you will require one of each spectrum (red and blue) used by the plant throughout it's life, they also need to be replaced more often than HPS lights. You can visit the Lighting Forum to help you decide the best type of light for your particular growing circumstances.

Ventilation is also extremely important when growing cannabis, as without a plentiful supply of fresh air your plants will be unable to grow and develop properly, ventilation also removes the heat generated by lights from the grow room. Good ventilation is normally provided via a duct/extractor fan, these fans are able to run 24 hours a day, continuously replenishing the air in your grow room and with the addition of a carbon filter are also able to remove all smells from your grow room when your plants are flowering. Ventilation is discussed in the Environment Forum, there is also a useful Growroom Calculator which you can use to calculate the size of fan and other equipment that you will require.

Once your grow room is set up you are nearly there, you just need to decide what medium you wish to grow your plants in. Plants can be grown either hydroponically in a soiless system, where water containing the relevant nutrients is pumped round the plant’s roots, or in pots with compost. For a first grow, compost is recommended as a simpler and cheaper method, you can grow either in a standard compost with non-organic fertilisers, in which case you will find the Non-Organic forums useful or you can grow organically, using organic soil and fertilisers. There is some evidence to suggest that organic growing may be better for growing cannabis as medicine, and if you decide to take this route you will find lots of helpful information in the Organic Forum.

I hope you find the above information useful in getting a better idea of what setting up a medi-grow entails. The best advice I can give is to visit the forums and have a good read, and feel free to jump in and ask any questions you may have - the members here are very friendly and will be happy to assist you. If you want to see how a cannabis grow can progress you may like to visit the Grow Diaries section, and for real inspiration I can thoroughly recommend the Members Budshots area.

The plants in these sections show what can be produced by an indoor grow room, and many of the growers on this site are themselves medi-users who were helped to grow successfully by uk420. If you do decide to go ahead with a grow you too could be producing your own cannabis meds in just a few months, and the feeling of satisfaction in seeing your plants grow before your eyes can't be beaten in my opinion.

Good luck and happy growing!