Getting Started With Growing Your Own CBD Plant

If you are captivated by the benefits of organic craft-grown hemp, then you may be interested in growing your own CBD-heavy strains at home. Growing your own hemp is easier than you might think and can yield some tasty dry herb in the end. It mainly takes a lot of sunshine, water, and patience for the hemp to mature and bud, but less skill than you might assume. However, if you’re looking to grow your own hemp at homethere are a few factors you should consider and supplies you should collect to get started.

Can You Grow Hemp at Home?

The first place to start is by looking into if it is legal for you to cultivate hemp at home. The industrial cultivation of hemp was legalized with the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill, however, that does not mean it is legal for any U.S. resident to grow hemp plants. The laws regarding personal hemp cultivation often default to the regulations of growing dry herb at home. There may also be special regulations for medical patients in your state. Every state is different, and you’ll want to check on the current laws and regulations where you live before you invest in a full hemp growing setup. However, even if growing hemp at home is legal in your state, there is often a limit on the number of plants you can have in the ground at once. Be sure to take all of these factors into consideration before growing.

What Supplies Do You Need to Grow Hemp?

If it is legal to cultivate hemp at home, then you are in luck. There are just a few basic supplies you will need to grow hemp plants, which you will probably already have on hand if you like to garden. This list includes:

• Grow Medium: Soil, Coco Coir, Rock Wool, or Peat Moss
• Water
• Air
• Sunlight or LED Grow Light
• Plant Nutrients
• Time and Patience

This list is short and simple, but all the items on it are essential. Your choice of growing medium will mainly depend on the location you are growing your hemp plants in. If you are opting to plant hemp outdoors with lots of southern sun exposure, then the plants will be perfectly happy in ground soil. However, one thing to know about hemp plants is that they are known to act as a bio accumulator, and processes potential toxins or contaminants present in soil.

Hemp Soil Tips

Planting hemp will help purify the ground soil for the next crop you plant, but it can also potentially accumulate contaminants from the soil. You’ll want to make sure your soil is turned, and appropriate nutrients are added to grow healthy hemp plants packed full of CBD. For this reason, some hemp farmers choose to grow their hemp plants in a different growing medium, such as coco coir, peat moss, or rock wool, to help eliminate any potential toxins being carried in the soil.

The main resource you will need to grow hemp plants and harvest CBD-heavy flower is patience. You must tend to your hemp plants on a regular basis, especially if you are starting them from seed. These plants must grow tall and full of resinous flowers before they can be harvested.

How Do You Start Hemp from Seeds?

One of the easiest ways to get started with growing hemp plants is starting from seeds. These seeds can be purchased at your local dispensary or sometimes online, depending on your state’s regulations. Seeds can germinate in soil under the right conditions. However, you have an even better chance at getting a hemp seed to sprout by soaking it in water first. Simply add the seeds to a container with water for 8 to 24 hours, kept in a cool location outside of direct sunlight.

After the seeds have soaked, you can plant them in soil, about half an inch to one inch deep. If you’re planting multiple hemp seeds straight into a garden bed, then you’ll want to space them four to five inches apart. If you’re growing your hemp plants indoors though, be sure to plant the seeds in a small starter pot. Then all you must do is water and wait. Be sure to keep the soil the seed is planted in moist so that it will work to sprout.

When Should You Plant Hemp?

Once you have sprouted and encouraged baby hemp plants to grow from seed, it might be time to transplant. If you planted your hemp seeds outside in a garden bed, then all you must do is continue to water the plant and watch them grow. However, outdoor plants should be started early or mid-May after the last frost, to take advantage of the warm growing season.

Growing Hemp Indoors

If you are growing your hemp plants indoors in a controlled environment though, you can start them any time of year. Once your hemp seedlings have grown to the point of having roots extend from the bottom of the small seed pot, it’s time to transplant them. This normally takes about four to six weeks after your seeds germinate. Select a pot that is slightly larger than the one it started in and add some soil to the bottom. Then loosen your hemp start from the current pot and carefully transplant it to the larger pot, avoiding any damage to the roots. Fill the pot with soil and compact it down around the base of your hemp plant. Then give it a good watering and allow it the fresh air, light, and space it needs to grow.

When Is It Time to Harvest Your Hemp?

Be sure that your hemp plants get plenty of light to mature. When the plant starts to develop resinous buds, you will want to avoid getting water on the flowers so that mold doesn't start to grow. If you’ve planted your hemp plants outdoors in May, then they should be ready to harvest by October. Harvesting is even more simple than growing, but the buds can take a while to dry out and cure. To harvest the plant, you simply must cut it at the base and hang it upside down in a dry location. You’ll know the bud is dried and ready when the stems break when you bend them.

There are many more tips and tricks for growing quality craft hemp at home, but these basics will get you started. It can be a rewarding hobby that is worth the time, effort, and dedication in the end though. Just be sure to check that it is legal to grow in the state where you are living first.

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